The biggest event in All Elite Wrestling history, ALL IN: LONDON, is so close and it is already quite the stacked event, but there’s still more road to travel before we get there, and the next stop on that road is a return to Nashville for AEW’s debut at the Bridgestone Arena!
Last week on COLLISION, fans witnessed CM Punk retain his “Real” World Championship over Ricky Starks, in part thanks to Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat having a keen eye for Starks’ cheating, and stepping in when referee Stephon Smith was knocked out of commission. Still, it didn’t save Steamboat from getting attacked by Ricky after the match, of course after Punk had already left the ring, necessitating Punk to come in with chair in hand to chase the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament winner away.
In addition, FTR retained their AEW World Tag Team Championship over Big Bill and Brian Cage in a hard-fought battle while Kris Statlander bested Mercedes Martinez in their TBS Championship clash only to fall victim to an assault from both Martinez and Diamante! The House of Black retained their World Trios Champions titles, Samoa Joe challenged CM Punk to meet him at ALL IN: LONDON, and Jay White was back in action as well!
This week all of those champions will be in action once again, six of them in the same match, as The House of Black defends their AEW World Trios Championship against the team collectively known as CMFTR! On top of that, TBS Champion Kris Statlander will team up with Willow Nightingale to face Mercedes and Diamante in tag team action, and speaking of tag teams, The Acclaimed will be back in the mix this Saturday night when COLLISION comes to Greensboro, NC and the historic Greensboro Coliseum! The show begins at 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for AEW’s international fans, so make it a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest edition of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
The House of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews, & Malakai Black)
vs.
CMFTR (AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR & CM Punk)
It was far from an off-week for all the men involved in this bout as all six defended their titles on COLLISION. The House of Black, unarguably, had the easiest night of them all, and that’s meant as no slight to Action Andretti, Lee Johnson, or Darius Martin, it’s just that they were a trio fighting in their first outing together, and while they pushed The House for nine minutes, ultimately they were left decimated by Brody, Buddy, and Malakai. Now the CMFTR side of this coin, they put in 35 minutes of ring time between their two respective matches:
Now Dax and Cash may have been facing a team rather inexperienced in working together, but who have been quite the destructive force in their limited outings as a pair. Big Bill and Brian Cage ran the table on the Eliminator Battle Royale to earn this shot, and that was after several impressive outings in the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament that earned MJF and Adam Cole their title opportunity. So while they may have successfully defended their AEW World Tag Team Championship against Big Bill and Brian Cage, Dax and Cash took quite a beating from the monsters in the process, and that was after facing MJF and Cole the week prior, going nearly an hour with Juice and Jay White two weeks before that, and nearly thirty minutes with that BULLET CLUB GOLD duo the week before that. Suffice it to say FTR has been putting in the work since the debut of COLLISION, as well as making their presence known on DYNAMITE several times, and thus they are feeling it coming into this Trios bout.
And the same could be said for their partner, the self-proclaimed “Real” World Champion, CM Punk. Coming off a tremendous victory over Ricky Starks in which he put in 22 minutes of ring time, Punk has to walk around knowing what happened to Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat in the aftermath of the match, a match he was responsible for bringing Steamboat into in the first place. On top of that, though he may have been off the week prior, two weeks earlier he and Darby Allin were topped by Ricky Starks and Christian Cage, the week before that he lost in the finals of The Owen Hart Foundation Tournament to Ricky Starks, and the week before that he took an absolute beating from Samoa Joe en route to squeaking out a win over the ROH World TV Champion. So yeah, Punk is feeling it too coming into this Trios Championship contest.
