Ring of Honor
Date: October 18, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re still in Las Vegas and still dealing with the fallout from Death Before Dishonor. It’s not clear if Global Wars, which will have ended by the time this show airs, will get any focus. That’s what keeps confusing me about this company: some of their pay per views matter and some are just big time specials. At least TV has been good lately so let’s get to it.

Addiction isn’t allowed in, despite being awesome wrestlers.

Opening sequence.

Kushida vs. Scorpio Sky

Sky is a PWG legend. A technical sequence goes nowhere so Sky takes over with a backbreaker for two. Kushida starts in on the arm and it turns out that his mom is in the crowd. Well that’s always cool. Hopefully she’s fine with her son working on the arm with kicks and a stomp until Sky takes him down with a neckbreaker. Sky goes up but his frog splash is countered into a cross armbreaker. It’s too close to the ropes though and here’s Daniels with an air horn. Kazarian comes in to kick Kushida low for the DQ at 3:27.

Rating: C. This didn’t have the time to mean much but it was nice while it lasted. Sky is someone I’ve heard a lot about but I’ve only seen him a few times. I wouldn’t be complaining about him being around here more often. At least Kushida was around as that’s always a good thing.

We look back at Jay Briscoe injuring Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer’s promo with him last week.

Here’s Bully in sunglasses to no music. He apologizes for everything being low key and says he has to worry about the head trauma at the moment. Right now he doesn’t know if he’s ever going to get his hands on Jay Briscoe, even if he’d love to more than anything else. For the first time in his career, he’s thinking about stepping away for the sake of his family. These people have been his wrestling family all these years but for once he has to think about his family at home. Bully goes to leave and Mark Briscoe comes out to say Bully’s issues are with Jay, not the family. They’re cool with each other.

We look back at Kenny King saying he’ll fight anyone for the TV Title anytime. A small army came out to stare him down and King didn’t seem to mind. Next week, it’s a four way to crown a new #1 contender.

Here’s the Bullet Club for a celebration with the promise of a big surprise. Shane Taylor follows the team out with Cody handing him a wad of money along the way. Cody talks about having the most lucrative contract in ROH history. We hit that YOU DESERVE IT chant before Cody talks about the Young Bucks getting offers from every wrestling company in the world about two years ago.

That’s where Cody is now, but he is officially signing the exclusive contract with Ring of Honor. This….pretty much changes nothing but it’s the Bullet Club so that makes it awesome. Everyone else leaves and Cody thinks he should do something special for his first official night on the roster. How about a title defense right now? Cody hints that it’s going to be Dalton Castle but instead it’s….Cheeseburger.

Ring of Honor World Title: Cody vs. Cheeseburger

Cody is defending in a suit with Shane Taylor at ringside. Cheeseburger gets taken down and slapped in the head a few times, only to come out of the corner with a high double kick to the chest. Cody bails to the floor and that means a slingshot dive as Cheeseburger gets in his early offense. A shot with the big ring cuts Cheeseburger off though and it’s time for a belt whipping.

Cheeseburger takes it away and gets two off a crucifix but a delayed superplex cuts him off in a hurry. A quick springboard knee to the head (ala Seth Rollins) gives Cheeseburger two but the palm strike is countered into Cross Rhodes….for two as Cody picks him up. The delay lets Cheeseburger get in a few whips, only to have Cody slap on the American Deathlock for the tap at 5:44.

Rating: C+. That’s the kind of Cheeseburger match I can go for: he gets in some hope spots but is overwhelmed by the size and skill. It gets old watching him do the same things over and over again so this was fairly refreshing. Cody wasn’t going to lose here but it came off like a weaker version of HHH vs. Taka Michinoku (that’s a compliment), which is just fine.

The Kingdom is ready.

It’s time for Coleman’s Pulpit with his guests the Dawgs, Will Ferrara and Rhett Titus. Apparently they’re wearing the wrong suit jackets and Ferrara isn’t happy. So yeah, they’re a bad comedy act. Ferrara hates cheese and he hates Cheeseburger. Titus on the other hand isn’t happy with Kenny King not appreciating Titus getting him his job back. They’re ready for the Tempura Boyz next week. This team doesn’t look promising.

Kingdom vs. Search and Destroy

It’s the Motor City Machine Guns and Jonathan Gresham for Search and Destroy here. Taven jumps Sabin from behind to start and we start….well not that fast really. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Kingdom is sent outside for a triple dive. Back in and some triple kicks take Taven down but Marseglia’s blind tag breaks up a tornado DDT attempt. The Kingdom takes over on Sabin in the corner with a variety of stomping as we’re told how interesting Marseglia really is. O’Ryan hits a good looking spinebuster and a running knee gets two as we take a break.

Back with Sabin escaping Rockstar Supernova and getting pummeled for his efforts. Sabin DDT’s and dropkicks his way to freedom as his partners have no issues with all three opponents being in the ring at once. It’s off to Gresham to clean house, including a moonsault onto O’Ryan off a belly to back from Taven in a nice counter. Gresham ankle locks O’Ryan as the Guns dive onto Marseglia and Taven. It’s Taven coming back in with a Disaster Kick for the save so Gresham tags Sabin back in for a fairly dumb idea.

The Guns come right back with the Dream Sequence and a suicide dive on O’Ryan. Marseglia takes them both down with a springboard dive, followed by Taven hitting a no hands version. Gresham moonsaults from the middle rope and grazes a few of them. Back in and Skull and Bones is broken up, allowing Taven to get in a walking stick shot for the rollup (with tights) pin at 10:24.

Rating: C+. This could have been better if I cared about the Kingdom in any way, shape or form. The Guns are starting to grow on me again, especially now that they actually got the belts off the Bucks. That being said, it’s not a good idea to have a new champion take a fall like this. Just pin Gresham.

Overall Rating: C. It wasn’t a bad show but there was nothing that blew me away. The Bully promo is good and while I don’t think there’s any secret tot he fact that this is setting up Bully vs. Jay at Final Battle, at least they’re giving us a good story along the way. Not a bad show here but it’s a filler episode, even with big names around.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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You know, because it is.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-version-thinking-lesnar-vs-mahal-dumb/

NXT
Date: October 18, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

It’s the Undisputed night as the Undisputed Era are back in the ring this week. Tonight it’s going to be the Undisputed Era vs. Sanity in a six man tag. The question though is how does this help us set up the upcoming Takeover: Houston and how the NXT Title will factor in. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick look at Sanity vs. Undisputed Era.

Opening sequence.

Sonya DeVille vs. Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riot

The winner is in the four way title match at Takeover. Riot hurricanranas Ember to start but gets lariated down by DeVille. Sonya is sent outside and it’s Ruby flipping Ember around into a standoff. The springboard crossbody gets two on Sonya and a kick to the face gets the same on Riot. Ruby it sent outside and Ember gets kicked down and we take a break. Back with Sonya suplexing them both down, only to be headscissored into Ember for two more.

