AltEliteWrestling

Episode 135 Week 3, March, 2024 TD Garden - Boston, MA Attendance: 3.396 Your Hosts: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross vs. Rampage began with a match between two seldom-seen wrestlers of late, Mike Santana and Dralistico. While Santana had been lost in the shuffle after separating from longtime tag partner Ortiz, Dralistico had just been reunited with his brother and fellow Los Faccion Ingobernables member Rush. Though Rush's return had meant the end of Preston Vance's association with the stable, it potentially portended greater things for Dralistico, a prospect that paid off in this match, as the luchador outlasted Santana to defeat him with a La Mistica. (60) Though she had ducked Ruby Soho and Anna Jay's challenge on the prior week's Rampage, Saraya seldom ducked opportunities for interviews, and, true to form, she was available for comment backstage with Renee Paquette. When asked if she had found a partner better than Harley Cameron to face Soho and Jay, Saraya proclaimed that she had, in fact, and that she would be debuting next week. (60) vs. In a surprising show of forgiveness, Toni Storm gave Mariah May an early shot at redemption, agreeing to reunite for a second tag match with her understudy, this time against Layla Hirsch and Ashley D'Amboise. Though the small but fierce Hirsch and the towering D'Amboise picked up where they had left off before an injury to D'Amboise, showing strong potential, mere promise was not enough when put in the ring with the AEW Women's Champion. Storm dominated much of the match before magnanimously tagging in May to make the pin and claim victory for the Timeless team. (53) Appearing backstage for the first time since facing Sting and Darby Allin at Revolution, losing both the match and partner Jay Lethal in the process, Jeff Jarrett attempted to prevent further departures by assuring his remaining partners that they would find new and better replacements for Lethal. (58) vs. And finally, in a main event that was entertaining enough but somewhat lacking in tension, Rampage mainstays Matt and Jeff Hardy took on the Butcher and the Blade. Forced to bide their time with Mark Briscoe sidelined by a concussion and their recent rivals Lance Archer and the Righteous tied up in 6-Man Madness, the tag team legends took advantage of their opportunity to face another team that had been locked out of the tournament by putting on a vintage show of tag team chemistry, capped off with a crowd-pleasing Swanton Bomb by Jeff to score the pin. (58) Overall Show Rating: 54

Episode 232 Week 3, March, 2024 TD Garden - Boston, MA Attendance: 3.396 Your Hosts: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz A special episode of Dynamite wasted no time getting to its headline appearance, as Mercedes Mone made her long-rumored debut in AEW in her hometown of Boston. Greeted by loud rounds of 'CEO' chants, the groundbreaking wrestler called back to her struggles getting to where she was, while celebrating her arrival in the AEW Women's Division, proudly announcing that she was All Elite. (98) 6-Man Madness - Blue League vs. Another premiere took place following the break, as the inaugural 6-Man Madness tournament kicked off with a match between Bullet Club Gold and the newly formed trio of Men of the Year and Jay Lethal. Though the latter team's lack of ring time may have seemed a disadvantage at first glance, Juice Robinson's long injury absence following the formation of the Bullet Club's US chapter had limited the amount of experience for the longer-tenured group as well. Whether that ring rust, BCG's over-confidence, or the enthusiasm of their opponents were the primary factor, the favorites in the match were never truly in control, and Jay Lethal capped off an upset to begin the tournament with a Lethal Injection on Austin Gunn. (53) The trio of champions that the participants in 6-Man Madness were fighting to face at Double or Nothing were among the next group to appear on screen as the Undisputed Kingdom followed the wheelchair-bound Adam Cole onto the stage for a promo. Cole began story time by announcing that Samoa Joe was not in the arena, and may not be anytime soon after being beaten by Wardlow in the Dynamite main event last week. After warning Joe to get back in time for his championship match against Wardlow at AEW Dynasty, Cole rethought his statement, encouraging Joe to no-show the event entirely and hand over the title without suffering yet another beating. (51) vs. In a possible preview of coming attractions, Julia Hart-- recent victors over Riho and Hikaru Shida at Revoltuion-- continued their run as a tag against a more physically imposing pair of competitors in Emi Sakura and Taya Valkyrie. Despite Sakura's advantage in both size and experience, they were unable to outdo the unusual duo of rising stars, who used superior teamwork, quickness, and borderline illegal tactics to scrape out a win. With Valkyrie making a quick exit following the loss, Sakura found herself cornered by the dark duo. Instead of her former pupil Riho coming to the rescue, though, this time it was Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale that made the preemptive save, as the lights went out and Hart and Black were nowhere to be found once the babyface duo reached the ring. (49) In a pre-taped segment, Jon Moxley touted the Blackpool Combat Club's entrants in 6-Man Madness, promising a new era not just for Daniel Garcia and the BCC, but also for the AEW Trios Division. (73) vs. Whether a coincidence or not, when Wheeler Yuta, who had been absent from the preceding BCC video, appeared next for a singles match with Jay White, he was unaccompanied by any of his stablemates. White, too, was alone, though, following his own partners' loss in 6-Man Madness to start the night. That left the two combatants to face-off man-to-man in as straight of a contest as you were likely to see from members of the two factions. A noticeably angry Yuta had early control of the match with his mix of old-school brawling offense, but White was not one to panic or burn himself out fighting from underneath. Well-acclimated to a physical style from his time in Japan, White eventually swung the momentum in his favor, catching a desperate Yuta with a Blade Runner to cap off an extended rally to close the match. (66) 6-Man Madness - Blue League vs. The least experienced trio of all in 6-Man Madness, making their very first in-ring appearance as a unit against the Mogul Embassy, were Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevarra, and new addition to the group Hook. On their first night, at least, the dynamic between the three worked well: Jericho and Guevarra spent the bulk of the team's time in the ring, even if much of Guevarra's stint was spent in the corner of Brian Cage and Gates of Agony, as they isolated him from making a tag. When Guevarra did finally fight back to his corner, though, his tag was to Hook, who took the opportunity to do what he does best, throwing around each of his bulky foes in a flurry of suplexes. With Jericho hitting a springboard dropkick on Cage to knock him out of the ring, and Guevarra hitting Bishop Kaun with a Diving Double Stomp on the apron, Hook caught Toa Liona's back for a Redrum in the center of the ring to notch three points in his team's first tournament match. (63) Making an appearance in street clothes for the next segment, Will Ospreay called Bryan Danielson to the ring following their face-off to conclude the prior week's Collision. Ospreay praised the wrestling legend for all he had done in the business, while noting that he suspected that the American Dragon had a question to ask. Bryan Danielson agreed that he did, explaining that he had heard Ospreay proclaim himself the best wrestler in the world-- if not all time-- last week. And while he respected the AEW newcomer, anyone that thought they had a claim on the title of being the best would have to go through him to prove it. He challenged Ospreay to a match at Dynasty to do so., and the Aerial Assassin did not hesitate to agree to the dream match. (66) 6-Man Madness - Blue League vs. The night's main event pitted recent champions the Acclaimed against the rising young trio from the Callis Family, Kenosuke Takeshita, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Kyle Fletcher. Though Callis had originally assembled his roster of thoroughbreds to torment Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho-- missions that remained incomplete, for various reasons-- the pursuit of the Trios Titles promised an opportunity at renewed focus, a frightening prospect for their fellow competitors. After Max Caster performed his traditional rap on the way to the ring, matters quickly got serious for him, Anthony Bowens, and Daddy Ass Bill Gunn, as Callis' squad was immediately on the attack. Despite their physical dominance, the Acclaimed were battle-tested and in possession of champions' pride and determination, fighting back to hit Scissor Me Timbers on Fletcher to seize the momentum in the match. Their upper-hand was short-lived, however. When Fletcher kicked out of a Mic Drop follow-up, the Australian was able to tag Kenosuke Takeshita into the match, kicking off a wave of offense that culminated with Powerhouse Hobbs' entry to hit Gunn with his Town Business powerslam for a show-closing victory. (70) Overall Show Rating: 69

Blue League The Acclaimed Bullet Club Gold Callis Family Le Sex Gods and Hook Men of the Year Mogul Embassy Gold League Best Friends Blackpool Combat Club House of Black Lance Archer and the Righteous The Patriarchy Top Flight and Action Andretti

