IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: May 29, 2018
Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s dream match night on Smackdown as we have the final Money in the Bank qualifying match between Daniel Bryan and Samoa Joe. I’d think that alone sums up the perks of tonight but we also get some more build between AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. This should be their final showdown but stranger things have happened. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here’s Samoa Joe, despite being scheduled to wrestle later tonight. He pulls a ladder out and sets it up in the ring for a climb and takes down the green briefcase. Joe talks about the ladder being a connection between the earth and the Heavens. Jacob looked at his ladder and saw angels smiling down, but Joe’s ladder has no salvation. There will be no smiling, but after Money in the Bank, he’ll be smiling because he has this ladder.

Tonight, Joe will prove to Daniel Bryan that there are things far worse than forced retirement. Bryan needs to call Brie and have her tell their daughter a story. Brie needs to tell their daughter that Bryan will be home for Money in the Bank but he won’t be the same man. Bryan will be a man full of doubts and that’s because of a man named Samoa Joe.

Cue Bryan to say Joe crossed a line that he shouldn’t have. Bryan has his own vision and that’s Joe with a broken leg if he mentions Bryan’s family anymore. The fight is almost on but here’s Big Cass on a crutch. Cass expected nothing less from the shrimp and the blimp but that should be Cass’ briefcase. He’s tired of all this second chance talk and by word of General Manager Paige, Joe vs. Bryan isn’t happening.

Instead, Cass will be taking Bryan’s spot when Cass is cleared, which has already happened. Cass breaks the crutch over Joe’s shoulder so Bryan hammers and kicks away, only to be sent into the ladder. A briefcase shot to the head drops Joe and Cass poses. They were this close to something special there if they just started Bryan vs. Joe then but something that interesting seems beyond them.

Nakamura is walking through the back with cards numbering from one to ten, which he counts and drops as he walks.

Paige runs into Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, who accuse Paige of making mistakes. Like giving Asuka another chance when she doesn’t need it. Mandy thinks there are more deserving women out there so Paige gives her Asuka tonight. They leave and Renee Young comes up to ask about the Money in the Bank match. Say it with me: triple threat.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tye Dillinger

Tye goes after him to start but misses a charge and gets kicked to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Tye fighting out of a chinlock but getting kneed right back down. More knees in the corner set up the running knee in the corner but Tye gives him the Perfect 10 sign. Nakamura is done with this and hits the middle rope knee, setting up Kinshasa for the pin at 8:52.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here and I can go for that far more than having another staredown or brawl with AJ. This wasn’t a great match or anything (not that it was designed to be) but it was a way that we haven’t seen in far too long and it’s been effective for as long as wrestling has been around. Perfectly fine story building here.

Post match Nakamura hits another Kinshasa and counts to ten.

AJ Styles says this is a scary time for him because he’s up against a dangerous opponent in a match suited to the striker like Nakamura. That’s cool with AJ because he’s the last man in the arena, the last man to give up and at Money in the Bank, he’ll be the last man standing. Good stuff from AJ here.

Rusev Day sings Lana to the ring for a dance off with Naomi. We’re not ready quite yet though as here are the Usos to back Naomi up. They both dance with Lana doing her more traditional stuff and Naomi doing her standard dancing, they lock hands and dance at the same time, Lana takes her down with a neckbreaker and the fight is on. Lana slaps Jimmy though and Rusev Day is cleared out.

New Day and Miz/The Bar train for tonight’s six man with both teams using pancakes. Moving on.

New Day vs. The Bar/The Miz

They start fast with Woods being sent outside and we take a very early break. Back with the Bar taking turns on Kofi but Cesaro gets sent to the floor. Miz misses a charge but distracts Big E. so Cesaro gets back in to knee Kofi in the face. The SOS gives Kofi enough of a breather to dive over to Woods and the pace picks way up. Using Sheamus as a springboard, Woods takes Cesaro down with a flip dive to the floor.

Everything breaks down with Kofi diving onto Miz but getting dropped by Cesaro. A belly to back suplex/top rope ax handle combination gets two on Woods but it’s back to Big E. for the power. Miz makes a blind tag and hits a DDT for two with Kofi making a save. The slingshot dive is caught and Woods gets dropped onto the barricade. Kofi dives onto the Bar and the Big Ending puts Miz away at 12:06.

Rating: B. This was slow to start but once Woods came in, they were off to the races and tearing the house down. Just six talented guys going at full speed to have an entertaining match. Big E. getting the pin is a nice surprise and I’d love to see him getting the spot in the ladder match.

New Day looks up at the briefcases but still don’t say who is getting into the ladder match.

The Good Brothers are ready to win and Karl Anderson brags about his abs. At Money in the Bank, they’re going to beat the Bludgeon Brothers like a couple of….hang on as the Bludgeon Brothers come up on screen to say they’re going to destroy the Good Brothers by liquefying their bodies.

Mandy Rose vs. Asuka

Carmella is on commentary. Graves: “I feel like I’m in a park watching a beautiful baby chipmunk and there’s a falcon about to dive in!” Phillips and Carmella: “WHAT?” Hang on though as Deville jumps Asuka from behind. Asuka says ring the bell anyway and a gutwrench suplex gives Mandy two. A dropkick puts Asuka down again as Carmella is wondering when she’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Back from a break with Asuka fighting back and hitting the hip attack in the corner. There’s the missile dropkick but the Asuka Lock is broken up. The second attempt works and Mandy taps at 5:36. Not enough shown to rate but it was perfectly fine for what it was supposed to do.

Post match Carmella comes in and stares Asuka down.

Becky Lynch and Carmella argue over who is winning the ladder match. Paige comes in and brings up Team PCB before having the idea of tea time. I’m assuming that means a match at some point in the future.

Next week: Naomi/Usos vs. Rusev Day/Lana and Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch.

Andrade Cien Almas leaves the locker room and runs into Sin Cara, who says hello. Zelina Vega comes in and yells, saying Cara is a nobody. Cara says he and Almas go way back but Almas tells him to leave him alone.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Samoa Joe vs. Big Cass vs. Daniel Bryan

Cass gets stomped down in the corner as we get a rare Joe/Bryan alliance. With Cass on the floor, Bryan can’t moonsault over Joe so Joe suicide elbows Cass instead. Bryan dives onto both of them and we take a break. Back with Bryan getting kicked in the head and Joe’s backsplash getting two. Cass drops Joe and sends Bryan outside for a toss over the announcers’ table and it’s back to one on one.

Back in and Cass puts Joe on top but here’s Bryan to take Cass down and snap off a super hurricanrana on Joe. Cass takes Bryan’s head off with a hard clothesline for two and pounds away with some hard intensity as we take a break. Back again with Cass chopping Joe in the corner followed by the Empire Elbow for two.

The East River Crossing gets two on Bryan with Joe making the save. Bryan starts in on Cass’ knee but has to slip out of the Koquina Clutch. Joe gets sent outside but breaks up the YES Lock on Cass. There’s a flying knee from the apron to drop Joe and a missile dropkick to Cass back inside. The running knee hits Cass but Joe comes in and chokes Bryan out for the win at 21:11.

Rating: C+. The important thing here is they got the ending right. Joe was the right call to send to the ladder match and while I didn’t need to see Cass in the match, it was the right ending and that’s what matters most. I’m sure we’ll get Cass vs. Bryan again at Money in the Bank and hopefully that should finish things up. Decent enough match and that’s all it had to be.

Post match Cass kicks Bryan in the head to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I had a good time with this show and they got through a fair amount of stuff in two hours. If nothing else it was a good idea to shift the focus away from the World Title match, which is pretty much set up for good at the moment. Other than that the rest of the pay per view was getting some good focus and that’s what it needed. Better show than usual as of late and that’s a very nice thing to be able to say for once.

Results

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Tye Dillinger – Kinshasa

New Day b. The Miz/The Bar – Big Ending to Miz

Asuka b. Mandy Rose – Asuka Lock

Samoa Joe b. Daniel Bryan and Big Cass – Koquina Clutch to Bryan

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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 28, 2018
Location: The Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

Somehow there are still three shows left before Money in the Bank so we’re really not close to the end of this ride yet. That means another qualifying match tonight, this time in the form of a women’s gauntlet match. Other than that we get to see just how good Seth Rollins is as he defends against Jinder Mahal. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with the now traditional Memorial Day video. This one includes soldiers telling stories of some of their missions and those who died on those missions. It’s always nice of WWE to do this.

Here’s Braun Strowman to open things up. He explains the idea of the ladder match and says he can’t wait to become Mr. Monster in the Bank. Finn Balor comes out to say he never lost the Universal Title and nothing is stopping him from winning it back. Last week, he gave everything he had to Strowman but at Money in the Bank, there are six other people. Strowman says it was a good fight for a little guy so Finn slaps him in the face and gets thrown outside. Cue Kurt Angle to say he likes the intensity so let’s have a match.

Finn Balor vs. Braun Strowman

So this year they’re not even mixing the matches up week to week. Kevin Owens is on commentary and Strowman throws Balor into the corner again to start. The dominance continues as Owens goes on a rant about how hard it was for him to qualify. Cole asks if we can talk about Owens calling Stephanie McMahon to get a second chance. Owens: “No we can not.”

Balor gets in a kick to the chest for very shortlived avail as Strowman whips him very hard into the corner again. There’s a boot to the chest but Owens grabs the mic and tells Strowman to stay on him because Braun can do better than that. Back from a break with Strowman running around the ring and shouldering Balor over the barricade. Strowman pulls him back to ringside but gets posted.

