AMAZING Scorpio Sky vs. Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship: Sammy enters first accompanied by Tay Conti to a chorus of boos and thumbs down. I’m not sure if production did it intentionally or not but nearly every fan shown during the walk was treating Sammy and Tay as certified heels. Scorpio Sky enters second, accompanied by Ethan Page and Dan Lambert and the reaction isn’t positive but it isn’t nearly as negative as Sammy’s either. Dan Lambert is still wearing the second TNT Title Belt and Tony Schiavone and Tazz have a funny discussion about it on commentary. Sammy starts the match like a house of fire but Scorpio Sky lands a slick double-leg takedown followed by some ground and pound strikes to halt the momentum. The MMA influence from American Top Team is apparent as Sky backs Sammy into the corner for some clinch strikes to follow up the groundwork. Sammy slaps Sky straight across the face to reverse things in the corner, and he goes to work himself with heavy right hands while perched on the second rope. The flurry is concluded with an arm drag to return the action to the middle of the ring and these two start to work some more of their normal movesets. Sammy lands a back suplex to gain control momentarily, and the crowd is totally split in this one. “Let’s go Sammy,” chants are immediately followed by, “Sammy sucks,” all the while Mr. Guevara is in complete control of the action. After a brief flurry from both, Guevara re-establishes his dominance with a high-angle dropkick to knock the champion to the outside. He follows by driving Scorpio into the guard rail, but Sky is not only game, he’s prepared, and is able to land a uranagi-style flapjack sending Guevara’s face onto the top bar of that very same rail. Scorpio Sky briefly rolls into the ring to break the count by the referee but it allows Sammy some time to recover. Guevara climbs to the top turnbuckle while an unaware Scorpio Sky rolls back out of the ring, Sammy meets him with a moonsault from the top turnbuckle to the arena floor. Sky got the worst of it, but  Sammy is not in a good way either, and as the action moves back to the apron, Scorpio Sky hoists Guevara up in the fireman’s carry and connects with a TKO on the apron. Both men are down badly as we head to our first commercial break of the night. Out of the break Scorpio Sky is in control for the first time since the double leg takedown he scored during the opening moments of the match. Sky connects with consecutive, vicious, backbreakers and Sammy clutches his lower back in pain after each one. Scorpio delivers a third, and holds Guevara in the same position for an abdominal stretch all while still driving that right knee further into Sammy’s already compromised back. On the fourth try adrenaline takes over and Guevara is able to reverse. He follows with a clothesline and multiple chops to the chest of the champion. Sammy gives the sign for the 630 Senton and climbs to the top turnbuckle. Ethan Page rolls Scorpio Sky out of the ring towards safety as Sammy is still climbing, and Tay Conti confronts Lambert to a smattering of boos and cheers. Sammy is still perched on the top turnbuckle and as Conti gets out of the way he delivers a shooting star press to a standing Ethan Page as well as Scorpio Sky before rolling Sky back into the ring. Sammy then lands a cutter off the top rope but it’s only good for a close 2 count. Guevara runs his thumb along his neck to say it’s over but as he attempts to finish Sky, Dan Lambert is distracting the referee. Tay Conti lays hands on Lambert and quickly Paige Van Zant is running down the ramp to make the save. There is no discussion necessary as Van Zant and Conti get physical immediately, trading punches, but the distraction allows Sammy Guevara to deliver a low blow followed by a GTH. That is it, 1,2,3, Sammy, Sammy, Sammy is TNT Champion a third time. This match was awesome, storytelling wise we essentially had two heels, but what a job they both did. All the interference made sense, and the storytelling was outstanding in the ring. The two went under 20 minutes and told a well thought out story. It wasn’t perfect, but this was pro wrestling fun in a lot of ways and it was absolutely worth the watch. 

