Monday Night Raw
Date: May 15, 2023
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are less than two weeks away from Night Of Champions and the main event (in theory) is set with Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles for the inaugural World Heavyweight Championship. Other than that, we have a different form of the Bloodline coming after Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who might have something to say about it this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the opening chat (after a clip of the announcement that they will defend against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa). Zayn is fired up about the match because it is their chance to check Reigns for good. Reigns is pushing the Bloodline way too hard and everything is falling apart. Now Reigns being champion for 1,000 days isn’t enough because he wants the Tag Team Titles too. Well HE CAN’T HAVE THEM, but Zayn and Owens can have an interruption at the hands of the Judgment Day.

Owens doesn’t care what they have to say because he wants to fight, but Zayn says we should hear them out. Zayn: “Gentlemen and Dom.” The team gets in the ring to talk and Finn Balor says they’ll be waiting on the titles after Night Of Champions. Rhea Ripley laughs at the idea but Dominik Mysterio is booed out of the building. The fight starts fast with Zayn clearing the ring with the save. Dominik’s heat continues to be amazing and it is just awesome to see the fans loathe him like this.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz

Nakamura sends him into the corner to start but runs into the general vicinity of Miz’s boot. Another boot doesn’t connect either (though Nakamura goes down anyway), only to have Nakamura kick him down for the apron knee. Miz neckbreakers him across the rope though and we take a break.

Back with Nakamura’s kicks being blocked so he kicks Miz in the head instead. The running knee in the corner sets up a cross armbreaker but Miz stacks him up for two. Miz’s short DDT gets two so Nakamura kicks him in the head again for the same. The sliding German suplex looks to set up Kinshasa but Miz bails to the apron. The distraction lets Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale for two, only to walk into Kinshasa for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: B-. This was one of the better Miz matches in a bit as he was hanging in there with Nakamura, and mostly clean at that. Nakamura needed the win after coming up short last week, so at least he is getting somewhere. WWE needs to reestablish things a bit with the new roster and this should be held set the lineup a bit.

Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville aren’t happy that Liv Morgan is hurt, meaning their Women’s Tag Team Title match is off for tonight. Raquel Rodriguez is willing to beat up Green tonight, with Green sounding a bit nervous, even as she yells.

We get a video on Seth Rollins, going all the way back to his NXT days.

Corey Graves sits down with Rollins, who talks about winning the first NXT Title in a tournament. He became a force for change, which included turning on Roman Reigns to break up the Shield. More on this later.

Here is Imperium, with Gunther standing on the announcers’ table. Gunther has been the most dominant Intercontinental Champion of the modern era and now he will continue his reign on Raw. For now though, no one has been named as his next challenger for this prestigious championship (WHY DOES NO ONE ELSE PRAISE THEIR TITLES LIKE HIM???). That will be solved soon, and he will defeat them at Night Of Champions.

Battle Royal

Ricochet, Bronson Reed, Erik, Ivar, Johnny Gargano, Akira Tozawa, Elias, Humberto, Angel, Apollo Crews, Von Wagner, Dolph Ziggler, Xyon Quinn, Cedric Alexander, JD Drake, Dexter Lumis, Mansoor, Mace, Riddick Moss, Baron Corbin, Otis, Riddle, Chad Gable, Shelton Benjamin, Mustafa Ali

For the Intercontinental Title shot at Night Of Champions and I believe that’s everyone. Corbin, in shorts, dumps Tozawa to start and is immediately clotheslined out by Lumis. The Models get rid of Lumis and are tossed out by the Alpha Academy, followed by McDonagh headbutting Humberto out. Ziggler kicks McDonagh out but gets eliminated by Wagner (that an upset). McDonagh goes after Ziggler on the floor and we take a break.

Back with the Vikings tossing out Benjamin and Quinn, plus Benjamin. The Academy and the Vikings have a standoff with Erik being sent to the apron. Gable is suplexed to the apron with him but hangs on and can’t quite German suplex Erik out. The knee knocks Gable silly (but not out), allowing Otis to dump Erik. Ivar knocks Gable out but Reed tosses Ivar and Otis at the same time.

We’re down to eight (Reed, Riddle, Ricochet, Moss, Gargano, Elias, Crews and Ali) with everyone else going after Reed. With that not working, Gargano snaps off a hurricanrana to Ali, who is right back with the rolling neckbreaker. The slingshot spear hits Ali but Ricochet crushes Gargano with a running shooting star press. Moss fall away slams Gargano but walks into Reed’s Samoan drop. Crews Blockbusters (or kind of flip dives into) Reed, only to get kneed in the face by Elias.

Crews gets rid of Elias but gets eliminated by Reed, leaving us with six. Reed Rock Bottoms Gargano onto Ricochet but Riddle is there with the strikes. The Floating Bro finally drops Reed but Moss hits a heck of a shoulders to knock Riddle down. Not that it matters as Riddle dumps Moss, followed by a hurricanrana to get rid of Gargano.

Gunther sends the rest of Imperium after Riddle and that’s enough for Reed to knock him out. Ricochet knees Reed in the face and dropkicks him….not quite out, as Ali has to help but they only get Reed to the apron. A triangle dropkick staggers Reed again but another one is countered into a fireman’s carry. That leaves Ali to dropkick both Reed and Ricochet out for the win at 12:28.

Rating: B-. This got WAY better after the break and Ali vs. Gunther could be quite the nice title match at Night Of Champions. Reed continued to look like a monster here and Riddle felt like one of the biggest stars around. Ali winning is a nice choice and he should be fine as a fresh challenger for Gunther. Good stuff here overall, and multiple people got a nice showcase.

Here is Becky Lynch for a chat. Becky talks about how she has been going through a lot lately but in this business you put on your best face and keep going. She got some help from two legends in Trish Stratus and Lita, the latter of whom was great. Becky and Lita won the Women’s Tag Team Titles and she even let Trish get close to them. She didn’t see what was really going on, because Trish was just here to help herself like the backstabbing egomaniac that she really is.

Becky is out there to say Thank You Trish…..for turning on a light that had been off for many, many months. Trish called Becky’s daughter stupid and that gave all of the badness in her head a face and a name and a target. Trish wants to be #1 again but Becky has had it, been it, done it and has it. She’s going to kick Trish’s head in at Night Of Champions. That’s sooner than I was expecting the match but this felt more like old school Becky, which is always a good thing.

Rhea Ripley is seen watching in the back and doesn’t seem impressed with Becky. When asked about Natalya, Ripley says Natalya needs to stay out of her way. Natalya comes in to say this is about Ripley attacking an already beaten Dana Brooke. Ripley deserves respect but she isn’t allowing it for anyone else. That doesn’t work for Ripley, who knows Natalya wasn’t there for Brooke last week. If Natalya ever interrupts her again, it will be the end of her legendary career.

Mustafa Ali is very proud of his win when he runs into the Alpha Academy. They should try being more positive, but Ali keeps going and runs into Imperium. Gunther says Ali is the rightful challenger to what is rightfully Gunther’s, but we get a good luck handshake anyway. Ali feels sorry for Gunther having to go halfway around the world, just to lose his title. Gunther smiles at him and seems to like Ali’s moxie.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Xavier Woods

Rhea Ripley is here with Mysterio, who is again booed out of the building for trying to talk about Woods being all alone. Woods says he’s alone right now, but unlike Mysterio, he’s a grown man who can fight on his own without needing permission to speak from Mami. Woods hammers away to start and hits the running dropkick to the back for two. Back up and Dominik actually wins a test of strength, at least until Woods sweeps the leg to escape. They head outside, with Rhea getting between the two of them to quite the reaction.

We take a break and come back with Woods hammering away but getting knocked down for a fast two. Woods fights back up with the Honor Roll for two but Dominik grabs some Amigos. The frog splash only hits raised knees though and Woods hits a gorilla press gutbuster for two more (as Ripley is looking nervous). Ripley breaks up the Limit Breaker so Woods dives onto Dominik on the floor instead. A Ripley cheap shot takes Woods down though and Dominik rolls him up for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: C+. The Dominik push continues to work well, as he is just good enough in the ring to get by but Ripley is perfect as his heater. There are a few places Dominik could go and that should make things interesting for him in the future. Woods isn’t likely to win anything important on his own but he’ll be fine when Kofi Kingston gets back.

Video on JD McDonagh.

McDonagh is leaving and says he attacked Dolph Ziggler to teach him a lesson: never bet against an ace.

Indus Sher vs. ???/Trey Thompson

Jinder Mahal is here with Sher. The non-Thompson is knocked silly with a shot to the face to start and it’s quickly off to Thompson. A big jumping elbow and a hard whip into the corner sets up the old Smoking Gunns’ Sidewinder of all things for the pin on Thompson at 1:51. Impressive squash, though “we’re big foreign heels” doesn’t have the longest shelf life.