There’s a dropkick through the ropes but Owens grabs the mic again to give Strowman a pep talk. An enziguri sets up a bit flip dive over the top….but Strowman pops back up. The Sling Blade and a dropkick into the corner have Strowman in trouble and a top rope double stomp to the back has him in more trouble. There’s the Coup de Grace but Owens comes in to jump Balor for the DQ at 11:30.

Rating: C-. So remember last week when this match was a lot better? Apparently WWE does too and since they came up with one idea, they might as well just do it again. I’m glad they didn’t have Strowman lose clean, but as usual it’s the standard formula: take people in a ladder match and have them wrestle in matches that change nothing about that ladder match. Repeat for years on end.

Post match Owens hits Balor with a ladder but Strowman takes it away and LAUNCHES it at Owens, who runs off in fear.

Owens tries to leave but can’t get his key from the valet. Angle comes up and asks what’s up, with Owens saying he wants to see the Memorial Day parade. Angle: “You don’t care about that. You’re Canadian.” Owens gets Bobby Roode tonight.

Sasha Banks says she’ll win.

Here’s Elias for a song. He insists on how everything needs to be nice and calm but first, he needs the lights brought down closer because he can’t stand looking at this ugly crowd. Elias makes sure the sound levels are right and we take a break. Back with Elias still in the ring and threatening to leave again. Cue Seth Rollins for his title defense and he throws Elias’ stool out. Rollins vs. Elias sounds very appealing.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal

Rollins is defending and wastes no time hammering away in the corner. A Sunil Singh distraction lets Mahal knock him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Mahal working on the ribs and grabbing an abdominal stretch. Rollins sends him into the corner and then outside for the required suicide dive. Back in and a fireman’s carry gutbuster (Darren Young’s old Gut Check) gets two but the Khallas is countered. The Stomp misses as well and Rollins rolls him up for tow.

The low superkick into the Falcon Arrow gets two as well and dang it they’re doing the crowd reaction shots again. Sunil offers another distraction and gets ejected but it allows Mahal to chair Rollins in the ribs for two. The ejected Singh is back five seconds later so Rollins buckle bombs him into Mahal. That’s enough for Seth and he chairs Mahal for the DQ at 12:21. Please tell me they’re not going to do this match again next week.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t that bad and Rollins is still something close to a miracle worker but the ending has me worried that we’re seeing more of Mahal getting title shots. If they’re not continuing the feud though, I have no idea why Mahal didn’t take the Stomp for the pin. Then again I’m not sure why Mahal is still here anyway.

Post match Rollins chases Mahal off with a chair but gets guitared down by Elias.

Post break, Rollins is being put on a stretcher but gets up and walks to the back on his own as two fans sing Happy Birthday.

Here’s Ronda Rousey for commentary while Nia Jax has an exhibition against a woman named Michelle Webb. Nia has her try an armbar (which Nia can’t remember the name of) but easily powerbombs her down. Some trash talk to Rousey (who is mostly silent) is followed by the Samoan drop, more trash talking, and a legdrop. Nia adds a rolling flip dive and tells Ronda to come help this woman. Rousey comes to the ring and stares Nia down so Nia leaves with a laugh. Nia’s talking was fine until Rousey got in the ring and then it sounded very scripted.

Dana Brooke is going over statistics to figure out how to win the gauntlet match.

Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy vs Ascension

Non-title. Matt beats Viktor up to start as Cole does his weekly “I don’t understand this wacky Hardy stuff” rant. Konnor comes in and takes Matt down with a chinlock and even a side slam doesn’t get Matt out of trouble. Back up and Matt stops a charge with a boot to the face and there’s the hot tag to Bray. House is cleaned in a hurry with a backsplash getting two on Viktor. Matt Cactus Clotheslines Konnor to the floor and Bray plants Viktor with the release Rock Bottom. The Kiss of Deletion ends Viktor at 4:48.

Rating: D. The tag division continues to be one team and then the same jobbers over and over again. Wyatt and Hardy aren’t great champions but I’m not sure who could beat them, save for having the B Team win in a fluke. Then again that’s not exactly out of the norm around here, which is rather sad.

the B Team is in Angle’s office to ask for a Tag Team Title match. Angle says no because they just beat Breezango twice in a row. The team has a meeting but Angle reminds them that he can hear them. Dallas thinks they need to get the other team’s blessing. Like an invitation to the B Team Tag Team Memorial Day Barbecue! Tonight! Angle: “That’s not what I’m saying!” B Team: “B TEAM!” I dig these guys.

The Riott Squad says they’ll win tonight.

Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens

Roode starts fast with a Glorious DDT attempt but gets sent outside. Owens sends him into the barricade and scores with a Cannonball against said barricade to send us to a break. Back with Roode taking over and trying the Glorious DDT again, this time sending Owens bailing up the ramp. He stops though, realizing that Strowman is still here somewhere. Back in and Roode walks into a superkick but tries a sunset flip, only to have Owens sit down on it for the pin at 8:47.

Rating: C-. No time for this one due to the break but that’s probably better when it’s just stalling until Strowman shows up either at the end or after the match. If nothing else it’s cool to see Owens get a clean pin for once as it’s so often staling falls. I’m sure this is the momentum that Owens needs for the ladder match.

Post match here’s Strowman to catch Owens with the running powerslam. Roode gets one as well.

Here’s Sami Zayn for a public apology for last week’s segment with Bobby Lashley’s “sisters”. Well an apology is a nice start, though I’m thinking a prison sentence is more like it. Sami reads the prepared statement and acknowledges how bad it really was. He admits that those were men last week and Sami hired them to entertain and inform. Sami finally gets the apology out but everything he said was true. See, his art was rooted in reality and he doesn’t expect these people to get it.

This brings out Lashley, who talks about what Memorial Day means to a military family like his. With that out of the way, Lashley says his real sisters found last week funny. They need to settle this though so let’s do it at Money in the Bank. Sami shakes on it and threatens to kick the smile off of Sami’s face but Lashley squeezes the hand to take Sami down. Lashley apologizes for what he’s going to do at Money in the Bank.

Mickie James says she’ll win.

Chad Gable vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew powers him into the corner and hammers away with right hands as we talk about the B Team Barbecue. We hit the armbar as Gable is being dominated so far. A super Samoan drop is broken up and Gable gets two off a moonsault press. That’s fine with Drew, who sends him into the post to cut off the comeback bid. The Claymore is enough to end Chad at 4:45.

Rating: C-. I’m glad Drew won but it’s a disappointment as Chad got in almost nothing here. This was just a step above a squash but my goodness Drew is making me drool at the potential. Have him drop Ziggler or have Ziggler be a manager at most as they’re not the best combination. As long as Drew is this awesome though, it’s easy to be happy.

It’s time for the barbecue with most of the other teams on the roster in the ring eating food. The food all starts with B, including Botato chips and Bodogs. With everyone eating, the B Team says no they can challenge for the titles. Titus O’Neil and Heath Slater aren’t happy, so that means no more food. The foot of course winds up on the B Team, and then everyone else, with Rhyno sitting in a chair eating sandwiches. The B Team comes back in and chokeslams Rhyno through a table. Cole: “That was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.”

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Gauntlet Match

Before the match, Bayley says numbers don’t add up and she’s going to Money in the Bank. Bayley is in at #1 and Liv Morgan is in at #2 with the Bayley to Belly getting rid of Morgan in ten seconds. Sarah Logan is in at #3 and blocks the suplex, only to fall victim to a rollup for the pin at 1:50. Logan and Morgan double team Bayley before leaving and it’s Ruby Riott in at #4.

Back from a break with Riott having survived and sending Bayley into the corner. The Riott Kick gets rid of Bayley at 7:01 and it’s Dana Brooke in at #5. Brooke gets sent into the corner and the Riott Kick is good for the pin at 8:44. Hometown girl Mickie James is in at # 6 and sends Riott into the post for an early two. A dropkick gets two and we take a break. Back with Mickie getting two off the middle rope knees, only to get rolled up with trunks for the pin at 15:32.

Sasha Banks is in at #7 (the last entrant) and starts fast with some rollups. The Bank Statement doesn’t work and Ruby gets two off a faceplant. Riott starts the trash talk so Sasha hits her in the face. Another faceplant gives Ruby two and Sasha’s top rope double knees get the same. The Bank Statement is broken up again so Ruby tries a monkey flip, only to bounce off the ropes into a tornado DDT for two. One heck of a powerbomb out of the corner gives Sasha two and here’s the Riott Squad for the distraction. Sasha fights them off with ease and the Bank Statement makes Ruby tap at 20:50.

Rating: D. Well that was terrible. I can’t stand gauntlets where the falls take such little time more often than not. If you can win a fall this fast, why do regular matches take ten minutes? They would have been better off just doing Riott vs. Banks and let them have a good match but, as usual, quantity means quality. I’ll take it over another meaningless singles match though.

Overall Rating: D+. This wasn’t a great show but it was better than last week’s mess. It’s amazing what the lack of something so terrible can do for the quality of a show. The rest of the show was the usual Money in the Bank season show with matches between qualifiers and that’s not exactly thrilling stuff. I’ll take something boring over terrible though so call this an upgrade (while considering how small of a leap that is).

Results

Finn Balor b. Braun Strowman via DQ when Kevin Owens interfered

Jinder Mahal b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Rollins used a chair

Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy b. Ascension – Kiss of Deletion to Viktor

Kevin Owens b. Bobby Roode – Rollup

Drew McIntyre b. Chad Gable – Claymore

Sasha Banks won a gauntlet match last eliminating Ruby Riott

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Strong Style Evolved
Date: March 25, 2018
Location: Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California
Attendance: 4,372
Commentators: Jim Ross, Josh Barnett

This was a fairly heavily requested show and I remember liking last year’s show so it’s worth a look. New Japan very rarely comes stateside so it’s cool to see their expansion. As is usually the case, this show is built around the Bullet Club, which is having some major issues. The main event is the Golden Lovers (Bullet Club leader Kenny Omega and old partner Kota Ibushi) vs. the Young Bucks. I don’t watch Being the Elite so odds are I’m going to be a bit lost in the bigger parts because Heaven forbid I just watch wrestling. Let’s get to it.

