Dynamite
Date: July 26, 2023
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re about a month away from All In and nothing has been announced so far. There is still more than enough time to set things up but they might want to start getting things ready. Other than that, it’s the fallout from Blood & Guts and that should make for some interesting situations. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We get a video from Darby Allin talking about AR Fox and how great/influential he is.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. AR Fox

Cassidy is defending and we get a handshake to start. They fight over a wristlock with Fox flipping around to take him down and grabbing a bodyscissors. Back up and Cassidy rolls away with his hands in his pockets but the dropkick is countered into a rollup. Cassidy it sent outside so Fox runs up the corner for a moonsault to take him down again. Back in and the Stundog Millionaire gives Cassidy two but Fox grabs a spinning suplex for the same.

We take a break and come back with stereo neckbreakers taking both of them down for a breather. Fox sends him outside for a big flip dive, followed by a Swanton back inside. Lo Mein Pain is broken up and Cassidy hits a suicide dive. The Beach Break gets two but Fox is back with Lo Mein Pain for two. Fox’s 450 misses and Cassidy grabs the Mouse Trap to retain at 13:47.

Rating: B-. This was a rather flip based match but it was an entertaining one while it lasted. Cassidy continues to run through people and at some point that is going to have to lead somewhere. Granted that has been the case for months now and I don’t know if there is any reason to believe it is changing anytime soon.

Post match Cassidy offers him the sunglasses in respect but Fox breaks them and hits him in the face. Cue Darby Allin to yell at Fox, calling it embarrassing. As Fox seems to realize he went too far, Jon Moxley runs in to beat up Cassidy.

Video on Blood & Guts.

Don Callis is still trying to get Chris Jericho on his side and has gotten Jericho a tag team match with Konosuke Takeshita (Jericho approves) vs. Sammy Guevara/Daniel Garcia (Jericho doesn’t approve). Jericho agrees, so Callis gives Jericho a painting of the two of them under Bad News Allen’s watchful eye.

Claudio Castagnoli says not to mess with the Blackpool Combat Club. He isn’t happy with Pac and here is Jon Moxley to say that’s what happens when you mess with his friends.

Here is Jack Perry for a chat, now in orange and black with an I BEAT HOOK shirt. Perry said he was going to win a championship, but he didn’t mean one like this. It was created in a second class company, but now that he has it, it has become relevant. He insults Taz and the history of ECW, which draws out Jerry Lynn to say there wouldn’t be a Jungle Boy without ECW. The challenge seems to be on but Perry says we’ll do it next week. One of the last thing this company needs is to turn into an ECW tribute show for a few weeks.

Britt Baker is ready for Taya Valkyrie.

Gravity vs. Pac

Pac actually asks Gravity if he remembers him (as Pac was known as The Man That Gravity Forgot in WWE) and gets dropkicked to the floor. After Pac takes a minute, Gravity sends him into the barricade and hits a splash from the apron as we take a break. Back with Gravity hitting a high crossbody for two. Pac isn’t having that and hits a brainbuster, setting up the Rings of Saturn for the win at 8:21.

Rating: C+. For a match that was built around one joke from years ago, I’ve seen worse. Pac didn’t really have a ton of trouble here and he shouldn’t have, so this went pretty well all things considered. I could have gone for some follow up with Pac and the BCC but maybe that comes later. Either way, not bad here.

Adam Cole and MJF mock FTR, with the latter promising to punch Dax Harwood so hard that he’ll spit out CM Punk’s jockstrap. Cole says he wasn’t coming for the title because he and MJF are friends. MJF says that win, lose or draw, after their Tag Team Title match on Collision, Cole is getting a rematch for the World Title. Cole is happy but Roderick Strong runs in to shove MJF. Cole asks MJF to give them a second before telling Strong that he’s acting crazy. It’s ok if Cole has other friends and Strong needs to learn boundaries. This is going somewhere and it could be an interesting ending.

FTR likes Adam Cole but no one likes MJF. Anyone who gets to know MJF walks away from him, including his fiance. Harwood doesn’t like the goofiness and as much as he respects Cole, going after his family and the titles is too far.

Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland

Nick Wayne and Prince Nana are here too. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. Swerve knocks him up against the ropes and out to the floor, where Allin hits a Code Red for two back inside. Allin takes it back to the floor for a whip into the steps but Swerve climbs onto said steps for the House Call (and a LOUD one at that). We take a break and come back with Swerve hitting a suplex for two before going after Allin’s arm.

That’s broken up and Allin gets two off the Last Supper before hitting a suicide dive to take Swerve out on the floor. Another dive is cut off by a jumping knee though and the Swerve Stomp gets two. Swerve takes him up top but gets caught with a flipping Stunner. Allin takes too much time going up and it’s a super AA onto the apron. Since that insane move isn’t enough, here’s AR Fox to jump Allin, setting up the JML Driver for the pin at 11:58.

Rating: C+. Well, that spot was ridiculous and way more dangerous than it needed to be but that’s an Allin match for you. The ending was the logical next step after earlier, but after Allin was knocked silly by the AA, it felt like it was overkill. At least Swerve didn’t lose again though, as he has been beaten too often lately.

Post match Fox and Swerve beat down Allin and Wayne. Fox is officially in the Mogul Embassy. Sure why not.

The Jericho Appreciation Society is waiting for Chris Jericho. They go into his locker room, where the Callis painting is hung on the wall. The team doesn’t like where this is going and walk out on him.

We look at Billy Gunn teasing retirement on Collision.

Britt Baker vs. Taya Valkyrie

Baker grabs a headlock to start but gets knocked down with a hard shoulder. The running knees hit Baker in the corner and some hard chops put her down again. Taya loads up a wheelbarrow faceplant but they kind of fall down as we take a break. Back with Baker avoiding a charge into the corner, setting up a forearm for two.

They forearm it out until they trade kicks to the head. Taya’s clothesline gets two but Baker is back up on the middle rope. What appeared to be a Panama Sunrise DDT is countered into a northern lights suplex for two. Back up and the Panama Sunrise gets two but Lockjaw is broken up. Taya tries the Road To Valhalla but Baker spins out and grabs Lockjaw for the tap at 9:42.

Rating: D. Oh this was bad in every sense of the word. I don’t know if they were just on different pages here or what, but it was a rough sit throughout and almost nothing worked. They needed to slow down somewhere in there and figure things out, but instead it just kept going and got worse and worse. While it wasn’t an all time bad match, it was as bad as anything AEW has done in a long time.

Nyla Rose is ready for Hikaru Shida.

Various teams are ready for the tag team battle royal on Rampage. I approve of these rapid fire mini promos. It’s better than not hearing from anyone.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Best Friends vs. Lucha Bros vs. Blackpool Combat Club

The Club’s entrance takes some time so the other teams slug it out. Everyone brawls up towards the entrance, where Taylor hits a flip dive onto the pile on the floor. Back in and Fenix is waiting on Castagnoli, with the latter telling him to chop away. The springboard high angle armdrag takes Castagnoli down but everyone else is back in for the parade of knockdowns until Castagnoli gives Fenix Swiss Death for two.

