Clash of Champions 2016
Date: September 25, 2016
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 13,467
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

For some reason, this was requested back in the day so we might as well check it off the list. This is the first Raw exclusive pay per view after the Brand Split so the roster is a little limited. In this case, the main event is Kevin Owens defending the Universal Title against Seth Rollins. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Nia Jax vs. Alicia Fox

Jax showed up a few weeks ago and Fox didn’t like it, leading to Fox freaking out. Then Jax beat her up in a match so we’ll do it again. Fox dropkicks her at the bell to start fast and fires off kicks. That earns her some rams into the corner as Jax isn’t having any of that. We’re already in the chinlock for a bit before Jax sends her flying again. Fox slugs away in the corner though and hits a high crossbody. The ax kick gets two but Jax runs Fox over without much effort. The Samoan drop crushes Fox for the pin at 4:54.

Rating: C. This was about what you would expect here, as Jax shrugged off anything Fox threw at her and won pretty decisively. The match wasn’t anything special, with Jax getting a big push as she is new on Raw. Fox is someone who could be destroyed without sacrificing much and keeping it simple and to the point was the right way to go here.

The opening video looks at what it takes to be a champion and how we got to the major matches.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Good Brothers

New Day, meaning Kofi Kingston and Big E. in this case, is defending. Before the match, Kofi talks about how a win here would make them champions for 400 days, but the Good Brothers want to break them up like Brangelina. Anderson and Gallows have never even had a big old bowl of Booty-O’s!

The Brothers finally come out and it’s a clothesline to Big E. on the floor, plus cheap shot to Woods. A Liger Bomb to Kofi for two and the champs are in early trouble. Gallows comes in for a kick to the head and hammers away in the corner. Big E. gets back up but Gallows knocks Kofi right back into the wrong corner. Kofi gets in a shot of his own though and the tag to Anderson takes too long, allowing Big E. to come in for the rapid fire suplexes. The Warrior Splash hits Anderson but he’s able to cut off the spear through the ropes.

Gallows comes in off a blind tag and boots Big E. in the face, setting up the big boot/flapjack combination for two. The tag brings Kofi back in and he is quickly spinebustered for two more. Big E. is dropped again but Kofi breaks up the Magic Killer. Kofi manages Trouble In Paradise and Big E. is back in for the Big Ending but Gallows breaks it up. The referee yells at Gallows, meaning Woods can get in a Francesca shot to Anderson. The Midnight Hour retains the titles at 6:45.

Rating: B-. They crammed a lot into a rather short match here but New Day is always a good choice to open the show. You are going to get the high energy match that the fans will react to and that is a smart way to bring up the energy. The Brothers were viable challengers here and had New Day in a lot of trouble more than once before coming up short. It felt like a hot house show opener and this worked well in pretty much every aspect needed.

We recap TJ Perkins winning the Cruiserweight Classic to become the new Cruiserweight Champion.

TJ Perkins has been working to get here since 1998 and his confidence is going to get him beyond Brian Kendrick.

Cruiserweight Title: Brian Kendrick vs. TJ Perkins

Perkins is defending and I do miss his video game entrance (and Kendrick’s I’m A Man With A Plan song). Not so much the purpose ropes, which was about all the identity the cruiserweight division had. They go with the grappling to start until TJP gets a headscissors. Kendrick switches that into a headlock but gets reversed into a kneebar, sending him straight to the ropes.

The fans are split as Kendrick ties him in the ring skirt and hammers away as commentary tries to get this division and its wrestlers over as much as possible. TJP is right back with a Muta Lock, sending Kendrick to the ropes again. Kendrick manages to send him outside to bang up TJP’s neck but his own knee is hurt as well. Back in and Kendrick gets in a cross arm choke before missing a charge and crashing out to the floor. TJP fights out of another crank and hits a dropkick into a heel kick.

A jumping neckbreaker doesn’t quite work for TJP but a double chickenwing backbreaker two two. With nothing else working, TJP snaps off a top rope hurricanrana to the floor for a double crash. Back in and Kendrick can’t hit the Sliced Bread so TJP goes up, only to miss the 450. Kendrick can’t get the Captain’s Hook but TJP can’t get the kneebar either. Now Sliced Bread gives Kendrick two but this time the Captain’s Hook is reversed into the Detonation Kick. The kneebar retains the title at 10:33.

Rating: B-. This was turning into a heck of a match but there was no way around the fact that it means absolutely nothing. The Cruiserweight Title was introduced in the Cruiserweight Classic and that worked well enough, but after that it became clear why it was gone again. No matter how good the matches might be, and this was a rather good one, you can only get so far with the purple ropes and a title for smaller wrestlers when Daniel Bryan was the hottest thing in the world just a few years ago.

Post match respect is teased but Kendrick drops him and walks off.

Cesaro, in his white tuxedo, is ready to finish the comeback and beat Sheamus to win their best of seven series. This series is about mental toughness and he is ready to show the Cesaro Section the biggest comeback in history.

We recap the first six matches, with Sheamus going up 3-0 but Cesaro has made a comeback to bring us to a winner take all match. The matches have been good, but egads it was hard to sit through this many matches between anyone.

Cesaro vs. Sheamus

The winner gets an unspecified title shot. Cesaro wastes no time in hitting a dropkick but Sheamus is right back with the forearms to the chest. Those are broken up and Sheamus is knocked to the floor, allowing Cesaro to hit the running seated senton off the apron. Back in and Sheamus knocks him off the top for a crash though, setting up a middle rope knee. Some backbreakers stay on Cesaro’s back and we hit the chinlock.

Back up and Sheamus hits a running spinwheel kick in the corner (that looked good) and a top rope clothesline gets two. Sheamus misses a charge into the post though and Cesaro scores with an uppercut to the back. A tornado DDT gets two on Sheamus and the Swiss One Nine (if that’s not the name, it should be) sets up a high crossbody for two more. The Neutralizer is blocked so Cesaro hits a heck of a springboard corkscrew uppercut for another near fall.

It’s too early for the Swing though and Sheamus gets two more off another backbreaker. Two Irish Curses combine for two (so hit a third one then) but the Cloverleaf is countered into a small package to give Cesaro two of his own. Sheamus gets creative with a Razor’s Edge dropped into a backbreaker (OUCH) but the Brogue Kick is countered into the Swing. Cesaro gets the Sharpshooter (while holding his back), sending Sheamus over to the rope.

The apron superplex is countered so Cesaro kicks him in the face instead, setting up one of those suicide dives which lands so badly that the referee runs out to make sure Cesaro isn’t dead. Back in and a quick Brogue Kick gives Sheamus two (as we see the fourth replay of the dive, which looked TERRIFYING).

Cesaro grabs a Neutralizer for two of his own and they’re both down again. Some uppercuts in the corner have Sheamus in more trouble until he cuts off a charge with a raised boot. Sheamus pulls himself up to the top but gets dropkicked down but Sheamus headbutts him right back off the top. A top rope clothesline to the floor hits Cesaro in the back and Sheamus hits White Noise on the floor. Cesaro clotheslines him into the crowd though and it’s a no contest as they’re both out at 16:30.

Rating: B+. This is a great example of a match where time has been kind. I couldn’t stand this feud at the time and the reveal of them getting a Tag Team Title shot didn’t help (though the Bar wound up being great) but this was an awesome fight. They didn’t stop for almost any time during the match and I wanted to see what they were going to come up with next. Awesome stuff here and if they hadn’t done the match to death, I would have liked it a lot more back in the day.

Post match Cesaro wants to keep going but Sheamus staggers out of the arena.

Bayley, still in the Hugger phase, is interrupted by Charlotte, still in….the only phase she has, who says Bayley cheated to get her title shot tonight. Charlotte insists that Bayley isn’t going to win tonight, with Bayley reminding her of that time she pinned Charlotte a few weeks ago. Charlotte: “You can’t even beat Sasha.”

Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho

I do miss Sami’s jaunty hat. Believe it or not, this is over Kevin Owens, who Sami doesn’t like but is Jericho’s new best friend. Therefore, this is about Jericho protecting his own honor after Sami said he was Owens’ b****. Jericho yells at the fans to start until Sami drives him into the corner and hammers away. The referee breaks it up and Jericho gets in the cheap shot.

Sami isn’t having that and snaps off some armdrags into a leg lariat, meaning Jericho needs a breather. With Jericho on the floor, Sami follows him out and hits the moonsault off the barricade. Back in and the referee distracts Sami, allowing Jericho to hit the triangle dropkick to take over. A top rope elbow to the face gives Jericho two and he crotches Sami on top to cut off a quick comeback bid. Jericho loads up the bulldog but Sami sends him hard into the corner and sends him outside.

There’s the big no hands running flip dive (that always looks great), followed by a Michinoku Driver for two on Jericho back inside. Sami misses a flying something off the top and Jericho is back with a step up enziguri. Jericho starts kicking him in the head but Sami pulls him down into a rollup for two more. The rope walk tornado DDT sets up the Helluva Kick but Jericho bails to the floor just in time.

The diving tornado DDT takes Jericho down again outside, only to have another Helluva Kick miss back inside. Instead Sami suplexes him into the corner but a third Helluva Kick misses, allowing Jericho to grab the Walls. Sami finally reverses into a rollup for two and the Blue Thunder Bomb connects for the same. Then Jericho hits the Codebreaker for the pin at 15:21.

Rating: B. Were you expecting anything else from Jericho vs. Zayn in a fifteen minute pay per view match? Sami was fighting from underneath for most of the match, which is where he excels like few others. There is something about watching him try to survive against a bigger star and even get close to winning multiple times, only to come up short. Awesome match here, as this show has been pretty great so far.

Bosses Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon come up to Raw World Champion Kevin Owens, saying if anyone can live up to the rest of the show, it’s him. Owens isn’t impressed ad is ready to show them why they should have taken him over Seth Rollins with the #1 Draft pick. Rollins is no longer then man, but rather the mistake. Their mistake.

We recap the Raw Women’s Title match with Charlotte defending against Bayley and Sasha Banks. Charlotte beat Banks to win the title at Summerslam when Banks had a bad back. Then Bayley showed up and beat Charlotte in a non-title match, setting up the title match.