Riot and DeVille slug away at each other until Sonya is knocked outside. It gets even worse for DeVille when she gets kicked out of the air by Ember. Moon is down as well though, only to have Ruby dive onto the two of them. She comes up with a horrible ankle though and things slow way down. Riot is still able to get inside, only to have DeVille slap on an ankle lock. The hold stays on for a good while until Moon comes in off the top with the Eclipse on Sonya and a pin on Riot at 11:34.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one for the most part as it felt disjointed for the most part. The injury at the end was fine and it seems that Riot’s ankle is fine. It’s not terrible but they didn’t have the best chemistry and it showed. Ember or Sane is the best option for the title at this point and it makes sense to have Moon make the title match. If nothing else it means another chance to see the Eclipse.

The Undisputed Era talked to Roderick Strong outside the Performance Center but we couldn’t hear what was said.

William Regal is about to announce how the fourth participant in the Women’s Title match will be chosen but the Iconic Duo comes up to interrupt. Regal gets around to saying that there will be a battle royal next week.

Aleister Black vs. Raul Mendoza

Before any contact, cue the Velveteen Dream on the apron with Black’s vest. The distraction lets Mendoza knee Black to the floor, setting up a running flip dive to the floor. A springboard Swanton gets two on Black but the rapid fire kicks take Mendoza down. Black Mass puts Mendoza away at 2:10.

Dream leaves with the vest with Black glaring at him.

Drew McIntyre had a sitdown interview and is thrilled with his title reign so far. It’s everything he had hoped it was and he’s been feeling pretty good. A few years back he was released from his dream job and it took him a long time to get things together. He was always a wrestler and even his father never understood things. Somewhere along the line his fire went out and now he’s back here to build something special.

Cue Zelina Vega to take over the interview to say Drew and Andrade Cien Almas have a lot in common. She was Andrade’s second chance and thinks Drew has been avoiding him. Drew suggests going to William Regal because he’d love to give Almas a shot. If Andrade is serious, come see the champ himself.

Kassius Ohno vs. Cezar Bononi

They strike it off to start until Bononi hits a dropkick for two. Another dropkick puts Ohno on the floor, followed by a suplex for two back inside. A third dropkick misses though and Ohno scores with his backsplash. Ohno kicks him in the jaw and the rolling elbow is good enough for the pin at 3:05.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but Ohno is always going to get a reaction from his theme song alone. Bononi seems like someone who is ready to become a big star if he’s given the right push or character. You can last a long time on a look like that and Bononi hasn’t even scratched the surface yet.

Sanity vs. Undisputed Era

Fish and Wolfe start things off with Fish striking away, only to get tossed into the corner. O’Reilly has about the same level of success and it’s off to Dane to uppercut Kyle in the corner. The fast tags continue with Young adding a middle rope forearm to the chest for two. It’s back to Fish, who scores with more kicks and right hands to Young as the beating takes us to a break.

Back with Cole grabbing a chinlock until his partners work on Eric’s arms. O’Reilly gets two off a double suplex and some kicks keep Young down in the corner. Kyle is smart enough to kick Wolfe off the apron and bring Dain in, allowing him a chance to pull Young to the corner again. Not that it matters as Eric kicks O’Reilly away and makes the hot tag off to Dain.

That means it’s time for the big man offense, including a hard running dropkick and some corner splashes. Fish and O’Reilly get tossed at the same time but Cole superkicks Dain in the back of the head for the save. A belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination puts O’Reilly down and Cole is quickly surrounded. Sanity takes him inside….and here are the Authors of Pain to jump Sanity for the DQ at 13:31.

Rating: C+. I liked this one, though it didn’t hit the level I was hoping it would. The ending is interesting as it could set up a potential three way feud, which often means a heck of a story. The Undisputed Era wasn’t destroyed here as there was a reasonable chance that O’Reilly and Fish could have gotten back into it for the save. Good stuff here but it’s a step on a long path.

The Authors destroy Sanity as the Undisputed Era leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was the most interesting part of the show but more importantly we’re starting to see the card for Takeover forming. That makes for some interesting shows as we’re getting ready for the rest of the card. Just let us have a good special event and the TV feels even better than it already does. Solid show this week but nothing too great.

Results

Ember Moon b. Sonya DeVille and Ruby Riot – Pin on Riot

Aleister Black b. Raul Mendoza – Black Mass

Kassius Ohno b. Cezar Bononi – Rolling elbow

Sanity b. Undisputed Era via DQ when the Authors of Pain interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 19, 2003
Location: BI-LO Center, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re past Judgment Day and thank goodness for that. Unfortunately we’re on the way towards Bad Blood, which is the first single branded pay per view. In other words, we’re all in very serious trouble. Unfortunately we seem to be headed towards another Kevin Nash vs. HHH disaster. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Steve Austin to open the show. He talks about how great the pay per view was (How drunk was he?) but it’s a shame that Eric Bischoff can’t handle his beer and food. We get a clip of Bischoff vomiting last night because that’s funny you see. As for tonight though, Austin is getting ready for Bad Blood, but first up he wants to find out who tried to run Goldberg over last week. His investigation is ongoing and he will find out tonight. Whoever that is will be facing Goldberg right here tonight, which is quite the smart punishment.

Next up though is HHH, who comes out with Ric Flair but Austin CUTS OFF THE WATER SPIT! Austin doesn’t like HHH making him wait and is trying very hard to maintain his composure. Last night HHH took a beating all over the building and that World Title should belong to Kevin Nash. Tonight though, the title will be on the line right here in this ring. HHH thinks Austin is drunk with power and no matter what Austin wants, HHH is still champion. Therefore, he’s not wrestling tonight.

Austin disagrees, but he’s feeling compassionate. HHH is wrestling tonight but he’ll get to pick his opponent, assuming it’s a former World Champion. That leaves him with options of Kane, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho or Kevin Nash. Austin certainly seems to be leaving out a large handful of names there, including himself (If Austin and Bischoff have equal power and he still wants to wrestle, shouldn’t he be able to either cancel whatever Bischoff is using to keep him out of the ring or come up with a way around it?). HHH has an idea though and picks Flair to challenge him for the title tonight. Austin is mad and Flair is confused.

Dudley Boyz vs. 3 Minute Warning

They slug it out to start with Bubba actually dropkicking Jamal out to the floor. First time for everything I guess. The Samoans take over though with Rosey hitting a spinning legdrop for no cover on D-Von. Jamal gets two off a knee drop and Rosey adds something like a superkick. D-Von’s right hands have almost no effect (they are Samoans after all) but Jamal’s Vader Bomb hits knees.

It’s off to Bubba for right hands and a backdrop for two on Rosey as everything breaks down. A double suplex sets up What’s Up with Rico accidentally distracting the referee. Rosey grabs a Samoan drop on Bubba but isn’t legal for the cover. Rico throws in a table and a D-Von to go with it, only to miss the top rope splash. Rosey gets back in and walks right into 3D for the pin.

Rating: D+. Not a very good match with both teams being a bit too similar to really make it work. The Dudleys are a nice addition to the division as it certainly needs the extra (albeit familiar) help. If nothing else the 3D is always worth a look, even if it’s to someone as worthless as Rosey.

