Recap by: allelitewrestling.com

Bang Bang Gang (Austin Gunn and Juice Robinson) def. FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler)

Our opening contest for the evening revisited the years of history between FTR, Austin Gunn and Juice Robinson, just two weeks before Harwood and Wheeler challenge Brodido for the AEW World Tag Team Championships at Full Gear. While Stokely was out with FTR, Gunn and Robinson didn’t have Ace Austin with them, as he was preparing to challenge Kyle Fletcher for the TNT Championship later in the night.

Gunn and Harwood began the hostilities, with Harwood clearly bothered by a very pro-Bang Bang Gang crowd. Gunn got the best of Harwood on a couple of early exchanges, so Wheeler tagged in for the first time. Gunn quickly handled Wheeler with similar ease and brought in Juice, who went right to the top rope, which made Wheeler retreat to his corner. Harwood finally gained an advantage with some brutal chops and punches in the corner, as Bryan Keith and Big Bill watched from the back. Juice turned it around with knife-edge chops of his own before mounting Harwood with punches. Wheeler tried to attack from behind, but Juice saw it coming and landed on Wheeler with a twisting crossbody! Gunn came in to make things even, and the Bang Bang Gang hit a double back-body drop on FTR. Gunn clotheslined Harwood over the top rope and sent Wheeler down on top of him in an ugly collision.

Robinson lifted Harwood for an atomic drop, but he didn’t see Wheeler make the blind tag. He still nailed Wheeler with a back elbow to get out of the wrong corner, so Wheeler bailed to the outside. While Robinson continued to focus on Harwood, Wheeler quickly moved to a neutral corner and attacked Robinson from behind with a chop block to his left knee.

Robinson’s knee became the target of FTR – and when they zero in on a body part, the damage will be done. Juice struggled over and over again to get to his corner and nearly won the match with a defensive sunset flip! Finally, he broke through FTR with a double DDT, and Gunn was able to tag in! He was a house of fire against both members of FTR, with plenty left in the tank to take them both on! A spinning neckbreaker sent Wheeler to the apron, so Gunn tried to win it with a small package on Dax. Dax escaped at two, so Gunn went to a backslide, but Dax got out again.

Gunn tried to hit a Fame-asser on Wheeler, but it was avoided, so Gunn sent Wheeler to the outside. Harwood ducked a charging Gunn, and when Gunn tried to rebound off the opposite side, Wheeler pulled down the rope, which sent Gunn crashing onto the floor. Gunn then became the isolated member of the Bang Bang Gang for the next few minutes, as Juice impatiently tried to tag back into the match.

Finally, Gunn threw Dax to the outside and tried to clothesline Cash, but he had the same idea, and both men went down hard! Wheeler tagged Harwood, who quickly ran across the ring to block Gunn from making the tag. Gunn back bodydropped Harwood out of the way, and the tag was made to Juice!

“JUICE!” “JUICE!” “JUICE!”

Robinson peppered Harwood and Wheeler with right-hand jabs before landing atomic drops on both men and smashing their heads together. Robinson threw Wheeler to the outside, so Harwood tried to attack, but Robinson avoided it with a high-leg kick. Robinson followed with a big cannonball in the corner on a downed Harwood and immediately launched himself onto Wheeler with a crossbody to the outside! With Gunn still unable to get back on the apron, Robinson was fighting alone and doing a great job until Harwood reversed a top-rope crossbody into a near-fall.

Harwood went for a Sharpshooter, so Juice blocked it and rolled him up for a two count. Both men went for big swings, and it was Robinson who connected with the Left Hand of God. Wheeler returned to the ring and caught Robinson with a powerslam, but Gunn was finally back and crossbodied both himself and Wheeler to the floor. Robinson threw an arm over Harwood, but it wasn’t enough, and Harwood kicked out.

Back on the outside, Stokely ripped the masks off of two fans only to find out it was Bandido and Gravity, wearing their masks underneath those! They snatched his jacket and chased after him up the ramp, where he ran into “Speedball” Mike Bailey and “The Jet” Kevin Knight, JetSpeed! With nowhere to go, Stokely turned right into a superkick from Bandido! Wheeler came around the ring and ate a pair of superkicks from Bandido and Gravity, but the referee was dealing with Robinson and Harwood, so he didn’t see it. Harwood tried to go through the ropes to go after Bandido and Gravity, but Gunn was waiting with a nasty Fame-asser on the apron! Harwood stumbled back into another Left Hand of God from Robinson, who followed that with The Juice is Loose to get the victory!

The Bang Bang Gang, JetSpeed, Bandido, and Gravity celebrated with guns up in the ring, as FTR gathered a still woozy Stokely, still in shock over what just happened.

