Rey de Reyes 2013
Date: March 17, 2013
Location: Plaza de Toros Monumental Lorenzo Garza, Monterrey, Mexico
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Jesus Zuniga, Andres Maronas

This is another request from…oh about thirteen years ago and I needed to get to it sooner or later. This is from AAA, with the main event being the show’s namesake tournament final for a really big sword. To have a final we need to have some qualifying matches though and that’s the meat of the show. Let’s get to it.

Keep in mind that the commentary is in Spanish so I’m kind of flying blind.

Fusion Title: Fenix vs. Crazy Boy vs. Daga vs. Juventud Guerrera

Elimination match for the inaugural title. Daga kicks away at Fenix to start but can’t get very far before handing it off to Guerrera and Boy. An exchange of superkicks sets up an exchange of chops before they’re both pulled outside. That lets Daga and Fenix slide in for a dive each before all four get back inside. Guerrera takes over until Fenix is back with a double springboard dropkick.

Daga kicks away at Boy, who is back with a Zig Zag for two. Guerrera comes back in to steal a rollup for two but Daga kicks everyone down. Daga Death Valley Drivers Guerrera on the apron but Fenix is up with a big corkscrew dive. Back in and Boy rolls Guerrera up for two, only for Daga to give Boy a middle rope Canadian Destroyer for the elimination at 7:45.

Guerrera clotheslines Daga for two and Fenix is back in to drop Daga with a springboard flipping Stunner. Fenix sends Guerrera into the corner and hits a top rope double stomp, with Daga getting the pin at 8:58. We’re down to Daga vs. Fenix with Fenix grabbing a Michinoku Driver for two but Daga’s tiger suplex gets the same. Daga heads up top but gets pulled down with a super Spanish Fly for the title at 10:37.

Rating: C+. This was good enough with a fast paced four way, including Fenix and Daga getting to do their rather impressive stuff. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done better, but for an opening match, I’ve seen far worse. Granted the Fusion Title wouldn’t wind up meaning much, as Fenix would hold it for about a year and a half before it was unified with the Cruiserweight Title.

Post match some women come down to present the title, despite having some serious issues dealing with the steps. Fenix celebrates with the title and fist bumps Daga for the respect.

Fenix seems happy with his win.

Daga doesn’t seem happy with his loss.

Los Inferno Rockers vs. Los Psycho Circus

The Circus’ Six Man Titles aren’t on the line. That would be Devil Rocker/Machine Rocker/Soul Rocker vs. Monster Clown/Murder Clown/Psycho Clown and you might know Machine as The Beast Mortos. The Rockers come out with a table while the Circus comes out with a bunch of circus acts. The Rockers jump them to start but gets sent outside for the dives, with a Rocker dive being pulled out of the air by Murder. He holds up I believe Soul so the other two Clowns can dropkick him down for a cool looking spot.

The other Rockers get back inside and manage to dump Murder but wind up hitting each other by mistake. Monster ties up Devil in quite the hold until Soul makes the save. Psycho is back in to sunset flip Soul for two and we settle down to Devil chopping at Murder. This doesn’t work in the slightest as Murder just destroys him with a Last Ride. Machine and Soul come in to cut Murder off and it’s back to Psycho to clean house. Monster is sent outside for a running flip dive, leaving Murder to gorilla press Devil. The table is brought in and a middle rope triple bomb puts Monster through the table for the pin at 8:15.

Rating: C+. This was the usual six man brawl and it was good enough while it lasted. The Clowns were a team who worked well together and that’s why they would be around for such a long time. On the other hand you have the Rockers, who I don’t think I’ve seen before but were a nice group of….I think villains? It’s not entirely clear but they worked either way.

Post match the Rockers beat up a smaller clown because they’re not that nice.

Rey de Reyes Qualifying Match: El Mesias vs. Heavy Metal vs. Octagon vs. La Parka vs. La Parka Negra vs. Pentagon Jr.

Elimination rules and Pentagon Jr. is better known as Penta. For the sake of simplicity we’ll go with “Parka” and “Negra” to differentiate the skeleton guys. Thankfully there are tags here and it’s Mesias starting with Metal. They go to the mat with Mesias working on the arm with Metal armdragging him away without much trouble. Another armbar sends Metal over to the ropes before he grabs his own armbar, with Mesias going to the ropes.

It’s off to the two Parkas, with the fans certainly approving. Negra misses a kick to the face and gets kneed down, allowing Parka to fire off some right hands. Pentagon charges into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker before Octagon comes in for one of his own. It’s back to Negra to help Pentagon with Octagon and a double stomp What’s Up finishes Octagon off at 6:31. Metal comes in and gets taken down with a quick Sling Blade, allowing Pentagon to stomp away. A quick la majistral gives Metal the pin on Pentagon at 8:23 to get us down to four.

Mesias can’t powerbomb Metal so instead it’s a pair of spears for the pin at 9:22. Parka and Mesias double team Negra in the corner until Mesias is sent outside. Parka’s clothesline gets two on Negra and Mesias adds a top rope elbow for the double pin at 10:50. That leaves us with Parka vs. Mesias and they slowly slug it out until Mesias hits an enziguri. Parka is right back with a reverse DDT for two, followed by a flapjack for the same. Mesias avoids a charge in the corner and hits a Downward Spiral for two of his own, followed by a Backstabber for the pin at 14:37.

Rating: C+. There is only so much you can get out of a six way match as there are so many people moving around. The tags helped a lot, though the eliminations didn’t exactly have a ton of drama. It was more like “this guy is gone and this guy is gone and then this guy wins”. That’s only getting you so far and hopefully the other two matches don’t go the exact same way.

Post match respect is shown.

Rey de Reyes Qualifying Match: Villano IV vs. Psicosis vs. Jack Evans vs. Drago vs. Chessman vs. LA Park

Elimination rules again. It’s a brawl to start with Drago getting at least double teamed, including a powerbomb dropped into a Codebreaker. Chessman comes back in for the save but gets kicked in the face by Evans. Park comes back in so Evans uses him as a launchpad for a hurricanrana and flipping splash to Chessman. We settle down to Villano armdragging Psicosis to the floor but getting dropkicked by Drago.

It’s off to Park, who sends Drago to the apron and stops to dance, but catches a diving Drago and dances again. Fenix sends Park outside and it’s time for the series of dives, with Evans diving onto the rest of the pile. Back in and Drago kicks away at Psicosis before rolling him up for the first elimination at 4:57. Chessman comes in and powerbombs Drago, followed by a backbreaker for the elimination at 5:41.

Villano comes in with a rolling headbutt to Chessman but gets knocked down by Evans. The standing corkscrew moonsault gets two on Villano, who powerbombs Evans for the pin at 6:33. Park knocks Villano down and goes up but gets knocked off by Chessman. The ensuing moonsault misses though and Villano covers Chessman for two. Park is back in with a chair to Chessman though and Villano grabs a small package for the pin at 7:50.

We’re down to Park vs. Villano and the referee takes Park’s chair away. Villano shoulders him down for two, followed by Park’s DDT getting the same. They slug it out from their knees and Villano rips Park’s mask apart. A Stunner gives Villano two but Park grabs a Backstabber and hammers away for the final pin at 11:23.

Rating: B-. This match felt like it had more star power involved and that helped a bit. Park certainly feels like a bigger name and the fans seemed to be rather happy with the result. The match felt similar to the opener with the rapid fire eliminations, but that’s kind of what you have to do in something like this. It’s not a great match, but it’s certainly not boring.

Marisela Pena, the widow of company founder Antonio Pena, makes a big announcement: AAA will be split into two groups. Going forward, AAA Fusion will be the group in Mexico while AAA Evolution will be in the United States.

Rey de Reyes Qualifying Match: El Hijo del Perro Aguayo vs. Electroshock vs. Cibernetico vs. Canek vs. Silver King vs. Toscano

One more time with the elimination rules. Cibernetico stomps on Aguayo to start and knocks him out to the floor. Canek and King come in but Electroshock takes Canek’s place and hammers on King. Toscano adds a missile dropkick to King and Electroshock’s cutter gets rid of King at 1:50. Well that was quick. Canek comes back in to shoulder Toscano over but gets dropped with a missile dropkick. A suplex and elbow drop finish Toscano off at 3:13.

Aguayo is back in to chair Cibernetico in the head and stomp away before grabbing a table. Cibernetico is able to slam him through the table instead and then chairs Aguayo in the head. Security comes out to break it up and it seems that they’re both eliminated at around 7:30. Canek clotheslines Electroshock and hits a side slam for the win at 8:05.

Rating: D+. This felt like a way to get Canek into the tournament final despite him not exactly doing much. That being said, the point of Canek is to have a legend in the finals and that worked well enough. The Aguayo and Cibernetico brawl was good enough, but that was pretty much the only interesting spot.

Earlier today, three wrestlers sat down together and talked for a bit. And unfortunately that’s about all I can give you.

Faby Apache, Lufisto and Taya are ready to win the Reina de Reinas.

Reina de Reinas Title: Lufisto vs. Mari Apache vs. Taya vs. Faby Apache

Elimination match (of course) for the vacant title. Faby gets triple teamed to start but she manages to dropkick Lufisto outside. Mari hits Taya by mistake and Faby takes Mari down with a running hurricanrana. Taya and Lufisto have a staredown, with Lufisto kicking her in the head for two as Mari makes a save. Mari kicks Lufisto down and drop toeholds Faby, setting up a surfboard. Taya runs back in to cover Mari for two before rolling Mari up for two more. Lufisto is back in to choke Mari out for the elimination at 5:17.

Taya northern lights suplexes Faby for two and cuts her off again with a big boot. Taya’s moonsault misses though and a Fairy Tale Ending gets rid of her at 7:11. Lufisto is back in with a reverse chinlock to Faby, who comes back with some running shoulders. They knock each other down until Faby charges into a Downward Spiral into the corner.

The cannonball and a running boot connect in the corner to give Lufist two but Faby is back with a German suplex. Lufisto’s Saito suplex gets two more but Faby catches her up top. A Tree Of Woe double stomp gives Lufisto two more, only for Faby to grab a dragon suplex out of nowhere for the pin and the title at 11:49.

Rating: C. I have seen a lot of Faby Apache over the years and I just do not get the appeal. She’s technically fine but I’ve never gotten any kind of attachment to her. There wasn’t much to this one as the first to were eliminated and then Faby got beaten up until she snapped off a suplex to win. I wasn’t into this and that is the case a lot of the time that this title is involved.

In the back, Faby is happy with her win.

Video on Cibernetico and El Hijo de Perro Aguayo, who seem to still be fighting backstage. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a package from before or if this is after their pull apart brawl earlier, though I think it’s the latter. Apparently Aguayo demanded a hair vs. hair match and got his request. This would go on to headline TripleMania a few months later so it was absolutely the biggest story in the company.

We look at Mega Champion Texano Jr. sitting down and going face to face with challenger Blue Demon Jr. I believe Demon says he’s going for the title and they seem to argue about their fathers. Either way, the title match is on.

Mega Title: Texano Jr. vs. Blue Demon Jr.

Texano is defending and they chop it out to start. Demon takes him down and starts working on the leg before grabbing a bow and arrow. That’s broken up and Texano goes after the leg, with Demon getting out just as fast. Now it’s Demon working on the leg, including something like a Lasso From El Paso. With that not lasting long, they trade legsweeps for two each and then trade chops.

Texano is knocked outside for the baseball slide and then the suicide dive to the back to leave them both down. Back in and Demon hits a running shoulder in the corner but gets knocked outside, with Texano hitting a dive of his own. They head back inside, with a fireman’s carry backbreaker giving Texano two, so he yells at the referee. A Codebreaker gets two more as Demon gets a foot on the rope and he reverses a powerbomb into a hurricanrana for two.

Demon catches him on top for a super hurricanrana, followed by a DDT for two more. Demon’s lifting Pedigree gets another near fall and he ties up Texano’s leg, while pulling on a double underhook at the same time (that’s a weird one but it has to hurt). That’s reversed into an ankle lock but Demon kicks his way out, meaning it’s time for more chops in the corner. Texano goes up and gets armdragged back down and they both need a breather. The referee almost gets bumped before Demon hits another lifting Pedigree. Demon tries another but gets reversed into an Air Raid Crash to retain the title at 16:36.

Rating: B-. It felt like a big showdown, but it never hit that higher gear. That being said, title matches aren’t as important in Mexico so it isn’t that big of a surprise that it was just good instead of some blow away match. Texano has grown on me over the years and Demon is better than I remember him, so this was a nice showdown. If nothing else, it was nice to have a singles match for a change.

Post match Demon seems to want a title vs. mask match at TripleMania but Texano isn’t interested. That match didn’t wind up happening.

In the back, Demon seems upset by his loss.

Texano is a bit happier with the result.

Rey de Reyes: El Mesias vs. Canek vs. LA Park

Elimination rules. Canek gets double teamed to start fast, with Mesias punching him in the face and Park hitting a running boot to the chest. Park starts untying Canek’s mask before turning on Mesias. Canek gets a double arm crank on Park but a rope is reached for a fast break. Mesias is back up with a running corner clothesline but Parka takes off his belt for a whipping. Canek is back in to drop Park and grab a Figure Four on Mesias, with park using a chair to make the save.

Park chairs both of them down but Canek catches Park with a kick to the face out of the corner. A middle rope elbow connects, with Mesias pulling the referee. Park rips Canek’s mask off and gets the pin at 6:42. So it’s Mesias vs. Park, with the two of them colliding to give Mesias an early two. Park gets a Backstabber in the ropes for two of his own and it’s time to strut. A charge hits the post though and Mesias hits a middle rope hurricanrana to the floor.

Mesias follows with a SCARY running flip dive (as he basically stops flipping and is upside down as he crashes into Park) and they go back inside, where Park knocks him down again. A running boot sends Mesias outside, with Park getting in a running knee from the apron. Back in and Park gets crotched on top and a super Codebreaker brings him back down. The delayed cover gets two so Park takes him up top, where Mesias reverses into…I have no idea. Either way, they come crashing down and Mesias is up first with a top rope splash for the pin at 15:38.