Post match Rico yells at the Samoans and walks out on his own.

A very hungover Eric Bischoff is here (after Austin said he wouldn’t be, making Austin an untruth teller) and says he can’t do this redneck stuff. Austin’s solution: drink more. Bischoff does just that and vomits again. This is really, really not my style of humor. The camera follows Austin out and he runs into Kevin Nash. Austin is proud of him for last night and makes him #1 contender of tonight’s title match.

Flair is thrilled with HHH for picking him for tonight and expects a great match. HHH however is expecting him to take a dive so he can have a night off. HHH: “Just lay there and I’ll do the rest.”

Here’s Chris Jericho for the Highlight Reel. There’s a new set this week and we get the debut of the JERITRON 5000 to show a few highlights. Tonight though, Jericho wants to talk to the man who betrayed him last night, the new Intercontinental Champion, Christian. Cue the new champ, now with the short haircut that he would have for the rest of his career. Jericho likes the new look but it doesn’t change the fact that Christian betrayed him last night. That brings one thing to his mind: he would have done the exact same thing. Jericho: “Our Christian is all grown up!”

Christian is the new American Idol, which Jericho loves because he’s not even American. We see the end of the match (via the very expensive Jeritron 5000 of course) and Christian runs Booker T. down (Jericho: “His haircut looks like a pineapple.”). Cue Rob Van Dam to interrupt and call Christian’s catchphrase weak.

Maybe he should just try admitting he sucks and you know what that means from the crowd. Van Dam: “THAT TOTALLY WORKS FOR YOU!” Rob wants an Intercontinental Title shot tonight but that’s a big negative. The beatdown is on until Kane makes a fast save. Austin pops up on screen to say let’s have a Tag Team Title match right now. How exactly is that fair to Van Dam and Kane?

Tag Team Titles: Kane/Rob Van Dam vs Christian/Chris Jericho

Van Dam and Kane are defending and we’re joined in progress after a break. Rob’s stepover kick takes Jericho down for an early two. The split legged moonsault to Jericho’s back gets two and Jericho screams for help. Christian, in street clothes, tries to offer that help and gets sent into the corner by Kane for his efforts. The Canadians are sent outside and Rob follows with a running flip dive to keep the champs in control.

Back in and Kane loads up the top rope clothesline but Rob tags himself in before he can go up. That didn’t seem planned and Kane looks a little annoyed. Jericho’s middle rope missile dropkick puts Rob down and it’s Christian choking with a shirt. We’re off to the chinlock for a bit before the reverse DDT into a backbreaker gets two on Rob. Christian’s powerslam gets the same and it’s back to Jericho to try the Walls.

Van Dam saves himself with a small package and some kicks to take the Canadian down, setting up the hot tag to Kane. The house cleaning is on with Kane throwing Christian into Jericho and getting two off a side slam. There’s the top rope clothesline and Van Dam kicks Jericho down as well. Jericho breaks up the Five Star and a low blow sets up the Five Star for an even nearer fall on Kane. Some chairs are brought in and the bell rings, presumably for a DQ.

Rating: C-. Based on what’s about to happen after the match, there’s a chance that the ending was a bit mistimed as you could have penciled in Booker T. running in from the second the match started. Either way the title change didn’t happen so it’s not like who wins via DQ means anything for the most part. The wrestling was fine and the near fall off the Lionsault was good but it wasn’t anything thrilling.

Booker T. comes in to beat up the Canadians, saving Kane in the process.

Lawler thinks Booker tried to run Goldberg over.

Shawn Michaels tells Flair that he can’t lay down tonight because it would ruin his legacy. Flair seems to think he has a chance and is almost in tears (take a shot) at Shawn believing in him.

Here are Rodney Mack and Teddy Long to issue a FIVE MINUTE WHITE BOY CHALLENGE to any established star because they need some better competition.

Rodney Mack vs. Spike Dudley

Spike charges at him and gets kneed in the ribs for his efforts. We hit a chinlock into some choking on the ropes is followed by a belly to belly for two on Spike. Another chinlock is broken up and Spike sends him outside for a good looking dive. He comes up holding his ribs but is still able to grab a rollup for two. The Dudley Dog is broken up and Mack hits a powerslam as we have less than a minute to go. The Black Out (cobra clutch) goes on for a good while and Spike FINALLY taps with one second left. As low level as this match was, the fans were completely into the ending and wanted Spike to survive.

Rating: D. So Mack needs time to beat Spike Dudley? I’m not sure how this is supposed to be interesting and that loose cobra clutch didn’t do much good either. Teddy is the star of this team with his hilarious rambling on commentary and Mack isn’t getting much out of this. Granted beating higher levels of competition would do him some good.

Austin yells at the hung over Bischoff via a bullhorn and bangs on a trashcan (unfortunately without drumming on a street light). He has some female company for Bischoff and, say it with me, it’s Moolah and Mae Young. Eric’s rant is pretty funny.

Flair has the robe on and looks ready to style and profile.

La Resistance vs. Test/Scott Steiner

It’s a brawl to start with Rene getting suplexed out to the floor. Grenier sends Steiner into the steps though and Stacy Keibler goes to check on him for a good while. Test boots him way out of a double teaming but gets shoved into Steiner, setting up a quick rollup to give Dupree the pin.

Test and Steiner argue over Stacy, who leaves alone in a huff.

Austin has set up an interrogation room to find out about Goldberg’s would be assailant.

A fan poll thinks The Rock was the driver. Christian and HHH are the other top suspects.

Austin interrogates Lance Storm and asks him where he was at on June 25, 1989. Storm: “What does that have to do with anything?” Austin: “It ain’t got nothing to do with anything!” Lance doesn’t have much to say and Austin starts laughing. The light goes on Storm’s face and Storm actually admits that he was the driver. It was an accident though as the accelerator stuck and Canadians drive on the other side of the road. Austin knows better but Storm lets it slip that it was someone else’s idea. Instead of finding out who it was, Austin gives Storm Goldberg tonight.

HHH has his ribs taped up as he reads Freddie Blassie’s book. Flair comes in and says he’s ready to be the man again. He had a thousand matches like HHH had last night and he wrestled every single night. No one is making him lay down in Flair Country and he’s coming for the title tonight, WOO! I’m not big on Flair from this era but he was feeling it on that one.

Lance Storm vs. Bill Goldberg

A powerslam and a pumphandle slam set up the spear and Jackhammer to end Storm in just over a minute. Amazingly enough, this is the best reaction Goldberg has gotten since the night of his debut.

Post match Goldberg chokes Storm until he admits Jericho was the guy who put him up to it. Never trust those Canadians.

Jericho is trying to leave but admits he was the mastermind. Next week though, Goldberg will be the guest on the Highlight Reel.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Ric Flair

HHH is defending and has heavily taped ribs. He tells Flair to lay down but Flair just slicks backs his hair as we hit the opening bell. They WOO at each other until Flair pokes him in the eye to take over. HHH tries a suplex but the ribs give out, allowing Flair to send him outside in a heap. Ric can hit the suplex on the floor but walks into a spinebuster back inside.