Kyle Fletcher Gets a Visit from Kazuchika Okada

After this week’s Dynamite, Renee Paquette caught up with TNT Champion “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher to ask why he was so quick to accept Mark Briscoe’s challenge for a no disqualification rematch at Full Gear, even before Don Callis got Briscoe to agree to the stipulation that if Briscoe loses, he has to join the Don Callis Family.

Fletcher admitted, “You know, I was excited, but the more I think about it, maybe I should be concerned. I mean, the deck is kind of stacked against me. I have to face Mark Briscoe, a deranged human being, in a no-disqualification match, where he could literally do anything to me. I could lose my championship. He might win it, but even if he loses, he still wins because he joins the Don Callis Family, which is literally the best thing that’s ever happened to him…”

The AEW Unified Champion and fellow Callis Family member, “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada, arrived on the scene, which seemed to surprise Fletcher.

Okada said, “I’m sorry Takeshita isn’t here to support you, but I am. Because you and me, we’re basically the captains of the Don Callis Family, and after Full Gear, when you beat Mark Briscoe, we will both still be champions. We will be ProtOkada!”

Okada took his leave, as Fletcher contemplated the sound of “ProtOkada” and even admitted it had a nice ring to it.

TNT Championship Open Challenge: “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher (c) def. Ace Austin

Both Fletcher and Austin went into this one unaccompanied, although Austin got some encouragement from Austin Gunn and Juice Robinson before they returned to the locker room.

Fletcher and Austin had a feeling-out process, with Fletcher controlling Austin and thwarting all of his reversals. Fletcher dropped Austin with a stiff shoulder block, but it didn’t keep Austin down for long, and he caught Fletcher in a crucifix pin that nearly won him the TNT Championship! Austin motioned to Fletcher that he was that close to winning, so Fletcher took a slow walk around the outside. When he returned to the ring, Fletcher feigned locking up with Austin and just about kicked through Austin’s face with one of the most devastating big boots you will ever see. Fletcher tried to keep Austin in a front facelock, but Austin escaped and used his powerful legs to level Fletcher and roll him up for a two count. Austin tried a springboard crossbody, and Fletcher was ready to catch him with a backbreaker and a full nelson slam! Fletcher was in complete control, and he knew it!

Austin showed some life when he was knocked to the apron and blocked a punch to hit a big forearm. Austin tried to jump and rebound through the ropes for a kick, but Fletcher had it scouted and moved. Austin came back with a clothesline and a front kick/Russian leg sweep combo, followed by a guillotine leg drop that made Fletcher bail to the outside. Austin didn’t wait long to hit a shooting star press over the top to the floor to a standing Fletcher in a perilous landing for both men!

Austin threw Fletcher back in the ring and hit a double-arm capture brainbuster for a two count. That was innovative! Fletcher once again rolled to the outside and was doubled over in pain. Austin tried another springboard but adjusted to land on the apron when Fletcher saw it coming. Then, spectacularly, Austin avoided multiple attempts to take out his legs, but he wound up getting caught with a powerbomb on the apron. Fletcher threw Austin back in the ring and nailed him with a big kick. He went for an avalanche powerbomb and hit it, yet Austin found a way to kick out!

Fletcher followed with a rising boot in the corner and looked for the sheardrop brainbuster, but this time, Austin was ready for it and kicked Fletcher to the corner. He hit a leaping lariat in the corner and continued with a few more before putting Fletcher on the top turnbuckle. He hit a step up enzuigiri to daze Fletcher so he could run down the apron and try a head scissors to launch Fletcher, but Fletcher reversed it and went for a tombstone from the top, and somehow Austin reversed it into a hurricanrana on the way down!

With Fletcher in trouble, Austin sensed it and spiked Fletcher into the mat with his knees. He went for the cover, and Fletcher weakly threw his shoulder up to save his championship. Austin drew a card, so it was time for The Fold! Unfortunately, he took too much time, so Fletcher was able to avoid it. They traded reversals until Fletcher lawn darted Austin into the second turnbucked, but he missed a rising boot, as Austin was ready for it! Great scouting! Austin nailed Fletcher with a kick and set up for The Fold again, but Fletcher caught it and dropped Austin right into the sheardrop brainbuster. That should have put Austin away, but he kicked out! Unbelievable!

Fletcher went for another brainbuster, so Austin reversed it into a rollup for a two count. Austin bridged over Fletcher for another nearfall, and the two started trading big kicks in the middle of the ring. Fletcher absolutely leveled Austin with a short-range lariat, and when Austin struggled to prop himself up in the corner, Fletcher was there with the rising boot. He didn’t mess around and finished Austin off with a top-rope brainbuster to get the pinfall and successful TNT Championship defense. What a match!