Rating: C+. It was another case of the match being fine but not exactly great. I’m guessing that was supposed to be a super Spanish Fly at the end, but they really just kind of crashed down. The match didn’t feel like some kind of a big showdown, though Mesias feels like a big star and having him win an important competition is a good idea. All in all, just an ok final, with Canek not adding much.

Post match Mesias is presented with the sword for winning the tournament. Celebrating ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There were good parts in here, but the bigger issue here was a lack of variety. Save for one match, everything was an elimination match with some not so thrilling eliminations. That didn’t make for the most thrilling show and while it did feel important to have Mesias win the tournament and setting up Aguayo vs. Cibernetico, a lot of the show felt like it just came and went. Not bad, but nothing memorable whatsoever.

 

 

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 30, 2026
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s back to the home place for WWE and that means they’re going to make things even bigger than usual. That’s not a bad thing either as this year’s Wrestlemania build has been a bit hit and miss. Hopefully something other than Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk and Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi gets to take off this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going. He hits the catchphrase but here is Stephanie McMahon of all people to cut him off. She talks about how she wants to talk about Randy Orton because they’re all third generation people in the wrestling business. We’re coming up on Wrestlemania and she sees Orton being all crazy. This version of Rhodes can’t beat this version of Orton and so far, Cody isn’t as good as his father.

Rhodes says he doesn’t know who Orton is because he knows everything about Orton. The reality is that Orton has done some great things and some things that are so violent that we can’t even show them around here anymore. At one point Rhodes was having to babysit Orton by making sure he was still breathing when Orton passed out in the car. With all due respect, no he isn’t his father, but Stephanie isn’t her father either.

That gets one heck of a gasp from the audience and one heck of a slap from Stephanie to Rhodes. She’s out here because she cares about him because Rhodes needs to become more like Orton if he wants to keep the title. Orton is listening to the voices in his head and someone else on top of that. Rhodes says he has two words for her, which are THANK YOU, and he leaves as Stephanie smiles. The message was good, but this felt like a way to get Stephanie on the show whether it fit or not.

IShowSpeed is in the back and demands to see Danhausen. Cue Danhausen, with Speed wanting the curse to be reversed because Speed’s week has been terrible. Danhausen will do it for ten million dollars and the rights to Speed’s streaming service, but Speed can’t do that. Instead, Adam Pearce gives Speed front row seats and introduces him to LA Knight, who will be a guest commentator for the Tag Team Title match. Danhausen doesn’t disappear because Pearce is watching.

Tag Team Titles: The Vision vs. Usos

The Usos are defending in a street fight and LA Knight is on commentary. It’s a brawl to start and the Usos send them outside to start, setting up Jey’s big dive to take them out as we take a break. We come back with the Vision in control and a bunch of weapons in the ring. Some running trashcan shots miss though and the Usos get to fight back, with a trashcan being put on Paul’s head. Stereo superkicks knock him outside and Theory is put in the trashcan for a beating with the kendo stick.

The table is loaded up and Theory gets double superplexed through it for the big crash. Paul goes over to the barricade where his mom gives him some brass knuckles. Knight goes over to go after Paul (Mr.) but IShowSpeed is pulled over with him. Speed picks up the knuckles and accidentally knocks Knight down. That sends Speed bailing as he knows he’s in trouble. Paul misses the knuckles shot and gets superkicked, with Theory getting the same. Jey spears Theory but Paul uses the knuckles to knock Jimmy out. Jey dives on Paul but Theory gets the pin and the titles at 8:53.

Rating: B-. That feels like a way to set up a six man tag for Wrestlemania and….eh I’d take it over seeing these teams fight again. The title change is a good way to go as the Vision desperately needed something good to happen and it’s not like the Usos need the titles. Nice enough match here, with the street fight aspect helping a bit.

Speed realizes he’s in trouble but stays with the Vision, who know Knight and the Usos are going to want to kill him. That would be quite the six man at Wrestlemania.

We look back at the end of last week’s show, with CM Punk getting under Roman Reigns’ skin and laughing when Reigns hurt him.

We look at CM Punk winning the WWE Title in this building at Survivor Series 2011.

Here is Liv Morgan for a chat. She gets right to the point by saying that Stephanie Vaquer is done at Wrestlemania. Vaquer attacked her family, including Dirty Dom, but she doesn’t have any family of her own here. Morgan is ready to fight on sight so here is Vaquer to interrupt. Vaquer kicks her down and grabs a chair but Roxanne Perez is back to jump Vaquer from behind. Oblivion onto a chair leaves Vaquer down and Morgan is rather pleased. Morgan is all but guaranteed to win the title so she doesn’t need the help, but it’s good to have Perez back.

We look back at Paul Heyman getting attacked by Seth Rollins last week, resulting in Rollins being arrested.

IShowSpeed tries to explain that he didn’t mean to help the Vision and it was an accident. Heyman comes in and says Speed is in good hands so the three of them should go to dinner. With the three of them gone, Heyman says the Usos are going to kill Speed. Adam Pearce comes in to say he needs to talk to Heyman, who didn’t get his email. Heyman leaves without finding out the message. That’s dumb for Heyman.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Lyra Valkyria/Bayley vs. Irresistible Forces

The Forces are defending. Legend throws Valkyria around to start and it’s off to Jax to crush her in the corner. Legend comes back in so Valkyria flips over her and brings Bayley in for a change. Legend knocks both of them down and it’s back to Jax to take over on Valkyria. Bayley sends Jax outside for a dive and we take a break.

We come back with Valkyria trying to get over for a tag but Jax knocks Bayley off the apron. Valkyria manages a DDT to Legend though and it’s back to Bayley for the middle rope elbow. A kick to the face cuts Bayley off though and Jax drops the big leg for two. Bayley actually breaks up the Annihilator though and hits a powerbomb, with Valkyria adding a moonsault.

Legend makes the save and everything breaks down, leaving all four of them down. Cue the Bella Twins, followed by Charlotte and Alexa Bliss, who show up to argue with them. Valkyria yells at them all so Jax shoves Valkyria into Bliss and Charlotte. Legend jumps the Bellas and drives Bayley into the apron. Back in and Jax headbutts Valkyria but Bliss comes in to jump Jax for the DQ at 10:42.

Rating: C. This has pretty clearly been building towards a multi-team match of some kind for the titles and that ending almost guarantees one is getting set up. It’s nice to have this many viable teams coming for the titles and it lets us get the Bellas title match, which absolutely has to happen. Either way, the match wasn’t great, but it served it purpose.

Post match the six non-champions knock the Forces out to the floor.

We look back at Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar in recent weeks.

Danhausen announces the Saturday Night’s Main Event will be back in the Garden on July 18. Having him be this weird backstage guy who makes the occasional announcement is the best use of Danhausen.

Here is Brock Lesnar, in fighting gear and with Paul Heyman, for a chat. Heyman says he’s here to talk about Oba Femi, with the fans seemingly being on Femi’s side. What Femi needs to learn is that a ticked off Lesnar is a different kind of beast and various people have taken some beatings over the years. Lesnar grabs the mic and calls Femi out but instead it’s Adam Pearce, with security.

Pearce says this isn’t happening tonight…and here is Femi to interrupt. Femi wrecks security, and Pearce, and takes his time walking around the ring. The fans are WAY into this as Femi gets inside for the staredown but HHH himself comes out to get between them. Lesnar goes to the floor and grabs the steps (Femi tells him to bring it) but Lesnar throws them down and leaves instead. Lesnar gives a security guard an F5 to blow off some steam. I want to see these two fight and that’s a good sign.

Finn Balor talks about how he wasn’t happy with some of the things he did in the Judgment Day. Dominik Mysterio turned on him because Mysterio is a coward and a villain. He created Mysterio and now it’s time to destroy him at Wrestlemania.

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Kofi Kingston

Penta is defending and Grayson Waller is here with Kingston. They start fast with Kingston sending him into the corner. That’s broken up and Penta strikes away but Kingston is able to get up top. Kingston dives into a Codebreaker though and the slingshot dropkick in the corner gives Penta two. They fight out to the apron with Kingston getting in a shot to take over but calling Waller off as we take a break.

We come back with Penta fighting out of trouble and hitting a reverse Sling Blade. The SOS gives Kingston two, followed by a jumping Fameasser to send Penta outside. Waller picks Penta up but Kingston says he wants to do this on his own. Kingston’s dive over the top is cut off though and Waller drops him onto the announcers’ table. Waller leans over to mock Kingston and gets taken down by a Mexican Destroyer. Back in and Penta dives into Trouble In Paradise, leaving Kingston’s eyes bugging out. Penta is right back up with the Mexican Destroyer to retain at 10:02.

Rating: B-. These two working well together isn’t exactly a surprise and it’s a good idea to have a veteran like Kingston out there to give Penta another nice title defense. Penta is getting some momentum going as champion but I’m not sure what he’s supposed to do at Wrestlemania. He doesn’t have a big challenger right now and they’re running out of time to set one up.

Post match Penta is asked what he’s going to do with the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania. Penta says it’s pain for himself and anyone who dares because it’s going to be….a ladder match. Well of course it will be.

Paul Heyman is discussing a sandwich when Adam Pearce comes in. Pearce asks about Brock Lesnar, who has left the arena. That’s fine with Pearce, who asks if Heyman checked his email yet. Heyman says he hasn’t and there’s nothing overly interesting, so he’s got something to say in the ring.

Here is Heyman, who mocks the lighting guy as possibly being from New Jersey (the fans approve of the mocking) before praising the Vision for winning. He tries to give something back to the fans, like Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar, but here is Pearce to interrupt. Apparently the email said that all charges against Seth Rollins have been dropped, which Heyman seems to lie about knowing in advance.

Heyman isn’t worried because he’s the last manager standing from the 1980s and the last promoter standing from the 1990s. Pearce gets to the second part of the email: Rollins is medically cleared to compete (how this really changes much for Heyman isn’t clear). Cue Rollins from behind with a chair to knock Heyman down. The Stomp is loaded up…but Gunther pops up to choke Rollins out. Gunther even points at the sign (and got his eye cut up somewhere in there). That’s an interesting way to go and it’s certainly a big match for Gunther at Wrestlemania.

Post break we look at what we saw pre-break.

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Iyo Sky

Neither get an entrance. Sky is sent into the corner to start but comes back with a quickly broken octopus. A dropkick to the knee sends Rodriguez outside but she cuts off a dive and hits a hard clothesline. Back in and Sky can’t get very far on an armbar so Rodriguez kicks her in the face. A hurricanrana sends Rodriguez into the corner though and Sky hits an Asai moonsault as we take a break.

We come back with Sky hitting a springboard missile dropkick into the running knees in the corner. Over The Moonsault hits raised knees though and Rodriguez Pounces her for two. Cue the Kabuki Warriors as Sky fights up and hits a top rope diving DDT. The running knees connect in the corner again as Asuka yells at Kairi Sane. Sky dives onto Asuka (and lands on her head for a scary crash), which she says she did for Sane. Back in and the Tejana Bomb finishes for Rodriguez at 10:28.

Rating: C+. This was another match that felt a bit tacked on to get us to something at Wrestlemania. Sky doing something against Asuka, possibly for Sane’s freedom, could be interesting, though I’m not sure where that leaves Rodriguez. The match was fine, though it never really got going.

Wrestlemania rundown, with Rey Fenix, Je’Von Evans, Rusev and JD McDonagh now in the ladder match. Also added: Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio and a four way tag for the Women’s Tag Team Titles, featuring the four teams from earlier tonight.

Oh and John Cena is hosting Wrestlemania.

Adam Pearce makes Seth Rollins vs. Gunther for Wrestlemania.

Here is Roman Reigns for a chat. He soaks in some dueling chants and hits his catchphrase…but here is a ticked off CM Punk, who marches to the ring and starts the fight fast. Reigns gets the better of things by knocking Punk outside, where Adam Pearce and security are here again. Reigns loads up the powerbomb but Punk gets out and tries a GTS.

Reigns manages to spear Petey Williams but walks into the GTS. Punk teases leaving and then comes back to powerbomb Reigns through the announcers’ table. Punk sits down next to him and does the crazy laugh before mocking the Roman Reigns chants. Celebrating/posing ends the show. This was a hot angle and it’s nice to see Punk fired up, as this feud is ready to go for Wrestlemania.

Overall Rating: B-. There wasn’t much in the way of great action this week but there was more than enough build to Wrestlemania. You had a few title matches added, plus Gunther vs. Seth Rollins, which should be quit the undercard match. The Reigns vs. Punk stuff is still good and I want to see where it goes at Wrestlemania, which is a good feeling. This wasn’t a great show , though it did get some important things accomplished, which is the bigger deal.

Results
The Vision b. Usos – Brass knuckles punch to Jimmy
Irresistible Forces b. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria via DQ when Alexa Bliss interfered
Penta b. Kofi Kingston – Mexican Destroyer
Raquel Rodriguez b. Iyo Sky – Tejana Bomb

 

 

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

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

Wrestlemania XXI
Date: April 3, 2005
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 20,193
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz
America The Beautiful: Lilian Garcia

Then it was time to change things. In this case, that’s going to be at the hands of Batista and John Cena, who are challenging for the World Titles. There isn’t exactly much of a secret that they’re getting the belts, but that has made for some great Wrestlemania moments before. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Battle Royal

Tajiri, William Regal, Rhino, Hurricane, Rosey, Maven, Simon Dean, Gene Snitsky, Chris Masters, Val Venis, Tyson Tomko, Sylvain Grenier, Rob Conway, Viscera, Hardcore Holly, Charlie Haas, Nunzio, Billy Kidman, Mark Jindrak, Funaki, Akio, Orlando Jordan, Doug Basham, Danny Basham, Heidenreich, Luther Reigns, Booker T.. Paul London, Spike Dudley, Scotty 2 Hotty

Eh nothing wrong with getting everyone a DVD bonus credit. The Raw and Smackdown sides square off and Hurricane gives Heidenreich a mask…so Heidenreich punches him in the face as we officially start. Spike goes to the apron as there are so many people in the ring that they can’t move very much. Hurricane is out first (the fans disapprove) as Tazz talks about this being a team effort between Raw and Smackdown. I’m still not sure how but WWE would push that idea forever.