The champ can’t follow up though and Flair actually hits the top rope shot to the head. JR is selling the heck out of the chance Flair could win here and it’s time to go after the leg. The Figure Four goes on for a good while until HHH makes the rope. The referee gets bumped though and HHH grabs the belt, only to get poked in the eye. A belt shot gives Flair a close two and you can feel the fans gasp. The Pedigree is countered with a backdrop so Flair tries one of his own, only to get countered into the Pedigree to retain the title.

Rating: C. They were starting to get going near the end but, alas, HHH needed to go over Flair in Flair Country for the sake of…..I’m guessing his ego or something, even if it took away Flair’s best reaction in at least a year. Throw in the fact that this was designed to help set up HHH vs. Nash II instead of what could have been a great HHH vs. Flair match in an interesting story and this is even sadder.

Post match Nash comes out to chase HHH off but here’s Austin. The rematch at Bad Blood will be Hell in a Cell. Panic ensues to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. There were good things going on tonight but setting up HHH vs. Nash again sucks the life out of wherever positives the rest of the show could have. Austin as the main boss instead of Bischoff helped a lot, though they need something better to build towards. I know we’re setting up HHH vs. Goldberg down the line but could we please get a few better stop gap challengers?

This could have been solved by having Booker win at Wrestlemania, lose it back at Backlash and then do a rubber match at Judgment Day. Then pick ANYONE but Nash to bridge the gap to Goldberg and Raw is already a lot better. But no, instead it’s a bad match to set up a bad gimmick match with Flair being beaten in his hometown (again) along the way.

The midcard stuff was solid with Booker vs. Christian and Goldberg vs. Jericho looking solid enough. La Resistance vs. Kane/Van Dam (which you know is coming) is fine too, though we really need another upper midcard feud to help balance things out. It’s not a terrible show overall, but the holes are pretty glaring.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

205 Live
Date: October 17, 2017
Location: KeyArena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s probably the last show of Kalisto’s title reign, which means it’s time to shift things back to Enzo Amore for the sake of getting people to watch the show. Amore also suddenly has a small army backing him up, despite spending weeks ripping on them for being worthless. 205 Live is a funny place at times. Let’s get to it.

The long opening recap looks at Kalisto taking the title from Amore and Amore sending his goons to take Kalisto out.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Enzo to open things up. Enzo asks if you can smell it, because it smells like team spirit. He brings up the help he had last night (Noam Dar, Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari and Drew Gulak) and says Kalisto is only going to be jumping from channel to channel in a hospital. Kalisto is going to be in there for a long time too so he can log onto the wi-fi and watch the Zo Show on the WWE Network.

Enzo has built this place up and he’s an original who was only handed a microphone. This is all about charisma and you can’t teach that. You can love this or hate this but you can’t get above this. Enzo doesn’t like Kalisto playing it so safe (Huh?) so here’s Kalisto for a springboard missile dropkick, sending Enzo bailing.

Long recap of Cedric Alexander vs. Jack Gallagher/Brian Kendrick. Rich Swann has joined Cedric’s side to even things out.

Jack Gallagher vs. Rich Swann

Kendrick and Cedric are the seconds. Swann flips over the suited Gallagher to start and a quick hurricanrana takes him down again. Gallagher heads outside and the referee is so busy keeping an eye on Cedric that he misses Kendrick taking Swann down to the floor. Back in and Jack slowly hammers him down until Swann flips out of a suplex. That just earns him another dropkick to the face for two with Gallagher grinding his forearm into the face. We hit the neck crank for a bit before Gallagher starts in on the leg.

Swann fights back up but has to punch his way out of an electric chair. Instead it’s a tiger driver for two on Jack but the fight heads to the floor where the seconds get involved. Gallagher is all kinds of aggressive in beating Cedric on the announcers’ table. Cedric fights back with Swann loading up a Phoenix splash but Jack and Brian bail. The match was thrown out somewhere in there, say around 7:30.

Rating: C. This was just a preview for Sunday’s tag match and that’s fine. I’m glad that they didn’t have either of them lose as there’s no point to making one of them look weak going into Sunday’s match. It might not be a big match on the card but it’s cool to see the cruiserweights get to have a non-title feud getting some pay per view time. Good little match here too.

Here’s Drew Gulak with the NO CHANTS sign for a chat. He sees himself as his father and the Drewtopia as a safe space from dives and unnecessary chanting. We see a clip of Gulak attacking Akira Tozawa last week and calling it tough love. If Tozawa wasn’t spending so much time chanting, he might have seen slide #9 of the POWERPOINT PRESENTATION! Proposal #9: No Defying Authority.

Despite what you might have heard from the Beastie Boys or the Fresh Prince, rules are not made to be broken. The fans chant that this is boring (kind of the idea in this story so it’s not so bad) but Gulak promises to be on the Kickoff Show with a special refresher course on his plan for a better 205 Live.

Quick look at the cruiserweight stuff on Sunday’s show.

Mustafa Ali/Kalisto vs. Enzo Amore/Ariya Daivari

Daivari rants in his language but Enzo says they speak the shared language of money. Enzo hides from Kalisto to start and brings in Daivari instead. The trash talk doesn’t get Daivari very far and it’s a double dropkick to put him down. A slingshot hilo keeps Daivari in trouble but an Enzo distraction lets him knock Kalisto outside. The bad landing messes up Kalisto’s back and Enzo throws it into the corner. A Downward Spiral and the baseball right hand combine for two.

Daivari comes in for his turn at some stomps and sends Kalisto outside. Some right hands drop Enzo but Daivari is right back up with a clothesline. Kalisto reverses a suplex into a DDT though and there’s the hot tag to Ali. Everything breaks down and Ali kicks Enzo in the head to set up the rolling neckbreaker for another near fall. Ali sends Daivari outside for a big flip dive, leaving Kalisto to end Amore with the Salida Del Sol at 9:22.

Rating: C-. Alas, this is likely the end of Kalisto’s title reign as they did the standard of having the future champ lose. To be fair though it’s not like it matters all that much in Enzo’s case as he loses to almost everyone. Ali is still one of the more consistent performers in the division and could be a big deal, though I’m not sure he has the personality.

Kalisto dives onto Enzo and Daivari again, sending Enzo bailing up the ramp to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. It’s amazing how much more I like this show with Enzo as the big bad that the good guys are trying to keep from taking the belt hostage again. That’s a much better story than “let Enzo do whatever for an hour” and if Kalisto can get some more backup, there’s a good Survivor Series match in there. It would probably need a stipulation, but at least there’s a story here, which is more than we’ve had in a long time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

There have been numerous storylines over the past three decades involving boxers who have established feuds with WWE superstars. It is always fascinating to see other sports stars enter wrestling, especially those who have big personalities. Here is a look back through the history books for the best three wrestler-boxer feuds in recent years.