Ross (who looks nearly asleep) and Barnett open things up and offer an explanation of strong style. I really don’t like listening to Barnett at almost any point so thankfully this is short.

We get a long, well done video on New Japan, looking at what has happened since their previous appearances in Long Beach. Each match gets a quick look, with the wrestlers being listed by name. The big matches do get some longer attention, which is perfectly acceptable. It’s nice to see everything get a look instead of only looking at the top stuff. I’m also warming to the idea of announcing the matches in advance. You don’t get that in America and it lets you know when you can expect a match you want to see.

Roppongi 3K vs. So Cal Uncensored

There are American and Japanese announcers here, which is a very smart move. What’s not a smart move is getting the name graphics under each wrestler wrong. Like, seriously, how hard can that be to pull off? And yes I know WWE did it at Wrestlemania, which is even less excusable. Romero wristlocks Sky to start as Josh sounds confused about Sky starting for some reason.

Sky claims a hair pull despite a high level of baldness. A neckbreaker gets Sky out of trouble and the fans are very, very pleased. Makes sense that So Cal Uncensored would be popular in So Cal. Kazarian and Yoh come in with Kazarian getting clotheslined down and it’s Sho coming in for some speedy double teaming. Now why didn’t they do this in ROH? The fans shift over to Sho as he works on Kazarian’s ribs in the corner. Daniels offers a trip from the floor but Kazarian slips off the rope on the springboard spinning legdrop attempt. Thankfully he seems fine and So Cal takes over for the first time.

Romero tags himself in but the referee didn’t see it so it’s Yoh being draped over the top rope to keep him in trouble. It’s Daniels knocking him to the floor for a big springboard flip dive, because of course he can do that at his age. Sky gets two off a slingshot cutter but Yoh rolls over and brings Romero in to speed things back up.

The forever lariats have Daniels and Kazarian rocked and a springboard dropkick to the back gets two on Kazarian. Everything breaks down again and Sky takes Daniels out by mistake. Sho is smart enough to pull Romero to the corner for the tag off to Yoh and there’s a slingshot dive to Kazarian. A Dominator/sliding cutter combination gets two on Sky but 3K (a 3D into a Downward Spiral instead of a cutter) puts him away at 10:24.

Rating: C+. Not a bad match at all here, even if it’s odd to see the ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions lose clean. But hey, that might imply Ring of Honor being on New Japan’s level and that just can’t happen. It’s rather impressive that Sho and Yoh are already this much better than they were in ROH. I used to dread their matches but now they seem to be putting on good performances. It’s almost like they learned and evolved.

As Roppongi 3K leaves, we hear Josh say that he agrees with JR: “They need to get out of the f****** ring.” And so we continue the production issues.

David Finlay/Juice Robinson vs. Hirooki Goto/Gedo

Taguchi Japan vs. Chaos. Goto and Robinson fight over a wristlock to start and a shoulder doesn’t get Goto anywhere. A shot to the face drops Goto for two (Josh: “I wonder what kind of juice that was.” I would have guessed Josh was the biggest expert on juice around. Certainly in MMA at least.) and it’s time to trade more clotheslines. Goto kicks him down and suplexes the invading Finlay onto Robinson.

Forearms to the back of the head have Robinson in even more trouble as Goto is bleeding from the mouth. Robinson easily loses a slugout and it’s off to Gedo for some dancing around. This slugout goes a lot better for Robinson and Finlay adds in another right hand from the apron, which is enough for the hot tag. Finlay comes in to clean house and everything breaks down. Robinson gives Goto a full nelson slam and a right hand to Gedo. A dive takes Goto out and Finlay’s jumping Stunner puts Gedo away at 7:26.

Rating: C-. Totally standard tag match here with four guys who have no connection that you would know of based on this match. I knew the stables because of Wikipedia and that tells me that either the commentary isn’t great or the stables don’t mean much (with both being true in this case). Not bad or anything, but definitely felt like a preliminary match.

Killer Elite Squad vs. Chuckie T./Toru Yano

Oh yay, it’s Yano time and that means “comedy”. Suzuki-Gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr,/Lance Archer) vs. Chaos here, with Josh at least telling us that the Squad is part of the stable. Archer throws his hat into the ring to make it clear that they’re the heels. Nothing wrong with some basic villain stuff and it worked here too. Yano’s entrance consists of plugs for his various merchandise so at least he’s living the gimmick.

The Squad wastes no time in hammering away like the monsters that they are. Chuckie gets in Soul Food (Eat Defeat) on Davey (who Josh calls Harry, his real name) but misses an enziguri. Yano gets kicked to the floor and it’s off to Archer for some heavy forearms in the corner. An Undertaker rope walk crushes Chuckie as you can hear JR’s disdain for Yano’s shtick. Smith grabs a chinlock and then a Liontamer, followed by some heavy right hands to the head.

With Yano walking up the aisle and talking to the fans, Archer runs Chuckie over as the beating continues. A DDT finally gets Chuckie out of trouble and it’s off to Yano, who lays in the ropes to hide. Yano’s atomic drop to Archer doesn’t work (Archer is too tall) so this time Archer kicks him out of the ropes. Yano pulls him outside though and it’s a collision to put both Squad members down.

After teasing a dive, Yano takes the turnbuckle pad off and Archer misses a charge into the exposed steel. Chuckie’s sunset flip gets two and a stuff piledriver is good for one. Yano and Smith go outside, leaving Archer to chokeslam the heck out of Chuckie for two. Chuckie even reverses into a crucifix for a heck of a near fall but the Killer Bomb (Batista Bomb/full nelson slam combination) ends Chuckie at 10:50.

Rating: D+. I’m really done with Yano as it’s the same stuff time after time in a TNA Eric Young/Santino Marella way and that’s not good. Archer looked great here and is rapidly becoming another name on WWE’s “How did we screw him up?” list. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Squad get the titles back soon, as should be the case given how dominant they looked here.

The Squad is coming for the titles.

Cody/Marty Scurll vs. Guerrillas of Destiny

It’s amazing how much better the combination of Cody’s theme and Brandi can make things. We’re not quite ready to go yet as Cody grabs the mic to say Bullet Club is fine, which doesn’t exactly please the audience. What’s not fine is this match’s booking, which is why the match won’t take place. Why should there be a match when they’re all friends? Tama Tonga is an original Bullet Club member and the Guerrillas are a great team that made Bullet Club cool in the first place.

Now it’s Cody that makes it popular today, which the fans REALLY don’t seem to find accurate. The fans think they’re chanting TEAM CODY, which everyone here must be. Tonga says the match is happening no matter what and Tonga Loa says they’re not on Team Cody. That’s enough for Cody, who jumps Loa but gets pounded down by Tonga. Scurll gets all fired up with the Guerrillas, earning himself a double shoulder to the floor where he hides in Cody’s arms.

We settle down to Marty tagging Cody in to face Loa. That goes nowhere so it’s back to Scurll, who gets punched in the space in front of his face. Cody gets splashed in the corner so Brandi pulls him out to the floor for a pep talk. The distraction lets Scurll hit the apron superkicks to take over for the first time. Tama gets double teamed in the corner and a delayed gutbuster gives Cody two. Scurll superkicks the knee and loads up the chickenwing, only to have Cody tag himself back in.

As you might expect, this doesn’t go so well as Tama grabs a neckbreaker and brings Loa back in. A Disaster Kick cuts Loa down in short order but Tama superplexes Cody. Scurll does the same thing to Tama and everyone is down for a bit. Cody is up first and does Kenny Omega’s Terminator pose but Loa spears him down. Back up and the Tongans are sent into each other, allowing Cody to hit Cross Rhodes on Tama for the pin at 10:53.

Rating: C. This was, again, about the Bullet Club, which is the case far too often in wrestling. Cody was quite the jerk here though and that’s the best thing that he can do. Instead of relying on ref bumps and all the cowardly heel shenanigans, sometimes you just have to be a horrible friend who you have to have around for the sake of winning. Not a bad match, as the Guerrillas are always fun.

Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Taguchi Japan/Dragon Lee

Taguchi is Ryusuke Taguchi/Hiroshi Tanahashi/Kushida. The fans go nuts for Los Ingobernables, with Naito getting the biggest reaction of them all. Naito and Tanahashi start things off but, as you might expect, Sanada and Evil come in to jump Tanahashi from behind before anything can happen. Naito hits Sanada in the face by mistake though and it’s a headlock takeover/headscissors to give Tanahashi a breather.

Lee comes in to face Takahashi to a heck of a reaction. The chop off is on and gets one of the best reactions of the night. Lee cartwheels out of a running hurricanrana and suplexes Takahashi out to the floor. Everything breaks down and Takahashi gets crushed in the corner over and over. La majistral gives Kushida two and it’s time to work on the arms. Takahashi fights up and brings in Bushi for a middle rope moonsault into some breakdancing to his feet. Take that Booker T?

We hit the sleeper before Bushi switches over to a choke with the shirt. Shouldn’t that be Evil’s job? Kushida finally gets in a handspring elbow and that’s enough for the hot tag to Tanahashi. The fans hit the GO ACE chants as Tanahashi cleans house and hands it off to Taguchi for the hip attacks. Takahashi has to come in and break up a triple submission attempt so Tanahashi goes with a Sling Blade on Sanada. Lee gets suplexed into the corner and Naito hits Destino for the pin on Taguchi at 12:15.