Reigns is gone too and Viscera gets knocked down, which doesn’t seem to be a great idea. Some people hold Viscera down so Scotty can hit the Worm, only for Masters to toss Scotty, Funaki and Spike in a row. Haas is out as well as the ring is at least clearing out a bit. Nunzio is on the floor but doesn’t seem to be out as things slow back down. Heidenreich (still in the mask) stops to eat a turnbuckle before clotheslining Venis out.

Dean is gone as well and Grenier follows him. There goes Rosey as Rhyno Gores Heidenreich from behind (OUCH). Rhyno is tossed out as well and Conway gets eliminated right after him to thin things out even more. The Raw and Smackdown guys square off, with Holly giving Regal an Alabama slam. Akio and Holly are tossed out and there goes Regal (who commentary doesn’t recognize). Tajiri mists Heidenreich, who can see well enough to kick London out.

Heidenreich is sent to the apron where he knocks out Tajiri before being kicked out by Snitsky. Jindrak gets rid of Snitsky as we’re down to Jindrak, Booker, Masters and Viscera. Masters dumps Jindrak and commentary tries to explain that Booker is down 2-1 because battle royals are suddenly team matches. Nunzio, who was never eliminated, comes back in and is tossed just as fast. Booker misses the side kick and gets caught in the ropes but manages to low bridge Viscera out. That leaves Booker with Masters and a superkick gives Booker the win at 11:19.

Rating: C. As usual, there’s only so much you can get out of this kind of a battle royal. It’s designed to get wrestlers on the card and it did that well enough. Booker winning is a fine way to get the crowd going and they weren’t out there very long. I could go for less of the Raw vs. Smackdown nonsense but that’s been a thing for years in WWE, even if it never really clicked.

Lilian Garcia sings America The Beautiful.

Since we’re in Los Angeles, we are officially going Hollywood and get a montage of the still incredible parody trailers, some of which are downright inspired.

We get the final trailer, featuring Steve Austin as Gladiator, which might be a stretch but getting Austin into something like this was a good move.

Commentary welcomes us to the show.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

They’re friends and partners (even champions) but it’s time for a friendly match. No superhero for Mysterio this time as instead it’s more of a Mexican flag theme. Mysterio starts fast with a suplex but gets armdragged into an early armbar. A big catapult sends Mysterio outside but Mysterio gets back inside to avoid a baseball slide and we have a standoff.

Back in and they go to a test of strength with Mysterio’s monkey flip not getting him anywhere. Guerrero goes to a keylock to stay on the arm but Mysterio manages to get in another monkey flip. Mysterio is sent crashing outside though and the arm is banged up, which has Guerrero in a better move (as he slips into the heel role, which fit him much better).

A hard belly to back suplex sets up a surfboard, followed by an STF. That’s a bit too complicated though so Guerrero switches back to the standard armbar. Mysterio is able to send him outside though and the big twisting dive drops Guerrero again. Back in and a backbreaker puts Mysterio right back down but he’s able to block the third Amigo. The 619 is blocked as well though and Mysterio snaps off a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. More suplexes have Mysterio down but he avoids the frog splash.

They trade some rollups for two each but now Mysterio is up with the 619. After adjusting his mask (Mysterio was using a different kind of clasp here and it was driving him crazy throughout the match, with all kinds of noticeable adjustments), the West Coast Pop is countered into a powerbomb (and Mysterio adjusts the mask again). Mysterio is down but comes up with a quick hurricanrana for the pin out of nowhere at 12:23.

Rating: B-. They were in a bit of a weird spot here as they are still great friends and didn’t want to go full blast, but not going full blast at Wrestlemania doesn’t exactly fit. Guerrero was getting a bit frustrated in there and that’s a sign for the future, as these two were going to be doing this for the next few months. It’s still a good match, but it was a slow first step in a big story, which might not be the best fit for Wrestlemania.

Post match respect is shown and everything is ok.

JBL, with the Cabinet, runs into HHH, with Ric Flair. They compare greatness and JBL tells HHH to get ready to lose the title for the tenth time tonight. HHH says if JBL keeps telling people how good he is, someone will believe him eventually. They’ll see who is still champion at the end of the night. My goodness the idea of those two having a match makes my skin crawl.

Chris Jericho vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Edge vs. Chris Benoit vs. Kane vs. Christian

And here’s something important as it’s the inaugural Money In The Bank. Benjamin is the Intercontinental Champion and Kane gets the still awesome entrance of the Hollywood set and the ladders being set on fire (even Kane seems to think it’s cool). The brawl starts in the aisle with Kane getting the better of things and going after the ladder. That’s broken up and Benoit and Benjamin suplex Kane on the floor.

Christian goes for the ladder but Jericho knocks him into the ring, which is the official start. Benjamin is in to hammer on Jericho, who knocks him right back down. A triangle dropkick hits Edge and Benoit, followed by a dive to take out the former. Christian is back in with a dive onto his three fellow Canadians. Benjamin is of course right there with an even bigger dive, followed by Kane’s dive onto everyone but Christian. Kane throws in the ladder but Jericho takes it away and gets to wreck various people.

Benoit German suplexes Jericho, sending the ladder flying in the process. Kane tries to chokeslam Benoit off the ladder but gets pulled into the Crossface. Edge breaks it up for no logical reason and gets Crossfaced as well, with Kane breaking that up as well. That’s not enough for Kane, who puts Benoit’s arm inside a ladder and crushes it a few times, only for Edge to drop Kane with a spear. Edge and Christian get back together for a bit, only for Benjamin to send Edge into a ladder in the corner.

A Stinger Splash crushed Edge against the ladder and Benjamin goes up, only for Jericho to cut him off. Christian sets up another ladder so Benoit climbs at the same time, with Edge setting up a third ladder next to them. Everyone but Kane is up until Christian pulls Benoit down with a DDT on the arm. Jericho is knocked down, leaving Benjamin to Exploder Edge down for the huge crash. Christian bridges a ladder into the standing one, with Jericho climbing up.

That lets Benjamin run up the bridge to clothesline Jericho off, sending him crashing out to the floor. Kane is back up though and it’s time to start wrecking people. Benjamin gets chokeslammed…well mostly onto the ropes as he crashes out to the floor. Christian’s lackey Tyson Tomko comes in to boot Kane but gets knocked over the top. Christian gets a hand on the briefcase but Kane shoves the ladder over, sending Christian down onto Tomko for a crazy crash (and thankfully not breaking Tomko’s leg in the process).

Kane and Jericho go up and knock each other off onto the ropes for another big spill. Benoit, with his arm dangling, goes up and Swan Dives onto Kane, which doesn’t seem so bright but that’s kind of par for the course for him. The bloody Benoit goes up but has to headbutt Kane down, only to get chaired in the arm by Edge. That’s enough for Edge to get the briefcase and win at 15:19.

Rating: B+. I still really like this one as the match hadn’t been bogged down by a bunch of cliches and having far too many people. Edge looked ruthless with the chair shot on the end and him stealing the briefcase (despite not breaking any rules) fit in perfectly. There are more than enough high spots and carnage here to make it work and it’s a rather fun bit of chaos.

Here is Eugene for a surprise appearance. He’s happy to be at Wrestlemania and talks about loving King Kong Bundy beating up a midget and the midget army getting together to go after him. This is the greatest moment of his life but here are Muhammad Hassan and Daivari to interrupt. Hassan is livid, which Eugene thinks means he doesn’t like midgets. That sends Hassan into a rant about how he isn’t on the biggest show of the year and how prejudiced Hollywood has been over the years.

He’s never lost but he has to take a backseat to EUGENE? He will not stand for this and is going to create a Wrestlemania Moment. Hassan jumps the injured Eugene and the double beatdown is on. The camel clutch is locked in….and it’s HULK HOGAN walking that aisle to an absolute roar. Hogan cleans house of the villains, including shrugging off a chair from Daivari. The ring is cleared and Hogan poses as the fans eat this all up. Yeah it still works.

We recap the Undertaker vs. Randy Orton. Over the last few weeks, Orton has tried to show more of an edge and wants to kill the biggest legend of them all. Undertaker doesn’t take kindly to this and wants to hurt someone, which can’t go well for Orton.

Undertaker vs. Randy Orton

It’s Wrestlemania so we’ve got druids (one of which might be Kofi Kingston, who implied it was him but it might have been from a segment on Smackdown). Orton circles around to start and hits a quick dropkick, followed by a backdrop. Undertaker isn’t having that and knocks him to the floor, setting up the apron legdrop. Old School connects but Orton is back up with a dropkick to knock Undertaker off the apron and hard into the barricade. Back in and Orton tries to keep things slow but ducks his head, allowing Undertaker to hit the running DDT.

The corner clothesline hits Orton, who reverses Snake Eyes with an elbow to put Undertaker back down. The forearms to the chest just wake Undertaker up, which can never be a good thing. A clothesline puts Orton down (though he didn’t seem to be ready for it) for two and Undertaker grabs the dragon sleeper that he tried really hard to get over, to limited success. It’s only good for two arm drops here, as Orton reverses into a DDT for two. The chinlock (of course) goes on, which Orton switches into a sleeper, which Undertaker breaks up with a sleeper rather quickly.

Orton’s powerslam gets two and Orton is stunned at the kickout. Dude it was a powerslam. Calm down. The Last Ride out of the corner is blocked but the referee gets bumped. Another Last Ride is loaded up but here is Cowboy Bob Orton with a cast shot to the face, naturally for two.

The ticked off Undertaker comes up swinging, only to have to kick Bob down again. The chokeslam is loaded up…and countered into the RKO for a rather delayed two (if there was ever a point to end the Streak in this era, that was 100% it, with one of the best counters ever). Ever the moron, Randy tries a Tombstone and gets reversed into the real thing for the pin at 14:06 (that’s 13-0).

Rating: B. I’ve seen this match a bunch of times and I still feel bad when the RKO doesn’t finish it off. That was a perfect place to do it but dang they didn’t go that way. That being said, it’s still a heck of a match with Undertaker getting to show that he still has it. The Streak was a thing by this point and the idea of someone trying to take it out was becoming something huge, which would only get FAR bigger over the years.

We recap Trish Stratus defending the Women’s Title against Christy Hemme. This translates to “Lita is injured and Christy is in Playboy so it’s as good as we can do”.

Women’s Title: Christy Hemme vs. Trish Stratus

Hemme, with Lita (her coach), is challenging. Stratus even lays down for her to start before coming up with a shove. The one sided beating begins but Hemme blocks a Chick Kick. Lita offers a distraction and Hemme gets in a low blow (sure) so she can stomp away. Stratus is back up and they seem to get a bit confused so Stratus fires off some chops.

Hemme starts contorting and Lawler starts cheering, with Stratus hitting a spear to send her outside. Back in and a rollup gives Hemme two and she fires off some rather bad kicks. A reverse Twist Of Fate gets two and they fight over a rollup. Stratus has had it with this and kicks her in the head (area) to retain at 4:40.

Rating: D+. Well, they tried. The problem here is very simple: Hemme isn’t a wrestler and there isn’t much that can be done to get around that reality. Lita was only so much of a factor here, but again she could only do so much. There wasn’t much they could do here and the match wasn’t good, but you can only give them so much blame.

We recap Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle. Michaels eliminated him from the Royal Rumble and Angle was ticked. He even brought up being tired of hearing about Michaels when he was the best amateur wrestler in the world back in 1996 and it’s time for him to prove his amazingness. On the other hand, it’s Michaels at Wrestlemania.

Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle

They stare each other down to start and Michaels slaps him in the face, only to get wrestled to the ground without much effort. Michaels goes straight over to the ropes (in the same start, minus the slap, that Michaels would have with Shelton Benjamin about a month later) and we reset a bit. A headlock slows Angle down a bit and Michaels grinds away on that for a good while.

Angle finally gets up but gets hiptossed into a short armscissors as they’re definitely starting slowly. Back up and Angle drives him into the corner, where Michaels slugs away. That’s cut off again and the referee gets a bit too physical, allowing Angle to hit a forearm to the back. The ankle lock is broken up and Michaels clotheslines him out to the floor. It’s already time to load up the announcers’ table but Angle picks Michaels up for an Angle Slam into the post (the goal was for Michaels’ back to hit but it was more his hip, with the replay not helping).

Back in and Angle snaps off the suplex, followed by the reverse chinlock. With that broken up, Angle loads up the belly to belly superplex but Michaels knocks him off. The top rope elbow misses though and Angle takes the straps down, only to have the Angle Slam countered with an armdrag. Michaels backdrops him to the floor and goes up for a crossbody, only to seemingly slip and make the landing even nastier than usual. Angle gets up to block the Asai moonsault but can’t German suplex him off the apron. Instead Michaels hits a springboard crossbody to crush Angle onto the table and they’re both down.

They barely beat the count and slowly slug it out, with Michaels hitting the forearm. Now the elbow can connect but the superkick is countered into the ankle lock (which is a pretty simple way to go but Michaels can be a bit dim at times). Michaels finally makes the rope and gets two off a rollup but the superkick is countered again. One heck of an Angle Slam gets two and Angle isn’t sure what to do. He goes intellectual by putting the straps back up so he can take them down again (that’s just brilliant) but misses a moonsault (which almost sound up being a moonsault headbutt).

Michaels goes up again and it’s a super Angle Slam for two, with the fans losing it on the kickout. Angle yells at him a lot and gets superkicked for his efforts. Michaels finally gets the cover but Angle gets the shoulder up at the last half second, with the fans not being pleased. They slowly get up and Angle snatches the ankle lock, with Michaels rolling around but he can’t escape. Angle even gets the grapevine and Michaels still hangs on for the better part of two minutes (GEEZ) before tapping at 27:30.

Rating: A-. That ending is one of the only things that holds this one back as otherwise it’s an absolute classic. This is one of those pairings where you can just put them in the ring and you know it’s going to be magic, which is exactly what happened here. The double strap pull down is still great and the match holds up rather well. I mean…it’s Michaels vs. Angle for almost half an hour at Wrestlemania. What more do you want?

And after that, let’s have Piper’s Pit. Piper thanks the fans for the honor of the Hall Of Fame, despite them not really having much to do with it. As for tonight, he wanted to talk to the baddest, meanest, low downest rattlesnake son of an unnamed goat in WWE. Who is the biggest rebel in WWE? Steve Austin? BULLS***!