Raw Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

Charlotte, with Dana Brooke (that didn’t go very far) is defending. Banks chases Charlotte straight to the floor and starts the fight so Bayley kicks both of them in the face. Back in and Bayley rolls Charlotte up for some near falls but Banks isn’t having that. Instead Bayley rolls her up for two but Charlotte pulls Banks down by the hair. We get the big three way standoff until Banks drops Bayley.

Charlotte grabs a neckbreaker to put Banks down but gets crotched on top. Bayley is back up and kicks Charlotte to the floor, setting up a twisting Stunner over the middle rope to take banks down. Brooke gets in a cheap shot on Bayley though, allowing Charlotte to knee Banks into the corner. There’s a hard whip into the corner and Banks’ back is getting a lot more messed up.

Charlotte stops to deck Bayley again but Banks sends Charlotte into the corner to even things up a bit. The Bank Statement is broken up but Bayley is back in with a double high crossbody. Bayley misses a running knee in the corner though and Banks stacks both of them up, setting up the double knees. Back up and Banks breaks up the Figure Eight and Bayley hits the Bayley To Belly for two on Charlotte, leaving everyone down again.

With nothing else working, Banks and Bayley beat up Charlotte…who of course shrugs it off and sends Bayley into the corner again. If that’s not enough, Charlotte drops Banks off the middle rope before doing the same to Bayley. Charlotte hits the moonsault onto both of them for two on Banks, who is right back up with the Bank Statement.

Brooke makes a save of her own and Bayley is shoved off the top for a crash. The Bank Statement has Charlotte in more trouble but Bayley breaks it up this time. Banks does the same thing with Charlotte and Bayley switching places, allowing Charlotte to send Banks hard into the barricade. Back in and Charlotte boots Bayley into Banks, followed by another big boot to retain the title at 15:28.

Rating: B-. Sweet goodness Charlotte was every bit as dominant back then and it was still not the most appealing thing. She kept shrugging off everything Bayley and Banks threw at her, including both at once, and then won the title by beating them both up without much trouble. Good enough match, but it was a lot of Charlotte, as tends to be the case.

The Kickoff Show panel recaps/previews the show.

Remember Nia Jax crushing Alicia Fox on the Kickoff Show? Here are some highlights, in case you were wondering about a near squash.

We recap Roman Reigns challenging Rusev for the US Title. Reigns, being kind of a jerk, interrupted Rusev and Lana’s celebration and shoved her into a cake. They had been supposed to fight at Summerslam but got in a fight before the match so nothing happened.

United States Title: Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

Rusev is defending and Lana handles his introduction. They fight over a lockup to start until Reigns knocks him outside. Back in and Reigns wins a slugout until Rusev spinwheel kicks him in the face for two. Rusev hammers away and whips him into the corner a few times as the fans are way behind Reigns. The clothesline comeback doesn’t last long as Rusev knocks him outside for some rams into the barricade.

Rusev is sent into the steps for two and we hit the chinlock. That stays on for a good bit before Rusev hits a running headbutt and stops for some Bulgarian style glaring. A dropkick of all things drops Reigns again but he rolls away from a top rope headbutt (he learned from the first headbutt you see). The corner clotheslines rock Rusev, who crashes out to the floor and gets sent into the steps for a bonus.

Back in and the Superman Punch is kicked out of the air, setting up a hot shot for two. Reigns cuts off the Machka Kick and hits the Superman Punch for two of his own. Back up and the Lana distraction lets the Machka Kick connect and Rusev loses it on the referee for a bit. The Accolade (camel clutch) is broken up though and Reigns hits the spear, only to have Lana pull the referee.

That’s good for an ejection and Reigns sends Rusev outside as well. The running dropkick hits Rusev but it’s the Machka Kick to give him two back inside. Now the Accolade goes on but Reigns powers up and hits the spear for the pin and the title at 17:10 (it’s as sudden as it sounds).

Rating: B-. This was the Reigns that does not have the best reputation, as while the wrestling was good enough, it wasn’t exactly exciting stuff and he kept shrugging off everything thrown at him. That doesn’t make for the most interesting matches and the ending came out of absolutely nowhere. Not a bad match at all, but there was no point where I was getting interested or excited.

Seth Rollins runs into Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley but he really doesn’t want to hear anything from Stephanie. They bet on the wrong guy, and tell HHH that he bet against the wrong guy.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Finn Balor won the Universal Title at Summerslam but got hurt, meaning the title was decided in a fatal four way. HHH interfered and cost Seth Rollins the title, siding with Kevin Owens instead in quite the screwjob. Now Rollins wants revenge, as HHH (and Stephanie) bet on the wrong guy (as you might have heard all of a few seconds ago). In other words, it was a bunch of Stephanie getting to be all fierce with people while Owens was just kind of there quite a bit of the while.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Owens is defending and they fight to the floor to start with Rollins getting the better of things. Back in and Rollins stomps away in the corner, setting up the running knee to the face for two. Stomping and chopping in the corner have Owens in more trouble and the middle rope Blockbuster gets two. The Pedigree is blocked though and Owens snaps off a DDT for two of his own.

Rollins is sent outside and comes up favoring his knee, allowing Owens to stomp away back inside (the fans approve). Owens kicks away at the knee and backdrops a charging Rollins out to the floor. An elbow off the apron crushes Rollins again and the backsplash makes it worse. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Owens whips him hard into the corner to keep Rollins down. Back up and Rollins starts the comeback, including the Downward Spiral into the middle buckle.

A running dropkick sends Owens outside and Rollins uses the chance to set up the announcers’ table. Ever the smart champion, Owens bails back inside before anything can happen, only to get superkicked for two. Rollins misses a charge into the corner though and Owens kicks him in the knee again. The Cannonball gets two but Rollins is back up for an exchange of strikes to leave them both down.

Rollins’ springboard knee is cut off so Owens can hit the pumphandle brainbuster onto the knee for two more. A super gutbuster into the frog splash gives Owens another near fall and they head back to the floor. Owens misses the splash through the announcers’ table and it’s another double down. Back in and Rollins hits a frog splash for two so cue Chris Jericho.

The distraction lets Owens hit the package side slam but Rollins is back with a Pedigree for the same, thanks to Jericho putting the foot on the rope. The referee gets bumped (of course) so there’s no count for Rollins’ Pedigree. Jericho comes in but gets backdropped to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Stephanie McMahon pops up to send in another referee….so Owens can hit the pop up powerbomb to retain at 25:07.

Rating: B-. This was REALLY long and could have easily had ten minutes shaved off. It was one of those matches where it felt like they were just trying to fill in time rather than winning the match most of the time. On top of that, it also felt like it was a HHH style match of “ok, let’s get everything done before we get to the shenanigans”. That’s not a great feeling, and it never came off like Rollins was going to win the title to make it even worse. Good action, but bad setup and execution.

Overall Rating: B. There’s a lot of good stuff on here, but it does run a bit longer than it needs to. It also doesn’t help that while the match quality is high, the show could not feel more second tier if it tried. Reigns winning the title was a moment that felt flat and other than that, there was nothing on here that came off like a game changing moment. It’s definitely a pick and choose show where some of the matches are worth a look, but you might not want to sit through the whole thing.

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Collision
Date: August 5, 2023
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another big title night as FTR defends the Tag Team Titles against Big Bill/Brian Cage and Ricky Starks challenges CM Punk for….whatever we’re calling Punk’s title. Ricky Steamboat will be the guest referee, which sounds like a way to boost things up for the local crowd. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

CM Punk, Ricky Stark, Brian Cage, Big Bill, Prince Nana and FTR are all ready for tonight.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Big Bill/Brian Cage vs. FTR

Bill and Cage, with Prince Nana, are challenging and Cash Wheeler’s mother is here for a bonus. Wheeler and Cage start things off with Cage being a bit too strong. Harwood comes in and gets clotheslined but reverses a gorilla press into a crossbody for two. Cage runs him over though and it’s Bill coming in (to quite the response) for a double shoulder. It’s already back to Wheeler, who is promptly slammed and elbowed for two.

Everything breaks down though and it’s a double clothesline to send Cage outside, but Bill blocks the Shatter Machine. Instead, Bill chokeslams Wheeler onto Harwood and then presses him out onto Harwood on the floor as we take a break. Back with Bill hammering on Wheeler in front of his mom, who is completely unfazed and even slaps Bill in the face. Cage plants Wheeler for two back inside but Wheeler slips out of Bill’s torture rack. That doesn’t work for Bill, who blasts him with a clothesline to cut off any comeback.

Bill misses a splash in the corner though and a German suplex drops Cage, allowing the big tag to Harwood. Right hands abound and Cage gets caught in a Steiner Bulldog for a rather near fall. Back up and Cage gets Harwood in a fireman’s carry before catching Wheeler in the air (geez) and dropping both of them.

A Jackhammer gives Cage two (as Bill chokeslams Harwood) and Bill sends both champs outside. Cage busts out his big no hands flip dive (because that’s something he can do), setting up a big boot to give Bill two on Wheeler. Back up and Wheeler sends Cage into Bill, who gets caught with a quick Shatter Machine to retain the titles at 15:03.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match and Bill/Cage are a much better team than I was expecting. They did the power stuff well and looked impressive doing it while making FTR work to retain the titles here. I was getting into this one and it was a rather awesome match, especially given how new of a team the challengers are.

Post match FTR grabs the mic and says they’ve done a lot, but there is one more thing they need to do…..so how about they finish things with the Young Bucks at All In?

Video on CM Punk vs. Ricky Starks over the REAL World Title.

Juice Robinson, with Jay White cardboard cutout, says when you’re hot you’re hot. Cue the real White to chop the cutout (a distraught Robinson takes it away) and introduce the Gunns (now the TOP Gunns) to mock commentary in a bit of a weird bit.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Mercedes Martinez

Statlander is defending and they start fast, with Martinez slipping out of a suplex attempt. A running boot to the head misses for Martinez but Statlander misses a flipping splash. Martinez sends her into the corner and elbows her way out of another suplex as Statlander isn’t off to the best start. A chokebomb drops Statlander for two more and a hard forearm puts her down in the corner as we take a break.