Rating: B-. I was getting into this one, as tends to be the case with most Ingobernables matches. They work very well together and Naito is as smooth in the ring as you’re going to find. Taguchi doesn’t do much for me but his partners were all worth checking out. I could go for more Kushida, who has kind of fallen off the radar in recent months. That’s a shame too as he’s my favorite New Japan guy, but the rest of the division is so stacked that it’s understandable.

Post match Los Ingobernables do the big group pose for a cool visual.

Here’s Rey Mysterio, who was scheduled to face Jushin Thunder Liger but had to pull out due to an injury. Mysterio explains the situation and says he wants to face Liger again someday (they had a match in WCW in 1996). He will be back to wrestle for New Japan when he’s healthy. It’s a shame but there’s nothing that can be done here. At least he made an appearance too, which often wouldn’t be the case. We do have a replacement on hand though and Mysterio is sitting at ringside.

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Will Ospreay

Non-title. They shake hands with Ospreay bowing deeply and JR sums up the difference here: the day Ospreay was born, Liger had been wrestling for nine years. Liger wastes no time in grabbing a surfboard to get the fans even more into this. Back up and Ospreay hits a running corner dropkick before taking Liger down for an armbar. It’s off to a chinlock for a bit before Liger sends him outside for a flip dive from the apron, followed by a brainbuster on the floor.

Thankfully Ospreay doesn’t pop back up and Liger gets to go inside for some posing. JR: “There’s no reason for the match to continue if you’ve just been dropped on your head on the concrete.” Ospreay gets up and makes a very improbably dive underneath the ropes to beat the count (at nineteen so it’s not as bad as usual). The Liger Bomb gives Liger (duh) two but Ospreay sticks the landing on a super hurricanrana. He comes up favoring the knee but is fine enough for a Sasuke Special to drop them both again.

Back in and a standing shooting star gives Ospreay two with grumpy JR talking about the sloppy covers. A 619 misses Liger so he comes back with the rolling kick to the face. That’s fine with Ospreay, who grabs a standing C4 for two more. The spinning kick to the back of the head rocks Liger again but the Oscutter is countered into another brainbuster.

Liger gets two off a super brainbuster with Ospreay having to put his foot on the rope. That’s a good way to show how beaten down he is. Liger’s palm strike gives him two more but Ospreay is right back up with a Batista Bomb for two of his own. The Oscutter is good for the pin at 10:37.

Rating: B-. They were trying here but there’s only so much Liger can do at his age. That being said, he was still doing things well enough and certainly didn’t look terrible. Ospreay getting this kind of a spot is a good idea and while the fans may be disappointed by the lack of Mysterio, this is about all they could do given the circumstances.

Post match Ospreay praises Liger for wrestling like that at 53 years old (fair enough) and thanks Liger for everything he’s done over the years. Ospreay says he has to go through legends to make a name for himself with this title so he wants Mysterio. That seems to be cool with Rey but here’s Scurll to jump Ospreay with the umbrella. Mysterio tries to make a save but loses his mask, leaving Liger to make the real save.

Minoru Suzuki/Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kazuchika Okada/Tomohiro Ishii

This could be a lot of fun and it’s Suzuki-Gun vs. Chaos again in a preview of Okada vs. Sabre for next Sunday. Suzuki and Ospreay’s British Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line though they’re carrying the belts here. Okada, with his awesome robe, goes face to face with Sabre before we’re ready to go. They even start things off for a nice bonus and the fans are behind Okada.

Sabre pretty easily slips out of a wristlock attempt and sneers down at the champ as only a pompous heel can. The fans start singing for Sabre, though another group adds that he sucks. Sabre cranks on both arms at once but Okada reverses into a crank of his own. You can see the calculations going through Sabre’s head for a cool visual. An early Rainmaker attempt misses and Sabre needs to think about things a bit. It’s off to Ishii vs. Suzuki and that means we start the slugout.

That goes on for a long time until a running shoulder takes Suzuki down as JR is starting with the football analogies. Oddly enough, that’s the first real energy he’s shown n a long time. Suzuki chokes him over the ropes as Sabre stretches Okada’s abdominals on the floor. The fights head into the crowd before Suzuki chops Ishii into the corner, allowing Sabre to grab an armbar. That’s fine with Suzuki, who comes in to add an ankle lock, followed by a double Fujiwara armbar. The fans are all over Sabre again so he flips Okada off, leaving Suzuki to kick Okada to the floor.

Suzuki comes in and slaps Ishii in the face before handing it back to Sabre for some mocking kicks to the head. Harder kicks to the chest just wake Ishii up and it’s a release German suplex to drop Sabre. There’s the hot tag to Okada so house can be cleaned in a hurry. Something like White Noise is countered into an armbar, because of course Sabre can pull off that kind of a counter.

Sabre grabs the Octopus Hold to stay on the arm, followed by a heck of a painful looking armbar. Ishii makes a diving save and the fans are split over Sabre again. The Rainmaker is countered with a kick to the arm and it’s off to Suzuki, who can’t hit either of his finishers. Ishii comes back in and slugs away at a screaming Suzuki in the corner. More yelling and more slugging out ensues with the fans going quiet for the hard forearms. Ishii even sticks his face out for more because he’s kind of out there.

A hard one staggers him but can’t put him down, with Suzuki doing the same. Suzuki knocks him into the ropes so Ishii muscles him over with a suplex. Back up and Suzuki hits a hard clothesline and everything breaks down. Sabre’s running kick is countered as Ishii headbutts the heck out of him. A powerbomb gets two but Sabre is back up with a guillotine choke.

Okada makes the save and hits the great dropkick, followed by Ishii’s clothesline for two. Another Octopus Hold has Ishii in trouble and Suzuki grabs a sleeper on Okada. Sabre twists around into an armbar and kneebar at the same time (just because). With that STILL not being enough, Sabre turns it into something like a bow and arrow at the same time (Orientating With Napalm Death. Seriously that’s what it’s called.) for the referee stoppage at 19:55.

Rating: B+. This is a good example of a match with people who do things that no one else are doing/can do. Suzuki and Ishii beat the heck out of people and Sabre’s holds are so insane that you have to give them those wacky names. Okada is probably the best in the world right now and his match with Sabre has some major, major potential. For now though, we’ll have to settle for a great tag match.

Post match Sabre puts Okada in another Octopus Hold. Suzuki and Sabre beat up the referee for fun.

On July 7, New Japan is back in the US with the G1 Special: Fighting Spirit Unleashed at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

We recap Jay White vs. Hangman Page. Kenny Omega tried to bring White into the Bullet Club to right the ship but White turned him down, instead wanting to take the Club apart instead. He won the US Title and now it’s Page’s chance to take it back for the Club.

US Title: Jay White vs. Hangman Page

Page is challenging. They go with the hard chops to start until White charges into a raised boot. A dropkick gets White out of trouble as this seems to have a lot of time to work with. JR doesn’t think White is known as a dropkick guy. I’m not sure how you define such a thing so we’ll go with White working on the leg, including a Muta Lock. Since that holds is kind of hard to maintain, they head outside for more chopping.

White gets sent into the barricade and then the post as JR remembers that you can lose a title via countout. That probably should have been made a bit more clear. Page pulls him back in and JR explains why that was a bad idea. A fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Page two and it’s time to talk some trash. White grabs a suplex for a breather and rolls some suplexes to keep Page in trouble.

The back gives out on a Kiwi Crusher attempt so White settles for a Downward Spiral and a German suplex for two instead. A hanging DDT gets Page out of trouble but he can’t follow up as they’re certainly selling some beatings after about twelve minutes. The Buckshot Lariat is broken up with an ax handle and that means more chops to Page’s very red chest. They head to the apron and White can’t hit the Blade Runner (Sister Abigail) so he GERMAN SUPLEXES PAGE OFF THE APRON for a sick landing.

Back in and they both head to the top (since Page is somehow still alive) which can’t possibly end well. It’s Page with a super swinging neckbreaker (not a cutter Josh) for a delayed two and both guys are spent. They get up for the slow motion into a fast motion slugout until Page is suplexed to the floor in a heap. A Saito suplex on the floor rocks Page again and somehow he’s still getting up.

Back in again and Page elbows his way out of another suplex, followed by a piledriver for tow on the champ. White is rocked and heads outside, only to have Page bust out a running shooting star shoulder block. The Buckshot Lariat is only good for two and the Kiwi Crusher gives White the same. White loads up the Blade Runner so Page spits in his face to break it up. With nothing else left, Page loads up the Rite of Passage, only to be reversed into the Blade Runner to retain the title at 25:00.

Rating: B. The clock hurt this as a lot of these spots felt like they were there to fill in time and the point had already been made. Page continues to look like a future star while White already looks like one. I like both of these guys more and more every time I see them and it’s quite a compliment to put them in a spot like this. Good match, but cut out seven or eight minutes to really make it work.

Post match David Finlay spears White down, with Josh acting like this is completely expected. Finlay wants a title shot against his former partner on April 24.

We recap the Golden Lovers vs. the Young Bucks. Kenny Omega has risen up the ranks of the Bullet Club but now Cody has come in and shaken things up. As a result, Kenny has reformed his old team with Kota Ibushi and the Bucks are caught in the middle of the whole thing. Tonight isn’t so much about hatred, but rather who is the best tag team in the world.

Golden Lovers vs. Young Bucks

Matt and Ibushi start but Matt wants Omega instead. Omega comes in and trash talking ensues until Matt decks Ibushi off the apron. Now Nick comes in and Ibushi wants in as well. We’re over two minutes in here with no action between the legal men. Nick grabs a headlock at two and a half minutes but has to duck Ibushi’s kick and avoid the standing moonsault. Ibushi sticks the landing anyway though and the fans are way behind him. A kick to the chest puts Nick down and a kick to Matt’s perpetually bad back drops him as well. Omega checks on Matt but gets shoved away, much to Omega’s shock.