Episode 38 Week 2, March, 2024 Gas South Arena - Duluth, GA Attendance: 3,802 Your Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Nigel McGuiness The final post-Revolution week episode of AEW TV began with three members the Blackpool Combat Club-- Jon Moxley, Claudio, Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta-- headed to the ring for a promo segment. Acknowledging his and Claudio's loss at Revolution, though not naming the team they had fallen to, Moxley invited Daniel Garcia to join them in front of the crowd. After a few losses, including a six-man tag loss with Eddie Kingston against the House of Black, Mox declared that it was time to shake things up. As a way of doing so, he officially invited Garcia to join the BCC, but making his acceptance conditional on teaming up with him and Castagnoli in 6-Man Madness. As Garcia mulled over the offer and Wheeler Yuta looked on in resentment, FTR's music hit. After immediately making it clear who had beaten Moxley and Castagnoli at Revolution, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler put Garcia on the spot as well. He could join them for 6-Man Madness, or he'd be making two enemies that he did not want to have. Literally caught in between the BCC and FTR, Garcia looked torn. Finally, however, with microphone in hand, Garcia made his choice: the Blackpool Combat Club. The BCC celebrated their new member by immediately attacking FTR, a beating that was joined by Garcia, giving the faction a two-to-one advantage in numbers, even if Yuta's heart did not seem to be entirely in it. Nevertheless, the BCC left their victims lying in the ring as they taunted the crowd. (60) vs. Quickly thrown into the fire following his return from injury, Kyle O'Reilly was pitted against one of the opponents he had helped cost the AEW Trios Titles at Revolution, Best Friends' Trent Baretta. Though the newly-crowned champions in the Undisputed Kingdom would not take part in 6-Man Madness, it was rumored that O'Reilly would be taking Roderick Strong's place in their trios unit, making this a possible partial preview of Double or Nothing, if Best Friends made it through the 6-Man Madness field. O'Reilly and Baretta's long history as opponents may have helped ease the former wrestler's reentry to competition as he did not miss a beat in his first time back in the ring, showing off his customary array of strikes, submissions, and suplexes on Baretta as they traded control of the contest, before finally taking the win with a Rolling Butterfly Suplex. (67) In a backstage segment, Rush made his return to AEW TV, where Jose the Assistant was leading a meeting of Los Faccion Ingoberables. Noting that Rush had observed his stablemates' activities or lack thereof, while he was out, and was not pleased. Like the Blackpool Country Club earlier in the night, the El Toro Blanco was ready to make a change, and he officially fired Preston Vance from the group. (39) vs. Coming off of his surprise loss to Will Ospreay at Revolution, Miro quickly returned to Collision to face Peter Avalon. An angry Redeemer dominated the match in a way seldom seen between a pair of AEW regulars, forcing Avalon to submit to Game Over in under five minutes, and perhaps starting a new winning streak leading into an expected entry in the Owen Hart Cup. (51) Backstage with Lexy Nair, Christian Cage announced that the Patriarchy, including himself, Jack Perry, and Nick Wayne, would be competing as a team in 6-Man Madness. Asked by Nair if Adam Copeland's participation in the Owen Hart Cup instead of the trios tournament had anything to do with the decision, Cage claimed not to know what Copeland was doing, instead suggesting that he merely wanted to help his boys bring more titles back to the family. (70) vs. In an encore from her appearance at Revoltuion, Mariah May emerged in her pre-Timeless vintage Toni Storm cosplay look for her match against Red Velvet. Though May's quality of in-ring work had been up-to-par early on by AEW standards, and there was a groundswell of support for her among some parts of the fanbase, she was not yet up to the stature to capture the audience's interest when pitted against a competitor like Red Velvet, leading to an awkwardly received bout that May would eventually mercifully end with a Mayday for the pinfall. (29) The crowd would perk up after the match, as Lutha brought Storm herself to the stage to announce her first-ever "Toni Award". Apparently setting aside any lingering hard feelings from May being pinned in their tag match against Deonna Purazzo and Thunder Rosa, Storm awarded her understudy the award for best portrayal of an earlier version of Toni Storm. Any good feelings from the announcement were quickly put to an end, however, when Thunder Rosa entered from backstage. Reminding Storm of her role in that tag team victory, she told Storm it was time for her to get a chance to win back the championship she had never lost to begin with. (51) In what some considered an upset, once again Ricky Starks and Big Bill returned to Collision as the AEW Tag Team Champions following a clean victory over Le Sex Gods at Revolution. Noting that FTR did not look like they may be able to compete any time soon (in reference to their attack by the Blackpool Combat Club to start the show) and that the Young Bucks were AWOL, they wondered which "real" tag team might step up to prove them unworthy. (68) vs. Though not an official qualifier for 6-Man Madness, the penultimate match of the evening would offer the final preview of the trios tournament prior to kicking off on Wednesday's Dynamite, as the House of Black faced off against Jake Hager, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker. Though Parker was riding high on his budding romance with Ruby Soho, that was not enough to defend against the onslaught of offense delivered by one of the tournament's likely favorites. Despite a valiant effort further boosted by the return of his favorite purple hat, Hager ultimately fell victim to an impressive-looking Gonzo Bomb from Brody King to suffer the loss. (67) With Sammy Guevarra preparing to compete in the episode's main event, Chris Jericho appeared alone backstage with Hook, thanking the rising star for watching Le Sex Gods' backs at Revolution. Though they did not come away with the tag team championships, he and Sammy would have another path to a title open now with 6-Man Madness-- they just needed a teammate. Inviting Hook to be their third, the Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil accepted, making them the final entrants in the trios tournament. (64) vs. The night's main event put together two potential future figureheads of AEW, as Sammy Guevara faced now full-time Callis Family member Will Ospreay. Though Ospreay would be taking part in the Owen Hart Cup tournament rather than 6-Man Madness, with Guevarra's participation in the latter tournament now confirmed, there was a chance for him to soften up one of Kenosuke Takeshita, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Kyle Fletcher's potential rivals before it began. While the bout was a predictably wild and fast-moving affair, it was marred slightly by a strained bicep suffered by Ospreay during the match. Still, the newcomer fought through the discomfort, leading to trades of Cutters, Poisonranas, and finishers by both wrestlers, before Ospreay would finally get the last word with a Stormbreaker to earn the pin. (77) Following the match, the American Dragon Bryan Danielson's entrance music played and the living legend made his way to the ring for a faceoff with Ospreay to close the show. Overall Show Rating: 65

Episode 134 Week 2, March, 2024 Gas South Arena - Duluth, GA Attendance: 3.908 Your Hosts: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross 6-Man Madness Qualifier vs. Rampage began with the first of two 6-Man Madness Qualifiers on the evening, with the now established trio of Top Flight and Action Andretti facing a team with only a single match to their name, Shane Taylor Promotions and Tony Nese. The growing cohesion of Andretti and the Martin brothers came into play here, as their fast-moving, coordinated attacks were eventually too much for the more physically imposing team to keep up with with Taylor and Lee Moriarty often on a different page from Nese. Despite their best efforts, Nese was eventually pinned after being set up for a Nose Dive by the Martin brothers to end a fun match. (68) In the backstage interview area, after being asked by Renee Paquette about Sting's retirement match and what's next for him following his split from Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal was approached by the Men of the Year, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page. Informing Lethal that the final spot in a 6-Man Madness qualifier match was open, Sky and Page made Lethal an offer that had been made to them on multiple occasions the past several weeks: would he join them as a trios partner? Lethal agreed. (48) Pivoting on the fly, the cameraman found another, more heated discussion taking place nearby, where Ruby Soho, joined by Anna Jay, was confronting Saraya and Harley Cameron. Coming together over their mutual friendships with Angelo Parker, Soho and Jay challenged Saraya and Cameron to a match over the drama the latter pair had created trying to keep Soho and Parker apart. A flustered Saraya claimed that Harley was not really a wrestler (and Harley agreed), so that would not work. Soho shot back that Saraya had better find a partner in that case, because both she and Jay wanted a piece of what remained of the Outcasts. (48) vs. In a matchup between two veteran competitors, Serena Deeb faced Mercedes Martinez in her latest step up the card following her return from injury. The two wrestlers meshed well, putting together another quality match, with Deeb notching another submission, this time a Bridging Reverse Chinlock, to emerge victorious. (67) Following the match, Deeb took the microphone to tout her recent successes, and her background as the finest technical wrestler that the AEW Women's Division had to offer. Stating that she had been hearing the rumors about big stars coming in soon, she offered to take any newcomers to school with the Professor. (44) 6-Man Madness Qualifier vs. In the night's main event, as promised earlier on the show, Jay Lethal quickly moved on from his failed alliance with Jeff Jarrett and crew by teaming up with the newly reunited Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky to face the troublemaking trio of Kip Sabian, the Butcher, and the Blade. Though the hastily formed team had some kinks to work out, the physicality of the Butcher and the Blade always demanded focus, and the prospect of earning five more matches together in 6-Man Madness added even greater urgency, pushing the expanded Men of the Year over the top when Lethal hit Lethal Injection on the Blade to score the pin and close out the show. (59) Overall Show Rating: 53