Megan Bayne’s Dominance on Display

We took a look back on the formation of Bayne’s team with Marina Shafir, followed by their decisive first victory as a team last week on Collision. Bayne followed that with an impressive win over Mina Shirakawa in Match 1 of the Women’s Blood & Guts Advantage Battle on Dynamite. Then, she returned to STARDOM in Japan in victorious fashion! What will she be capable of in the Women’s Blood & Guts match on Wednesday in Greensboro?

AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander Delivers a Message to Mercedes Moné

As she sat alone on a flight of steps somewhere in the building, Statlander addressed Ultimo Moné, “Mercedes, you have a lot that I will never have. More success, more accolades, more confidence, more legacy than any woman in wrestling history. Well, there is one thing, well maybe two things that I have and you don’t. Focus. I have complete and total focus on being the AEW Women’s World Champion. And you don’t. If you think this is just some other sidepiece you can scribble on a cake or have some male bimbo carry behind you, then you would be wrong in the most extraordinary of ways. You were eliminated from the tag team tournament because you weren’t focused on me, and now I will follow you into Blood & Guts and go through whoever I have to, until you are focused on me. And then, at Full Gear, one year after we fought for the very first time, in a completely different world, your focus will be full. Your vision will be clear. And it still won’t make a difference.”

Jon Moxley and the Death Riders Run Into Don Callis and Kyle Fletcher

Last Wednesday, after Dynamite, Jon Moxley and the Death Riders addressed Blood & Guts. Moxley said, “We should just give them the advantage at Blood & Guts as a courtesy. They’re weak. They’re hurt. They’re tired. And the deciding Match 3, this is already in the bag.”

That’s when Don Callis showed up with TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher to speak with the Death Riders. “Gentlemen, now, we’ve certainly successfully stayed out of each other’s business for some time to mutual benefit, and on the subject of mutual benefit, Kyle here has got a very high-stakes match with Mark Briscoe. Now, I know you got Briscoe at Blood & Guts, and I’m just saying, I’m very happy with what you guys are gonna do and leave him as dog food.”

PAC spoke up, “Listen, Don. Everybody knows we are done playing games, all right. In Greensboro, North Carolina, we are leaving five bodies in that cage. Whatever you choose to do with what’s left of Mark Briscoe, well, that’s your prerogative. We couldn’t give a piss.”

Callis responded, “I love the sounds of that. Just saying, if that were to be the case, I would owe you a tremendous favor. Anything you want, anything you want. Favors…”

Moxley got in Callis’ face to say, “Do we look like we need favors from anybody?”

Callis stammered as the Death Riders left one by one, with Claudio Castagnoli lingering a little longer to stare at Fletcher.

Fletcher calmly said to Callis, “I think that went OK.”

TayJay (Tay Melo and Anna Jay) def. Maya World & Hyan

Melo and World began this one with Melo quickly hitting a German suplex. She missed a knee, but connected with a big right hand. Jay tagged in with a snap-mare on World, so Melo came back in with a running knee to the face, followed by Jay floating over with another snap-mare. Jay went for the cover, but Hyan broke it up in time. TayJay smashed World’s face between their backsides, but she escaped long enough to tag Hyan.

Hyan entered right into a right hand from Jay, who tagged in Melo. While Hyan struggled to get up, Melo sprinted across the ring to knock World from the apron. She followed with a pump kick on World in the corner. Jay picked up Hyan in the Gory Special and dropped her onto a rising knee from Melo. Three seconds later, TayJay had a dominant victory.

ROH Women’s World Champion Athena Has to Do It for Herself

Lexy Nair was backstage with Athena, who made sure that Nair gave her a proper introduction. Athena asked why she doesn’t feel like the forever ROH Women’s World Champion. She admitted it’s because she was pinned for only the fifth time in five years, but it hurts the most because it was Harley Cameron.

“I bet you she feels special, but you know what? She’s not if Kris Statlander didn’t poke her nose in my business. If Billie Starkz could regain my trust and do the right thing for once. And if Mercedes Moné had my back like I had hers, I wouldn’t be in this predicament, which is doubting myself. So if Harley Cameron by some miracle survives Blood & Guts, she’s gonna realize that I don’t need five other people by my side, a steel cage, or weapons to beat the crap out of her. And I am going to do it, not for my minions, not for anyone that I genuinely care about – I am going to do it for me. And after, I’m going to make Harley Cameron a little puppet for M.I.T.. What do you think about that, Lex?”

“Yes, minion overlord,” said Nair.