Post match Mahal seems to promise more violence. After a replay, Mahal grabs a headset to say Sher runs this show. Then he grabs the mic to say the same thing in another language.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are in the back when Imperium comes in. Gunther isn’t happy with their disrespect and a six man is set for next week.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Cody gets right to the point and tells the story of the scorpion and the frog (scorpion doesn’t trust the frog, the frog eventually agrees to take him across the river, scorpion stings him in the middle, ensuring they’re both going to do, just because stinging is his nature). It is Brock Lesnar’s nature to hunt, but how is Lesnar’s face feeling?

Cody is ready to face him at Night of Champions, even though the reality is Lesnar is better than 99.9% of the Superstars he faces. What seems to have Lesnar upset is that he was defeated, meaning he might not be the biggest game on Raw anymore. Maybe Lesnar isn’t the big thing around here these days and it’s time to say next. He’s ready for Night Of Champions. Cody leaves, and signs some autographs on the way out in a great touch that isn’t used often enough.

Zoey Stark is kind of mean to Nikki Cross and gets a match with Candice LeRae as a result. Cross looks….annoyed?

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Chelsea Green

Sonya Deville is here with Green. Rodriguez hits a big boot at the bell but a Deville distraction lets Green send her face first into the buckle. A basement dropkick cuts Rodriguez off again but she powers Green up into a reverse Alabama Slam onto the top rope. The clothesline comeback is on and the Texana Bomb finishes Green at 3:43.

Rating: C. That’s a bit of a weird way to go for Green, who has been angling for a Tag Team Title shot. I’m fine with not having Rodriguez lose, but there was an easy way to have her get pinned due to the numbers game, which can be evened out when Liv Morgan is back. For now though, it could have been worse and they got out rather quickly so it could have been a lot worse.

Post match Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler appear and jump Rodriguez, promising to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Imperium shakes hands with Paul Heyman, who calls Roman Reigns.

We get the second half of the Seth Rollins interview, with Rollins talking about being a visionary and reinventing himself. This is the best part of his career and he’s not sure why. Maybe it is the hard work, but for the first time, the fans got behind him and connected with him. That changed him and now it is time to give us a World Champion who is here for everyone. As for Roman Reigns….more next week.

Video on Apollo Crews. He runs a lot.

Judgment Day vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Non-title. Balor and Zayn start things off rather slowly until Zayn snaps off some armdrags. Priest comes in to slug away but Owens comes in to punch him in the face. An enziguri staggers Priest, who misses a charge to the floor. Balor is sent outside as well, so here are Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio to uneven things up as we take a break.

Back with Zayn in trouble but managing to send Balor into the corner. That’s enough for the hot tag to Owens, who gets to clean house on everyone but Ripley. The cannonball hits Priest for two so Ripley and Dominik interfere. They’re a bit slow though and get ejected, allowing Owens to superkick Priest down. Cue Xavier Woods to go after Dominik and they fight to the back, leaving Priest to roll Owens up….as Paul Heyman comes out.

We take another break and come back with Owens in trouble, including a middle rope legdrop/backbreaker combination. Owens knocks Priest off the ropes though and nails a Swanton for a double knockdown. The hot tag brings in Zayn and takes Balor down to hammer away. The Michinoku Driver gives Zayn two and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same.

Cue Imperium for a distraction, allowing Balor to hit 1916 for two. Owens comes back in (without a tag) to Stun Priest, leaving Zayn to suplex Balor into the corner. The Helluva Kick connects but Imperium offers a distraction. Owens takes them out so Priest chokeslams Owens onto the apron. Zayn hits the big flip dive onto Priest but Gunther breaks up another Helluva Kick. Balor’s shotgun dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace for the pin at 20:58.

Rating: B. This one had some vibes of a Paul Heyman produced match and it worked out well, with so many moving parts and pieces that all seemed to fit together. Heyman working with Imperium makes for some interesting future returns, but for now it was a good enough way to keep Owens and Zayn looking strong on the way to Night Of Champions. Solid main event here, and a good enough way to protect the champs, as Heyman is trying to get inside their heads again (shouldn’t be hard with Zayn) before the title match.

Heyman is rather pleased and appears to call Roman Reigns to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There was quite a bit going on with this show and it’s kind of hard to keep track of everything. I liked having wrestlers appearing throughout the show, as having them disappear once their main match/segment of the night never made a ton of sense. Other than that, we had the Rousey/Baszler return and some stuff set up for Night Of Champions. What matters here is that the show still felt like it was structured despite coming off as a bit chaotic, which is more of a sign of the new WWE regime than the “classic” McMahon stuff.

Results
Shinsuke Nakamura b. The Miz – Kinshasa
Mustafa Ali won a battle royal last eliminating Bronson Reed and Ricochet
Dominik Mysterio b. Xavier Woods – Rollup
Indus Sher b. ???/Trey Thompson – Side slam/middle rope legdrop combination to Thompson
Raquel Rodriguez b. Chelsea Green – Texana Bomb
Judgment Day b. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn – Coup de Grace to Zayn

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.

Make sure you check out a recent review:

Rampage – May 13, 2023

VIDEO: LA Knight Has A Brand New Tag Team Partner (And It’s Quite The Surprise).

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-la-knight-brand-new-tag-team-partner-quite-surprise/

He’s Interested: AEW Is “Top Priority” For Free Agent Former World Champion.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/hes-interested-aew-top-priority-free-agent-former-world-champion/

Generational Battle? Alundra Blayze Slams Trish Stratus For Hurting Women’s Wrestling.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/generational-battle-alundra-blayze-slams-trish-stratus-hurting-womens-wrestling/

Not This Time: Interesting Notes On Roman Reigns’ WWE Night Of Champions Title Match.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/not-time-interesting-notes-roman-reigns-night-champions-title-match/

There’s A Pair: 56 Year Old WWE Hall Of Famer Says He Would Love To Manage Indus Sher.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/theres-pair-56-year-old-wwe-hall-famer-says-love-manage-indus-sher/

WATCH: Sami Zayn Opens Up About The Bloodline Story, Says His Part Is “More Or Less Done”.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-sami-zayn-opens-bloodline-story-says-part-done/

As always, hit up the comments section to chat about what is going on and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page.

Rampage
Date: May 13, 2023
Location: Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

The shuffled up schedule continues as we are on at 10pm Saturday this week, again thanks to various playoffs. That has led to some less than thrilling cards in recent weeks but AEW has the ability to pull off a great one if given the chance. Hopefully they do that here so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Acclaimed/Billy Gunn vs. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian

After a rap about how Butcher has the “worst mustache since Vince McMahon”, we start fast with Blade getting caught in the wrong corner and backdropped out of it for a crash. Scissor Me Timbers makes it even worse as this is one sided so far. Butcher comes in to send Bowens hard into the corner as the fans want Gunn. We take a break and come back with Bowens kicking his way out of trouble and handing it back to Gunn. House is cleaned, including a powerslam on Blade. Everything breaks down and the Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes Blade at 8:13.

Rating: C. The Acclaimed continue to be perfectly fine choices to open the show, as the fans are still going to respond to anything they do. You could easily heat them up for a Trios Title match and that is probably where things are going. Other than that, Butcher and Blade are still a solid midcard team and Sabian continues to be a thing for reasons I don’t quite get.

QTV talks about AEW going to England and we cut to Powerhouse Hobbs, once again with his namesake book. He seems confident that he’ll be back.

Toni Storm vs. Allysin Kay

The rest of the Outcasts are with Storm, who gets kicked down to start. Saraya grabs Kay’s boot for a distraction though and Storm takes over. They head outside with Kay being sent into various things to keep her in trouble. Back in and Kay makes the comeback, including a hard clothesline for two. A sunset driver plants Storm but the Outcasts offer a distraction, allowing Storm to get two off a small package. Kay is sent into the corner for the hip attack, followed by Storm Zero for the pin at 4:58.

Rating: C. It was nice to have Kay around as she is someone who can work with anyone you put her in the ring with at any given time. Other than that, it is nice to see Storm getting a win as she hasn’t had a showcase match in a bit. The Outcasts still aren’t great, but Storm is the most successful member around here so featuring her makes sense.

The Gunns aren’t happy about losing their titles or with shoddy refereeing but Ethan Page comes in. Page wants some help with something and the Gunns are in.

Action Andretti vs. Kyle Fletcher

Feeling out process to start with the bigger Fletcher powering Andretti around. Andretti comes back with a dropkick into a spinning moonsault for two. One heck of a running boot to the face sends Andretti outside though and we take a break. Back with Fletcher kicking him in the face for a rather arrogant two. Andretti grabs a super hurricanrana for two but Fletcher kicks him in the back of the head, setting up a spinning Tombstone for the pin at 9:19.