Matt’s running neckbreaker into a backbreaker from Nick drops Ibushi and there’s a double dropkick to Omega. Back up and Omega sends Nick into Matt’s back but Nick’s superkick breaks up Omega’s big dive. Nick scores with a big rope walk flip dive onto both Lovers and it’s time for a table. We’ll save that for later as Matt hits a slingshot swanton onto Ibushi but holds his back. Ibushi pops up and avoids a Nick charge, followed by a big dive to take out Matt.

Omega gets dropped again though and the buckle bomb into an enziguri rocks Ibushi again. A dropkick allows the hot tag to Omega but the Bucks drop both Lovers again, because you know the Bucks aren’t going to spend that much time selling. Omega is back in and kicks Matt’s bad back to take over again and the jumping Fameasser plants Nick. Moonsaults to the floor drop the Bucks (with the camera missing Ibushi’s, which apparently missed anyway) and it’s Matt in trouble again.

A running shooting star from Ibushi into a middle rope moonsault from Omega (whose legs hit Matt in the face) gets two and a shot to the back makes Matt cringe. Matt gets whipped hard into the corner and tells Nick to get him out of here. I know I don’t care for the Bucks but Matt can sell the heck out of a back injury. Back up and Matt spits in Ibushi’s face so it’s off to a chinlock. I guess revenge comes in the form of slowing things down.

Matt is sent outside for a belly to back suplex onto the apron but he slips over for the tag to Nick. Kicks abound in a hurry to get in some much needed offense as everything breaks down again. A Blockbuster into a running knee to the face gets two on Ibushi. Both Bucks head up with Nick getting knocked down and Omega coming in for a double superplex (with Ibushi having to move his feet in a fairly scary moment) to wreck the back even more. The Golden Shower (stereo 450 splashes) are broken up with Nick hitting a German suplex on the apron to rock Omega.

The table is bridged between the apron and the barricade and Matt has to pick whether to go for the pin on Ibushi or to take out Omega on the table. He takes too long picking Omega and gets kicked in the back, allowing Ibushi to take Nick out. Omega loads up a One Winged Angle through the table but Ibushi springboards to the top for a German superplex with Matt landing on his head in a scary crash. Somehow Matt isn’t dead (must be a Bullet Club thing) and gets in a superkick to slow Ibushi down.

That just earns Matt a V Trigger and a Golden Star Bomb for two. Another V Trigger gets the same with Nick diving in for the save to let the fans breathe one more time. Nick gets sent outside so Ibushi kicks the heck out of Matt even more. Somehow that’s reversed into a Scorpion Deathlock (not a Sharpshooter) so Omega is back in with hard right hands. Matt BEGS Omega to hit him in the face but it’s Nick in with a superkick to drop Omega again. A big flip dive to the floor drops Omega and this time it’s a Sharpshooter on Ibushi). Matt’s back gives out though and the hold is broken to put them both down.

More Bang For Your Buck looks to finish Ibushi but Matt dives onto Omega, who happened to be laying on the table, instead. Back in and Nick hits the 450 while Ibushi is hanging in the ropes for two more. Stereo low superkicks have Ibushi down again and there’s another one to Omega. That’s fine with Ibushi, who hits a backflip into double kicks to the head. It’s Omega and Matt up for the slugout (JR: “There’s some face punching alright.”) with Omega grabbing the Snapdragon. Matt pops up with a jumping piledriver though and Omega looks a bit dead.

The weightlifting belt comes off and Omega takes a whipping but manages a shot to the back to cut Matt off in a hurry. Omega throws the belt down and knees Matt in the face instead but a very fast spear cuts Omega off. Ibushi breaks up the Meltzer Driver and powerbombs the heck out of Nick, right through a table. A spike Tombstone gets two on Matt, followed by a gutwrench sitout powerbomb for the same.

Omega can’t believe it and begrudgingly hits the V Trigger and Matt makes him hit the One Winged Angel (you read that right) with Nick diving in for the save. The near fall FINALLY draws the old JR out as Matt is dead but Nick swears that it’s not over. Nick is willing to fight on his own but it’s a V Trigger into a half nelson Snapdragon from Ibushi. Omega takes the kneepad down and the Golden Trigger ends Nick at 39:22.

Rating: A. This felt long in the middle but the emotion at the end was very good with Matt admitting defeat but Nick never saying die no matter what. The Bucks having individual personalities helps a lot and Matt’s selling was very good. The Lovers looked awesome as well and this should do a lot for advancing this part of a much bigger story. Outstanding match here with the emotion being better than the very good action.

Post match everyone checks on Matt. An exhausted Ibushi leaves and here’s Cody to shove Matt down. He yells at Nick but here’s Omega to chase Cody off. The Bucks are back up and Nick accepts a handshake but Matt leaves instead. Omega says that it’s a shame when war makes friends go to war with each other, but the silver lining is the Golden Lovers are back. The Lovers are going to be back on July 7 and one day he’ll beat the heck out of Cody. Omega says he might have a broken orbital bone and wishes us all goodnight (muah) and goodbye (bang) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Overall, this felt like a very New Japan show: much more good than bad but it overstays its welcome by a hair, with the Finlay/Robinson vs. Goto/Gedo match being expendable to take some of the length down (note that it’s just slightly longer than it needs to be and nowhere near as major of an issue as WWE has in the same area). The main event is excellent and the Bullet Club Civil War, while being on more platforms than I would prefer, is an interesting story, even if you don’t know all of the parts. I’m not sure how it ends save for a match at Wrestle Kingdom or some other big show, but it’s fun while it lasts.

New Japan is a very good promotion and feels like another major league (which it is), which makes these shows feel important. It’s cool to see these shows stateside and if they ever come much closer to me, I’d definitely check one out. It’s a bit longer than it needed to be, but that’s a pretty minor complaint. Just get a better commentary team (I’ve never liked Barnett and JR sounds like he’s getting ready for a painful medical procedure all night long) and cut the length down a bit and it’s that much better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: December 25, 2003
Location: Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

This is a very special show as it’s Christmas in Iraq for the first of a series later called Tribute to the Troops. Back in the day they actually went overseas for the shows, giving this a very special feeling indeed. The focus isn’t going to be on the wrestling tonight but rather the atmosphere as a whole, which is how things should be going for something like this. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with the National Anthem, though not by Lilian Garcia for a change.

Here’s Vince McMahon to get things going and he’s staying in character with the scowl. That’s gone pretty quickly though as on behalf of freedom loving people around the world, WWE is hear to say thank you. Vince thanks everyone for their sacrifices and for protecting our great nation. Oh and thanks for catching Saddam. Vince wants to say one more thing….but here’s a rather rotund Santa Claus with bags of presents.

The presents aren’t for Vince though, because they’re for the troops. Santa starts handing out shirts from the bags but Vince wants him to come back in for one more thing. Vince wants his present and thinks it’s somewhere in Santa’s stomach. And why didn’t Santa come visit him when he was a kid? Vince shoves Santa over and the hat comes off….to reveal a bald head. There’s the Stunner and let’s drink some beer.

Austin isn’t done though and, while still wearing the furry Santa boots, says he’s going to go backstage and drink some more beer instead of hurting us by trying to sing Christmas carols. He thanks the troops and talks about how much WWE supports them before having the troops throw up the middle fingers to Saddam. Perfect way to open things up with one of the few timeless segments that will never stop working.

We see some of the wrestlers being told what to do if terrorists attack. That’s a rather sobering discussion.

Clip of the ring and arena being set up. The troops who helped got to sit in the front row.

World’s Greatest Tag Team vs. APA

Bradshaw is in a helmet and flack jacket. Shelton takes Faarooq into the corner to start but gets taken down by a middle rope shoulder. Bradshaw comes in to forearm Haas in the back for two but has to let go of an early torture rack as Shelton tries to make a save. The Dominator doesn’t work on Haas and Shelton gets in a cheap shot to take over. Faarooq shoves Haas away and brings in Bradshaw to clean house. Everything breaks down and Shelton superkicks Bradshaw down. Not that it matters as Faarooq tosses Shelton to the floor, leaving Bradshaw to Clothesline Haas for the pin.

Rating: C. I’m going to be a lot nicer to the wrestling here as that’s not the point to a show like this one. This match was about letting the APA, a popular team, come in and get a quick win and to have Bradshaw, who was one of the big names behind the whole idea, out there as he should be. If nothing else, Bradshaw hitting a Clothesline that hard is going to get a reaction.

Austin gives Chris Benoit a pep talk before his match with Eddie Guerrero. That’s kind of an odd segment as it’s not like they’re great friends or anything.

Some troops say hi to their families.

Rikishi vs. Rhyno

Rhyno gets shoved away to start as the announcers talk about this being in the middle of an active war zone. Some kicks to the, ahem, thong arena, have Rikishi in some trouble but he stops a charge with a superkick. The announcers actually act like they’re there (commentary is being recorded in Connecticut), even talking about their clothes in the desert for a little flavor. The Rump Shaker hits raised knees but the Gore misses. Rikishi grabs a Samoan drop for the fast pin.

Post match, Rhyno takes a Stinkface and dancing ensues with some (armed) troops coming into the ring.

Video of wrestlers meeting troops.

Some wrestlers went up on a helicopter to another camp to meet more troops.

Here’s John Cena for a chat. He wants to give Torrie Wilson a pearl necklace for Christmas but tonight he has to deal with Big Show. Sure he’s wrestling a giant but the real big show is in his crotch. Show is picking the wrong day to fight when Cena has all of the troops behind him and Saddam should be buried in a hole.