Piper has to see this guy in person so here is Austin, for the first time in a good while. Austin gets in the ring, where Piper welcomes him to the Pit and then slaps him. Austin thanks Piper and slaps him right back. Piper: “I kinda like ya!” Piper says he respects Austin and is immediately thrown off by the WHAT chants. He likes what Austin has done with Vince McMahon over the years (and starts getting the rhythm right to deal with the chants) but he was here when Wrestlemania didn’t even have a number.

Piper agrees on everything else, but when it comes to being a rebel, Austin has nothing on him. Austin mocks Piper’s fashion sense and says he isn’t intimidated whatsoever. Piper goes to respond but Austin tells him to think about it…and here’s Carlito to be in WAY over his head. Austin and Piper accuse the other of having a plan but Carlito says they’re slapping each other like little girls. Neither of them are cool and everyone wants to see Carlito. Piper calls Carlito “Alfalfa” for his out of date reference of the night.

Carlito wants both of them out of here and loads up the apple, which Piper takes. Instead Piper takes a bite of the apple and spits it at Carlito, who comes up swinging. Austin makes the save and hits the Stunner on Carlito. Piper throws Carlito out, beer is consumed, and Piper gets Stunned too. All in all, a pretty complete wast of time as they didn’t have anything to say to each other and Austin didn’t seem to care.

Akebono vs. Big Show

This is a sumo match and the fans are basically silent for Akebono, mainly because he has nothing to do with WWE. The whole point of this is to have the sight gag of Big Show in a thong and that’s about it. They do the big ceremonial start, they grapple, Show almost gets him out, Akebono does get him out at 1:01. This was a thing that happened.

We recap JBL defending the Smackdown World Title against John Cena. It’s a straight up culture clash as JBL is the old school rich Texan while Cena is the modern star who had the spinner title and wears throwback jerseys. Cena won a tournament and the match was on, but they weren’t allowed to have any physical contact. Therefore, they both tormented the other to ramp up some tension.

Smackdown World Title: John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

Cena is challenging while JBL gets a police motorcade and JBL bucks rain down from the ceiling. Cena starts fast with a running shoulder for a knockdown but JBL gets a boot up in the corner. That means JBL can hit his own running shoulder and Cena is in trouble for a change. The slow beating ensues, including JBL grabbing a swinging neckbreaker for two.

Back up and JBL chokes on the ropes before Cena tries to fight back, only to charge into a spinebuster for two more. There’s another neckbreaker for another two, followed by a short arm clothesline for the same. JBL forearms him in the back and grabs the sleeper, with Cena finally suplexing his way out of trouble.

A double clothesline puts both of them down but Cena is sent crashing out to the floor. Back in and JBL takes him up top for the superplex but goes for a high crossbody for some reason, earning a powerslam out of the air. Cena initiates the comeback and it’s the ProtoBomb into the Shuffle. JBL gets a boot up in the corner but misses the Clothesline, allowing Cena to hit the FU for his first World Title at 11:27.

Rating: C. Yeah it’s historic as Cena gets the win to end the JBL title reign, but at the end of the day, it was a pretty boring match. JBL just could not back it up in the ring and that was on display here. Cena tried as hard as he could and had the fire in his eyes, but JBL never even had a big near fall to build some drama. Cena wins clean, but that’s all there was here and that didn’t quite carry it to greatness.

Post match Cena celebrates in the crowd in a clip that was on a lot of highlight reels.

We go to the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony from last night, with Hulk Hogan headlining and Roddy Piper getting in a nice speech. Iron Sheik doing his rambling and raving and Bobby Heenan going “WHAT THE H*** DID HE JUST SAY???” was great too.

Gene Okerlund presents the class of 2005:

Nikolai Volkoff (unfortunately not in the brown suit)
Iron Sheik (makes sense)
Paul Orndorff (who apparently intentionally left his plaque in his hotel room because it was cheap)
Bob Orton Jr. (the arm seems healed)
Jimmy Hart (you have to have him)
Roddy Piper (yep)
Hulk Hogan (they’re probably not here without him)

We recap HHH defending the Raw World Title against Batista. They’ve been part of Evolution together but Batista has become a star, while HHH is still the focal point. It became clear that HHH only cared about keeping himself as the star but then Batista won the Royal Rumble. Before he could decide who to challenge, he overheard HHH and Ric Flair mocking him, which was enough for him to make the decision to challenge HHH. The thumbs up turning into a thumbs down as he chose to come after HHH is still great stuff.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Batista

HHH, with Ric Flair, is defending and is played to the ring by Motorhead, with Lemmy mostly butchering the words. To be fair, it’s still a pretty awesome entrance and the belt looks extra shiny. Unfortunately this is before Batista got I Walk Alone so his entrance doesn’t have the same impact. We get an old school weapons check and we’re ready to go. They take turns shoving each other to start with Batista getting a bit of an advantage with the power game.

HHH’s running shoulder doesn’t work as Batista knocks him down so we’ll try a headlock instead. An early Pedigree attempt is countered into quite the slam and HHH needs to cool off a bit. Back up and HHH goes with the simple idea of hitting Batista in the face but Batista gives him a backdrop. The jumping knee puts Batista outside again, where Flair’s distraction lets HHH send Batista into the steps.

Back in and HHH chokes away so Flair does the same, with Lawler not seeing anything wrong with it. HHH rams Batista’s back into the barricade a few times and starts hammering away on it back inside. Some knees to the back set up a backbreaker and Flair chokes away again (JR losing it is great). Batista fights out of the corner but walks into the spinebuster for two. The neckbreaker gets two more but another Pedigree attempt is countered with a backdrop.

HHH facebusters him for two and goes up, only to get clotheslined out of the air. A sidewalk slam gives Batista two but he charges into a boot in the corner. Batista is fine enough to throw HHH into the corner and over the top for a big crash outside. Batista follows in a not so bright move and gets sent into the steps, with HHH taking him onto those steps for a Pedigree attempt. That’s countered into a catapult into the post and we’ve got the fastest bleeding in history.

HHH’s bleeding head is rammed into more steps before they get back inside, where Batista has that look in his eyes. Batista just unloads with forearms to the cut, followed by a running corner clothesline. It works so well that Batista does it again, followed by a powerslam for two. HHH staggers out to the floor, where Flair’s distraction lets him grab a chair.

The referee takes it away but gets bumped in the process, allowing Flair to grab the belt. That earns him a spinebuster back inside so the referee gets rid of him, allowing HHH to get in a belt shot for two. Batista is back with the spinebuster but HHH goes low. The Pedigree is blocked AGAIN, with Batista even breaking HHH’s grip for a cool visual. Batista powers him up for an Air Raid Crash of all things and it’s thumbs down. The Batista Bomb finishes HHH at 21:34.

Rating: B. The goal here was to make Batista look like a huge deal and put him over for the World Title on the biggest stage of them all. That worked and it worked very well. You really couldn’t have asked for the result to be much better, though the match itself didn’t quite get all the way to greatness. It’s perfectly good though and that’s enough to get by, especially with the right result.

Post match Batista glares at HHH and Flair as they leave. Batista poses as the pyro goes off (that was on the opening highlight package for a long time).

The big highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B+. Again, the goal of this show was to get Cena and Batista over as the new generation and that happened. Everything else is pretty much a big bonus, with only the Women’s Title and sumo matches being downgrades. Angle vs. Michaels is pretty easily the match of the night, with some other rather good stuff included. I liked this more than I thought I would and it’s a rather strong show, with the big goal being more than accomplished.

 

 

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

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

Wrestlemania XX
Date: March 14, 2004
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 18,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Tazz, Michael Cole

It’s the second of three redos this year and it is a show that I have seen quite a few times over the years. WWE knows how to bust out the big anniversary shows and that is what we will be seeing here. The fact that the show is in Madison Square Garden makes it even better. The main event is HHH defending the Raw World Title against Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels in a match that I think might work. Let’s get to it.

The Harlem Boys Choir sing America the Beautiful with a VERY patriotic montage.

The opening video features Vince McMahon walking out of the shadows and talking about how he had a vision twenty years ago which shaped everything today. This gives us the always awesome montage of Wrestlemania clips, which really is their strong suit. They know how to make things feel special and that is what they did here. Speaking of special, the video ends with Shane McMahon now next to Vince and presenting his son, Vince’s first grandchild, as the narrator talks about where it all begins again. That has always stuck with me since I saw this show for the first time and it is great.

In a change from the usual MSG setup, the entrance is on the left instead of opposite the hard camera, though there is a large screen showing the current match.

We get the traditional welcome from the multiple commentary teams.

US Title: John Cena vs. Big Show

Cena is challenging and is on fire here, while Big Show has defended the title less than three times since winning it back in October. Cena’s rap mocks Show’s anatomy in various ways and promises that he’ll win the title tonight. Show shoves him away to start but Cena is back with the right hands. Cena’s shots are shrugged off though and he gets sent outside, setting up a powerslam for two back inside.

The fans think Show sucks as he slowly hammers Cena down, including a slam. We get the required standing on Cena’s chest/throat and a suplex drops Cena again. More standing, this time on Cena’s back, seems to wake him up a bit but Show kicks him in the face. Show’s standing legdrop gets two and the frustration starts setting in fast. Powered by the fans (his kind always is), Cena slips out of a slam and grabs a choke, which earns him a hard clotheslines.

Show is back with the cobra clutch but Cena powers out again and avoids a charge in the corner. The FU barely gets two though and now it’s Cena being stunned. With nothing else working, Cena grabs his chain, which is taken away by the competent referee. Instead it’s the brass knuckles off Show’s head, setting up the FU to give the filthy cheater the pin and the title at 9:20.

Rating: C. This was more of a coronation than anything else and it came at the end of a not very interesting match. The problem with someone like Show is there are only so many things that you can do with him. Cena has the power to make it work a little better, but this isn’t the best time in Show’s history and it was obvious here. That being said, this was ALL about Cena and as long as he left with the title, nothing else mattered.

Coach is walking through the back and after meeting various people like Tom Prichard and Teddy Long, he goes in to see Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff (with assistant Johnny Nitro), who wants to make sure that Undertaker is here. Bischoff sends Coach to find him but Coach isn’t exactly comfortable with that. He goes anyway, as Bischoff doesn’t really care.

Evolution, minus HHH, is in a stairwell, with Randy Orton talking about how it’s ironic that we are back here in MSG where he became the new Hardcore Legend. We see a clip of Orton kicking Mick Foley down these steps, which made Foley walk away back in December. Then Foley came back, when Orton spat in his face. Foley can’t accept that life has passed him by, just like evolution.

We see clips of Foley being beaten up over and over, including a segment where Foley told Orton to really hit him in the face. Evolution has gotten bored with it, just like Foley, so he called Hollywood to get the Rock. Then Evolution beat him down too and they’ll do it again tonight. It all started here in MSG, and tonight it all ends here as well. This one always stuck out for me too, just because of the different location.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Rob Van Dam/Booker T. vs. Dudley Boyz vs. La Resistance vs. Mark Jindrak/Garrison Cade

Van Dam and Booker are defending (with their pretty terrible mashup theme) and this is one fall to a finish. Dupree and Van Dam start things off with a monkey flip sending Dupree flying. Booker beats up La Resistance but it’s off to Bubba for the hard lockup. A neckbreaker drops Booker for two and the snap jabs put him down again. D-Von comes in so Van Dam takes him down with a top rope kick to the face, showing that he too is a filthy cheater by coming in without a tag.

Jindrak tags himself in to stomp away on Booker and it’s Dupree coming back in to drive Booker into the corner. Conway cranks on both arms with a knee in Booker’s back for far too long until a spinebuster breaks things up. The hot tag brings in Van Dam to clean house but D-Von shoves him off the top to break up the Five Star. Everything breaks down and Cade saves Booker from the 3D. Booker kicks Conway down and the Five Star retains the titles at 7:54.

Rating: C-. This is one of the most “yeah whatever” matches I can remember in a long time. There were too many people involved and it was only so good because of all of the people running around. Also, why are you using a minute of an eight minute match on a rest hold? You have eight people involved but we spent that long on Conway pulling Booker’s arms? Really?

Coach goes to find Undertaker and is told there are some “freakish noises” coming from a door. He heads to the door, which is being knocked back and forth. Gene Okerlund, pulling his clothes come back on, comes out, followed by Bobby Heenan, whose shirt is undone. Coach wonders what is going on, but Heenan says they were playing poker. Heenan: “He was dealing.” Coach wants to know what was going on in there, so here are Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young, who grab Gene and Heenan and drag them back in. Heenan: “No I don’t want to go back! I haven’t been well!” This still gets me every time.

We recap Christian vs. Chris Jericho. They used to be best friends and made a bet about who could be more, ahem, successful with Lita and Trish Stratus respectively. Lita kind of went away, but Jericho started to fall for Trish. She found out about the bet and yelled at Jericho, who then tried to win her back. Christian turned on Jericho to get him to be the old Jericho again, setting up the match. This was a really detailed story and I’ve always liked it for telling a coherent story throughout. You don’t get that often and it was one of the best of the era.

Chris Jericho vs. Christian

They fight over a lockup to start and go into the corner, with Christian shoving him instead of giving a clean break. Jericho punches him in the face and starts throwing knees to take over, setting up the running elbow. A kick to the face and a backdrop to the floor keep Christian in trouble and Jericho hits a bit dive to take him down again. Back in and Christian manages to belly to back suplex him to the floor to take over for the first time.

The neck crank goes on back inside, followed by a chinlock with a knee in Jericho’s back. A spinwheel kick gives Christian two and it’s time to slap Jericho in the face a few times. That earns him a head to head collision though and they’re both down. The slugout goes to Jericho and he hits the running crotch attack to the back in the ropes. The step up enziguri gives Jericho two but Christian reverses a rollup into one of his own, with a grab of the rope getting two.

Jericho’s bulldog sets up the Lionsault to Christian’s raised knees and a reverse tornado DDT gives Christian two of his own. Jericho is right back up with his swinging sleeper drop but he gets tossed off the top, banging up his knee in the process. Christian’s high crossbody is rolled through so he kicks Jericho in the knee. The Texas Cloverleaf goes on for a bit until Jericho reverses into the Walls.