Fenix superkicks Castagnoli but gets taken down by Trent for some forearms to the face. Trent’s tornado DDT gets two on Castagnoli, who cuts off Trent’s dive with an uppercut. We take a break and come back with Moxley striking away at Chuck, who hits a knee out of the corner. Penta tags himself in and takes over on Chuck, including a Backstabber for two.

Everything breaks down again and we get a pair of three way slugouts. We settle down to the Best Friends vs. the Bros with Fenix ankle locking Chuck. Made In Japan gets two on Trent with the Club diving in for the save. The Riccola Bomb is loaded up but here is Orange Cassidy to go after Moxley. Trent hits the Crunchy on Castagnoli but he’s not legal (sure). Instead, the Fear Factor finishes Trent at 14:25.

Rating: B-. This was all about the insanity and not bothering to do anything but go all over the place for most of the match. The Bros winning was a bit of a surprise but they’re the kinds of team who could be reheated very quickly. I could go for having them do some more, with less of the Best Friends being nice too.

Post match the Club keeps up the fight but Moxley leaves through the crowd. The Bros beat down the Best Friends as we hear about Moxley vs. Trent vs. Penta in a three way anything goes match next week. Cassidy hits the Orange Punch on Castagnoli to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. It was pretty clear that they took their foot off the gas after last week and it makes to do so. They still have enough time to get ready for All In and some of the likely matches for the show are already set. We should be in for some bigger shows in the coming weeks, but this was definitely one of their weaker shows in a good while. They’ll be fine going forward though and it’s nice to have that confidence about a promotion.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. AR Fox – Mouse Trap
Pac b. Gravity – Rings Of Saturn
Swerve Strickland b. Darby Allin – JML Driver
Britt Baker b. Taya Valkyrie – Lockjaw
Lucha Bros b. Best Friends and Blackpool Combat Club – Fear Factor to Beretta

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.

NXT
Date: July 25, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the go home show for the Great American Bash and believe it or not, Judgment Day is here again. At least Dominik Mysterio being North American Champion gives him a reason to be here, but WWE is getting dangerously close to overexposing the team. Other than that, we get the final showdown between Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov before their title match. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Dominik Mysterio winning and defending the North American Title.

Here are Dominik and Rhea Ripley to get things going. They talk about how great each other is until Rhea has to shout down a CUT THE MULLET chant. As for Lyra Valkyria….and never mind as here is Wes Lee to interrupt. Lee hates seeing Dominik holding that title and wants his rematch TONIGHT.

Cue Mustafa Ali to say he respects Lee but not so much Dominik. Ali wanted his chance to be the new North American Champion but Dominik stole it when this clown….and Lee doesn’t like that. Ali didn’t mean it like that but Dominik says this is a problem between them. That makes Ali swing at Dominik, only to hit Lee. Dominik: “Excuse me, champ coming through.” The other two brawl as Dominik and Rhea escape. Just make the triple threat already, but first of all, make sure you praise Rhea for the little silent things she does. Here she had her head on Dominik’s shoulder and the biggest grin on her face and it made things so much better.

Tony D’Angelo and Stacks are ready to win the Tag Team Titles. Lucien Price and Bronco Nima come in to say they want the belts too, so a match is on for tonight.

Lyra Valkyria challenged Rhea Ripley for tonight. This video might have been more effective if the match hadn’t already been announced.

Valkyria says she has been here for seven months and needs to know where she stands. She isn’t going to stand in the shadows like Jacy Jayne because people will see who she is.

Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams/Ilja Dragunov vs. Schism

Hayes and Joe Gacy start things off with an exchange of knockdowns. Williams comes in for a rather high dropkick but Gacy hits him in the face and brings in Reid. That’s fine with Williams, who hits him in the face and hands it off to Dragunov. Fowler comes in and gets wrestled down without much trouble, meaning Williams can hit him in the face. Everything breaks down and Schism is sent outside as we take a break.

Back with Hayes fighting up and bringing Williams back in. Gacy gets knocked to the floor as Dragunov tags himself back in and knocks the other two outside. Dragunov goes outside with him but misses a charge which sends Williams hard into the steps. Back in and Fowler actually takes over on Dragunov, who chops his way to freedom rather quickly. Everything breaks down and some of the Schism followers pull Reid and Fowler down. Hayes tags himself in and Nothing But Net finishes Gacy at 11:28.

Rating: C+. The ending is what matters here, as Dragunov has been on a roll in recent weeks so Hayes needed to get some momentum of his own on his way to the title match. the (allegedly) incidental contact is more than enough to make things personal and the title match should be awesome.

Video on Tiffany Stratton, who knows she is awesome and isn’t sweating a submission match with Thea Hail.

Von Wagner vs. Javier Bernal

Bernal jumps him to start but gets booted in the face. Wagner hammers away on the mat and hits a swinging slam for the pin at 1:02.

Post match Wagner puts him through the announcers’ table but gets blindsided by Bron Breakker. The beating is on and Wagner gets chaired down for a bonus.

Trick Williams goes after Ilja Dragunov in the back, with Dragunov threatening to break him. Carmelo Hayes says he has this but Williams wants Dragunov tonight. He’s going to call Dragunov out, even with Hayes not looking happy.

Here is Gable Steveson for his big decision. Steveson lists off some of his accomplishments in the Olympics and says he has options in front of him. He is ready to announce his decision but Baron Corbin cuts him off. Corbin talks about how Steveson should just go back to college because this place is full of sharks. Steveson needs to leave before he gets hurt, which he says makes his decision for him. The challenge is on for the Great American Bash and Corbin gets suplexed a few times.

Dana Brooke vs. Cora Jade

Singapore Cane match and Kelani James is here with Brooke, who seems to have a Catwoman theme going. They fight on the floor to start and Brooke sends her into the steps. Jade is sent hard over the announcers’ table, with Booker T. getting wiped out in the process (Fans: “ARE YOU OK?). Jordan comes back by taking out the legs and there’s the stick to the back.

They get inside with Jade piling up a bunch of sticks and slamming Brooke onto all of them. One heck of a running knee in the corner hits Brooke in the face but she gets in a shot of her own for a breather. The handspring elbow in the corner sets up a failed bulldog though and Jade hits the DDT for…two. A Jordan distraction lets Brooke send Jade into a chair, allowing Brooke to get the pink kendo stick. Brooke slams her onto the chair and drops a Swanton for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: C. Ok that result is a surprise as I never would have bet on Jade actually losing here. Jade seemed to be ready for a push up the card over the last few months but for some reason she lost here in what should be an upset. Those stick shots were rather loud too, making this a more violent than expected match.

