Posted on 5/04/125 by Bob Magee
Adam Cole on Commentary!
We opened with AEW TNT Champion Adam Cole coming to the ring
to join Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness on commentary.
His Paragron brethren, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong,
were set to take on FTR’s Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler later
in a 2 out of 3 falls match – but first, it was time to get
Timeless!
AEW Women’s Championship Eliminator Match: “Timeless” Toni
Storm vs. Lady Frost
The AEW Women’s Champion, “Timeless” Toni Storm, was out
next for a Women’s Title Eliminator Match against the red-
hot Lady Frost. We opened with back-and-forth holds, strikes
and more, before Lady Frost sent Storm tumbling to the
outside, capitalizing with a cartwheel on the apron into a
cannonball and a handspring on the ring barricade into a
moonsault onto the champion.
Back in the ring, Storm reclaimed the advantage with mounted
punches on Frost – until Frost was able to counter into a
handspring cannonball with Storm in the corner. Lady Frost
managed to hit the Chiller Driller on Storm, but the
champion kicked out at two. Storm recovered with a release
German suplex, then a hip attack on a downed Frost. From
there, Storm scored the submission victory with a chicken
wing.
But she wasn’t done, as she grabbed a microphone and called
out the “sloptarts” in the locker room, asking who was next.
After all, she’s not a hard woman to find.
Jon Moxley Has a Message for Samoa Joe
From one champion to another, it was time to hear from AEW
World Champion Jon Moxley. Mox told Samoa Joe not to feel
bad that all the people around him are “dropping like
flies.” Shibata’s fate was sealed. Moxley finds it hard to
dislike Joe. His reputation is beyond reproach. Sort of like
Bryan Danielson.
A steel cage in Chicago? There’s this idea, Mox said, that
he should be scared to be inside that cage with Samoa Joe.
But when you’re champion, every day, every moment is hard.
Mox is going to do his job. And he is exceptional at his
job. You want to lock him inside a steel cage? Lock it. This
was always how it was going to end. His affairs are in
order. But if you think Moxley should be scared, well, then
you haven’t been paying attention, Joe. You better make sure
you have thought things through.
$100K High Speed Collision 4-Way Match: AR Fox vs. Kevin
Knight vs. Rush vs. Sammy Guevara
With $100,000 on the line, it was time for a High Speed
Collision 4-Way Match between Sammy Guevara (accompanied by
Dustin Rhodes), AR Fox, Kevin Knight and Rush.
Chaos was the name of the game early in this one, with
multiple combinations of these four rising stars squaring
off. Guevara took a bow after hitting a dropkick on Fox, as
Tony Schiavone reminded us it had been since September when
we last saw Sammy on Collision. Rush and Kevin Knight,
meanwhile, had their own back-and-forth, during which Rush
showed off just how tranquilo he is after charging Knight in
the corner.
Rush continued to manhandle Knight, right up until the Jet
managed to throw Rush into the ring steps. Just moments
later, commentary spotted Hologram watching the action from
above. He had a great angle to see Fox take flight and take
out Knight. Guevara added a Shooting Star Press to the
outside, before Rush came through like a wrecking ball and
took out everyone, using the steps and barricades to full
advantage.
Back on the inside, Fox continued to display his
athleticism, right up until Guevara landed a knee right to
the face. Guevara followed up with the Go To Sleep to come
away with the win – and $100K! While he celebrated on the
turnbuckle, Guevara gestured to Cole, still at ringside for
commentary, making it clear he has his eyes on the TNT
Championship.
Samoa Joe Pays Respect
We quickly heard from Joe, who had a message for Moxley: He
wasn’t at Collision, as he was in his gym, showing the AEW
World Champion respect by properly preparing. He also warned
Mox that the damage done to Shibata would be repaid to
Claudio Castagnoli next week. Beyond that, Joe had to put
their title match in a cage, because there’s something he
understands about Moxley. The man Joe sees today doesn’t
have the heart to get into a face-to-face fight with a man
like Joe. Joe will once again become AEW World Champion –
and he will make Moxley understand.
Harley Cameron vs. Megan Bayne
Feel the Wrath? Cameron was out for revenge on behalf of her
friend, Anna Jay, and she opened with a vengeance, hammering
the Megasus into the corner with shoulders then pounding
Bayne in the midsection from the apron before hitting an axe
kick.
The tide turned somewhat quickly, as Bayne snatched Cameron
out of the air and tossed her over in a suplex to the middle
of the ring. Bayne maintained her dominance for several
minutes, despite Cameron sneaking in a jawbreaker to
momentarily fend off her opponent.