Perhaps that is where CMFTR is most dangerous, when they are worn out, tired, and exhausted from their fights, perhaps that is where they are most likely to risk it all to end this House of Black reign, but that is what they will have to do in order to have hope in winning. Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Malakai Black have far more experience working as a trio, and their seven championship defenses are testament to that resume. In fact, in all of AEW, The Elite and Death Triangle are the only active threesomes with more matches under their proverbial belt, and no active trio has more victories, though The House and Elite are tied with 17 wins each. So it is going to take every ounce of fight CMFTR has left in their body after these last two grueling months if they hope to dethrone The House of Black and head into Wembley Stadium holding the AEW World Trios Championship Titles.
Of course, both Punk and FTR have other ALL IN: LONDON issues to worry about, FTR with an officially scheduled World Tag Team Championship match against The Young Bucks and CM Punk with a challenge laid out by ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe, so they’ve already got plenty to worry about without even adding these championship titles to their plate! Should they win, would these six men pull double duty at Wembley as MJF and Adam Cole appear set to do? And even if they do not win, the question remains who will step up to fight The House of Black should they too make the excursion on August 27th?
Perhaps Diamante took to heart the words Athena shared with her after their ROH World Championship fight, telling her fallen foe that she has what it takes, but she’s missing something, and needed to step it up to reach championship level. It certainly seems likely given that, just two days later, Diamante joined Mercedes Martinez in assaulting TBS Champion Kris Statlander following her title victory over “The OG Badass”.
Prior to that moment, there was little common ground between the women other than both had multiple losses to Kris Statlander on their resume, and that both had fallen to Athena when the ROH Women’s World Championship was at stake. Well after the events that took place following Mercedes loss to Stat, these two women can add another commonality, an enemy named Willow Nightingale!
Now both are familiar with the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament winner; her and Diamante have split a pair of singles matches in AEW while Mercedes bested Willow for the Interim ROH Women’s World Championship at SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2022. But now “The Babe with the Power”, after her epic collision with Athena at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023, is primed to prove that she’s a dominating force in AEW, and siding up with Kris Statlander in this confrontation is quite the way to do just that.
Two top shelf athletes from Long Island facing two of the baddest women in pro wrestling today; it goes down this Saturday night on COLLISION and will no play a part in the future of the TBS Championship!
With Daddy Ass leaving his boots in the ring and apparently retiring from in-ring competition, The Acclaimed of Anthony Bowens and Max Caster will be stepping back into tag team action this Saturday night on COLLISION! As former AEW World Tag Team Champions, they know what it takes to get back to the top of the division, and although they’ve not been in a traditional tag team bout since the March 25th edition of RAMPAGE, they still have the most victories of any team in All Elite history with 54, and with 66 tag matches they’ve fought in more tag team bouts than any team in AEW history.
Will this Saturday mark the start of another climb towards the World Tag Team Championship for The Acclaimed? Or will their time spent in trios competition leave them a little out of practice from working the game from this angle.
AEW swings into Greensboro, NC and the historic Greensboro Coliseum for an all-new COLLISION featuring one massive AEW World Trios Championship bout pitting The House of Black against CMFTR, a tag team grudge match with TBS Champion Kris Statlander being joined by Willow Nightingale to face Mercedes Martinez and Diamante, and the return of The Acclaimed to tag team action! The night kicks off at 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for AEW’s international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from last week’s COLLISION, this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest edition of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH!
Yourbroadcast team was Excalibur, Tony Schiavone & “The Ocho” Chris Jericho.
It’s Friday night and know what that means!
Darby Allin vs. The Mogul Embassy’s “The Machine” Brian Cage (with Prince Nana)!
Darby Allin attempted a tope suicida right away, but he just bounced off Brian Cage, who shrugged him off.
“He just swatted him off,” said Tony Schiavone.
Cage whipped Darby into the steel barricade. Cage brought Darby into the ring the hard way, suplexing him off the ropes. Brian Cage stomped on Darby in the corner.
Darby chomped down on Brian Cage’s hand. This angered Cage, who rammed Darby into the edge of the ring. Cage charged at Darby, but Darby dodged him, with Cage’s momentum sending him crashing into the steel ring steps. Darby was on top of Cage’s back and Cage ran toward the timekeeper’s table. Cage sacrificed himself by throwing Darby through the table.
