Tonight, it’s the second week of Continental Classic action! The night’s most intriguing league matchup sees Death Riders stablemates Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli face off, while the night’s most intriguing non-league matchup sees Toni Storm and Shirakawa Mina take on Marina Shafir and Megan Bayne in a Hardcore Holiday Deathmatch, that’s also a semi-final match for the Women’s Tag Team Championships!
Tony Schiavone opens Dynamite by welcoming Samoa Joe to the ring, followed by Eddie Kingston. Joe kicks Schiavone out of the ring, then says he knows Eddie has questions, so he’ll answer them. First, he says he’s not in a suit because it’s just Indianapolis. Then he says Hook is a man who grew up with a championship father and a championship mentor, so he told him to team with Eddie to learn what it’s like to be on the other side. He says next week, Eddie will give it everything he has, and still just not quite cross the finish line, just like he always does, except this time it won’t be his fault. Eddie says Joe used to be the man who saved independent wrestling, but now he sold out. He says he taught Hook perseverance, and that he doesn’t respect this version of Samoa Joe. He says Joe became like the old-school guys who would use the younger generation, who he used to call out. He finishes by saying he’ll eat Joe alive if he doesn’t bring the ROH World Champion who used to beat up Homicide next week.
Backstage, the rest of the Opps say they want to spread some Christmas cheer, so they’re going to give Dark Order an Eliminator Match tonight.
Match One: Continental Classic: Gold League: PAC (1-0) vs. Okada Kazuchika (c) (0-1)
Lockup, trading hold attempts, Okada forces a rope break, slap, staredown, mutual forearm, trading forearms, PAC with a running elbow in the corner, goes up top, missile dropkick, goes for a lariat, Okada rolls to the floor to escape it, pulls PAC to the floor, tosses him into the barricade, does it again, rolls him into the ring, follows, elbow in the corner, another, a third, neckbreaker, cover for one, body slam, goes up top, PAC rolls across the ring, Okada with elbows, whip, blocked, PAC with a snapmare, stomps to the entire body, toss to the floor, foot choke across the barricade, toss into a different part of the barricade, breaks the count, rolls Okada into the ring, knees, knee drop, toss to the corner, snapmare, dropkick, crevat, Okada punches his way out, PAC with a boot, dropkick, goes up top, misses a missile dropkick, Okada with a running dropkick, forearms, whip, reversed, Okada with an elbow, running elbow in the corner, DDT for two, body slam, goes up top, elbow drop, Rainmaker, blocked, PAC with elbows in the corner, Okada goes for an Alabama Slam, blocked, PAC to the apron, kick to the face, springboard cutter, lariat, reversed with a dropkick, Rainmaker, reversed into a rollup for two, Okada with a big boot, PAC with a big boot from the corner, leapfrog, thrust kick, Helluva Kick, whip, reversed, PAC slides, tosses Okada into the turnbuckle, German, another for two, Okada hits a Tombstone, slowly limps his way up top, PAC springs up and hits a superplex, running lariat, Brutalizer, reversed into a rollup for three.
Winner: Okada Kazuchika (3 points, 1-1)
Backstage, Mark Briscoe talks about the respect he developed fighting Daniel Garcia over the years, and how all of it has now dissipated. He makes a challenge for Winter Is Coming.
Ricochet talks about how much of a sensation he is, but that Friday will be his ROH debut, and he’ll defend the National Championship a second time on Collision.
After a commercial, Mark Briscoe hypes up Strong vs. Cassidy for Collision. Roddy says he’s not in the Conglomeration and he’s going to beat the shit out of Cassidy.
They reveal that Darby Allin is not cleared to compete, and they hope to have an update on Saturday.