Carmelo Hayes warns Ilja Dragunov about Trick Williams wanting to call him out. Dragunov is fine with that, but it won’t be for a match. He will break Williams, and then he’ll break Hayes at the Great American Bash.

Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey are training with Myles Borne, who doesn’t impress them. Damon Kemp comes in and wants to train with them, which works for the villains.

Bronco Nima/Lucien Price vs. Tony D’Angelo/Stacks

Scrypts is on commentary as Nima takes over on Stacks. It’s quickly off to Price, who gets elbowed in the face. D’Angelo comes in and is taken down but manages to knock Nima into the corner. It’s already back to Stacks for a chinlock, which doesn’t last long either. Price is back in for a running corner clothesline. Cue Axiom to go after Scrypts and the distraction lets D’Angelo come in to clean house. The Bada Bing finishes Price at 4:55.

Rating: C. I didn’t think it was possible, but Scrypts actually made commentary more annoying. I’m not sure what WWE sees in him other than being a heck of an athlete but anything involving Scrypts talking is horrible. As for the match, the Family getting a win makes sense as they have a title match this weekend, but Price and Nima losing so soon was really surprising.

Post match Gallus pops up to say they’re retaining on Sunday.

Dijak is ready to hurt Eddy Thorpe.

Zion Clark is in the crowd (apparently an MMA fighter and author).

Great American Bash rundown.

We get some cell phone footage of Roxanne Perez attacking Blair Davenport in what looks to be a convenience store. Perez beats her up and threatens her for their fight at the Bash before leaving as the cops arrive. No green frogs were harmed in the filming of this fight.

It’s time for Supernova Sessions with the Meta Four. Their guest this week is the REAL Heritage Cup champion, Noam Dar! They recap Dar losing the Cup….which they somehow have here! Dar wakes up from his stupor and gets out of his wheelchair before going to stand on his couch. Cue Nathan Frazer (with the real Cup) and Dragon Lee to say Dar is a fraud. Now it’s Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz to take out the women, allowing Frazer and Lee to clear the ring.

Duke Hudson and Andre Chase narrate a Thea Hail training montage. Thea says she doesn’t need a miracle, because all she needs is a chance.

Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza yelled at each other and officially split up.

Lyra Valkyria vs. Rhea Ripley

Non-title and Dominik Mysterio is here with Ripley. Valkyria’s headlock doesn’t last long as we hear about Dominik having a triple threat title defense on Sunday. Ripley gets tripped down and looks rather mad, only to get rolled up for two. Back up and Ripley knocks her down but gets rolled up for two more. That earns Valkyria one heck of a German suplex and we take a break.

Back with Ripley hitting a belly to back faceplant for two but Riptide is countered into a choke. Ripley breaks that up and goes up top, only to spend too much time looking at Dominik. Valkyria sends her outside for an apron hurricanrana but Ripley pulls a high crossbody out of the air. A suplex is countered into a DDT on Ripley for two but Valkyria gets kicked down. The Riptide finishes for Ripley at 10:12.

Rating: B. And that is how you give someone one heck of a rub. Ripley talked about how awesome Valkyria was a few weeks ago and then backed it up in the ring here. This was a great way to make Valkyria look like a star, as while she isn’t as good as Ripley, she could be a force around here with some more time. Heck of a match and Ripley made Valkyria look very impressive.

Post match Ripley says prove her right and beat Jacy Jayne.

Great American Bash rundown.

Here is Trick Williams to call out Ilja Dragunov, who comes straight down the aisle. A dropkick hits Dragunov and Williams unloads on him against the barricade. Dragunov fights back and unloads with chops in the corner before dropping a big right hand to the face. Carmelo Hayes tries to make the save and gets dropped as well. Dragunov promises to take the title on Sunday to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show had some nice moments and the wrestling was mostly ok, but what matters most is it made me more interested in seeing the Sunday’s pay per view. That’s the point of a show like this one and they made it work. The Bash needs to be a hit as they don’t do shows like that very often, but the hype for the show went well and that’s what matters the most, at least for tonight.

Results
Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams/Ilja Dragunov b. Schism – Nothing But Net to Gacy
Von Wagner b. Javier Bernal – Swinging slam
Dana Brooke b. Cora Jade – Swanton
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Lucien Price/Bronco Nima – Bada Bing to Price
Rhea Ripley b. Lyra Valkyria – Riptide

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.

NXT LVL Up
Date: July 21, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Byron Saxton

Back to Orlando and that has meant all kinds of things over the last few weeks. I’m almost curious to see what is going on around here but the bad stuff is so lame that it can be a chore to watch. Then again you can occasionally get a nice match here and there, so maybe there is some hope to be had. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tank Ledger/Hank Walker vs. Ikemen Jiro/Quincy Elliott

Walker headlocks Elliott to start and gets a dance as a result. Ledger comes in off a blind tag for a running elbow and stereo knees rock Elliott again. It’s off to Jiro, who gets shouldered down but nips back up. Jiro gets in a shot in the corner but misses the springboard moonsault. Ledger hits a slingshot splash for two and we’re off to the armbar. Jiro kicks his way to freedom though and it’s Elliott coming back in for a corner clothesline and bulldog. Everything breaks down and Ledger spanks Elliott, setting up the Flying Fridge to give Walker the pin at 5:41.

Rating: C. Not bad here and it was nice to see Jiro back. I had kind o forgotten about him but he certainly knows how to look smooth in the ring, which is a talent that not everyone has. Nice enough return match here, even if Walker and Ledger aren’t exactly the most polished pairing out there (which is kind of the point).

Izzi Dame is the friend that you don’t like but you need.

Izzi Dame vs. Dani Palmer

Dame has quite the height advantage so Palmer flips over her to start and hits a dropkick. Palmer’s headlock puts Dame down but she powers up and faceplants Palmer in the corner. A bearhug of all things goes on before Dame slams her down for two. Back up and Palmer hits some running elbows, setting up a high crossbody to finish Dame at 4:35.

Rating: C. As usual, you can only get so much out of someone in less than five minutes so it’s not quite fair to judge Dame yet. She was fine enough at what she did and has some attitude to her, but she feels like a long term project, which is the case for a lot of people around here. Palmer is starting to find herself as an energetic star who has to come from behind and it worked well enough.

Dante Chen vs. Javier Bernal

And this would be the most LVL Up main event imaginable. Chen’s headlock works for all of two seconds to start so Bernal works on an armbar. That’s reversed into the same thing from Chen but Bernal hot shots his way to freedom. A stomp to the ribs and a belly to back suplex gets two on Chen as Bernal gets a bit frustrated.

The chinlock goes on for a bit before Bernal dives into a raised boot. Eat Defeat drops Chen but the referee almost gets bumped, allowing Bernal to get a poke to the eye. A reverse DDT gives Bernal two (I bought that) but Chen is back with the double chop for the pin at 6:51.

