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President of Freedonia
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Night 2 of the AEW Grand Climax tournament coming in hot...tonight we learn the other 20 men competing in the tournament as the C and D blocks kick off.
After Justin Roberts states that our opening contest will be in the C Block...the music of Ricky Starks hits. The FTW Champion and member of Team Taz saunters out as our first participant of the evening. He grabs the mic from Roberts and shoots his mouth off about how this tournament will be the crowning moment he's been waiting for, and how there isn't anybody in this field who will stop him. He holds his FTW Championship high above his head as he awaits his challenger...
IT'S HOOK! The crowd loses their shit as Taz's son makes his way out to the ring. Although he's been palling around with Danhausen of late, Hook is still a member of Team Taz and he's now got to battle his stablemate, who also happens to hold the title his dad made famous.
C Block: "Absolute" Ricky Starks vs. Hook
Hook is 10-0 in his young career and now he's got his toughest challenge yet. The crowd goes nuts for Hook as Starks can't believe this draw. As soon as the bell rings, Hook starts off with a belly to back suplex and Starks immediately takes a powder.
It takes a bit of a feeling out process but Starks eventually goads Hook into more of a standard wrestling match, trying to be wary of the suplexes and chokes that Hook is known for. At one point, Hook locks in the Redrum but Starks is just close enough to the ropes. A reversal out of a suplex turns into Starks picking Hook up for the Roshambo and the win.
Winner: Ricky Starks
Time: 10:27
Rating: 80%
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Starks, in a rare moment of doing the right thing, helps his fellow Team Taz member to his feet to enjoy a hand from the crowd. Although Hook has the first blemish on his AEW record, him being in this tournament is going to gain him a new level of experience.
Shortly after the Team Taz members depart, the theme of AEW's newest signing hits and I have to post it because my god it's such a banger.
D Block: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Buddy Matthews
It's Blackpool Combat Club vs. House of Black as Claudio and Buddy square off. These two have a history together, having faced each other multiple times in WWE so it's only fitting that their paths should cross again on this stage.
This match does not disappoint in the slightest as they beat the tar out of each other for nearly 20 minutes. Buddy hits the ropes aiming for a running knee, but Claudio reverses, throwing him into the air and into a massive uppercut. He quickly picks up the pieces and hits the Neutralizer for the win.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Time: 19:44
Rating: 90%
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C Block: Frankie Kazarian vs. Penta Oscuro
A relatively solid match given the potential styles clash involved, Kazarian is far more of a technician in his older years contrasted with the unique mix of brawling and high flying that Penta brings to the table.
Although Frankie is a good guy, the crowd is solidly behind Penta as always, and he doesn't disappoint them, eventually catching Frankie in a Pentagon Driver for the win.
Winner: Penta Oscuro
Time: 9:14
Rating: 73%
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D Block: "Limitless" Keith Lee vs. "The Spanish God" Sammy Guevara
Speaking of styles clashes, this is a match that really entertains me to think about, because Sammy can sell his ass off like not many others can and here he would get to bump for a huge dude who can also move like a guy his size shouldn't be able to.
Sammy misses with a 630 Senton, allowing Keith to seize the moment and get him up for a Spirit Bomb for the win. After Jericho lost to Lee's partner Swerve Strickland last night, Sammy follows it up with a loss to Lee. The Jericho Appreciation Society has started the tourney 0-3, not how they drew it up.
Winner: Keith Lee
Time: 8:28
Rating: 76%
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The music of "Hangman" Adam Page hits and the crowd loses it. Those cheers soon turn to a hushed silence as the music of Luchasaurus takes over.
C Block: "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Luchasaurus
Having recently turned heel, Luchasaurus has gone from a lovable monster to a downright terrifying one, making him about as tough of a test for the always popular Hangman as possible. Luchasaurus is another very athletic big man, err, dinosaur, doing things a being his size shouldn't be able to do.
Hangman fights out of a few nearfalls and takes everything Luchasaurus throws at him, but he can't seem to put the big man down himself. Hangman eventually mounts another rally, heads to the apron, flips in for the Buckshot Lariat but NO! Luchasaurus catches him by the throat. Chokeslam, and the win. Luchasaurus has pinned the former World Champion in what has to be an early upset.
Winner: Luchasaurus
Time: 9:32
Rating: 82%
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As Luchasaurus is about to exit the heel tunnel, "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora hits which means Jungle Boy is here! He charges out of the face tunnel and makes a beeline straight for his former tag partner Luchasaurus! Security immediately intervene and forceably separate the two.