Match Two: Continental Classic: Gold League: Kyle Fletcher (1-0) vs. Kevin Knight (1-0)
Lockup, stalemate, Fletcher slowly gets the better of it, rope break, lockup, Fletcher with a side headlock takeover, Knight with a rollup for one, Fletcher keeps the hold locked in, Knight reverses into a head scissors, Fletcher escapes, locks the side headlock back in, amateur takedown, flex, lockup, Knight with a rear waistlock, can’t get a German, trip instead, jockeying, Knight with a pair of arm drags, misses a dropkick, Fletcher bails, climbs back in the ring, boot to the gut, punch to the back, chop, whip, Knight floats over, clothesline, misses a suicide dive, Fletcher slides in the ring and hits a running kick, apron bomb, blocked, Knight with a lariat, suicide dive, both men back in the ring, Fletcher with an elbow, mounted punches, poses up top, Knight with punches, Fletcher with a body slam, running knee in the corner, back suplex for two, stomp, chinlock, Knight to his feet, dropkick, trading punches, Knight with a whip, dropkick, kip up, Fletcher with a boot, Knight with a hurricanrana, leaping DDT for two, heads to the apron, shoulder tackle, springboard sunset flip for two, knee, whip, reversed, tries to leapfrog, caught, Fletcher with a lawn dart, Helluva Kick, suplex, blocked, presses Knight to the apron, Knight with a springboard lariat for two, DDT on the apron, goes up top, Fletcher crotches him, superplex, Knight slides out, traps Fletcher in a tree of woe, stomps, Coast to Coast, UFO, blocked with knees, Fletcher with a rollup for two, Last Ride for two, brainbuster, reversed into a rollup for two, Fletcher with a boot, brainbuster for three.
Winner: Kyle Fletcher (2-0)
After the match, Don Callis hits the ring and says he has a message for the Young Bucks after the commercial.
After a commercial, Callis is still in the ring trash talking the crowd. He says he can forgive anything, except siding with Kenny Omega. He says he still has their money, and dares them to come take it. The Bucks come out and hit the ring, clean house, BTE Trigger to Fletcher, grab the money, Okada hits the ring, Rainmaker to Matt, blocks a superkick from Nick that allows the Family to take control again, Jurassic Express run in and even the odds until more members of the Family join in, Callis himself starts beating up the Bucks, Kenny Omega comes out and cleans house.
Match Three: Women’s Tag Team Titles Tournament: Semi-Finals: Hardcore Holiday Deathmatch: Toni Storm and Shirakawa Mina vs. Megan Bayne and Marina Shafir
Storm and Mina attack from jump the bad guys take control, Storm and Mina with stereo DDTs, then stereo DDTs on the floor, Storm grabs a champagne bottle and smashes it on Shafir’s head, then uses the remnants to slice Bayne’s head, Mina beats Bayne down with a candy cane lawn ornament wrapped in barbed wire, slingblade in the ring, cane shot, recliner with the crook of the cane, Storm dropkicks Bayne in the face, slams Mina onto Bayne, double suplex, blocked, then reversed, Bayne lays Storm on the middle rope, Shafir runs in and hits Storm with a 619 into a head scissors, suicide dive to Mina, they set a table up on the floor, beat Mina with the candy cane some more, roll Mina and Storm into the ring, looks like the table is in the corner now, Storm saves Mina, but eats a kick from Shafir, Bayne grabs a chair wrapped in gift wrap, Shafir grabs a frying pan, Bayne hits Storm with a Van Daminator, chops Storm in the ropes as Shafir beats Mina with the pan in the ropes, they go to Conchairo (Conpanto?) Storm in the ring, she ducks, they clang, Storm piledrives Bayne through the table on the floor (guess there were two?), Shafir locks Mina in Mother’s Milk, Storm passes Mina a broken pool cue which she uses to stab her way out, uraken, Mina with a splash to Shafir on the floor, rolls her into the ring, Storm holds Shafir for Mina to hit a slingblade on the chair for two as Bayne returns to the ring and shoves Storm onto the pin cover to break it, Mina goes to suplex Shafir through the table in the ring, Shafir reverses into a suplex, Bayne spears Mina through the table, Storm goes for a German to Bayne, Shafir hits Storm with the chair, Bayne with a fireman’s carry, reversed into a Storm Zero on top of Shafir, who had gotten in position to lock in Mother’s Milk, Luther walks down in a Santa costume, hands Shafir a gift, then reveals that it’s empty, Storm with a German, hits Shafir with the shoe, rollup for three.
Winners: Toni Storm and Shirakawa Mina
They show a promo for Sisters of Sin vs. Hayter and Stat, that ends with a tease that Hayter might be coming for the gold.
Dark Order ask Hangman not to interfere in their match, and he says he’ll hold off until the match is over, but only just.
Renee asks Mone about her loss at Full Gear. She objects, calls out Red Velvet, and says she’ll be on Honor Club tomorrow.