Back with Statlander making a comeback and knocking Martinez to the floor. Statlander misses a crossbody off the apron but manages a backbreaker to slow Martinez down again. Martinez cages her on top though and a rather nasty looking release German superplex drops Statlander hard. A running knee gives Martinez two and a quick fisherman’s driver gives Martinez the same. Martinez drops her again but a running forearm to the back of the head is countered into a rollup to retain the title at 10:15 (Martinez’s shoulders looked to be up).

Rating: C+. This got better near the end but Martinez was dominating most of the match until the quick ending. Statlander working with a veteran like Martinez is a good thing and hopefully she got something out of it. Martinez is someone who has not gotten a ton of TV time in recent months and it would be nice for that to change.

Post match Martinez says her shoulders were up and jumps Statlander. Cue Diamante to help Martinez beat her down until Willow Nightingale makes the save.

Here’s the problem with that post match angle:

1. Diamante has not wrestled a match on AEW TV since last September (A loss to Jade Cargill which ran about two and a half minutes. Her most recent TV match before then was in 2020.).

2. This week on ROH TV, ROH Women’s Champion Athena told Diamante to find what she was missing and fix it.

3. The only thing mentioned about Diamante’s time on this week’s ROH TV was that she lost to Athena. No mention whatsoever of Athena’s comments to her.

Again: Tony Khan really needs to stop assuming that everyone is watching every show, because otherwise this was an unprovoked turn from someone who has had one match in AEW in about two and a half year. Show us a clip, tell us what happened or give us some reason why this is taking place.

Toni Storm seems to be on the verge of snapping over losing the Women’s Title last week. She goes into a rant about how she deserves better because she’s that good.

Samoa Joe vs. Serpentico

Non-title and the Koquina Clutch finishes Serpentico at 16 seconds (more than a fourth of which was spent in a staredown).

Post match Samoa Joe says we are coming up on All In and he has no one to face. He has had to deal with things over the years, while a certain REAL World Champion got to travel the world. Joe knows that man is nowhere near his level, but that REAL World Champion took something from him in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. A rollup is not good enough for their legacy, so Joe wants to be given what he wants. One more time at Wembley Stadium. If Joe has to wait until next week, he’s coming for Punk (the only time Joe said the name).

Andrade El Idolo seems happy with getting his mask back last week over Buddy Matthews.

We get a sitdown interview with the Acclaimed, who have Billy Gunn’s boots. They have talked to him and he is confirming that he is retiring. Gunn was the only one who believed in them and helped them become champions. For now though, they are going to bring Gunn’s boots to the ring with him. Well that’s morbid.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Action Andretti/Lee Johnson/Darius Martin

The House, with Julia Hart, is defending. Actually hold on as the House Rules are back and the Dealer’s Choice rule is Hart being banned from ringside. King runs Martin over with a shoulder to start but Martin knees him in the face, only to have his high crossbody bounce off. Black comes in to strike away at Andretti, who knocks him outside but gets kicked in the face.

Matthews jumps off the top to stomp on Andretti’s arm before tossing him ribs first onto the top rope for a good looking visual. Andretti is knocked into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Johnson hitting a moonsault into something resembling a double reverse DDT. Black kicks him into the corner though and everything breaks down. Andretti dives onto Black and Murphy before Martin’s top rope splash to King’s back gets two. Matthews and Black knee Martin out of the air though and the titles are retained at 9:10.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where the ending wasn’t in doubt but you got some cool moments before the inevitable. There was no way a thrown together team was going to win the titles here, even with the return of the not quite necessary House Rules. It’s a perfectly nice title defense though and they let the guys have some fun.

Next week: CM Punk and FTR get a Trios Titles match. Ok.

QTV throw out Tony Schiavone to talk to Will Hobbs. They offer him a gold chain and suggest that Hobbs get in the ring at All Out. Hobbs doesn’t want or need their help, but he’ll take the chain.

Christian Cage, with his daughter, and Luchasaurus are here with Christian talking about how he wants to be a good father to everyone. She asks to hold his title, but Christian says she didn’t win it so go find your mom and get out of here. Christian: “Security, she’s not credentialed. Have her removed from the building.” Well that was awesome.

Metalik vs. Jay White

The Gunns and Juice Robinson, with the cardboard Jay White (Cardblade) and the former join commentary. White knees Metalik in the ribs to start but gets a headscissors into the corner. A springboard doesn’t work so well for Metalik but he gets knocked back to the apron. White snaps him throat first across the top but misses a baseball slide, allowing Metalik to springboard moonsault onto him. White has had it with this though and grabs a cobra clutch suplex, setting up the Blade Runner for the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C. It was a nice way to get White in the ring and keep him hot as the Bullet Club gets to do their wacky antics. It wasn’t meant to be some competitive back and forth match and while Metalik got in some offense, he isn’t anywhere close to White’s level and everyone knows that. They stuck to the point here and that is nice to see.

Video on Anna Jay vs. Hikaru Shida.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Jim Ross is back for the main event.

Real World Title: Ricky Starks vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and Ricky Steamboat is the outside referee. They start fast with Punk knocking him out to the floor but pausing to let him back in. Punk runs him over with a shoulder and steals Starks’ pose a few times for a cute spot. Starks is right back with the armdrag (you knew that was coming) to send Punk outside and there’s the mocking the go to sleep motion. Back in and Starks hammers away in the corner, setting up a Cactus Clothesline.

We take a break and come back with thinking picking way up, including Starks unloading with right hands in the corner. Punk strikes away as well (nowhere near as fast but he was trying) until Starks is sent outside. Back in and Starks manages to knock him outside for a change, followed by an elbow to the face back inside. The Steamboat style chop to the head lets Starks glare at Steamboat before grabbing a waistlock. Punk fights up and hits a spinning middle rope crossbody but can’t get a sunset flip (Starks grabbing the rope didn’t help).

We take another break and come back again with Punk hitting a top rope superplex. Some right hands into a swinging neckbreaker keeps Starks in trouble and there’s the running knee into the bulldog for two. Starks rolls through a high crossbody (not exactly smoothly) for two before countering another running knee in the corner with a powerbomb.

The GTS is broken up but Starks misses a charge into the corner and hits the buckle. Punk kicks him in the head for two but Starks’ Alabama Slam gets the same. The ref gets bumped (of course) so Starks goes to yell, allowing Punk to roll him up, with Steamboat (very eventually) counting the pin to retain Punk’s title at 22:20.

Rating: B. They took some time to get warmed up here but it was rolling once they got into the rhythm of things. Punk continues to be able to shift from good to bad in the blink of an eye and he was full on fan favorite this week. Starks continues to be someone who feels like a star, though the loss after that long of a wait on the count didn’t help him. Steamboat looks to be about twenty years younger than he is (if not for the hair color, you wouldn’t think he aged) but he didn’t get to do much here.

Post match Punk pays homage to Steamboat but Starks shoves Steamboat into him. Starks whips out a belt and whips the heck out of Steamboat (he can still sell) until Punk (also very eventually) makes the save. Punk glares at Starks and then chases him off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As tends to be the case with a lot of shows, the opener and main event were the best parts, with the stuff in the middle being mostly ok. What mattered here was setting things up for the future, as Punk vs. Starks isn’t done but Punk also has the House of Black and Samoa Joe to deal with coming up. Collision has really started to figure out what it wants to be and is turning into one of the best shows of the week as a result.

Results
FTR b. Big Bill/Brian Cage – Shatter Machine to Cage
Kris Statlander b. Mercedes Martinez – Rollup
Samoa Joe b. Serpentico – Koquina Clutch
House of Black b. Lee Johnson/Action Andretti/Darius Martin – Double knees to Martin
Jay White b. Metalik – Blade Runner
CM Punk b. Ricky Starks – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

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NXT LVL Up
Date: August 4, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Byron Saxton

Welcome to the completely random draw of a show as there is no way of knowing what you are going to see on this show and that makes for some unique options. Unfortunately those options are rarely used and we get a lot of the same people doing the same things over and over. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Edris Enofe/Malik Blade vs. Tyson DuPont/Tyriek Igwe

I believe this is the debut for DuPont and Igwe. Blade gets powered around by DuPont but a double elbow lets Enofe get two. Igwe comes in and gets armdragged down a few times, meaning it’s time to start in on his arm. That’s broken up and Enofe gets dropped face first onto the buckle so the villains can take over. DuPont’s armbar keeps Enofe down and Igwe runs him over for two. Enofe pops up and gets over to Blade for the tag to clean house. Igwe gets slammed down, setting up Enofe’s top rope elbow for the pin at 5:18.

Rating: C. Much like just about ever debut on LVL Up, there is only so much you can get out of a short match. DuPont and Igwe both look good and have quite the power game, but there was one thing I rather liked here: a pop up graphic told us about their athletic backgrounds and gave us a bit of a resume for both of them. That’s so easy to do and gives them at least something to build off going forward. Let us know something about these people and it might help them a bit.

Trey Bearhill, a rather big man, is from a culture that passes down its stories. His story begins tonight.

Trey Bearhill vs. Myles Borne

Bearhill is a Native American and has the facepaint to prove it (at least in wrestling circles). Borne tries to pick up the pace to start but loses a battle over a top wristlock. A running shoulder from Borne just earns him a yell but Borne is able to knock him outside. Back in and a dropkick gives Borne one so Bearhill hits a rather large hiptoss for two. Bearhill grabs a bearhug and then grabs it again to prove his point. With that broken up, Borne hits a double leg takedown of all things but Bearhill hits him in the face for two. Borne is right back with a dropkick for the pin at 5:36.

Rating: C. As has been the case since wrestling began, power vs. speed is a formula that is going to work every single time. That was the case here again, as Borne was trying to move around while Bearhill used his power to cut him off. Bearhill has some good size but could use a lot more seasoning and a gimmick that won’t limit him as much. Honoring your heritage is fine and he’s not quite as simple as Chief Jay Strongbow, but I’m not sure how well this is going to go for him.

