Ring of Honor
Date: May 2, 2018
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer

We’re FINALLY at the new stuff after Supercard of Honor, which only took place last month. The big stories coming out of there are the Bullet Club’s continuing issues (expect to hear that for a long time) and Dalton Castle retaining the World Title over Marty Scurll. It’s now time to get ready for War of the Worlds….which starts a week from tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

As expected, we open with a long package on Supercard of Honor. It’s about time.

Opening sequence.

Chuckie T. vs. Josh Woods

Chuckie is getting a lot of time lately. He wastes no time in poking the eye and grabbing a Russian legsweep. Something like an Octopus Hold has Woods in trouble and an enziguri to the ribs (which makes no sense as enziguri means head kick) drops him again. An exploder suplex drops Chuckie and we take a break.

Back with another suplex putting Chuckie down again but he nails a middle rope dropkick for no cover. Chuckie gets two off a Falcon Arrow and Soul Food (Eat Defeat)….doesn’t have much effect (as it shouldn’t), with Woods hitting a fireman’s carry into a knee to the jaw. Rolling Chaos Theory gets two on Chuckie but he reverses a cross armbreaker into a rollup for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: C-. What happened to Woods? He was a solid midcard act for a few months there and this is the first time I’ve seen him do anything of note in a long time. Now he’s mostly getting squashed in an opening TV match. They don’t have the room for the roster they have and Woods seems to be one of those victims. I’m sure we’ll get a Cheeseburger match in the near future though right?

Brandi Rhodes says Cody is her favorite wrestler but he goes with Dalton Castle. Dalton is NOT like 1978 Bob Backlund because he’s just that good. Cody beat Jay Lethal so he should get something. Brandi makes the motion of a title around her waist. Cody: “YOU’RE PREGNANT???” Not quite, with Brandi’s reaction being worth a chuckle.

The Kingdom brags about stealing the Six Man Tag Team Titles.

Sumie Sakai vs. Stella Grey

Non-title and Jenny Rose is on commentary. Sakai dropkicks her down and does it again from the top rope for good measure. A spear cuts Sakai in half for two but she easily breaks up a powerbomb out of the corner. Some stomps to the face have Stella in more trouble but she’s right back with a tornado DDT. Sakai gets two off a belly to back suplex and Stella gets the same off a small package. Smashmouse finishes Stella at 3:25.

Rating: C. It’s an entertaining match but 100% the wrong match to have. Sakai isn’t just the new champion but she’s the FIRST champion. Her first match shouldn’t be going back and forth with someone with no resume. This should have been a quick squash but instead, Sakai looks weak right out of the gate. Completely wrong booking here and that’s not a good thing.

Post match Jenny gets in the ring and shows a clip of some miscommunication between the two of them in a tag match earlier this year. Jenny wants a title shot and Sakai reluctantly agrees to fight her friend. Sakai extends her hand but Jenny leaves without shaking it.

So Cal Uncensored is very mad at the Kingdom, who they refer to as children.

We look at Marty Scurll pinning Dalton Castle at the recent Masters of the Craft event.

Scurll wants a title shot at Best in the World. Logical progression and you can pretty much guarantee a multiman title match.

We look at Bully Ray helping Cheeseburger at Supercard of Honor and then turning on him because that’s EXACTLY what Bully’s role was calling for. How long was he even retired for?

Here’s Bully Ray to ask why Cheeseburger can put a legend like him on the spot (by asking Bully to do What’s Up). Cheeseburger is everything that Bully hates about the wrestling business, just like all of these fans. People like Cheeseburger and Flip Gordon are spoiled and entitled, must like people here tonight. A fans throws something and Ray threatens to come over the barricade and hit them in the face. Here come the streamers, with one of them hitting Ray in the head.

Ray calls out company boss Joe Koff, who provides these young guys a platform. They lack respect but Koff signs them to be the nice guy. Ray is still the enforcer around here and holds up the WWE Hall of Fame ring, which makes him better than everyone around here. Again: I wouldn’t go out of my way to bring up other promotions.

So….why am I supposed to disagree with Bully here? Cheeseburger looks like he’s about fifteen years old and is little more than this company’s less talented Spike Dudley. Yeah he sells merchandise, but he can do that without getting as much TV time as he gets. I’ve never been a fan and I’m not going to boo one of the most decorated wrestlers ever for saying something I agree with him on.