Stokely Hathaway mocks the Bang Bang Gang for saying they want to be tag champs for their injured members. FTR run them down some more, then dare them to show up on Collision.
Match Four: The Opps (Hook, Shibata Katsuyori and Powerhouse Hobbs) vs. The Dark Order
I guess this isn’t technically an Eliminator Match, because the Opps are only 2/3 composed of the championship team, but Dark Order still get a title shot if they win.
Opps jump Dark Order as they try to enter the ring, beat them down on the floor, roll Silver into the ring, Hook starts the match off proper, Silver with kicks while the fight continues on the floor, Hook hits Silver with a t-bone, Reynolds runs in, goes for a suicide dive to Hobbs, Hobbs catches him and tosses him aside, brawl breaks out, Opps hold the ring, Hook tosses Silver into the steps, then into the ring, hip toss, stomps in the corner, Silver with chops, Hook with a chop, Shibata in, knee, chops, Hobbs in, beatdown, delayed vertical, Silver hits a German, Hook in, Uno in, Uno cleans house, Hobbs in, World’s Strongest Slam for two as the rest of Dark Order break the count, the rest of the Opps hold them back, Hobbs with a spinebuster for three.
Winners: The Opps
Hangman hits the ring immediately with a chain and cleans house. He clubs Hobbs with a beer bottle, goes for a Buckshot but is intercepted by security. Hangman beats down security, and hits one of them with the Buckshot Lariat.
Backstage, Okada blames Takeshita for not coming to the Family’s aid tonight. Takeshita walks in and gets his chest up. Renee asks why only one championship is on the line in the Continental Classic. Callis says both championships still exist. Renee points out that that’s not an answer, Callis says he’s not taking more of a risk than he has to. Fletcher says the Family is keeping the Continental Championship, and Okada is keeping the International Championship.
After a commercial, Hangman says Hook is the one who cost him the championship he fought for three years to get back. He challenges Hobbs and Shibata to a tag match next week, and says he won’t be alone. “You know who is coming for you, get your affairs in order.”
Main Event: Continental Classic: Blue League: Jon Moxley (1-0) vs. Claudio Castagnoli (1-0)
Jockeying for a hold attempt, test of strength, Castagnoli gets Mox down for a count of one, then another, then a third, then a leaping double stomp to break the test of strength, European uppercuts in adjacent corners, chop in the third, whip, Mox with mixed strikes, ten-punch, Claudio with a backbreaker, tosses Mox to the floor, into the steps, then into the barricade, breaks the count, Mox with mixed strikes on the floor, whip into the barricade, reversed, Claudio knocks him over the barricade, beats him down, back over the barricade, into the ring, boot, toss to the corner repeatedly, trading forearms, Mox with headbutts, dropkick, reversed into a Giant Swing, Sharpshooter, transitions into a crossface, reversed into a rollup for two, Mox goes for a bulldog choke, settles for a sleeper, Claudio manages to slide out, trading strikes, Mox tosses Claudio to the floor, suicide dive, both men back into the ring, Mox with a backslide for two, cutter, Claudio pops up, hits a lariat, collapses, goes for a Neutralizer, reversed into a rollup for two, Mox with another rollup for two, Claudio with a running European uppercut in the corner, goes for another, Mox blocks, then hits a lariat, Stomp for two, sleeper, Claudio makes it to his feet and dumps Mox to the floor, running European uppercut across the barricade, double foot stomp to a seated Mox, European uppercuts against the steel steps, running European upercut, rolls Mox into the ring, lariat for two, straightjacket powerbomb for two, trading strikes, Mox hits a DDT, both men struggle to their feet, Claudio hits a running European uppercut for three!
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli (2-0)
Castagnoli celebrates breathlessly with the rest of the Death Riders as Dynamite goes off the air.
Continental Classic Standings:
Blue League:
Claudio Castagnoli: 6 points (2-0)
Konosuke Takeshita: 3 points (1-0)
Jon Moxley: 3 points (1-1)
Orange Cassidy: 0 points (0-1)
Mascara Dorada: 0 points (0-1)
Roderick Strong: 0 points (0-1)
Gold League:
Kyle Fletcher: 6 points (2-0)
Okada Kazuchika (c): 3 points (1-1)
Kevin Knight: 3 points (1-1)
PAC: 3 points (1-1)
“Speedball” Mike Bailey: 0 points (0-1)
Darby Allin: 0 points (0-1)