“Put some pep in your step next time!”

Women’s Blood & Guts Advantage Battle Match 2: Jamie Hayter def. Skye Blue

Hayter had to win this to force a deciding Match 3 between Harley Cameron and Thekla. Blue went for a couple of quick covers, but bailed to the outside to get away from Hayterade. She ran away from a chasing Hayter and was able to send Hayter shoulder-first into the steel steps. Blue wasn’t able to take advantage, as Hayter came back with a big spinebuster and 10 punches in the corner. Hayter charged in the opposite corner, but Blue was ready with a flatliner into the turnbuckle. Blue hit a crescent kick on a downed Hayter for a two count, but she stayed on Hayter to slow things down.

Hayter battled back with her power, nailing Blue with multiple clotheslines and a suplex for a two count. She nailed Blue with a big boot for another two-count. The two traded reversals for multiple nearfalls and then went back and forth with forearms until Hayter collapsed onto Blue for another two-count.

The two fought on the turnbuckles until Blue trapped Hayter between the top and middle turnbuckles for another crescent kick to the head. She nailed Hayter with a running Liger Bomb, but Hayter somehow kicked out! Blue was clearly frustrated, so she went for a Code Blue, only for Hayter to fall on top for yet another two-count. Blue missed a spin kick, which allowed Hayter to hit a ripcord Hayterade for the win!

That tied things at 1-1 between the two sides, but before she could do much to celebrate, Thekla and Julia Hart attacked Hayter and pulled her from the ring. Before they could do much, Cameron and Willow Nightingale hit the scene to save their Blood & Guts teammate, as security rushed out to separate everyone so we could get to Match 3!

Women’s Blood & Guts Advantage Battle Match 3: Thekla def. Harley Cameron to Win the Advantage for Her Team

Once things calmed down, we got right to the final women’s match to decide who would take the advantage into Wednesday’s Blood & Guts!

Thekla was ruthless from the jump, as she beat down Cameron, but Cameron fought back with a dropkick, so Thekla went to the outside. Cameron followed her and hit a Russian leg sweep on the floor. Back in the ring, Cameron stayed on the offensive with punches in the corner until Thekla fought her off. Thekla hit a boot to send Cameron through the ropes and followed up with a suplex. She walked Cameron around and hit another on the floor. She continued the tour of the outside with yet another suplex. She ripped away at Cameron’s face, but was scolded by referee Aubrey Edwards. Thekla didn’t pay any mind to Edwards and trapped Cameron in her web over the ropes until a five-count broke it.

Cameron finally battled back with a defensive slingblade before going to work in the corner on Thekla with big shots in succession, as she started to feed off the crowd more and more. Cameron avoided a charge from Thekla and the two battled on the turnbuckles until Thekla was knocked down. As we’ve seen before, she rose back up only for Cameron to bite her! Cameron stayed on the offensive with a running dropkick for a near-fall.

Cameron went to the top and missed a swanton bomb. Thekla popped up into her spider walk and speared Cameron to get the win and earn the advantage for her team!

JetSpeed Makes an Announcement for Full Gear

Lexy Nair was with JetSpeed after they came to the aid of the Bang Bang Gang and Bandido earlier in the night because they had an announcement. “Speedball” Mike Bailey made it clear they weren’t done with FTR and Stokely, but there’s a Casino Gauntlet at Full Gear to become the first AEW National Champion, so both Bailey and “The Jet” Kevin Knight are throwing their names in to enter! They said if it came down to the two of them, may the best man win.

Anthony Bowens and Max Caster … Agree?

Lexy Nair caught up with Anthony Bowens and Max Caster to get their thoughts on last week’s loss to Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita, but she said Bowens has something to say.

He began, “I wanted you to hear this in person. I want everybody to hear it, actually. That is the fact that The Acclaimed is not coming back. It is done. We tried to do it out of respect to Jerry Lynn, but I’m just sick of it. I’m over it. And my first step forward, two weeks from now, I have an opportunity at Tailgate Brawl in my home state of New Jersey. What do you think about that, pal?”

Caster responded, “I am happy we are no longer a tag team. I will also be at the Tailgate Brawl, so I guess I’ll see you there.”

They started arguing, and Nair stopped them with some interesting facts.

She said, “Per Tony Khan, you do higher ratings when you’re together. Your merch sales are higher when you’re together. The net present value cashflows of your contractual agreements are higher when you are together. The numbers don’t lie, so if you plan to appear at AEW Full Gear Tailgate Brawl, it’d better be together as a tag team.”

Bowens and Caster started to protest, but Nair quickly reminded them, “Guys, guys. This was per Tony Khan, don’t shoot the messenger.”