Christian is in the ropes almost immediately and he rolls outside….with Jericho holding on and keeping the Walls on outside. Back in and a butterfly superplex gives Jericho two and here is Trish Stratus to slap the apron. An implant DDT gives Christian two, which draws Trish up to the apron. Christian shoves her down so Jericho sends him outside. Trish elbows Jericho in the face (it’s unclear if she could see who it was) and Christian’s rollup with tights is enough for the pin at 14:44.

Rating: B. This got going once it became a regular match and these two have more than enough talent to make a longer match work. Christian certainly needed the win more than Jericho here, as it was a big boost in probably his biggest singles win ever. Jericho winning here ends the feud so having Christian move up is the right way to go. Good match too, and that really shouldn’t be surprising.

Post match Trish is upset and apologizes to Jericho. Christian comes back but Trish turns on Jericho and slaps him on the face, setting up the Unprettier. Evil Trish leaves with Christian and we get the semi-famous kiss on the stage in the next big step for both of them.

Mick Foley is fired up to be back in Madison Square Garden and needs to get in that mindset to put all of this anger and emotion on Evolution. The Rock interrupts and is VERY fired up, saying he has finally come back…..home. After telling Lilian Garcia not to look at the People’s package (which she does), Rock steals the cameraman to come with him and sees Hurricane and Rosey, Jimmy Snuka and Don Muraco and then goes all the way into the arena for a shot of the crowd. They’re ready for Evolution and it’s weird seeing Rock and Foley as these two big serious guys going up against evil.

Evolution vs. The Rock/Mick Foley

No recap video here, but it’s basically Foley fighting Randy Orton and the two of them both have major backup. Rock and Foley clear the ring to start before Rock and Flair settle things down, giving the New York fans a crazy dream match. A shoulder puts Flair down and Rock busts out a strut, with Flair coming back up for a WOO. The chops don’t do Flair any good and Rock hits a backdrop to send him rolling outside.

Foley follows him out and drops Flair with a clothesline before coming in himself. That sends Orton bailing to the floor so Foley is right there to send him into the announcers’ table. Back in and Rock takes over on Orton (there’s a dream match we never got), but has to punch Flair and Batista off the apron. The distraction is enough for Batista to come in and take over, allowing Flair to hit some more effective chops. We get the big strut and Flair goes up top and….oh you know the deal.

Batista comes back in before Rock can bring in Foley but the tag brings in Foley a few seconds later anyway. Foley fights out of the corner and hammers Batista down but that huge Batista clothesline cuts his down. Some double teaming on the floor has Foley in more trouble and there’s the big whip to send him knees first into the steps (taking that bump so many times explains so much about why Foley walks that way).

Back in and Foley and Flair slug it out until Orton can come in and pull at Foley’s hair for a reverse chinlock. Batista adds some clotheslines but Foley slips in a quick Mandible Claw. In a smarter move than you would expect from a musclehead like this version of Batista, he waves Orton in for the save instead of getting in more trouble. Flair comes back in and gets forearmed in the face, allowing the really easy tag back to Rock. House is cleaned but Batista cuts him off with a spinebuster.

That lets Flair….load up the People’s Elbow (complete with throwing an invisible elbow pad), but again he takes too long, allowing Rock to nip up and really clean house. The spinebuster plants Flair, setting up a People’s Elbow, complete with strut, for a delayed two. There’s the Rock Bottom to Orton with Flair making the save.

Flair grabs a chair but the distraction lets the Batista Bomb hit Rock to give Orton two (in the same way Batista helped Orton beat Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 2003). The real hot tag brings in Foley to clean house but the Mandible Claw takes too long (theme of the match) and Orton grabs an RKO for the pin at 17:55.

Rating: B+. The more I see this match, the more I like it, as you have Rock and Flair doing everything they could to steal the show and Foley going after Orton every chance he could. Batista was in there with the muscle and it made for a great showcase. It was every bit the big moment that they were shooting for and it made me want to see a bunch of these combinations again. That wouldn’t happen for the most part, but dang they made this one work really well, as the match itself was a backdrop to just doing entertaining stuff, leaving the crowd completely in their hands.

Hall of Fame video recap, featuring Heenan’s “I wish Monsoon was here”, which will get me every single time.

The Hall of Fame class is introduced by Gene Okerlund:

Bobby Heenan (still playing to the crowd as only he can)
Tito Santana (about as perfect of a midcarder as you could have)
Big John Studd (represented by his son)
Harley Race (yep, though billing him as The King is a bit odd)
Pete Rose (booed, but apparently very grateful for the honor so points for that)
Don Muraco (I could go for more of him, as you don’t see him brought up very often)
Greg Valentine (who looks like he is ready for Wrestlemania IV)
Junkyard Dog (represented by his daughter)
Billy Graham (there’s an influential one)
Sgt. Slaughter (with the salutes)
Jesse Ventura (I could listen to that voice talk about anything, as long as he jabs McMahon)

This was the first class in almost ten years and it is a heck of a group, though no one really stands out as a headliner.

Sable/Torrie Wilson vs. Miss Jackie/Stacy Keibler

Playboy Evening Gown match, as Jackie and Stacy are jealous of the other two for being in the magazine. Hold on though as Sable wants to start minus the evening gowns. That’s exactly what we do, with commentary reacting exactly as you would expect them to. Jackie won’t drop her gown so it gets ripped off of her to start fast. Sable kicks at Jackie’s ribs in the corner and Torrie comes in with a high crossbody.

Stacy comes in (taking her time to come over the ropes) and throws in a cartwheel. The Kevin Nash choke in the corner doesn’t do Stacy much good so they go to the pinfall reversal sequence for various camera shots. Stacy’s kick to the face gets two on Torrie before it’s back to Jackie. The referee gets rolled over and it’s Torrie reversing a rollup for the pin on Jackie at 2:32. This is exactly what you would have expected it to be.

Fans have come from various states and countries for the show.

WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero says he has Chris Benoit’s back win or lose, but Benoit doesn’t like the word lose. Eddie says no one believes in him but Benoit says he believes in himself and tonight is his night. That’s what Eddie wanted to hear.

Cruiserweight Title: Cruiserweight Open

Chavo Guerrero Jr. (with his dad) is defending and will enter last in the ten person gauntlet. Everyone gets their entrance (with Ultimo Dragon’s two slips edited out, thankfully) and it’s Shannon Moore in at #1 and Ultimo Dragon in at #2. Dragon works on the arm to start but Moore shoulders him down for….well not much really. Back up and Moore misses a Whisper in the Wind, allowing Dragon to hit his standing Sliced Bread for the elimination at 1:19.

Jamie Noble is in at #3 to jump Dragon from behind with a clothesline for two. Dragon is right back with his alternating kicks for two but he has to bail out of a moonsault. A neckbreaker drops Dragon and a guillotine choke finishes him off at 2:17 (total). Funaki is in at #4 and hits a high crossbody but Noble rolls through for the pin at 2:27.

Nunzio is in at #5 as commentary brings up SD Jones getting pinned in nine seconds at Wrestlemania. Some quick rollups give Nunzio two but Noble sends him outside for the HUGE flip dive off the top. They take turns pulling each other off the apron until Noble gets the countout elimination at 4:20.

Billy Kidman is in at #6 to jump Noble from behind (again with the filthy cheaters) and Nunzio pulls Noble to the floor. Instead of standing around, Kidman hits a crazy top rope shooting star onto the two of them for the almost terrifying landing. Thankfully Kidman is able to throw Noble back inside for two but has to fight out of the guillotine. An enziguri sets up the shooting star press, but Kidman has to fight Noble off. That’s fine enough, as the super BK Bomb gets rid of Noble at 6:12.

Rey Mysterio (as the Flash) is in at #7 and the top rope seated senton connects, only to have Kidman blast him with a dropkick. Mysterio hits his own dropkick to send Kidman outside but Akio snaps Rey’s throat across the top. Kidman’s spinebuster gets two so he puts Rey on top, only to get pulled down with a sunset bomb for the elimination at 7:30.

It’s Tajiri in at #8 to kick away at Mysterio and the Tarantula makes it worse. That doesn’t last long (just shy of five seconds oddly enough) and it’s the 619 to rock Tajiri. The springboard….something misses though and Tajiri loads up the mist, which hits an interfering Akio by mistake.

Rey grabs a rollup to get rid of Tajiri at 8:39 and apparently the mist means Akio can’t go, so Chavo is in at #10 to complete the field. Tajiri cheap shots Rey so Chavo gets two but Rey fights up and takes Chavo Sr. down. The running flip dive takes out Sr. again (well that seemed excessive) so Jr. grabs a rollup, with Sr. grabbing his hands to retain the title at 10:31.

Rating: C. This was the next match in the “well, here are a bunch of people” series of matches on the show. I’ve never gotten the logic of these matches as you have people getting falls in a minute when usual matches take five times as long as one elimination here. At the same time, Chavo just keeps the title, making this quite the uninteresting showcase, save for Kidman’s big spots.

We recap Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar. They talked trash to each other at the Royal Rumble and then Lesnar interfered in said Rumble to help eliminate Goldberg. Then Goldberg cost Lesnar the WWE Title so we have this match, with Steve Austin as guest referee. As a result, the feud wound up being Lesnar vs. Austin, as Austin gave Goldberg the idea to help cost Lesnar the title. Then Lesnar stole Austin’s ATV and Goldberg was just kind of there too. Oh and both Goldberg and Lesnar are leaving after the show and everyone knows about it.

Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

Steve Austin is guest referee. Lesnar and Goldberg do their big entrances and we immediately hit the YOU SOLD OUT chants (pick your target). They stare at each other for almost a minute and Austin tells them to go at it. Now it’s the Goodbye Song as I try to get my mind around the idea of Lesnar having a tiny goatee coming in. They stare at each other some more as commentary talks about Lesnar going to the NFL.

There’s no contact for the first two minutes so Austin stares at both of them as he figures out that this is going to be a long night. They finally lock up after about 2:50 and that stays on for nearly 40 seconds with both of them letting go. They fight over another lockup, and by fight I mean they’re standing there with their arms around each other’s heads. Fans: “THIS MATCH SUCKS!”

Lesnar grabs a headlock for the first offensive move about five minutes in. They trade shoulders with neither going anywhere so they go nose to nose to yell at each other. The double shoulder puts them both down and then stare at each other a bit. Goldberg FINALLY picks him up in a gorilla press for a spinebuster but the spear only hits buckle. After a GOLDBERG SUCKS chant, Lesnar throws him back inside for some suplexes and a standing choke as Lawler desperately tries to turn this into a Raw vs. Smackdown thing.

That goes on for a long time as well until Goldberg fights out and they collide again, earning some straight booing. Goldberg fights up again and hits some clotheslines into a swinging neckbreaker. The spear gets two so Goldberg yells at Austin, allowing Lesnar to come back with the F5 for two. Now it’s Lesnar yelling at Austin, meaning he misses a spear of his own. Goldberg hits the spear and the Jackhammer gets rid of Lesnar for about eight years.

Rating: D-. Of course the match is terrible and a form of torture in 14 states, but there is some kind of perverse entertainment out of the whole thing. This wasn’t designed to be an entertaining match but rather two guys just messing around until they did a few things and called it a match. It’s an all time mess, but it’s a bit different than a match being a wreck just because it isn’t any good. This one is so bad that it’s fun in a way, which is a very different thing.

Post match we get beer and Stunners as the fans are pleased with Austin for knocking out those two after that match.

Wrestlemania XXI is in Los Angeles.

In a very nice moment, Vince McMahon comes out to thank the fans for being there for twenty years of Wrestlemania. This is the kind of genuine feeling moment that you do not get in modern WWE and it was kind of sweet.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: World’s Greatest Tag Team vs. Basham Brothers vs. APA vs. Too Cool

Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty/Rikishi) are defending and again it’s one fall to a finish. Benjamin jumps Bradshaw to start and gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Doug Basham tags himself in and suplexes Benjamin down for two, with Haas having to make the save. Back up and Benjamin slams Doug onto Haas’ knee and it’s off to Scotty to run Haas over.

That lets Scotty stop to dance but he gets thrown over the top. Scotty is fine enough to skin the cat but Haas catches him on his shoulders, allowing Benjamin to hit the running jump onto his back. The Bashams come in and hit a double suplex on Scotty to take over as the heat segment in the second four way Tag Team Title match on a four and a half hour show continues.

Scotty finally flips out of a belly to back suplex and the hot tag brings in Rikishi to clean house. Haas takes the Stinkface and Bradshaw fall away slams Doug over the top and onto a pile on the floor. The Clothesline From Bradshaw hits Danny but Rikishi takes Bradshaw out and sits on Danny to retain at 6:03.

Rating: D+. It was about the same as the first four way, but this would probably be the first match that needed to be cut to trim some of the time off this very long show. Rikishi and Scotty are another on the long list of forgotten teams to hold the titles and it isn’t like this was anything memorable either.

Dancing ensues post match.

Edge is coming back after over a year away with a neck injury.

Here is Jesse Ventura to interview someone so he picks…..Donald Trump, who happens to be in the front row. Jesse plugs the Apprentice and suggests that he is going to run for President, even asking for Trump’s financial and moral support. Sure, and we’ll move on as fast as we can.

Women’s Title: Victoria vs. Molly Holly

Victoria is defending and this is title vs. hair, which was the only way they could get this match on the show so the two of them immediately agreed. Molly forearms her down to start and hits a running hip attack in the corner. Back up and Victoria spins out of a wristlock and Molly needs an early breather. She gets back in and grabs a snap suplex for two on Victoria, setting up a basement dropkick for two more.

The neck crank is on as Lawler goes into a discussion of Molly’s underwear. JR: “What does that have to do with this wrestling match?” Victoria fights up and hits a powerslam for two as JR wants some hot tea. Molly is sat on top and comes back with a sunset bomb for two of her own. For some reason Molly tries the Widow’s Peak (Victoria’s finisher) but Victoria reverses into a rollup to retain at 4:54.

Rating: C. They were victims of the time problems again here as there is only so much you can do in less than five minutes. The good thing is that the two of them are talented enough to make something out of nothing so the match was certainly watchable, even if it was more about setting up the post match stuff. It’s literally a case of this being the best WWE could give them though and that is better than just cutting the match.

Post match Molly tries to run away but gets sleepered out and tied in the chair for the big hair cut.