Iron Mike Tyson – Stone Cold Steve Austin

Hoy es Wrestlemania 33: Mike Tyson levanta la mano a Stone Cold después de vencer a HBK en Wrestlemania 14 pic.twitter.com/2nr0z435wm

— The Daniel Gajardo (@callategajardo) April 2, 2017

Daniel el Gajardo via Twitter

Mike Tyson is one of greatest boxers of his generation and was known as the ‘baddest man on the planet.’ When he joined the WWE in early 1998 he did so to help promote Wrestlemania XIV where he was the special guest outside enforcer. Tyson, a former heavyweight world champion, was recruited by D Generation X and, as a result, he clashed on a number of occasions with Stone Cold. At Wrestlemania, Tyson and Steve Austin embraced each other at the end of the contest and even shared a beer together in the middle of the ring. Current WBC heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder from the USA will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Tyson and become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. He needs to get past Bermane Stiverne next up though where he is -2000 in the latest boxing odds for the bout. Once he finishes his boxing career, it would be no surprise to see Wilder in the WWE in the near future.

Butterbean – Marc Mero

Butterbean was a regular in the WWE in the late 90s but arguably is biggest feud was that with Marc Mero in which the pair met at D Generation X: In Your House. The wrestler was a former amateur boxing champion himself so he saw himself as being quite useful with a pair of boxing gloves. This battle was amusing due to the difference in size between the two men. Butterbean was much bigger than his opponent something which frustrated Mero. It was Butterbean who got the win by disqualification and he later went to seal a big victory over Bart Gunn at Brawl For All. It is hard to see Butterbean returning to the WWE as he is now 51 years old; however, never say never as he is a hugely popular character who would light up Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania.

Floyd Mayweather Jr – The Big Show

https://twitter.com/strawberrySoBae/status/901776916247662592
Sam.Bam via Twitter

If Butterbean thought he had a big size advantage over Marc Mero, it was nothing compared to how The Big Show stood like a giant over arguably the greatest pound for pound boxer the world has ever seen in Floyd Mayweather when the duo fought at Wrestlemania XXIV. ?The pair first clashed at No Way Out where Mayweather broke The Big Show’s nose with a single punch. The fight at Wrestlemania was under no disqualification rules and Mayweather took advantage of that as he used his entourage to distract The Big Show before hitting him with a pair of brass knuckles. Money looked to enjoy his time in the WWE and now he has retired from boxing following his victory over Conor McGregor to record his 50th win, we may see him appear at another big pay-per-view in 2018.

While there are sure to be many more boxer-wrestler feuds in the WWE, don’t rule out more UFC athletes switching across over the next couple of years either.

Smackdown
Date: October 17, 2017
Location: KeyArena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Michael Cole

It’s time to start getting ready for Survivor Series and if you’ve seen the rumors, you know what the big match seems to be. The previews for the show suggest that A, they’re announcing it tonight and that B, they’re actually going through with it. Hopefully I’m wrong though and we won’t be subjected to that. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s General Manager Daniel Bryan for the big home state reception. The fans chant WELCOME HOME and Bryan finally has to say the show is only two hours long. After previewing some of the show, Bryan wants to talk about Sami Zayn. This brings out a dancing Sami to face off with Bryan. Daniel asks what happened to the Sami he’s known for over thirteen years.

Sami says he’s the same guy but he’s taken control of his career again. Bryan gets the idea but Sami cuts him off. It’s true that there are similarities, such as them being great in-ring performers. Sami: “Well, I still am.” Management never liked either of them either, but Daniel had the fans. The difference is the fans never got behind Sami like they did with Bryan. They didn’t uphold their end of the bargain. If Daniel had worked a little smarter instead of a little harder, he wouldn’t have had to retire in this very arena.

Bryan was the performer of Sami’s generation and every time Sami started catching up to him, Bryan jumped two more steps ahead. Now Sami would never want to be like Bryan: a retired housewife. Cue Kevin Owens to say the same things until Bryan says he and Shane McMahon did what was best for the fans. Owens doesn’t buy this and says Bryan is doing what’s best for business, which makes him the authority. Sami calls him a sellout and thanks Owens from becoming what Bryan is now. Bryan leaves, saying he’s going to find a couple of dudes to punch them in the face.

We recap Charlotte’s issues with Natalya.

Charlotte/Becky Lynch/Naomi vs. Natalya/Tamina/Lana

Carmella is at ringside with James Ellsworth on a leash. Naomi slaps Natalya in the face to start and it’s time for a huddle on the floor. A slingshot dive takes out Natalya and Tamina as Lana looks on and yells a lot. Back in and Becky works on Natalya’s arm before dropping a leg for two.

We come back from a break with Lana coming in and grabbing a suplex for one. Naomi gets pulled into the villain corner for some stomping as Charlotte plays cheerleader on the apron. A kick to Lana’s chest allows the hot tag off to Charlotte and house is cleaned with some chops (Lana has no idea how to sell them). We get the strut as everything breaks down, including a Figure Eight to make Lana tap at 8:43.

Rating: D+. Lana may be stunning but she’s not a great in-ring performer. At the end of the day, you just need more ring time than she has and the only way to get that is to be in the ring. That’s not going to do her much good in a place like this, which is why she needed more time in developmental. Or we can just write her off as a failure and go from there.

Post match Natalya grabs a chair but Charlotte uses one of her own to chase them off.

Bryan tells Sami and Kevin that everyone wants to punch them in the face. Therefore, tonight it’s going to be Sami/Owens vs. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura. Bryan does the Nakamura pose and Owens isn’t happy.

It’s time for Pulp Fashion, which should be amazing to put it mildly. Ascension is now in the opening credits, along with the cast of Pulp Fiction, who will NOT be in this show. The bulletin board is full of Quentin Tarantino references, including John Cena as Mr. Orange. The Ascension is being interrogated with Fandango telling them to be cool like the Fonz. Konnor: “Like when he jumped the shark?” Viktor: “They already did.”

Baron Corbin vs. Sin Cara

Corbin cuts off Sin Cara’s entrance and says the US Open Challenge is done for good. Cara wastes no time in kicking Corbin to the floor for a suicide dive. A big dive off the top takes Corbin down again….and Cara wins by countout at 1:22.

The Usos are talking about having the tag division on lock when Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin come up and rap about how they’ll win the titles soon. The champs go for a handshake but Gable and Benjamin pull the hands away.

Video on the Bludgeon Brothers.

Video on Jinder Mahal in India.

Here are the Singh Brothers and Jinder Mahal for a big announcement about Survivor Series. When he was in India, a young boy asked him what was next. After defeating Orton and Nakamura multiple times, the question was who he would face next. Even after those wins, he doesn’t receive the level of respect that he should on Smackdown Live. The fans chant YOU CAN’T WRESTLE but Mahal just holds up the title. In order to achieve respect, Mahal must defeat the undefeatable, which means he wants to face Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. Cole: “Are you kidding me?”