Caster looked right at the camera to address Khan, “Tony, if I may. This is really what you think of me? You know how insulting this is? I promise you will regret the way you treated me. ‘Cause you can’t act like people don’t love The Best Wrestler Alive™ alone. And you can’t act like he (Bowens) represents the company at all those outside events by himself. I don’t go to those, and he’s not The Best Wrestler Alive.”

Bowens was furious and had had enough. “Ah, you know what? Shut up! You talk too much. Tony, he’s right, though. What’s wrong with you? Cancel the match. I’m done!”

Bowens continued to yell as he left, and Caster said, “I’m done, too.”

“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Powerhouse Hobbs Falls Count Anywhere This Wednesday!

We went back to the Dynamite main event, where The Opps successfully defended the AEW World Trios Championships against Page, HOOK, and Eddie Kingston. While HOOK tapped, arguably the most significant blow was dealt by Hobbs when he put Page through a table with a world’s strongest slam from the stage to the floor! Now, Hobbs and Page will battle this Wednesday in a non-title, Falls Count Anywhere match!

Men’s Blood & Guts Advantage Battle Match 3: Roderick Strong def. Jon Moxley via Countout to Win the Advantage For His Team

Our main event decided the men’s Blood & Guts Advantage Battle. Moxley made his customary entrance through the crowd with Shafir. Strong came out by himself, as he has been laser-focused on Moxley and the Death Riders for weeks.

Moxley and Strong had a bit of a feeling-out process, as they mat wrestled until Strong worked an arm wringer, until Mox reversed it into a hammerlock. That ended when the two shoved each other, and Mox went to the outside to stall. He came back in and backed Strong into the ropes, so Strong fired back with chops into the corner. Mox turned it around and mounted Strong in the corner to get some offense from an elevated angle. Moxley hit some stiff shots, including a big shot to the ribs that took the wind out of Strong. Moxley followed up and did some joint manipulation on Strong’s fingers. Strong came back by reversing Moxley into the steel steps! Strong backdropped Moxley on two different safety rails and went for a third on the steps, but Mox got out of it and shoved Strong back-first into the steps to swing the match in his favor.

After Mox punished Strong on the outside, they returned to the ring, where Mox put Strong in multiple submissions, trying to work on Strong’s knees. Moxley got Strong on the top turnbuckle and deeply scratched Strong’s back before butterfly suplexing him to the ring. That earned a two-count, as the crowd chanted for Strong. He created some separation with a jawbreaker and started to build momentum with a Sick Kick and a lifting slam to send Moxley face-first into the mat. That got him a near fall, so he hit a Tiger Driver for another near fall, but immediately transitioned into the Strong Hold! Mox turned it into a small package to escape.

They slugged it out until Strong nailed a perfect dropkick to Moxley’s face. He quickly followed with a superplex, as the crowd exploded in an “A-E-W!” chant!

Both men were clearly hurting, but Strong was up first and nailed a gutbuster. He tried to do more, but was tripped by Shafir from the outside. Moxley tried to take advantage with a quick pin, but Strong kicked out. Meanwhile, Kyle O’Reilly came out to get in Shafir’s face, so he didn’t see Wheeler Yuta attack his knee from behind. Moxley sent Strong to the outside so that Yuta could use a chair on him, but the referee saw it and ejected Yuta and Shafir from the ringside area! In all the commotion, PAC came out of nowhere to deck Strong, which the referee never saw. Moxley seemed OK with a countout win until Strong dove back in just to have Moxley stomp his head into the mat. Strong kicked out!

Moxley rained down blows on Strong and trapped him in a cross armbreaker, but Strong escaped by getting to the ropes. PAC set up a table on the outside, so Moxley picked up Strong for a piledriver from the apron. But before he could do anything, O’Reilly ran down the other side of the apron to take out PAC with a flying knee! Strong fought out of Moxley’s attempt and hit a step-up kick to knock Moxley back into the ring. Daniel Garcia jumped up on the apron and ran at Strong, but Strong caught him with a uranage through the table!

Moxley threw Strong into the turnbuckle and followed him outside to go for a Paradigm Shift on the steel steps, but Strong reversed it into a full nelson slam on the steel, and Moxley was in big trouble! Strong got in the ring at six to beat the count, but when Moxley tried to do the same, someone grabbed his leg from under the ring, and he was counted out! Strong wins the advantage for his side!

The Death Riders checked under the apron, and PAC was shocked by a cattle prod! It was Darby Allin! He kept the Death Riders at bay and went into the crowd to end the night. We’ll see you on Wednesday! One Cage. Two Rings. Three Words. BLOOD AND GUTS!