Ok so this is actually trivia.Booker T. and Shawn Michaels never met in a singles match, including on house shows. They wrestled in tag matches and against each other in the Elimination Chamber but they never wrestled one on one. You really would have thought that would have happened at some point in their careers.
Judgment Day 2003
Date: May 18, 2003
Location: Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Attendance: 13,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
Let’s get this over with. I don’t remember a time when the TV leading up to a pay per view has been this miserable and the mere idea of this show is making me cringe. Sometimes a show can throw in a surprise or two but I can’t think of a single match that actually gives me hope on this one. Let’s get to it.
The opening video is a shot of gallows with kids reciting a rhyme about evil (it’s the same one from the Biker Taker vignettes). Basically everything leads us here and it ends tonight.
Here’s Steve Austin to open things up with an interview instead of a match. I’m so thrilled already. He’s not out here to run his mouth and waste your time because there’s a bunch of great matches tonight. Are we looking at the same card? Austin is going to watch in the crowd with the fans….in a sky box, with a bunch of beer. Lawler seems to think a sky box means sitting in the cheap seats as Austin gives Tazz a beer and heads into the crowd.
John Cena/FBI vs. Spanky/Chris Benoit/Rhyno
Cena says that being he’s with the FBI giving out black eyes, he’ll have the people cheering the bad guys. It’s Palumbo/Stamboli with Cena here as this is a bonus match. Spanky dives onto everyone but gets decked by Cena as we start fast. Cole says he knows all about rapping because he’s a shoelace. The FBI plants Spanky with a double slam and cranks on his legs for good measure.
Palumbo slaps on a bearhug as Tazz and Cole discuss beer. A hard clothesline cuts Spanky off but he headscissors Palumbo into Stamboli. That’s enough for the hot tag to Benoit, meaning it’s time for the German suplexes. Nunzio comes in and eats a Gore but he’s still able to break up Sliced Bread #2. The distraction is enough for Stamboli and Palumbo to hit the Kiss of Death (Demolition Decapitator with a legdrop instead of an elbow) for the pin.
Rating: D. The match was energetic while it lasted but that’s the problem: it wasn’t even four minutes long. Why in the world did we need a pay per view opener that lasts as long as a TV match? The people involved in this match deserve a little more than this, though at least they were on the pay per view card.
Austin is in the sky box having a woman make him a hot dog when Eric Bischoff comes in. Everything they have is split between them so Austin gives him the hot dog. Bischoff is annoyed that there’s no scotch so he’ll have a beer. In a glass that is, which Austin doesn’t appreciate.
We recap La Resistance vs. Test/Scott Steiner, which is all about the Iraq War and how horrible you are if you don’t completely support it.
Test/Scott Steiner vs. La Resistance
Test and Rene Dupree slug it out to start until a backdrop puts Rene down. It’s off to Steiner for some more aggressive offense, including a push-up elbow. Dupree sends him outside though and Sylvan Grenier drives him back first into the apron. The announcers debate France vs. America as Grenier’s chinlock doesn’t get him very far. A middle rope clothesline gives Grenier two but Steiner suplexes his way to AMERICAN freedom.
The hot tag brings in Test to clean house to silence. Test steals the beret and gets rolled up for two as everything breaks down. The pumphandle slam plants Rene but Stacy Keibler gets on the apron for no logical reason. Dupree dropkicks Test into Stacy, who lands in Steiner’s arms. After putting Stacy down, Steiner tags himself in for the reverse DDT on Dupree for no cover. Test boots Steiner by mistake and gets sent outside, leaving Steiner to take the double spinebuster for the pin.
Rating: D. Another TV match here but in this case keeping it short was the right idea. This feud isn’t interesting and Test vs. Steiner isn’t likely to be much better. Fighting over Stacy is fine, but it would be better if they could have anything resembling a good match. The tag division needs La Resistance though, even if they’re not all that interesting of a team.
Stacy stays behind to check on Steiner.
Mr. America arrives and runs into Gregory Helms, who has been told that he’s Hulk Hogan. America’s sources have told him that Helms is really the Hurricane. They agree that their sources are idiots. Clever idea but it’s hard to buy Hogan’s push meaning much when he’s having a match with Roddy Piper.
Eddie Guerrero has found a replacement partner for the injured Chavo. It’s Tajiri, who gets a gold medal and knows that they lie, cheat and steal.
Tag Team Titles: Team Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero/Tajiri
Eddie and Tajiri are challenging in a ladder match. The brawl starts in the aisle as the champs aren’t happy with Eddie destroying their framed picture of Angle earlier in the week. Eddie gets sent into the ladder, leaving Tajiri to get double teamed inside. A gorilla press drop onto Haas’ knee has Eddie in more trouble and it’s time for another ladder. Tajiri seems to mess up a dive over the top so Eddie dives over the top onto Shelton to get the focus back.
The champs go for the belts but Tajiri breaks it up with the handspring elbow. Haas gets crotched by the ladder in the corner and it’s time for a second ladder. Shelton pulls Tajiri off the ladder, sending him face first into one of the rungs for a scary looking crash. Thankfully he’s ok, though Eddie isn’t quite as good thanks to a powerslam into the ladder in the corner. In a creative spot, Haas puts Tajiri across a ladder and bridges it over the top, leaving Shelton to jump off the ladder, over Haas, and onto Tajiri’s back.
Eddie has to make a save with Haas falling out to the floor in a heap but then wedges the ladder in the corner instead of going up. Naturally he gets sent into the ladder for his efforts, satisfying wrestling rule #3. Tajiri is back up with the hard kicks to the face and he runs them over with the ladder for good measure. The Tarantula has Haas in trouble but it’s Shelton making the save with a shot from the ladder.
Back in and the champs beat on Eddie but Shelton gets monkey flipped into the ladder into Haas to put everyone down again. Eddie sends Benjamin outside but the champs are back up for the save. Benjamin is knocked right back down, only to have Eddie frog splash him instead of going for the belts for no apparent reason. Charlie and Eddie go up and this time it’s a sunset bomb to bring Haas right back down. Tajiri is finally back up to mist Shelton, allowing Eddie to pull down the titles for the win.
Rating: B-. Good though not a great match here. This would have been a much better match with Chavo involved (As in it would have made more sense. Tajiri’s work was fine.) but as it is, it feels kind of thrown together. That’s not on the wrestlers of course, but at least they made it work as well as they could.
Bischoff and Austin think they should sign Eddie but Austin makes Bischoff eat a hamburger and have another beer. Hang on though as Austin has to make fun of the way Eric drinks, including opening the box to get the crowd even more on his side. This eats up way too much time.
Chris Jericho thinks he’ll win the Intercontinental Title when Roddy Piper comes in to make fun of him. They insult each other’s talk shows and Chris brings up Piper ripping the kid’s leg off on Thursday. That was an accident though, just like Jericho being born. They both promise to win their matches tonight and that’s about it.
We get a very nice video on the history of the Intercontinental Title before the battle royal to bring it back. They cover a good chunk of the title’s history and show off some great moments. As usual, WWE knows how to do its history well.