Castle talks about looking at his munchkin cat calendar and realized he’s been champion for over 100 days. Still though, people are asking if he’s championship material. Castle lists off some names he’s defeated and absolutely he is championship material.

TV Title: Silas Young vs. Flip Gordon

Gordon is challenging and Shane Taylor is on commentary. They fight over a wristlock to start and Flip nips up off a shoulder block. Young gets sent outside for a big flip dive (Oh….I get it.) but takes Gordon’s head off with a clothesline as we take a break. Back with Silas hitting a spinebuster and backdropping Flip to the apron.

That means an enziguri (to the head this time, as it should be) and a springboard missile dropkick for no cover. A springboard spinning spear drops Young for two more but he’s up to block the 450. Instead Gordon sends him outside for a suicide dive and we take a break….or at least we’re supposed to but Ian says we’re sticking with it. The 450 is downgraded to a 360 as Young rolls away. The standing shooting star gets two and now we take that break.

Back with Flip missing a charge into the corner and no selling a snap German suplex. Young’s backbreaker into the kneeling clothesline rocks Gordon and a hanging swinging neckbreaker gets two. The Star Spangled Stunner is countered but Gordon rolls him up for two more. A superkick into a Falcon Arrow gets a close two on Young and he rolls outside. Back in and the kick the rope low blow gets another near fall on Gordon (they got me on that one). Not that it matters as Misery retains the title at 13:45.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what it is about Young’s matches but something always feels just a bit off with them. There’s not much structure or flow to them and that creates a little bit of an odd feeling. At the same time though, they have good near falls and they’re certainly not boring. I like them more than I don’t like them so well done again.

Overall Rating: C. This was all about throwing everything after Supercard of Honor into one show, which unfortunately came so far after the show that I wasn’t sure what happened on the thing. There’s no reason to wait that long outside of the weird syndication schedule and it’s making it harder and harder to care about the big shows. The show wasn’t bad but it’s like we’re starting all over again with no momentum. Why cut yourselves off when you don’t have to?

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

NXT
Date: May 2, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

It’s back to Full Sail and that means a nice relief from the breakneck pace of the last few weeks of Raw and Smackdown. At least they’ve set some stuff up in advance and this show will likely deliver some entertaining stuff. There are three matches announced for tonight, including Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne. Let’s get to it.

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

The Undisputed Era brags about being awesome with Adam Cole talking about how he gave Oney Lorcan the honor of being the first unsuccessful challenger to the North American Title. They’re ready to deal with Danny Burch and Pete Dunne too.

Opening sequence.

Kairi Sane vs. Shazza McKenzie

McKenzie is from Australia and has wrestled in Shimmer. They shake hands and Sane wastes no time in getting two off a rollup. Some chops rock Shazza and the sliding seated clothesline have her in even more trouble. The top rope elbow sets up an Alabama Slam and the Insane Elbow to give Sane the very fast pin at 1:49.

Post match here’s Lacey Evans to admit that she was wrong: Sane does belong here. The hand is extended and Evans decks her in the face.

We look back at Tommaso Ciampa destroying Johnny Gargano last week. Ciampa looking down from the production truck as the ambulance drove away was a great visual.

Candice LeRae says this was supposed to be the greatest year but it’s been one disaster after another. She stars crying while talking about watching Johnny being taken away and has to leave.

Video on Lars Sullivan.

Street Profits vs. TM61

Ford spinwheel kicks Miller in the face to start so it’s off to Dawkins to shoulder Miller down in a heap. In a cool spot, Dawkins launches Ford into the air for a double dropkick to both Australians. Dawkins misses a charge in the corner though and a slingshot hilo crushes him. We’re already in the chinlock and the fans are split on this one. A double clothesline doesn’t make their decision any easier and the hot tag brings in Ford to speed things up. Ford kicks Miller in the face but his sunset flip is reversed into a rollup with Thorn holding the foot on the ropes to give Miller the pin at 3:10.

Rating: D+. Well it’s not like TM61 was doing anything as faces so turning them might be the best thing that they can do. They’re not the most interesting guys in the world so maybe they can do something out of this. It’s still not a good match and I like the Profits a lot more, but at least they’re doing something with one of the teams.