After he gets into the ring, "Jane" by Jefferson Starship plays over the PA which can only mean the arrival of Orange Cassidy.
D Block: Jungle Boy vs. "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy
The crowd is electric for this one as the first night of the D Block sees two of AEW's most popular competitors get paired off. The crowd is really split right down the middle with dueling chants right out of the gate.
This match kicked it into high gear and never really let up as there were a heaping helping of nearfalls on both sides. Fire Pro's crowd reactions get louder and louder when a match registers as hot and this one certainly qualifies. In the end, Orange prevails with a Beach Break and 2 points.
Winner: Orange Cassidy
Time: 16:20
Rating: 89%
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C Block: Brody King vs. Jon Moxley
Buddy vs. Claudio featured a House of Black vs. Blackpool Combat Club battle, and now we're getting another one here. Mox just defeated Brody to retain the Interim AEW World Championship the other night, and now has to do it again all while knowing that at the end of this tournament, he'll have a date with the newly returned CM Punk to determine the true World Champion.
Anyway, these two went hell for leather in what can only be described as a violent brawl both in the ring and at ringside. Imagine having to fight a huge, tattooed 6'8" dude twice in the span of a few nights? Not a walk in the park for Mox by any stretch. He eventually gets a Paradigm Shift that knocks King out cold, and the ref calls for the bell in a critical stoppage decision!
Winner: Jon Moxley
Time: 17:04
Rating: 93%
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D Block: Adam Cole vs. Wardlow
Welcome back from concussion protocol, Adam Cole. Your reward is you get to face the brand new TNT Champion who has been known to Powerbomb his opponents into oblivion.
The size difference between these two men is very apparent, as Cole attempts to be crafty and avoid being caught in Wardlow's grasp for any length of time. It doesn't work. As soon as Wardlow seizes control of the match, it's game over. Wardlow ends up hitting Cole with two Powerbombs and he gets the win in, by this tournament's standards, short order. If Wardlow's gonna do this to a perennial World title contender in Adam Cole, he could well be establishing himself as the favorite in the block.
Winner: Wardlow
Time: 7:00
Rating: 70%
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C Block: Eddie Kingston vs. "The Redeemer" Miro
Our C Block action closes off with a rematch from All Out 2021. These two had a total banger for the TNT Title back then, and Miro came out victorious. Unfortunately, this one didn't live up to the hype as it should've. This is sorta the Fire Pro equivalent of a non-clicky show, except thankfully just for certain matches instead of the shows.
Even still, it wasn't a bad match...more in the realm of watchable, just wasn't what I thought it'd be pairing them up. Both guys were heavy on the striking throughout, and Eddie ends up avenging his loss from nearly a year ago, putting Miro down with the Uraken spinning elbow.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Time: 12:36
Rating: 73%
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And time for our main event. Christian Cage enters as the 39nd participant in the tournament, soaking in enormous heat. Since turning on Jungle Boy a few weeks ago, he's become possibly the most hated man in AEW. Now to see who is opponent will be...
Bah gawd! Entry #1 saw the surprise return of MJF and now entry #40 features the even more shocking return of Kenny Omega. We haven't seen him since he lost the AEW World Title to Hangman Page back at Full Gear in November. People wondered if he'd ever return, and now he's here!
D Block: Christian Cage vs. Kenny Omega
The crowd absorbs the return of Omega. As the winner of the actual NJPW G1 Climax tournament in 2016, he knows exactly what it takes to survive this grueling schedule. And he's no stranger to Christian, they've split a pair of decisions last year, with Christian besting him on the debut episode of Rampage and Omega returning favor with a win at All Out.
It's a beautiful thing in Fire Pro when you can have a short-ish match that draws a high rating because it's just bell-to-bell action that never lets up, and that was this match in a nutshell. Both men threw the kitchen sink at one another in rapid succession, with plenty of nearfalls to go around.
Omega charges Christian in the corner looking for a V-Trigger, Christian ducks and sends him knee first into the corner. LOW BLOW! Christian then spins Kenny around and hits the Killswitch. 1-2-3! The crowd is stunned as Christian has out of nowhere spoiled Kenny's grand return! Boos rain down upon Christian as he flashes that punchable smirk of his while the show goes off the air.
Winner: Christian Cage
Time: 10:47
Rating: 94%
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