Bayne literally dragged Cameron to the corner and delivered
a massive chop, only for Cameron to counter with a boot to
the face that allowed her to climb the turnbuckle – where
she was met by Bayne. The Megasus set up for a superplex,
only for Cameron to escape and hit a tilt-a-whirl DDT for a
two-count.
While Cameron remained game for the duration of the match,
eventually, Bayne caught Cameron and delivered Fate’s
Descent for the victory.
After the match, Penelope Ford picked up Cameron and tossed
her to the Megasus for another Fate’s Descent. And Bayne
might have hit another, except that Anna Jay came to the
rescue with a 2x4 to the back of Bayne – and managed to send
her to the floor when Bayne attempted to exact her revenge.
Jon Moxley Takes to the Ring
The AEW World Champion had more to say on this special
edition of Saturday night wrestling on TBS. He and Marina
Shafir made their way through the crowd, toppling security
on their way.
Moxley heard what Joe said. What exactly is it, Mox
demanded, that he doesn’t understand? And how is Joe going
to explain it to him inside of a steel cage? What is he
going to do, kick his ass? Beat Mox up?
Does Joe know who he’s dealing with? Moxley has faced all of
the supposed baddest men in this business. Every
organization, every country – name one. And they all said
the same things and were thinking the same things Joe is
saying and thinking – until they weren’t. Moxley can feel
the moment, every time, when they realize they don’t want to
be there anymore. When they stop trying to win and start
trying to survive.
You want to target Moxley’s people this Wednesday, Joe? Mox
expects nothing less. You think he doesn’t want to get in a
firefight? Just look at your partners, Joe. You’ve been in a
firefight this whole time.
The Youngest Men Alive Respond to Trent Beretta and Rocky
Romero
The Outrunners get that Roppongi Vice feels a little
disrespected. They get that Trent and Rocky think the
Outrunners get a little loud sometimes. That they get a
little big sometimes. And if that’s the case, why don’t they
settle it in the ring?
Josh Alexander vs. Brody King
We began with a tie-up, with King getting the advantage by
forcing Alexander to the ropes then tossing the newest
member of the Don Callis Family aside. Alexander cinched on
a waist lock after dropping below a King blow, only for King
to land a massive chop. King followed up with another
thunderous strike to the chest, this time with Alexander
draped across the top ropes in the corner.
The punishment continued for Alexander, as King delivered a
Death Valley Driver to the outside, then sent Alexander over
the ringside barricade – and followed up with a vertical
suplex back over the barricade for good measure.
Yet all it took was Alexander doing damage to King’s left
knee and ankle, both legally and not so much, for the match
to quickly turn in favor of the Don Callis Family member.
Alexander zeroed in on the injured limb, tying King up in
the ropes. But a bit of daylight gave King room to land a
blow that rocked Alexander.
Alexander’s next mistake was engaging in an exchange of
chops with King, who sent Alexander crashing to the mat
twice with earsplitting strikes to the chest. The two
warriors continued to go back-and-forth, with neither man
able to secure the momentum for more than a few seconds at
best. King’s strength tended to be too much for Alexander at
any given moment, but the Walking Weapon showed off his
savvy, all while King’s injured leg clearly continued to
bother him.
Once more to the top turnbuckle, King nailed a superplex on
Alexander – but both men were so exhausted, neither could
capitalize on the pain inflicted by the high impact. With
just one minute remaining inside the time limit, Alexander
evaded King and clamped on an Ankle Lock with a grapevine.
But King managed to get to his feet and land a German suplex
and a massive clothesline before a Gonzo bomb – only for
Alexander to roll out of the ring for a time limit draw.
That didn’t sit well with King, who assaulted both Alexander
and Lance Archer of the Don Callis Family. Unfortunately for
King, a moment taken to argue with the refs led to a sneak
attack to that same injured leg by Alexander, with he and
Archer laying out King from there.
Max Caster Open Challenge: Daniel Garcia Answers the Call
That time limit draw got Caster thinking – no one could
survive five minutes in the ring with Platinum Max. So, Max
requested that five minutes be put on the clock. Then, he
asked the crowd to do his chant correctly: Let’s go Max.
You’re the best wrestler alive!
The man to answer the challenge: Daniel Garcia.
As soon as the bell rang, Garcia rained blows down on
Caster. “15 seconds gone!” Nigel McGuinness informed us. “20
seconds gone!”
Garcia still had enough time to hit a couple quick dance
moves, before putting Caster away in literally one minute
for the win.
Beyond Caster, Garcia had someone else on his mind – FTR.