Intercontinental Title: Battle Royal
Booker T., Christian, Lance Storm, Chris Jericho, Goldust, Kane, Val Venis, Test, Rob Van Dam
The title is vacant coming in and only Booker isn’t a former champion. Naturally, Pat Patterson gets to come out and hold up the title. And yes it’s Venis, as the Chief Morely gimmick is officially gone. After some VERY long entrances, we’re ready to go. Everyone goes after Kane to start (well duh) but he shrugs them off without much effort and gets rid of Storm. With Van Dam down, the others are able to get rid of Kane but he comes back in to beat everyone up.
Booker is up first and dumps Test, followed by Goldust doing the same to Venis. Jericho tosses Van Dam and we’re down to Christian, Goldust, Booker and Jericho in about two minutes. Then why not just do a four way for the title? It turns into a glorified tag match with the good guys fighting back so Goldust can hit Shattered Dreams on both guys. Booker does a Spinarooni to celebrate but Goldust tries an elimination. That’s fine with Booker, who dumps him out without too much trouble.
That leaves Booker and the Canadians and the double teaming is on in a hurry. Booker fights off an elimination attempt though and throws Jericho over, only to have him skin the cat in an always impressive move. Back in and the now bloody (not bad) Jericho forearms Booker down but Christian shoves him over the top during a Lionsault attempt.
Booker kicks Christian down and scores with a flapjack but the referee gets bumped. If you can’t book a nine man battle royal without a ref bump, you might just kind of suck at your job. As you might expect, Booker dumps Christian but no one sees it, leaving Christian to deck Patterson. Booker gets belted as well and Christian tosses him to win the title. As you might expect, Austin does nothing to fix this and the fans’ chants for GOLDBERG go unrequited.
Rating: D. That ending actually made my head hurt. How in the world do you overbook a battle royal that doesn’t even last twelve minutes? Christian winning is fine, but there are other ways you can make it work. Have he and Jericho as the final two and then have Christian dump Jericho out. That’s not even cheating but makes him look like a villain at the same time. Why is that so complicated?
Sable and Torrie get catty before the bikini contest. I think this is supposed to be Sable hitting on her again. If Sable wants one of the Divas this badly, go after Dawn Marie who seems to be more into it.
We recap Sable vs. Torrie, which is as obvious of an idea as you can get.
Tazz is hosting, which is only slightly better than Lawler. Lillian Garcia sings Torrie to the ring as they’re putting a little too much thought and effort into this. She sings the chorus three times as this is going on WAY too long already. Anyway, both get fifteen seconds to disrobe and gyrate.
They both do their thing and the fans say it’s a tie, even though Sable’s reaction was clearly louder. The fact that her swimsuit was smaller has no bearing on this at all I assure you. Actually hang on though as Sable takes off the swimsuit she’s wearing to reveal a smaller one, which is enough for Tazz to give her the win. Torrie gives Sable a rather passionless kiss to end things.
Austin torments Bischoff with more food and beer.
Piper rants to Sean O’Haire about Jericho when Vince McMahon comes in. Roddy better be ready because it’s a big night for the boss. Without Piper there would be no Hogan and now Piper is the epitome of ruthless aggression.
We look at Piper attacking the fan who Mr. America had waving the flag, resulting in the fan’s artificial leg being ripped off. Piper seemed upset but Vince didn’t buy it, which was all the proof he needed to send Piper after America’s mask. As usual, there is so much wrong/stupid about that idea, I don’t even know where to start so we’ll move on.
Roddy Piper vs. Mr. America
America brings out a chair, presumably to counteract Sean. Actually it’s for Zack Gowen, the fan whose leg was ripped off. So to clarify: this story is now about Vince, Stephanie, Piper, Mr. America and Gowen. After those five people is Sean O’Haire, whose lone match in this whole thing was a less than five minute match with Rikishi, where Piper had to help him win. And people wonder why this period is so loathed. America gets double teamed to start until Sean is sent outside.
Some right hands get America out of trouble and as the referee yells at O’Haire, the mask comes up to bite Piper. So I’m assuming Vince isn’t watching the match and can’t see 90% of Hogan’s face there? O’Haire pulls America to the floor for some right hands, allowing Piper to whip him with the weightlifting belt. We hit a terrible sleeper until it’s time to America up. The big boot connects but here’s Vince so Piper can get in a low blow. O’Haire brings in a pipe but hits Piper instead, setting up the legdrop to give America the pin as Gowen holds Vince back.
Rating: F. Of course it was terrible but at least they kept it fairly short. As anyone could have guessed at the beginning of this thing though, it’s not doing anyone other than Hogan and Vince any good. Unfortunately that includes O’Haire, who has gone from what should be a can’t miss prospect to a bumbling lackey who can’t do anything right.
Stephanie McMahon tells HHH to be careful.
We recap HHH vs. Kevin Nash, which is over Nash coming back and not liking HHH and Shawn Michaels fighting. HHH then attacked Nash for not picking the right side and we have a World Title match as a result, despite Nash making Roman Reigns like Hogan in the 80s.
Raw World Title: HHH vs. Kevin Nash
HHH is defending and Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels are the seconds. I’m not sure who was thinking it’s a good idea to have Flair come out in his own entrance in Charlotte if they want Nash to be cheered but this show has bigger problems to deal with. The brawl is on in the aisle before the bell with Shawn and Flair fighting to the back. I doubt we’ll be seeing them again.
Nash and HHH slug it out on the floor with the bell ringing shortly thereafter. A backdrop has the champ in early trouble as JR is already saying this isn’t going to be the highest quality match. Nash hits a big forearm and flips the hair so you know it’s serious. HHH finally gets in a neckbreaker to get us up to about five moves in the first three minutes. Nash is back with more right hands and a shove to the referee, who pulls him off by the hair. He’ll never referee in this town again.
HHH gives us the required ref bump and a low blow before taking the turnbuckle pad off. Nash comes back with the usual but gets sent into the exposed buckle. The Pedigree gets two with the kickout earning a slightly disturbing positive reaction. A backdrop puts HHH on the floor and he comes back in with the sledgehammer to knock the referee down for the DQ.
Rating: F+. Only because it was slightly more watchable than Hogan vs. Piper. The match didn’t even last as long as their brawl a few weeks back and now the feud gets to keep going because they’re friends. Nash showed that he was washed up in 1999 and has only gotten worse in the years since. It was as bad as you would expect and a World Title match going less than eight minutes on pay per view is pretty unacceptable.
Nash beats up HHH because THIS MUST CONTINUE. He grabs the hammer and stalks HHH up the aisle, setting up a Jackknife through the announcers’ table.
Austin makes Bischoff eat jalapenos and vomiting ensues.
Women’s Title: Jazz vs. Victoria vs. Trish Stratus vs. Jacqueline
Jazz is defending and this is one fall to a finish. It’s a brawl to start until the villains are sent outside, leaving Trish to counter an early wristlock. Victoria and Jazz come back in with with the champ hitting some double chickenwing facebusters. Trish gets caught in the STF and Jacqueline puts Victoria in the half crab at the same time.
It’s Trish getting to the rope first so Jazz can kick Jacqueline for the save. After a Matrish to avoid a clothesline (Lawler: “Trish just got reloaded!”), the Chick Kick gets two on Jazz. The Stratusfaction is broken up with Trish being thrown over the top and landing face first on the floor in a scary crash. Back in and Jacqueline suplexes Victoria, only to get DDT’d to retain Jazz’s title.