Rating: C+. You can definitely see that these two are further along than most of the regulars around here and that makes for a better match. They were doing some more complicated stuff and had more of a story, with Chen being the clean wrestler while Bernal cheated wherever he could. It was a good enough match and I bought on the near fall, even if it meant challenging the undefeatable power of Dante Chen.

Overall Rating: C. The main event helped but this was a show drastically lacking in big names or in anything you needed to see. That being said, going with this kind of a show is certainly a way to go around here. If LVL Up is supposed to be the big developmental show, then this is what it needs to be, though that doesn’t make it the most interesting.

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:

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Smackdown – May 23, 2008

Monday Night Raw – May 26, 2008

ECW On Sci Fi – May 27, 2008

Monday Night Raw – July 24, 2023

WATCH: Former Intercontinental Champion Wrestles First Televised Match In Nine Years.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-former-intercontinental-champion-wrestles-first-televised-match-nine-years/

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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).

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 24, 2023
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

Summerslam is right around the corner and thankfully the card is all but set. You should have a good idea of what to expect from the show after the last few weeks but there is always time for one more push towards Detroit. Odds are that means more Judgment Day this week so let’s get to it.

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

Here is Judgment Day, minus Dominik Mysterio, to open things up. They brag about everything they have been doing as of late and we see a clip of Dominik winning the North American Title last week. Cue Dominik to quite the negative reaction and we see a package on him and Rhea Ripley. Now it’s Kevin Owens (to a huge reaction) and Sami Zayn to interrupt, with Owens saying we did this last week. It drives Owens crazy when people don’t learn their lesson and now we have Dominik who can’t learn a lesson and now the best thing he can do for this business is shut his mouth forever.

After that amazing one sentence rant, Dominik says he will not be disrespected like this, which Zayn thinks is a good point. The thing is no one respects him in the first place so it doesn’t matter! Zayn remembers Judgment Day complaining about last week not being a title match, so how about Zayn vs. Dominik in a North American Title match tonight? Ripley accepts for Dominik, with Balor giving her a “well…..ok then” look.

Zoey Stark vs. Becky Lynch

If Becky wins, she gets to face Trish Stratus (ringside) again, but if she loses, she has to get a THANK YOU TRISH tattoo. Becky starts fast and knocks her down before taking the beating to the floor. Zoey gets in a shot of her own though and a springboard hilo hits Becky for two as we take a break.

Back with Becky being knocked outside, where the face masked Stratus gets in a headbutt. Zoey’s superkick gets two but Becky pulls her into a cross armbreaker. That’s reversed into a powerbomb for two but Becky reverses a rollup into the Disarm-Her. Trish throws the mask in for a distraction though and Zoey gets two off a rollup. The Manhandle Slam finishes Zoey at 9:40.

Rating: B-. This match did something rather difficult as it had some false finishes in a match that shouldn’t have had the slightest bit of drama. Trish vs. Lynch is tailor made for a big blow off at Summerslam and the tattoo stipulation felt like something out of 1999, but some of those near falls made me jump a bit. Good stuff here, even as they got to what should have been a completely obvious ending.

We look at Brock Lesnar taking out Cody Rhodes last week.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. He talks about how Brock Lesnar beat him down last month and that wasn’t on his bucket list. Cody brings up Lesnar getting everything handed to him so fast, from the UFC to the NFL, but now he did this in front of Cody’s mother. That’s the same mother who watched Terry Funk throw fireballs at Dusty Rhodes and then went drinking with Gordon Solie. Now Cody is slapping the bear in the face and wants Brock to bring it at Summerslam. This was a bit rambly, but there is only so much that you can do when the story has been set for months.

We look at Logan Paul going after Ricochet in recent weeks.

Ricochet will say what he thinks of Paul to his face.

NXT North American Title: Sami Zayn vs. Dominik Mysterio

Dominik, with Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest, is defending and Kevin Owens is here with Zayn. A clothesline puts Dominik on the floor to start and there’s the big flip dive as we take a break. Back with Priest shoving Zayn off the top so Owens decks him as well. Owens is out….and so are Priest and Ripley. Zayn gets the Michinoku Driver for two and hits a clothesline to cut off a 619 attempt.

Dominik dropkicks him out of the air but Zayn is right back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Another 619 attempt gives Dominik two and Three Amigos put Zayn down again. Back up and Zayn suplexes him into the corner but here are Priest and Ripley to jump Owens on the stage. Dominik rolls Zayn up (with tights) for the pin at 11:55.

Rating: C+. They were starting to roll at the end and the question became how would Dominik cheat to win here rather than would he at all. He’s basically the Honky Tonk Man at the moment and there is nothing wrong with that as it is an idea that works. Good enough match here as Dominik gets another win that he doesn’t deserve.

Post break, Owens’ ribs are pretty banged up.

We look at Jey Uso and Roman Reigns agreeing to Tribal Combat at Summerslam.

Ricochet asks Shinsuke Nakamura if he has seen Logan Paul. Nakamura says he’ll tell Ricochet if he sees him before turning around to see Tommaso Ciampa. Last week Nakamura got in a shot on Ciampa and that’s his only free one. If Nakamura gets involved again, they’ve got a problem.

Judgment Day runs into Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa and demand some respect. Crews doesn’t like that and gets a match with Damian Priest tonight.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bronson Reed

Ciampa charges right at him and it doesn’t go so well. Some knees to the head get Ciampa out of a suplex but Reed tosses him outside without much trouble. Reed powers him around until Ciampa slips out of a fireman’s carry into a chinlock. That earns him a big crash back from Reed, giving us a great “OW!” look from Ciampa. Reed sends him outside but Ciampa knees him out of the air and we take a break.

Back with Reed running him over for two more but Ciampa fires off some running forearms. The discus forearm sets up a running Fameasser from behind but Reed isn’t having this being whipped thing. Instead he drops a backsplash on Ciampa and fires off chops, which just seem to wake Ciampa up. Ciampa hits a jumping knee and an Air Raid Crash of all things for two. Cue Shinsuke Nakamura for a distraction, allowing Reed to run Ciampa over again. The Tsunami finishes Ciampa at 12:44.

Rating: C+. Reed getting another win is nice to see but it’s rather depressing to see Ciampa lose, even with a screwy finish. Odds are this is setting up a big showdown with Nakamura (and possibly Reed), which is again more or less the same feud we just finished. For now though, at least Reed is looking like a monster.

We look back at Rhea Ripley attacking Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan, leading to them losing the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Morgan is ready to beat up Ripley tonight. Maybe she gets taken out, but maybe she doesn’t. With Morgan gone, Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville come in to ask why they aren’t being interviewed. That would be because they don’t have a match tonight, but here is Rhea Ripley to stare them off.

Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley

Non-title and Morgan gets jumped during her entrance as the destruction is on outside. Morgan’s arm gets Pillmanized and, despite a medic and referee being there, Ripley does it a second time. No match.