Gigi Dolin vs. Tatum Paxley

They grapple a bit to start and trade some near falls until Dolin grabs a headlock. A running hurricanrana drops Paxley and a running dropkick against the ropes gets two. Paxley pulls her down by the hair and hits a splash for two, followed by a dropkick for the same. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Paxley drops her again and puts the chinlock on again. Back up and Dolin strikes away, setting up an STO for two. The abdominal stretch rollup finishes Paxley at 5:55.

Rating: C+. Definitely the best match of the night and as usual, it’s nice to see some wrestlers who feel a bit more important than the rest of the lineup. Dolin and Paxley aren’t top stars, but they’re bigger than anyone else on this show and it makes that much of a difference. They had a nice back and forth match too, which I wouldn’t have bet on coming in.

Overall Rating: C. This was a different way to go for LVL Up and it’s kind of a nice change of pace. They introduced three new stars here and the main event was different enough to make it work. As usual, the show isn’t worth seeing, but I can go with this format every so often to bring in a few new names and throw out some established people too.

Results
Edris Enofe/Malik Blade b. Tyson DuPont/Tyriek Igwe – Top rope elbow to Igwe
Myles Borne b. Trey Bearhill – Dropkick
Gigi Dolin b. Tatum Paxley – Abdominal stretch rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Make sure you check out some recent reviews:

Rampage – August 4, 2023

WPW Russell Crowe Wrestling: RussellMania 3

Summerslam 2023

The Voice Of The Show: WWE Shaking Up Commentary Teams Starting Next Week.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/voice-show-wwe-shaking-commentary-teams-starting-next-week/

Down Again: Popular AEW Star Missing More Time Due To Injury.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/popular-aew-star-missing-time-due-injury/

He’s Not In: AEW And WWE Both Turned Down Bret Hart’s Offer To Work For Them.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/hes-not-aew-wwe-turned-bret-harts-offer-work/

BREAKING: Money In The Bank Cash-In At Summerslam Leads To Surprise WWE Title Change.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/breaking-money-bank-cash-summerslam-leads-surprise-title-change/

WATCH: Jimmy Uso Makes Surprise Return During Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso Summerslam Main Event.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-jimmy-uso-involved-in-huge-surprise-during-roman-reigns-vs-jey-uso-summerslam-main-event/

As always, hit up the comments section to chat about what is going on and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page and follow us on Twitter (featuring news stories written by ME).

Summerslam 2023
Date: August 5, 2023
Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re back with one of the most important shows of the year and the card is rather stacked again. The main event is likely going to see Smackdown World Champion Roman Reigns defending against his cousin Jey Uso in Tribal Combat, with the title of Tribal Chief on the line as well. Raw has a double main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes III and Finn Balor challenging Seth Rollins for the Raw World Title. Let’s get to it.

The opening video features Kid Rock (because of course) and a bunch of wrestlers around cars as the focus is on Detroit. We look back at the first Summerslam in 1988 and some other famous moments. It’s time to rock in Detroit though, complete with noted Kid Rock masterpiece Bawitaba. Oh and Born To be Wild by Steppenwolf because…reasons.

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet

Ricochet knocks him to the floor to start and teases the dive before they run the ropes and trade some dives. Ricochet misses the big kick to the head and gets elbowed in the face. Paul takes him down into the quickly broken chinlock before they head to the apron, with Paul hitting a hanging neckbreaker. Back in and a running powerslam (apparently a shot at Ricochet’s injured partner Braun Strowman) sets up the cupped hand to the ear.

A big boot and splits legdrop (the Hogan Paul, seriously) get two but Ricochet drops him again. That means the People’s standing moonsault for two on Paul and they’re right back on the apron. A standing Spanish Fly from the apron doesn’t work as Ricochet lands on his feet, setting up a regular Spanish Fly on the floor. Back up and Paul hits a Buckshot Lariat to the floor (cool), followed by a standing moonsault for two back inside.

Paul misses a charge into the post though, setting up a super swinging neckbreaker for a huge crash. A springboard clothesline hits Paul and a standing shooting star press gets two. Ricochet misses the big kick but Ricochet ducks the big right hand. One heck of a tornado DDT gets two on Ricochet, who is right back with the Recoil. Ricochet goes up but has to pause because of the bad ribs, allowing Paul to get his knees up to block the shooting star press.

Paul grabs an Alley Oop and nips up to show off a bit more. A frog splash hits Ricochet for two but he’s right back with the Benedriller into a top rope springboard moonsault for another near fall. Ricochet’s 630 misses and cue one of Paul’s goons to give him some brass knuckles. The big right hand finishes Ricochet at 17:52.

Rating: B. Gah that ending hurt it a lot as they just kind of fell apart at the finish. They had a heck of a game of “can you top this” going here and then the ending felt like it came out of nowhere. Paul had to get a win here as he hadn’t won anything since last year at Summerslam and it hut things a lot. Good, fast paced opener here and it did exactly what you would have expected.

Sheamus arrived via monster truck.

Long recap of Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes. Lesnar turned on him the night after Raw and they have traded wins since, with Lesnar breaking Rhodes’ arm at least once.

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

Cody jumps him before the bell but gets caught with a quick suplex. A neck snap across the top staggers Brock and a pair of Disaster Kicks make it worse. Cody tries it again though and this time gets rammed into the corner for his efforts. Brock is knocked to the floor for a hard suicide dive though and Cody has an opening. Back in and Brock hits a trio of suplexes to send Cody down and it’s time to bounce a bit.

Another German suplex sets up another suplex and Cody falls out to the floor. Brock knocks him off the apron and tells Cody to save himself but Cody beats the count again. That means an overhead belly to belly and Brock clotheslines him outside again. An F5 on the floor gets nine and Brock is mad. Another F5 through the announcers’ table gets nine and now Lesnar looks more confused than angry.

More suplexes wake Cody up for some reason and he heads outside, where some postings slow Brock down and a steps shot (DQ anyone?) makes it worse. The Disaster Kick and Cody Cutter drop Lesnar back inside and a double springboard Cody Cutter gets two. Lesnar pulls him into the Kimura but Cody makes the rope. Back up and Lesnar is sent into an exposed buckle, setting up Cody’s Kimura. That’s broken up so Cody hits three Cross Rhodes for the pin at 17:32.

Rating: B. They were trying for an epic match here and it just didn’t get that far. Cody surviving and surviving was a rather Lesnar style story and it worked well enough, but I still can’t buy Lesnar losing to the Cross Rhodes, which just isn’t a very good finisher. This was the way the feud had to end though as Cody gets a huge win to defeat Lesnar for good and should be on his way back to the title picture sooner than later.

Post match Lesnar actually shows respect and even high fives some fans as he walks away.

Slim Jim Battle Royal

Erik, Ivar, JD McDonagh, Rick Boogs, Otis, Chad Gable, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci, Ridge Holland, Butch, Sheamus, Riddle, Grayson Waller, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bronson Reed, Tommaso Ciampa, Apollo Crews, LA Knight, Santos Escobar, AJ Styles, The Miz, Austin Theory, Karrion Kross, Cameron Grimes, Omos

We get a quick look at the history of battle royals but hold on because here is MVP to introduce Omos as the final entrant. Omos comes to the ring and throws out Crews plus McDonagh in short order. Boogs is out as well but it’s time for a bunch of people to gang up on Omos. The Brutes hit the triple forearms to Omos’ chest but it’s not enough to get rid of him.

Imperium gets rid of Otis as the ring is clearing out a bit. Gable tosses Vinci and the Vikings are both out. Ciampa’s Willow’s Bell gets rid of Nakamura but Reed tosses Ciampa without much trouble. Theory eliminated Holland and Grimes in an impressive short run, only to get clotheslined out by Escobar. Kross gets rid of Escobar rather quickly and Gable tosses Kaiser. Omos dumps Riddle and Butch at the same time and knocks down a bunch of people.

Knight goes at Omos with some clotheslines but gets booed down for his efforts. Everyone starts getting together to go after Omos though and he’s finally out. Miz and Waller get together for a kind of perfect alliance and toss Gable…at least to the apron. Miz tosses Knight to the apron but gets tossed out by Knight for his efforts. Sheamus gets rid of Waller (gah that was my pick) and it’s Sheamus vs. Knight. Reed cuts that off with a double clothesline before AJ Pele’s Kross out.

We’re down to Gable, Styles, Knight, Reed and Sheamus until Reed tosses Gable out. Knight is sent to the apron again but manages to leverage Reed out to get us down to three. Styles ducks the Brogue Kick but gets sent to the apron by Knight. Kross is back to grab Styles’ leg though and the Brogue Kick gets rid of him. We’re down to Knight vs. Sheamus, with the former hitting a quick powerslam. Blunt Force Trauma is broken up so Sheamus goes up top, with Knight jumping to the top for a belly to belly superplex. Knight hits a running clothesline and actually wins the thing at 12:41.

Rating: B-. Not a great match but that’s how it should have gone. Knight has been needing a big win and he got it right here, with WWE not even to have anyone get pinned to give him the victory. The follow up is going to be even more important, but what matters here is that Knight got the big win after being set up for it. The fans wanted him to win and now we see where he goes from here. Other than that, it was nice to see some feuds advanced in the same match, with Omos looking like a monster again. They didn’t go too long here either and it was a rather entertaining match.

We recap Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler. Rousey has been the star for years but Baszler has always been there with her. Baszler is tired of Rousey being the star and it’s time to fight.

Shayna Baszler vs. Ronda Rousey

This is under MMA rules, meaning knockout, pass out or tap out to win (no pins, DQ’s or countouts). They go with the grappling to start with Rousey taking her to the mat and hammering on the back. Baszler gets up and kicks Rousey in the head to knock her to the floor. Back in and Rousey hits a heck of a running knee to the head as the fans are NOT impressed so far.

Rousey hammers away at the back some more and they crash out to the floor, with Baszler favoring her arm. We pause for the medics to look at her but Rousey clears them out. Baszler gets a suplex but Rousey grabs an armbar. That’s reversed into the ankle lock on Rousey before switching to the Kirifuda Clutch to knock Rousey out at 7:24.