Rating: C. Well, it was much more impressive than Fletcher’s match on Ring Of Honor two days ago, but it’s still hard to buy into the idea of Fletcher being a serious threat to Orange Cassidy and the International Title. I’m still not sure why half of an outside tag team is getting a singles title shot but at least the match should be good. Andretti is about where I was expecting him to be, though he could use another win to give him another boost.

Here are the Hardys and Brother Zay (Isiah Kassidy) to brag about getting rid of the Firm. Now they want the Tag Team Titles but here are the Gunns to interrupt. They bring up Ethan Page, but Matt wants nothing to do with Page. He does have an idea though: a tag match between the teams, and when the Hardys win, Matt owns Page’s contract. Deal, though I can’t imagine that’s what Page had in mind.

The Mogul Embassy and the Dark Order are ready for the main event.

Mogul Embassy vs. Dark Order

Swerve Strickland/Brian Cage vs. John Silver/Alex Reynolds, with Prince Nana and Evil Uno at ringside. Strickland sends Reynolds into the corner to start and snaps off the anklescissors but it’s way too early for the Swerve Stomp. Silver comes in for a pose off with Cage before actually managing to give Cage a World’s Strongest Slam. Swerve isn’t having that though and low bridges Silver to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Silver reversing Cage’s suplex into one of his own, allowing the double tag to Reynolds and Swerve. Reynolds gets to clean house, including a tiger driver into a piledriver for two on Strickland. The Stomp misses again and the Order hits their sequence into the rollup for two, with Cage making the save.

Cage pulls Silver’s dive out of the air and drives him into various things, allowing Swerve to get in a kick to the back of the head. Back in and Cage powerbombs Reynolds, setting up an F5/cutter combination…..for two. Why? On what planet is it acceptable for Alex Reynolds to kick out of a sequence like that? Silver comes in for an enziguri to Cage and Reynolds is back up to kick Swerve in the face. Cage isn’t having that though and it’s the JML Driver/Drill Claw for the stereo pins at 10:29.

Rating: C+. The match was good enough, but they lost me with Reynolds kicking out of what could be an awesome double team finisher. If they were just going to have the pin take place about a minute later, why even bother doing the big spot? Other than that, it was the Dark Order making a bigger team sweat a bit before falling short, which is more or less their last year plus.

Post match the Gates of Agony come in to beat up Evil Uno. Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes come out with various metal objects to chase off the villains to end the show. Lee and Strickland starting having issues in November and were officially done in December. Why have they not had a singles match yet?

Overall Rating: C. The spring of punting continues, as AEW somehow manages to make Rampage feel even less important week after week. There were things happening here and the wrestling was completely fine, but there is a grand total of nothing that you need to see on this show, either in the ring or from a storytelling position. It’s ok to have something happen in a big story around here, because all of the lower level stories that get time around here are at a lower level for a reason. These shows get old fast, and that has been the case with Rampage for too long now.

Results
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian – Mic Drop to Blade
Toni Storm b. Allysin Kay – Storm Zero
Kyle Fletcher b. Action Andretti – Spinning Tombstone
Mogul Embassy b. Dark Order – Double pin

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 TV – May 11, 2023

Smackdown – May 12, 2023

For The First Time: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match Set For Night Of Champions.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/first-time-wwe-world-heavyweight-championship-match-set-night-champions/

They’re In: Roman Reigns Set For Very Different Title Match At Night Of Champions.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/theyre-roman-reigns-set-different-title-match-night-champions/

Around The World: WWE In Discussions To Hold Major International Event.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/around-world-wwe-discussions-hold-major-international-event/

Round Two: Injured WWE Star Undergoes Second Neck Fusion Surgery.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/round-two-injured-wwe-star-undergoes-second-neck-surgery/

Of Course He Is: Top AEW Star Reportedly Banged Up Following Violent Match.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/course-top-aew-star-reportedly-banged-following-violent-match/

WATCH SmackDown Star Turns Heel By Blinding Champion In Surprise Attack.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/side-smackdown-star-turns-heel-blinding-attack-champion/

WRESTLING RUMOR: WWE Changing Entrance Themes In Coming Months.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wrestling-rumor-wwe-changing-entrance-themes-coming-months/

New Plan: WWE Has Changed Its Process For Negotiating New Contracts For Wrestlers.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/new-plan-wwe-changed-process-negotiating-new-contracts-wrestlers/

As always, hit up the comments section to chat about what is going on and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page.

Smackdown
Date: May 12, 2023
Location: Thompson-Bowling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

It’s tournament week again as we have the Smackdown half of the World Heavyweight Championship tournament. That means two more triple threat matches with the winners having a singles match, with the winner of that facing Seth Rollins at Night Of Champions for the title. Other than that, Roman Reigns is back so let’s get to it.

Here is Backlash if you need a recap.

World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First Round: Rey Mysterio vs. Edge vs. AJ Styles

Only Edge gets an entrance and they start with Edge’s sunset flip to Styles sending Rey flying. After that fairly complicated start, a more simplistic Edge-O-Matic gets two on Styles. Back up and Styles hits the sliding forearm on Edge, followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two on Rey. Barrett points out that these three have NINETY YEARS of experience between them and now I just feel old. Rey gets in a few kicks of his own, only to get fall away slammed by Edge.

The spear is broken up by a double kick to the face before Rey hurricanranas Styles into the corner. A Code Red gets two on Edge but AJ sends Rey to the floor. Edge catches Rey in a hanging DDT, with AJ hitting a dropkick to drive them both down as we take a break. Back with Edge hitting a double spear through the ropes and to the floor for the crash. With Edge down, Styles grabs the Calf Crusher on Rey but Edge adds a Crossface at the same time. Edge and Styles headbutt each other to break it up and the non-Mysterio guys slug it out.

Mysterio tries a 619 but gets caught with a double dropkick to leave everyone down again. Back up and they go to the corner for the sunset bomb into the Tower of Doom and a big crash. Edge is up first and Edgecates Mysterio before switching it over to Styles. The rope is reached (means nothing in a triple threat) so Rey hits a 619 to Edge. Rey goes up and gets….kind of speared out of the air (Edge wasn’t ready so it looked like Rey tried a top rope DDT and Edge didn’t go down instead of a spear). Styles hits the Phenomenal Forearm to finish Edge at 16:12.

Rating: B. I was getting into this one by the end and it felt like a major match. That is no surprise given who was in the match as you have three people with this kind of talent and success over the years. Styles going forward is a bit of a surprise as I would have bet on Edge, but there was no bad option here.

We recap the Usos’ recent losses, though they did win at Backlash, albeit with Solo Sikoa on the team as well.

World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First Round: Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory vs. Sheamus

Non-title and Theory rolls outside to start, only for the other two to send him back inside. Back in and Theory gets clotheslined to the floor again, allowing Lashley to knock Sheamus into the corner for a running shoulder to the ribs. Sheamus is fine enough to knock Lashley to the apron for the forearms to the chest, followed by even more to Theory.

We take a break and come back with Lashley sending Theory into the post. Back in and Lashley drops Sheamus with a clothesline but runs into a raised boot in the corner. Lashley is right back with a belly to belly suplex but Theory comes back in to clean house. Sheamus shrugs that off and runs Theory over, setting up a super White Noise for two.

Back in and a bleeding Lashley spears Sheamus but gets sent into the post so Theory can get two. Theory elbows Lashley in the head but A Town Down is countered into a spinebuster. The Hurt Lock goes on until Sheamus Brogue Kicks Theory. Lashley sends Sheamus outside and pins Theory at 12:58.

Rating: B-. Not quite as good as the opener but Styles vs. Lashley should make a heck of a showdown later tonight. Sheamus vs. Lashley worked with the power and Theory was there to be a bit more than a pest, who was trying to steal the win where he could. I would have thought Sheamus was there to take the pin but why do that when you can have a champion who is starting to put it together do it instead?

Grayson Waller comes up to Adam Pearce and asks to have the winner of Styles vs. Lashley on the Grayson Waller Effect (talk show) next week. Sure.

Baron Corbin vs. Cameron Grimes

Before the match Corbin says in about two minutes, Grimes is going to want to go back to NXT. The Cave In (standing double stomp) finishes Corbin at 6 seconds. Well that worked.

Here is the Bloodline in full force to open things up. Reigns is rather happy here and says the people in this ring main evented both nights of Wrestlemania, which will never be done again. He’s also very pleased with Solo Sikoa for stepping up at Backlash. There was some worry about bringing Sikoa up to the main roster so fast because you can sink or swim. Sikoa swims like a shark though, because he deals with problems. Look at the Riddle problem! Sikoa mentions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, which has Reigns pleased because Sikoa is still thinking ahead.