The Alpha Academy want an Academy Rules match with the Viking Raiders. Maxxine Dupri is ready to face Valhalla in her first singles match.

Here is Ricochet to call out Logan Paul, even if Paul doesn’t belong here. Ricochet calls Paul an arrogant little pr***, who does not deserve to be here. The people who are here every week have sacrificed to get to this spot, but Paul just does whatever he wants. The challenge is on for Summerslam and here is Paul to jump him from behind and accept said challenge. As Paul talks to his phone, Ricochet is up with a superkick before taking his own picture.

Shayna Baszler is sick of Ronda Rousey so they’re going to FIGHT at Summerslam.

Logan Paul says that was unprofessional and he’s coming for Ricochet next week.

Damian Priest vs. Apollo Crews

Crews starts fast and hits a dropkick into a high crossbody. Priest is right back with a shot to the head and the big discus forearm drops Crews. A hammerlock lariat sets up South Of Heaven to finish Crews at 3:09.

Rating: C. Pretty much just a squash here for Priest. It’s nice to have him in the ring to keep looking dominant, though there can be such a thing as having someone on television too much in a week. This show has been very heavy on the Judgment Day stuff and I’m not sure this really needed to be on the sow.

Becky Lynch says it isn’t over with Trish Stratus until she wins.

Valhalla and the Viking Raiders are in against the Alpha Academy and Maxxine Dupri.

Here is Imperium for a face to face showdown with Drew McIntyre. The challenge is on for an Intercontinental Title match tonight but Gunther says he’ll humiliate McIntyre at Summerslam instead. Gunther brings up their Summerslam match, with Drew talking about how he and Sheamus have known each other for years (Drew: “I was 19 and Sheamus was about 42.”) and their dream was to face each other at Wrestlemania. That is what they did this year, but Gunther snuck in and stole the win. At Summerslam it’s one on one but Ludwig Kaiser interrupts. Gunther thinks Kaiser should lead Imperium but he’ll settle for a match.

Drew McIntyre vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Kaiser grabs a headlock to start as Graves goes into a Kaiser impression. McIntyre fights back and knocks him to the floor for a chop and a posting. There’s a ram into the barricade and some loud chops but Kaiser manages to post him as well to take over. Back from a break with McIntyre hitting an Air Raid Crash and nipping up, only to have the Claymore cut off by a kick in the general vicinity of his head. Not that it matters as the Claymore finishes Kaiser at 9:34.

Rating: B-. These two beat the fire out of each other for a little while until McIntyre finished him off. Kaiser is a great character and awesome at all of his talking, but he got to show off some in-ring abilities here. It was a pretty nice match and I got into seeing these two beating each other up rather well.

Post match the triple teaming is on, with Matt Riddle coming in for a failed save attempt. McIntyre fights back though and powerbombs Gunther through the announcers’ table.

Ronda Rousey is down to fight Shayna Baszler at Summerslam.

Here is Finn Balor to sign the contract with Seth Rollins. He believes the two of them can handle this like gentlemen with no Adam Pearce so here is Rollins to quite the serenade. Rollins says they can just sign and maybe Balor wins, but Damian Priest is going to cash in on him immediately anyway. Balor hesitates before signing, saying Rollins must think he has all of this figured out.

Cue Judgment Day, with Balor talking about how he has felt helpless for seven years. It’s like an itch you can’t scratch….a seven year itch. At Summerslam, Rollins becomes the seven year b****. Rollins turns the table over but gets beaten down, with Sami Zayn making a failed save attempt. The big beatdown wraps up the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The problem right now is that Summerslam is all but set, and that doesn’t leave much to cover over multiple hours a week. There was some stuff here that got a nice push towards the pay per view, but what we saw was either stuff being confirmed after being all but guaranteed or a slight stronger push or matches already set. That makes for only a pretty ok show, and that’s what we had here.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Zoey Stark – Manhandle Slam
Dominik Mysterio b. Sami Zayn – Rollup with tights
Bronson Reed b. Tommaso Ciampa – Tsunami
Damian Priest b. Apollo Crews – South Of Heaven
Drew McIntyre b. Ludwig Kaiser – Claymore

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: May 27, 2008
Location: World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Commentators: Tazz, Mike Adamle

It’s the go home ECW for One Night Stand and we have quite the addition in the form of Big Show. Last week Show returned and decided he was getting back in the ECW Title picture, which is at least more interesting than some of the other recent challengers. I’m not sure how well it is going to go but I’ll take it over the other options. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Big Show vs. Tommy Dreamer

Show tosses him around to start and gets in a shot to the ribs to put Dreamer down. There’s an elbow to drop Dreamer again and Show sits on him for a bonus. Dreamer tries to go up but get knocked out of the air, setting up the chokeslam (or body slam according to Adamle) for the win.

We look at Big Show winning the ECW Title from Rob Van Dam in 2006.

Kofi Kingston vs. Mike Knox

Shelton Benjamin is on commentary. Kofi’s kick to the chest is shoved away as Benjamin calls him “the monkey man from Bloodsport.” Knox chokes on the ropes for a bit and a butterfly suplex sets up the chinlock. That’s broken up and Kofi hits a quick dropkick into a high crossbody. Knox’s eye is cut and the spinning kick to the face, officially dubbed Trouble In Paradise, finishes him off.

Rating: C. They kept this one moving due to the lack of time but it was good to see Kofi get some momentum back after last week’s loss. You can tell WWE sees something in him and it is smart to push someone new around here, especially when they are rather unique like Kofi. Getting a big win over Benjamin could do him some good and odds are that is where this whole thing is going.

Post match the villains beat Kofi down so Benjamin can leave with a smirk.

We look at CM Punk beating John Morrison for the ECW Title last September.

We look at Chavo Guerrero winning the ECW Title from CM Punk in January.

Chavo Guerrero vs. CM Punk

Bam Neely is here with Chavo. An early GTS attempt has Chavo panicking so Punk kicks him in the leg. Chavo manages a quick hot shot for a breather and we hit the chinlock with a bodyscissors. We take a break and come back with Chavo being backdropped to the floor for quite the crash. Neely low bridges Punk down though and Chavo starts in on the back. The half crab stays on said back but Punk makes the rope. The GTS is countered into a hurricanrana though and Chavo grabs a rollup with the trunks for the pin.

Rating: C+. The match was good enough but my goodness it’s hard to get overly invested in Chavo doing much of anything. He just isn’t that interesting and there isn’t much of a way around it. Granted it doesn’t help that his two big feuds of the year, against Punk and Kane, have been done so much to death that it’s hard to care about them at all.

Tommy Dreamer won the ECW Title in April 2000.

Raw Rebound.

Colin Delaney is worried about a whole new set of opponents around here in the Draft. He could go for getting rid of Armando Estrada though.

John Morrison won the ECW Title in June 2007.

