Friday night wrestling time!
Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks and Chris Jericho on commentary. 4 man booth. Ugh!
AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament First Round Match: Orange Cassidy vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
Cassidy has taped ribs from being put through a table by Matt Hardy in the Casino Ladder match a few weeks ago. Commentary touch upon Cassidy beating Hobbs in 12 seconds when Hobbs was unsigned. Cassidy goes for the Orange Punch right away but Hobbs hits a Spinebuster for a nice near-fall and teases a quick finish. Hobbs works over Cassidy with his brute strength. Cassidy tries to use his quickness to take control but Hobbs catches him and locks in a Torture Rack! Hobbs is a Luger fan! Hobbs batters Cassidy in the corner and Bryce gets in between to break it up. Hobbs gets in Bryce's face but calms down and is caught in a Mouse Trap for the 3 count. Nice match with Hobbs clearly having Cassidy beat all match, but his inexperience and emotions made him take the eyes off his opponent and Cassidy stole one. Protected Hobbs while still making him look strong. **3/4
Tony Schiavone is in the ring and introduces Penta El Zero Miedo and Alex. Alex comes out with Fenix's title and hams it up like crazy. The dude is a joy to watch. Penta goes to speak but Alex spots two masked men with the same green masks as FTR from Dynamite. Penta rips the mask off and it's two jobbers. FTR and Tully jump them from behind. They pose with the belts before PAC runs out to check on his Death Triangle teammate. I was really hoping for a "Penta says" promo.
Britt Baker vs. Anna Jay
Not a bad match. Anna is still very green. Someone told me she has had like only 30 something wrestling matches, which is insane for how good she looks in the ring. Baker lead the match and worked over Anna. Anna looked unsure and hesitant to do anything, which is unfortunate. Anna gets the Queenslayer on and they do the Bret/Piper Wrestlemania 8 spot but Anna keeps the sleeper locked in. Baker eventually escapes and hangs Anna on the ropes. Superkick and Lockjaw ends it. Anna looked better than usual but still clearly has a some growing to do before she is a top star. The potential is there though. Baker already is a star and can do no wrong.
**
Baker attacks Anna after the match until Tay Conti runs out and breaks it up. Conti poses with the belt so expect a title match at some point.
Commentary runs down the card for Dynamite and we get the bracket for the TBS Championship tournament!
-Anna Jay vs. Jamie Hayter, winner facing Thunder Rosa who gets a first round bye.
-The Bunny vs. Red Velvet, winner facing Jade Cargill who gets a first round bye.
-Serena Deed vs. Hikaru Shida, winner facing Nyla Rose who gets a first round bye.
-Penelope Ford vs. Ruby Soho, winner facing Kris Statlander who gets a first round bye.
Tony Schiavone does spilt screen promos with PAC and Andrade El Idolo. Pretty simple and sweet. They both hype up how there will be no one ringside.
PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo
This was a fantastic wrestling match. These two worked every move like they wanted to hurt each other. Lots of amazing chemistry and exchanges. Andrade worked the head and neck of PAC (setting up his Hammer Lock DDT) while PAC targeted Andrade's back which is the target of the Black Arrow. The crowd was super into this. Lots of near-falls. PAC is able to out-wrestle Andrade when he goes for the DDT and gets a roll-up for the win. Leaves the door open for a rubber match for sure.
****
Lights go out right at the bell! MALAKAI BLACK IS HERE! Mist to PAC's face. Andrade and Black attack PAC and Black grabs a chair. Arn Anderson on the ramp. He pulls out the finger gun and shoots Black. Cody from behind! He clears house as he gets a great pop. Cody and Black tomorrow night!
Pretty good episode of Rampage. Hobbs and Anna got chances to shine. Baker stays dominant. We get the bracket for the TBS Championship. And then we got PAC/Andrade in a banger of a match. I also liked the post match angle cause it sets up some interesting feuds down the road and got Cody a nice pop before his big match tomorrow with Black.
For more thoughts and opinions, follow me on Twitter @AlexKalil
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