Episode 231 Week 2, March, 2024 Gas South Arena - Duluth, GA Attendance: 3.908 Your Hosts: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz The post-Revolution episode of Dynamite opened with two of the last figures to appear on that show, as Wardlow and the wheelchair-bound Adam Cole led the rest of the Undisputed Kingdom to the ring. The faction was in a celebratory mood, Adam Cole explained, following the return of their brother Kyle O'Reilly, plus the AEW Trios Title being added to Roderick Strong's International Championship. And to top it all off, tonight Wardlow was scheduled to face AEW World Champion Samoa Joe in the main event. Saying that he had heard that Joe was not looking so good after the beating he took from Swerve Strickland and Hangman Adam Page on Sunday, Cole was confident that that meant they would own one more championship by the end of the night. Before the Undisputed Kingdom could wrap up the segment, however, Tony Schiavone came into the ring from the announcers' table with a microphone of his own in hand. Receiving a rude welcome from old nemesis Cole, Schiavone appeared to take pleasure in announcing that, though Joe had agreed to face Wardlow tonight, Tony Khan had declared that, due to the short turnaround from his last title defense, the main event would be an Eliminator Match rather than a full-fledged title opportunity. Though initially demonstrating their frustration at the announcement, Cole quickly pivoted to rally Wardlow for the upcoming match. (53) vs. Though he had not appeared on the pay-per-view, Daniel Garcia was still a crucial part in one of its top matches, as FTR had defeated Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli in a fight that had originated over their mutual interest in the up-and-coming star. Tonight, Garcia was back in the ring against veteran Matt Sydal. Though Sydal looked strong, Garcia was even stronger, picking up from where he had left off before Revolution with a decisive win. (65) In a pre-taped backstage segment, AEW owner Tony Khan appeared to note that it was tournament time in the world of sports, and it was no different in AEW. To go along with March Madness on WBD's family of channels, AEW would be hosting their very first Trios Titles tournament, 6-Man Madness. It would feature a round robin format similar to the Continental Classic, with two six-team divisions, and the winner of each facing off at AEW Dynasty for the right to face the Undisputed Kingdom for the championships at Double or Nothing in May. Following Dynasty, two more tournaments would be held, and this time AEW's Women's division would get involved, as the Owen Hart Cup would make its return. This year's edition would feature two 16-person fields in single-elimination tournaments, with the respective winners facing off against the AEW World Champions at Double or Nothing. One rule: entrants in the Owen Hart Cup could not also compete in 6-Man Madness, which would be starting next week, so there would be some male wrestlers with quick decisions to make. (49) vs. After that announcement, a trios match followed, featuring a second returnee from injury that had factored into the finish of the four-way title contest at Revolution, Juice Robinson. Though his surprise appearance had quickly been one-upped by the even more unexpected return of Kyle O'Reilly, Robinson was arguably an even more crucial component in Bullet Club Gold going forward, starting with his possible insertion as the lead Trios competitor with the Gunns. Though not labeled as a qualifier for 6-Man Madness, the reconfigured unit got an immediate test of their worthiness against the Dark Order. Despite his extended layoff, Robinson showed no sign of ring rust, while the Gunns continued to make strides as they learned from Robinson and Jay White, handling their AEW Original opponents to earn an impressive win when Robinson hit Evil Uno with Pulp Friction. (57) Following the match, the leader of Bullet Club Gold Jay White entered the ring to compliment his teammates' performance, informing them that he would leave 6-Man Madness to them so that he could enter the Owen Hart Cup. As soon as that decision had been made, the Acclaimed's music hit, playing the trio down the ramp as Max Caster delivered a withering rhyme about the Bullet Club's betrayal of their Bang Bang Scissor Gang mates at Revolution. Though no blows were exchanged, Billy Gunn promised that they would get their revenge if they saw Robinson and his sons in 6-Man Madness. (57) In the backstage interview area, Adam Copeland told Renee Paquette that, even though he was far from through with Christian Cage and Jack Perry, he could not let that distract him from the opportunity to challenge for the AEW World Title, so he was declaring himself for the Owen Hart Cup. (69) AEW TBS Championship Match vs. Following her victory with Skye Black against Riho and Hikaru Shida at Revolution, and a month without TBS Championship defenses, Julia Hart returned to singles action against Queen Aminata. Though some may have questioned the challenger's qualifications for the opportunity, she exceeded expectations in the ring as usual, taking most of the offense in the match, until a late surge by the champion, which culminated in a Spider Superplex and Moonsault for the three count. (45) In more fallout from Tony Khan's announcements earlier in the night, cameras found the Blackpool Combat Club convening backstage to discuss their strategy for the upcoming tournaments. After having lost to Wardlow at Revolution, Bryan Danielson explained that the Owen Hart Cup might be his last path to a championship before retiring as a full-time wrestler later in the year. He requested to be the BCC's entrant. Jon Moxley did not hesitate in agreeing to the proposal, stating that he would be part of the team for 6-Man Madness. He did, however, want to check on one thing on Saturday at Collision before choosing their third man, an idea that Wheeler Yuta clearly looked bothered by. (74) vs. Following his debut at Revolution, defeating Miro, Will Ospreay was back in the ring with his fellow Callis Family members Kenosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher against Dustin Rhodes and the Hardys. Even against three borderline Hall of Famers, the match would be a showcase for the explosive offense of Ospreay, who proved hard to root against for the Duluth crowd, despite his association with Don Callis. Rhodes' determination and the Hardys' willingness to take risks prolonged the inevitable, but eventually the tide turned in overwhelming fashion as the Callis trio took turns hitting their signature high impact moves, capped off with a Hidden Blade from Ospreay on Jeff Hardy for the victory. (76) Following the match, Callis took the microphone, maligning the failure of Le Sex Gods, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevarra, to deliver on their tag team title promise by losing to Ricky Starks and Big Bill at Revolution. Choosing not to dwell on that, though, the manager celebrated the arrival of Ospreay before handing the microphone to his now-full time client. Lacking the derisive edge of Callis, Ospreay still possessed all of the confidence, declaring how happy he was to be All Elite, while promising that he was not only the best wrestler in the world, he was the best to ever do it. And he would prove that when he entered the Owen Hart Cup. (66) AEW World Championship Eliminator Match vs. Making his first appearance of the night for the main event, Samoa Joe was typically defiant but obviously worse for wear following his devastating title defense at Revolution against Swerve Strickland and Adam Page. Excalibur reported that both Strickland and Page had been hospitalized following that match, and were expected to be out of action for some time. By avoiding the fall that had taken both of those two out, Joe had survived to put himself in the precarious position of facing another top contender for his title while his ribs, shoulder, and knee were all taped or bandaged to patch him together for the match. Well aware of Joe's vulnerability and with Adam Cole barking encouragement from the outside, Wardlow opened the match with a sprint of offense, hoping to end the match quickly. The always-stubborn champion would not cooperate, however, kicking out of pinfalls from both a spine buster and German suplex to stay in the match. Doing his best to rally following a less graceful than usual 'Nope' on a diving shoulder block, the champ briefly had Wardlow in the Coquina Clutch, but with Wardlow throwing his body weight backwards on top of Joe to break the hold, crushing his injured ribs, he would be unable to sustain his push. After a pair of powerbombs, Wardlow pressed Joe's shoulders to the mat for the count of three, securing himself a shot at Joe's title after his second consecutive victory over the champion. (67) Overall Show Rating: 64