Result: Sammy Guevara by Pinfal via GTH

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 4.00 Stars

AMAZING Jonathan Gresham vs. Dalton Castle ROH World Championship match: Dalton enters first with a classic, very dancey entrance as expected. The “Party Peacock” likes to live his life, “Deliciously,” and hey we can only hope this match is as, “Delicious,” as what Scorpio and Sammy just did. Jonathan Gresham makes his entrance, and yeah he’s wearing the Octopus mask that makes him look like the bad guy from the second, “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and I’m already having a hard time believing that Mr. Castle has even a semblance of a chance tonight. The contest starts slow but Gresham is going to work with a side headlock takeover followed by some arm lock techniques before Castle rolls outside the ring for a breath. Dalton Castle scores a single-leg take down and then back on the feet is able to power Gresham around for a series of pumphandle suplexes. In the corner Gresham shows his agility and leapfrogs Castle but is met with a big boot to the jaw from Dalton after attempting to hit the ropes. The Octopus recovers quickly and scores on a deep armdrag followed by a hurricanrana to take control headed into the commercial break. In picture in picture, Gresham works the left arm of Castle but Dalton is game and is able to counter for enough time to avoid major problems. While the champion may have the challenger grounded, Castle has not taken nearly as much long term damage as has been possible, and may very well still be fresh. Out of the break the two go back and forth in the corner, neither gets the best of each other and Castle is finally able to land a saito suplex to end the sequence. He follows with an overhead belly to belly, and then he grabs a front facelock on Gresham as they stand back up. Dalton picks him up over his head to attempt the Bang-O-Rang but Gresham has it scouted and rolls him up. The count is two before Castle reverses, and the count is two once again. Gresham then reverses the hold once again  for a 1 count of his own and they continue to reverse pinfall attempts until Castle is able to break his arms free. Back on their feet Jonathan Gresham grabs a hold of the Octopus Stretch and Castle taps out very quickly. Jonathan Gresham is still the ROH World Champion, and deservedly so, that match was so fun. 

Result: Jonathan Gresham by Submission via Octopus Stretch

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 4.00 Stars

AMAZING Post match Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh run-in: They shake hands post match, but then  the music of Jay Lethal fills the arena. Mr. Lethal is accompanied by Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt. This is trouble, Singh throws Dalton Castle and “The Boys” into the steps as Jay Lethal drills the Lethal Injection on Jonathan Gresham. Lee Moriarty and Matt Sydal try to help but it is all for naught. Then Joe’s music hits, yep, that Joe. You know, the one of the Samoan variety. He’s carrying a steel pipe, and guess what? The bad guys hit the eject button and scurry up the ramp. No one wants any part of Samoa Joe, and who would, and better yet, why would they? Samoa Joe, the newly crowned Ring Of Honor Television Champion, cheerses belts with the Ring Of Honor World Champion Jonathan Gresham as they stand tall to end the segment. This was an awesome match with a great follow up, and there’s no reason we can’t look forward to Joe and Gresham vs. Lethal and Singh, because it’s interesting to say the very least. 

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 4.0 Stars

AMAZING Thunder Rosa vs. Nyla Rose AEW Women’s World Championship: Nyla Rose enters first, and not only is she not accompanied by Vickie Guerrero, she is wearing war paint. Thunder Rosa, the champion, enters second and she is greeted by a thunderous pop, no pun intended. The bell is rung, and Nyla starts quickly with a shoulder block that knocks the champion to the outside. By the rail, Rose blasts Rosa with right hands and then throws her into the guardrail. As Nyla walks Thunder Rosa down the champion is able to counter with a bulldog against the apron before rolling the action back into the ring and climbing to the top turnbuckle for a shotgun dropkick. She follows the dropkick with a sliding lariat, but Nyla Rose is able to reverse the momentum by playing possum. Rose continues to use her size to her advantage to work Thunder Rosa against the ropes but as she attempts a clothesline the champion is able to pull the top rope down to send the challenger Nyla Rose back outside the ring. It is only momentary as when Thunder Rosa tries to capitalize, the ”Native Beast” catches her off the apron and delivers an earth shattering powerbomb on the pavement outside the ring as we head to our first commercial break of the match. Inside the break, Rose dominates the champion with a powerful side headlock, followed by a death valley driver. With the champion grounded Nyla goes to work on both her left leg/ankle as well as the back of her neck. Thunder Rosa is totally game and as we come back from break she fights her way to her feet and starts to lay in strikes of her own. As Nyla is about to stop the momentum Thunder Rosa scores with a Stone-Cold esque Stunner and the challenger is grounded for the first time in the match. Thunder Rosa delivers a basement dropkick through the bottom ropes and climbs to the top turnbuckle. She scores on a less than graceful, yet effective Tornillo to Nyla Rose and then rolls her back in the ring. Then, as she attempts a cross body, Nyla catches her for a powerslam but Rosa is barely able to fight out. Nyla connects with a forearm before she re-scoops her, and lays Rosa over the top rope to try to Drop The Hammer, but Thunder Rosa evades! She lands Code Red on Nyla but it is only good enough for a 2 count. Nyla hits a series of short arm clotheslines and lariats before hoisting Thunder Rosa up for a huge chokeslam. She tries for a splash off the top rope but Thunder Rosa stands up! Nyla lands on her feet and then delivers another huge lariat to Rosa and she’s grounded again. How Thunder Rosa is still in this match is incredible, but she is. On the apron Nyla Rose has Rosa set up for a leg drop but once again Thunder Rosa is able to get out of the way and Nyla crashes and burns on the apron. Back in the ring it is back and forth as the challenger is finally really hurt. Nyla Rose recovers, and attempts a powerbomb, but the ever resourceful Thunder Rosa has it scouted. It’s a Hurricanrana followed by the jackknife cover and the 1,2,3. Thunder Rosa is driven to the absolute brink of defeat by Nyla Rose, and she still manages to retain. What a match. What a way to end championship week in AEW! These two gave it their all and this was an incredible match. 