We pause for the SAMI chant but Reigns says Sami and Owens aren’t a problem anymore. There is a problem though, and that is Sikoa’s brothers. Reigns wants to know what they thought was going to happen. Were they just going to lose in the main event of Wrestlemania and then lose the rematch (dedicated to Reigns) and not talk about it? Why are they dedicating a tag match to a singles wrestler? There are Hall of Fame tag teams in their family but they dedicated it to him?

Reigns doesn’t want to hear anything from them but an apology, though the fans aren’t sure about that. If Reigns was the Usos, he would just apologize, though Jimmy starts to laugh. Reigns shoves him in the face and Paul Heyman gets (halfway) out of the ring. The fans chant something that has to be censored but Jey gets between Reigns and Jimmy. Jey apologizes for the team and says they’ll bring the titles back with one more shot.

Reigns likes the idea and has Heyman fill the Usos in: at Night Of Champions, it’s Reigns/Sikoa vs. Zayn/Owens for the Tag Team Titles (Jey spinning around at the announcement is great). Reigns dedicates the victory and the title reign to the greatest team of all time: the Wild Samoans (his uncle and father). Cool surprise, though undermining the Draft less than two weeks in is something even for WWE.

Damage Ctrl is ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles, though Iyo Sky is not thrilled at first.

The Usos don’t like the Latino World Order laughing at them so Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar come up to laugh even more. Jey has to walk away while hitting things.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Damage Ctrl vs. Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez

Morgan and Rodriguez are defending and Rodriguez powers Kai into the corner to start. Morgan comes in for a running shot in the corner, followed by the same from Rodriguez. We see Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre watching in the back as Bayley comes in with a clothesline for two. We take a break and come back with Rodriguez fighting out of trouble and bringing Morgan back in.

Rodriguez uses Morgan as a battering ram (with Morgan waving at the fans) but Kai manages to come off the top with a Meteora/powerbomb from Bayley combination to plant Morgan for a rather delayed two. Rodriguez cuts off Sky bringing in a belt, allowing Morgan to roll Kai up to retain at 8:47.

Rating: C. The match went fine as Damage Ctrl’s issues continue. That could lead to something interesting and I’m curious to see where it does go. At the same time, the tease of the two Women’s Tag Team Champions facing off and hopefully unifying their titles is a nice possibility and something that needs to happen. If nothing else, it would be nice to have a fresh match for the bigger stage.

Sheamus is upset at his loss when Pretty Deadly comes in. Pretty Deadly introduces themselves but are filling out forms to figure out who everyone is. The rest of the Brawling Brutes aren’t pleased with various insults to their intelligence, so a match seems imminent.

Here is Bianca Belair for a rather orange and white (University of Tennessee colors) championship celebration. Before she can say anything though, here is Asuka to mist her, because the Wrestlemania loss meant nothing. A trainer comes out to check on Belair.

Post break, Belair is still being checked on.

World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinals: AJ Styles vs. Bobby Lashley

The winner gets Seth Rollins for the title at Night Of Champions. Lashley, with a big bump on his head, tries to back Styles into the corner but Styles bobs and weaves away. Styles finally gets caught in the corner for some elbows to the neck as Lashley takes over. They head outside with Lashley posting him as we take a break.

Back with Styles grabbing the Calf Crusher before switching to a DDT for two. Lashley muscles him up with a lifting Downward Spiral for two but his knee might have given out. Styles hits the sliding forearm but misses a charge and gets Hurt Locked. The rope breaks that up as Lashley is busted open again. Styles is able to post Lashley for a change and knocks him into it again for a bonus. The Phenomenal Forearm is cut off back inside and Lashley’s running powerslam gets two more. The spear only hits post though and now the Phenomenal Forearm can send Styles to Night Of Champions at 12:01.

Rating: B. Another good back and forth match here and we should be in for a heck of a showdown between Styles and Rollins at Night Of Champions. Styles is someone you can slot into any title match and have it work out well and that was the case here. Beating Lashley still means a lot and it felt like a big time main event to set up the even bigger title match.

We run down the Night Of Champions card.

The OC comes out to celebrate with Styles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Much like Raw and NXT, this show was about the tournaments with the new stars being slipped in where they could. That worked rather well here with three rather good TV matches and a fun debut for Grimes. At the same time, Pretty Deadly and Fyre/Dawn seem to have something ready to go, making this another efficient show. They won’t be able to do something like this every week, but I’ll certainly take it as a very good one off.

Results
AJ Styles b. Edge and Rey Mysterio – Phenomenal Forearm to Edge
Bobby Lashley b. Austin Theory and Sheamus – Brogue Kick to Theory
Cameron Grimes b. Baron Corbin – Cave In
Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez b. Damage Ctrl – Rollup to Kai
AJ Styles b. Bobby Lashley – Phenomenal Forearm

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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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 11, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back in the studio again rather than in front of the fans who paid to see Dynamite, meaning Tony Khan can cram in even more stuff this week. There is at least a big main event this week as Athena defends the Women’s Title against Skye Blue. That should be quite the showdown and Blue has been built up as a challenger. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe should get the fans fired up pretty well. Mark knocks him down to start so Shane threatens to beat him worse than he used to beat up Jay. Taylor sends him to the apron and a slingshot is countered into a hanging Stunner to take over. The rapid fire shots to the face put Taylor on the floor though and there’s the running flip dive to drop Taylor again.

Briscoe loads up the chair for the launchpad but Taylor is right there to cut him off again. More trash talk sets up the chops, plus a heck of a forearm to knock Briscoe silly. Back up and Briscoe strikes his way out of the corner, including a running boot to put him down. Taylor misses a running knee and gets Pele’d to the floor, setting up Briscoe’s running shot, including the launchpad chair.

Back in and Briscoe manages a Death Valley Driver, only to miss the Froggy Bow. Troubled Land gives Taylor two of his own but he misses a middle rope splash. Taylor is way too big for the Jay Driller so he runs Briscoe over and hits a splash for two. They slug it out until Briscoe manages to drop him with a running lariat. A not exactly smooth (fair enough) Jay Driller finishes Taylor at 9:46.

Rating: B-. These two beat the heck out of each other and I was getting into it pretty quickly. What mad this more interesting was that while Briscoe was a star, I could picture Taylor scoring an upset. That’s a hard thing to pull off but they made it work here, and it was a heck of a match as a result.

Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta vs. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus

Yuta and Williams grapple off to start until Williams gets him into a kneebar. That’s broken up by Castagnoli, who comes in to crank away on Williams for a change. An elbow hits the now legal Titus, who is fine enough to clothesline Yuta down. Castagnoli has had it with this and stomps away on Williams in the corner as things get more aggressive.

Williams tries to fight back but gets elbowed in the corner for his efforts. A DDT onto the top turnbuckle drops Yuta though and the hot tag brings in Titus to clean house. Everything breaks down and Castagnoli gets knocked outside, setting up a knee from the apron. Yuta pokes Williams in the eye though and it’s a Rocket Launcher to give Yuta the pin at 8:06.

Rating: C+. This felt like a way to set up Castagnoli and Yuta for a Tag Team Title match against the Lucha Bros as Castagnoli earned on Dynamite. Other than that, Williams and Titus continue to be little more than punching bags around here. You would think there would be a better use for them in a tag division that isn’t exactly strong, yet here they are instead.

Television Title: Samoa Joe vs. Blake Christian

Joe is defending and Christian bails to the floor to start. Back in and Christian gets in a few shots to take over, including going after Joe’s knee. That’s not cool with Joe though, as he takes Christian down and stomps away to take over. The neck crank goes on but Christian slips out of a powerbomb. Joe powerslams him for two instead but Christian jawbreaks his way out of the Koquina Clutch. Not that it matters as Joe finishes with the MuscleBuster at 4:01.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do anything here and Christian’s offense didn’t exactly get him anywhere. This felt like a way to get Joe on the show, which doesn’t have quite the same impact when he was on the show just last week. Joe is a monster, but he needs a serious challenger sooner rather than later.

Mark Sterling and the Trustbusters/Varsity Athletes don’t like the Dark Order and are ready to crush them.

Infantry vs. Righteous

Dean armdrags Vincent down a few times but gets run over with a hard shoulder. Bravo comes in and some rapid fire double teaming has Vincent down as Stu Grayson comes out to watch. Vincent comes back with a running basement Downward Spiral to Dean but it’s right back to Bravo to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Dutch gets to wreck people, setting up the assisted Autumn Sunshine to finish Bravo at 4:29.