Rating: D+. Yeah this didn’t work. It felt a lot longer than it really was and the fans absolutely did not care. They would have been much better off with a submission match and a sprint, but instead it was plodding and waiting around for anything to happen. Baszler winning is the absolute right idea, but dang the execution couldn’t have been much worse.

Tonight’s attendance: 59,194.

We recap Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre for the Intercontinental Title. Gunther is about a month away from breaking the record for longest reign in history but McIntyre is back and motivated to take the title.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre

Gunther is defending and gets dropped by an early running shoulder. The Glasgow Kiss sends Gunther outside, where he manages a posting and drop onto the steps for a breather. Back in and Gunther drops him with the chops as the pace slows a lot. Gunther snaps off a German suplex but McIntyre comes back with a heck of a clothesline for a double knockdown.

McIntyre snaps off his own suplex into a neckbreaker but the Claymore misses. Instead Gunther dropkicks him into the corner but the powerbomb is broken up. Instead McIntyre powerbombs Gunther into the Futureshock for two and they slow down a bit. The threat of the Claymore sends Gunther outside and McIntyre hits the running flip dive, even landing on his feet.

Back in and a dropkick cuts off the Claymore, setting up Gunther’s powerbomb for two more. Gunther’s top rope splash gets two and slaps him in the back of the head a few times. They chop it out with McIntyre getting the better of things and scoring with the Claymore out of nowhere for two. McIntyre takes him up top for another chop off until Gunther manages a crotching. The top rope splash and a hard clothesline sets up a powerbomb to retain at 13:44.

Rating: B. This was another five minutes away from being a classic but it did do well for what it was. They had two people beating the fire out of each other and I’m a bit surprised that McIntyre came up short. At the end of the day though, Gunther is about a month away from breaking a 35 year old record and it would be quite the waste to not capitalize on that kind of number if WWE wants to. Heck of a match here, but it could have been that much better.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for the Raw World Title. Rollins beat him at Money In The Bank, but Balor wants revenge on Rollins injuring him seven years ago at Summerslam so the rematch is on. The shadow of Damian Priest and his Money In The Bank briefcase hangs over the whole thing too.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Rollins is defending and….he looks like a Christmas present wrapped by an unsupervised seven years old. With the coat off though, Rollins reveals the same vest he wore when he faced Balor at Summerslam 2016. They slug it out to start with Rollins getting the better of it and sending Balor into the corner. A kick to the arm slows Rollins down and Balor bends it around the rope in the corner. More arm cranking ensues and we hit the armbar as the pace has slowed a lot.

Balor hammers away in the corner but Rollins is back with some Kawada kicks and a clothesline for two. Balor uses the arm to send Rollins outside though and more shots to said arm keep him in trouble. There’s the buckle bomb against the barricade, followed by a Sling Blade back inside. Balor gets a cross armbreaker but Rollins slips out and hits a pair of buckle bombs of his own.

The frog splash gives Rollins two but the Stomps is blocked. Instead Balor hits his jumping double stomp and a shotgun dropkick into the corner. The Coup de Grace is countered with a superplex, but the Falcon Arrow is countered into a small package. An exchange of kicks leaves them both down for a needed breather. Balor drops him again but the Coup de Grace misses. Rollins is back with the Pedigree for two….and here’s Damian Priest with the Money In The Bank briefcase.

They trade rollups for two each, with Balor’s kickout sending Rollins into a right hand from Priest. Balor hits a Pedigree for two so here is Judgment Day. Priest offers the briefcase to Balor, who turns it down, allowing Rollins to hit a quick Stomp for two. Rollins dives onto Priest and takes out Dominik Mysterio but Balor hits the Sling Blade and another corner dropkick.

The Coup de Grace connects for a VERY close two and Balor is stunned. Balor tells Priest to do…something as the referee checks on Rollins. Priest throws in the briefcase and distracts the referee, allowing Rollins to hit the Stomp onto the briefcase (they telegraphed the heck out of that one) to retain at 18;25.

Rating: B+. I was getting into this one and the near falls near the end pulled me in. They went back and forth here with the rather modern WWE style, meaning it was quite the entertaining match, even if they didn’t do the best job of hiding the ending. This should wrap up Balor vs. Rollins and that opens the door for someone, perhaps Cody Rhodes, to come for the title. The ending is going to set up a lot of Judgment Day drama and that is a good thing, as Balor vs. Priest has potential.

Priest is NOT pleased and glares at Balor, who glares back.

The Alpha Academy and Miz shill Mike’s Hard Lemonade and argue over who is harder/a Mike. Miz is locked in an anvil case for his efforts.

We recap the Smackdown Women’s Title match. Asuka, Bianca Belair and Charlotte have all been fighting each other and cheating the other out of title matches, so snow it’s time for a triple threat.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Bianca Belair vs. Asuka

Asuka is defending. Everyone misses a shot to the face to start until Asuka rolls Belair up for two. With Asuka sent to the apron, Belair drops Charlotte but a handspring kick to the face is blocked by Asuka. Charlotte drops Asuka but gets stared down by Belair. That’s broken up and Asuka knees Belair for two, with Charlotte making the save. Asuka German suplexes Charlotte and slugs it out with Belair, until a heck of a Charlotte high crossbody takes them both down.

Double Natural Selection gives Charlotte some near falls before she boots Belair in the face. Asuka breaks up the Figure Four with a Codebreaker for two on Charlotte and everyone is down. They slug it out again with Belair taking over but her handspring moonsault hits quadruple knees. Belair is kicked to the floor and Charlotte gets caught in the Asuka Lock. Now Belair can hit the moonsault to break it up but Charlotte knocks both of them to the floor.

Charlotte moonsaults off the top in Belair’s direction, barely grazing her with her hands and handing about a foot and a half behind her. Asuka is kicked to the floor and Belair faceplants Charlotte, only to have Asuka come back in and steal the near fall. Belair powerbombs Charlotte but gets pulled into the Asuka Lock, allowing Charlotte to roll both of them up for two. Charlotte moonsaults onto both of them for two….and then tries a double Figure Four (Graves: “I don’t think the human anatomy will allow that to happen.”).

With that not working, Belair is sent over the top and lands knee first on the steps, which has her screaming on the floor. Medics come out to check out Belair, who is helped out (with a very, very bad limp, but on her feet). Asuka slugs away at Charlotte, who hits a spear for two.

Charlotte gets the Figure Eight but Belair is back with a 450 to break it up and cover Charlotte for two more. With Asuka on the floor, Belair loads up the KOD but gets armdragged out. Charlotte knocks Asuka to the floor and gets the Figure Four on the bad leg. Make that The Figure Eight until Asuka makes the save with the mist. Then Belair rolls Asuka up for the pin and the title at 20:48.

Rating: C-. Oh man this was rough. It picked up a bit at the end but there is only so much you can do with a bad match layout and a crowd that wasn’t interested. This felt like a match where they had every single thing laid out in advance and had to stick to the script throughout. Belair regaining the title is more than a bit weird, but at least they had a hotter finish than anything else in the rest of the match.

And here is Damage CTRL with the briefcase! Belair goes after Bayley but Sky briefcases her down. The cash-in is on!

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Iyo Sky

Sky is challenging and Over The Moonsault makes her the champion at 9 seconds.

Bayley and Sky celebrate, with Dakota Kai appearing to join them in a nice moment. I mean, as nice as it can be after you attacked an injured woman to take her title.

We recap Jey Uso challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal WWE Title and the title of Tribal Chief. This is the next step in the years long Bloodline Saga, with Jey splitting from Reigns earlier this year and pinning him at Money In The Bank. That was the first pinfall loss for Reigns in over three years and now Jey is coming for everything in Tribal Combat.

Smackdown World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso

Reigns, with Paul Heyman (Solo Sikoa was taken out on Smackdown), is defending and this is Tribal Combat, which basically means street fight. They stare at each other for over a minute until Reigns shoves him away. A hard shoulder drops Jey and Reigns hits him in the face. Jey slips out of a suplex though and hammers away, setting up a Rock spit punch. The Samoan drop doesn’t work and Jey kicks him in the ribs, setting up a clothesline to the floor.

The suicide dive mainly hits Reigns in the back and Jey loads up a table, but Reigns fights up and takes over without much trouble. The apron boot to the face connects for two but Jey scores with an enziguri. Reigns is knocked outside so Jey loads up a suicide dive, only to be cut off by a kendo stick shot. Reigns starts talking trash and knocks him into the corner for daring to try a comeback.

The rapid fire clotheslines connect but a Superman Punch is cut off with a kendo stick to Reigns’ ribs. Jey unloads with stick shots to the back to send Reigns outside and now the big running flip dive takes him out again. Back in and the Superfly Splash is Superman Punched out of the air for two. The spear is countered into a rollup for two and it’s a superkick into the Superfly Splash for two more, leaving them both down.

Jey gets in some chair shots to the back and throws in a bunch more chairs for a bonus. Heyman is begging for mercy for Reigns (“HE’S YOUR FAMILY!”) as Jey puts Reigns up top. The superplex is broken up and Reigns powerbombs him onto the chairs for two. Reigns brings a table inside (there is still one set up outside) but has to cut off Jey’s spear. Instead Jey is sent to the apron and manages a Samoan drop to send Reigns through the outside table.

Jey pulls out a strap and whips reigns into the crowd, where Solo Sikoa pops up to take Jey out. Sikoa puts Jey through a table and they head back to the ring, where Spinning Solo plants Jey again. Reigns spears Sikoa by mistake though, allowing Jey to hit his own spear for two. Jey gets in a bunch of chair shots to both of them but takes too long going after Reigns, allowing Sikoa to score with a superkick.

Reigns stops to yell at Sikoa for some reason, allowing Jey to spear Reigns through the barricade. Sikoa is put through the announcers’ table and Jey hits another spear back inside. Jey hits the Superfly Splash…..and Jimmy Uso pulls Jey out at two. Jimmy stares at Jey forever before superkicking him, allowing Reigns to hit the spear through the table in the corner to retain at 36:01.