Darby rallied back with a tornado scorpion death drop and then a double foot stomp onto Cage. But Brian Cage nailed Darby with two powerbombs for a near fall.
“Darby bounced like a ball on that one,” said Chris Jericho.
Darby pulled off his belt and used it to sweep Cage off his feet. Darby nailed Cage with a Coffin Drop! Darby connected with Code Red for a two-count.
“Cage fighting for his life. The tides have changed!” said Jericho.
Darby was on the top rope when Prince Nana jumped onto the apron to distract him. Cage tripped up Darby and then sent Darby for a ride, slamming him hard onto the mat. Cage hoisted up Darby, but Darby held on, cradled Cage, and pinned him!
TNT Champion Luchasaurus ambushed Darby after the match and spiked him headfirst onto the mat! A smug Christian Cage watched the devastation on a monitor from backstage.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., to discuss her upcoming match with the Bunny to determine a spot in the 4-way at All In: London!
Baker: “I consider the Bunny a friend. Unfortunately, I have to be the big bad bully and rain on Bunny’s parade. Because no one is getting in my way of the historical event that is All In: London.”
AEW International Championship Match!
“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy (c.) vs. QTV’s Johnny TV (with QT Marshall, Aaron Solo, & Harley Cameron)!
Cassidy ducked a roundhouse kick from Johnny TV. Orange kept his cool…and his hands in his pockets. Harley jumped on the apron and distracted the ref. QTV tried to sneak in, but the referee caught them and ejected them.
Wheeler Yuta snuck out and distracted Orange long enough for Johnny TV to kick Cassidy in the head. The ref ejected Wheeler Yuta, but this created a crucial distraction, allowing Johnny TV to continue to batter Orange Cassidy.
Johnny TV dropped Cassidy by sweeping his legs out from beneath him. Orange fired back with an elbow suicida. Orange connected with a diving cross body. Johnny countered a DDT with a swinging neck breaker on Orange.
Johnny TV attempted the Superstation, but Orange Cassidy moved out of the way. Orange spiked Johnny with a diving DDT! He planted Johnny with a second DDT! Orange blasted Johnny with the Orange Punch and then finished off Johnny TV with the Beach Break, scoring the pin!
“19-0 in 2023 for Orange Cassidy,” said Tony Schiavone.
Orange Cassidy challenged Wheeler Yuta to come to the ring. Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley surrounded the ring like jackals.
Wheeler Yuta: “Orange you know just as well as I do that the BCC could get in that ring right now and make sure you leave Columbus in an ambulance. But I think that’s beneath us at this point. I just don’t want to hurt you physically, I want to hurt you mentally. I want to take the only thing you actually care about. So next week in Nashville, put that International Championship on the line, and I’ll walk out with it.”
ROH World Tag Team Champions Aussie Open—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis
vs.
The Outrunners!
Aussie Open wasted no time going after the Outrunners. They sent Truth Magnum for a ride, sending him crashing down hard. Aussie Open picked up the Outrunners and sandwiched them.
Aussie Open nailed their opponent with a double lariat and then pinned him after the Coriolis.
Mark Davis grabbed a microphone after the match and questioned MJF and Adam Cole calling themselves a tag team. Kyle Fletcher said Aussie Open accepted MJF and Adam Cole’s challenge for All In: London.
“The Last Outlaw” Jeff Jarrett said there’d be a Texas Chain Saw Massacre Deathmatch between him and Jeff Hardy this Wednesday on Dynamite, in conjunction with the Texas Chain Saw Massacre Game!
Main Event Time!
Saraya (with The Outcasts) vs. Skye Blue!
The winner advances to All In: London and the AEW Women’s Championship 4-Way Match!
Skye Blue pushed Saraya into the turnbuckles. Skye used an inside cradle for a near fall. Saraya booted Skye in the midsection.