Result: Thunder Rosa by Pinfall via Hurricanrana 

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 4.0 Stars

Overall Rating. 4.0/5 Stars   

Overall: This show may have been the best of the week for AEW in regards to balance and booking. On paper it didn’t look like the best, but I truly think it delivered above and beyond what was expected. Rampage was outstanding with the Page-Cole classic, and was a really fun show top to bottom. Dynamite was the most stacked card on paper of the week, and while it was really good, it seemed to leave some to be desired. Tonight, on paper, looked like arguably the weakest night of the week. It turned out not to be. Jonathan Gresham as the ROH Champion has a place on AEW television whenever he wants, in my eyes, and Dalton Castle looked incredible for a guy who has literally never wrestled on major television. Sammy Guevara and Scorpio Sky put on the best match either one has since 2020. It was so clean top to bottom, had great storytelling, and was the most shocking finish of the week by far. Oh yeah, Thunder Rosa is still the AEW Women’s World Champion, and if you’re asking this particular ratings writer’s opinion, I believe she is the best bell to bell women’s wrestler on the planet, and she proved it once again tonight. 

Matches: 0.75/1 Stars 

Show Structure: 1/1 Stars 

Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars  

Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars 

Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars  

Overall Rating. 4.0/5 Stars  

Photo Credit: AEW

For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here: 

The post “And the Thunder” AEW Battle Of the Belts II April 16, 2022 appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham will defend against Dalton Castle in the AEW debut for both men. Gresham defeated Bandido to unify the ROH titles at this month’s Supercard of Honor show, with AEW/ROH owner Tony Khan saying ROH titles can be defended on AEW.

Gresham has been the titleholder since last December’s Final Battle. Castle, a former ROH World Champion, appeared on the Supercard pre-show and picked up a win.

TNT Champion Scorpio Sky will defend the title against former champion Sammy Guevara in a rematch. Guevara and Tay Conti have been pursuing the rematch since Sky won the title last month on Dynamite. Unfortunately, Sammy ruined Dan Lambert’s car and interrupted promos.

This will be Sky’s second defense, while Guevara will be looking for his third TNT title reign.

The two matches join the already announced AEW Women’s title match between champion Thunder Rosa and former champion Nyla Rose.

Here’s the card for Battle of the Belts 2

• AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa defends against Nyla Rose
• ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Dalton Castle
• TNT Champion Scorpio Sky defends against Sammy Guevara

The post ROH World Title and TNT Title matches set for AEW Battle of the Belts II appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