Rating: C+. This was WAY too long and while the violence and carnage was good, there was a lot of standing around and waiting for something to happen. Shave about ten minutes off of this and it’s way better, but it only worked so well. At the same time, you have the Jimmy twist, which felt like a twist for the sake of a twist. It’s time for something big to happen in this story and that means Reigns needs to either be on his own for a bit or just lose the title. The battling Usos doesn’t seem like a long term story, but I’m not sure who is next for Reigns at the moment. For now though, not a great match, but it had its moments.

Jimmy doesn’t leave with Reigns and Heyman, suggesting that he isn’t back on the team.

The long highlight package takes us out.

Overall Rating: B. This is a rather good show with some rocky points holding it back. The women’s matches didn’t work and the main event was FAR longer than it needed to be and led to a rather lame surprise ending. Other than that though, this was a heck of a show with one very good (if not better) match after another. If some of those problems were corrected, this could have been a great one but as it is, it’s a solid show that went on too long and made some mistakes.

Results
Logan Paul b. Ricochet – Right hand with brass knuckles
Cody Rhodes b. Brock Lesnar – Cross Rhodes
LA Knight won the Slim Jim Battle Royal last eliminating Sheamus
Shayna Baszler b. Ronda Rousey – Kirifuda Clutch
Gunther b. Drew McIntyre – Powerbomb
Seth Rollins b. Finn Balor – Stomp onto the Money In The Bank briefcase
Bianca Belair b. Asuka and Charlotte – Small package to Asuka
Iyo Sky b. Bianca Belair – Over The Moonsault
Roman Reigns b. Jey Uso – Spear through a table

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Russell Crowe Wrestling: RussellMania 3
Date: March 30, 2023
Location: Burbank Moose Lodge, Burbank, California
Commentators: Erik Barnes, Rivers Langley

So this is Wrestling Pro Wrestling, a comedy promotion run by Brian Kendrick. The event was held over Wrestlemania weekend and then released on Youtube, though I have a grand total of no idea what to expect here. With wrestlers named Poptart Boy and Leather Daddy, I’m almost scared to know what I’m getting myself into. Let’s get to it.

Opening video, which features a bunch of stills and has quite the early 80s feeling.

Erik Barnes welcomes us to the show and makes it clear that Russell Crowe will NOT be wrestling and describes this as a wacky wrestling promotion. The Midcard Title (which sounds like the official name) and the Wrestle Turkey Title will be on the line tonight, but first, here is Cereal Man (a superhero with a box of cereal for a mask). He can’t find promoter Gary Tickles, who has left a note: “see you next show suckers, no refunds.”

There is an idea though, so here is Darwin Finch, apparently a scientist, who has invented a cloning machine. His goons have stolen some celebrity DNA, so here are clones of Tom Cruise, Gary Busey and Sean (normally spelled Shaun) White. Cereal Man says these clones suck, but apparently they are clones of celebrity impersonators on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (ah, the common problem). We’ll try one more so here is Chuck Norris….as portrayed by Jimmy Wang Yang. That’s enough for Cereal Man, who throws everyone out. Cereal Man: “You guys want to see a chicken wrestle a bear?”

Chick-A-Dee vs. Evgheni

Dee is a woman in a chicken costume (Commentary: “This pollo is loco!” Should be loca but whatever.) and Evgheni is a Russian bear. The Bear hibernates to start so Chick pokes him, only for the Bear to go back to sleep. Back up and a bear claw shove gets two on Chick but the referee faints after a well places growl. The Bear bites Chick’s face and then….decides to go to the bar, meaning it’s a countout at 4:09.

Rating: C. Yeah we’re going to be in for a weird show here and it should be a lot of fun as a result. I’m not sure I got the joke here but at least they are living up to the kind of show that they want to be. Also, thankfully they kept this short instead of driving the joke into the ground like so many would.

Anthony Andrews vs. Koto Hiro

Andrews is a cowboy and one half of the NWA US Tag Team Champions. Hiro on the other hand is your stereotypical Japanese masked man. They go for the grappling to start with the much smaller Hiro not being able to get very far. Hiro kicking him in the head works better though and a rolling cutter gets two.

Andrews knocks him outside and hammers away on the floor. Back in and Hiro snapmares him down into a jumping knee to the face but Andrews plants him with a Rock Bottom. A middle rope Codebreaker gets two but Hiro is back with a springboard spinning Codebreaker. That sets up a missed frog splash though and Andrews grabs a pumphandle powerslam for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C+. Actually not too bad here, which mainly focused on a power vs. speed match. Andrews isn’t a hue guy but he’s big enough to outmatch someone like Hiro. Other than that, Hiro kept things moving enough and sold the big power stuff well enough. Not a great match, but it was close enough to being serious to make it work.

Respect is shown post match.

Fourmage Horsemen vs. Stoner Brothers/El Chupacabra/Anton Voorhees

Oh boy. This is WPW vs. Hoodslam, because that’s a good idea. So the Horsemen are Gorgonzole Anderson/Parm Anderson/Ricotta Flair/Tully Blancheddar, while the Stoners are Rick Scott and Scott Rick (not typos), complete with a STONERIZED theme. And yes, the Horsemen all have heads made of cheese. Before the match, Flair makes fun of the other four, including saying the Stoners are more like the Groaner Mothers. Anton and Tully start things off, with Tully going rather basic (“This is an aged cheddar after all.”) but Anton comes back with an enziguri.

Tully gets quadruple teamed in the corner so it’s off to Parm vs. Chupacabra, with the former being knocked into the corner. Rick Scott adds a superkick but Gorgonzole comes in for a wristlock. A series of shots in the corner put Gorgonzole down but he gets over to Flair for the rapid fire chops. Not that they matter as Flair is knocked down and picked up/dropped back by all four for a quadruple pin at 5:05.

Rating: C. Yeah I laughed and that’s the point of something like this. It’s a big choke with cheese puns and I don’t think they were trying to do anything else. Let them get in there, do their jokes and get out before it goes too long. If nothing else, points for being able to come up with a gag for the entire Horsemen, including that aged cheddar line.

A clone of David Copperfield (magician, not Dickens) and here is brings a fan into the ring for a card trick. Before he can complete it though, the Great Branzino, with his Goblins (Dingleberry and Grundell) interrupts. Branzino is about three and a half feet tall and says we’re not here for magic or over the top characters. No one wants to see that fool Luigi Primo! Cue Primo (the guy who can spin a pizza while doing really basic moves), with Branzino saying it’s an amazing coincidence that Primo is here. Since he is here though, the Goblins should get him!

Luigi Primo vs. Goblins/Great Branzino

They fight over wrist control, with Primo using the pizza to mistake. Primo hits them with the pizza, so Branzino tells the Goblins to form the TROLL TRON. As Grundell gets on Dingleberry’s shoulders, Copperfield gives Primo a second pizza, which he combines with the first to scare the Goblins away. Branzino hits Primo low for the DQ at 2:31.

Post match Branzino pulls out some pepperoni pizza flavored Combos but Primo chokeslams him onto them instead….for a pin, despite the bell ringing off the low blow. These pizza and magic themed characters should be better with their continuity.

Kid Isaac/Sam Squatch vs. Devastator 2/Devastatress

Devastator is billed from Hot Topic. Devastatress is a mystery partner, who is better known as Jazzy Yang (Jimmy Wang Yang’s daughter). Squatch is in a rather large Bigfoot costume and seems rather interested in the Combos. Isaac hands his sunglasses to Squatch to start and they are promptly destroyed. Devastator tries a test of strength and gets a tickle from Isaac and it works so well that they do it again. Isaac offers to let Devastator tickle him but gets kicked in the ribs instead.

Back up and Isaac runs the corner, walks the rope, and jumps back down for some more tickling. Squatch comes in to run Devastator over and a double shoulder gives Isaac two. Devastatress gets in a cheap shot from behind as commentary continues to call every move either the Devastator or the Devastat-Her. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Devastatress goes after the knee.

Isaac enziguris his way to freedom and hands it back to Squatch to slow things down. A Rocket Launcher hits Devastator for two but Devastatress isn’t tickleish. Instead Isaac forearms her in the face to little avail, as she drops him fast. A low blow to Squatch sets up a chokeslam, followed by a 3D to finish Isaac at 11:08.

Rating: C-. Once you got past the joke of every move being called the Devastator/Devastate-Her, there wasn’t much to see here. Isaac wasn’t overly funny and a guy in a Bigfoot costume is only going to get you so far. I wasn’t feeling this one, but when your entire show is a bunch of jokes, some things aren’t going to land.

And now we have the “Sexy Chino Hollywood Adjacent Dance Party”. We have Sexy Chino, the Clone of John Travolta, Emo Tep (the emo mummy), Boogaloo Brown, Haystacks (a large stack of hay wearing overalls), and David Boomerang (a giant mouse). They all dance until Boomerang….starts stabbing people. Boomerang is awarded the win “by way of stabbing” and apparently this is a pattern for him.

Tag Team Titles: Darwin Finch/Fidel Bravo vs. Fabio/LJ Cleary

Finch and Bravo (with El Cucho El Sicario) are defending. Finch and Fabio start things off as commentary stops to argue with Cleary over not being able to tell the challengers apart. Fabio hits a dropkick to start so it’s off to Cleary, who gets caught with a springboard armdrag. Bravo comes in and yells at Finch, allowing the challengers to take over and dance a bit.

The double teaming has Bravo in trouble and Fabio snaps off a suplex for two. Finch gets in a slap from the apron though and Bravo scores with a DDT. Everything breaks down and Finch and Bravo take over, with Bravo actually hugging him. Then Sicario hits Finch low, allowing Bravo to hit Finch with a Falcon Arrow so Cleary can get the pin and the titles at 7:12.

Rating: C. This wasn’t so much a joke as much as something with an actual storyline, which worked well enough. What mattered was getting the title change out there to make the show feel important and not doing a bunch of jokes for once. It makes something like this feel like it mattered, though things were hardly serious, as you should kind of expect around here.

Post match Officer Robot Cop (exactly what it sounds like) comes out to say the new champs broke the law so the titles are officially stripped. Finch and Bravo are still champions.

