Stoke, Renee and RJ chat it up for the Zero Hour - which is pretty loaded with both an ROH World Title and ROH Tag Title match set up alongside Claudio facing off with Buddy Matthews. Hype up for MJF's title match and then a killer video for Orange and Mox. Stokely, the man who is noted is more brave than a lion, being afraid of Mox puts him over huge. INCREDIBLE Storm-Shida hype video. Tag Title hype for the ladder match.
Sting trios tag hype. We are on YEAR 17 OF CHRISTIAN CAGE PROMISING TO END STING'S CAREER. Hangman and Swerve hype involves the Wrestling Revolver beatings too. At 7, the first match hits the ring with Eddie Kingston defending the ROH World Title facing Jay Lethal and Stokely IS PISSED TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF PISSTIVITY! Jay's in throwback shorts and eats a chop before chopping with Eddie. TRIPLE STRUT. Jeff Jarrett is such a great Memphis-style manager - shocking I know. Ortiz prevents interference and the backfist ends it - good-ish match that never got out of first gear.
Claudio vs. Matthews is up and Claudio gets 2 off the big swing and they rightfully put over that beyond beating people with it, he's won titles with it. Buddy gets a powerbomb and then a deadlift jackhammer before locking on a crossface! Ricola bomb into a sharpshooter from Claudio! AND THAT'S THE WIN. This was a lot of fun. Claudio wants a handshake and Buddy nixes it. Good stuff - make people invested in the characters.
ROH Tag Title time and it's crazy how good the Gunns are already - in under three years, they've grown from being enhancement guys who got the tag titles in an odd run at the time that wound up really helping them out. Now they're main event-level allies and Joe is mega-over as is MJF in Lakers gear. Joe is feeling it tonight and landed a great elbow suicida to both Gunns!
Joe is so ungodly over and MJF calls for a muscle buster and that gets nixed but THE KANGAROO KICK...is nixed by Joe! They decide for a STEREO MUSCLE BUSTER! 3:10 to YUMA HITS JOE FOR 2.9 when MJF pulls him out! Cole comes out and JOE TAPS HIM OUT OFF THE DISTRACTION! This was a trillion stars! Cole can't help though as Max is chairshotted to the knee several times! They stretcher him out of the building as he cusses up a storm and tells them to not let them take his title - PROMISE!
The pre-show to full show segue is great. The show-opening video puts over the key matches and really makes the Sting trios match feel special. They recap the pre-show on the main show's opening portion. The Sting Trios match actually starts the card off! Christian gets a children's choir to sing his song and Nigel says it's the Ernie McCracken charity kids! Flair gets a big intro and is called a 21-time world champ in his graphic.
Sting's Squadron comes down all dressed adorn in paint and Sting colors looking so cool before we get an epic shot of Copeland and Cage. Cage avoids Cope. Darby...WITH A FRACTURED SHOULDER IS GOING TO TRY AND CLIMB EVEREST!? WHAT ON EARTH!? RIC FLAIR! RIC FLAIR OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS is pondering that maybe Darby is too goddamn insane. He took the most insane bump onto his hip on the apron and then spilled on the floor and HE'S GOING TO CLIMB EVEREST TOMORROW!
AVALANCHE CODE RED TO WAYNE FROM DARBY! Saurus takes out Sting and Cage takes out Copeland from behind leading to Cage jumping Darby and telling him to tag before Nigel calls him virile. Cope gets his hand on Cage, but Lucha jumps him and Nick helps him to the floor. Cope presses Nick to the floor for a dive and then Darby flips onto them before Sting dives over Flair. Deathdrop to Lucha while Cope does an elbow. THREE WAY POWERPLEX FOR NICK WAYNE FROM THE FACES! Finishers aplenty and the Coffin Drop ends it on Luchasaurus! Absolutely perfect opener - no way for that to be any better for what it was and if you're in the building, you got Flair getting physical, Sting, and Christian vs. Edge for a bit.