This brings out AJ Styles to a rather nice reception. AJ doesn’t care about Lesnar, but rather about Mahal saying he’s beaten all of the worthy challengers on the show. Mahal calls him a loser, which AJ says means there should be no worries about a title defense then. AJ is called a joke so the beating is on with AJ cleaning house in short order.

Post break, Mahal demands that Bryan make AJ vs. Sumil Singh for next week. Bryan is fine with this.

Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler

Rematch from Hell in a Cell. Bobby takes it to the floor and drives Ziggler into the barricade as we take a break. Back (after one WWE2K18 ad, meaning it’s not even a full commercial break) with Roode fighting out of a chinlock and grabbing a catapult into the corner for a double knockdown. A running forearm and swinging Rock Bottom get two on Ziggler. They trade rollups with tights until Ziggler gets another and grabs the trunks for the pin at 3:55.

Rating: D. Oh my goodness this is continuing. The match being short helped a little bit but this feud (Can anyone explain what the issue here even is? Something about Ziggler thinking Roode is all flash and no substance I think?) is turning into one where they’re fighting now because they’ve fought before and that’s not a good thing.

Pay per view rundown.

Aiden English is singing and is annoyed when people aren’t paying attention to him. New Day comes in with the trombone and a party breaks out. Rusev comes in to declare it his day again. Kofi: “Again? Time to celebrate!” Woods plays Rusev’s theme on the trombone and New Day dances off. English starts singing that it’s Rusev Day but Rusev cuts him off. I’m assuming a tag match next week.

Shinsuke Nakamura/Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

Sami works on Nakamura’s wrist to start but gets sent into the ropes for a COME ON. Some kicks in the corner have Zayn in trouble and it’s off to Orton. That goes nowhere so here’s Owens for the slugout instead. Everything breaks down for a few seconds and it’s Owens posting Orton, followed by a fall away slam into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Nakamura loading Owens onto the top for the running knee but Sami makes the save. The knee crashes into the buckle and Nakamura is in trouble. After a quick mocking of Orton, Owens gets two off the backsplash.

We hit the chinlock for a few seconds before Nakamura kicks him away and makes the hot tag to Orton. Everything breaks down with Orton dropping Orton onto the barricade and blocking a Zayn dive. Sami gets suplexed through the announcers’ table but Owens makes a save at two. Nakamura comes back in and takes care of Owens, leaving Sami to charge into the scoop powerslam. Sami hits Orton low and the Helluva Kick is good for the pin at 13:02.

Rating: C+. Pretty standard main event tag here and that’s a good thing in this case. Sami getting the pin through nefarious means is a great way to start off the new heel run. The wrestling wasn’t all that great, but at least they had a good ending with Sami being especially evil to give him the first win.

Post break Owens and Zayn laugh at Bryan, but there’s a big surprise: Shane is back next week. Back in the arena, Orton and Nakamura aren’t happy but Owens and Sami come back in to celebrate (Owens: “Hug me! Hold me close!”) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m digging the heck out of this new Sami run, especially with he and Owens being all happy with the fact that Shane is back next week. Owens already destroyed him and I’m glad that he really wasn’t all that scared. The rest of the show worked well too and it’s cool to see things picking up after so many horrible weeks.

Results

Charlotte/Naomi/Becky Lynch b. Lana/Tamina/Natalya – Figure Eight to Lana

Sin Cara b. Baron Corbin via countout

Dolph Ziggler b. Bobby Roode – Rollup with a handful of trunks

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens b. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura – Helluva Kick to Orton

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

I apologize for the delay but the in-laws are in town and I had to pick them up at the airport.  They’ll be around for a few weeks so things might be a big slow.  The shows will be up that night but they won’t likely be on time.  Sorry about that.

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 16, 2017
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole, Booker T.

It’s the go home show for Tables, Ladders and Chairs but tonight we’re focusing on a cage match with Roman Reigns facing Braun Strowman. In addition to that though we have Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins defending the Tag Team Titles against the Bar. There’s a good chance of a title change with the TLC match this Sunday. Let’s get to it.

As expected, we open with a four minute recap of last week’s Shield reunion.

Here’s Kurt Angle to open things up. Angle hypes up Sunday’s main event but here’s Shield, through the crowd, to the old music and in the riot gear, drawing a VERY strong THIS IS AWESOME chant. Now why couldn’t they do this last week??? Angle lets them have the ring and it’s Rollins saying he can’t believe they’re back. It’s been five years since they debuted and he couldn’t be happier than to be here with his brothers again.

Ambrose, looking more fired up and charismatic than he has in years, says they divide and conquer like no one else. Maybe he got a bit ahead of himself last week when he said they could fight four, five or six guys but he’d do the same thing again all over. He wants to fight right now so here are the Bar, Miz and Strowman. Angle cuts them off though and says if this fight happens, there’s no cage match later. Tensions cool, at least for now.

Elias is with the Club and has a song but the Club wants to warm up their vocal cords. Gallows sounds like a small dog barking before calling us all nerds. Anderson on the other hand clucks like a chicken….and belts out COOL COCKY BAD! Next up is a song about Jason Jordan, meaning it’s time for a six man tag.

Elias/The Club vs. Jason Jordan/Titus O’Neil/Apollo Crews

Titus and Gallows start things off as we hear about Titus trying to recruit Jordan to Titus Worldwide. A big clothesline puts Gallows on the floor and everything breaks down as we take a break. Back with Gallows kicking Crews in the head and handing it off to Elias for some stomping. Crews kicks him in the face and dives over to the hot tag to Jordan so house can be cleaned. A belly to belly gets two and it’s time for the running shoulders all over the place. Crews makes the tag and hits the Toss Powerbomb for the pin on Anderson at 6:48. Not enough shown to rate but this was fine.

Short pay per view rundown.

Video on Asuka.

Emma is sick of hearing about Asuka but here’s Alexa Bliss to say she feels the pain. Bliss shifts the focus to Mickie James, who body shamed her last week. They’re ready for a tag match later tonight.

Video on Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher tormenting Cedric Alexander.

Cedric Alexander vs. Jack Gallagher

Hang on a second though as here’s Rich Swann to even the odds against Kendrick and Gallagher. Jack wastes no time in slugging away and drops Cedric with a headbutt. We hit the chinlock for a bit before a dropkick to the back has Cedric in even more trouble. Another kick to the chest and it’s off to another neck crank. Kendrick offers a distraction, and gets DDT’d by Swann. The distraction lets Cedric hit a Lumbar Check on Gallagher (with an outstanding sell job) for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see until the ending, though you can see the tag match from here. I’m digging Gallagher and Kendrick as a team as of late and they’re good for opponents in a match like this. Unfortunately I’m not sure if they’re going to go anywhere near the title, which makes this a big of a waste of time. The sell of the ending was great though.

It’s time for MizTV with Miz being flanked by the Bar and Curtis Axel but no Bo Dallas. Miz talked about how they’re ready to destroy the Shield right now but they’ll wait until Sunday night. Sheamus says the Shield will be broken into three pieces. They’re ready to destroy Shield and here’s tonight’s guest: their partner on Sunday, Braun Strowman.