Now Austin gives Eddie Guerrero a pep talk. Apparently Benoit promised to lie, steal and cheat tonight. Eddie: “THAT’S MY STUFF!”

More troops say hello.

Wrestlers signed autographs and met troops at the other camp. Cena even had some battle raps.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit

Feeling out process to start as Cole and Tazz go over the history between these two. Eddie starts in on the arm and gets two off a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Benoit comes back with some forearms and Eddie grabs the referee’s waist for security. Hang on as a security helicopter flies over the ring so Eddie puts on a flack jacket. As you might expect, Eddie throws the jacket at Benoit and takes over with a dropkick.

They fall out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Benoit cranking on both arms as the fans chant for Eddie. That seems to do him some good as he sends Benoit into the corner to take over again but falls off the ropes on a sunset bomb attempt. The Three Amigos are countered into the Crossface but Eddie rolls over to the ropes.

Some rolling German suplex soften Eddie up a bit more and a shoulder breaker has the arm banged up even more. Benoit barely misses the Swan Dive but avoids the frog splash for another double knockdown. Back up and Eddie gets in a rollup with feet on the ropes for the fast pin.

Rating: B-. That’s all you can ask for her with the two guys who know each other well enough to have a good match in their sleep. There were a few botches here but wrestling in that kind of heat in this kind of atmosphere isn’t the easiest thing in the world. The fans were more into Eddie anyway and it’s not like a win or a loss on this show means much.

Post match Eddie puts the jacket and helmet back on for a handshake.

We look at the opening segment again.

More soldiers say hello.

Another video on wrestlers meeting troops.

More soldiers say hello.

Wrestlers shoot guns with Big Show being the best shot.

Wrestlers visited wounded troops.

One more video of the wrestlers with the troops.

One more video of troops saying hello to their families.

John Cena vs. Big Show

Say it with me: non-title. Cena gets chokeslammed about five seconds in and rolls to the floor for a breather. Back in and Show hits the overhand chop in the corner, followed by a hard headbutt to put Cena down. It’s off to the abdominal stretch for a few seconds but the ref gets kicked down. Show grabs the chain but gets kicked low, allowing Cena to hit him with the chain for two. Another chokeslam is countered into the FU to give Cena the pin.

Rating: C. I remember watching this match with my dad, who is one of those people who tends to not think much of wrestling because it’s fake. When Cena tossed Show onto his shoulders and flipped him over like it was nothing, my dad’s jaw dropped for a second. There’s nothing to the match of course and it’s not like Show losing means anything to his title reign, which is as unnecessary as any I can ever remember.

Post match Austin comes out to Stun both guys. Austin calls out the ladies and the locker room for one last celebration. One more Stunner to Big Show and beer consumption ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. As mentioned, the wrestling really isn’t the point to something like this. The wrestling is secondary to entertaining the troops and that’s what happened. It did exactly what it was designed to do and felt important, unlike what this show would eventually become. This had nothing to do with storylines and nothing was advanced, which didn’t need to be the case. It was a fun show and having Austin as a big star was the right call. Just let it be fun and come back home for the real stuff later on. And be glad La Resistance didn’t get squashed.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: May 23, 2018
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re still on the way to Best in the World and I’m not sure where things go on the way there. Several people want the World Title and two of them are in action tonight as Jay Lethal faces Punishment Martinez in what could be an interesting match. We’re also likely getting some more on Bully Ray’s heel turn which has had me agreeing with him the entire way so far. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jay Lethal vs. Punishment Martinez

Both guys say they’ll win on the way to the ring. Martinez goes right after him to start but gets clotheslined to the floor. That means the triple suicide dives into the barricade….but Jay goes INSANE by making it seven straight as Coleman is losing his mind. Lethal starts in on the knee but gets kicked away as we take a break.

Back with Lethal still on the leg in a smart move to keep Martinez down. The Figure Four is blocked and Martinez elbows him in the corner. Martinez gets caught on top and punched in the knee again, followed by a running dropkick to the leg. You can’t say Lethal isn’t going with a smart game plan here. Martinez knocks Lethal down and scores with a top rope clothesline for two but Jay suplexes him down to take us to a break.

Back with Lethal holding Martinez in the Figure Four but Martinez reaches up to get a rope. The Lethal Injection is countered into a full nelson faceplant and a curb stomp. Must have watched Rollins vs. Miz recently. Martinez takes Lethal up top, only to be cut off by a shot to the knee. The top rope elbow (not a great one) gives Lethal two and frustration is starting to set in. The chokeslam is broken up and Martinez’s knee gives out. A superkick sets up the Lethal Injection to give Jay the pin at 16:28.

Rating: B. Lethal is getting better and better, which says a lot when he was already one of the best Ring of Honor has ever had. He walked Martinez through a good match here and that’s all you can ask him to do. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lethal getting the World Title shot at Final Battle after all the build they’ve given him this year, and it’s not like it would be the worst move in the world to put the title on him.

Video on Sumie Sakai vs. Jenny Rose for the Women’s Title next week.

Joey Daddiego vs. Shane Taylor

Daddiego says everyone has to go to work and he’s ready to do that harder than everyone else. Joey slugs away but can’t lift the much bigger Taylor. That earns him a heck of a forearm to the jaw and an even harder chokebomb. Taylor gets two off a splash but misses a Cannonball as the fans are behind Daddiego a bit. A hard right hand staggers Taylor and Daddiego gets two off an AA.

They head outside with Daddiego being sent into the barricade over and over (second match in a row with someone going into the barricade multiple times). Taylor lays the mostly out cold Daddiego across two open chairs for a splash off the apron in a SCARY spot. The referee yells at Taylor and gets chokeslammed on the floor. Security runs in and gets beaten down as well, meaning it’s a no contest at about 5:00.

Rating: D+. So the idea with Taylor is that he’s trying to earn money to support his family but after beating jobbers in thirty seconds, he can’t beat a career jobber in five minutes and did stuff that will likely get him fined? Taylor has the skills to become a big deal around here but this is the best they have for him. Such is life in Ring of Honor, unfortunately.

Cody keeps cutting Brandi off and says that he’s getting his rematch at Best in the World. That should be the layup of all layups.

We recap Bully Ray’s heel turn on Cheeseburger, which brought him out of retirement and back to the active roster.

We look at the Briscoes attacking Bullet Club last week in a good angle.

So Cal Uncensored vs. Bullet Club

Non-title. Cody, Adam Page and Marty Scurll here (with Bernard the Business Bear) in the latest six man main event, which seems almost like a semiannual tradition anymore. Cody cranks on Sky’s arm to start and hits a delayed gordbuster of all things to send us to a break. Back with Daniels sitting on the mat and Scurll patting him on the head. Page comes in to a nice reaction and gets to face Kazarian in what has wound up being a heck of a rivalry.

They slug it out with Page getting the better of it and dropkicking Daniels into a moonsault on Kazarian. Cody tries a Disaster Kick but hits Scurll by mistake, with the announcers debating his intent. Daniels leg lariats Cody down and the and Sky hits a super hurricanrana as we take a break.

Back again with Cody and Daniels hitting a double clothesline and the hot tag bringing in Scurll for some rapid fire stomps on Sky. Page adds a running shooting star and Scurll superkicks Sky from the apron. That means it’s time for the dives with Sky hitting the last one to put all six down. Daniels goes up top with Cody and that means a superplex to bring Daniels onto everyone else.

Everyone dives in at nine and Daniels pokes Marty in the eye for the sake of saving his fingers. Kazarian slingshots Page in for a cutter and Sky slingshots himself in to cut Cody. Scurll can’t hook the chickenwing on Sky so Page hits a double Buckshot Lariat on Daniels and Kazarian. Din’s Fire (a sweet Zelda name for the Vertebreaker) hits Kazarian and the Rite of Passage puts Sky away at 15:06.

Rating: B. I had a really good time with this one and the tension in the Bullet Club continues to be interesting. Scurll and Page are turning into some fun characters and I’m curious to see where the two of them are going. The champs losing isn’t a good idea but it’s so common anymore that it’s not even worth getting annoyed over. That’s not a good sign but it’s also not surprising.

The fight keeps going post match and Marty hits Cody in the face (great shot) with the umbrella to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The annoying Taylor angle aside, this was a heck of a show with two very good matches to bookend things. It’s the second good show in a row since Supercard of Honor but next week is going to fall back down with the Women’s Title match. There’s a lot going on around here and ROH needs to figure out the way to get this stuff together to make the shows like this instead of the messes that they’re more likely to put on far too often.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

What more is there to say about NXT? The promotion, which started off as nothing more than a developmental territory to build up some of WWE’s stars, has taken on a life of its own. There have been more classic matches, more stars made and more great moments there than anywhere else in recent wrestling memory.

The book runs about 450 pages and is available on Amazon both in a physical paperback for $11.99 or an e-book format for $2.99. In case you don’t have a Kindle, there are plenty of FREE apps you can get from Amazon for pretty much any electronic device, all of which are available at this link.

You can pick up the book from Amazon here in paperback and here as an e-book.

here here as an e-book.

Or if you’re in another country with its own Amazon page, just search “KB NXT III” and it should be the first thing to come up.

Also you can still get any of my previous books on the Intercontinental Championship, Monday Night Raw from 1997, 1998, 2001 and the first half of 2014, Monday Nitro from 1995-1999, In Your House, Summerslam, Starrcade, ECW Pay Per Views, Royal Rumble, Saturday Night’s Main Event, the WWF and WCW pay per views from 1998, Wrestlemania, WWE Grab Bag and Clash of the Champions at my author’s page here.

I hope you like it and shoot me any questions you might have.