"THIS IS STING'S LAST FUCKING TIME WRESTLING IN CALIFORNIA SO LET'S MAKE SOME FUCKING NOISE!" While Sting hugs his son. Incredible for so many reasons. FOLLOW THAT. Holy shit what a show this has been and it's only match one. Tony Schiavone and Bryce are on the ramp and announce that Jay White won't face MJF due to his injury, but ADAM COLE SAYS THAT HE WILL DEFEND IT and talked to TK about it. Okay well that is just a poor boss.
OC vs. Mox is already up!? Mox is out and just evokes being THE MAN while OC looks scared and Mox gives him good reason to by just beating the shit out of him to start things off. Taz puts over Hook and Mox's brief interaction in the tag match before we get OC fighting back and splitting Mox open while Nigel asks what the odds would be on Draft Kings for blood in this one. Mox lands a ton of elbows to the head after the hammer and anvils and then the Brock-style mounted elbows.
Bulldog choke is on! OC uses SHIBATA PK AND HOOK'S REDRUM! but a buckle shot ends it. Cutter and the Gotch piledriver get 2 for Mox! Mox eats a dropkick into the exposed buckle! THREE ORANGE PUNCHES AND A CRADLE GET 2! FOUR AND FIVE ORANGE PUNCHES! SIX INTO A BEACH BREAK! CASSIDY DOES IT - he is THE International Champion! Yuta bumps Hook afterwards to set up an FTW rivalry.
Mark Briscoe talks about having his continental breakfast, going to the building in his Lincoln Continental and winning the Continental Classic! Toni Storm vs. Shida is up with Luther earning his paycheck for years off just this act. Toni's chest is STILL beaten raw from last night's match with Sakura and Shida tries to chop her tits off! TONI FIGHTS BACK WITH MORE CHOPS in machine gun and Mongolian form.
Nigel talks about Toni saying the Chinese theater was nothing before she arrived and then told him to buy some war bonds - which popped me huge. Toni uses a shoe after GETTING ONE SHOE TAKEN AWAY and gets 2.9! Shoes in wrestling remind me of Hogan only losing to Flair and Anderson due to Liz's shoe - which is its own kinda odd deal, then Tony Atlas' love of feet and then finally Konnan showing shoes at folks in the Impact Zone in 2004. QUESTION MARK KICK AND THE FALCON ARROW GET 2 FOR SHIDA! Meteora misses and Toni goes for an ankle lock! She gets a metal thing in her gear and that's setting up the assalanche for the finish and it hits and it's over!
Kingston announces that the Continental Classic and his titles are on the line alongside the Continental Title. TK is going to force Bryan to win not one, not two, but THREE TITLES in this run somehow dammit! Kingston says this will be a Triple Crown Title - which fits into his own story as a huge AJPW/NOAH guy. Tag title is up and LFI is over. Killer shot of Malakai looking at the gold before the match.
Malakai hits a crazy moonsault to the floor after landing a sick elbow to the ribs. MEAT WARFARE WITH BRODY KING AND BIG BILL GET A MEAT CHANT! RUSH epic dickhead never gets old. Starks runs wild with crazy shit and a super-fast tornado DDT to Cash. Starks is trying to outwork FTR AND RUSH AND IS SUCCEEDING! Good thing to do in a contract year. Brody King cannonballs Dax on the corner ladder and that looked worse for him than Dax. Drallistico hits a poison rana to Black! GANSO BOMB ON THE LADDER TO DRALLISTICO BY BRODY KING! CASH HITS A SHOOT WONKY STEP SPLASH TO BRODY KING ON THE FLOOR! Starks and Cash go back and forth on the ladder and a belt shot gives Starks and Bill a statement win!
Wow - the ROH World Title will be unified into the triple crown officially. Kinda surreal in a way, but fitting for a company so steeped in puro history. TBS Title is up and Julia Hart is HIM in this gimmick, while Skye Blue has a new theme and overall look and Kris...is Kris and moves great for having bad knees.