Sunday, Week 1, March, 2024 Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC Attendance: 23,500 Your Hosts: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuiness, Taz, Jim Ross AEW World Trios Championship vs. vs. vs. AEW's first pay-per-view of 2024 opened on an outsized note, as the always irreverent the Acclaimed accepted challenges from a total of nine competitors in a defense of their AEW Trios Titles. The four-way contest matching Bowens, Caster, and Gunn against their comrades in the Bang Bang Scissor Gang (Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn), Best Friends (Orange Cassidy, Trent Baretta, and Chuck Taylor), and the Undisputed Kingdom (AEW International Champion Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett) was a predictably wild affair. With so many competitors both inside and outside the ring, the concept of legal men and policing activity on the floor were nearly hopeless, leading to chaotic action and a familiar party atmosphere to kick off the show. Though all of the teams had their moments to shine, the predominant dynamic of the match was the two factions within the Bang Bang Scissor Gang uniting against their common opponents. That dynamic abruptly broke down, however, when the Acclaimed appeared to be in reach of winning the match. As Billy Gunn had Roderick Strong bent over and ready to take a Fameasser, Juice Robinson ran into the ring, blindsiding Gunn with a loaded left hand. Clearly anticipating that moment to strike, Jay White slid in the ring, picking up Gunn and positioning him for the Blade Runner. At that moment, the Bullet Club's hand was trumped by an even greater surprise when Kyle O'Reilly emerged from out of nowhere, sweeping White's Leg and rolling him out of the ring. Roderick Strong then revived at just the right time, hitting the reeling Billy Gun with a Sick Kick and pinning the veteran to seize the Acclaimed's Trios titles. (66) vs. Though Julia Hart was in the midst of an extended TBS Championship run, she and her partner for the evening Skye Black were still seen by many fans as green in the ring, and therefore the underdogs against their more seasoned competitors Hikaru Shida and Riho. Despite a fairly deep history between Hart and Skye, they were still relatively new as a team, but Shida and Riho had even less time together leading into their grudge match with the Black duo. Despite that lack of familiarity, both teams leveraged their mutual disdain for one another into a reasonably compelling match. Shida and Riho shone in individual sequences (Riho in particular), but Hart and Black surprisingly showed even better teamwork, eventually baiting Riho into an errant dive outside the ring, then isolating Shida on the inside to fall to a Hart moonsault for the upset pin. (61) TNT Championship vs. In the second championship match of the evening, Christian Cage defended his treasured TNT Championship against his one-time protege Luchasaurus. Cage's disdain and disappointment were no match for Luchasaurus' rage in the early going. as the former Killswitch knocked the head of the patriarchy from one end of the ring to the other, controlling the match until Nick Wayne got in the raging dinosaur's path outside the ring. That involvement went just as badly for the young Prodigy as it had for his father figure, but finally earned Cage the breathing room he needed to take out Luchasaurus' knee from behind and turn the momentum in the contest. From that point on, the champion's experience took over, as he methodically called on his bag of tricks to dismantle his less skilled opponent, eventually claiming a decisive victory, tellingly with a Killswitch, to defend his title. (59) Open Challenge vs. ??? With Miro making his entrance along with his hot, flexible manager CJ Perry for the next match, the crowd buzzed with anticipation, on the verge of finding out the still-unknown mystery opponent for the Redeemer. The crowd erupted when the pounding keys of Elevated announced the presence of Will Ospreay as Miro's challenger for the evening. With his signing publicized weeks before, many had guessed the former New Japan champion as Miro's opponent, and even the presence of Don Callis did little to blunt the excitement of that anticipation paying off. The newcomer quickly took the fight to Miro with his signature high-impact offense, but perhaps burned himself out midway through the match as the Bulgarian seized control. Brutalizing Ospreay with his superior size, Miro had the high-flyer in the Game Over, threatening to spoil the UK star's debut. Ospreay eventually outlasted Miro's ability to hold onto the move, however, and it was the Redeemer that was now spent, helpless to fight off an Oscutter and Hidden Blade to become Ospreay's first victim as a full-time AEW competitor. (74) vs. The following match put together another one of AEW's premier big men against a legendary technician when Wardlow faced off against Bryan Danielson. In this case, the more physical wrestler came out the strongest, battering Danielson with a series of Wind-Up Lariats and even a Senton Atomico to put the American Dragon in a deep early hole. Even when exhibiting a more abrasive attitude, as he had since joining the Blackpool Combat Club, Danielson was a master at fighting from underneath. Taking advantage of a show of overconfidence by Wardlow, he started with a Dragon Screw to slowly but surely cut the monster down to size, Starting in with his traditional sequence of stiff kicks to Wardlow's chest, Danielson got a surprise of his own as the Undisputed Kingdom stalwart began to shrug off the strikes, rising to his feet and fighting back with headbutts in response. In a virtual stalemate, Wardlow seized control with an Irish Whip into a one-arm Spinebuster, followed by a rarely seen F-10, violently launching Danielson halfway across the ring. Picking up the Dragon for a pair of powerbombs, Wardlow scored the surprise victory as Adam Cole celebrated outside the ring, and Danielson was forced to come to grips with one avenue to a final World Title run being cut off. (69) vs. Quickly bouncing to another match saw Adam Copeland temporarily putting his pursuit of Christian Cage on hold in an attempt to put Christian's newly reconciled protege Jack Perry in his place as revenge for the latter wrestler's interference in a TNT Title opportunity for the Rated R Superstar. Perry arrived alone to start the match and suffered as a consequence as the legend bullied the AEW Pillar with his size advantage for several minutes. Whether planned or not, Cage and Nick Wayne eventually made their way to ringside, inevitably serving as a distraction, and allowing Perry to surprise Copeland with a Poison Rana to sway the tide in the contest. Copeland was too clever to surrender the upper hand forever, though, and after seemingly being fooled into leaving the ring and making himself vulnerable to the full force of the Patriarchy, instead tricked Perry into running into a running European uppercut from Wayne on the floor. With Perry dazed, Copeland maneuvered him back into the ring, positioning himself a Spear. But just as he sprinted at his target, Perry dodged the maneuver, which carried Copeland all the way to the opposite ring post where Cage was waiting with his TNT Championship belt. Striking his former best friend in the head, Perry quickly followed with a Blindside Elbow, shocking Copeland in taking the match. (69) vs. In a match pitting together four wrestlers that seldom needed any reason to punish their in-ring competition, Blackpool Combat Club members Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli faced FTR with the added motivation of their tug-of-war over the heart and mind of Daniel Garcia added to the mix. Though Moxley and Castagnoli were accomplished singles wrestlers, Harwood and Wheeler had both the hometown and tag team experience advantages in their favor, promising a heated battle. True to form, neither team was in control for much of the match until Castagnoli hit a Neutralizer on the floor on Wheeler, allowing him and Harwood to isolate Harwood in the ring. The bald-headed Harwood was a bloody mess in the ring, surviving a run-in with a ringpost and several near falls until his partner finally returned to break Harwood free of a Rear Naked Choke from Moxley. With the the match rejoined in earnest, both teams exchanged attempts at tandem finishers, but it was FTR that caught Moxley in a Spike Piledriver allowing Wheeler to pin him for the win. (80) AEW Women's World Championship vs. In the night's next title match, a champion and challenger with a much longer history faced off, as Deonna Purazzo took on her former close friend Timeless Toni Storm for her AEW Women's Championship. Despite their history together, Purazzo's clinical approach did not lend itself to the sort of heated onslaught that had been in evidence in earlier matches on the card, blunting some of the advantage she might have gained from her anger at her delusional former bestie. Left to a more traditional match, then, Storm was confident enough to play defense and exploit her numbers advantage, as a brief moment of jeopardy when she was caught in the Venus De Milo was defused when Lutha caught the referee's attention from the floor. Mariah May then jumped to the apron in the classic Toni Storm gear she had worn to ringside, freeing up her mentor to hit a surprise Storm Zero for the victory. (61) Special Event Announcement Taking a break from in-ring action, Tony Schiavone took a microphone to the ring to announce that the third Dynamite in March would be a special episode called Big Business. Taking place in Boston's TD Garden, he promised a night that would be a game changer for AEW in 2024 and beyond. In addition to that, a new special event was being scheduled for the third week of April in St. Louis, entitled AEW Dynasty. More details were TBD, but the show promised to provide an important bridge during the traditional long break between Revolution and Double or Nothing in May. (48) Continental Triple Crown Championship vs. In another title match, Eddie Kingston finally earned his opportunity to get his hands on House of Black leader Malakai Black, at the expense of granting Black's first singles title shot in AEW in years. The previous night's Collision saw a twist in the dynamic between the two rivals, as Jon Moxley surprisingly backed up his old friend Kingston, bringing along fellow Blackpool Combat Club member Wheeler Yuta to even the House's numbers advantage. Kingston and the BCC still lost, however, and at least on this night, while Black was accompanied by Brody King and Buddy Matthews to the ring, Kingston was back to going it alone. Though King and Matthews were opportunistic at moments of referee distraction with Kingston outside the ring, the overriding dynamic was a one-on-one battle of strikes between the two combatants. Black leveraged that presence of his partners into control of most of the match, targeting Kingston's right arm with kicks as the Mad King struggled to respond with bursts of late 20th century style Japanese offense. Black clearly seemed to enjoy tormenting Kingston, stringing out the beating beyond the point of logic-- after hitting a Black Mass on the Continental champion, he allowed him to rise again slowly for another. Kingston stumbled forward awkwardly beneath the kick, not seeming entirely in control of his actions, but upon falling into Black, exploded into a Backdrop Driver on his opponent. An explosive flurry of left-handed chops followed, leading to a final, desperate spinning backhand with his injured right arm that stunned Black into a pin. (72) Brody King and Matthews immediately entered the ring as the bell rang, too late to stop the finish, but on time to begin another extended beating to Kingston. With Moxley likely out of commission following the BCC's loss to FTR, any assistance for Kingston appeared to be out of the question. Black recovered to deliver a final Black Mass, leaving Kingston lying in the ring and a clear indication from the House of Black that their issue had not been settled. (59) AEW World Tag Team Championship vs. In the second-to-last championship and tag team match of the evening, Le Sex Gods, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevarra, challenged Ricky Starks and Big Bill for their AEW World Tag Team Championships. The specter of the Callis Family loomed large over the proceedings, due both to Jericho's commitment to defend the titles against Kenosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs if Le Gods won at Revolution, but also because of Family's recent attack on Ricky Starks on Dynamite, weakening him for this match. Despite the Callis Family's incentives, Jericho nevertheless had recruited Hook to accompany his team to the ring to help watch their backs during the match. Whether it had made any difference in potential outside involvement, Hook's presence turned out to be a non-factor in the actual contest. Allowed to face-off without interference, Starks and Big Bill had the opportunity that they craved to prove again that they belonged at the top with the more established duos in AEW, more than holding their own against Jericho's ring generalship and Guevarra's high-risk offense, The turning point of the match took place with the two teams fighting both inside and outside of the ring. With taped ribs from the Callis Family beating, Starks found himself in jeopardy following a Jericho Code Breaker targeting the injured area. Just as the Ocho moved into position for a pin, however, Big Bill carried Guevarra across the apron where he had caught a dive meant to take him out of commission. Instead, Bill threw Guevarra on top of Jericho to break up the three count, leaving the giant as the last man standing in the ring. After first hitting Guevarra with a big boot, Bill whipped Jericho into the ropes next to be hit with a Spear by a revived Starks to take the win for the champions, cutting off potential reigns by both Le Sex Gods and the Callis Family. (70) Tornado Tag Team Retirement Match vs. In the night's main attraction, which many had criticized both for its placement on the card and the quality of competition for its main star, Sting wrestled the last match of his career in a Tornado Tag Team match alongside Darby Allin against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. During the build for the match, even with Jarrett's oddball faction causing Sting's only loss in AEW, the primary issue at play had become the decades-long rivalry between Sting and Ric Flair, who had turned on Allin to cost him a later loss against Lethal. With that issue as the backdrop and notables like Ricky Steamboat, Nikita Koloff, and Lex Luger in attendance, a predictably wild brawl ensued between not just the four primary competitors, but also allies on both sides. Darby Allin spent much of the match covered in blood after crashing through a plate of glass outside the ring, and Sonjay Dutt, Karen Jarrett, and Satnam Singh all got physically involved at various points in the match. That influence was countered by both Steamboat (against Dutt) and Koloff (against Singh), culminating with a double-cross by Flair, who struck Jeff Jarrett in the head with his own guitar. That left the Memphis throwback to be hit with a Scorpion Death Drop before submitting in the Scorpion Death Lock to grant Sting a victory in the final match of his career. (63) The aftermath of the match saw Lethal pointedly refuse to leave with Jarrett and crew, instead choosing to pay his respects to Sting as the icon himself and Flair made heartfelt speeches to the Greensboro audience. Along the way they explained that, while the loss to the Callis Family caused by Singh was not planned, all of the other events that unfolded afterwards were, manipulating Jarrett specifically into position for revenge. Lethal humorously thanked Flair and Darby for helping him to a win before Sting was granted a final curtain call with Flair and Allin to end the impromptu ceremony. (81) AEW World Championship vs. vs. Finally the main event arrived, promising the next chapter for both the feud between Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland as well as for the AEW World Championship held by Samoa Joe. With just 24 hours to recover from a tandem powerbomb through the announcer's table delivered by Page and Strickland, the usually indomitable Joe entered in an already weakened state. And the champ's concerns about the lawlessness of the Page-Strickland rivalry bleeding over into the more hallowed realm of a World Title bout proved prescient, as the action in the match spilled beyond the ring area. involving both legal and extra-legal brutality on all sides. Though seldom consciously working together against Joe, it was clear that the AEW standard bearer was suffering from his forced involvement in the blood feud between his two challengers. As the champion faltered, though, Page proved true to his promise to do anything to prevent Strickland from making a pin, disrupting counts both directly and via interference with the referee. Finally fed up and fighting through what turned out to be broken fingers, Strickland led Page into the crowd, eventually knocking out the Hangman with Prince Nana's crown, allowing him to return to work on Joe. By the time Swerve returned, Joe had also left the ring, slowly making his way in a daze to the stage area. Hoping to deliver a telling blow, Strickland climbed high atop one of the stage displays as Joe reeled below. Before Strickland could make the leap, however, Page appeared next to Swerve from the other side of the screen, grabbing his hated foe and pulling him off of the platform and through the stage below, knocking out both combatants. As Joe continued to reel in the aftermath of the crash, laboring to collect one of his opponents to make a pin, Wardlow-- victorious earlier in the night against Bryan Danielson-- appeared from backstage along with Adam Cole. Hoisting Page atop his shoulders, the monster carried the cowboy to the center of the ring as Joe ambled behind, confused, before somewhat reluctantly following through with the pin. (69) Cole immediately called for a microphone once the bell had rung. Telling Joe that, after their original arrangement against MJF and now this, it was time to do business BAYBAY. The injured leader of the Undisputed Kingdom demanded a match for Wardlow against Joe at Wednesday's Dynamite for the World Title, a proposition which Joe merely replied to with an wary middle finger as Revolution 2024 went off the air. (67) Overall Show Rating: 72