Rating: D. That Trish landing looked great (and rather scary) but the time and a lack of a story killed whatever they could do here. What are you supposed to get out of a sub five minute match that you could probably see on Raw? The division is still dying for some fresh blood as these four can only fight so long. We passed that point months ago but it’s still the same lineup every month.
Trish has a cut lip and stares at Jazz, again meaning this must continue.
We recap the main event. Big Show attacked Rey Mysterio at Backlash so tonight it’s Brock Lesnar standing up to the monster in a stretcher match.
Smackdown World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show
Lesnar is defending and you have to put your opponent on the stretcher and get it over the finish line. During the entrances, Cole mentions that this is the first stretcher match in the company in 17 years since Andre the Giant vs. Killer Khan in 1986. You really would think he would get it right after all these weeks but alas, Cole isn’t that bright (it was 1981). Also, Show brings a stretcher backboard with him with Mysterio, Benoit and Lesnar written on the back. Only Mysterio’s name is crossed off, making Show look even lamer than usual.
Lesnar wastes no time in taking over and hitting Show with the board to knock him outside. A few more shots have Show in trouble and Brock sends him into the board, which is in front of the post. Show is back up and drops him across the stretcher before hitting Brock in the back with the backboard. A chokeslam plants Lesnar in the ring as I wonder why there’s a referee inside with them.
Show drops a leg onto Lesnar onto the board and it’s stretcher time. The champ kicks his way off though and a few backboard shots has Show in trouble. Some choking with a camera cord and Lesnar puts Show on the stretcher as the announcers say it can’t be done. Seriously it’s not that big of a deal. Show fights out again so Lesnar rams the stretcher into his ribs.
A tug of war goes to Show….and he throws the stretcher down and puts its pad on another stretcher. More backboard (albeit from a different backboard) have Lesnar in trouble as this just keeps going. Back up and Brock knocks him off the apron and onto/back off of the stretcher. As Cole incorrectly says the first WWE Champion was crowned forty years ago yesterday (it was forty years ago yesterday that Bruno won the title to become the second champion), Rey Mysterio comes out to distracts Show.
The distraction lets Brock drive a freaking forklift into the arena and dive off the thing with a crossbody/clothesline. A suplex into the F5 (more of an AA) allow Lesnar to throw him onto the forklift (Why can’t he just put him onto the stretcher then?) and wheel him across the finish line to retain.
Rating: D+. This could have been a lot worse and it needed about five minutes cut out but it was a watchable enough main event. The problem here was the stretcher rule was completely tacked on and Show only having one of the three names crossed off made me shake my head. They should have done a last man standing match here or something like that, though it’s not terrible or anything.
Overall Rating: D-. Yeah this really didn’t work in the slightest. The ladder match was good and the main event was watchable but everything else was anywhere from terrible to a disaster. Aside from the America vs. Piper match and the awful World Title match, everything on here felt either unimportant or worth your time. Nothing on here felt like it needed to be on a pay per view and that scares the heck out of me considering the single branded shows start in June. Really bad here and that’s not surprising when you consider the TV leading up to it.
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Smackdown
Date: May 15, 2003
Location: 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz
It’s the go home show for Judgment Day and I have my notebook ready for all the questions I have regarding the Mr. America storyline. Given how little sense the whole thing makes if you listen to what everyone says, I’m likely to leave far more confused than I was when I came in. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Vince McMahon opens things up and he’s SURE who Mr. America is. No one could possibly question the fact that Mr. America is Hulk Hogan. See, Mr. America doesn’t uphold traditional American values because he’s deceiving everyone around here. After pausing for the WHAT chants, Vince complains about Hogan getting two checks (which would likely be signed by Vince himself, making me wonder who he signs American’s checks to) and on top of that, Mr. America doesn’t care that he batters women.
We see a clip of America knocking Vince into Stephanie, though Vince blames her for it just as much. He’s not going to deal with Hogan himself though because we’re having an open contract at Judgment Day with someone getting to deal with Hogan him/themselves. Cue the FBI of all people with Nunzio offering their services to deal with Mr. America. He even has a video resume of their greatest hits and Johnny promises to be on Hogan like baked on ziti. They’ll go talk about it over coffee while Palumbo has a match.
This was WAY too long and really just established that America will have a match on Sunday and the FBI of all people are getting involved. The FBI isn’t interesting and are just a step above a Three Stooges sketch. Ignoring the fact that they might make for a better match for Mr. American than Vince or Roddy Piper, this was a really long waste of time.
Chuck Palumbo vs. Rikishi
Palumbo stomps away in the corner but accidentally hits Johnny in the face. A belly to belly gives Rikishi two but Johnny trips him up again. The superkick gives Palumbo two, only to have Rikishi’s version knock him into the corner. Johnny breaks up the Stinkface and gets pulled inside, allowing Palumbo to hit a second superkick (in just over three minutes) for the pin.
Rating: D-. So Rikishi is now dealing with the FBI and having bad matches at the same time. At least it’s better than wasting people like Chris Benoit on them, though it would be nice if Benoit actually had anything interesting to do at the moment. At least he wouldn’t use three superkicks in the same match. He’s not a Young Buck after all.
Post match Brock Lesnar arrives and comes to the ring to give Palumbo an F5 in retaliation for last week.
Stephanie cuts Brock off in the back and explains a stretcher match to him in that classic Stephanie style of speech that no one ever uses in the real world. I know most wrestlers do that but no one can make it sound as robotic as she can.
Mr. America visited some wounded troops.
Torrie Wilson comes out to show us one bikini she’s considering for Sunday. As usual she looks great but I still don’t know why I’m supposed to want to pay to see her in another one when she’s in Playboy at the moment.
Stephanie is admiring two sets of flowers (one red and yellow, the other red and white) when Vince comes in. He would have gotten Mr. America’s mask off last week if not for her screwing up so he accepts her apology. She’s not apologizing though because she’s gotten flowers from Hogan and America. Stephanie is leaving because Vince has everything under control tonight. Vince breaks both vases.
Clip of Rey Mysterio being injured at Backlash. He’s back for an interview tonight.
Cruiserweight Title: Matt Hardy vs. Tajiri
Matt, who thinks Tajiri weighs too much to be a cruiserweight and can eat more sushi than him, is defending with Shannon Moore and Crash in his corner. Tajiri snapmares him down to start but gets jumped from behind. The kicks have Matt in trouble but Tajiri has to deal with Shannon, allowing Matt to hang him over the top rope. The Side Effect sets up an abdominal stretch from the champ, only to have Tajiri kick him down again. Rapid fire strikes have Matt in trouble and there’s the handspring elbow for good measure. Crash breaks up the Tarantula though and it’s the Twist of Fate to retain Matt’s title.
Rating: D+. Perfectly fine match here but there’s only so much you can do with four minutes and three people fighting Tajiri at the same time. Tajiri continues to be one of the most consistent guys on the roster and could do a lot more if he was given the chance. At least he did well while he was out there.
Matt says he has the Mattributes to take care of Mr. America because that story is now invading the cruiserweights.
Eddie Guerrero, wearing the gold medal, is talking to a framed Kurt Angle photo and talks about Chavo being injured in a match overseas. There’s no reason to worry though because he’s Latino Heat. He even puts a mustache and beard on Angle’s face.