GREAT Lance Archer vs. Dustin Rhodes: Lance Archer walks down the aisle with some kind of enhancement talent draped over his shoulder. Dustin Rhodes chases him down and the enhancement talent scatters as Dan Lambert slithers down the ramp. Archer is all over Rhodes, and rips the turnbuckle pad off of one of the corners as Dustin writhes in pain on the ground. Rhodes attempts a destroyer off the apron on the outside and that was as close as he’s been to anything resembling offense thus far. The man known as the Murderhawk Monster is firmly in control. We hit our first commercial break and Archer is still dominant. Out of the break, nothing has changed except that Archer’s left boot is unlaced which could play a role in the outcome of this contest. Dustin finds a second wind and delivers a pair of clotheslines, followed by a kneeling uppercut for his first true offense of the contest. Archer quickly regains the edge with a massive shoulder block, but gets overzealous in the corner, and Dustin Rhodes is starting to finally look like he might be in this one too. Rhodes scores a Cross-Rhodes a la his brother for the first near fall of the match, but after the kickout Archer re-asserts his dominance with a full-nelson-side slam for the ages. Archer seeks the exposed turnbuckle but is reversed into it himself! Rhodes goes for a backslide cover and gets the 3 count! 

Result: Dustin Rhodes by Pinfall via Backslide

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars

GOOD Post match scrum: Archer throws Rhodes into the steps and he’s busted wide open. The ring is surrounded by Dan Lambert, The Men of the Year as well as Lance Archer and Rhodes is isolated. Members of the newly christened, “Rhodes Wrestling Academy,” attempt to defend their coach Dustin, but it is all for naught and he is driven through a table at ringside by the Murderhawk Monster to end the segment. 

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.00 Stars

Jay Lethal Backstage interview: Jay Lethal is disappointed with his loss from last week and he jokes that it is, “back to the drawing board,” He’s got some, “thinking to do..” and there has to be a, “Better way.” This segment was too short to rate but it was fun, and I’m excited to see where they go with Jay Lethal. 

AVERAGE Fuego Del Sol in ring promo: Fuego starts the promo in the ring and starts with the classic he, “know’s he’s undersized and an underdog,” stuff. He reminds us of when the fans chanted his name, in some of his underdog spots against Miro. Then he calls out to anyone and everyone and says he’s ready to fight. The lights go out, and when they come back on all three members of the House of Black are in the ring, and Taz predicts it will be a “massacre.” Taz was right, it is a massacre. Brody King lands a Fire-Thunder-Driver and Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews look on in enjoyment. On their way up the ramp they are confronted by the Dark Order and it is an interesting discussion involving no physicality to end the segment. 

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars

The Men of the Year with Dan Lambert Backstage Promo: Lambert announces that the TNT title is no longer subject to the “Open Challenge” rule. Scorpio Sky drops a hilarious line about people trying to break the, “Skyvinci Code,” and that is the end of that. Too short to rate. 

GREAT ReDragon vs. 5 and 10 of the Dark Order: O’Reilly and Angels start in the ring and KOR is all over him, but as soon as Angels sees a gap he lands the hot tag to 10 who comes in scorching. 10 drops both Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly as we head to our first Picture in Picture break. Inside pic in pic, 10 still looks great until ReDragon uses some shady tactics to bring down the young prospect. Near the end of the break Bobby Fish has 10 grounded in the ring and is working his left knee. Fish tags in O’Reilly who continues to go to work on that left knee. Fish is using strikes to break down the leg, and O’Reily his grappling, targeting the same knee. It is cool to see a classic limb targeting strategy employed by ReDragon, there’s no doubt about how well travelled and versed these two are. 10 finally manages to tag in 5, aka Alan Angels and he lands a double crossbody before clearing the ring to the adulation of the crowd. Angels tries an exploder suplex but Kyle O’Reilly manages to reverse it into a guillotine choke. 10, spinebusters Bobby Fish into 5 and Kyle O’Reilly to break the hold, but that won’t be nearly enough. ReDragon lands Chasing-the-Dragon on Angels and that is a ballgame. 

Result: ReDragon by Pinfall via Chasing The Dragon

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.50 Stars

GOOD Tag Team Title Heist: Jungle Boy’s music hits and Jurrassic Express are on their way as ReDragon tries to lay in a post match beat down on the numbered members of the Dark Order. Adam Cole sneaks in and grabs the Tag Titles held by Jurassic Express. Looks like we have a belt thief on our hands. 

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars

Nyla Rose vs Madi Wrenkowski: Nyla is all over Madi out of the gates. Beast Bomb, over. That was a squash if I’ve ever seen one. Too short to rate. 