KB

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: May 24, 2018
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

I’m out of ways to say that this show is going to be all about Money in the Bank qualifying matches. Those things have dominated Monday Night Raw and Smackdown for the last few weeks now and it’s burned out a lot of my interest in the upcoming pay per view. It says a lot when the Main Event original content needs to bail us out. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Brian Kendrick/Jack Gallagher vs. Lince Dorado/Kalisto

Kendrick uses an early Gallagher distraction to take Kalisto down in the corner to start. A backbreaker keeps Kalisto in trouble and let’s talk about the Cruiserweight Title match. Eh it’s not like this match means anything anyway. Kendrick can’t get the Captain’s Hook so it’s off to Gallagher (no longer in Slytherin green), who is backdropped in a hurry. That’s not enough for a hot tag though as Gallagher runs over and pulls Lince off the apron in time.

Kendrick comes back in for a chinlock but Kalisto fights up with some kicks to the chest. That’s enough for the hot tag to Dorado so things can speed up, including a moonsault press. The Golden Rewind drops Kendrick again and Kalisto dives on Gallagher. Back in and Lince’s hurricanrana to Kendrick doesn’t count as Kendrick isn’t legal. The confusion lets Gallagher headbutt Lince down for the pin at 4:47.

We get some highlights of the first three Women’s Money in the Bank qualifiers.

From Raw.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Dana Brooke vs. Natalya vs. Sarah Logan vs. Liv Morgan

It’s a brawl to start and Morgan gets two off a top rope faceplant to Natalya. Everyone gets in a running shot for two each until the Riott Squad double teams Natalya. Brooke comes back in for the save and breaks up Logan’s cover, only to be sent shoulder first into the post. Natalya is back up with the discus lariat and the Sharpshooter for the win at 4:28.

Rating: D. Another match where they had to rush the whole way, mainly because the first hour was the Roman Reigns Show. Natalya winning was the only pick here, mainly because she’s likely to cash in on her new friend Ronda Rousey and win the title. You know, because that’s how you make Rousey a bigger star: make her a former champion who couldn’t hold the title for five minutes.

From Smackdown.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Naomi vs. Sonya Deville

Naomi starts fast with some rollups for two each as we see other qualifiers watching in the back. Sonya gets in some right hands and a shot to the back for two. A spinebuster gives Sonya two more but Naomi comes back with some kicks. They trade enough kicks for a double knockdown, only to have Naomi grab another rollup for the pin at 4:21.

Rating: D+. Naomi is the right call as she’s a bigger star and has the crazy athleticism needed to make something like the ladder match fun. I’m not sure what Sonya did to warrant getting a second chance at getting into the match but at least they got the winner right, which isn’t always the case.

From Raw again.

Here’s Stephanie to emcee the contract signing. Nia comes out first and Stephanie talks about the personal issues between Nia and Bliss. Rousey is out now and asks Stephanie how her arm is feeling. After Stephanie asks Rousey about how it feels to jump over the women that Rousey has called more deserving, we hear about Rousey not being used to wrestling singles matches.

Stephanie continues her monologue, talking about how Rousey might leave WWE if she loses and accusing Nia of being lazy for taking so long to beat Bliss (Way to treat one of your best homegrown stars there Steph.). She talks about the armbar and Nia finally snaps, saying that Rousey can’t get the armbar on her.

Nia is tired of being called lazy and promises to make a name for herself at Money in the Bank. She signs and picks up the title with Rousey signing next. Rousey moves the table to the side and promises to take the title as they do the long handshake. She promises to take the arm too and a staredown ends things. Not bad, especially once Stephanie shut up for a few seconds.

Apollo Crews vs. Mojo Rawley

Mojo powers him down to start as Nigel recaps Rawley’s last year or so. The always good looking dropkick puts Rawley down and a high crossbody gets two. A shot to the back puts Crews on the floor though and we take a break. Back with Rawley grabbing a chinlock for a good while before hitting a running shoulder in the corner. A second attempt hits a raised knee though and Crews starts his comeback to a nice reaction. The Pounce is cut off by an enziguri and a standing moonsault puts Rawley away at 8:34.

Rating: D+. That chinlock didn’t do them any favors, but at the same time it’s annoying to have Rawley win one week and lose the next. If they want to use this show to help people along (ok so that’s not likely the case), they might as well have some continuity to the thing. Rawley is someone they see something in so why is he losing clean like this?

Post match Titus O’Neil comes in to celebrate but Rawley jumps them both. Titus gets sent outside and Crews goes into the post for a big crash. My goodness, an angle on Main Event. What else could we possibly see?

From Smackdown.

Jeff Hardy vs. Daniel Bryan

The winner gets Samoa Joe, on commentary here, in a Money in the Bank qualifying match next week. Feeling out process to start until Bryan shoulders him down for two. The moonsault over Jeff into the running clothesline is countered with an atomic drop. Bryan rolls outside and we take a break. Back with stereo crossbodies putting both of them down again.

Its Bryan up first and kicking Jeff to the floor but missing the apron knee. Jeff scores with a running clothesline from the apron but takes too long going up top. The delay allows Bryan to tie him in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick. Jeff blocks a belly to back superplex though and scores with a Whisper in the Wind for two. The Twist of Fate is countered and Bryan kicks away, only to get caught with the Twist.

The Swanton hits knees (with a great bounce off the crash) so Bryan kicks him in the head for two more. Another Twist is countered into a dragon screw legwhip and Bryan slaps on a heel hook for the tap at 11:23. That would be the second time that the US Champion has lost clean in Money in the Bank matches.

Rating: B. Champion losing again aside, this was a fun match with both guys looking like stars who could have gotten the win. Bryan needed the win to get back on track after the Rusev loss, but I’m not sure I can picture him beating Joe next week. Then again I’m not sure I can picture Joe losing to Bryan either, and that makes for a much more interesting match.

And one more time from Smackdown.

Here are AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura o announce the stipulation for Money in the Bank. Nakamura doesn’t understand what a stipulation is but can show us a clip of him defeating Styles last week. He’s been thinking very carefully and wants to dishonor Styles at Money in the Bank. Nakamura picks a pillow fight, which AJ doesn’t think much about. Not that it matters as Nakamura wants to dishonor AJ at Money in the Bank.

The fight is on with AJ blocking the low blow and taking it outside. A chair shot misses as well and Nakamura gets sent into the crowd. AJ tries a springboard off the barricade but gets chaired down, allowing Nakamura to hit Kinshasa. Nakamura makes it a Last Man Standing match. Makes sense given most of their matches.

Overall Rating: D+. They were trying to do something better here but if I heat that MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY song one more time I’m not going to be held responsible for my actions. It’s been done to death for years and now we get to hear it all over again because the calendar says so. This was another run of the mill show, save for that surprising result to the tag match. Just get past the ladder matches already so we can move on though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: May 22, 2018
Location: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re back stateside now and that means we need to get ready for next week’s title match with Cedric Alexander defending against Buddy Murphy. Tonight though we’ll be seeing a battle of the strikers as Hideo Itami faces Akira Tozawa in a battle over their issues during tag team matches of late. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a look at Itami vs. Tozawa with Itami saying he didn’t like their time together. Why did Itami need a partner in the first place?

Opening sequence.

Drew Gulak vs. Gran Metalik

Before the match, Gulak says he’s taking down another member of Lucha House Party. They can flip and dive all they want but if they step to him, they’ll tap out. Hang on though as here are Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher for commentary. Kendrick even has some drawings for the other commentators in this FIVE MAN BOOTH. Egads is that necessary?

They trade chops to the chest to start and a dropkick puts Gulak down on the floor. Back in and a middle rope springboard dropkick gets two but Gulak crotches him on top. The Tree of Woe stomping is on with Metalik in trouble. It’s off to a neck crank with Gulak’s leg behind Metalik’s neck and pulling on the leg and arm (kind of hard to describe) before going to a regular armbar.

Gallagher thinks Lucha House Party is strange because they wear masks and Watson has no response. He also loved “Grand Metallica’s first album but thought they went too commercial after that.” Kendrick: “Ciclope and Puss in Boots are also very good.” You know he’s a fan if he can get in a Ciclope reference. Metalik gets sent to the apron and jumps over a charging Gulak but lands on the ropes for a perfectly timed Asai moonsault to drop Gulak as he hits the floor.

Back in and Gulak turns him inside out with a clothesline for two. Some chops put Gulak down in the corner so Metalik walks the ropes for a half Coast to Coast and a near fall. That’s not quite as impressive when you have someone like Killian Dain doing the full Coast to Coast in NXT. Then again that’s making you wonder why this division exists and that’s just going to make your head cave in. The Gulock makes Metalik tap at 8:13.

Rating: C+. Gulak is getting better and better every week but they need to go somewhere with him other than just having him run through people week after week. The win over Metalik is the only way they could have gone here and I could see a six man coming in the next few weeks, but Gulak should be in the title hunt instead of messing with these guys.

Video on Buddy Murphy.

TJP vs. Christopher Guy

Guy is in yellow trunks, blue kneepads and red boots for a very bright look. TJP takes him down with a drop toehold and stops for some dabbing. A snap of the arm has Guy writhing in pain as TJP smirks down at the pain. Rolling suplexes into the slingshot hilo have Guy in more trouble but he escapes the Detonation Kick. Not that it matters as TJP takes him down by the leg into a curb stomp, followed by the Detonation Kick for the pin at 2:31.

Post match TJP says he’s the best in the world and carried this division on his back. He wants better competition.

Earlier today, Cedric Alexander sat down to talk about the title match. He’s used to the pressure and is ready to defend in front of his friends and family. There’s a lot of great talent around here but Cedric is above all of them, including Murphy.