Blue connected with a cross body press onto Saraya. Skye jumped off the apron, but Toni saved Saraya, pushing her out of harm’s way. Skye Blue crashed and burned, hitting the arena floor hard!
Saraya charged at Skye with a knee strike. Saraya whipped Skye to the mat by pulling Skye’s hair. Skye Blue fired back with a kick to Saraya’s head. Saraya connected with a thrust kick.
Skye scored with a thrust kick and then the Code Blue. The Outcasts jumped on the ring apron. Toni distracted the ref on one side while Ruby sprayed Skye in the eyes with the green paint! Saraya DDT’ed Skye Blue and pinned her!
“With a massive assist from the Outcasts, Saraya will join Toni Storm and AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida in the AEW Women’s World Championship 4-Way Match at All In: London,” said Excalibur.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE: Fight for The Fallen on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday live on TNT at 8/7c from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC featuring:
Wednesday night’s edition of DYNAMITE saw so much of ALL IN: LONDON fleshed out as the AEW World Tag Team Championship bout between FTR and Young Bucks became official, as a Tag Team Coffin Match pitting Darby and Sting against AR Fox and Swerve was signed, and as Hikaru Shida defeated Anna Jay to insure her position in the AEW Women’s World Championship match! We also witnessed the end of The Jericho Appreciation Society, the apparent end of a friendship between Roderick Strong and Adam Cole, BCC defeating Lucha Brothers, and Jack Perry escaping RVD with the FTW Title still in his possession!
The push towards Wembley will continue this Friday night on RAMPAGE when AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends his title against Johnny TV, Darby Allin fights Brian Cage, ROH World Tag Champions Aussie Open are in action, and Saraya fights Skye Blue over the third spot in the AEW Women’s World Championship Four Way! The night starts at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so drop by the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
These are two men quite familiar with one another; Darby Allin and Brian Cage have history dating back to The Machine’s arrival at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2020 where Cage won the Casino Ladder Match, and actually injured Darby in the process. That led to tag matches, Darby getting dumped from the Casino Battle Royale at ALL OUT 2020 by Cage, their TNT Championship match in January 2021, and ultimately the unforgettable Street Fight at REVOLUTINO 2021 that pit Darby and Sting against Cage and Ricky Starks.
It had been several years since the two men had butted heads, but then came the merger of Swerve Strickland’s Mogul Affiliates and Prince Nana’s Embassy, and suddenly Cage was back in the life of Darby Allin by way of his long-standing issues with Swerve. That is why this Friday night on RAMPAGE, with Darby and Sting heading for a Coffin Match at ALL IN: LONDON against Swerve and AR Fox, Brian Cage will head into battle with the former 2-Time TNT Champion on behalf of The Mogul Embassy!
Darby needs this victory ahead of Wembley, a bit of momentum for he and Sting going into such a historic evening, whereas Cage needs nothing more than to hurt Darby on behalf of his associates. For Darby it’s about victory ahead of one of the biggest nights in AEW, as well retaliation for what was done to Nick Wayne, whereas for “The Machine” it’s about suffering and pain and perhaps a little revenge for what went down between the two men in 2020 and 2021.
AEW International Championship Match…
“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Johnny TV
He’s already made history by becoming the most successful champion in AEW history, across all divisions, with his twenty-seven title defenses, but there will always be records to chase and Orange Cassidy seems intent on topping them all! With 303 days as International Champion under his belt, he’s already the longest reigning current champion in All Elite Wrestling, but Orange is just over forty days away from eclipsing Kenny Omega’s 346-day World Championship reign to become the longest reigning male champion in AEW history as well! The Young Bucks had 302 as World Tag Champions, Darby’s 186 days still stands as the longest TNT Championship run, leaving only Kenny’s stand as the last milestone on the men’s side to surpass. After that, the chase is on to surpass Hikaru Shida’s 372 days as Women’s World Champion, and then finally Jade Cargill’s 508 days as TBS Champion. There is a lot of road to travel before either of those is possible, and a lot of potential foes, one of them being Cassidy’s challenger this Friday night on RAMPAGE: Johnny TV!