Episode 37 Week 1, March, 2024 Probst Arena - Huntsville, AL Attendance: 4,048 Your Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuiness Samoa Joe kicked off the go-home episode of Collision before Revolution in the ring to state that he was over being angry about having to compete against both Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship. Instead, he explained, he was confident, because he was facing one guy that had never accomplished anything at this level, and another that more than anything wanted to keep that guy from accomplishing anything at this level. That brought out Adam Page to correct the champion, insisting that the best way for him to prevent Swerve from winning would be winning himself. Which in turn brought out Swerve to remind that Page had not been able to beat him yet, and was unlikely to do it with Joe in the mix. (81) As had consistently been the case when the two were in close proximity, things quickly became physical between Page and Strickland, as they went from nose-to-nose, to shoving, to exchanging blows. Once again, Joe retreated to a corner, laughing smugly as his two opponents went to town on one another-- that was until Prince Nana got between the two brawling wrestlers, turning their attention to Joe's reaction. Finally, without thinking, Page and Strickland descended on the champion, directing all of their blows at his head. The duo followed Joe outside the ring as he attempted to take a powder, continuing to batter him in a beating that culminated with a tandem powerbomb putting Joe through the announcer's table. (68) vs. In a final appearance before his still unanswered open challenge at Revolution, Miro's tear through AEW's lower midcard led to a handicap match against the Butcher and the Blade. Predictably, the veteran tag team were no pushovers, using frequent tags to rally as Miro gradually wore them down individually, even briefly taking the Bulgarian off of his feet with a sequence of combo offense. That flash of progress only served to make Miro more determined, however, and after sending each of his opponents off of the ropes and into thrust kicks, he finished the match by putting both into a combo Game Over. (64) Back from commercial, Bryan Danielson arrived in the ring for a promo segment, which he began by calling out Wardlow, who soon arrived with Adam Cole in tow. Danielson reminded them of his victory over Mike Bennett the week before, and told them that it was very satisfying to kick a member of the Undisputed Kingdom's head in. As much of a pleasure as that had been, it was time now to be completely professional, because he knew that that was his way to beat Wardlow. Because while Wardlow was a great athlete, he was not a great professional wrestler, and Danielson would show the world how he didn't belong in the ring with him. Taking a microphone of his own, Cole replied with a smile that thinking like that actually made Danielson the perfect victim for Wardlow, because anyone that still doubted his skill, on top of all of his ability, are going to see that he can, and will, beat anyone that he steps in the ring with. (67) Next up, cameras found Daniel Garcia backstage where the rising star and original source of conflict between the Blackpool Combat Club and FTR visited with the Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli to wish them good luck in their match on Sunday at Revolution. (66) International Championship Match vs. In a surprise title opportunity so close to Revolution, Chuck Taylor got a chance to bring the International Title back into the Best Friends fold one night before they faced off in a Trios Championship match against tonight's opponent, Roderick Strong, and the Undisputed Kingdom. Though seldom seen in singles competition, Chuck Taylor claimed the upper hand for much of the bout against the smaller champion, showing off his arsenal of creative-- and surprisingly powerful-- offense. Despite the presence of their six-man partners at ringside, both sides played things relatively straight until Mike Bennett used the distraction of an altercation with Trent Baretta to capture the referee's attention, allowing Roderick Strong to hit a low blow on Taylor, leading to an End of Heartache and a successful title defense. (58) When Baretta and Orange Cassidy rushed into the ring in reaction to the low blow, the Undisputed Kingdom left just as quickly, saving their bullets for Best Friends and the Acclaimed the next night. Their escape was cut off, however, by the arrival of the Bang Bang Scissor Gang, including the Acclaimed, kicking off a brawl between the teams slated to fight for the Trios titles the next night, plus Bullet Club Gold. Given the numbers against them, the Undisputed Kingdom narrowly escaped healthy enough to compete at Revolution. (49) vs. Taking a break from his recent pastime shadowing Hook, Kyle Fletcher appeared in a match against part-time AEW worker Willie Mack. With his combination of brawn and aerial ability, Mack in some ways offered a more spectacular spin on Fletcher's talents, but not a more finely tuned one, leading to a competitive but eventually losing effort against the young Australian. (63) Following the match, Don Callis took a microphone, and, while shouting over the usual round of boos that accompanied is in-ring appearances, admitted without prompting that it had been Kenosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs that brutally attacked Ricky Starks on Wednesday's Dynamite. Pointing out that they had only agreed not to interfere with Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevarra in exchange for a tag team title shot, he said he looked forward to meeting Le Sex Gods after they beat Starks and Big Bill for their belts. (63) vs. In a match set up the prior week, Mariah May finally achieved her goal of teaming with her idol Toni Storm against Storm's upcoming challenger at Revolution, Deonna Purazzo, and a recent thorn in both of their sides, AEW mainstay Thunder Rosa. Though Purazzo did not look pleased to be matched with Rosa, who had recently attacked her backstage for beating her to an opportunity to regain her AEW Women's Title, the Virtuosa's animosity toward Toni Storm led to uncompromised assault on her opponents. Unfortunately for May, with Storm doing her best to stay out of Purazzo's reach, she received the brunt of that onslaught, passing out in the Venus De Milo rather than willingly letting down her hero. Despite the effort, Storm demonstrated her disgust for May's performance by making a hasty escape from the scene in Lutha's arms as May laid unconscious in the ring. (56) In the backstage interview area, after their confrontation with the Undisputed Kingdom and Best Friends, Jay White and his partners in Bullet Club Gold asked their Bang Bang Scissor Gang mates in the Acclaimed why those teams had gotten a Trios Title shot instead of them. Responding warmly to the question, Max Caster told White that the challenges were not instead of them, they were in addition to them, granting White and the Gunn brothers a spot in a four-way trios match at Revolution. (53) The House of Black arrived first for the main event in their usual spectacular fashion, waiting to see two partners join Eddie Kingston that Malakai Black believed would not arrive. With Kingston's music hitting next, the Continental Triple Crown title holder stopped at the bottom of the entrance ramp, shouting at Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews until the music stopped. The next sounds to be heard, other than Kingston's taunts, were the opening chords of Wild Thing as Jon Moxley and Blackpool Combat Club colleague Wheeler Yuta made their way through the crowd. With Kingston closing in from the other side, the brawlers immediately attacked the surprised House upon hitting the ring, quickly gaining the upper hand in the match. After the initial flurry of offense, the match became a more evenhanded affair, with King pummeling Kingston for the middle portion of the contest. Eventually Kingston made the tag to his old friend Moxley to clean house before Mox then tagged in BCC junior member Yuta, who continued the assault until being hit in the eyes with the Black Mist by Julia Hart. Stunned and blinded by the attack, Yuta walked into Black Mass to eat the pin, leaving Kingston to shout at his challenger Black in frustration to close out the episode. (67) Overall Show Rating: 70