Akira Tozawa vs. Hideo Itami

Before the match, Tozawa says he didn’t like Itami either. If Itami wasn’t happy with him as a partner, he really won’t like him as an opponent. They kick each other in the face at the bell and stop for some Tozawa grunting/shouting. A chop exchange means more shouting with Tozawa getting the better of it (both halves actually). We’re already in the chinlock as there are even more empty seats here than in the run of the mill 205 Live taping.

Back up and Itami is done playing around, meaning it’s time to kick Tozawa really hard. Demands of respect don’t get Itami as far but a neckbreaker gets him one. Itami takes him outside for a kick to the chest for two back inside and we hit a chinlock (just evening the score you see). Itami: “RESPECT ME!” Dude get a new line. It hasn’t worked in the last year. Another kick to the ribs has Tozawa in a lot more trouble and a DDT gets two.

Back to the chinlock as the announcers want Itami to switch gears. I wouldn’t mind if he switched offense. Tozawa fights back so Itami bails to the floor, only to take a running flip dive from the apron. Nigel: “You see what Tozawa is doing. No rear chinlocks from him!” Save for the one he used before that is. Back in and the tornado neck snap sets up Itami’s top rope clothesline for two more.

Tozawa kicks him in the head and goes up top but gets crotched. That means a top rope Falcon Arrow for two on Tozawa, who almost looks surprised that he kicked out. Itami gets sent outside for a suicide dive but the top rope backsplash misses (Nigel: “X marks the spot and Tozawa landed at Z!”.). Some running dropkicks set up the cravate into the knee to the face to end Tozawa at 15:17.

Rating: B. That’s one of the best Itami matches in WWE as the violence and kicking are better for him than trying to be a good guy who can’t talk. Tozawa is still good for the high flying and crowd support, though I miss him running around and firing everyone. Itami is starting to put it together, but stop with the RESPECT stuff. It didn’t work in NXT and it’s not working here.

Overall Rating: B-. They’re doing a better job here of making people outside of the title picture more important but it still has a long way to go. The lack of people in the seats is a really bad sign and not something that is going to be solved overnight. 205 Live has that bad reputation and it’s not getting any better being left to die at the end of a taping with so many fans already leaving. Good show here, but the big problems are still glaring.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 24, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re back to an old problem that this show has had many times before: not much is really standing out. Sure there’s some good stuff going on, but it’s not exactly sticking as something that leaves much of an impact. The big stories are still Austin Aries vs. Pentagon Jr. and Sami Callihan vs. Eddie Edwards, but they’re both starting to feel a bit long. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a long and rather detailed recap of last week’s show. That’s a good idea.

Opening sequence.

OVE vs. Drago/Aerostar

Drago wastes no time in diving onto everyone with a corkscrew dive and Aerostar adds a springboard trust fall dive. They head inside for the opening bell and Jake kicks Drago in the head. We hit a very early chinlock but Aerostar comes in for the save. A dropkick to the face keeps Dave in trouble but Jake kicks away to take over. We go split screen to show Eddie Edwards arriving with a kendo stick and ignoring his wife’s pleas for him to stop. Cue Eddie with the stick to hit Jake in the back for the DQ at 4:40.

Rating: C-. I was starting to get into this one as OVE was doing the stuff that made them work in the first place. The Eddie goes psycho stuff is interesting but I’m almost worried about where it’s going to go. Eddie as a psycho who eventually goes full heel could have potential and it seems that they’re going that way, though I’d be worried about an attempt to make Sami a face in some twisted way.

Post match Eddie’s wife Alisha pleads with him to stop but six people have to hold him back.

Post break Alisha yells at him but Eddie vows to destroy Eddie. She accuses him of becoming Sami.

The announcers talk about next week’s show.

LAX vs. Cult of Lee

They head outside for a brawl to start as the announcers talk about LAX needing to win to get back on track. Ortiz gets sent into the steps and Santana posts himself by mistake (that’s the kind of problems some good Konnan advice could prevent) as we take an early break. Back with Ortiz in trouble and getting forearmed in the face.

A belly to back gets two but a suplex into a Stunner is enough for the hot tag to Santana. Everything breaks down and a Death Valley Driver/DDT combination (cool) gets two on Konley. LAX loads up some kind of a double team with a wheelbarrow slam but Lee pulls Ortiz to the floor, allowing Konley to roll Santana up (with trunks) for the pin at 11:39.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere with the break in the middle but the downward spiral for LAX continues. I’m curious to see how they get out of this, especially with the chance that Konnan isn’t coming back. LAX is a good team and it’s clear that they have something in mind for them, though they need someone new to feud against.

Jimmy Jacobs says Moose is the problem and Kongo Kong is going to solve that tonight.

KM is giving Fallah Bahh another pep talk. They run into Grado and Katarina with KM asking what she sees in him. Apparently she likes big guys.

To fill in some time, here’s a segment from 2013 with Jeff Hardy and Bully Ray hyping up their World Title match at Lockdown.

We look back at Madison Rayne saving Kiera Hogan from Tessa Blanchard last week.

Madison says the Knockouts Division is built on respect and doesn’t like the bullying she saw last week. Tessa comes in and rants about Madison getting involved in her job. Next time, meet her in the ring. That’s what she did last week.

DJZ and Andrew Everett know they can compete with any team and will face anyone. Scott Steiner and Eli Drake come in for some yelling. This turns into Drake and Steiner arguing.

X-Division Title: El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal is defending. Fantasma offers a handshake so Sydal bows to him and touches the mask. A quick takedown has Sydal glaring up at him before sending Fantasma to the apron. That’s fine with the masked one who headscissors Sydal down for two and the champ begs off. An armbar into something like a one armed cobra clutch has Fantasma in trouble and a standing legdrop gets two.

Fantasma fights up and a baseball slide puts Sydal on the floor as we take a break. Back with Sydal being dropped face first onto the steps but avoiding a top rope double stomps. The Thrill of the Kill is broken up so Fantasma grabs a modified Indian Deathlock of all things. With that not working, he just slams Sydal’s knee into the mat but Matt grabs his stacked up cradle to retain at 13:18.

Rating: C+. I’m still not wild on Sydal as champion with this third eye thing which isn’t fitting him very well. Granted it’s still better than having Josh Matthews there, which didn’t fit him either. Fantasma did well enough here and is fine for something like this, at least with putting on a good singles match instead of a messy four way spot fest.

LAX rants about everything falling apart when Eddie Kingston comes in. He says Konnan is in a good place and that he’s the next in the chain of command. It’s time to get LAX back to where they were before by getting them back to their roots.

Video on Austin Aries vs. Pentagon Jr.

The announcers talk about the World Title match and say they’ve stepped up security to prevent attacks this week.

Dezmond Xavier vs. Petey Williams

The winner gets to face Brian Cage next week. Feeling out process to start with Xavier’s headlock takeover not getting him anywhere. Some standing switches go nowhere so Xavier hits a great dropkick for two. A headscissors to the floor has Xavier down and we take a break. Back with Petey grabbing a chinlock and getting two off a belly to back suplex. Petey takes him to the corner but gets German superplexed back down.

That means a big flip dive to the floor but it’s too early for the Final Flash. The delayed Downward Spiral plants Xavier and a crucifix gives Petey two. Petey’s slingshot Codebreaker isn’t enough to set up the Canadian Destroyer do Dezmond kicks him in the head. The backflip kick to the head sends Xavier on to next week at 12:01.

Rating: C+. They were really starting to turn it up at the end but that wasn’t enough to make it especially good. I’m glad they went with Xavier as he’s more interesting than Williams, who still only has one move for the most part. I need more to a match than hearing him trying for the Destroyer fourteen times in a match.

Allie is in Rosemary face paint (that actually works very well) and says she knows this isn’t what Rosemary wants but it’s how it has to be.

Next week, Allie defends against Su Yung in a Last Rites (casket) match.

Moose vs. Kongo Kong

There’s no Jimmy Jacobs in sight this week. Kong shoves him away to start and hits the big clubbing forearms to the back. Moose’s dropkick doesn’t have much effect so they head outside with Moose being sent hard into the steps. The Cannonball crushes Moose against the steps and gets two back inside.

We hit the nerve hold (as required), which Kong makes look even lazier than usual. A shot to the back cuts Moose off but he wants Kong to hit him even harder. The running corner dropkick finally puts Kong down but the Game Changer is countered into a fireman’s carry backbreaker for two. Kong’s top rope splash misses and it’s three straight bicycle kicks to set up a slam. The spear puts Kong away at 8:56.

Rating: D. Moose was trying here but there’s a firm limit on what you can do with Kong. That nerve hold in the middle looked terrible and it was more of the fat man offense that looks embarrassing instead of anything good. I’m hoping we don’t get another match between these guys because Jacobs wasn’t here. Kong needs to go away for good and hopefully slaying the monster causes just that.

Post match the X logo appears on screen and we see a recap of the attacks. A voiceover talks about death riding with him as we see Jacobs down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a really flat show with nothing really standing out and little of interest. Some of the wrestling was perfectly fine but it didn’t make me want to see more. The X attacker is interesting, though you can pretty easily pencil it in as Brian Cage (not a bad thing). It’s nice to have something to keep you interested, because Drake arguing with Steiner, the same tag matches we’ve seen for a long time and Sydal with the third eye isn’t doing it for me.

Results

OVE b. Aerostar/Drago via DQ when Eddie Edwards interfered

Cult of Lee b. LAX – Rollup with trunks to Santana

Matt Sydal b. El Hijo Del Fantasma – Stacked Up Cradle

Dezmond Xavier b. Petey Williams – Backflip kick to the head

Moose b. Kongo Kong – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Business is good.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-money-money-yeah-yeah/