Kane vs. Miz/John Morrison

Non-title. Miz and Morrison jump him to start and choking on the ropes slows the giant down. Ranted it slows him down for all of a few seconds as the comeback is on, with Kane grabbing Miz by the throat. Morrison comes in and the double teaming is enough for the DQ.

Post match everyone else in Sunday’s #1 contenders match runs in for the big brawl. Kane and Big Show have a staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The best thing I can say about this show is that it had a focus. It was building towards one match and almost nothing more, but that’s all it needs to be. The Draft could do ECW A LOT of good at this point, but at least they have have something to bridge some of the gaps on the way there.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 26, 2008
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 16,524
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the last Raw before One Night Stand and the end of last week’s show set up a pair of huge matches for the show. Now we are getting ready for JBL vs. John Cena in a first blood match and HHH vs. Randy Orton in a last man standing match for HHH’s Raw World Title. I’m sure we’ll get some more tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Memorial Day video.

Opening sequence.

Vince McMahon joins us on the Titantron to say William Regal got what he deserved last week, but are the fans getting what they deserve? They deserve appreciation, and tonight they will receive it like never before. He’s open to suggestions, including from the wrestlers. By the end of the night, fans will receive appreciation like they have never seen.

Here are HHH and Randy Orton for a face to face standoff. Orton is asked about how he beat HHH in a last man standing match before, but it was HHH’s third match of the night and Orton’s second. Orton is sick of having his accomplishments downplayed, because what matters is that he beat HHH in this very match.

HHH says the fans are laughing at Orton because he’s a censored. He isn’t laughing though, because Orton has a tendency to find a cheap way out. If Orton wants to be the best, he has to face the best over and over. Orton says HHH doesn’t thrive on competition because he either brings in his threats or just flat out eliminates him.

Like Shawn Michaels or Evolution, because HHH knows he needed to fear them. HHH says Evolution was about making Orton realize his potential but he isn’t just going to walk away. Orton promises to win and goes to leave, but HHH promises to end the Age Of Orton like it never happened. There wasn’t much left to be said about this feud so this was nothing we haven’t heard before.

Melina vs. Jillian Hall

Beth Phoenix is on commentary. Jillian jumps her to start and hits a flipping faceplant before hitting some kicks to the back. Melina fights back and elbows her in the face, setting up an Indian Deathlock for the fast tap.

Chris Jericho comes in to see Vince McMahon with an idea to appreciate the fans: a match with Shawn Michaels tonight. Deal, and we’ll make it non-title. Cryme Tyme comes in and steal some of Williams Regal’s stuff to sell.

Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs. Cody Rhodes/Hardcore Holly

Non-title. Rhodes dropkicks London down to start but a double dropkick puts Rhodes down for two. Holly comes in to knock Kendrick down but Rhodes misses a middle rope crossbody. It’s off to London to dropkick and hurricanrana Holly as everything breaks down. London tries to skin the cat, only to get caught in the Alabama Slam for the pin.

Rating: C. Fast paced stuff here but they only had so much time to make it work. London and Kendrick are still an entertaining team but for some reason WWE insists on sticking with Rhodes and Holly as champions. The tag division barely exists, though you would think WWE might want to go with the better of the two teams here.

Post match here is Ted DiBiase of all people. He has a special moment for us, in the form of the newest member of the Raw roster: his son Ted DiBiase! Ted Jr. says he has always wanted to become a champion and that is what he is going to do in his debut match. So Holly and Rhodes need to pay attention, because everybody has a price, but he is priceless. That’s a great line.

Roddy Piper is training Jimmy Kimmel’s Cousin Sal for his match against Santino Marella. Kimmel comes in to watch the training and isn’t sure if this is going well as Piper beats up Sal. Oddly enough this is included on Peacock, along with a recap of last week’s segment, which wasn’t on Peacock.

Mickie James suggests a contest to Vince McMahon where schools get to say why they love WWE and the winner gets a Diva For A Day. JBL comes in to say that sounds like an escort service (working for strangers you see) and suggests the ring mat, covered in John Cena’s blood on Sunday, be cut up and sold.

Some soldiers wish us Happy Memorial Day.

John Bradshaw Layfield/Umaga vs. John Cena/Jeff Hardy

Cena and JBL start things off but let’s go with Umaga instead. The FU attempt doesn’t work but Umaga misses a charge in the corner so Cena can slug away. The swinging release Rock Bottom cuts Cena off though and we take a break. Back with JBL hammering Hardy into the corner and whipping him into another one.

The abdominal stretch goes on but Hardy slips out and hits a Whisper In The Wind. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Cena and house is cleaned in a hurry. Umaga knocks Cena into Hardy for the tag but the Swanton misses. With Cena and Umaga on the floor, the Clothesline From JBL finishes Hardy off.

Rating: C+. The ending came a bit out of nowhere but it was a good enough match to get the people involved out there. Umaga vs. Hardy has been a bit forgotten amid the two main event level matches at One Night Stand so giving them a bit of exposure was a good idea. Then again JBL vs. Cena isn’t exactly thrilling and it’s more interesting to go in another direction, even for one match.

Shawn Michaels comes to see Vince McMahon and doesn’t buy Vince wanting to appreciate the audience. Vince says Shawn will have to give the devil his due. Shawn: “You would know about that wouldn’t you?”

Video on the recent tour of Mexico.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Carlito

Carlito takes him down fast and grabs a quickly broken chinlock. The Backstabber is loaded up but Kennedy reverses into the Mic Check for the fast win.

Post match Katie Lea Burchill comes out to say some people aren’t happy with Kennedy getting rid of William Regal. Paul Burchill pops up from behind and lays Kennedy out.

Trevor Murdoch tries to sing a country version of No Chance but Vince McMahon sends him away.

One Night Stand rundown.

Video on Randy Orton vs. HHH.

More troops say hi.

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

Non-title. They go to the mat a few times to start and that’s good for a standoff. Shawn sends him crashing out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Shawn fighting out of a chinlock but Jericho takes him into the corner for some stomping. Jericho’s bulldog is blocked with a shove into the corner and there’s the nipup.

The superkick is countered into a Walls attempt, which is countered into a small package for two. The second Walls attempt works far better but Shawn makes the ropes. That doesn’t work for Jericho, who takes him tot he floor and grabs the Walls again for the double countout.

Rating: B-. Jericho vs. Shawn is going to work almost every time but Jericho is teetering on the brink of a heel turn. I’m curious to see how they get to what should be Jericho as quite the villain, as they could go a few different ways to get there. I’m not sure how much we’ll get out of the Shawn vs. Batista match to get there, but they have an interesting story on the way there.

Post match Jericho grabs a chair but puts it down.

Here is Vince McMahon for the big announcement despite there not being much time left. Vince walks through the roster on the stage before talking about how everyone together. Let’s do that in four weeks with the WWE Draft. Until then, for the next four weeks, Vince is going to give away MONEY. What if he gave away a thousand dollars? Ten thousand dollars? Or even A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS? Heck he’s a billionaire, so over the next week, he’s going to give away the sum of ONE MILLION DOLLARS. End of show.