Episode 133 Week 1, March, 2024 Probst Arena - Huntsville, AL Attendance: 3.847 Your Hosts: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross vs. Rampage opened in the ring this week, where tonight's first opponents, Johnny TV and Tony Nese would face off over the fallout of their tag team loss against the Men of the Year on last week's episode. Though both operated as heels when they appeared on Ring of Honor, in an AEW context, TV's entertaining antics made him a fairly strong favorite for the crowd on this occasion. And the crowd's preference would be rewarded, as after a reasonably fun back-and-forth match, TV finished off his equally athletic, but less accomplished, opponent with the Superstation. (58) In a taped backstage segment, Eddie Kingston looked forward to finally getting his hands on Malakai Black, not once, but twice over the weekend. That was if Black survived their six-man match on Saturday night-- it turned out that Eddie still had some friends that he could call on, and the House of Black was going to hate finding out who that would be. (86) vs. Continuing to solidify both their renewed partnership and their status as Rampage mainstays, the aforementioned Men of the Year, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page, returned to face the WorkHorsemen. Though seldom victorious against the highest level of competition, the WorkHorsemen were a worthy test for a solidifying unit, and one that it turned out Sky and Page would pass in admirable fashion. Despite JD Drake showing off his usual (literal) chops and Page briefly being caught in a Sharpshooter from Anthony Henry, the Men of the Year ultimately scored a clean pin after a TKO by Scorpio Sky on Henry. (58) In the backstage interview area, Renee Paquette had just asked Best Friends for their response to the Acclaimed awarding a Trios Championship shot to Undisputed Kingdom at Revolution when Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, and Billy Gunn appeared to comment themselves. With Max Caster telling the Friends that they seemed like nice guys, other than Chuck, he told them that the Acclaimed did not want them to feel left out, granting them a place in the title match on Sunday in Greensboro as well. (53) vs. In the night's main event, Ruby Soho attempted to regain some of the momentum she had lost over the past year by cutting off Serena Deeb's post-return winning streak. Coming to the ring without Saraya or Harley Cameron, Soho appeared to have improved focus, relying less on tricks and shortcuts as she took an aggressive attack to the Professor. Unfortunately, Saraya and Cameron's absence would not last for the entire match. When Saraya began to make demands of Ruby from outside the ring, Soho was caught by Deeb with a rollup that she only narrowly escaped. The punk rock-loving grappler would never regain her momentum, however, and once Deeb had the upper hand, she eventually was able to catch Soho in a Half Crab for the submission. Following the match, Saraya continue to harass Ruby, finally prompting a slap from Soho that would knock her now former Outcast stablemate to the mat, leaving a shocked Harley to watch helplessly as Ruby proudly walked to the back to close the show. (60) Overall Show Rating: 64

Sunday, Week 1, March, 2024 Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC Your Hosts: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuiness, Taz, Jim Ross AEW World Championship vs. vs. Tornado Tag Team Retirement Match vs. AEW Women's World Championship vs. AEW World Tag Team Championship vs. AEW World Trios Championship vs. vs. vs. Continental Triple Crown Championship vs. TNT Championship vs. A Special Announcement of an Upcoming Event Plus: vs. vs. vs. vs. Open Challenge vs. ???

Episode 230 Week 1, March, 2024 Probst Arena - Huntsville, AL Attendance: 3.847 Your Hosts: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz Sting kicked off the final Dynamite of his career in the ring to deliver a promo directed at Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, and, most importantly, Ric Flair. Simmering with anger from the start, he neglected to play to the Huntsville, Alabama crowd, instead running down his long history of double-crosses with the Nature Boy. Stating that he had gotten Flair his job in AEW when no one else would hire him, Sting said that he wished that he'd like to get his old rival in the ring one last time... but he was worried that he might kill Flair, and he'd already been dead once. Instead, he said that he'd settle for a tornado tag team match between him, Darby Allin, and Jarrett and Lethal at Revolution. (63) AEW Proving Ground Match vs. In a response to Eddie Kingston's open challenge on Collision, Timothy Thatcher returned to AEW in a Proving Ground match to take the Continental Triple Crown champion up on the offer. In a predictably hard-hitting affair, Thatcher attempted to keep Kingston off of his feet, and succeeded for much of the match, comfortably lasting past the ten-minute mark needed to earn an AEW contract offer. In the end, he could only keep the the Mad King's fury at bay for so long, and ultimately fell prey to a spinning backfist, forced to take a moral victory rather than a pinfall one as Kingston successfully defended his title. (72) Cameras found Daniel Garcia backstage for a candid moment, as the rising star and original source of conflict between the Blackpool Combat Club and FTR visited with the latter team to wish them good luck in their match against Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli on Sunday at Revolution. (52) FTW World Championship Match vs. In the night's next match, another rising star, Hook, took to the ring to defend his FTW World Championship against high-flying veteran Matt Sydal. Because Sydal no longer resided near the younger wrestler's place on the card, he was an uncomfortable match for the up-and-comer, as his speed and know-how were disproportionately challenging to the champ. A short time into the match, the scene was complicated even further by the appearance of Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevarra at ringside. Hook's matches had frequently drawn observers in recent weeks, though, and in this case, the young competitor seemed inspired by the attention, firing up with his now customary sequence of punches in the corner, followed by a string of suplexes and the Redrum to submit Sydal. (64) Following the match, Jericho took the microphone to congratulate Hook on another win. The legend informed Hook that one reason he and Guevarra had come down was to watch Hook's back, and make sure villains like the Callis Family did not attempt to interfere with the match. He said that Le Sex Gods could use similar help, asking Hook to watch their back at ringside during their Tag Team Championship match against Ricky Starks and Big Bill at Revolution. Always a man of few words, Hook merely shook Jericho's hand in agreement before leaving the ring alone with his title belt. (67) vs. Following Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale's endorsement of Riho and Hikaru Shida as opponents for Julia Hart and Skye Black, the latter pair had the unenviable task of fighting the combined forces of the first four in an eight-person tag, teaming with acrobatic duo Penelope Ford and Lady Frost. Wary of the odds stacked against them, Hart and Black did their best to stay out of the ring unless they clearly had the upper hand, ultimately abandoning Lady Frost to take the pin in a surprisingly fun match. Riho and Shida shouted down Hart and Black as they slinked to the back, setting the final stage for their match on Sunday. (61) In the backstage interview area, the Undisputed Kingdom had barely begun complaining about the wait for Acclaimed to name their challengers for the Trios Championships at Revolution before Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, and Billy Gunn appeared in the flesh. Pointing out to the heel team that no one wanted to hear them talk, the champs spared the audience any further grievances by informing that they would face the Undisputed Kingdom trios for the titles on Sunday in Greensboro. (57) vs. As an apparent reward for the Dark Order's victory over Gates of Agony on Collision, John Silver earned a singles match against the leader of the Mogul Embassy, Swerve Strickland. With Strickland's next match due to be a challenge for Samoa Joe's World Championship, it was a decided step up in competition level for Silver, and he was up to the occasion. Matching Strickland blow-for-blow for much of a surprisingly lengthy match, Silver threw a monumental scare into Prince Nana at ringside after hitting Strickland with a Spinning Liger Bomb, though the upcoming championship contender narrowly kicked out. It would take time and a trip out on the apron for Swerve to finally earn the upper hand, but he would eventually cut off the upset bid with a House Call sidekick and Swerve Stomp from the top rope to earn the victory. (72) In a chaotic scene backstage, Big Bill was found calling angrily for assistance as he paced back and forth on either side of a fallen Ricky Starks, who was laying face down on the ground, the victim of unseen attackers. (63) vs. The night's main event saw the return of one of AEW's original Four Pillars, Jack Perry, in a match with high stakes for him and the head of the Patriarchy, Christian Cage. They were pitted against former Patriarchy member Luchasaurus and longtime thorn in their side Adam Copeland in a match where, if either of them were pinned, they would each have to face their respective challengers at Revolution. Luchasaurus and Copeland came in hot, looking far more motivated than Cage and company and taking the early part of the match until Cage laid a trap with Nick Wayne to take out Copeland outside the ring. Perry would take over back inside the ring, delivering the lion's share of an extended beating of the Rated R Superstar until the legendary competitor could finally tag in the former Killswitch, who cleaned house on the heels to turn the tide. After a chaotic sequence that saw all four wrestlers and Nick Wayne between the ropes, Cage mistook Luchasaurus as the legal man, opening himself up for a spear from Copeland, who would pin his former best friend in the center ring. The victory earned himself a shot at Perry, and Luchasaurus his chance for revenge at the TNT Champion that Sunday night. (73) Overall Show Rating: 70