Rating: C. We’re pretty much where we were at the Supercard of Honor pre-show: the Righteous are weird and stalk Grayson for some reason. That being said, it’s nice to have the Righteous getting in there to build themselves up a bit, as they haven’t exactly gotten to do much since they have been back. They could be something if given the chance, but they have to get somewhere with the Grayson stuff first.

Video on the Kingdom vs. Darius Martin/Action Andretti in a Fight Without Honor.

Robyn Renegade vs. Vert Vixen

Charlotte Renegade is here with Robyn. Vixen starts fast but a Charlotte distraction lets Robyn knock her into the corner. A rolling Stunner cuts Robyn off again but something like an Octopus on the mat finishes Vixen out of nowhere at 2:55. I like the Renegades, so giving them a quick win like this helps.

The Mogul Embassy (apparently the new name for the Gates of Agony, as they somehow get a worse name) is ready to face the Boys….but Dalton Castle comes in to accuse them of taking out one such Boy.

Ninja Mack vs. Willie Mack

Willie wrestles him to the mat as we get a Kung Fu Fighting reference to really screw things up. They trade flips and misses until it’s a standoff as we get various pop culture references from commentary. Willie sends him outside for the big flip dive, plus a whip into the steps. Back in and Ninja kicks away, setting up a running uppercut. A twisting splash gets two on Willie, who is right back with the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault for two. They trade more rollups for two each until Willie hits a sitout powerbomb for the pin at 6:12.

Rating: B-. Good action throughout, but it’s a little hard to get excited about another guy who does a bunch of flips after seeing El Hijo del Vikingo and Kommander on a semi regular basis around the various shows in recent weeks. Willie was his usual good self and it was a fun match, as you might have expected it to be.

Mogul Embassy vs. Adam Priest/Lucky Ali/Victor Benjamin

Non-title and Prince Nana is here with the Embassy. Kaun runs Priest over to start before it’s off to Cage to elbow him in the face. Ali comes in with a bunch of hype from Coleman and is promptly superkicked into the corner. It’s off to Toa to run Benjamin over and everything breaks down in a hurry. The Gates’ double clothesline to Priest allows them to drop Benjamin onto him for a double pin at 3:22.

Rating: C-. I continue to be amazed by the idea that someone thinks Ring Of Honor needs six man titles. AEW doesn’t need them either but the minor league promotion gets their own set? There is no division and challengers have to be set up to get mauled by Cage and the most generic power team imaginable. This was every squash the Embassy (who have been officially called three different names on this show: the Embassy, the Mogul Embassy and Brian Cage/the Gates of Agony) you have seen and there is no reason to see another one.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Tony Deppen

This would be the build up for Fletcher before he loses to Orange Cassidy next week and Mark Davis is here with Fletcher. Commentary spends the entrances listing off a bunch of teams Fletcher and Davis have beaten, none of whom work here. They go with the grappling to start and Fletcher gets the better of things on the mat. Back up and Deppen’s shoulder bounces off of him before Fletcher runs him down without much trouble.

Something close to a Codebreaker gives Deppen two and he slaps Fletcher in the corner. Fletcher isn’t having that and strikes him down for two, only to get caught in a slingshot Stunner to the floor. Deppen’s sliding forearm to the back of the head gets two and they forearm it out again. Deppen German suplexes him into the corner and hits a running knee for two. Fletcher is right back up with a Michinoku Driver for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: B-. Well, I think a lot more of Deppen after that match. With Fletcher getting a title shot next week, this should have been a lot more dominant performance from a tag wrestler getting into the singles scene, but instead they went back and forth, leaving me with even less reason to believe Fletcher will beat Cassidy. I’m sure their match will work well, but this was a bad result for helping to build the drama.

Anthony Henry vs. AR Fox

JD Drake is here with Henry. An early Drake distraction lets Henry take Fox down but Fox sends him outside for his efforts. The suicide dive connects and the big flip dive takes out Drake and Henry at the same time. Back in and a twisting suplex gives Fox two but Henry grabs a piledriver on the apron to knock….oh of course it doesn’t knock Fox silly, because it’s just a piledriver on the apron.

Fox is back to his feet less than 40 seconds later so Henry gives him a regular piledriver for two. This time Fox is back up even faster so Henry rolls some brainbusters, only to have Fox reverses into one of his own. Fox hits a Swanton for two but gets caught in a slingshot brainbuster for two more. Henry grabs a choke but Fox slips out and catches him on top, setting up a cutter for another near fall. Fox takes out an interfering Drake, hits him with a big running flip dive, and grabs Lo Mein Pain. The 450 finishes Henry at 9:39.

Rating: D. Nope. Say I’m old and out of touch, say I don’t know good wrestling or whatever you want. This was stupid, made it clear that nothing they are doing is real, and was a huge waste of time on a show that is already crammed full of stuff that doesn’t need to be on here. All Fox showed me here was that he’s a video game superhero come to life in a wrestling ring and that modern wrestling is a stunt show rather than about putting on a compelling match. I’ve seen Fox do very well before, but this was either an off night or terrible agenting, because it was little more than Fox showing off and not selling much of anything.

Post match Henry and Drake beat on Fox with Shane Taylor coming in to help with the beating. FTR makes the save as I wonder why I should believe anything is going to hurt Fox after dropping him on his head four times in a row didn’t really slow him down. Just to show how awesome he is, Fox is fine enough to hit a Swanton on Henry after FTR drops him. Henry tries to leave but Eddie Kingston cuts him off, allowing FTR to hit the Shatter Machine.

Varsity Athletes/Trustbusters vs. Dark Order

Mark Sterling and Ari Daivari here with the non-Dark Order. Uno chops Woods down to start and it’s quickly off to Reynolds, with Uno seemingly avoiding Grayson. Sterling gets on the apron and is quickly pulled off, only to have Silver taken into the wrong corner for some cheating. Silver wheelbarrow suplexes Kay for a breather and dives over to Grayson for the hot tag.

The big flipping dive takes out some villains on the floor and a Lionsault gets two on Slim J back inside. Slim J sends Uno into Grayson as everything breaks down. A string of strikes rocks Slim J, setting up the Fatality to give Reynolds the pin (with Grayson being knocked outside in the melee) at 6:05.

Rating: C+. At least they’re keeping the Dark Order around here instead of on Dynamite. I still have no idea why the Varsity Athletes and the Trustbusters need to be featured so often but the match wasn’t all that long and they didn’t talk, both of which do help a bit. The tension between Uno and Grayson lasted for all of 14 seconds, though I’d assume the Righteous being around will help with that a good bit.

Post match Grayson is on the floor and doesn’t look happy.

Skye Blue isn’t impressed with Athena and is ready for the title shot tonight.

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Athena vs. Skye Blue

Athena is defending and drops Blue with an early forearm. They trade flips out of headscissors but Athena kicks her in the face to take over again. A lot of yelling at the referee leaves Athena distracted enough to get rolled up for two so she knocks Blue outside. The steps are loaded up but Athena gets sent into them instead.

They fight to the stage with Blue snapping off a headscissors but Athena saves herself from falling. Instead Athena superkicks her off the stage before they head inside for a bow and arrow. Some rollups give Blue a bunch of near falls as commentary says that’s pretty much the only way she can win (what a vote of confidence). A kick to the head and a high crossbody give Blue two but Athena kicks her down again.

The O Face is broken up and a super hurricanrana brings Athena back down. There’s a standing Sliced Bread for two on the champ but Skyfall is broken up. Athena hits a Wasteland backbreaker but Blue slaps her in the face from the mat. They slug it out until Athena hits her own Skyfall for two. Blue is right back with a top rope Stunner into Skyfall for two of her own.

They fight to the apron with Blue dropping her face first, only to get powerbombed from the middle rope onto the steps (on their side). Back in and Blue kicks out at one, only to have Athena grab a Crossface. With Blue too close to the ropes, Athena reverses into a reverse chinlock to retain at 14:43.

Rating: B. This got going at the end and once they got around the idea of “Blue can only win off a rollup”. Blue was the first serious competition Athena has faced in a long time and it wound up being a rather good match. Athena really is at the best level of his career, though I have no idea who is supposed to be a threat to her unless someone comes over from AEW.

Post match Athena shows respect….and then beats up Blue, including sending her face first into the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was everything that frustrates me about Ring Of Honor in one show: there is good stuff included, but instead of just sticking with that, they just adding more and more stuff in and I stopped caring a long time before the ending. There were multiple matches were I was wondering why in the world this needed to be on here, other than just making the show go longer and longer. I’m sure that’s great for the people who are getting on the show and getting a check for it, but it doesn’t make for an entertaining show.