GOOD QT Marshall presents a certificate of accomplishment to Hook: QT starts the segment in the ring and then Action Bronson overtakes our speakers and the crowd pops heavily for the kid that is Hook. He strolls to the ring in a hoodie and the fans are not having QT Marshall. Hook’s expression hasn’t changed and he’s been on this screen for a long while. The certificate means about as much to Hook as it does anyone else. Hook throws Aaron Solo head first through the award and walks away. Danhausen is at the top of the ramp, he tries to curse Hook, but Hook is unbothered. We end the segments with laughs from commentary, and deservedly so.. I mean, I was laughing. 

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.00 Stars

GREAT Swerve Strickland vs Ricky Starks for the FTW Championship: Swerve enters first to a raucous reception and Ricky is on his way to one of his own. The reception for Ricky is properly more mixed but it’s undeniable the guy is over. Starks is accompanied by Hobbs and Taz is on commentary. They are trying to sell the fact that this is Starks’ adopted hometown but this is without question Swerve’s House. The match starts slow before Strickland gains the advantage. The strikes are snug, and both Swerve and Starks are as game as could be. The chants for Strickland rain down from the crowd before he is slammed into the second turnbuckle headfirst. During commercial Starks has the edge but this is anyone’s ballgame at this point. Out of the break Starks has Swerve grounded, but Swerve manages to get back to his feet and lands a massive flying knee. Swerve hits a diving shoulder block to a seated Starks and he is feeling it. Strickland follows with a rolling flatliner and nearly wins the match. Starks tries for “Roshambo,” but misses and the action spills to the outside. They work their way back in the ring and Swerve has a chance. Unfortunately; the referee is briefly distracted and Powerhouse Hobbs lays out Strickland with a giant shoulder block of his own. Roshambo connects this time and Swerve is pinned. As team Taz begins to celebrate Keith Lee clears the ramp. The crowd chants, “Oh Bask in His Glory,” as Lee and Swerve trade punches with members of Team Taz. The entire referee crew hits the ring to clear this chaotic scene but there is nothing anyone can do. It looks like Hobbs and Lee is coming soon and that is something I couldn’t be more excited for. 

Result: Ricky Starks by Pinfall via Roshambo

Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars

Overall: This was another entertaining show from AEW, say what you want, but they’ve brought 3 hours a week of entertaining wrestling for over a year now. While Rampage doesn’t usually live up to Dynamite (and this one didn’t either) this was a super entertaining episode. Strickland and Starks was a really fun match in the main event and the whole hour was nicely consistent. Both ReDragon and the Dark Order team they faced brought it in their match, and it was awesome to see Lance Archer and Dustin Rhodes back on primetime television. There are so many great active storylines going in AEW right now, I can only hope they can parlay this into more fun on next weeks’ Rampage and Dynamite respectively. Oh yeah, Hook is still no joke. This isn’t lightning in a bottle, Hook, has “It,” Yes that “It,” the cliche proverbial, “It,” we’ve all heard about our whole lives. Thats it.

Matches: 0.75/1  Stars 

Show Structure: 0.75/1  Stars 

Atmosphere: 0.75/1  Stars  

Storytelling:0.75 /1  Stars 

Production/Theme: 0.50/1  Stars  

Overall Rating. 3.50/1 Stars   

Photo Credit: AEW 

For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here: 

The post “The Heist of the Belt Thief” AEW Rampage March 25, 2022 appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

It was announced that Darby Allin will have Sting in his corner for a one-on-one match against Anthony Bowens of The Acclaimed. A tag team street fight has been announced between Penelope Ford & The Bunny vs. Anna Jay & Tay Conti.

Apart from the matches scheduled, it was announced that there will be a “Technique with Taz” segment featuring hook.

Below is the full card for this week’s New Year’s Eve edition of AEW Rampage below:

TNT Championship
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Ethan Page

Tag Team Street Fight
Penelope Ford & The Bunny vs. Anna Jay & Tay Conti

Technique With Taz featuring HOOK’S REDRUM

Darby Allin (w/ Sting) vs. Anthony Bowens (w/ Max Caster)

The post Multiple matches and a Technique with Taz set for 12/31 AEW Rampage appeared first on Wrestling Republic.