As a man who has traveled the world honing his craft for the last twenty years, and with the backing of the QTV contingent, Johnny TV is a certified threat to end Orange’s pursuit of history. Now the likelihood Orange is even aware, or cares, about his history making International Championship reign is debatable, but Johnny, Aaron Solo, QT Marshall, and Harley Cameron certainly know the importance of being the one to end it, and what it would mean for QTV as a whole to have a champion on their side.
Will Johnny TV be the one to end this epic championship run, or will “Freshly Squeezed” be the one to take the International Championship international and possibly defend it at ALL IN: LONDON? And regardless of who walks away from RAMPAGE as champion, who, if anyone, will step up to challenge at Wembley?
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) in action!
We all heard the challenge laid out by AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole, a ROH World Tag Team Championship bout during the ZERO HOUR of ALL IN: LONDON, pitting Better Than You Bay Bay against champions Aussie Open. This Friday night on RAMPAGE, Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis will be in action so perhaps we will get a response to that challenge from the United Empire representatives! Cole is the only 3-Time ROH World Champion, and a former TV Champion, but having challenged for them once in 2011 and once in 2015, he never claimed the ROH World Tag Titles. MJF, on the other hand, has never seen one bit of Ring of Honor competition, and although it’s quite clear he came up watching the product, Max has never been complimentary towards its existence.
But now that the challenge has been laid out, the possibility is there for both MJF and Cole to achieve something they’ve never done before, but will Aussie Open accept?
Winner Advances to ALL IN: LONDON Championship Match…
As seen in the clip above, AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida successfully retained her title against Anna Jay this past Wednesday on DYNAMITE, thereby securing her position as defending champion at ALL IN: LONDON in a Four Way that we also know will include Toni Storm. With two other spots to fill in the match, fans will see Dr. Britt Baker take on The Bunny this coming Wednesday night when DYNAMITE returns to Nashville, but first, this Friday on RAMPAGE, Saraya will be in action against Skye Blue!
Not only is Skye looking to advance to historic Wembley Stadium as challenger, but she is also aiming to even the score for a February 22nd loss to Saraya on DYNAMITE. As one of the women who has stood up to The Outcasts since they began their reign of tyranny over the Women’s Division, for Skye this is a fight with a whole lot of layers; it’s those two aforementioned items, it’s also keeping The Outcasts’ numbers down in the championship fight, diminishing the likelihood the title falls back into their clutches. Toni Storm already has her spot secured as the former champion, so a Saraya victory would make The Outcasts two-thirds of the challengers.
Can Skye Blue even the score with Saraya and thus secure her spot on one of AEW’s most historic nights? We shall see this Friday on RAMPAGE!!
This Friday night on RAMPAGE, with ALL IN: LONDON drawing closer, the AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy will fight Johnny TV with the title on the line, Brian Cage takes on Darby Allin, and we will see ROH World Tag Champions Aussie Open in action, as Skye Blue takes on Saraya with a trip to Wembley Stadium at stake! The bouts begin at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
IMPACT vs TMDK: Moose & Eddie Edwards Unite to Battle Zack Sabre Jr & Shane Haste at Multiverse United 2 News / August 3, 2023 / by IMPACT Wrestling Staff Order on FITE Get tickets…
Cobweb review by Big Gold Belt Media-Synopsis:Eight-year-old Peter is plagued by a mysterious, constant tap, tap from inside his bedroom wall – a tapping that his parents insist is all in his imagination. As Peter’s fear…
More Championship Matches & Adrenaline-Pumping Action Now Official for the IMPACT Wrestling Down Under Tour News / June 22, 2023 / by IMPACT Wrestling Staff Order on FITE Get tickets (June 30) Get tickets (July…