Braun says it’s time to destroy the Shield forever and it starts tonight inside the cage. The fans get in a YES/REALLY battle with Miz, who has a bit of a surprise: there’s going to be a fifth member of the team. The fans want Curtis Axel but here’s Kurt Angle to say this isn’t happening.

Kurt has a deal for Miz though: if Strowman wins tonight, the fifth man can join. If Reigns wins though, Strowman is out and it’s 3-3 again. Miz says it’s on but Angle says everyone is banned from ringside in both the cage match (kind of redundant) and the Tag Team Title match.

Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox

Banks made Fox tap in the elimination match last week. Before the match, Fox says she was scratching her nose last week and deserves more respect. Oh and a t-shirt! Sasha wastes no time in trying the Bank Statement but Fox is in the ropes in a hurry. Fox kicks her down and we hit the chinlock in a hurry. There’s a backbreaker into a second chinlock on Banks but Sasha won’t have any more of this. The comeback takes all of a moment and the Bank Statement makes Fox tap at 2:51.

Fox screeches after the loss.

Post break, Fox attacks Banks in the back and sends her into various things. More screeching ensues.

Here’s Enzo Amore for a chat as Graves wants an air sick bag. He misses his title and we see Mustafa Ali costing him the belt last week. Last week, Enzo got ripped off and Kalisto robbed him of the title. This brings out Kalisto for the trash talk but Drew Gulak, Tony Nese, Noam Dar and Ariya Daivari come in for the long form beatdown. Cue Mustafa Ali for the save until the numbers game gets the better of him. This seems a little Survivor Series-ish.

Tag Team Titles: The Bar vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose

Rollins and Ambrose are defending. Sheamus starts with Ambrose with Dean stomping him down in the corner. The champs clean house in a hurry to start and the stereo dives put Sheamus and Cesaro down with little trouble. Sheamus forearms Dean down back inside and we take a break.

Back with Rollins fighting out of Sheamus’ chinlock but getting caught in the Irish Curse for two. Stereo kicks to the ribs get two on Rollins and he can’t power out of Cesaro’s front facelock. Cesaro isn’t taking the risk though and kicks Dean off the apron. The fans chant for Ambrose but settle for Seth striking away. Cesaro gets backdropped to the floor and a diving tag brings in Ambrose.

Everything breaks down and Cesaro avoids the catapult into the post ala the teeth incident. Double dives take the Bar down and the top rope elbow gets two on Cesaro. Something like a Hart Attack gets two on Dean but the double crucifix is broken up. Instead it’s a pair of superkicks to the ribs, setting up Dirty Deeds to put Cesaro away and retain the titles at 12:10.

Rating: B. These teams work very well together and it’s amazing how much more interested I was in seeing them fight when the Club and no one else was around to waste our time. It also helps to have Miz doing most of the talking, which was one of the major issues in the previous part of the feud. Good match here, though nothing was coming close to the previous version.

Post break Axel gives the Bar a pep talk because he wants in the main event. Strowman comes in and the pep talking continues. Axel NEEDS to be in that match and is ready to go fight Reigns right now. Strowman: “Then go find him.” Axel: “You mean now?”

We look back at Bray Wyatt becoming Sister Abigail last week.

Here’s Finn Balor for a chat. He talks about the Celtic festival of Sowen, which sounds like Halloween cranked up to eleven. Last week Finn say Bray’s tricks but he has his own too. This Sunday, the Demon will slay a monster of his own. Finn’s demon has no fear….and the Demon paint appears on his face. It disappears and Finn says his Demon dreams of nightmares (paint on and off again) and it wants to meet Sister Abigail. Run. Never let WWE get supernatural.

Emma/Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley/Mickie James

Mickie armbars Emma to start and it’s quickly off to Bayley for a double back elbow and a Paisan elbow drop. Bliss comes in and takes a kind of Twist of Fate over the middle rope. Emma breaks it up at two and a bunch of yelling takes us to a break. Back with Emma sending Bayley into the buckle a few times for no effect. Emma going into the buckle has some effect though and Emma is all staggered. A knee drop gets two on Emma but she sends Bayley outside and into the barricade to take over.

Back in and Bliss hits a running slap to the face, followed by a chinlock to slow things down again. Bayley finally sends her throat first into the ropes and it’s a hot tag to bring in Mickie. House is cleaned in a hurry and Mickie’s top rope Thesz press gets two with Emma making the save. That’s fine with Mickie who superkicks Bliss for the pin at 11:21.

Rating: C. Just a quick match to set up something for Sunday. It didn’t have anything special to it of course and Mickie isn’t likely to win the title but it’s a simple enough story that isn’t hurting anything. Mickie is great in this role and helps bridge the gap until we get to another big challenger.

Axel goes after the Shield and we cut to a break.

Miz gives his future team a pep talk but asks where Axel is. Braun tells him the news and Miz looks terrified.

Mickie is ready for revenge on Sunday. Those insults hurt but Mickie is proud of her career. She has a three year old at home and can’t wait to bring the title home to him.

Sasha vs. Alicia is the Kickoff Show match.

PPV card rundown.

Miz goes looking for Axel….and finds him hanging unconscious upside down from a forklift.

The cage is lowered.

Miz isn’t worried about losing his fifth man, because Axel was never in that spot.

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

Inside a cage and Miz jumps in on commentary. Strowman sends him into the corner to start but it’s way too early for the running powerslam. Reigns slips out and tries to climb, only to get pulled down. Some clotheslines have almost no effect but some big boots have a big more effect. Strowman goes shoulder first into the corner and there are the rapid fire clotheslines. One heck of a spinebuster gets two on Roman and we take a break.

Back with Reigns tasting the cage a few times. Strowman throws him at the cage so Reigns grabs the top for a climb. Now why did he think that would work with Strowman looking at him. Strowman misses a charge and hits the cage though, allowing Reigns to score with some kicks to the face. A Samoan drop gets two with a heck of a kickout so Reigns makes another escape attempt. Cue the Bar to cut Reigns off so Ambrose and Rollins are outside to cut them off. THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT IN BANNING THEM BOTH FROM RINGSIDE???

Braun gets up in time to pull Reigns back inside with a superplex off the cage. Miz: “COVER!!!” Everyone not in the match brawls up to the stage as we cut away from the match entirely. Miz joins them and the fight heads backstage. Again, we’re not even looking at the CAGE MATCH WITH TWO MONSTERS FIGHTING EACH OTHER because we need to see this instead. For all we know there’s a tango contest going on at the moment as Miz closes a metal door, locking the four of them in the parking lot.

Back to the ring with Reigns fighting to his feet after suffering from a bad bowl of soup as served up by Chef Strowman (prove that it didn’t happen). Miz is back on commentary as Reigns goes up top, only to slip down and crotch Strowman. A Superman Punch staggers Strowman and a second puts him down. Strowman throws Reigns in the air but gets Superman Punched again for two.