Episode 36 Week 4, February, 2024 Great Southern Bank Arena - Springfield, MO Attendance: 3,468 Your Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuiness Collision began Saturday night with Swerve Strickland in the ring to talk about his long road to an opportunity at the AEW World Championship against Samoa Joe at Revolution. Touting all that he had accomplished, the challenger admitted that even though some of the chances he had to take along the way may not have looked good from the outside, he was proud to have made it where he was being 100% true to who he is. His promo was interrupted, however, by the entrance of Hangman Adam Page, who arrived to remind Swerve that he would also be fighting for the title against Samoa Joe. Adding that he hated who Swerve was, the cowboy again claimed that he would rather lose his chance at the title than see Swerve win. (72) vs. The opening match of the night promised to be a physical contest and fitting tune-up for FTR on their path to face Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli at Revolution as they faced Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty. Despite their striking and technical expertise, respectively, Taylor and Moriarty surprised Harwood and Wheeler with fast-paced and even some flying offense, earning themselves control for most of the match as they worked over a struggling Harwood in the ring. Eventually Dax was able to fight his way into a tag of Wheeler, though, setting off a sequence which ended with a double-team powerbomb on Moriarty for the win. (64) Backstage cameras caught Mariah May in mid-discussion with Toni Storm, trying to convince the AEW Women's Champion that not only had she wrestled multiple matches in AEW, but that she had won them all. This, it turned out, was due to a match being made between the two and Deonna Purazzo and Thunder Rosa for next week's Collision, which Storm reluctantly agreed to taking part in, while warning May not to squander her chance in her spotlight. (46) vs. In fallout from Adam Page and Swerve Strickland's trek to face Samoa Joe at Revolution, former friends of the Hangman the Dark Order, John Silver and Alex Reynolds, faced Strickland's Mogul Embassy comrades the Gates of Agony. Though the superior cohesion of the Embassy had led to a win in their eight-man match with Page and the Dark Order, the reduction to the factions to their tag team elements told a different story. Silver and Page took advantage of their long history together to befuddle their larger opponents, and Silver ultimately leveraged his own deceptive power, lifting up Toa Liona for a Gorilla Press Cutter executed by Reynolds for the victory. (52) In a backstage promo, Jon Moxley talked about the toughness that his Blackpool Combat Club partner Claudio Castagnoli had displayed since the day they first met, walking twenty miles from the airport to get to their first training session together. Castagnoli then took over to deliver a message to FTR that, while they did a fine job of recreating a classic style, the BCC were defining a new future for wrestling, one that they were sure that someone like Daniel Garcia would rather be part of. (72) vs. In a matchup of crowd favorites, Thunder Rosa got an opportunity to take out some of the aggression she had recently directed backstage at Deonna Purazzo and Toni Storm against Anna Jay. Similar to Angelo Parker and Matt Menard's match against the Callis Family the night before, the drama Jay had been involved in as a result of Parker's flirtation with Ruby Soho did not come into play, as the rising star got a chance to showcase her advancing skills against the more veteran Rosa. Despite plenty of offense from Jay, including earning a nearfall with a Gory Bomb, Rosa was able to reverse the tide with an aggression bordering on heelishness, finally taking the match with her Fire Thunder Driver. (49) In a promo in front of the crowd, Ricky Starks and Big Bill pointed out the latest sign of disrespect from Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevarra, who had agreed to face Kenosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs for Starks and Bill's tag team titles if the Callis Family members did not intervene during their challenge at Revolution. Starks made it clear that he and Big Bill did not need any help to beat Le Sex Gods, and warned them that they should not be writing a check that they wouldn't be able to cash in by beating them at Revolution. (50) vs. Left to his own devices by FTR and the Blackpool Combat Club, who appeared to be content to fight amongst one another for the time being, Daniel Garcia faced the antithesis of the physical styles touted by the two teams recruiting him in a match against Luchadore newcomer Komander. Garcia continued to look great, eventually triumphing in a back-and-forth match after grounding Komander with a superplex, leading to a Sharpshooter for the pinfall. (67) Coming to the ring alone, Eddie Kingston announced that he would not waste his time waiting for any of the House of Black to come fight him, but instead asking anyone, inside of AEW or out, to come face him at Dynamite. But just as the Mad King had expressed doubts about facing them, Malakai Black appeared on the big screen, surrounded in darkness by his House of Black peers, to tell Eddie that they would wrestle him on next week's Collision, if Kingston could find two partners that would team with him. The head of the House then added a challenge to Eddie for his Continental Triple Crown at Revolution. The champion immediately accepted both matches. (70) vs. Following Wardlow's victory over fellow Blackpool Combat Club member Wheeler Yuta on Dynamite, Bryan Danielson got a chance at some measure of revenge as he faced off with Wardlow's faction mate Mike Bennett. Like the rest of his Undisputed Kingdom comrades, Bennett had been riding a wave of success since revealing themselves as MJF's tormentors at Worlds End, and he put in a good showing here, proving a good match for Danielson's technical style. While unable to prevail in as destructive fashion as Wardlow, Danielson nevertheless proved himself superior to Bennett in the end, though, punishing him as promised with a series of stomps to the face before forcing a submission to the Labell Lock to end the show. (81) Overall Show Rating: 74

Episode 132 Week 4, February, 2024 BOK Center - Tulsa, OK Attendance: 3.549 Your Hosts: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross vs. Though Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page had yet to confirm their return as a full-time unit, circumstances continued to push them in that direction as Rampage began with them facing off against two performers who had attempted to align with them in recent weeks. Paired together on that basis, Johnny TV and Tony Nese were not entirely on the same page for the match up. Still, their combined athleticism was a problem to solve for Scorpio and Page, a challenge the former Men of the Year negotiated deftly in demonstrating their renewed viability as a factor in AEW's tag division. (57) Backstage with Hikaru Shida and Riho, Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale were informed by Renee Paquette that the Japanese duo had been granted a match with mutual rivals Julia Hart and Skye Black at Revolution. Though disappointed, Statlander and Nightingale offered their best wishes for Shida and Riho, promising to keep a close eye on the outcome of the match. (62) vs. In the night's next match, Serena Deeb appeared in her second contest following her return from injury, taking on popular newcomer Queen Aminata. Though not a former AEW champion like Thunder Rosa, with multiple division mainstays out injured or occupied in tag team feuds, Deep would have a compelling case to insert herself into the title picture given a few more wins. Aminata served as a good stepping stone, then, getting a tough lesson in mat work from the Professor, who submitted her opponent with a Serenity Lock for the victory. (52) In an interview taped following Wardlow's dismantling of Wheeler Yuta on Dynamite, Renee Paquette caught up with Bryan Danielson with the news that the American Dragon would be facing Undisputed Kingdom member Mike Bennett on Collision. While making it clear that Yuta did not need him or any other member of the Blackpool Combat Club to fight his battles, and was responsible for his own performance, he was still looking forward to kicking Bennett's head in on Saturday. (94) vs. Rampage's main event marked the return of Kenosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs in tag team action against Angelo Parker and Matt Menard. Though the whole of the Callis Family duo as a team had not added up to the sum of their parts, maneuvering by manager Don Callis had put them in line for another potential title shot, leading to the matchup with Chris Jericho's former stablemates Parker and Menard. Though the bout was fortunately free of any side effects of Parker's recent involvement with Ruby Soho and the associated drama it had caused, the Canadian duo were still no match for their countryman's unit, ultimately exhausting their veterans' bag of tricks in being bulldozed by Takeshita and Hobbs to round out the show. (61) Overall Show Rating: 66