We recap Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Title. Angle attacked Eddie because he didn’t want a former drug addict as the WWE Champion (the future would not be kind to this story for Angle). Therefore, it is time for a real hero to take the title but Eddie isn’t standing for this. Smackdown General Manager Paul Heyman has gotten in on Angle’s side and has helped him destroy Eddie more than once, including once when Eddie’s hands were handcuffed behind his back. Now it’s time for revenge.

Smackdown World Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle

Eddie is defending and the haircut is continuing as Angle makes his entrance. They start slowly with Eddie actually taking him down but making the mistake of trying to go amateur with him. Angle’s headlock takeover works rather well but Eddie as we get the LET’S GO ANGLE/ANGLE SUCKS chants. Eddie gets a fireman’s carry takeover but Angle flips over into a front facelock without much trouble.

A backdrop gets Eddie out of trouble and he armdrags Angle over into an armbar, setting in the frustration. Angle fights up and gets an abdominal stretch to stretch Eddie’s abdominals before hitting a German suplex. The second is escaped and Eddie winds up on the apron, where he has to block the German suplex to the floor. A dropkick puts Angle down but Eddie’s big dive only hits the barricade to bang up his ribs even more.

Some shoulders to the ribs set up a bodyscissors but Eddie jawbreaks his way to freedom. That lasts for all of two seconds as Angle drops the ribs across the top rope and snaps off an overhead belly to belly. Now it’s a waistlock to stay on the ribs and another belly to belly gives Angle another two. Eddie manages a quick knockdown though and goes up for the frog splash, which only hits mat.

The frustrated Angle starts throwing right hands, which just fire Eddie up enough to start his comeback. The rolling German suplexes cut that off in a hurry but the Angle Slam is countered into an armdrag. Two Amigos connect until Angle picks the ankle but Eddie kicks him off immediately. Eddie goes up but Angle is right there with the run up the ropes belly to belly superplex for the big crash back down.

Angle runs him over again though and the straps come down, setting up the Angle Slam. Eddie breaks that up as well and it’s a DDT to set up the frog splash for a rather close two. The ankle lock goes on again so Eddie rolls him outside and starts untying his boot to loosen the pressure. Back in and the angry Angle grabs the ankle lock, only to have Eddie kick him away and lose his boot. Angle is so stunned that he gets small packaged to retain Eddie’s title at 21:33.

Rating: A-. This was more about the psychology as Angle was hyper focused and Eddie eventually suckered him in with the boot. It made for a great finish, but it also came after an awesome match with Angle taking Eddie apart as only he could and Eddie having to survive. The ending was a very Eddie way to retain the title and that grin is hard to turn down. Absolutely a Wrestlemania match and an instant classic that doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

We recap Undertaker vs. Kane in the return of the Dead Man. Kane had turned on Undertaker and buried him alive (again) because he thought Undertaker was going soft. Then the gong went off at the Royal Rumble and Kane realized he was in trouble. Now Undertaker is back and it’s time for some revenge.

Kane vs. Undertaker

It’s the first time the Dead Man has been back since 1999 and Paul Bearer is right there with him. We also have torch bearing druids, because you always need torch bearing druids. Kane is already panicked and shouts that Undertaker isn’t real, because somehow Kane still doesn’t get how Undertaker works. Undertaker finally starts punching away against the ropes and they head to the floor for a slugout. That goes to Undertaker, who hits the apron legdrop to stun Kane again.

Back in and Kane kicks him in the face and it turns into a slugout on the mat for a change. The side slam plants Undertaker again, setting up the top rope clothesline for two. Undertaker fights right back with more right hands and tries Old School, which is pulled out of the air by the throat. The chokeslam plants Undertaker but Kane poses instead of covering. Undertaker sits up and stares at Kane mid pose, meaning it’s time for the real beating. Right hands, the chokeslam and the Tombstone finish Kane to make it 12-0 at 6:55.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t about the match but rather Undertaker being back, so there was no reason to believe that Kane was any serious threat. What mattered here was having Undertaker get back in the ring and destroy Kane because he is back in a big way. Kane was the designated victim here, which has been the case for him so many times now that he should be used to it.

We recap HHH defending the Raw World Title against Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit. Michaels and HHH went to a draw at the Royal Rumble so HHH retained the title. Then Benoit jumped to Raw and said he wanted the Raw World Title. The contract signing was set but Shawn ran in to interrupt, saying he needed that one more shot. He took out Benoit and signed the contract, because WWE continues to not get how contracts work. Steve Austin then made the match a triple threat, with Shawn being the most wedged in challenger of all time.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit

HHH is defending in his weird white boots look. We go old school with the weapons check before Benoit sends HHH outside to start. That leaves Benoit to miss a backslide and Crossface on Shawn, who grabs a rollup for two. A northern lights suplex gives Benoit two but HHH is back in. Shawn has to skin the cat to get back inside, where he tosses Benoit out instead.

HHH is set outside as well, where he and Benoit are taken down by a baseball slide. Shawn’s big moonsault to the floor puts everyone down for a change until Benoit is left alone on the outside. The Pedigree is broken up by a returning Benoit, who fires off knees to Shawn’s ribs and sends him into the post. Shawn is fine enough to come back and tie Benoit in the Tree of Woe but HHH cuts Shawn off again.

The flying forearms drops HHH and Shawn nips up, only to have Benoit toss him outside. Benoit loads up the Swan Dive but gets crotched by Shawn, who misses Sweet Chin Music to HHH. A DDT sends Shawn outside and a superplex gets six (which is somehow not three) on Benoit. The Crossface goes on out of nowhere so Shawn has to dive in for the save. That earns Shawn some rolling German suplexes into a Swan Dive for a rather close two as HHH is still down.

Now it’s Shawn making the comeback and hammering on Benoit, who gets sent outside. HHH gets superkicked for two with Benoit making the save so everyone goes outside. Shawn gets posted and busted open so Benoit puts on the Crossface, with HHH having to grab the hand to block the tap. HHH sends Benoit into the steps and loads up the announcers’ table (it wouldn’t be Wrestlemania without it), with Shawn helping on a double suplex to put Benoit through said table.

NOW we get the big HHH vs. Shawn slugout, because that’s what the two of them probably wanted this to be the whole time. Shawn whips HHH over the corner for the crash to the floor, with HHH coming up bleeding. Back in and Shawn slowly gets the better of things but a quick Pedigree takes him down.

Benoit has to come back in for the save before sending Shawn outside. The Sharpshooter has HHH in trouble so Shawn breaks it up with the superkick for a delayed two. Benoit sends him outside and reverses the Pedigree into the Crossface. HHH can’t get the rope and Benoit rolls into the middle of the ring for the tap and the title at 24:08.

Rating: A+. Yes it’s still a masterpiece with nothing close to a misstep or weak part and that is not something you get to see very often. All three worked hard and at the end of the day, Benoit won clean over HHH via submission in the middle of the ring. This felt like the main event of a milestone show and it was an incredible match which has not gotten old every time I have seen it. That is hard to do and it certainly deserves the honor.

Benoit gets the HUGE celebration with the confetti falling. Eddie Guerrero comes in for the shot that is now iconic for all the wrong reasons and JR’s voice gives out with the shouting to end the show.

Well almost, as we get the highlight reel to really wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B. In case it wasn’t clear throughout, there are more than a few matches on this show that feel like they are there for the sake of getting people on the card. If you get rid of those matches, this is an all time classic, as well as having the show be under four hours. The rest of the show is pretty much an all timer (Goldberg vs. Lesnar aside) with the matches either feeling important or being great. Just trim it down and stop cramming things in and it’s that much better. It’s absolutely worth a look if you have seen it before or not, but have the fast forward button ready.

Ratings Comparison

John Cena vs. Big Show

Original: C-
2013 Redo: C
2015 Redo: C-
2018 Redo: D+
2022 Redo: C

Booker T/Rob Van Dam vs. Garrison Cade/Mark Jindrak vs. Dudley Boys vs. La Resistance

Original: D
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D
2018 Redo: D
2022 Redo: C-

Christian vs. Chris Jericho

Original: B
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: B-
2018 Redo: B
2022 Redo: B

Evolution vs. The Rock/Mick Foley

Original: A
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: B
2018 Redo: B+
2022 Redo: B+

Torrie Wilson/Sable vs. Stacy Keibler/Miss Jackie

Original: F
2013 Redo: N/A
2015 Redo: N/A
2018 Redo: N/A
2022 Redo: N/A

Cruiserweight Open

Original: D+
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D
2018 Redo: D
2022 Redo: C

Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: F
2013 Redo: E
2015 Redo: F
2018 Redo: F
2022 Redo: D-

Too Cool vs. World’s Greatest Tag Team vs. Basham Brothers vs. APA

Original: D
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D
2018 Redo: D-
2022 Redo: D+

Victoria vs. Molly Holly

Original: D+
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: C-
2018 Redo: D+
2022 Redo: C

Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle

Original: A
2013 Redo: A
2015 Redo: A
2018 Redo: A
2022 Redo: A-

Undertaker vs. Kane

Original: D
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: D+
2018 Redo: D
2022 Redo: D+

Chris Benoit vs. HHH vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: A+
2013 Redo: A+
2015 Redo: A+
2018 Redo: A+
2022 Redo: A+

Overall Rating

Original: B
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: A-
2018 Redo: B+
2022 Redo: B

I think we’ve found about the definitive ratings for this one, or at least as close as you’re going to get after five looks at it.

 

 

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.

Uprising
Date: March 28, 2026
Location: St. Clair College SportsPlex, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Ian Riccaboni

It’s the second night of the Ring Of Honor/Maple Leaf Pro shows and this one has quite a great show to follow from last night. Odds are this on will deal with some fallout from last night, including another Deonna Purrazzo vs. Gisele Shaw title match and a four way for the Interim Canadian Title. Let’s get to it.

The opening video more or less says this is the sequel to Global Wars.

Michael Allen Richard Clark (MLP)/Jake Crist (Wrestling Revolver) vs. Mascara Dorada (CMLL)/Bhupinder Gujjar (MLP)

Clark and Gujjar start things off with Gujjar picking up the pace into a dropkick. Dorada comes in and sticks the landing on Crist’s headscissors. Some dropkicks put Crist and Clark on the floor, setting up stereo dives. Back in and Clark knocks Gujjar to the floor for a dive of his own and Crist gives him a Russian legsweep back inside.

Clark comes in for the pushups (they’re his thing) on Gujjar’s back, which has Gujjar up for the high crossbody. The tag brings in Dorada to clean house and a spinning slam gets two on Crist. Gujjar’s TKO drops Crist for two, only for Clark to come back in with a powerslam/sliding neckbreaker combination for two on Gujjar. Everything breaks down and Dorada dives onto Crist, leaving Gujjar to spear Clark for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: B-. Pretty standard fast paced tag match here and that’s a good way to open the show. Clark is nice in the overly cocky heel style and Gujjar is fine as a middle of the road hero. As usual Dorada was the big star here and easily the flashiest thing in the match, though he didn’t get a ton of focus. Either way, perfectly fine way to get things going.

Sheldon Jean, Bryce Hansen and Brent Banks are ready to take the Tag Team Titles, though Hansen is told to get a haircut. Hansen is annoyed and yells at some people so Daisuke Sasaki throws a chair at him.

Taylor Rising/Chris Chambers (MLP) vs. Evil Uno (ROH)/Alice Crowley (JCW)

The women trade legsweeps and covers for two each before it’s off to Uno vs. Chambers. Uno can’t get very far working on the arm so Chambers is up with a dropkick. It’s back to Crowley to kick away at Rising, with a Saito suplex for two. Chambers pulls Crowley down from the apron though and Rising gets two off a victory roll.

It’s back to Chambers to work on Crowley and Uno has to come in for a quick save. That just lets Rising choke on the rope but Crowley backdrops her way out. That’s enough for the tag off to Uno for the house cleaning. Uno is sent into Rising, allowing Chambers to grab a rollup for two. Crowley is back in with a suplex though, allowing Uno to piledrive Chambers for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C. And we continue yesterday’s issue of MLP not doing so well over this weekend. The best thing is that Alice continues to showcase herself well. She got my attention yesterday and kept it going today. There is something to her that makes her stand out, with Rising not being far behind. Not a thrilling match, but it was nice to see another Canadian get a pin, even if Uno doesn’t work here.

The Swirl (ROH) vs. El Reverso/Mo Jabari (MLP)

Jimmy Jacobs is on commentary. Jabari and Johnson run the ropes to start, with Parker taking him down and then dropping Reverso on top. Reverso hammers away in the corner but gets taken into the wrong corner. That doesn’t last long as Reverso escapes and brings Parker back in for the comeback. This time it’s Parker being taken into the wrong corner, with Johnson stomping away and Christian adding a suplex. A double clothesline leaves both of them down though and it’s back to Reverso as the pace picks way back up

Reverso’s Canadian Destroyer gets two but Johnson powerbombs him into Christian’s knees in the corner. Chasing The Dragon gets two on Reverso as Parker makes the save, leaving all four down. That’s enough for Jacobs to get up and hand Parker a chair. Parker drops it but gets speared on the apron by Christian. Reverso gets kneed in the head, setting up a top rope double stomp/Death Valley Driver combination to give Johnson the pin at 11:35.

Rating: B-. The Swirl continues to be one of the better things about Ring Of Honor so it was nice to see them getting to do something on this show. You just want to see them get what’s coming to them and that’s a good feeling to have for some villains. Reverso and Parker were fine, but there was nothing to them that especially stood out.

We recap Bishop Dyer vs. Kaito Kiyamiya. They were partners last night but had issues and lost the match. After it was over, Dyer turned on him.

Dyer is asked why he turned on Kiyamiya. Dyer: “Because I’m an a******.”

Bishop Dyer (MLP) vs. Kaito Kiyamiya (Pro Wrestling Noah)

Dyer shoves him down to start so Kiyamiya jumps on him to slug away. Some more right hands in the corner have Dyer in trouble but he shoves Kiyamiya down again. They go outside with Dyer chopping away against the barricade but hits the post by mistake. Back in and Dyer kicks the rope for a low blow, followed by the Deep Six for two. A hard whip sends Kiyamiya crashing over the corner to the floor and Dyer rams him hard into the apron.