I get that you need to boost people up and get them ready for later, but with no major show even hinted at for the moment (I’m sure the Anniversary Show is coming up this summer but it hasn’t been talked about yet), why do they need to cram in so much every week? It’s the definition of subtraction by addition, as the matches that keep piling up drag down the good stuff (which is certainly there). Throw in a Fox match that had me almost yelling at my laptop and this was an annoying show that could have been a rather good one given what else was there.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. Shane Taylor – Jay Driller
Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta b. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus – Rocket Launcher to Williams
Samoa Joe b. Blake Christian – MuscleBuster
Righteous b. Infantry – Assisted Autumn Sunshine to Bravo
Robyn Renegade b. Vert Vixen – Octopus
Mogul Embassy b. Adam Priest/Lucky Ali/Victor Benjamin – Double pin
Willie Mack b. Ninja Mack – Sitout powerbomb
Kyle Fletcher b. Tony Deppen – Michinoku Driver
AR Fox b. Anthony Henry – 450
Dark Order b. Varsity Athletes/Trustbusters – Fatality to Slim J
Athena b. Skye Blue – Reverse chinlock

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

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Make sure you check out some recent reviews:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 11, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We are inching closer to Under Siege and the World Title situation is looking interesting. PCO is scheduled to challenge Steve Maclin for the title and that is not exactly sitting well with the champ. Other than that, we have some matches rapidly being set, with Trinity possibly being added to the card. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Masha Slamovich vs. Killer Kelly

Kelly crawls around to start and rolls a kicking Slamovich up for two. Back up and Kelly knocks her to the floor without much trouble, setting up the running kick to the chest. Some clotheslines drop Slamovich again, followed by a delayed release fisherman’s suplex for two. Slamovich runs her over and rips at Kelly’s face for a bit.

We hit the reverse chinlock but Kelly powers up and sends her into the corner for the break. Some Al Snow trapping headbutts set up a suplex into the corner, followed by a German suplex for two. Slamovich kicks her in the ribs for her own two, setting up a sunset driver for another near fall. Kelly shrugs it off and hits a Death Valley Driver, setting up the Killer Klutch. Slamovich is up with a rope walk and flips back onto Kelly for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: C+. Good stuff here, as Kelly continues to impress. Slamovich needed the win more here though, as she has fallen mostly through the floor in recent months. The talent is there, but at some point you have to win something. The same is true for Kelly, though she has never had the big opportunities that Slamovich has already earned. Nice opener here, and a change of pace from the usual fast paced starts to the show.

Kenny King gives Sheldon Jean a pep talk before his match.

We look back at Trinity’s debut last week.

Trinity wants the Knockouts Title and has an open contract for Under Siege. Jai Vidal comes in and grabs a quick photo, much to Trinity’s confusion.

Nick Aldis vs. Sheldon Jean

Kenny King is on commentary. Aldis headlocks him down a few times but it’s too early for the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf. They head outside with King offering a distraction so Jean can get in a cheap shot to take over. Back in and a side kick gives Jean two but Aldis fights up without much trouble. A Michinoku Driver gets two on Jean but he catches Aldis on top. With that broken up, Aldis drops the top rope elbow and the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf is good for the tap at 3:30.

Rating: C. Jean is decent enough to be one of the new designated jobbers whose name we know, though that might not have the longest shelf life. This was of course all about Aldis though, who looked fine in his return. That being said, at some point he is going to have to show that he can be more interesting and that has been an issue for him for years.

Dirty Dango and Joe Hendry are talking about who attacked Santino Marella when Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice come in. Hendry and the two goons accuse each other, setting up Swinger vs. Dango. Well, after they call Santino to make it official. With the villains gone, Dango invites Hendry to his birthday party, where Hendry would be the only guest. Ok then.

We get part three of the Frankie Kazarian interviews, this time talking about his return and quest to become World Champion. Last year he won the X-Division Title again and used Option C but came up short again, though the World Title is still a goal. We talk about the various things he has done, many of which had nothing to do with the title. He is willing to fight anyone around, and now he’s the veteran, which is a spot that he loves to have. This really didn’t tell us much, but getting to know wrestlers a bit more like this is a great idea and that has been the case here.

Decay vs. Good Hands

The Hands introduce themselves and mock the Chicago Cubs like good villains should. Skyler and Steve start things off, with Steve taking him down for a neck crank. Taurus comes in for a modified What’s Up, followed by the running hurricanrana. Steve’s monkey flip is broken up though and a cheap shot (Tom: “Steve was blindsided!” The guy is legally blind so that’s not nice.) lets Hotch take him down again.

Steve’s double finger bite doesn’t work and it’s a belly to back suplex to cut him off. Steve Downward Spirals his way out of trouble, allowing the hot tag to Taurus. With Brian Myers coming out to watch, Taurus cleans house and everything breaks down. Steve dives onto Skyler but gets dropped by Myers. A Stunner over the ropes staggers Taurus into a middle rope G9 (Samoan drop/Blockbuster combination) for the pin at 5:09.

Rating: C+. Kind of a slow match but Myers hooking up with the Good Hands is a better move than having them work for Bully Ray, so they did something smart. Decay losing is a little weird, but it’s a fine enough way to establish the new unit. The Good Hands are, well, good hands, so there should be a place for them for awhile.

Post match Myers poses with the Good Hands.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Sarita/Taylor Wilde b. Beautiful People to win the Knockouts Tag Team Titles.

Steve Maclin is sick of Champagne Singh and Shera screwing up so he fires both of them. Singh and Shera have an idea.

Post break, Singh and Shera jump Heath.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Rhino vs. Steve Maclin

Maclin is defending and we get the Big Match Intros for a nice touch. They hit the stall button for a bit to start before trading arm control. Rhino powers him into the corner and Maclin has to stop for a breather. Some chops into a hiptoss look to set up the Gore but Maclin bails to the floor. That’s fine with Rhino, who crotches him on the barricade, only for a Stunner over the top to cut Rhino off.

Back in and Maclin goes after the leg, with some rams into the apron to make it worse. The middle rope headbutt misses for Maclin though and the slugout is on. Maclin is taken up top for a superplex and a near fall, leaving both of them down. Another Gore is loaded up but Maclin cuts out the leg again in a smart move. Maclin hits his own Gore for the pin to retain at 9:00.

Rating: C+. It was a bit of a slow match but Maclin gets a nice defense under his belt before he has to move on to PCO. Working on the leg was a good enough way to keep the match going and Maclin using the Gore was an even better touch. Maclin might not be the most interesting champion, but he had a perfectly fine title defense here.

Post match Maclin goes after the knee again and takes it out with a chair. Maclin isn’t done though as he wraps the chair around the leg and smashes it with a shovel. That’s FINALLY enough to draw out referees to break it up.

During the break, Rhino was taken out on a stretcher and into an ambulance, with Scott D’Amore there to watch. Maclin pops up and gets in a shouting match with D’Amore, who makes the Under Siege match against PCO No DQ. PCO appeared for the brawl and Maclin ran off.

Here is Joe Hendry for a chat. He was talking to Michael Jordan, who gave him some advice, but Hendry is the expert on wrestling. Hendry is here to hear them say WE BELIEVE and then introduces Dirty Dango.

Dirty Dango vs. Johnny Swinger

Joe Hendry and Zicky Dice are here too. Dango slugs away to start but gets choked on the rope for his efforts. Swinger stops to strut though, allowing Dango to block a stomp to the chest. A Falcon Arrow finishes Swinger at 1:16.

The Design is still mad at Sami Callihan and promises more suffering. The Army Of Violence comes in but Sami is there in disguise and chaos ensues. Much like this horrible story.

Moose isn’t sure what Brian Myers is up to with the Good Hands but doesn’t seem to like the idea. With Moose gone, Myers says he wants the Hands to become a team, so he’ll mold them into champions.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Deonna Purrazzo/Jordynne Grace vs. The Coven

The Coven is defending. Purrazzo and King trade waistlocks to start before Purrazzo’s running hurricanrana takes her down. An armdrag into an armbar has King down and it’s off to Grace for a double hiptoss. An assisted moonsault gets two on King but Grace gets sent into the corner for an elbow to the face.

Grace elbows her way out of trouble but the Grace Driver is blocked. The Vader Bomb connects instead and we take a break with King in trouble. Back with Purrazzo kicking and dodging her way out of the corner, only to get dropped hard onto the apron. The slow beating continues, with Wilde choking in the corner and on the rope. Purrazzo fights out of the front facelock and kicks her way to freedom, allowing the hot tag off to Grace.

House is quickly cleaned until we settle down to Grace jumping over Wilde in the corner. Grace catches her in the corner and hits a MuscleBuster for two, with King making the save. Everything breaks down again and Grace is sent into Purrazzo by mistake, allowing Wilde to get two. With Purrazzo down, a Hart Attack (pump kick instead of clothesline) finishes Grace to retain at 14:29.

