On this episode of Main Event Madness, we talk AEW Dynasty and it’s Main Event as Samoa Joe defended his AEW World Championship against Swerve Strickland in the main event. Check out the Podcast on Anchor, Spotify, Amazon, Apple Podcasts,
For this week’s Main Event Madness match, we are checking out the main event of AEW Revolution 2024 which saw The Young Bucks challenge for the AEW Tag Team Championships against Darby Allin & Sting, the current champions in what was being billed as Sting’s retirement match at the legendary Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, South Carolina. Check out the Podcast on Anchor, Spotify, Amazon, Apple Podcasts,
For today’s Main Event Madness match, we are checking out the main event of this past week’s NXT card as The Family (Tony D’Angelo & Stacks) defend their NXT Tag Team Championships against the 2024 Dusty Cup winners The Wolf Dogs (Baron Corbin & Bron Breakker). Check out the Podcast on Anchor, Spotify, Amazon, Apple Podcasts,
There are certain female wrestlers that are just astonishing to marvel at because of their physical prowess like a Jade Cargill (AEW), Raquel González (NXT), and the one that inspired them all and made it OK for a woman to have definition and power in wrestling Chyna. For NWA (National Wrestling Alliance), they have Kamille who before she became the most dominant Women’s Champion in the NWA (Champion for 255+ days and counting), she was a physical specimen ti astonish and marvel at when she was former NWA Champion Nick Aldis’s bodyguard. On the first episode of NWA Powersurge, she was taking in former Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Taryn Terrell, but if you watched the match, Kamille dominated it. Taryn had about a total of a minute where she had the advantage, but Kamille was too good. After failing to hit what looked like a stunner, Kamille got down, positioned herself and hit Taryn with a spear that knocked her out of her boots. The 1-2-3 that followed was elementary as Kamille retained her championship.
Normally I would be watching Monday Night Raw, but I’m pretty sure nothing interesting enough is happening that could make me pass up this opportunity. I have never checked out Prestige Wrestling before and thanks to their poster for the card I was excited. When you see the names Davey Richards and Malakai Black (f.k.a. Tommy End & Aleister Black) you think veteran guys who have traveled the world honing their craft for years. You think two guys that could easily be too guys wherever they go in the world of wrestling and here they are meeting at Prestige Wrestling’s Roseland 2 from the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon on Sunday night for what was a mega main event on a card that already featured some fantastic matches. The two have plenty of experience fighting each other in the indies in the past whether it be singles action or tag team warfare, but they are meeting for the first time in years and Malakai has had a resurgence since introducing the House Of Black to the world in AEW. With a sold out crowd in hand, it was an opportunity for both wrestlers to once again showcase what they had and the contrast of styles would come into play for sure.
Both men valiantly went at it from the very start of the bell as both jockeyed for an advantage. Black has some of the most deadliest and Lethal offense in all of wrestling where at any moment in the blink of an eye he can change the complexity of the match. He was able to gain an advantage on Richards as he worked on the knee even executing an inverted figure four, but soon they would get into an exchange of thrusts kicks and surprisingly Richards would get the best of the exchange when he ended it with a well executed German suplex. The two would continue to trade advantages until it seemed like Richards was close to victory. After managing to escape an ankle lock, things looked ok for Black until Richards hit him with a double stomp. Black would kick out of the ensuing pin attempt only to be hit with a brainbuster, but Black would kick out again. Then as I said before, Black has the deadliest offense and he proved it by hitting Richards with a black mass out of nowhere. The rest is rather elementary as Black picked up the victory.