Overall Rating: C+. They did a nice job of covering just about everything on this side of the One Night Stand card and that is the right idea. Other than that, the money thing at the end was more than a bit different, but at least they’re trying to set something up for after the pay per view. WWE certainly needs something fresh at the moment as they continue to milk another pay per view out of feuds they’ve been running for a long time. Not a bad show, but the build to Summerslam needs to start fast.

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Smackdown
Date: May 23, 2008
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Attendance: 6,300
Commentators: Michael Cole, Mick Foley

We’re on the way to One Night Stand but first of all, we have to deal with the fallout from Judgment Day. That shouldn’t be too hard, as there the show didn’t have much in the way of major developments. There is still no World Champion and that means we’ll probably need to set up another title match. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here are Vickie Guerrero and Edge to start things off. Vickie says none of the people here know what it’s like to have to run Smackdown. Everyone knows that a title can only change hands on a pinfall or a disqualification, so Undertaker couldn’t win the World Title on a countout. Therefore, at One Night Stand, it’s Undertaker vs. Edge for the title in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. Oh and if Undertaker loses: he’s gone from WWE FOREVER.

Jesse & Festus/Cherry vs. Deuce N Domino/Maryse

Festus powers Domino around to start and then slams Jesse down onto him for two. Deuce comes in and gets taken down so Jesse can hammer away as we hear about Deuce N Domino not winning a match since August. A springboard clothesline gets Deuce out of trouble as we hear about Mick Foley enjoying Maryse as the Daily Diva on WWE.com. We’ll move away from that rather quickly as Deuce N Domino take turns beating on Jesse, including a jumping fist drop for two.

This not so interesting match lets Cole point out that Vickie Guerrero said the World Title can only change hands on a pinfall or submission and then made the next title match Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. Jesse clotheslines his way to freedom, allowing the hot tag off to Cherry. This means Foley can recite a poem about her, which sounds quite Bruce Springsteenish. Everything breaks down and Festus kicks Domino into Cherry, allowing Maryse to get in a big kick for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was a rough sit, partially because Foley was transforming into something closer to Jerry Lawler with the women involved. That sounds like a Vince In His Ear transformation more than anything else, but it wasn’t going to help such a dull match anyway. It kept going and felt a lot longer than it was, which is one of the worst things that can happen in a match. Granted it doesn’t help when both teams feel like losers, with commentary pointing out how true that is for Deuce N Domino.

Chavo Guerrero comes in to see Edge and Vickie Guerrero, who he hopes aren’t mad at him. Vickie isn’t, but Chavo does happen to have a match with the Undertaker tonight. Don’t worry though as the rest of La Familia will be out there with him.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge, with MVP bringing out Teddy Long for a chat. MVP brings up their history, which doesn’t matter as much now that Teddy isn’t his boss. Teddy is JEALOUS of his money, looks, clothes and HAIR. Teddy is about to leave but cue Batista to interrupt. MVP doesn’t want Batista out here as the big hero, but Batista just wants to thank Teddy for everything and say goodbye. Oh and if MVP threatens Teddy again, Batista will put a fist through his face. MVP doesn’t like the disrespect, but Batista says he’ll show MVP disrespect. The set is promptly destroyed as MVP leaves.

Post break MVP goes in to see Vickie Guerrero and Edge to complain about Batista. Vickie makes MVP vs. Batista instead, which isn’t much of a heel decision.

Finlay vs. Chuck Palumbo

Hornswoggle is here too. Finlay gets in a quick elbow and takes him down by the leg for some cranking. Back up and Palumbo hits him in the face before hitting a hard clothesline for two. The chinlock goes on as it already feels like they’re filling in time. Hold on though as Hornswoggle whips out a water gun to spray Palumbo, allowing Finlay to run him over. The face/heel dynamics have been a bit off on this show. Back in and a side slam puts Finlay down but he pulls Palumbo into a Fujiwara armbar of all things.

Palumbo fights up and comes out of the corner with a heck of a clothesline for two, followed by the chinlock. A big boot gives Palumbo two and we’re already back in the chinlock. Finlay gets up this time and hits a crossbody for two of his own but Palumbo drops him again. This time Palumbo goes after Hornswoggle though, allowing Hornswoggle to bust out the Irish mist (which is apparently a thing). The shillelagh to the head gives Finlay the pin.

Rating: C-. Well I can certainly check the “Finlay vs. Chuck Palumbo for about ten minutes” match off my wish list. I’m not sure why this match needed this much time but the Irish mist certainly, uh, existed. Palumbo continues to be the relatively nothing midcard villain but there are worse choices out there. Not a good match here, and it felt like they were just killing time.

MVP vs. Batista

Feeling out process to start with Batista powering him into the corner without much effort. A headlock has MVP in trouble and Batista knocks him outside to make it worse. Back in and Batista leapfrogs (!) him before hitting a big boot to put MVP down again. MVP manages to send him into the corner though and a running boot to the face puts Batista on the floor for a change.

We take a break and come back with MVP grabbing a front facelock to keep him down. MVP hammers on the arm until Batista powers into the corner, meaning MVP needs to hammer him down even more. The armbar goes on for a bit until an armdrag gets Batista out of trouble. Another running boot is cut off by a spear but Batista can’t cover. A one armed spinebuster plants MVP and the Batista Bomb finishes him off.

Rating: C. This started off well but once it got to the arm work, the interest fell straight down. These two are capable of having a much better match and I’m not sure what happened here. As has been the case all night, the match just wasn’t very fun or exciting and that is disappointing given who was involved here.

Nunzio vs. Vladimir Kozlov

Kozlov starts in on the arm and gets two off a northern lights suplex. A headbutt to the chest sets up a kick to the ribs and the reverse DDT finishes for Kozlov in a hurry.

Matt Hardy/Kofi Kingston vs. Shelton Benjamin/Elijah Burke

Kingston and Burke start things off with Kofi taking him to the mat without much trouble. Matt comes in and starts cranking on the arm before punching the heck out of Burke. Another right hand knocks Benjamin off the apron but the distraction lets Burke knock Matt down for a change. Benjamin comes back in to work on a chinlock, only to dive into the Side Effect for a knockdown. It’s back to Kofi with the high crossbody for two as everything breaks down. Kofi’s spinning kick to the head finishes Benjamin.

Rating: C. This was pretty quick and to the point, but it’s interesting to see the ECW stars around here more often. Kingston has done well enough on ECW and use some better competition. Granted this was the same competition in a different place, but it does at least feel like an upgrade. Now just get Matt a nice challenger for the title and we could be getting somewhere.

Raw Rebound.

One Night Stand rundown.