Midcard Title: Battle Royal

King Dezi, Jumping Jim Logan, Tarzan Duran, Man Like DeReiss, Hobo, Mike D., Charles Ray

Yes it’s called the Midcard Title and this is billed as a “several person battle royal”. Tarzan is Tarzan, Dezi is an actual king, DeReiss raps himself to the ring, Mike is rather muscular and Ray (a Ray Charles knockoff, complete with blindness and a yellow suit) is defending. Logan yells at everyone else to start and says he is NOT jumping, despite that being his name. He finally jumps once and a bunch of people knock him silly, allowing Ray to get the pin for the elimination.

Ray sings as everyone else fights to the floor (this is feeling a lot more like an elimination match than the battle royal they advertised) before heading outside to sing about how everyone in the ring is fighting and shooting. Mike bearhugs Hobo before Tarzan comes in to work on Hobo’s arm. Hobo hits a running corner clothesline but gets taken down by a flipping neckbreaker.

The singing is still going on as DeReiss stomps on Dezi in the corner. Hobo and DeReiss trade standing switches as Tarzan listens to Ray singing. After Hobo misses a kick, DeReiss…..sprays him with air freshener for the pin. With that odd choice out of the way (Ray, still singing: “Positive sounds, that’s what I heard, hope it was good.”), Tarzan comes back in and kicks Mike outside. A springboard flip dive takes Mike down and a Code Red gets two back inside.

Mike pops back up with a powerbomb and a helicopter bomb finishes Tarzan. Ray, with his trombone, comes in and hits some people by mistake, allowing Dezi to pin Mike. We’re down to Ray, Dezi and DeReiss and the singing continues, with commentary talking about how long this song has been doing. Ray is now singing about how he has a goat and 58 farms so DeReiss goes after him, only to get sceptered down by Dezi for the pin. Ray thinks the scepter is the microphone and accidentally knocks Dezi out before covering him to retain at 14:45.

Rating: B-. Ray sang that song for over fifteen minutes and while it was just bizarre freestyling by the end, it went on for so long that it was hilarious. This whole thing was a bunch of people getting in a little bit of time while Charles did his thing and it worked far better than it should have. This was one of the better jokes on the show and that is covering a lot of ground.

Sneaky Snakes vs. Leather Daddy/Rubber Baby

The Snakes would be the Sassy Assassin/Sneaky Pete and are in striped shirts and masks, making them look like very stereotypical prisoners/bank robbers. They also have Sacre Blue with them, while Daddy and Baby have very large rubber fast masks. The Snakes jump them from behind to start as Blue seems to be fighting in this as well. Baby gets double teamed to start but Daddy makes the save with a double noggin knocker. Back up and Pete knocks the Baby’s head off, revealing a red mask.

Baby gets to clean house but super fan Courtney Glove comes in to try and calm him down….which earns her a trip to the floor. Assassin hugs Baby but gives him an atomic drop, resulting in a diaper issue (just go with it). Baby chases the villains around with a diaper and rubs it in Blue’s face…which apparently allows Blue to talk without a lisp. Blue: “I CAN FINALLY BE A VOICE ACTOR!” He’s so happy that he falls down and Baby falls down on him for the pin at 5:04.

Rating: D+. So that happened. I’m not sure I get the joke here but the Snakes were at least unique in a good way…I think. This feels like something where I might need to know these people a bit more to care and this wasn’t exactly the most brilliant comedy. Much more of a skit than a match here and not in a good way.

Post match another shot to the face brings the lisp right back.

Eli Everfly vs. Gregory Shmegory Sharpe vs. Mizuki Watase

Sharpe is a high flier (as in a pilot) and Watase is from DDT Pro in Japan. Actually hang on as we have a fourth entrant.

Eli Everfly vs. Gregory Shmegory Sharpe vs. Mizuki Watase vs. Watts

Watts, a rather skinny guy, is described as a powerhouse. Watase and Watts form an early alliance which is broken up in all of three seconds. With the other three on the floor, Watase hits a big dive and strips down to his gear. Back in and Watase hits a basement dropkick on Sharpe, who is right back with a Rock Bottom. Everfly comes back in with a springboard wristdrag but Watts is back in to fall away slam all three of them. A double chokeslam puts Sharpe and Watase down but Everfly gets the sleeper.

That’s enough to bring Watts down to his knees and a triple kick to the head puts him down. Watase takes Everfly down but Sharpe knees him in the face to leave all four down. A chokebomb gets two on Sharpe with Everfly making the save. Everfly hits a heck of a tornado DDT to send Watts outside, where a top rope hurricanrana takes him down instead. Back in and Watase brainbusters Sharpe for two, followed by a scoop piledriver (starts as a slam, ends as a Tombstone) for the pin on Sharpe at 7:54.

Rating: C+. Other than the pilot thing for Sharpe, this was a pretty straight match without anything very unique or even comedy stuff. That being said, it was rather nice to have a different kind of match after doing so much of the same kind of material (even in different forms) all night long. Not a great match or anything, but a nice pallet cleanser, which you need at times.

Wrestling Pro Wrestling Wrestle Turkeys Title: Poptart Boy vs. Dark Sheik

Poptart Boy (he’s a walking Poptart and teams with Cereal Man as the Breakfast Of Champions) is defending (the title is huge and looks to be homemade) while Sheik is a mermaid (so she has to hop to the ring). A lockup puts Poptart Boy against the ropes and Sheik (still hopping, because she has a single fin instead of legs) flips him off.

Poptart Boy shoulders her down and hammers away in the corner. Sheik hammers away (Commentary: “Shot to the frosting.”) and it’s a Fish One Nine before Sheik starts eating his filling (exactly what it sounds like). Poptart Boy is fine enough to hit a chokeslam and a falling splash (frosting side down) retains the title at 4:19.

Rating: C. I’m sitting here trying to think of what to say about this and….yeah what am I supposed to say? It’s a humanoid Poptart fighting a woman whose legs are tied together to make her a mermaid while commentary uses lines from Under The Sea. This was every idea you could think of from the outer reaches of an intoxicated mind and yeah, it was kind of great.

Russel Crowe Pro Rumble

Cinderella Man, Robin Hood, 3:10 To Yuma, Gladiator, Master And Commander, Master And Commander 2, Another Gladiator, Another Gladiator, Black Gladiator, Beautiful Mind, King Ghiraffedorah

Darwin Finch is on commentary and each one is a character from a Russell Crowe movie (plus some repeats because, as commentary put it, they were running out of ideas). The bell rings and hang on as here is Ghiraffedorah (a three headed giraffe, due to reasons of just go with it) to get in the ring. Everyone backs away from him but it’s a bunch of headbutts and chokes (with the arms being other giraffe heads). Then he spits something out and it’s…..the ace of clubs, the card from the fan with the card trick about an hour and a half ago! The fan comes in and gets attacked as well so we’ll throw it out at 2:33.

Finch: “I really hope I won’t be held responsible for this.” Ghiraffedorah attacks some fans to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked it. This show didn’t try to be anything that it wasn’t and completely embraced the insanity. It was one idea likely created by Brian Kendrick and his friends under the influence of various substances and as a result it was rather fun in a lot of ways. This wasn’t about wrestling but rather having a lot of fun with wrestling going on. It’s nothing I would want to see full time or anywhere close to it, but for a one off, there is some great stuff in here. Not all of the jokes work, but or a weird trip inside the mind of wrestling fans, this was a great time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Rampage
Date: August 4, 2023
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho

Rampage is in a weird place as it has become something of a short bridge between Dynamite and Collision. There is usually one important match on the show though and in this case it is going to be a fight that takes place in a parking lot. I’m not sure what else that is going to leave but hopefully it works. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Hardys/Keith Lee vs. Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade

This is fallout from Royal Rampage. Ethan Page/Brother Zay are here with the Hardys/Lee while the Bunny is with the villains. Sabian shoulders Jeff down to start but Jeff is right back in to work on the arm. Matt comes in for a splash in the corner but gets dragged into the wrong corner so Blade can chop away. A Side Effect gets Matt out of trouble and he does his ten buckle rams in the corner. Jeff comes back in but gets pulled outside for a double teaming from the weird team of Blade and Sabian.

We take a break and come back with Jeff getting beaten up even more, but a jawbreaker gets him out of trouble. The big tag brings in Lee to clean house, including throwing everyone around at the same time. Sabian is thrown at his partners to take both of them out before everything breaks down. Lee’s big spinebuster plants Sabian and Jeff adds the Swanton for the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine six man tag here and it worked out well. Lee getting to be the battering ram that gets the tag at the end worked well, though I’m not sure I want to see him getting to stand next to the Hardys every week. For a one off match though, it could have been a lot worse. Just a nix six man with the good guys beating up some villains and that is a pretty much guaranteed win.

The Kingdom talks about their history with Dam Cole, who did all kinds of things with them, but then just vanished when he moved on. Roderick Strong should be worried about this.

The Young Bucks want back in the tag division. The Hardys come in and the match is made for Dynamite.

Anna Jay vs. Skye Blue

Matt Menard and Angelo Parker are here with Jay. They go technical to start with Blue’s headlock not getting her very far. Jay is send outside before coming back in so Blue can fire off forearms. A basement superkick hits Jay again, allowing Blue to take a quick bow (as she has done more than once now). Jay sends her to the apron and hits a running spinning kick as we take a break.

We take a break and come back with Blue fighting up and hitting a high crossbody. A running knee against the ropes gives Blue two but Skyfall is broken up. Jay grabs a Downward Spiral for two but Blue is right back up with Skyfall. Parker and Menard offer distractions though and Jay pulls her into the Queenslayer for the tap at 9:13.

Rating: C. Jay was showing some fire here but it’s almost weird to see her beating Blue at this point. Blue has steadily been falling back down the card and I don’t remember the last time Jay won a big time match. Not a bad match, and maybe Jay is getting a push out of nowhere from here?

Kris Statlander, while doing squats with Renee Young (as in Young is on Statlander’s shoulders) says it pickles her egg when someone hits her with her own belt. As for tomorrow night, Mercedes Martinez better “clean out the gutter, wash the card and caulk the tub” because Mama’s coming home on Collision. Uh….well it was different.

Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight are in the parking lot and announce that Pac is injured and unable to wrestle, but the Lucha Bros are still going to fight the winners of the Parking Lot Fight on Dynamite.

Mogul Embassy vs. Logan Cruz/Tyshaun Perez

Prince Nana is here with the Embassy. Fox wastes no time in hitting a missile dropkick to both of them at once, setting up the big running flip dive to the floor as Swerve stands there and watches. Back in and Swerve hits a top rope elbow to the back, followed by an assisted sitout powerbomb to Perez. Fox hits an Iconoclasm into a cutter and Swerve’s brainbuster sets up a 450 to finish Cruz at 2:18. That was a slick squash with the Embassy looking very good.

QTV isn’t happy with losing to the Acclaimed and Johnny TV is missing in protest. We see a clip of Johnny TV issuing an open challenge to anyone who has been on television. He also did the splits and slid backwards down a red carpet.

Big Bill and Brian Cage are ready for FTR and the Tag Team Titles.

We recap the Blackpool Combat Club vs. the Best Friends in the Parking Lot Brawl.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Best Friends

Parking Lot Brawl. Before the match, the Club checks through the trunks of cars for Orange Cassidy. The fight is on fast with Taylor sending Castagnoli into a side mirror while Moxley uses a fork to bust Trent open. Castagnoli suplexes Taylor onto the hood of a car and Trent dives off a car onto Moxley, who gets carved up with a fork. Some shots with a broken spoiler put the Friends down but they flapjack him onto the trunk of a van (as it is opening).

The spoiler goes over the Club’s backs and Castagnoli gets crushed by a car hod. Moxley is back up and Trent gets crushed under the hood, with Chuck being dropped onto it. A trash can to the head rocks Trent again but he fights back up with some forearms. Chuck is back up with a street sign and some forking of his own.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli being dropped onto a piece of barricade and crushed with a backsplash off a car. Moxley makes the save but Trent is back with a Dudebuster to Castagnoli on top of a car. Trent and Moxley slug it out on top of a car until Moxley Death Riders him onto a windshield. Then Chuck grabs a barbed wire 2×4 and lights it on fire, only to have Wheeler Yuta pop out of a car.

That lets Moxley hit Trent in the ribs with the 2×4 so Yuta can screwdriver him in the head. Cue Sue in the minivan, with Orange Cassidy on top. The chain is pulled out but the Club beats Cassidy down without much trouble. The Club opens the door and tells Sue to leave before Castagnoli ribs the door off the minivan. Chuck is dropped onto the door and Trent is stomped onto a windshield for the pin at 18:01.

Rating: B-. it was a hard hitting violent brawl with a lot of blood, but the whole thing only worked so well. Not only did it feel like it just kept going, but it came off like they just wanted to recreate the first one with one spot or idea after another. You knew the Sue stuff was coming and while it’s funny once, having it be this big saving grace moment feels so out of line with the violence they have been focusing on for a long time. Throw in Moxley and his stupid fork and there were several moments here that held down the stuff that did work.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was the focal point and it is going to be well received for the violence. Other than that though, this wasn’t the strongest episode from top to bottom. It continues to be a show where you don’t feel like you missed much if you skip a good chunk of it and that isn’t the best feeling. Thankfully it’s just an hour long and far from bad, but this show rarely feels important and that is going to catch up to them at some point.

Results
Hardys/Keith Lee b. Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade
Anna Jay b. Skye Blue – Queenslayer
Mogul Embassy b. Logan Cruz/Tyshaun Perez – 450 to Cruz
Blackpool Combat Club b. Best Friends – Stomp onto a windshield

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Make sure you check out some recent reviews:

Ring Of Honor – August 3, 2023

Impact Wrestling – August 3, 2023

Summerslam 2022 (2023 Edition)

Smackdown – August 4, 2023

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https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-wwe-superstar-returns-new-look-new-mission/

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As always, hit up the comments section to chat about what is going on and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page and follow us on Twitter (featuring news stories written by ME).

We’re up to one of the biggest events on the WWE calendar as it’s another stadium show in Detroit. As has been the case in Summerslams of yore, there isn’t one match that really stands above the others. Odds are Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso for the WWE Universal Title will headline, but there is at least one other option, which makes for a top heavy show. Let’s get to it.

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet

We’ll start with a match that is here to be a spectacle and nothing more. You have a pair of athletic marvels here and those are the kind of stars who can put on one heck of a showcase if given the chance. That is what they are going to get here, and the fact that Paul has done so well so far in his WWE career has me interested in seeing what they can put together here.

As much as I’d like to see Ricochet win, this one almost has to go to Paul. He hasn’t won a singles match since last Summerslam and that is going to have to change soon. Ricochet is a name but he isn’t someone with some kind of perfect resume that would be crushed with a loss. This is going to be all about putting together a highlight reel and if they don’t get too crazy, this should be a blast with Paul winning in the end.

Shayna Baszler vs. Ronda Rousey

This is under MMA rules, though we still don’t exactly know what that means. The interesting thing here is that Rousey is likely done with WWE in the near future, which should give you a good idea of where this is going. The hype for this video has done a great job of humanizing Baszler and that could make things a lot better for her going forward. You know, because she’ll be around.

I’ll go with Baszler here, as there is no reason to put Rousey over if she is on her way out of the company. It would be nice to have Baszler finally get a big win and then hopefully move into the title picture. The rules should make things a bit more interesting, but at the end of the day, this needs to be Baszler getting the biggest win of her career, which is long overdue to say the least.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins(c) vs. Finn Balor

This one has me more interested than I would have expected and that is due to a mixture of Balor and Damian Priest. While Balor winning the title is not out of the question, WWE has set up the idea of Priest cashing in the Money In The Bank briefcase. While that is regularly done without going anywhere, it would be great to pull the trigger on the thing and get rid of it. But what happens with the title?

I think I’ll actually take Balor to win the title here, as WWE has built him up as a big enough threat to become champion that he almost has to win it here. That being said, I don’t think Priest cashes in here, but I do think he’ll do it soon. Either Balor or Priest feels destined to turn face soon and Balor winning the title would be a big step there if done in a certain way. Rollins very well may leave with the title, but Balor feels like the right move here.

Slim Jim Battle Royal

Now this one is extra tricky because we only know about half of the twenty five entrants. That means there is always the chance of a surprise entrant taking the whole thing, but for now we’ll have to settle on twelve entrants. There hasn’t been a ton of focus on this match, but that is kind of how a battle royal has to go most of the time. One name in particular stands out, though it wouldn’t stun me to see WWE go another way.

In my prediction sure to go wrong, I have a feeling that instead of LA Knight winning, as would make sense, Grayson Waller gets the nod instead. It would be very WWE to have him pick up the surprise win and then brag about it forever, even if Knight needs the win a lot more than anyone else right now. Knight being eliminated from a battle royal isn’t some death knell, but Waller winning would be a huge boost for him. I hope I’m wrong, but Waller winning feels like a real possibility.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther(c) vs. Drew McIntyre

This one has some extra weight to it, as Gunther winning could almost guarantee that he breaks Honky Tonk Man’s all time record for longest title reign (about five weeks away). McIntyre is probably the last big name standing to try to prevent him from braking the record and it would absolutely not be out of the question to see the title change hands here. I’m just not sure it’s going to.

It’s kind of hard to imagine WWE getting this close to Honky Tonk Man’s record and then just hitting the breaks a little over a month out. While it’s weird to think that McIntyre came back to lose in his first major match, that makes more sense here as Gunther can retain and move on into September to take the all time record. This should be a very hard hitting fight, but Gunther retains. I think. As he should. I think.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Asuka(c) vs. Charlotte vs. Bianca Belair

This is a match that got a lot more attention on Smackdown and that is a good thing. The build for this has been a bit all over the place, but the gist of the whole thing has been that everyone wants the title and to be the best. That is how wrestling is supposed to work and in that sense, it has gone rather well. In the other sense, it is a match that could go in any direction, which is always a good thing. The fact that I have almost no idea who leaves with the title makes it that much better.

I think I’ll actually go with Asuka to retain here, in an overdue win. Charlotte winning the title would be the most cliched result imaginable, which means it is a rather strong possibility. Belair winning would make sense given that she has been more aggressive as of late, which would make a title win all the more logical. That leaves Asuka, who would seem likely to lose, but by WWE logic, I’ll take her winning and retaining. Makes sense right?

Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes

It’s the rubber match between these two and oddly enough there is no stipulation. This match has felt like it needed to be something violent so the two of them could go to war, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the rules lightened up at last a little bit. Either way, it should be a heck of a test for Rhodes, who needs another big win to get him back to the main event scene.

I can’t picture a result where this goes to Lesnar so I’ll take Rhodes instead. It makes all the sense in the world for Rhodes to win here, as Lesnar is likely going away again until Wrestlemania season. Rhodes on the other hand could very well be back in the World Title picture after a win. Give this one to Rhodes and let him get the boost, which seems to be the entire point of the feud (not a bad idea at all).

Smackdown World Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Jey Uso

This is Tribal Combat, which seems to mean Street Fight. It’s also the latest big step in the Bloodline Saga, and in this case, you can all but guarantee that Jimmy Uso is going to return here. That makes the question what Jimmy does and how it will impact the ending, as you almost have to imagine it going in that direction. At the same time though, there is another direction that is hard to fathom as well.

No matter what though, I can’t imagine Jey wins the title here. It is just hard to imagine him actually winning the title, no matter what story is being told. It’s going to be a heck off a fight with both of them working and he weapons evening things out a bit but this it Reigns and I don’t think that will be the biggest surprise. Jey has been playing with the house’s money for a long time now and he will do it again here, even as he loses.

Overall Thoughts

The more I look at this card, the more interested I am in seeing the show. There are a lot of matches on the card that have me curious and that is a nice feeling to have. There is a little bit of everything on the show and that should make for a good Summerslam. The show has an up and down history over the years but there is a real chance that this show brings the quality.

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