Stephanie runs into Mr. America as she’s leaving and asks him to thank Hogan for him. She even throws in a kiss on the cheek.
John Cena vs. Chris Benoit
Cena wants to face Mr. America so he can turn him back into the Hulk so quick you’ll think his name is Bill Bixby. As for Benoit, instead of the Canadian Crippler, he’ll be the crippled Canadian. Benoit wastes no time in driving him into the corner before getting one off a backbreaker. A heck of a chop has Cena clutching his chest but he’s still able to send Benoit shoulder first into the post. The ensuing armbar makes sense but Benoit is right back up with a chop and a snap suplex.
Cue the FBI to distract Benoit so Cena can knock him outside, earning themselves a quick ejection. Back from a break with Cena holding a chinlock and getting two off a shoulder. Cena stomps on the leg but gets sent into the middle buckle off a drop toehold. There’s the first German suplex into the Swan Dive but Nunzio runs in. Benoit gets rid of him in a hurry and reverses the FU into the Crossface, only to have Johnny the Bull come in for the DQ.
Rating: C. What does it say that this is pretty easily the best match I’ve seen on WWE TV this week? Above all else, it’s two guys having a match and actually trying for a change, which is a lot more than you can say about almost anything that happens on Raw. Is it that much to ask for some effort in these matches?
Rhyno and Spanky come in to help Benoit clean house.
Video on the UK tour.
It’s time for Piper’s Pit with Sean O’Haire backing Piper again. Piper talks about the contract because this is the biggest story in the world at the moment. Some people want to collect the bounty for their careers and some people want to do it to suck up to Vince. Well Piper is going to do it because he hates Hogan.
This brings out Mr. America, who hands the flag to a guy in the front row, which sounds like a plot point. America gets why Piper has issues with Hogan because he remembers Hogan beating Piper up when he was a kid. He’s cool with the match with Piper because I guess Mr. America gets to decide who collects bounties on him. Piper says Hogan has never beaten him 1-2-3 (yes he has) and goes on a rant about the kid waving the flag. Sean goes outside to deal with the kid, allowing Piper to jump America from behind.
America fights back but Sean makes the save, only to have the fan jump the barricade and prevent the mask from being taken off. A spear takes the fan down and Piper chokes away, only to yank off his artificial leg. That freaks Piper out and the villains leave. Oh don’t worry about it. Nash did it on purpose in 1996 and he’s main eventing the pay per view on Sunday. Sean even yells at Piper because cheating on your wife or whatever his thing of the week was ok but attacking an adult fan who jumped you from behind? Not cool bro.
After the entrances to the next match, Vince yells at Piper and O’Haire for messing with a fan like that. Sean: “Mr. McMahon, I had nothing to do with this.” YOU SPEARED HIM DOWN SO PIPER COULD BEAT HIM UP! Vince tells them to stay there while he makes up his mind about what he’s going to do. Piper stands there, which is way out of character for him. Vince leaves and Sean blames Piper for what happened because his career is on the line.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Eddie Guerrero
Eddie has the picture of Angle and comes out in a sombrero. Shelton takes Eddie down and yells a lot before hitting a forearm to the face. A chinlock slows things down but Eddie is right back up with a middle rope hurricanrana. One heck of a powerbomb plants Eddie for two but also kickstarts his comeback with a couple of dropkicks. Right hands in the corner set up the rolling suplexes but here’s Charlie Haas with a ladder. The distraction lets Shelton hit a superkick for the pin. That’s totally different than the finish to the opener. This one had a ladder you see.
Rating: D+. Not enough time to mean anything and having the same finish used in two out of four matches is about as pitiful as you can get. Agents should be smarter than that and able to come up with a better finish. If nothing else just ask Eddie what he thinks would work here, as I’m sure he can come up with something other than distraction into a superkick.
Eddie fights them both off and busts the picture over Shelton’s head.
Piper and O’Haire haven’t moved when Vince comes back in. He buys Sean caring about what happened (as the most interesting part of his character is erased) but Piper doesn’t care at all. That’s just what Vince wants though and that’s why he’s facing Hogan on Sunday. My goodness they’re actually going there and Vince is actually saying Piper is better than John Cena, the Cruiserweight Champion (and his minions) or the FBI. And people wonder why the future was so bleak.
And now, the Miss Elizabeth piece from Confidential. She passed away from a cause that wasn’t determined yet (because it was less than two weeks ago when this aired) and Vince says she was just a commodity in WCW. They talk about her career, the battery charges from Lex Luger, and then her death. In probably the lowest point since….oh I’d think the Melanie Pillman interview, we hear the actual 911 call of Luger saying she wasn’t breathing. I’m not even sure how to respond to that so we’ll move on. This is of course edited off the Network version.
And now, after hearing a 911 call of a woman dying earlier in the month, Sable comes out and shows off her own bikini. Now pay up if you want to see it again!
Pay per view rundown.
It’s time for the Mysterio interview. First of all, he’ll be back in the ring in a few weeks and he wants the Cruiserweight Title. He didn’t think he’d be able to wrestle again and he wondered if that was it when he was laying in the ambulance. Rey isn’t sure about ever facing Big Show again….and Big Show kidnaps him.
Post break Show brings Rey out to the ring while carrying a backboard in the other hand. Rey tries to fight back and manages a 619, only to get caught in something like a Samoan drop. Lesnar runs out to save Rey from the chokeslam and beats Show down with the board. The F5 connects but Tazz sees a problem: Show is too big to be put on a stretcher! HOW WILL BROCK SURVIVE??? Rey adds in a bulldog to drop Show and then hides behind Brock to end the show.
Overall Rating: D. I only have one question this week: how did the Mr. America storyline manage to take over even more of the show??? Lesnar vs. Big Show isn’t interesting but I’ll take it over America vs. Piper and Vince running down most of his heels to say that Piper is the best option he has to take Hogan out. There was some passable wrestling on the show this week but the stories are just killing anything that might be seen as positive. Another bad show this week as Mr. America vs. Vince is swallowing the show alive.
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:
205 Live
Date: October 10, 2017
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness
It’s suddenly a different era on 205 Live as Kalisto won the Cruiserweight Title last night in a big surprise. On the downside though, it seems that we’ve lost Neville for the time being as he might be leaving the company due to not being happy with a variety of things. Hopefully things get better for both the division and the show so let’s get to it.
We open with a four and a half minute recap of last night’s events.
Opening sequence.
Renee Young brings out Kalisto for a chat. Kalisto is fired up to have a luchador as champion and brings up dedicating the match to Eddie Guerrero. Cue Enzo and Ariya Daivari to say this party needs the Zo. He put the division on his back but Kalisto just used it like a backpack. Enzo isn’t cool with the people he’s been carrying lifting Kalisto on his shoulders like it was the end of Rudy.
Then Mustafa Ali attacked him like a guy who needs to stay out of his bag. He accuses Kalisto of stealing the title, just like Eddie Guerrero would have done. Kalisto says he did just what Enzo said to do and that’s win at any cost. Enzo says Kalisto is making the title look as disgusting as whatever is underneath the mask and the new champ doesn’t have the money that Enzo does. The rematch is on for TLC but the brawl is on right now. Ali runs out for the save and the good guys clean house.