Kris dominates for a bit before Jula takes advantage over Skye before they eat a double suplex on the floor by Kris. Corner head-trap superkick from Skye to Julia leads to Kris hitting a bit lariat on Skye and a rotating fire thunder driver on Hart for 2! CODE BLUE OFF A TOMBSTONE ATTEMPT HITS KRIS FOR 2.9999!!! Code Blue 2 meets a superkick from Julia! HARTLESS but a DEADLIFT GERMAN FROM KRIS takes her out and then Skye too! TOMBSTONE TO SKYE AND A SLIDING LARIAT FROM JULIA STEALS THE WIN FOR A NEW TBS TITLEHOLDER! AEW really changed Julia Hart's life - she was nothing in wrestling before it, meets her future husband there, gets a killer main event-level gimmick and wins her first title on PPV.
Tony Schiavone, in front of a FIRE TONY SCHIAVONE sign, announces WILL OSPREAY AS THE BLOCKBUSTER SIGNING! PIPE DOWN BRUHS! Ospreay says he'll finish up in New Japan and seemingly debut full-time starting at Revolution and I AM ALL ELITE BRUH! BRUVS LISTEN I'VE BEEN WITH NEW JAPAN SINCE I WAS 22 AND I'M 30 NOW AND I'LL BE YOURS SOON. Tremendous.
PRINCE NANA AND THE SWERVE WHILE I DRIVE DANCERS ARE HERE! WHOSE HOUSE!? SWERVE'S HOUSE AND HANGMAN JUMPS HIM! Hangman cuffs him and stapleguns his chest! AND THEN HIS ARM! TWO STAPLES TO THE FACE INCLUDING A CARD! OH GOD! Page goes for a barb wire chair and eats a ball shot. HE TAKES MORE STAPLES AND THEN DOESN'T FEEL THEM BEFORE GRABBING THE STAPLE GUN AND STAPLING HIMSELF! HOLY SHIT THIS IS NEXT LEVEL!
Apron battle and a DEATH VALLEY BOMB ON A CINDER BLOCK ON THE APRON BY SWERVE! BOOT FROM SWERVE but Hangman gets a fallaway slam, but gets up weakly. Another one and then he wraps barb wire around the body and A THIRD FALLAWAY SLAM! ORIHARA MOONSAULT WITH A CHAIR TO THE FLOOR! Buckshot's avoided into a JML Driver which is countered into a chairshot attempt but a boot from Swerve! HANGMAN TOMBSTONE ON A BARB WIRE CHAIR!
NANA HELPS SWERVE UP AT 9! BARB WIRE CHAIR TO THE BACK HITS SWERVE! Avalanche dead eye is avoided and Swerve chairshots his back and he hits a LIGERBOMB ON THE CHAIR AND TEHN A SWERVE STOMP TO THE CHAIR! Hangman tries to rise and FALLS DOWN DUE TO THE BLOOD CAUSING HIM TO SLIP! SWERVE GETS A BAG OUT AND IT'S GLASS! 450 ON THE GLASS AND A JML DRIVER! THEY'RE UP AT 9!
Avalanche fallaway, poweromb on the wire and then a DEADEYE ON THE BARB WIRE BOARD! BARB WIRE BUCKSHOT HITS! NANA PULLS HIM OUT AT 9 AND BRIAN CAGE RUNS DOWN AND POWERBOMBS HIM THEN F5S HIM! Table is out with Cage and Page takes out Cage with barb wire before NANA CHAIRSHOTS PAGE! DEADEYE TO NANA THROUGH THE TABLE AT RINGSIDE! CINDER BLOCK REMNANTS TO PAGE'S HEAD FROM BEHIND BY SWERVE! Swerve hangs Hangman with a chain just like he did to Mox! WHAT A WAR!