Video on War Raiders vs. Heavy Machinery before their match next week.

Video on Kona Reeves.

Kassius Ohno calls Ciampa a coward for hurting his friend like that.

Kona Reeves vs. Patrick Scott

A knee to the ribs has Scott knocked down early and Kona informs him that he’s the finest. Reeves stomps away in the corner and this time tells the fans that he’s the finest. A falling middle rope elbow sets up the Hawaiian Drop (Samoan drop but with a faceplant instead of landing on the back) is good for the pin on Scott at 2:02. Reeves was really not that impressive.

EC3 says his first match was great, so imagine how great the sequel will be. His TV debut is next week.

Dakota Kai wants to make her mark but doesn’t want to talk about Shayna Baszler. Vanessa Bourne comes in to say she would have slapped Baszler in the face because she’s not a coward. A fight is teased and Kai is willing to fight her at some point.

Candice LeRae vs. Bianca Belair

Candice is rather subdued and shaken up over what happened to Johnny last week. Feeling out process to start with Belair shouldering her down but getting rolled up for two. With Candice still on the mat, Belair deadlifts her straight up into a gorilla press, holds her there for a good while, and then launches Candice face first into the top turnbuckle. We hit a torture rack with Candice having to elbow her way to freedom. The comeback is on with a missile dropkick but Belair shrugs off a tornado DDT. The Alley Oop ends LeRae at 3:39.

Rating: C. Belair gets more and more impressive every time with the incredible athleticism and the look to back it up. That gorilla press was something else and a crazy power display. I know LeRae is tiny but she’s still an adult who is being held above someone else’s head with that kind of ease. There’s no way that’s not impressive on some level.

Next week: EC3’s singles debut and Ohno vs. Ciampa.

Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong

Non-title and a grudge match after Strong turned on Dunne at Takeover. Cole and O’Reilly are in Strong’s corner. Dunne wastes no time in forearming Strong down but a trip to the floor goes to Strong. A powerbomb onto the apron keeps Dunne in trouble and Pete is in some serious pain. Back in and Strong cranks on the neck so Pete pulls on his nose to escape. That’s rather rude of him. We hit a seated abdominal stretch for a bit until the X Plex gets Dunne out of trouble.

Dunne comes off the middle rope with a stomp to the arm but Strong sends him outside. Back in and a double underhook backbreaker gets two, followed by some kicks to Dunne’s head. A choke takes Strong down and Dunne tries to switch it into a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well so Dunne takes him up top, only to get brought back down in a super Angle Slam. Dunne isn’t happy though and snaps the fingers before dropping Strong with a release German suplex. The Bitter End looks to finish but draws in the Undisputed Era for the DQ at 9:02.

Rating: C+. The ending hurt this one a good deal as there was no secret to the run-in finish. That being said, it makes a lot of sense this time around as it’s clearly going to be a long form story instead of something where they do the matches in a hurry. You can probably hold off on British Strong Style vs. Undisputed Era until Summerslam weekend at this rate and that’s a very interesting idea. The match was good, but it was another step on a very long road.

Post match the beatdown continues but Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan run in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This is one of the other areas where NXT shines. This wasn’t about the big main event story but rather a lot of other stuff, which was treated like the most important stuff in the world. That’s very rarely pulled off in WWE but NXT manages to make it work every week. The show wasn’t great or anything but they managed to make the show feel important and that’s what matters most with something like this.

Results

Kairi Sane b. Shazza McKenzie – Insane Elbow

TM61 b. Street Profits – Rollup to Ford with feet on the ropes

Bianca Belair b. Candice LeRae – Alley Oop

Pete Dunne b. Roderick Strong via DQ when Undisputed Era interfered

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

Smackdown
Date: May 1, 2018
Location: Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re still in Montreal and this time around it’s the go home show for Backlash. The big story tonight is Shinsuke Nakamura demanding an apology from AJ Styles. Other than that we need to build up Backlash quite a bit, but there’s so much fallout from the Greatest Royal Rumble to get through first. Let’s get to it.

Here are the Greatest Royal Rumble Results if you need a recap.

We open with a look at Shane McMahon being chokeslammed through the announcers’ table by Braun Strowman.