Rating: B-. The extra time helped here and the Coven continues to grow into a more respectable team. They already feel like the best team in Impact but given the rather shallow competition, that still leaves them with a lot to cover. For now though, beating two singles stars and keeping the Knockouts Title feud going is a good use of fifteen minutes in the main event.

Post match the Coven goes after Grace but Trinity runs in for the save. A lot of posing ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was the Impact that I like: they had a bunch of stuff they wanted to cover and then did just that. It’s very nice to see them have an efficiently run show like this one which had enough good wrestling to keep me invested and nothing bad to hold it down. Nice work this week, and that is always good to see.

Results
Masha Slamovich b. Killer Kelly – Rollup
Nick Aldis b. Sheldon Jean – King’s Lynn Cloverleaf
Good Hands b. Decay – Samoan drop/middle rope Blockbuster combination to Taurus
Steve Maclin b. Rhino – Gore
Dirty Dango b. Johnny Swinger – Falcon Arrow
The Coven b. Jordynne Grace/Deonna Purrazzo – Pump kick/spinebuster combination to Grace

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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Smackdown
Date: April 25, 2008
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman

It’s the go home show for Backlash and most of the show is set. We should be in for little more than a table setting show this week, as all WWE needs to do is hype up the pay per view a bit more. Undertaker isn’t going to be happy with Edge for helping to take out Kane on ECW, so vengeance may be required. For tonight though, he gets to defend the World Title against Batista. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Undertaker’s issues with Edge/Vickie Guerrero/La Familia, setting up tonight’s title match against Batista.

Opening sequence.

Here is La Familia to get things going. Edge praises Vickie Guerrero for everything she has done to get them here like the eye roll inducing villain that he is. Vickie announces that Undertaker vs. Batista is now No DQ, meaning they can beat each other up even more. Cue CM Punk to interrupt, with Edge mocking him for the King Of The Ring loss.

Punk holds up the Money In The Bank briefcase and says it’s a better way to the top than sleeping with the boss. He teases cashing in tonight, which doesn’t sit well with Edge. Not that it matters as Punk can beat Edge too, so Vickie makes the match for tonight. Edge promises to bankrupt Punk tonight. Good promo from Punk, as Edge seemed to remember the power of the briefcase.

The Miz vs. Shannon Moore

John Morrison is on commentary and Jimmy Wang Yang is here with Moore. Miz grabs a headlock takeover to start as Morrison goes on a rant about….saving the Earth? Anyway, Moore comes back with a headscissors but Miz pulls pulls him off the middle rope for a crash. A camel clutch keeps Moore in trouble and a hard clothesline takes him down again. The cobra clutch goes on but Moore fights up, only to get knocked right back down. The Reality Check is loaded up but Moore reverses into a backslide for the fast pin.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one as the feud between these teams continue, despite Miz and Morrison beating them multiple times already. I still like the Moore/Yang team, just for the sake of throwing two people together to see if they can get somewhere. If there was an actual tag division around here, it might make more of a difference, but this is about as much as you can expect right now.

We look at the Presidential candidates addressing Raw this week. Still a fairly cool moment.

Cherry vs. Natalya Neidhart

Michelle McCool and Victoria are here too. Natalya takes her down without much trouble to start and we’re in the chinlock fifteen seconds in. A series of slams drop Cherry again and Natalya slaps her in the face a few times. Cherry slaps back but Natalya goes to the leg to take over. A leglock has Cherry in trouble but she’s back up with a bulldog for two. That’s enough for Natalya, who grabs the Sharpshooter for the tap.

Rating: C-. Cherry is another of the long list of women who don’t exactly shine in the ring but since Deuce N Domino are nothing these days, what else is she supposed to do? Putting her in the ring as a punching bag works well enough for a short match, but she is going to need to be able to do more than slap and bulldog to matter much. Then again, it isn’t like the women’s wrestling on Smackdown matters in any meaningful way, so Cherry might not have many worries.

Video on Big Show vs. Great Khali.

Here is Matt Hardy for a chat with Michael Cole. We look at MVP injuring Matt’s knee five months ago but Matt says his knee is 100%. At Backlash, MVP is going to find out what kind of a threat Hardy is…but here is MVP to interrupt. MVP has Cole leave and accuses Matt of distorting the facts. Matt says MVP is scared but MVP isn’t having that. The reality is that he has accomplished more in a few months than Matt has in his entire career (that’s a stretch). MVP holds up the belt and then kicks Matt in the knee/hits him in the head with the belt, leaving Matt looking….I guess you could say confused?

WWE had a Reading Challenge for Wrestlemania. Nothing wrong with that.

Edge vs. CM Punk

Punk shoves Edge into the corner to start but Edge is right back with a hammerlock. That’s reversed into a cradle for one and Punk cranks on the arm as well. Back up and Edge kicks away at Punk’s ribs but Punk is right back on the arm. Punk goes up top but gets knocked out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Edge working on a bodyscissors until Punk catapults him into the corner. They hit stereo crossbodies for a double knockdown but Edge rolls through a middle rope crossbody for two. The GTS doesn’t work so Punk settles for the knee into the corner into the bulldog back out of it.

Edge’s Edge-O-Matic gets two more but Punk scores with the springboard clothesline. Another GTS attempt is countered into the Edgecution for two but Punk is back up for the GTS. Edge rolls outside before the cover though and Punk is frustrated. He’s also distracted by an interfering Zack Ryder, allowing Edge to hit a spear for the pin.

Rating: B-. These two were having the main event style match and it got some time to make it better. What matters more in the bigger picture though is having Punk not only rubbing elbows with but being a threat to beat main eventers. He is on the way up from ECW and into the bigger picture and having matches like this will help that transition more than anything else. They even made it clear that Edge was beaten and only survived due to the luck of falling out of the ring in a nice touch. Good match here, and it should help Punk in the long run.

We look at William Regal winning the King Of The Ring. William Regal looking mostly insane while sitting on the throne is a great visual.

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Marty Garner

Kozlov easily takes him over with a headlock before headbutting Garner down with ease. The reverse DDT gives Kozlov the fast pin in another squash.

We look at Undertaker’s introduction of the triangle choke, which has been quite devastating.

Backlash rundown.

Batista goes to see Vickie Guerrero and promises to win the title back tonight. Then he’ll hurt Edge on Backlash.

We look at the Hilary Clinton vs. Barack Obama match on Raw, with Umaga saving us from what I’m assuming was Vince McMahon’s fever dream come to life.

Smackdown World Title: Batista vs. Undertaker

Undertaker is defending and this is No DQ. We get the Big Match Intros (the Big Gold Belt being held up as the prize is always cool) and Undertaker starts in on the arm. With that broken up, Undertaker is right back on the arm before Batista hits a spear. Undertaker is fine enough to go for the triangle choke before Batista can get up but the quick escape sends us to a break.

Back with Undertaker hitting the apron legdrop but Old School is broken up. Undertaker breaks up a superplex attempt and now Old School can connect. A quick spinebuster (or powerbomb according to Cole) gives Batista two but the Batista Bomb is countered with a backdrop. Batista blocks the chokeslam and a powerslam gets two more. Undertaker is back up with a chokeslam for two of his own but another spear cuts him down.

For some reason Batista rains down right hands in the corner, earning himself the Last Ride for another near fall. The steps are brought in (as I remember this is No DQ) but Batista spinebusters him onto said steps. The Batista Bomb is loaded up…and Shawn Michaels runs in with Sweet Chin Music to drop Batista. Undertaker Tombstones him for the pin to retain.

Rating: B. Mostly unnecessary stipulation aside, this did feel like an important match and that is always appreciated. These two have great chemistry together and they beat the fire out of each other until Shawn came in for the storyline advancing ending. Good main event here, as two monsters beating on each other for a long time is rather nice to see, especially on free TV.

Overall Rating: B-. The two big matches carried the show, especially with the first two shorter matches not exactly working. Backlash is feeling like a very top heavy show, but the three or so matches on top of the card should be more than enough to carry things. Good enough show here, and I’m wanting to see Backlash so we can call it a success too.

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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Dynamite
Date: May 10, 2023
Location: Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s a stacked night as we have quite the card, featuring Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley in a cage. This has been hyped up as a pay per view on TBS and with the card they have out there, it might not be too far from the truth. We are also less than three weeks away from Double Or Nothing and the card could use some attention. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rey Fenix

This is a Double Jeopardy match, where the winner gets a shot at the other’s title (as in Claudio’s Ring Of Honor World Title and Fenix’s Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles), though this is non-title. Feeling out process to start with neither getting very far until Claudio powers him into the corner to take over. Fenix is right back with a springboard hurricanrana to the floor, followed by some hard suicide dives.