Good cooldown stuff with the MJF recap. Crazy that KENNY OMEGA is in the cooldown match - that's how good Page vs. Swerve was. Kenny eats a dropkick and scolds Nick. Matt works with Jericho and seems unamused. They changed the canvas, but there's so much blood that it's STILL THERE UNDERNEATH IT SEEPING THROUGH and the ropes are caked in blood still. TERMINATOR DIVE and Kenny can't get the You Can't Escape while Ex hypes up the Elite's Trios run. Jericho gets the bulldog in slow motion - must be keeping the Sega homage alive wrestling underwater like Dural. Nick low-blows JERICHO AND THEN KENNY! Nick Judas effect to Kenny gets 2. BTE TRIGGER HITS FOR 2!
Kenny teases turning on Jericho with a V Trigger, but hits the bucks and eats a reverse rana and ONE WINGED ANGEL FOR 2.9! INDYTAKER MEETS A CODEBREAKER! Ripcord V trigger and the OWA HITS! This got pretty good at the end, but I'll need to watch it afterwards on its own later - probably tomorrow because nothing can follow that death match. The Bucks tear apart ringside a bit and this was good and different from the death match, but weird in a way because it was hard to get into it.
Nigel says that Cole will do what he can, but JAY WHITE IS WINNING THE TITLE! It would be cool if we had months of Roddy Strong doing a fake injury angle to then lead to you believing in Adam Cole's injury being more damaging than it seemed to surprise you here. Cole does his pose as best he can and they're setting this up so oddly too - it's fascinating. They square off before Nigel says that they should have a last man standing match and MJF RETURNS IN AN AMBULANCE!
Jay chopblocks the left leg and DRAGON SCREWS THE LEG ON THE MAT! Okay. I love Jay White not only beating a one-legged man, but having TWO GOONS BEAT HIM UP just because he can. They do it again, but MJF beats the Gunns up. THIRD TIME THEY GET CAUGHT WITH A CHAIR AND YOU'RE OUTTA HERE'D! Jay takes the Lakers top off MJF and tosses it at Cole to piss him off and MJF fires up and tells him to FUCKING HIT ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!
MJF DOES THE KANGAROO KICK AND COLE TELLS HIM TO DO A DIVE and Jay dropkicks him! Panama Sunrise attempt, but he hurts the leg and a uranage gets 2 for White! Jay wants a sleeper suplex and avoids it and gets sent outside. DDT on the floor for MJF! They go for the table and it just collapse and MJF wants a flying elbow and HITS IT and it actually seems so much more impressive without the table, but that's a lot worse for his hip.
MJF tosses him in at 8 to ensure the count is broken. Jay dragon screws him and ties him to a tree of woe to tear him up. Jay goes up and he sits up for a gargoyle suplex! AVALANCHE URANAGE GETS 2.9! Giant kneeling chop by Jay White! Snap flatliner by Jay hits before a release German! Cradles get 2 before MJF gets a tombstone, but his knee goes out! MJF double stomps the arm off the top and takes the leg out again. Jay avoids the heat seeker and sends him on the knee. MJF HITS AN INSANE SOARING CUTTER TO THE FLOOR FOR 2.9!
MJF slaps the knee and then brings the doc out. GROUNDED DRAGON SCREW AGAIN! Jay locks on a figure four and spits at Cole! Cole has a towel...of sorts in hand with the Lakers top and MJF begs him to not use it! 2.9 off the figure four! They play up MJF using a towel throw at the first Full Gear and now that possibly costing him the title. Cole goes to hit Jay with the ROH Tag belt and Jay grabs it and hits MJF for 2.9! Bryce is down and Cole puts the ring...near him and JAY TAKES OUT THE KNEE AND GRABS IT! MJF HITS HIM IN THE YAMBAG TO AVOID IT! Gunns are out and eat two ring shots and he KOs Jay with it as well! AND RETAINS! WOW! This was a different kind of great match and was far better than expected given the story going in, but it over-delivered.
MJF finally holds the title in his hands again fully! Cole and MJF leave together and tell more of their tale tonight. As a card, this was an all-timer and that's saying something by AEW standards. MJF is now the first year-long AEW World Champion ever.
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