Paige says that Shane won’t be here tonight before recapping AJ vs. Nakamura from Friday. As for Backlash, the title match is now No DQ.

It’s time for MizTV. Miz cuts the fans chanting for Maryse off by saying he took her to Hollywood. That brings him to his Intercontinental Title match on Sunday with Seth Rollins. Jeff Hardy is the guest tonight so we’re ready to go. Miz won’t shake Jeff’s hand because he just high fived all of these dirty Montreal fans. First question: does Jeff think Miz is a better Intercontinental Champion than Seth Rollins.

Jeff agrees, if you want a champion who is self obsessed and annoying. Miz isn’t pleased with that and throws it to a clip of Randy Orton taking Jeff’s place against Shelton Benjamin last week. He’d like to know what Orton thinks of that so here’s Randy Orton as the second guest. Orton doesn’t think much of it because Jeff did the same the week before. Miz brings up the superstar rating scale from a few months ago, which had Orton ranked ninth. Orton: “I don’t think anybody cares about any Smackdown Top Ten list.” Preach it brother.

Jeff says it was Sunil Singh costing Orton the match last week but Miz disagrees. Orton doesn’t like Miz stirring the pot like this and says he’s taking the title back at Backlash. They seem cool but here’s Shelton Benjamin to say he deserves the title shot. Orton kicks him down and Jeff gives Miz the Whisper in the Wind.

Jeff Hardy/Randy Orton vs. Shelton Benjamin/The Miz

Joined in progress (because WWE knows one way to follow up on segments like that) with Hardy stomping on Benjamin. It’s off to Orton for an RKO attempt but Shelton dropkicks him down for a delayed two. Miz comes in and the fans aren’t happy to see him. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Orton suplexes his way out and it’s off to Hardy. The basement dropkick gets two and the Skull Crushing Finale is countered into a rollup for two.

Miz is sent outside so Jeff gives Benjamin a Twisting Stunner but Shelton knees him in the face to break up the Swanton. Back from a break with Miz holding Jeff in a chinlock but he fights out with a jawbreaker. Another takedown to Shelton is enough for the hot tag to Orton. House is cleaned in a hurry with the double DDT to Miz and Benjamin. The powerslam brings Jeff back in for the Swanton and the pin on Benjamin at 11:57.

Rating: C. Just a tag match here but I’m getting tired of these thrown together tag matches. Come up with something better than doing the same thing over and over again. It’s not bad or anything, but we’ve seen it before. At least they set up another title match for Sunday, even if it’s not something I’m really interested in seeing. Hardy pinning Orton would be a nice boost for his recharged singles push.

Post match Orton hits Hardy with a quick RKO.

The Iconics make fun of Renee Young but she defends her Canadian accent. They brag about winning last week and tell Renee to go chase a moose because they have this. Billie brings in Carmella for the interview so she can brag about beating Charlotte. She’ll do it again on Sunday and they’ll even win in their six woman tag tonight.

We hear Daniel Bryan say he thought he could win on Friday but he didn’t lose because he was tired. He lost because he couldn’t get Braun Strowman out of the ring. His chest is nearly destroyed and the doctors have kept him out of the ring tonight due to a possible infection.

The Bar has their Smackdown contracts and brag about being the new force around here. New Day shows up with a plate of pancakes for them but the Bar throws them away, fearing some, ahem, added ingredients. That’s too far for New Day so Sheamus challenges Xavier Woods for a match tonight. Woods agrees, saying that Sheamus’ soul belongs to him.

Rusev Day is trying to come up with a new song but Lana, in a Rusev Day shirt, comes in to interrupt them. She asks to speak to Rusev alone and says Rusev is missing something to get him over the top. Rusev doesn’t get what she means and oh hi again English.

Here’s Big Cass with something to say. He’s from New York City and that means a few things, including that he’s better than all of us. Cass yells that he’s better than anyone here, just like he’s better than Daniel Bryan. He’s seven foot tall and powerful, which is everything Bryan isn’t.

Here’s AJ Styles to talk to Renee Young in the ring. AJ says he’s trying to defend the title and Nakamura is more interested in the wrong jewels. Now Nakamura wants a public apology so AJ should have left him sucking sand in the desert. He’s fine with the No DQ stipulation on Sunday because AJ can break rules too. On Sunday, a low blow will be the least of Nakamura’s worries. If Nakamura wants an apology, he can come get one.