Garcia just handled his business. He told FTR it was time
for them to handle theirs later tonight, and that he’d talk
to them after.
Anthony Bowens Gets Interrupted
The 5-Tool Player, the Pride of Professional Wrestling,
wants people to step up. And after Blake Christian and Lee
Johnson interrupted Bowens as he spoke to Lexy Nair, Bowens
made it clear that he’s ready for either of them at any
time, any place.
Gates of Agony vs. Ray Jaz and Goldy
This one was all Gates of Agony, as Bishop Kaun started
things off by annihilating Ray Jaz in the ring and sending
Goldy flying off of the ring apron toward the entrance ramp.
After a bit of combination offense with “Open the Gates,” it
was academic from there: One, two, three.
Gates of Agony’s night wasn’t finished, though, as Big Bill
and Bryan Keith called them out from the parking lot. They
weren’t coming to Gates of Agony; it was time for Gates of
Agony to come to them. And the victorious tag team were
happy to oblige, heading to the back.
The four men brawled in the back, including some collateral
damage as someone in the backstage area accidentally entered
the fray and was quickly thrown to the side by Gates of
Agony.
Paragon vs. FTR (with Stokely) — 2 Out of 3 Falls Match
Kyle O’Reilly and Cash Wheeler started this one off, with
both trading holds in the opening moments. From there, this
one was classic tag-team wrestling for every single moment,
as O’Reilly continued to show off his unique mix of strikes
and submission holds, including delivering massive kicks to
both Wheeler and Dax Harwood while they were on their knees.
O’Reilly and Roderick Strong were on fire, hitting multiple
combinations on both members of FTR, before O’Reilly cinched
in an Ankle Lock on Harwood. Strong was able to fend off
Wheeler’s attempts to save his teammate by stomping on his
fingers, and Harwood tapped out at the behest of Stokely in
order to save his health in this 2 out of 3 Falls match.
Both teams regrouped after the first fall, and when action
resumed, it was FTR that took the advantage, with Wheeler
putting the boots to O’Reilly. The Paragon member attempted
to fight back, but a big shoulder to the gut by Wheeler
slowed O’Reilly.
But when Paragon reclaimed the advantage, they did so with
gusto. Strong stacked up both members of FTR onto a chair at
ringside that gave way before O’Reilly nailed a dropkick off
the apron straight to the chests of his opponents.
Yet FTR wouldn’t go away quietly, of course. With Strong
down in the corner, Harwood took the opportunity to wrap
Strong’s knee around the ring post not once, but twice, then
slapped on the Figure Four in the middle of the ring.
But Strong was able to make the tag to O’Reilly, who re-
entered the match like a man possessed, taking out both
members of FTR in equal measure. O’Reilly put another Ankle
Lock on Wheeler, but Harwood came in to apply a sleeper hold
as the illegal man. O’Reilly escaped and ran the FTR
teammates into each other, giving him a window to once again
apply the Ankle Lock to Wheeler – only for Cash to tag in
Harwood.
O’Reilly countered with a tag to Strong of his own – and
that might not have been the right call. Moments later,
Strong was heading up and coming down for the Shatter
Machine, as FTR scored their first fall.
That meant this one would come down to the third fall, with
both teams having suffered more than their fair share of
punishment. Paragon countered a Spike Piledriver attempt by
FTR into a near-fall, then another, but Harwood kicked out
twice. Another Shatter Machine attempt was countered into a
high knee by Strong and a High-Low by Paragon. FTR avoided
defeat with Harwood’s foot on the ropes. And from there,
Wheeler took out Strong, and FTR hit another Shatter Machine
to score the third and decisive fall.
Daniel Garcia Keeps His Promise
Remember when Garcia said he’d be out to talk to FTR after
they took care of business? Well, he’s a man of his word.
Garcia came storming to the ring with both a microphone and
a crowbar, saying that what he really wants to do is beat
them all over the head with the crowbar. But he can’t,
because he has too much love for FTR. And he thought they
had love for him, too, with the way they picked him up and
put him back on his feet every time his mentors turned their
back on him.
But after what they did to Cope, and what they did to
Garcia, he’s left looking for answers – answers he won’t
find by standing there and having a therapy session with
FTR. So Garcia had an idea. Next week, it doesn’t matter how
many of them there are. FTR can meet Garcia in the ring, and
he will beat those answers out of them.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE live next Wednesday at 8/7c on TBS and
streaming on MAX from the Masonic Temple Theatre in Detroit,
MI!
Tickets On Sale Now! – www.AEWTix.com
And remember… We are AEW—Where The Best Wrestle!