Undertaker vs. Chavo Guerrero

The rest of La Familia is here too. Undertaker wastes no time in striking him into the corner for an elbow to the face. Old School connects but Undertaker misses a boot in the ropes. The beating is on outside….and La Familia (save for Bam Neely) is ejected. Chavo kicks away and a shot to the knee puts Undertaker down a bit. A hanging DDT puts Undertaker down but he sits up to scare Chavo away. Neely’s distraction breaks up a chokeslam so Undertaker punches him down. Chavo gets in a low blow but dives right into the Tombstone for the pin.

Rating: C. Yeah what were you expecting here? Undertaker beating Chavo even with the big advantage wasn’t out of the question and then the numbers game was mostly neutralized anyway. This gives Undertaker a bit of a boost going into the next title match with Edge and that’s all it was ever supposed to be.

Overall Rating: C-. This whole show just wasn’t very interesting, though that is probably due to the quick turnaround for One Night Stand. It’s a sequel to a show that was already a sequel so how much work do they need to do? This show didn’t make me want to watch One Night Stand though, as it was quite the chore to get through at times. Put in some effort next week and things should be better, but Smackdown needs something new and they need it soon.

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Summerslam 2008
Date: August 17, 2008
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 15,997
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, Todd Grisham, Matt Striker

We run down the card because you might have ordered the show blind or something?

MVP vs. Jeff Hardy

MVP makes the ropes and the referee has to keep pulling Jeff out of the corner. Jeff eventually gets free and charges right into a snap belly to belly for two. MVP kicks him in the back and puts on something like a crucifix hold before rolling over into a camel clutch. Off to something like a side leg bar but MVP eventually lets it go. Jeff goes tot he apron but MVP knocks him out of the air to break up a springboard, getting two.

ECW Title: Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy

Jeff Hardy comes out to make the save and the Hardys suplex Henry.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

Punk was basically a glorified midcarder at this point but his time would come. JBL shoves Punk into the corner to start and a hard shoulder puts the champion down. Punk comes back with a flying forearm to send him to the outside and a suicide dive fires the fans up even more. Back in and a high cross body gets a one count for Punk but another shoulder block puts him down. Punk tries to go up, only to be taken down by a middle rope fall away slam for two.

Smackdown World Title: HHH vs. Great Khali

Rating: C+. This match, while slow, was a great example of psychology in a wrestling match. HHH knew that there was only one move he could use to hurt Khali and give him a chance for the win so it was the only thing he tried for most of the match. This was HHH working around someone and it worked quite well as HHH is a very talented wrestler, which unfortunately is often forgotten.

John Cena vs. Batista

Back up immediately and Cena throws Batista to the floor in something resembling an FU before collapsing down. Back in again and Cena fires off the shoulder blocks and the ProtoBomb to set up the Shuffle. The FU is countered again and Batista kicks him in the face to put both guys down. Batista drives shoulders into the corner and catches him in the spinebuster to put Cena down. Cena backdrops out of the Batista Bomb and hits a DDT on the leg to set up the STFU. Batista FINALLY crawls over and gets a rope to shock Cena.

The Cell is lowered.

Edge vs. Undertaker

Taker counters the spear into a chokeslam for a close two and Taker is getting frustrated. The Last Ride is countered by a low blow and an Impaler gets two. Back up and Taker loads up the Last Ride again but wants it through the tables on the floor. Edge slips over the top and hits the spear for a very close two. Now the Last Ride connects but Edge gets out at two.

Rating: A. THIS is how you blow off a feud. Edge was completely destroyed at the end here with Undertaker hitting every big move he had and Edge not kicking out of them at all. These two had some great action all year long and the Cell is the best way to blow the whole thing off. Having it as a TLC match inside the Cell was fine and it made for a great main event.

Taker leaves but Edge very slowly gets up. The big man goes back inside and sets up the ladder before lifting Edge onto it. Taker throws in another ladder and climbs up next to Edge so he can throw the Canadian down through the mat. He raises his arms up and lights the hole on fire to end the show in a corny moment.

Ratings Comparison

MVP vs. Jeff Hardy

Original: B

Redo: B-

Kofi Kingston/Mickie James vs. Glamarella

Original: D

Redo: D+

Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

CM Punk vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Great Khali vs. HHH

Original: B+

Redo: C+

Batista vs. John Cena

Original: A

Redo: A-

Edge vs. Undertaker

Original: A-

Redo: A

Overall Rating

Original: A-

Redo: A-

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/11/history-of-summerslam-count-up-2008-punk-as-champion-thatll-never-happen-again/

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WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE May Have Accidentally Spoiled Major Summerslam Match.

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They’re In: AEW Stars Set To Appear In Upcoming Cody Rhodes Documentary.

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Done: Seth Rollins Explains How He And Matt Riddle Mended Real Life Fences.

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Hold On: Alexa Bliss Opens Up On Eventual Return To The Ring.

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Make Up Your Mind: Details On Gable Steveson Making Decision On WWE Future.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/make-mind-details-gable-steveson-making-decision-wwe-future/

Not Now: Interesting Backstage Reason On Why WWE Is Not Trying To Bring In More Stars.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/not-now-interesting-backstage-reason-wwe-not-trying-bring-stars/

WRESTLING RUMORS: Update On Plans For Monday Night Raw Star To Join Judgment Day.

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Keep Going! WWE Reportedly Thrilled With Monday Night Raw/NXT Crossover, Set To Continue.

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Double Up: Two More Title Matches Confirmed For WWE Summerslam.

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They’re Here: Several NXT Champions And Stars Make Surprise SmackDown Appearances.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/theyre-several-nxt-champions-stars-make-surprise-smackdown-appearances/

Bidding War? WWE And AEW Both Reportedly Interested In Signing Former World Champion.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/bidding-war-wwe-aew-reportedly-interested-signing-former-world-champion/

WRESTLING RUMORS: Update On WWE’s Future Plans For LA Knight.

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WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Considering Rather Specific Title Run.

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Get Well Soon: Changes Reportedly Made To SmackDown Due To Medical Problems.

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LOOK: Former WWE And AEW Star Sporting Drastically New Look.

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One More Go? Former WWE Star Coming Out Of Retirement On Limited Basis.

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LOOK: Wrestling Legend Hints At Retiring, Leaves Boots In The Ring After Loss.

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For Real? Important Injury Update On Jimmy Uso.

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LOOK: 49 Year Old Former World Champion Shows Off Remarkable Physique.

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Triple Threat: WWE Superstar Is First Ever To Achieve This Impressive Feat.

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Run It Back Again: Important Detail On Upcoming Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar Summerslam Match.

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LOOK: Shotzi Sports Very New Look At WWE Live Event.

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Another Role: Popular AEW Star Also Working Behind The Scenes.

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WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Agrees To Deal With Former AEW Star.

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WRESTLING RUMORS: Plans For Bray Wyatt To Return At Summerslam, Possible Next Feud.

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Backstage Trouble: Here Is Why LA Knight’s WWE Push Could Already Be In Trouble.

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