Talk about having super matches, AEW offered us a super match this week as they finally pinned MJF who has been talking way too much against the legend CM Punk in Punks hometown of Chicago, IL in AEW Dynamite. The only thing we could hope for is that this one was going to be better than the one we got at the Royal Rumble earlier in the week. We had seen these two talk for weeks, we saw MJF duck it fit as long as he could, we saw CM Punk defeat members of the pinnacle, and the match was finally here. Punk entered the match undefeated and he was risking it because MJF is one of the craftiest competitors despite how young he is. MJF is one of those guys who is going to be around for a very long time and who knows what he is capable of, but Punk was there to make a statement. When the match started, MJF did the typical heel move with the cheap shot to Punk, but once Punk was able to get over that he dominated the match both inside and outside the ring. After three straight body slams, he had MJF reeling and it seemed like the perfect time for a high risk maneuver so Punk went to the top for his famous elbow drop. Unfortunately for him, MJF did his research and rolled out of harms way.
That forced CM Punk off the top rope and it forced him into a mistake that would cost the one time self proclaimed best in the world. Punk charged at MJF looking to connect with his shoulder, but he met the ring post instead when MJF moved away just in time giving MJF a body part to work on the whole entire match and he did just that. Punk would try so many moves, but his arm was giving out on him and it allowed MJF time to adjust and recover. At one point, it looked as if MJF was about to win when he locked the sleeper hold on Punk and for a moment he did when the referee raised the arm of Punk three times and Punk didn’t answer. The shock of the loss quickly wore off when the referee noticed medical tape in MJF’s hand and he restarted the match. That saw some life being brought back into Punk, but a high risk moonsault to the outside injured Punk when he landed awkwardly giving MJF yet another body part to work on and you best believe that he did. After several close calls for both men, MJF ended up on the outside of the ring where Punk would naturally chase him, but then Wardlow made his way. Wardlow didn’t attack Punk, but he distracted the referee long enough to allow MJF to knock out Punk. We later during the replay found out that Wardlow had handed MJF a ring to use and that’s what he did as he shocked the world with a win over CM Punk.
AEW held their third annual Beach Break event last night from Cleveland, Ohio in what was a power packed night of incredible action and drama from the amazing ladder match between Sammy Guevara and Cody Rhodes to the CM Punk/MJF confrontation and how could AEW possibly top all of that? Well, they would try with what many could consider the final match in a rivalry that has confused some like Jim Cornette as to why it’s even happening and that is the lights out match between Orange Cassidy and Adam Cole. Adam Cole was on top of the world in the WWE when he was in NXT before moving to AEW, but now he finds himself fighting in a match with Orange Cassidy that is not sanctioned by AEW (hence the terminology “lights out”) and is no holds barred with falls count anywhere added on top of that. The match was a means to an end for both these men who have been wrapped up in this war that Adam Cole admitted last week needed to come to an end. This is what the undefeated Cole proposed for their final showdown because both men were ready to tear each other apart and the match had a few surprises up it’s sleeve like an appearance from the now signed Danhausen who was hiding under the ring trying to assist Cassidy.
The two were definitely in for a war as they relentlessly tried to beat each other to oblivion as they put themselves through tables and even used a ring bell which injured Orange Cassidys hand when he tried to deliver the orange punch. This would be the advantage Cole needed during the match as he brutalized Cassidys hand even causing it to bleed. The move worked out so well for Cole that later on in the match, Cassidy would hit the orange punch but the hand was so damaged that he couldn’t cover him. We were treated at one point to a cameo of friends & associates of both sides. Adam Cole was a little frustrated so he would call reinforcements down to the ring to assist like Brandon Cutler, Wheeler Yuta, The Young Bucks, Rocky Romero, and Chuck Taylor. The match would eventually end up on the stage and Cole had Cassidy reeling after hitting him with a lighting fixture. Instead of ending the match then and there, he decided to climb to the top of the entrance way to what we can only assume was to deliver a Panama Sunrise, but Cassidy was no where in sight. Actually in less than a minute, we see Cassidy who has also climbed up surprise Cole and he hugged him. It wouldn’t last very long as he launched them right through the stage where Cassidys arm was conveniently on top of Coles lifeless body as the referee proceeded to count the 1-2-3 as Cassidy delivers Cole his first loss in AEW.