Rich Swann is ready to take TJP out once and for all because their friendship is done.
TJP vs. Rich Swann
2/3 falls. Swann wastes no time with a flip dive to the floor as the fight starts before the bell. TJP is right back by sending him into the barricade though and now we head inside for the opening bell. The match officially starts and they’re already back outside less than fifteen seconds later.
Back in and we hit the kneebar but Swann quickly reverses into a rollup for the first fall. TJP is livid and hammers away for some early near falls. A dropkick staggers Swann but TJP stands around for too long, allowing Rich to hit one of his own. TJP’s springboard forearm sets up the chinlock before going into a cross between a Cloverleaf and a Sharpshooter. It’s too close to the ropes but at least the move looked good in the first place.
The Detonation Kick is broken up as well and Swann’s spinning kick to the head drops TJP again. There’s a tiger driver for two more on TJP but the running 450 hits knees. TJP is right back up with a slingshot dropkick to the ribs but is too injured to follow up at first. Back in and Swann kicks him down again, only to get caught in a fireman’s carry.
It’s the kneebar instead of the Detonation Kick this time though and Swann is in trouble. He tries another rollup but TJP drops down into a cradle for a near fall of his own. Swann grabs a quick Michinoku Driver and a cartwheel into a running Phoenix splash gets two more. The regular version puts TJP away at 11:46.
Rating: C+. This was a good way to wrap up the feud but it wasn’t exactly a thrilling ending. I do like the idea of Swann winning 2-0 as it makes him look like the definitive winner, though it didn’t feel like a big deal as the fans were expecting a third fall. Good enough, but nothing all that special.
Enzo and Daivari are ready for their tag match later with Amore making a bunch of Lion King jokes. Drew Gulak comes up and seems to agree with Enzo’s anti-Kalisto stance.
Akira Tozawa comes out for a match but Gulak jumps him from behind and hits him in the throat with the NO CHANTS sign.
We look back at Cedric Alexander vs. Jack Gallagher/Brian Kendrick.
Alexander doesn’t buy what Kendrick says and will be ready for whatever they bring at him.
Enzo Amore/Ariya Daivari vs. Mustafa Ali/Kalisto
Enzo does the insults before we’re ready to go. Ali and Daivari start things off with Mustafa being smart enough to stay away from the corner. Instead it’s off to Enzo, who gets punched in the face a few times and kicked in the head for good measure. Daivari takes Ali down from the apron though and Enzo adds a Downward Spiral for two. The double teaming ensues with Daivari getting two off a spinebuster.
Nigel starts singing an Aladdin song about Ali and there’s a spinwheel kick to knock Enzo silly and bug his eyes out at the same time. The hot tag brings in Kalisto for the house cleaning and a hurricanrana driver plants Daivari. There’s the double dive to take the villains down but Enzo posts Ali. Not that it matters as the Salida Del Sol ends Daivari at 6:59.
Rating: C. Ali was doing most of the work here though I’m glad they didn’t pull a surprise by having Kalisto lose in his first match as champion. You can pretty much pencil him in for the loss from here and while that’s rather annoying, it’s nice to have a break from Amore for the time being.
Overall Rating: C+. Like I said, it was nice to have Kalisto get the focus for a bit, but I’m not even going to pretend that Enzo isn’t getting the title back at TLC. He’s clearly the star of the show and WWE is going to push him well beyond the point of people getting sick of him. The rest of the show was just kind of there, but that’s the point anymore.
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/
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I…..there are no words. Ok there are some, which include spoilers after the break if you don’t want to know.
It’s Jinder Mahal vs. Brock Lesnar in a non-title, Champion vs. Champion match.
Of all the nonsense in the world that they could go with, this is the best idea they have? I know Stephanie seems to think the fans determine who produces stars (seriously) but who in the world thinks this is the right play? Mahal isn’t even the third biggest star on his own show (Nakamura, Styles, Owens and I’m probably forgetting people) and he’s getting to face Brock at Survivor Series? And the title isn’t even on the line? Mahal is as one note of a character as there is in the history of the main event scene and for some reason he’s facing Lesnar. If it’s non-title there’s even a chance that Mahal could win. But hey, at least they can sell some tickets in India!
Main Event
Date: October 12, 2017
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness
This week’s Raw was kind of a mixed bad and that means it’s not clear what Main Event will be like. The show entirely hinges on what kind of stuff we got on Raw, meaning we’ll be seeing a ridiculous amount of stuff on the Shield. Their reunion was shown about five times on Monday so it’s hard to guess what else they’ll put on here. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Dash Wilder/Curtis Hawkins
Oh come on already. This is FIVE STRAIGHT WEEKS of Dash vs. some incarnation of Rhyno and Slater. Rhyno and Dawson start things out with Rhyno scoring a high backdrop. Slater comes in to a heck of a reaction and it’s time to crank on that arm. It’s off to Hawkins, who gets his arm cranked on until Dawson’s cheap shot changes control. We hit the chinlock and Dash actually cuts off the hot tag attempt. Hawkins talks a bit too much trash though and eats a flapjack, allowing the hot tag to connect this time around. Everything breaks down and the spinebuster puts Hawkins away at 5:29.
Rating: D+. Nothing we haven’t seen before but they were trying harder than usual here. I’m a bit sick of seeing Dawson lose this match but if it eventually gives us the Revival beating the heck out of Slater and Rhyno, everything will wind up being fine. At the same time though, I fully expect WWE to ignore the whole thing as Main Event means nothing. In other words, it’s not a big deal.
Long recap of Miz/Cesaro/Sheamus beating down Roman Reigns, who needs some help.
From Raw:
It’s time for MizTV to start things off and we have the Mizzies II! Last week Miz went from the A-Lister to THE GUY but he can’t take all the credit for the whole thing. That brings us to our first award for perseverance and the winner is Curtis Axel. The fans think he deserves it and Axel dedicates it to Bo Dallas, who is out injured this week.
Next up is Best Supporting Actors in destroying Roman Reigns and the winners in a tie are Cesaro and Sheamus. The Bar (still a stupid name) comes out to thank Reigns in their acceptance speech but Cesaro wants to remember Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for breaking his teeth. Miz grants himself the award for Big Dog and again the fans think he deserves it.
This brings out Reigns but Miz knows he won’t come in down 4-1. Miz doesn’t want to hear about these lame rumors but Roman doesn’t like them being called rumors. This brings out Ambrose and Rollins with Cole saying Miz and the Bar never expected this to happen. Oh shut up Cole. The brawl is on with Miz bailing and the beatdown commences. Miz gets cornered and a TripleBomb plants him, allowing Shield to bring back the signature pose.
From later in Raw, after Braun Strowman beat Matt Hardy:
Strowman carries Hardy up the ramp but gets cut off by the Shield (now in matching t-shirts). Reigns spears him down and the triple beatdown is on. The TripleBomb puts Strowman through the announcers’ table.
Again from Raw:
Here’s Finn Balor to deal with the potential that Sister Abigail is alive. Balor thinks these threats make Bray feel like he’s scared. If that’s what Bray is all about, bring on the whole family. We cut to Bray’s empty rocking chair but Bray sits down. Bray says Finn may not be afraid of him but he’ll be afraid of her. They turned her into a monster but she chose Bray with her final breath. Now, the season of the witch is upon Balor.