It’s spear time….and Kane’s lights come on. Strowman splashes Reigns but eats a spear anyway. Kane comes up through the mat though and stares Reigns down, followed by a chokeslam. A second chokeslam sets up the running powerslam, followed by a Tombstone for good measure. Strowman adds another powerslam and Reigns is done at 17:24.

Rating: C-. Let me make sure I have this straight. Angle bans everyone from ringside so we have SIX PEOPLE interfere? And Reigns loses his first match after the reunion (not fairly but it’s a loss)? Here’s the thing: Kane was in Shield’s first match and Reigns retired his brother at Wrestlemania so there’s definitely a connection there. Unfortunately we didn’t hear anything about that and it’s basically just the idea that Miz got Kane to join for no apparent reason. Of course the announcers sold things well here, though there’s a better story to tell.

Miz, on top of a ladder, announces Kane as the fifth member of the team to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Sunday really is a case of a one match card and the more they add to that, the less I’m sure it’s going to work. Putting eight people into one match isn’t often a good idea and it takes away a lot of what you might be able to get elsewhere. Really, what else is there? Sister Abigail vs. the Demon sounds more like a joke than anything else. The women’s match feels standard and I’m not thrilled with two cruiserweight matches. There’s a good chance I could be wrong, but if that main event doesn’t work, they’re in major trouble.

Results

Jason Jordan/Titus O’Neil/Apollo Crews b. Elias/The Club – Toss Powerbomb to Anderson

Cedric Alexander b. Jack Gallagher – Lumbar Check

Sasha Banks b. Alicia Fox – Bank Statement

Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose b. The Bar – Dirty Deeds to Cesaro

Mickie James/Bayley b. Alexa Bliss/Emma – Superkick to Bliss

Braun Strowman b. Roman Reigns – Running powerslam

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

So I’m working on the 5000th review (currently at 25 pages and I’m just over halfway done) and I picked up on something I hadn’t seen before.  I don’t know if this was intentional, but it’s such an amazing match that I can buy it being possible.As you’ve probably seen a million or so times, the theme song to Wrestlemania X7 is Limp Bizkit’s My Way.  One line of that song says “someday you’ll see things my way.”

After the main event, Austin shakes Vince’s hand and sides with him for the first time ever.  In other words, after three years of all out war, Austin sees things Vince’s way.  If that was the idea, I’m buying a hat to take it off to whoever’s idea that was.

Lucha Underground
Date: October 11, 2017
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We’re closing in on the end of this season and most likely the series with two episodes left to go. It’s week three of Ultima Lucha Tres and that means another big batch of matches that close out some feuds and give us some awesome moments at the same time. The first two shows have been good and hopefully this one lives up to the previous two weeks. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at all of tonight’s matches, as is the custom.

Taya vs. Sexy Star

Last woman standing as Taya has cost Star a bunch of wins over the last year, meaning it’s time for revenge. They both have brass knuckles to start but Taya are kicked away. Taya takes her down and slugs away but gets kicked in the face. They head outside in short order with Taya powerbombing her up against the barricade a few times in a row. Taya misses a Cannonball into the chairs though and Star sends her into a metal screen.

We cut the camera away from Star breaking something made of glass over the bloody Taya. They head up the steps as is the Lucha Underground custom but now it’s table time. A slugout goes to Taya but they fight into the crowd again to chop it out. Star gets beaten up against a camera but gets in a belly to belly suplex off the balcony and through the table. That’s already enough to put Taya down for ten at 9:10.

Rating: B-. They beat each other up but this felt like it was just getting started when it wrapped up. I wanted to see them fight more but the big spot at the end looked like something that destroyed Taya once and for all. The win isn’t enough to make me care about Star (Matt Striker has killed her career just less than she did it to herself) though this was entertaining while it lasted.

Trios Titles: Reptile Tribe vs. The Mack/Dante Fox/Killshot

The Tribe (Drago/Vibora/Pindar) are defending and I don’t remember them either. Killshot and Fox are not only still alive but also have taped up ribs. Fox kicks Pindar in the head to start but his ribs give out, allowing Killshot to tag himself in, much to Fox’s annoyance. Drago comes in with a tornado DDT and Pindar comes back in for a powerslam. A pop up cutter gets no cover as Fox makes the fast save.

Mack comes in to clean house with some running splashes in the corner but the monster Vibora comes in. Fox and Killshot can’t combine to take care of him as everything breaks down. Vibora takes Killshot down with a clothesline but Mack runs him over without too much effort. Now it’s Killshot and Fox hitting stereo dives, leaving Mack to Stun Pindar into a top rope double stomp from Fox for the pin and the titles at 8:02.

Rating: C. My goodness the Reptile Tribe just did not work. I could barely remember who was whom and that’s a bad thing for your champions. Throwing together three guys to win them is probably an upgrade, which is really sad when you think about it. Let them have something to do with the belts and it will be quite the improvement.

Card rundown for next week.

Gift of the Gods Title: Son of Havoc vs. Pentagon Dark

The title is vacant coming in and this is a ladder match. They talk trash to start until an exchange of kicks to the face sends Pentagon outside. A big cartwheel into a flip dive takes Dark down again and it’s time for the ladder. First up is a smaller version being brought inside with Pentagon sending it into his face and then over his back.

Pentagon throws in another mini ladder and three full sized ones with the big ones being set up in various corners. Naturally that’s enough for Havoc to get back up for an elbow to the face before sending Dark into a chair in the corner. Dark gets crotched with a ladder in the corner plus some swings of a chair. That’s not enough for Havoc to get anywhere close to the title so let’s throw in a table as a bonus.

Havoc is right back up with a belly to back superplex from a ladder through the table though and both guys are down again. It’s Havoc up first but his shooting star is caught in a cutter (It’s no Randy Orton and Evan Bourne but what is?) in a big spot. Havoc is up first again though and he sets up four chairs in the middle of the ring.

For reasons of general evil, they fight onto the chairs and Pentagon package piledrives him through the four of them, killing Havoc pretty much dead. There’s no climbing though as Pentagon bridges a ladder up as a platform. They slug it out on said platform until Pentagon throws him through a table. That’s enough to pull the title down at 14:00.

Rating: B. The ending leaves me more confused than anything else as I have no idea why they didn’t just have Pentagon win after the big spot. Throwing him through a table didn’t feel like a huge move and there’s really no reason to have Havoc be conscious still after the piledriver, let alone be competitive. That being said, having Pentagon win anything is a great move and a cash-in next week wouldn’t shock me in the slightest, which could make for a heck of a finale.

Post credits, Vampiro has Prince Puma surrounded by a circle of candles. Next week Puma can win the title back and complete the circle. Puma leaves and Vampiro hears a voice complimenting him on a job well done. Vampiro thanks the voice and calls him master. Oh I think I know where this is going and that’s an awesome finish.

Overall Rating: B. Good show for the most part but nothing felt like a major moment. Granted it didn’t help that the Trios Titles mean nothing and there’s no way anything is topping that 2/3 falls match from the first week. The two hour finale should be awesome, but they better do something with the big story already as I’m getting a bit impatient with the thing.

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