Back in again and Dyer misses a charge in the corner, allowing Kiyamiya to hit a running clothesline. A nice dropkick puts Dyer down but the shining Wizard is countered into an AA. Dyer’s brainbuster gets two and a chokebreaker has Kiyamiya in even more trouble. Another chokebreaker is countered with a kick to the head and Dyer’s powerbomb is countered with a sunset flip to give Kiyamiya the pin at 13:01.

Rating: B-. It’s fascinating to see someone like Dyer be a bit less than successful as a main event heel but absolutely thrive as a midcard star. This is the role he was perfect for and it worked great here. Dyer knows how to wrestle like a monster bully and ultimately he got caught as he tried to do too much. Fun match here, though say it with me: MLP loses AGAIN.

Post match Dyer knocks Kiyamiya cold and hammers on him, followed by the End Of Days.

We get the announcement that MLP is coming to TSN this July.

Rohan Raja, with Aurora Teves, wants the Canadian Title because he’s already had the Champion’s Grail for over 500 days. He’ll win the title tonight anyway.

Daisuke Sasaki (DDT) vs. Bryce Hansen (MLP)

No DQ. Sasaki’s chair shots misses and Hansen kicks him outside. Back in and Sasaki gets in the chair shot before wrapping said chair around Hansen’s neck for a ram into the post. A running boot to Hansen, whose head is still in the chair, gets two and it’s already time for a table. As usual that takes too long though and Hansen fights back, only to set up his own table on the floor.

Even Callis thinks this is taking too long and Sasaki proves him right by choking him down onto the table. Hansen is able to fight up and grab a gutwrench powerbomb from the apron through the table. That’s only good for two back inside so Hansen grabs a kendo stick. Said stick hits the top rope though and bounces back onto Hansen’s own head. The spear through the table sets up a top rope chair shot as Hansen has a seat right over there to give Sasaki the pin at 8:12.

Rating: C. This was pretty much exactly what it should have been, as Sasaki took Hansen apart and basically dismantled him in a few minutes. Hansen got in some offense, but this was about Sasaki destroying him without much trouble. It’s a good example of “don’t overthink this” and it wound up going perfectly well.

Stu Grayson is feeling the pressure going into the main event but Evil Uno comes in to fire him up.

MLP Tag Team Titles: Good Brothers (MLP) vs. Sheldon Jean/Brent Banks (MLP)

The Brothers are defending after becoming the inaugural champions last night. Anderson chops the heck out of Banks to start and then takes him into the corner to do it again. Gallows comes in for his weird uppercuts and a fall away slam as the fans are ALL behind the Good Brothers here.

A big legdrop gives Gallows two but Banks gets in a shot of his own and ax handles away. It’s off to Jean so Gallows clotheslines them both down and brings Anderson back in to keep up the pace. A backsplash gets two on Jean but a trip brings Anderson down. Jean hits a clothesline and the challengers take over for a change, with Banks getting some quick near falls.

Anderson is right back up to send Jean outside, followed by a neckbreaker to Banks. It’s back to Gallows to clean house and the belly to back neckbreaker gets two on Banks. Jean breaks up the Magic Killer so Anderson grabs the spinebuster for another near fall. The Gun Stun is broken up though and Banks gets in a belt shot for the pin and the titles at 11:02.

Rating: C+. Hey MLP finally won something! I mean of course they lost at the same time but call it a step in the right direction. The Good Brothers being the inaugural champions give the belts a bit of prestige before another team won them, which is a tale as old as time in wrestling. The pesky heels get one over on the popular veterans and we move on to see who’s next. Nothing wrong with that.

Gisele Shaw says Deonna Purrazzo beat her in Pure Rules, which isn’t the same as pro wrestling. Purrazzo won on a technicality but tonight, everything will be different.

MLP Women’s Title: Gisele Shaw (MLP) vs. Deonna Purrazzo (ROH)

Shaw is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and then trade headlocks to no avail. Purrazzo shoulders Shaw in the arm that was banged up last night, with the Fujiwara armbar sending Shaw straight to the ropes. The fight heads outside with Purrazzo sending her face first into the apron, only for Shaw to come back with a posting.

Back in and Shaw grabs an armbar with some elbows to the head as a bonus. Purrazzo fights up and wins a test of strength, followed by a running knee. The Fujiwara is broken up though and Shaw grabs an anarchist suplex for two. A spear gives Shaw two more but Purrazzo fights right back to put her down again. The Fujiwara goes on again, with Shaw making the rope to save herself.

Back up and Shock And Awe gives Shaw two so they get up and slap it out. That turns into a slugout until they trade kicks to the face, with Shaw pulling the referee into the way of Purrazzo’s boot. Shaw sends the bad arm into the post and then crushes it with the steps to make it worse. Purrazzo is back with a Fujiwara and Shaw taps but there’s no referee. Since that isn’t enough cheating, Shaw finds some brass knuckles to knock Purrazzo silly and retain at 17:25.

Rating: B. This got going with the submission attempts, though I did like Shaw just going full on villain. There’s a good way to set up a rubber match down the line in there and that could make for a nice Multiverse match. Shaw has impressed me most of the time I’ve seen her and she hung in there with an established name, albeit by cheating in almost every possible way.

Interim Canadian Title: Elimination Challenge

It’s a six man gauntlet match for the vacant title. Jay Lethal (ROH) is in at #1 and Michael Oku (RevPro) is in at #2. They trade some rather fast rollups to start and it’s off to the exchange of forearms. Oku manages a dropkick to the floor and adds the running flip dive for the knockdown. Back in and Lethal gets in a knockdown of his own, with Oku’s leg getting tied up in the ropes.

Oku has to beat the count back in so Lethal hammers away and goes after the leg some more. The chinlock goes on for a bit but the Figure Four is blocked. A DDT gives Oku two but he can’t get the half crab. Instead it’s a Lethal Combination for two, setting up Lethal’s Figure Four. That’s reversed into another failed half crab attempt so Lethal goes up for Hail To the King…which is reversed into a rollup to give Oku the pin at 12:05.

Rohan Raja (MLP) is in at #3 and sneaks in to jump Oku, with a jumping Downward Spiral finishing for Raja at 13:04. Rich Swann (MLP) is in at #4 but Raja’s manager Aurora Teves grabs his leg, meaning it’s a jumping Downward Spiral for a near fall. A choke with a knee in Swann’s back is broken up but Swann knocks him down for two. Raja heads outside and gets taken down with a running flip dive.

Swann actually puts him in a chair and gets a running start for some running boots to the face. He tries it once too often though and Raja is back up with a boot of his own. Back in and Swann superkicks him out of the air and they’re both down. A frog splash gives Swann two more, followed by the middle rope 450 for the same. Teves offers a distraction though and another 450 misses. Raja’s Backstabber into a jumping Downward Spiral finishes Swann at 20:23.

Stu Grayson is in at #5 and the cut open Raja bails out to the floor. Grayson goes outside to get him and nails a quick Pele. Teves breaks up a torture rack and is finally ejected, leaving Raja angry on the ramp. He slides back in and gets kneed in the face, setting up Knightfall (torture rack dropped down into a backbreaker) to give Grayson the pin at 24:41. Jonathan Gresham (apparently freelance) is in at #6 to complete the field but hold on though as Raja chairs Grayson down before leaving.

Gresham glares at Raja before getting in and lets Grayson get a breather before going after him. They grapple around to start and neither gets anywhere so let’s shake hands. Grayson takes him down for an armbar and Gresham gets over to the ropes in a hurry. Grayson’s hurricanrana and dropkick have Gresham on the apron and the dive connects. Back in and a battle of the chops goes to Grayson, as Gresham wants a timeout. A sneaky low blow cuts Grayson down and they go to the mat, where Gresham can’t force the arm down.

With that not working, it’s a crucifix for two on Grayson before Gresham ties up the arms. Gresham pulls on one of the legs for some painful stretching before going back to the arm. They fight over a suplex until they both crash out over the top for a nasty double crash. Back in and Gresham goes after the arm again but Grayson sends him flying with some overhead belly to bellys.

A spinning Downward Spiral into a Lionsault gives Grayson two but Knightfall is blocked. Grayson settles for a springboard tornado DDT for two but Gresham is right back to the arm in a smart move. Gresham’s crossface is broken up with a grab of the rope so it’s off to an Octopus. With that broken up, Gresham goes up and gets superplexed back down, setting up a running knee. Knightfall gives Grayson the pin and the title at 42:27.

Rating: B-. This was a match where it felt like they were going for something epic and it really just felt long more than anything else. Grayson winning was pretty obvious once they got down to the final two as there was almost no way an American was winning the title in the end. It’s a good enough main event, though anything involving an interim title feels kind of weak by definition. Still though, at least Grayson looked like a star in the end, as he did last night.

Grayson celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show’s problem is it came after Global Wars, which was great, while this one was just pretty good. It’s certainly not a bad show and there are far worse options, but nothing on here felt must see. At the same time. MLP still feels like a higher end independent effort and I’ll absolutely take that every time. Good enough show here, though dang can the home promotion have a better success rate?

Results
Mascara Dorada/Bhupinder Gujjar b. Jake Crist/Michael Allen Richard Clark – Spear to Clark
Evil Uno/Alice Crowley b. Taylor Rising/Chris Chambers – Piledriver to Chambers
The Swirl b. Mo Jabari/El Reverso – Top rope double stomp/Death Valley Driver combination to Reverso
Kaito Kiyamiya b. Bishop Dyer – Sunset flip
Daisuke Sasaki b. Bryce Hansen – Top rope chair shot
Sheldon Jean/Brent Banks b. Good Brothers – Belt shot to Anderson
Gisele Shaw b. Deonna Purrazzo – Brass knuckles punch
Stu Grayson won an Elimination Challenge last eliminating Jonathan Gresham

 

 

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

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

Rey de Reyes 2026 Night Three
Date: March 28, 2026
Location: Auditorio GNP Seguros, Puebla, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Rey Mysterio, Corey Graves

It’s the last night of Rey de Reyes and oddly enough, the biggest matches have been used up. There are still a few things to cover here though and we should be in for some good stuff. That has been the case around here in the first two weeks and I want to see where this goes after the big event is over. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video talks about having what it takes to become forged into greatness. I believe the opening is the same as the previous two weeks, but it does move into clips about the remaining matches and talks about the final week of the show.

Cruiserweight Title: Jack Cartwheel vs. TJ Perkins vs. Dragon Lee vs. Laredo Kid

Kid is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Kid goes right after Perkins to start but it gets broken up, with Lee getting in some stomps to both of them. Cartwheel’s diving hurricanrana off the apron takes out Lee though and it’s Cartwheel with an Asai moonsault to knock down the pile. Back in and Lee knocks Kid down for two, followed by a bridging German suplex for the same.

Perkins is back up with kind of a double abdominal stretch to Lee and Kid, with Cartwheel making the save. Cartwheel takes out Lee and Perkins and hits the springboard flipping splash onto Lee. The sitout powerbomb gets two on Perkins with the other two making the save, leaving everyone down. Perkins is dropkicked to the floor and Kid is sent outside as well, with Cartwheel dropkicking Lee out too.

Cartwheel isn’t done and hits a big cartwheel dive onto the other three but Perkins crotches him on top. Lee superplexes Kid down to give Perkins two, with Lee making the save. Perkins gives Lee a Detonation Kick but gets caught with Cartwheel’s spinning moonsault…but the landing bounces Cartwheel into a Styles Clash from Lee, which lands on Perkins for a bonus. Kid breaks up a cover on…I have no idea and strikes it out with Lee. A running flipping DDT drops Lee but he’s right back with a running knee.

Kid takes Lee up but gets sunset bombed down by Cartwheel. Lee is able to block a super wheelbarrow rollup and double stomps Cartwheel on the back. Operation Dragon hits Cartwheel, with Perkins hitting a top rope legdrop for the save. Kid breaks up Perkins’ cover and a double superkick sends Perkins outside. Lee gives Cartwheel a big running flip dive but comes up holding his knee. Perkins misses a belt shot and gets taken down with a poisonrana. A curb stomp retains the title at 13:19.

Rating: B+. This was pretty much exactly as advertised, with everyone doing a bunch of spots and flying all over the place. That’s exactly what you expect with a Cruiserweight Title match, especially involving four people. Cartwheel and Lee got to stand out but Kid retains in the end to continue his record reign. Very fast paced, entertaining match.

Post match Rey Fenix comes out for the staredown with Kid.

Las Toxicas are proud of Flammer for her record reign as Reina de Reinas. There’s going to be a big celebration on April 11 in Mexico City. Champagne and men will be provided. Oh and there’s some woman named Sussy Love who she has to beat first but it shouldn’t be a problem.

We recap El Fiscal vs. Abismo Negro (I believe the same video from a few weeks ago) to set up their latest grudge match. Apparently they’re fighting over the Abismo Negro name, with Fiscal being the son of the original Abismo Negro, while this one took the name in a bad direction as part of Los Vipers (I think).

Abismo Negro vs. El Fiscal

Fiscal jumps him to start and hits a dive before going back inside to slug away. A clothesline puts Abismo down and it’s time to start slugging away. Abismo ties him in the corner for a dropkick and a big clothesline cuts off Fiscal’s comeback (JBL approves). The chinlock goes on before Abismo just slaps him in the face. That earns him a double leg takedown but Abismo blocks a Tombstone (illegal in Mexico). Abismo tries one of his own but gets rolled up for the pin at 6:34.

Rating: B-. This had me thinking of Jake Roberts vs. Randy Savage at This Tuesday In Texas, as it was clear that they hated each other but they didn’t have much time to do the actual match. Fiscal pretty much had to win for the sake of the honor of his own name, though the ending feels like it’s setting up another match. You could feel the hatred between these two though and it came off as a fight, which is how it should have felt.

Post match Abismo jumps Fiscal and tombstones him onto the announcers’ table (which doesn’t break). Points for the medical team, as the stretcher is RIGHT THERE.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here is El Ojo for a chat. Dorian Roldan didn’t expect much from this crowd and the fans should have cheered for El Hijo del Vikingo. They have turned their back on him and need to get over Vikingo turning his back on them. Vikingo calls Mini Vikingo dumb and he doesn’t know what he’s gotten into. Last time, Mini Vikingo’s mother was crying, so buy her a lot of tissues for what he’s got planned. Vikingo is ready to go to Wrestlemania as the Intercontinental Champion because he’s seen the stupid man with the title.