A shawl appears over Bray’s face and a distorted voice says men are all the same. They just want to control everything but Bray is special. She’s seen what Bray has done to Finn so it’s time to punish him and the Demon. Abigail knows about demons and she’ll turn it into a dandelion. Her touch could have saved Finn but now her kiss will burn him to the ground. Abigail laughs and Bray returns.
Akira Tozawa vs. Tony Nese
Nese pauses to show off the bicep and gets chopped for his efforts. The standing backsplash gets two and Tozawa stomps away in the corner. Nese elbows him down though and we take a break. Back with Tozawa hitting a hurricanrana and a heck of a suicide dive for two more. Nese comes right back with a good looking pumphandle powerslam but his superplex is broken up, allowing Tozawa to hit the backsplash for the pin at 8:59.
Rating: C. These cruiserweight matches are still working just fine and there’s nothing wrong with that. Tozawa is one of the better members of the division and being a former Cruiserweight Champion is a fine calling card for his skills. I still like Nese as a midcard heel and there’s nothing wrong with him filling that role.
Once more from Raw:
Cruiserweight Title: Enzo Amore vs. Kalisto
Kalisto is challenging and it’s a lumberjack match. Enzo shoulders him down to start and does a dance, only to have to stare at the lumberjacks. Back up and Kalisto kicks him in the shoulder before a front facelock takes us to a break. We come back with Enzo in control and slowly stomping away until Kalisto kicks him in the head.
A springboard crossbody gets two and Enzo is knocked outside where the lumberjacks get him back inside. Enzo rolls him into the corner to take over and Kalisto is sent outside this time. The villains get in a few stomps until Ali and Alexander make the save. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Kalisto gets in a rollup for two of his own.
The lumberjacks get in a brawl until Kalisto superplexes Enzo onto the pile. Naturally this means it’s time to talk about Shield again. Back in and the Salida Del Sol is countered into the Jordunzo but Ali pulls Enzo outside because it’s No DQ. Enzo drops Ali with a clothesline and crotches Kalisto on the top. Not that it matters as Kalisto reverses into a super Salida Del Sol for the pin and the title at 14:29.
Rating: C-. Well that was surprising. I can’t imagine this lasting long term but it’s certainly a nice surprise while it lasts. Kalisto winning opens the door for some more title challengers in the short term, though it’s almost a guarantee that Enzo will not only get a rematch but likely get the title back at the pay per view. Still though, good win for the moment.
Overall Rating: C. It’s kind of amazing how much better Raw seems when you don’t see the same clip about five times in two and a half hours. This show wasn’t great by any means but the two original matches were fine and that’s more than you often get. Now if we can just find something else for Dawson to do.
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/
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Ring of Honor
Date: October 11, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
It’s time for a new taping cycle as we’re finally able to talk about what happened at Death Before Dishonor. That could mean a multitude of options around here but hopefully we get some actual stories instead of just doing a bunch of one off matches. To be fair though, the last few weeks of TV haven’t been that bad so hopefully the trend continues here. Let’s get to it.
We open with a quick highlight package from Death Before Dishonor.
Opening sequence.
Here are Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser for an opening chat. Young takes his shirt off to show the welts from his street fight with Jay Lethal. Those marks are the proof that he walks the walk to back up his talk. As for now though, he and Bruiser have a goal of winning the Six Man Tag Team Titles but they need a partner.
That brings them to Death Before Dishonor, where they saw another real man. They have a partner now though and his name is Minoru Suzuki and the challenge is officially made tot he Young Bucks and Hangman Page. Cue the champs to say they’re annoyed at Young for interrupting their autograph session. Matt dubs the team the Hung Bucks (just kill me now) and the match is on for the main event.
TV Title: Josh Woods vs. Kenny King
Woods is challenging in his official shot for winning the Top Prospect Tournament. King is the new champion and the hometown boy after defeating Kushida at Death Before Dishonor. I’m not wild on the outsiders winning titles but at least Kushida held it for a long time. Woods takes him to the ground to start for an early two before working on the arm.
That’s reversed into an armbar from the champ but he gets suplexed into the corner as we take a break. Back with Woods having to grab a rope to escape something like a Last Chancery. King kicks him out to the floor and hits a dive and Woods is in trouble. That lasts all of ten seconds as Woods scores with some knees to the head and a string of suplexes, followed by a triangle choke. King is perfectly fine though and stacks Woods up for the pin at 8:59.
Rating: C+. Nice match here as Woods is growing on me. The MMA stuff works fine as he mixes in enough wrestling to make it work. You know what you’re going to get with him but he does it just fine, which is all you can ask for. King is a bit flashier than he needs to be at times but he should be great in this role.
Josh shakes his hand post match and King grabs the mic to praise him a bit. Woods leaves and King says he’s a fighting champion who will defend his title on every show. This brings out Shane Taylor, Chuck Taylor, Punishment Martinez and Mark Briscoe, all of whom King is more than willing to face for the title.
Marty Scurll invites us to a Bullet Club celebration next week.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: Hangman Page/Young Bucks vs. Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser/Minoru Suzuki
Page and the Bucks are defending. Suzuki won’t shake his partners’ hands so I don’t see this team lasting long. Bruiser throws Nick into the corner but Matt comes in to throw his brother into a dropkick. Young comes in before too long and it’s a triple basement dropkick to the face so the fans can cheer the Bucks a bit.
Page wants Suzuki for some reason and it’s time for the slugout with the chops making Page cringe. A quick Kimura has Page in more trouble and the Bucks get one each of their own. Everything breaks down and it’s Young and Bruiser putting on Kimuras of their own. The champs all bail to the floor and we take a break. Back with Young slamming Matt down and Suzuki putting on a legbar over the apron.
Some choking in the corner has Matt in more trouble but he finally gets a boot up in the corner. A flipping cutter off the top takes Silas down but Bruiser breaks up the tag attempt. For reasons of general stupidity, Bruiser gets into a chase and lands in a superkick. The hot tag brings in Page to clean house, including a dropsault for two on Young. Everything breaks down and Suzuki’s piledriver is broken up with a double superkick. Bruiser crossbodies the Bucks and Cannonballs onto Page as the fans are WAY into this (with good reason).
Back in and Suzuki’s piledriver sets up the frog splash for two on Page with the Bucks making the save. We take another break and come back with more superkicks dropping Bruiser but Nick gets caught in Suzuki’s sleeper. That gives us a showdown with Page, who actually wins a slugout. Young comes back in for the Regal Roll but the moonsault is broken up by more moonsaults. Page hits a huge moonsault to the floor and it’s a shooting star off the apron into the Indytaker to kill Young dead. Back in and the Rite of Passage ends Bruiser to retain the titles at 14:40.
Rating: B. As usual, when the Bucks don’t do all the superkicks, they’re a lot of fun to watch. Hence why the best part of the match was the stuff between the breaks, where there were only a few of the kicks. Suzuki still doesn’t do much for me but Bruiser and Young are growing on me more and more every time they get in the ring. Good match here that was starting to look great at times.
Post match Bruiser and Young blame Suzuki so the brawl is on until the referees make the save.
Here’s Jay Briscoe to address his turning on Bully Ray at the pay per view. Before he gets very far, here’s Tommy Dreamer to cut him off. Dreamer talks about cutting off Bully Ray’s cast the night before Barely Legal (I always thought the ankle was broken during the show) and a variety of bar fights.