Episode 229 Week 4, February, 2024 BOK Center - Tulsa, OK Attendance: 3.549 Your Hosts: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz Dynamite roared to life with the always impassioned entrance of Adam Copeland, who bounded to the ring to start the show. After greeting the Tulsa crowd, the Rated R Superstar wasted little time in calling for an appearance by his former best friend and current nemesis Christian Cage. The head of the Patriarchy appeared at the top of the stage moments later with the usual disgusted expression on his face, and his charges Nick Wayne and Jack Perry at his side. Though he and Cage exchanged their usual unpleasantries, as promised on the previous week's Collision, Copeland turned his attention to his new target of the moment, Perry. Copeland suggested that if Perry had not wanted to get his attention, he would not have hit him with that chair during the TNT Championship three-way-- even if he did sneak up and do it from behind. Therefore, assuming that Perry wanted a match, Copeland offered him one at Revolution. As Perry took the microphone from Cage to a loud round of boos, his chance to answer was abruptly cut off. The crowd's disapproval quickly turned to cheers as Luchasaurus rushed out from backstage. Grabbing his nearest target Nick Wayne by surprise, the former Patriarchy member spiked the teenaged Prodigy onto the entrance ramp with a chokeslam as Christian and Jack Perry jumped off of the stage to get away. Luchasaurus stared Cage down as he disappeared behind the stage, making his intent for revenge clear to his former father figure. (61) vs. Though they had no ongoing rivalries since losing a number one Tag Title contenders match to Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevarra to begin the month, the Lucha Bros. had otherwise put on a series of top matches since Rey Fenix's return from injury to start the year. Their opponents on Dynamite fit their recent mold well. While only Cash Wheeler seemed to have much animosity toward Top Flight, and they weren't an immediate threat to Penta and Fenix's spot in the AEW tag team pecking order, they were a reliable source of entertaining matches. This night's match would be no exception, as despite a slight advantage in airpower, the Martin brothers were still overmatched in most other ways, seeing Dante fall victim to the Luchas' Double Stomp Fear Factor to take the loss after a spirited effort. (75) A crowd formed in the ring after an ad break, with the Bang Bang Scissor Gang arriving first, followed by three members of the Undisputed Kingdom, Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett. While the latter team predictably took a position facing off with AEW Trios champions the Acclaimed, the Bullet Club Gold component of the BBSG notably did as well, as both teams were still pending a response from the champions on whom they would face for their titles at Revolution. For the second time on the very young night, a response to a challenge was interrupted by an additional party from backstage. In this case, it was Best Friends, joining the three teams already in the ring as Chuck Taylor seized the microphone to also turn his attention to the Acclaimed. Pointing out that they had just beat Undisputed Kingdom in a six-man match, Taylor suggested that he, Trent Baretta, and Orange Cassidy had at least as much claim to a challenge as the other two teams. A four-way argument broke out in the ring and the segment ended before the Acclaimed could agree to any resolution to the dispute. (56) vs. The next match, a relatively non-descript affair between Hook and Stu Grayson, was spiced up considerably by the first appearance of the entire Stateside roster of the Callis Family at ringside shortly after the bell rang. Unflappable as always, Hook went about his business in the ring, frustrating the tenacious Grayson with a series of momentum-busting suplexes on the way to a Redrum for the victory. (62) Following the contest, the Callis Family lingered outside the ring as Hook eyeballed them, ready for a fight between the ropes. Takeshita, Hobbs, and Fletcher stubbornly held their positions until Judas announced the arrival of Le Sex Gods, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevarra. With Jericho resting a baseball bat on his shoulder, Callis' faction gradually peeled away, leaving Hook, Jericho, and Guevarra untouched in the ring. Seizing the microphone as they made their way to the ramp, Jericho warned Callis that his boys had better stay in line or he would pull their promised tag title shot after Le Sex Gods beat Ricky Starks and Big Bill at Revolution. (72) vs. With Revolution approaching, Deonna Purazzo remained a fighting challenger, this time facing off with Red Velvet in her latest warmup match leading to her AEW Women's Championship match with Timeless Toni Storm at Revolution. Though not totally one-sided, the Virtuosa had little trouble disposing of the former Baddie, building up strength (on paper, at least) for her confrontation with her former friend Storm. (47) In a pre-taped segment backstage, FTR once again found three members of the Blackpool Combat Club for a spirited discussion of the recent conflicts between the two groups. Saying that they wanted to leave Daniel Garcia out of it, Dax Harwood told Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli that he and Cash Wheeler were still angry enough that they needed to get in the ring with the BCC, challenging them to a tag team match at Revolution. It was all Moxley could do to avoid coming to blows on the spot as he eagerly agreed to the date. (67) vs. Immediately following his appearance in the pretape, Wheeler Yuta was headed to the ring live for the unenviable task of facing off with Wardlow in the midst of the Undisputed Kingdom big man's feud with Bryan Danielson. Despite a wealth of candidates to appear or interfere in the matchup, the two competitors were left alone for the duration of the contest. Yuta did not back down an inch from the challenge, but still fell prey to a minor Powerbomb Symphony as Wardlow emerged victorious, sending a message to Danielson on the way to the pay-per-view. (60) Appearing for the first time since double-crossing Darby Allin- and, by extension, Sting-- in a match against Jay Lethal last week, Ric Flair arrived ahead of a very satisfied-looking Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, and their crew for Flair to explain his actions. Giving by far the most impassioned promo since his arrival in AEW, Flair shouted that Sting somehow had not learned that he could never trust the Nature Boy. It had been forty years that he had to hear about that draw in Greensboro Coliseum and how great Sting was, despite the fact that Sting could not beat him. You can't make a name for yourself like that unless you do it against an opponent like him, but somehow Sting was getting the big send-off in the big company, while Flair had to have his farewell on a show promoted by a podcaster. With the Stinger on his way out, Flair was happy to put him in his place one last time. WOO! (71) vs. The night's main event was another challenge by proxy. with Hangman Adam Page getting in the ring with Swerve Strickland's Mogul Embassy henchman Brian Cage. The pair of athletic competitors made a fun combination, with similarly physical approaches despite their size difference, as Page's intensity helped compensate for any shortcomings when pitted against Cage's more showy style. Demonstrating many of the innovative offensive maneuvers he had studied from his mentor Kris Kanyon, Cage controlled much of the match. In the end, though, Page would fight back, highlighted by a moonsault from the top rope to the outside of the ring before rounding Cage up for a Buckshot Lariat and pin to close the show. (74) Overall Show Rating: 72

Episode 35 Week 3, February, 2024 Amarillo Civic Center - Amarillo, TX Attendance: 3,557 Your Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuiness This week's Collision started at the top of AEW with chants of 'JOE! JOE! JOE!' as World Champion Samoa Joe made his way to the ring. Looking quite pleased with himself, he took a microphone to address the crowd, and gloated about the lack of a winner in the number one contender's match between Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland. Just as he suspected, the two of them could not get out of one another's way, and now it looked like he'd have Revolution off. Unfortunately for Joe, even as champion, he would not have the last word. Breaking up Joe's celebration, Tony Schiavone stood up from the announcer's table to inform the champ and the crowd that contrary to Joe's assumption, rather than being off for Revolution, he'd be doing double duty, facing both Page and Strickland in a three-way title match. An outraged Joe lashed out in the ring, complaining that he shouldn't have to face two men with no rules just because neither of those two could get the job done before storming his way to the back (50) vs. The first match of the night highlighted two of AEW's stable of young stars, Kyle Fletcher and Action Andretti in singles action. Fletcher's presence seemed pointed toward one rising star in particular. Hook, whom had been a focus of his and his manager Don Callis. Andretti had little in common with Hook other than their relative ages, but put on an entertaining show with Fletcher nonetheless, showing off the form that had led him to his famous upset of Chris Jericho, but ultimately falling to Fletcher's spinning Grimstone piledriver and the pin. (63) Next up, CJ Perry and her husband Miro were backstage with Lexy Nair. Running down Miro's undefeated streak to start the year, Perry issued an open challenge to any opponent brave enough to face the Redeemer at Revolution. (49) vs. With Thunder Rosa turning her attention to Toni Storm for the week, upcoming Women's World Title contender Deonna Purazzo had an opportunity to focus on her ring work in a match against Taya Valkyrie. Though not a technician in the Virtuosa's mold, Valkyrie was well-seasoned, posing perhaps the most significant obstacle in Purazzo's path since her arrival in AEW. Fortunately for her, there was still something missing with Valkyrie's recent performances (rumors had spread that she was currently dissatisfied with AEW management), and her lack of urgency prevented her from exploiting her power advantage, and she was eventually forced to submit to Purazzo's Venus de Milo armbar for the loss. (42) Coming back from commercial, the psychotic organ notes of Eddie Kingston's entrance theme played the Continental Triple Crown winner to the ring. Furious as ever and in his ring gear, the Mad King called out Malakai Black, demanding that he switch out the lights and teleport in there so that he could kick his ass. Though the crowd cheered eagerly for Black to answer his challenge, the champ would not get satisfaction, calling Black a punk and forced to leave the ring in frustration. (87) vs. The latest dream matchup in Bryan Danielson's semi-retirement tour pitted Dragon vs. Dragon, as the American Dragon took on global icon Ultimo Dragon. In a slow-building contest, the two Dragons put on a technical clinic, before Danielson's initial pleasure for the opportunity eventually morphed into determination to finish off his legendary foe when the match stretched past the 15-minute mark. A standing exchange of stiff kicks marked the climax of the match, before Danielson's strikes brought Ultimo to his knees, where he was struck with the running Busaiku knee to finally finish him off. In a repeat of a recent scene at the top of the entrance ramp, Danielson was greeted by Adam Cole and Wardlow on his way to the back. After teasing a rare 'Yes!' chant in his Revolution opponent's face, Danielson instead pretended to reach for Wardlow's wrist. When the big man flinched, taking a half-step back in response, Danielson stalked the rest of the way backstage with a satisfied smirk on his face. (74) Making his first appearance since once again failing to walk away with Christian Cage's TNT Championship in their three-way match with Luchasaurus, Adam Copeland opened his remarks by calling on the crowd to offer another ovation for the match before. Taking a more grave tone from there, in a reference to Cage's remarks on Dynamite earlier that week, the Rated R Superstar remarked that he had not, in fact, 'learned his lesson' about going after his former partner. For now, however, he had a new focus: Jack Perry, a man he had never met in his life, but had nonetheless cost him the aforementioned title match. He promised to come after the former Jungle Boy next. (80) vs. In a quick return after losing his International Title to Roderick Strong, Orange Cassidy got a chance to get some measure of revenge against Strong and his Undisputed Kingdom mates in a trios match with Best Friends. Similar to Bullet Club Gold the night before on Rampage, the Undisputed Kingdom were awaiting a response to their challenge of the Acclaimed for the AEW Trios Championships. Perhaps it would have been wise not to direct their attention that far ahead of themselves, or away from the Best Friends in general, as the highly-motivated Cassidy ran wild on his Undisputed rivals. His teammates seemed energized in turn, pulling off a decisive win when Chuck Taylor hit Matt Taven with the Awful Waffle to pull off the victory. (70) AEW Tag Team Championship Match vs. The night's main event saw Ricky Starks and Big Bill's sarcastic request for a credentialed tag team to challenge them met in very literal fashion, as Jeff Hardy returned from injury to join his brother Matt in a challenge of the tag team title holders. Though the surprise might have offered the Hardys an initial advantage, the legendary duo were characteristically slow to get going, seeing the incumbents threaten to walk over to a successful defense of their belts as their next challengers Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevarra scouted from the announcer's table. Eventually the brothers would get warmed up, though, taking action outside the ring, through tables, and off the top rope to threaten to insert themselves into the champions' place against Le Sex Gods. Starks and Big Bill's stamina and size would be too much in the end, however, as the tide turned with a spinning Bossman slam by Big Bill off of a dive by Jeff from the top rope. Bouncing the enigmatic former champion's head off of the mat, it was all over from there, leaving the champs to greet Jericho and Guevarra in the ring for a face-off over the belts as the show went off the air. (68) Overall Show Rating: 73