AEW’s young star Hook is here for one reason and one reason only and that is to kick ass and take names. Hook entered Rampage earlier tonight 3-0 preparing to fight a man whom is a legend in the indies and companies like Chikara in Serpentico. Well if you watched the match, it certainly didn’t look as if Hook even cared about what Serpentico’s credentials were as he attacked him before he could get his Komodo off and before you knew it after all the knees to the midsection and fancy suplexes, he put him in the Redrum and Serpentico had no choice but to tap out making Hook 4-0.
One of the things I am so excited about is the fact that Brody King is signed to AEW and he is a member of the House of Black with Malakai Black. This signing should make for some exciting television in the months and years to come, but while we wait for that official in ring debut to happen, we’ll settle for Brody in NJPW Strong. NJPW Strong who are currently on their nemesis tour have lined up Dave Dutra, “the battle king” to take on Brody on what would surely be a lesson in violence. Of course in the beginning of the match, Dutra thought it would be smart to deliver a slap to the chest of Brody King which you better be stronger than him if you do that. So Brody stared right at him looking like he didn’t feel that slap at all and challenged Dutra to hit him some more. It may have seemed like a foolish move for Dutra to oblige, but he was able to avoid any offense from King and he attacked keep parts like the leg as you naturally want to chop down any opponent bigger than yourself and while was he able to get some offense in, Brody had more experience and more power.
Brody would punish Dutra on the outside of the ring taking advantage of the fact that it’s a 20 count in NJPW by smashing Dutra into the barricades. Dutra may have taken some punishment in the match, but you have to give the guy credit for sticking in the match as long as he did because not too many people can handle the brutality unleashed by the purveyor of violence Brody King. Brody would try and finish the match by delivering his patent Ganso bomb, but Dutra was able to wiggle out of, but he decided to stand up sign King which is not a smart move. He would deliver a high knee to the chin of King, but King would shrug it off, hit him with an uppercut forearm and then he followed it with one heck of a lariat. King would once again try for the Ganso bomb and this time he was successful as he covered Dutra for the 1-2-3 and that was all she wrote. I’ll give Dutra some credit for his effort in the match, but I’m excited for the future of Brody King.
One of the hottest tag teams in AEW has been Jurassic Express ( Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) and they have been since day one. There is something to be said about chemistry especially when it comes naturally and it was an amazing moment to see them defeat The Lucha Bros last week on Dynamite. Now it’s AEW Rampage and their defending their titles against a couple of guys who have traveled the road together for years as partners and are on a 10 match winning streak in The Dark Orders Alex Reynolds and Jon Silver. Would momentum carry the underdogs against the new champions or would Jungle Express continue on in their quest of excellence? Of course, Jungle Express was able to gain the first advantage and it had to do with the size of Luchasaurus who is a game changer and the team should some inventive offense, but everything changed when Jon Silver was able to change the game by taking the advantage and isolating Jungle Boy from his corner cause you want to keep the big man on the sidelines. Constant tags and innovative offense was the key to isolating him and they were doing great keeping the big man at bay.
Eventually Jungle Boy would make it to his corner for the tag, but what ensued next was just an absolute highlight reel of moves for the next two minutes that just left you speechless because both of these teams are that amazing and any one of them should be tag champions. One of the more impressive highlight reel of moves came when Silver and Reynolds had Jungle Boy all to themselves. Jungle Boy came charging like a bulldozer to the corner only to have Silver move out of the way, Silver would then connect with a thrust kick, he throws Jungle Boy into Reynolds who hits him with a rolling elbow followed by another kick from Silver followed by a thrust kick from Silver into a stunner from Reynolds into a German suplex from Silver into a Jackknife cover from Reynolds who was so close to a three count you asked yourself how was that not three and this all happened in mere seconds. Eventually Luchasaurus would find himself back in the match and he was the difference maker as he and Jungle Boy hit their finisher for the win and they retained the tag titles. Do not sleep on Alex Reynolds and John Silver, they are an exciting tag team that I hope to see in the title picture again in the future.