A third dive is cut out of the air though and Fenix is dropped HARD onto the barricade. Claudio loads up a suplex and tries to walk up the steps but can’t quite do it, allowing Fenix to walk the barricade for a heck of a hurricanrana. Back in and Castagnoli loads up a middle rope gorilla press but Fenix reverses into a rather springboardy hurricanrana.

They head outside again with Fenix being tossed hard over the barricade as we take a break. We come back with Castagnoli hitting a gutwrench superplex but Fenix kicks him in the face. The rolling cutter (that always looks good) plants Castagnoli for two but something like an Angle Slam drops Fenix. The Riccola Bomb finishes Fenix off at 14:20.

Rating: B. I like the stipulation here as it opens up some doors and gives Castagnoli, the favorite, incentive to win. Odds are that sets up a big Ring Of Honor match later (probably not on Ring Of Honor TV but take what you can get) with Castagnoli picking Yuta as his partner, but it should be good either way. Now just get Fenix on TV more and everyone can be happy.

MIRO of all people returns and walks into Tony Khan’s office. That’s his first appearance since September of last year.

MJF talks about the Four Pills concept and how all four of them were great stars with unlimited potential. The difference though? MJF has actually done something.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley, who have fought for years and are in a cage tonight.

Here is FTR for a chat. They want Mark Briscoe out here for an apology but get Sonjay Dutt and company instead. Dutt gets to the point and asks about the challenge for a Tag Team Title match at Double Or Nothing. Harwood is in, with one condition: Dutt and company have to admit that they used Mark Briscoe to get to them.

Cue Briscoe with a thermos and a bunch of cups. Briscoe understands that these people have trouble holding their emotions, but he has an announcement: FTR vs. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal at Double Or Nothing, with Briscoe as guest referee. Briscoe offers a toast but Dutt throws alcohol into FTR’s eyes, causing the blinded Dax to piledrive Briscoe. Another story where it could be solved by watching the tape back, but I’ll take what intrigue I can get for the match.

Chris Jericho is upset at Adam Cole for attacking him on commentary because this is an unsafe working environment. Jericho now has a court order saying that Cole is banned from any building he is in. Roderick Strong comes in and the falls count anywhere match is set for next week. Anywhere as in….outside? Where the court order wouldn’t count? Strong has his own legal order: the Jericho Appreciation Society is banned from the building next week. I want to see the credentials of a judge who would sign off on that under these circumstances.

Renee Paquette is trying to get an update on Miro when Thunder Rosa pops up to walk into Tony Khan’s office as well.

Video on Sammy Guevara.

Tony Khan promises a huge announcement next week, with hints of a new show. That sounds Collisiony.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia is challenging and we start with some grappling. Cassidy armdrags him into an armbar before casually escaping a drop toehold attempt. Garcia isn’t pleased and sends him outside for some drops onto the apron/barricade as we take a break. Back with Garcia hitting a curb stomp but posing instead of covering. A top rope superplex connects on Cassidy, who tries to reverse a suplex into the Stundog Millionaire, only getting part of it.

Garcia stays on him but gets caught in a quick Beach Break for two. The Orange Punch is broken up with a dropkick to the knee and Garcia is rather cocky. Cassidy’s hands in the pockets is broken up with a kick to the face and a piledriver gets two. The Dragon Slayer is countered into a small package for two and another Beach Break gets two more. Garcia is right back with the Dragon Slayer, which he switches into a triangle choke and then a crossface. That’s reversed into a rollup to give Cassidy the pin at 13:24.

Rating: B. What matters here is keeping Cassidy strong and this was one of the better matches during his title run. I could go with this version of Cassidy, but at the same time he is still around a bit too often for my taste. Other than that, these two had a heck of a back and forth match with Garcia doing his thing as well as he can, plus Cassidy hanging in there until he could escape at the end.

The Outcasts are ready to hurt Hikaru Shida next week.

Here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus for a chat. Christian rips on Detroit and then brings up Wardlow’s father, who wasn’t famous and no one cared about him. Wardlow found Arn Anderson, whose son is wresting here in AEW. Then Arn saw Wardlow and jumped over to him for all of the success.

Christian mocks Anderson for being a legend, but maybe being the other guy in a team with Tully Blanchard or being Ric Flair’s lapdog is enough to make you a legend. Wardlow will never be a legend like Christian, and Christian is going to prove it. Fans: “EDGE IS BETTER!” This was some GREAT heel stuff from Christian, who is a heat magnet right now. Granted it was almost terrifying when I thought he was going to bring up Anderson’s recently deceased son but thankfully it didn’t go there.

Darby Allin is back home with his dad and talks about everything he has done to become a wrestler. Now he is willing to take any chance to become the World Champion.

Anna Jay vs. Julia Hart

Anything goes and Anna chairs her down from behind before the bell. They go to ringside where Hart gets in some kendo stick shots, followed by some rams into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Hart getting planted on some chairs on the floor. The chairs are brought inside but Hart superplexes her down. Hartless makes Anna tap at 9:17.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a bad match but I was having trouble getting into this one. The feud hasn’t exactly been interesting in the first place and having them go into this big hardcore match (a good chunk of which was in the break) just felt like a quick escalation. Hart winning was a surprise too, and it was probably the biggest win of his career.

The Best Friends and Bandido don’t quite understand the House Of Black’s Open House rules. Orange Cassidy is tired though.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Best Friends/Bandido

The House is defending and we have 20 counts/no DQ, with Julia Hart banned from ringside (as per the challengers’ choice). The lights are also turned down for a rather cool look. Black strikes away at Bandido in the corner to start and goes after the knee. Bandido goes to the ropes but has to crawl to the floor for the break and a needed breather.

Back in and Black gets caught in the wrong corner so the good guys can take over. We take a break and come back with Trent having to Stomp Matthews out of the corner, allowing the diving tag back to Bandido. Everything breaks down and Chuck comes in, only to get caught with Dante’s Inferno to retain the titles at 8:20.

Rating: C+. The lighting looked good and the action was good enough, but the rules might need some tweaking. The idea of having the first set of challengers being confused by what was going on isn’t a great sign, but it isn’t like the titles have anything else going on. Just get some more teams together to come after the titles, which is probably going to take some time.

Video on Jungle Boy, who has worked hard to get here, including his feud with Christian Cage.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ricky Starks wants Jay White next week.

Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley

Bryan Danielson is on commentary, Don Callis is with Omega and this is in a cage. They start fighting in the aisle before the bell though and the fans seem to approve. Cue the Blackpool Combat Club and the Young Bucks for the double interferences. The Bucks go after Danielson but security breaks everything up as Omega is finally in the cage.

Moxley gets in as well and the bell rings, with Omega knocking him down fast. Omega hits the middle rope moonsault and whips out a chair wrapped in barbed wire. Moxley is quickly hit in the head and busted open, though Omega hurts his hand with the swing. The chair is put on Moxley’s back and stomped down to rip him open even more but Moxley gets creative by sending Omega face first into the TV camera. Omega is right back with a bulldog onto the chair but gets caught up top. Moxley superplexes him onto the chair and we take a break.

Back with the top rope having been broken up so Moxley can choke away. It’s time to bring out the broken glass but Omega grabs a fireman’s carry backbreaker. The One Winged Angel is countered into a choke but Omega flips him onto said glass. Moxley grabs a choke, which is reversed into a V Trigger and the dragon suplex. Another V Trigger sends Moxley through the cage wall and out to the floor, though Omega wrenches his knee. Moxley whips out the screwdriver but Callis takes it away. The V Trigger into the One Winged Angel gets two…..as Callis turns on Omega with the screwdriver. Moxley gets the pin at 14:29.

Rating: B. Your mileage may vary here as I’m not big on the weapons being used in a CAGE match. The big spot with the knee through the cage was awesome enough though and the big angle at the end, while still centered around Don Callis, was an important deal. It felt like a major match and I’m wondering what is going to come next at Double Or Nothing, so they’re doing something right.

Post match Callis loads up the screwdriver but throws Omega down instead. The villains leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The show felt big and they lived up to a lot of the hype that they made for themselves. That’s a hard trick to pull off but AEW made it work with a stacked show. The announcement next week sounds important enough and having Miro and Rosa return made this week feel like something of a turning point. Now follow up on it and things can start to cook.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli b. Rey Fenix – Riccola Bomb
Orange Cassidy b. Daniel Garcia – Rollup
Julia Hart b. Anna Jay – Hartless
House Of Black b. Bandido/Best Friends – Dante’s Inferno to Taylor
Jon Moxley b. Kenny Omega – Screwdriver to the head

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

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