Cue Samoa Joe to say that AJ needs to pay better attention to the more important match. After he puts Reigns to sleep on Sunday, he’s coming for whoever leaves with the WWE Championship. Oh….I think I can go for this. Nakamura’s music hits and Joe is ready but we cut to the ring where Nakamura hits AJ low again. Kinshasa knocks AJ silly for good measure and Nakamura holds up the title. I fully support Joe becoming more involved with the World Title situation.

Becky Lynch isn’t happy with what happened last week and is sorry for costing Asuka her first match on Smackdown. Asuka is next to her and says they’ll hit back three times harder. Charlotte wants to destroy the Iconics and Asuka says Avengers Assemble.

Sheamus vs. Xavier Woods

Sheamus knocks him into the corner so Woods comes back with a dropkick and speeds things up. Another dropkick puts Sheamus outside for a running flip dive. A Cesaro distraction lets Sheamus get in a knee lift and we take a break. Back with Sheamus cranking on the arm to keep Woods down even longer.

Woods fights up and slugs away before sending a charging Sheamus shoulder first into the post. A twisting legdrop gets two and there’s a Shining Wizard to rock Sheamus again. Cesaro and Big E. get into it on the floor and the distraction lets Woods grab a quick small package for the pin at 10:27.

Rating: D+. The ending was as obvious as you could get but at least the actual tag matches should be fun. Woods winning matches is almost weird, even though he’s not that bad in the ring. The problem is he has no singles success compared to Kofi and Big E., but he’s still a good enough addition to the team to keep things balanced.

We look at Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville ripping on Becky Lynch last week but referees broke it up.

Mandy and Sonya come in to see Paige for an Absolution reunion. They’re happy with the new boss and want to know which of them will be getting the Women’s Title match. Paige picks Mandy but it’s really just a match with Becky next week. Sonya wants to know what’s going on so Paige breaks the news to her: Absolution is dead.

Zelina Vega says Andrade Cien Almas will come when he feels like it.

Backlash rundown.

Charlotte/Becky Lynch/Asuka vs. Iconics/Carmella

Carmella tries to hide from Charlotte to start and brings in Peyton to face Becky. Peyton is taken down in short order and Becky does a little dance before it’s off to Billie. Asuka comes in and takes her into the corner….where Billie thinks slapping Asuka is a good idea. Charlotte: “SHE’S GONNA KILL YOU!”

Charlotte comes in and dives onto the Iconics, sending Carmella running as we take a break. Back with Becky cleaning house and handing it off to Charlotte for more of the same. The numbers game catches up with Charlotte though and we hit the chinlock. Therefore, GET THAT INSET PROMO GOING! Charlotte fights up as we’re back to full screen and a kick to the chest knocks Carmella away.

Asuka tags herself in and hip attacks everyone to the floor. A kick to the head drops Peyton for two and everything breaks down. Charlotte spears Carmella (who sits down instead of flying backwards) and moonsaults out to the floor onto all three. Peyton gets thrown back inside and tries an O’Connor roll, only to get reversed into the Asuka Lock for the tap at 13:24.

Rating: C+. I’m usually not a fan of this kind of booking but I’m really, really hoping that they put the title back on Charlotte. I really have no interest in having Charlotte do the “I’m better than you but you keep escaping with the title” stuff with Carmella for months on end. The briefcase continues to be such a lame booking crutch and it’s all they have here, which is really quite annoying. Just get past this already and let us do something better.

Overall Rating: C-. This felt like another show where they were taking the night off because they were still worn out from all the travel. But hey, at least we have another FOUR HOUR pay per view on Sunday, because remember the WWE philosophy: more means better! The talking was good here but egads it feels like there’s been a two hour show every day for weeks now. Next week can’t get here soon enough so we can calm things down a bit because you can tell everyone is worn out at the moment.

Results

Jeff Hardy/Randy Orton b. Shelton Benjamin/The Miz – Swanton Bomb to Benjamin

Xavier Woods b. Sheamus – Small package

Charlotte/Becky Lynch/Asuka b. Iconics/Carmella – Asuka Lock to Royce

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