One time Chris Jericho accidentally knocked Bully out during a match (I believe that was TLC III in 2002) and he couldn’t remember that his mom had died a few months earlier. Dreamer knows how dangerous head injuries can be and he spent another night with his friend in a hospital because of what Jay did. Jay doesn’t say anything and Dreamer leaves to end the show. I’m not big on Dreamer but this was effective and opens a few more doors for this story to continue.
Overall Rating: B+. Really good show here with a lot of storyline advancement to go with a pair of solid matches. Maybe it’s just the show being fresh after a long layoff or just a good night but I had a much easier time watching this than on most weeks. It also helps to have some top names around instead of people like Cheeseburger and the other interchangeable small guys who aren’t all that thrilling. Solid show here and a very nice surprise.
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:
Impact Wrestling
Date: October 12, 2017
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Jeremy Borash
We’re less than a month away from Bound For Glory and some of the card is starting to come together. You can pretty much guess a lot of the things they’re going to do, though one question is will Moose manage to do something dumber than walk into an MMA gym alone and pick a fight. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Eli Drake and Chris Adonis attacking Johnny Impact, only to have Garza Jr. interrupt. This sets up Impact vs. Garza for the Bound For Glory title shot.
Garza says he’ll win. No dude, you won’t.
Opening sequence.
We look at Eddie Edwards winning the GHC Title and Garza trying to win the title. As usual, GFW is really, really overestimating how interesting these other companies are.
Eli Drake is defending the title in Japan this week.
Here’s LAX with something to say. They want their title match right now and don’t care what rules they have to abide by. This brings out OVE to say bring it, even if it’s a 5150 street fight. The champs don’t care but Diamante says it’s all of LAX vs. OVE at the same time. The match, and the brawl, is on with the champs getting beaten down, including Dave being sent through a table at ringside.
We look at a press conference announcing GFW wrestlers going over to Tokyo to invade Pro Wrestling Noah. Is it really an invasion if you announce a working relationship and hold a press conference announcing the matches? More on this later, because we’re just that lucky.
Video on American Top Team, including them attacking various GFW employees and Moose going to their gym and getting beaten down. This is a compilation of clips and packages we’ve seen before.
Another video on Garza Jr. By the way it’s 8:31 and we haven’t had a match yet. I’m not sure if that’s a complaint or not.
Rosemary vs. Hannah Harper
Red Wedding ends Harper in 59 seconds. Nearly half of that was them staring at each other.
Post match Rosemary calls out Taya Valkyrie for a dance with the demon. Taya comes out and mists Rosemary for a change of pace, followed by the Road to Valhalla.
We look at Moose getting beaten down at the American Top Team facility.
Moose is going back to the facility, but this time he has backup.
Here’s Taryn Terrell to tell us all to shut up. She’s got a Knockouts Title shot at Bound For Glory but now she wants to focus on Gail Kim. Taryn talks about Gail’s husband Robert Irvine and says after she’s done, they’ll be heading appearing on Divorce Court. Gail comes out and says she won’t be attacking Taryn, only to slap her anyway.
Alberto El Patron is back at Bound For Glory. DANG IT MAN JUST GO AWAY ALREADY!!!
Sienna is ready for a mixed tag tonight and can’t wait to beat up Allie. One of her partners, Texano, says AAA is awesome. The other partner, Caleb Konley, says North Carolina is awesome.
Grado is very tired and says no more. Joseph Park comes up in an expensive car with a bunch of good looking women. They’re just interns, though one of them calls Grado the meal ticket. Grado isn’t happy as Park leaves with the ladies.
Wrestlers talk about the importance of Bound For Glory. This is probably the fifth promo for the show in the first hour to go with the 53 seconds of in-ring action.
We’re an hour into this show and it’s been little more than a recap show so far. 53 seconds of wrestling and an announcement of a tag match for the pay per view. Wrestling Challenge was run better than this.
Sienna/Caleb Konley/Texano vs. Allie/Dezmond Xavier/James Storm
We finally break a whole minute of wrestling an hour and nine minutes into the show. Sienna stomps Allie in the corner to start but gets taken down with a clothesline. It’s off to Texano vs. Storm but Konley comes in instead. Some villainous cheating has Storm in trouble but Storm is quickly out of a chinlock. A leg lariat gives Texano two and Sienna stomps away as well.
Texano gets dropped again and the diving tag brings in Xavier. Kicks abound and a standing corkscrew moonsault gets two with Sienna making the save. Everything breaks down and it’s a Codebreaker from Allie into a Backstabber from Storm. Konley comes back in with a swinging slap, only to have Xavier hit a 619 around the post. Lee breaks up something off the top but it’s the Last Call to end Konley at 6:38.
Rating: D+. Normally I’m a fan of throwing a bunch of feuds into one match but what happens when the feuds aren’t interesting in the slightest? This was more evidence that Bound For Glory isn’t an interesting show as the TV building it up isn’t compelling in the slightest. There’s no reason for AAA and GFW to be feuding and Xavier feels like he hasn’t been around in weeks. I’m sure he’ll be in the X Title match at the pay per view because that’s what they do with that title most of the time. More uninspired booking here, which is becoming a trend.
Here’s a slightly different package on the wrestlers in Japan. Some of the quotes and clips are the same.
Yet ANOTHER video on Garza Jr., this time of him in Japan.
This week’s Global Forged as this show is allergic to wrestling. This one focuses on Jon Bolen, the head trainer.
LAX is ready for the street fight.
Moose went to the American Top Team facility again (we’ve seen the clip of him on the phone at least five times now), though this time he has backup. Fellow MMA fighter Stephan Bonnar (not named until after the segment is over) is there this time though and they have pipes. They walk in and that’s all for now.
Garza Jr. vs. Johnny Impact
The winner faces Eli Drake at Bound For Glory. Feeling out process to start until Impact takes him down with a headlock. Garza sends him outside for a suicide dive as the announcers promise more American Top Team stuff later tonight. Johnny is back up with a flipping elbow off the steps and we take a break. Back with Garza forearming Impact in the corner but LET’S TAKE OFF THOSE PANTS!
Some kicks to the face have Johnny in trouble and they slug it out, followed by a crossbody to put both guys down. Back up and Johnny kicks him down for two more but he has to bail out of Starship Pain. A second attempt completely misses and Garza gets two off a standing moonsault. Garza’s missile dropkick gets another near fall but a pinfall reversal sequence goes to Impact for the pin at 13:50.
Rating: C+. I don’t know how else to say it but no one cares about Garza. He’s just a guy who was in the lucha tag team and then he’s randomly in the #1 contenders match. A bunch of packages on him for one night isn’t enough to make me care about him in this spot, especially when they weren’t hiding the fact that Impact was winning.
Post match Cornette comes in to interview Impact but Adonis comes in and breaks a board over his head.
And now, back to the real story with American Top Team and UFC LEGEND (yes UFC LEGEND I say, along with JB who says it multiple times) Stephan Bonnar. Everyone is gone (it’s the middle of the night) so they just break stuff with the pipes instead and Moose steals some MMA belts. They also wreck the merchandise area. This is the way they’re hyping up the biggest show of the year people. It’s the best idea they have. Moose leaves a note with the receptionist (who didn’t say a word while in the same room where all this was happening) to end the show.
Overall Rating: D-. This is only above a failure because the main event wasn’t bad. I just sat through two hours of Bound For Glory ads, the same clip of Moose on the phone saying he needed help, videos that didn’t make me interested in Garza Jr. and GFW in Japan. If you take out the commercial from the main event, there was less than twenty minutes of action on the show and less than two minutes out of the first seventy were spent on wrestling.
I know they’re strapped with all the taping marathons and such but with this many wrestlers running around, there’s really no excuse to have almost no one to put on the shows. Come up with something better than a squash, a six person tag and a really obvious main event. With as many people as they have, including all the talent they bring in, there’s not much of an excuse for this. This show wasn’t so much bad as it was unacceptable, which is much worse.
Results
Rosemary b. Hannah Harper – Red Wedding
James Storm/Dezmond Xavier/Allie b. Sienna/Caleb Konley/Texano – Last Call to Konley
Johnny Impact b. Garza Jr. – Rollup
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:
Another look at a bunch of stories at once, which I kind of like doing.
https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-five-things-know-happening/
NXT
Date: October 11, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo
It’s another pretty big show this week as we have a Takeover: Brooklyn rematch with Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas. The other big story continues to be Sanity vs. the Undisputed Era with Drew McIntyre watching over the whole thing. Roderick Strong is the other factor, as the Undisputed Era seems interested in adding him to their ranks. Let’s get to it.
We open with a look at Asuka vacating the Women’s Title and the process to crown a new #1 contender.
Opening sequence.
Peyton Royce vs. Liv Morgan vs. Nikki Cross
The winner is in the Women’s Title four way at Takeover. Cross and Morgan yell at Royce to start and a double clothesline puts her on the floor. Nikki immediately goes after Morgan with a sleeper on her back but it’s quickly broken. Royce is back in to yell at Morgan before kicking her down without too much effort. A modified Tarantula has Morgan in more trouble but Cross makes the save by pulling Royce out to the floor in a nasty looking crash. All three are back in now and it’s Cross beating the heck out of both of them.
A crossbody takes Royce and Morgan down and a neckbreaker gets two on Morgan. Peyton throws Nikki down for a second but she takes too long trying for a superplex on Morgan, setting up the Tower of Doom. Cue the Undisputed Era of all people with Taynara Conti from the Mae Young Classic. She comes to the ring to trip Cross, though it doesn’t really do much damage. Cross neckbreakers both Royce and Morgan but Conti pulls her out at two. The chase is on and Royce catches Cross in the fisherman’s suplex for the pin at 7:16.
Rating: B-. I’m a bit surprised and I like the twist they threw in there. That being said, I’d be shocked if Cross didn’t wind up in the title match somehow. She’s one of the biggest stars the division has left and it could be interesting to put the title on someone as crazy as she is. The Undisputed Era potentially adding a female member is interesting and makes the team feel even bigger.
Lio Rush vs. Velveteen Dream
Rush slaps him in the face to start and is way too quick for Dream to catch up with. A pair of kicks to the head rocks Dream but he gets sent hard into the corner. Dream beats him down and keeps telling Rush to say his name. Rush spins around into a tornado DDT but gets caught in a Death Valley Driver. The Purple Rainmaker puts Rush away at 2:46. Rush looked good while he had the chance but this was WAY too short to be any kind of a showcase for him.
We look back at Lars Sullivan destroying Oney Lorcan two weeks ago.
Lars Sullivan vs. Danny Burch
Burch gets right in Lars’ face and gets in a shot to the face, only to take a knee to the ribs to cut him off in a hurry. Lars runs him over with a shoulder and a delayed vertical suplex, followed by a clothesline to cut Burch off. The standing Boss Man Slam is good enough to put Burch away at 2:59.
We look back at the end of last week’s title match with Drew McIntyre successfully defending against Roderick Strong. After the match they shook hands but the Undisputed Era spoke to Strong on the stage.
Street Profits vs. Damien Smith/Marcos Espada
The Profits are really starting to grow on me. Ford shouts a lot and gyrates at Smith to start things off. The Profits waste no time in hitting the World’s Greatest Tag Team’s (or the Beverly Brothers’ for you older fans) jump over the back onto your opponent’s back spot but Ford heads outside to bark. Dawkins splashes Smith in the corner and it’s a spinebuster into the frog splash for the pin at 53 seconds. Well that worked.
The Profits celebrate in the crowd.
Next week: Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riot vs. Sonya DeVille in a Women’s Title qualifying match.
Also next week: Sanity vs. Undisputed Era in a six man tag.
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas
Takeover: Brooklyn rematch. Feeling out process to start as the announcers discuss what the name Johnny Wrestling means. I’d think it was pretty self explanatory but that’s never stopped WWE before. Gargano grabs a front facelock so slow Almas down but they roll up to a standoff. An elbow and a shoulder have Johnny in some early trouble and Almas has a breather in the ropes.
It’s WAY too early for the Gargano Escape as Almas is too close to the ropes. Back in and a dropkick gives Gargano a cover but not even a one count, which you don’t see that often. We take a break and come back with Almas grabbing an armbar over the top rope and kicking Gargano in the side of the head for a rather cocky two. Johnny is right back with a DDT on the arm and it’s off to a slugout. A tornado Flatliner of all things drops Almas but the spear through the ropes is caught.
Johnny sends him outside though and there’s the suicide dive. Back in and Gargano kicks him in the head but his reverse tornado DDT is countered into something like an Iconoclasm for two. An arm trap German suplex gives Almas the same but the second armbar over the ropes is broken up with some kicks to the back. Another slugout sees Gargano get two off a superkick and it’s time to go up.
Almas shoves the referee into the ropes for a crotching but Johnny isn’t about to take a super hammerlock DDT. Instead it’s a clothesline off the top and a lawn dart to send Almas into the corner. The Gargano Escape goes on but Vega takes off her jacket to reveal the DIY shirt. The distraction lets Almas get to the ropes and Gargano goes to yell at Vega. A pinfall reversal sequence goes nowhere but Gargano is sent into the corner for the double knees to the back of the head twice in a row. The hammerlock DDT ends Gargano at 16:48.
Rating: B. I’m really curious about where this Gargano story is going as they have something with him not being able to get past the DIY stuff. They can fill in a lot of time until Ciampa is back for the big showdown and Gargano can pretty much lose everything until we get to that point.
Overall Rating: B+. Five matches in less than an hour is a rather impressive performance and yet I’m not even surprised they were able to pull it off. Anymore you’re lucky to get two on any given Raw or Smackdown and yet NXT manages to pack more in and feel more entertaining at the same time. It’s another good show this week as a lot of the stories have me wondering where they’re going next, which is the polar opposite of the main roster right now. Good stuff, as usual.
Results
Peyton Royce b. Liv Morgan and Nikki Cross – Fisherman’s suplex to Cross
Velveteen Dream b. Lio Rush – Purple Rainmaker
Lars Sullivan b. Danny Burch – Standing Boss Man Slam
Street Profits b. Damien Smith/Marcos Espada – Frog splash to Smith
Andrade Cien Almas b. Johnny Gargano – Hammerlock DDT
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