So Penta can get out here with his dumb dance…and here he is, complete with the dance. Penta acknowledges Vikingo’s skill but doesn’t like Roldan, who turns everything he touches to trash. Vikingo doesn’t respect his town and his mother doesn’t like him. He’s out here in a suit like he’s about to be baptized and the match is on. How about April 11 in Mexico City? Oh and here’s the little dance you didn’t like, plus a shove to Vikingo’s face. Penta thanks the fans and hits his catchphrase to wrap it up. That’s a big match, as they’re definitely making the Mexico City show feel important.

Overall Rating: B. This show did a nice job of covering a few things, as not only did it have the very good opener, but it also bridged things forward. We have the Intercontinental Title match and Flammer’s celebration announced for April 11, albeit with another title defense for Flammer in the way. While this felt like the least important of the three weeks (because it was), they did a good job of keeping me interested. Nice work again here, which is pretty normal for AAA.

Results
Laredo Kid b. Dragon Lee, Jack Cartwheel and TJ Perkins – Curb stomp to Perkins
El Fiscal b. Abismo Negro – Rollup

 

 

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

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

Collision
Date: March 28, 2026
Location: Alliant Energy PowerHouse, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s a title shot as we have the Women’s Tag Team Titles on the line in a Revolution rematch. That should make for a good main event, or something close to the main event. Other than that, there is a good chance we get some buildup towards Dynasty, which is somehow in just over two weeks. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Babes Of Wrath vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne

The Babes are challenging and it’s a brawl to start. Bayne and Nightingale trade running shoulders in the corner, with Bayne getting the better of things. A Saito suplex drops Bayne though and Nightingale is right back with some rapid fire clotheslines in the corner. The other two come in as well and a double clothesline puts Kross back on the floor.

Cameron’s high crossbody gets two but Nightingale is sent outside, where Bayne’s dive…doesn’t quite work as her feet get caught in the ropes but she’s fine. Back in and Kross’ sliding lariat gets two as we take a break. We come back with Cameron getting the hot tag and slugging away on Kross. A half crab is broken up and all four come in, with the Babes getting tossed off stereo fall away slams.

Cameron reverses a double suplex into a double DDT and Nightingale is back in for some German suplexes. Cameron can’t sunset bomb Bayne but Nightingale can Pounce Kross. The Babes both grab half crabs, with the champs both making the rope. Nightingale is sent into the post, leaving Cameron to chop at the two monsters. That just earns her a double chokeslam to give Bayne the retaining pin at 13:11.

Rating: B. This wound up being a good match with the champions quickly figuring out how to do their monster stuff. The Babes are the definition of a fun, wacky team who work well together, but it was time to get the titles off of them. If nothing else, it was holding Nightingale back from her stuff as TBS Champion, which is probably more important. Nice opener here.

The Brawling Birds want a fight but Mina Shirakawa comes in to say she wants to fight Thekla. Any three women who want a fight can come get one.

Myron Reed vs. Johnny TV

The Rascalz and MxM Collection are here too. TV strikes away to start and we’re in an early chinlock. It’s way too early for Starship Pain as Reed is out to kick him out of the corner, setting up a slingshot legdrop for two. The hanging Downward Spiral gives Reed two more but TV is back with an Alabama Slam. The running knee gives TV two but Reed ducks a clothesline and hits a leg lariat. Reed’s springboard 450 gets the pin at 3:58.

Rating: C+. They only had so much time here but that’s exactly how someone like TV should be used. You don’t need to have him out there having long, competitive matches at this point but he was able to help make Reed look good. I’m not sure if Reed is going to become a big star on his own, but at least he got a chance to do something here.

Daniel Garcia, with the Death Riders, talks about how he’s changed a lot. Jon Moxley asks what Private Party could buy with $200,000. Tonight, things get serious. Garcia’s talking here was an improvement over his usual.

Private Party says tonight isn’t about partying because this is their time.

Death Riders vs. Private Party

Claudio Castagnoli is here with Jon Moxley/Daniel Garcia. Private Party is billed as having won nine of their last twelve matches. Assuming that is exclusively talking about AEW, that’s over about a year and a half. Garcia takes Kassidy (they used to be friends, a long time ago) down to start quickly but Kassidy is back up with a wristlock. Kassidy gets mad and hammers away in the corner, with the referee having to break it up.

Moxley comes in and tells Kassidy to hit him in the face, which naturally goes badly for Kassidy. Everything breaks down and Quen dropkicks Moxley down but Moxley is right back to send Quen outside. We take a break and come back with Quen hitting a spinning enziguri to stagger Moxley. It’s back to Kassidy to slug away on Garcia, followed by a big springboard moonsault to take out Moxley on the floor.

Back in and a dancing Swanton gets two on Garcia, with Kassidy still yelling at Garcia. A double cutter drops Garcia and Quen dives on Moxley as Kassidy gets two off a 450. Castagnoli runs Quen over on the floor though, leaving Kassidy to enziguri Garcia. Moxley piledrives Kassidy to give Garcia two and the Dragontamer goes on to make Kassidy feebly tap at 11:46.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that makes me miss Private Party as they can do some flashy stuff when they’re actually around. The problem is they aren’t here very often and that makes it hard to build any momentum. At least they looked good here, but it’s not like they were going to beat a team that included Moxley.

Last night at ROHxMLP Global Wars (which is worth a watch), Ricochet ranted about how he and the rest of the Demand are ready for Kenny Omega/Jack Perry/Brody King on Dynamite.

Mina Shirakawa/Brawling Birds vs. Nixi HS/Aminah Belmont/Haven Harris

Windsor runs HS over to start and all three are stacked up in the corner for some running elbows. Shirakawa hits a double missile dropkick, followed by the Figure Four for the win at 1:25.

Post match Jamie Hayter says that they liked teaming with Mina Shirakawa but had nothing to do with attacking Toni Storm. They don’t like the Triangle Of Madness, who pop up to swear on Storm’s cold dead body that if anyone tries this with them, it’ll be the same result. Shirakawa sends out the challenge for next week.

Kyle Fletcher brags about the success of the Don Callis Family but they don’t like the Rascalz. Tonight, it’s about revenge. Kazuchika Okada and Fletcher seem to be fine, with Fletcher wanting the World Title.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Ace Austin

Ciampa backs him up to the ropes to start but Austin grabs a rollup for a fast two. A frustrated Ciampa bails out to the floor but he avoids a low bridge back inside and stomps away (that was smart). Austin is fine enough to send Ciampa outside and get in a handstand into a kick to the chest. Ciampa is right back with some chops up against the barricade but Austin anklescissors him down. Back in and a neckbreaker onto the knee puts Austin down again and we take a break.

We come back with Austin striking away and grabbing a Russian legsweep. Austin’s springboard spinning kick to the head sets up a gutwrench powerbomb for two. They fight over a suplex until Ciampa kicks the knee out and grabs Project Ciampa for two more. A running knee sends Austin crashing to the floor but Austin manages a quick running stomp on the way back inside.

There’s the big dive but Ciampa knees him out of the air. The Psycho Driller gets two and they both need a breather. Back up and Austin kicks him in the face and it’s a Death Valley Driver to send Ciampa into the corner. The Fold is countered with a belly to belly into the corner though and the running knee finishes Ciampa at 13:31.

Rating: A-. That might be a bit high but I loved this one, with both guys beating the living daylights out of each other. What mattered the most here is that I reached a point where I didn’t know who was going to win. That’s all the more impressive when you considered how much higher on the totem pole Ciampa really is. Awesome stuff here and one of the best AEW TV matches I’ve seen in a good while.

Post match Juice Robinson comes in to check on Austin and Ciampa leaves in peace.

The Rascalz want to win tonight because they’ll get into title picture.

The Babes Of Wrath seem to split up, though they’re still friends. And Babes.

Don Callis Family vs. Rascalz

Mark Davis/Kyle Fletcher for the Family here. Fletcher easily backs Wentz into the corner to start before blocking Wentz’s wristdrag attempt. A backsplash misses though and it’s off to Xavier to dropkick Davis into the corner. Davis is back up with a fireman’s carry toss into Fletcher’s kick to the face for two.

The Family rams them together, followed by stereo belly to belly suplexes as we take a break. We come back with Xavier kicking away at Fletcher and getting two off a cutter. Wentz is back in to strike away and Xavier’s Cardiac Kick connects, leaving everyone down. Davis is right back up to kick Xavier in the face, setting up the piledriver for the pin at 11:08.

Rating: B. This did get good with the Rascalz flying around, but there is only so much they can do to make themselves stand out. At least Davis was able to get in his rather good piledriver, which he has turned into a signature move. As usual, the Family is better when Don Callis isn’t involved and they had another good one here.

Last night at Global Wars, Ricochet and Don Callis were ready to get together to take out Kenny Omega on Dynamite. They also want to play golf.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Kevin Knight is ready to keep his momentum going and win the International Title.

Jon Moxley has no sympathy for Private Party being banged up and he doesn’t feel any sympathy for Will Ospreay, who wrestled an unsanctioned cage match with a broken neck.

International Title: Kevin Knight vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is defending. Knight works on the wrist to start and drops a knee on the arm. Back up and Okada escapes the armbar before bailing out to the floor. Knight welcomes him back inside and snaps off some armdrags. They go right back to the floor, where Okada snaps off a DDT. Back in again and Knight is fine enough to snap off some chops before knocking Okada down. The spinning splash gets two and Okada is outside again, this time for a slingshot splash.

We take a break and come back with Okada hitting the Air Raid Crash onto the knee for two. The falling top rope elbow connects, though Okada would rather flip off the fans rather than cover. Knight is back up with a big dropkick and the clothesline comeback ensues. Okada hits the better dropkick though and his own clotheslines but the rainmaker misses.

Instead Knight low bridges him to the floor for a heck of a springboard clothesline, followed by another one for two back inside. Knight’s top rope superplex is blocked so he settles for a super hurricanrana. A Coast To Coast dropkick gives Knight two but Okada rolls away before the UFO Splash can launch. Knight tries it anyway (because he can jump that far) but hits raised knees. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence until Okada grabs the rope for the win at 17:23.

Rating: B+. This got good near the end, mainly due to watching Knight getting to show off his rather amazing athleticism. Okada looked like he had to escape rather than win here, which is a good way to make Knight look like a star. At the same time, Okada’s title reign continues to feel mostly forgotten, as I could barely remember which title he had. It’s nice to see him in the ring on occasion, but the title really doesn’t feel all that important, which needs to be fixed.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah that’s probably a bit high but I loved this show, which had some very impressive matches. The Austin vs. Ciampa match was a blast and the main event wasn’t that far behind. They also set up some things for the future and that makes for a heck of a two hour show. Great show here, though I’m not sure how many people will be watching it over basketball, which even Schiavone hinted at during the show.

Results
Lena Kross/Megan Bayne b. Babes Of Wrath – Double chokeslam to Cameron
Myron Reed b. Johnny TV – Springboard 450
Death Riders b. Private Party – Dragontamer to Kassidy
Mina Shirakawa/Brawling Brutes b. Nixi HS/Aminah Belmont/Haven Harris – Figure Four to HS
Tommaso Ciampa b. Ace Austin – Running knee
Don Callis Family b. Rascalz – Piledriver to Xavier
Kazuchika Okada b. Kevin Knight – Rollup while holding the rope

 

 

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

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

Ring Of Honor x Maple Leaf Pro Global Wars Canada
Date: March 27, 2026
Location: St. Clair College SportsPlex, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Ian Riccaboni, Mauro Ranallo

This is a co-promoted show between the two promotions and that means it is time for some brand vs. brand matches. That can make for some interesting matches, hopefully with something to help make the Ring Of Honor booking a bit better than usual. There are some titles on the line as well so let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow MLP so I apologize in advance for any plot or character details I get wrong.

Adam Priest/Tommy Billington (ROH) vs. Eddie Kingston/Ortiz (ROH)

Kingston and Priest start things off with Priest grabbing a headlock takeover. That doesn’t last long so Kingston takes him into the corner for a back rake from Ortiz. A double suplex drops Priest, who brings Ortiz over to the corner a double suplex with Billington. Ortiz is back with a flapjack for the break and it’s back to Kingston, who is knocked into the wrong corner as well.

Kingston chops his way out of the corner but gets taken down, only for Ortiz to come in for the save. Everything breaks down and it’s a Crossface and half crab to have Kingston and Ortiz in trouble. Those are broken up and it’s a Doomsday bulldog to bring Priest down. Billington is legal though and snaps off some snap suplexes…but Kingston grabs an Oklahoma roll to pin Billington at 9:01.

Rating: C+. Perfectly nice opener here and the fans are going to be into pretty much anything Kingston does. At the same time, I really don’t see the appeal of the team with Ortiz. Maybe they’re hoping he breaks out like Mike Santana did in TNA, but putting a guy who was in a great tag team into a weaker tag team doesn’t seem productive.

Josh Alexander was supposed to be in the ring at this show but he’s hurt his knee and has to undergo knee surgery. The future of his Canadian Title isn’t clear.

Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Title: Alice Crowley (JCW) vs. Red Velvet (ROH

Velvet is defending and Crowley is from Juggalo Championship Wrestling. Crowley kicks the offer of a handshake away and gets rolled up for some early near falls. Crowley shoves her into the ropes, where Velvet hits a pair of kicks to the back of the head. They head outside with Crowley getting in a knockdown, followed by a snap suplex for two back inside.

Velvet is back up to strike away in the corner, only to miss a charge into the corner. A sitout bulldog drops Crowley and Velvet hits the running crotch attack in the ropes. Crowley kicks her in the face though and a Saito suplex gets two. An Iconoclasm pulls Crowley off the top for two but she comes back with an Air Raid Crash for two more. Velvet is done with this though and hits a quick Chef’s Kiss to retain at 8:24.

Rating: B-. This was a more physical match than the opener and they were starting to trade some good stuff in the end. Velvet’s rise up has been rather impressive as she’s a completely different kind of star than she was just a year or so ago. I could go for more of Crowley too as she showed some potential.

Deonna Purrazzo is glad to face Gisele Shaw tonight but Purrazzo has the edge because it’s Pure Rules.

Lethal Twist (ROH) vs. Evil Uno/Bhupinder Gujjar/Psycho Mike (MLP)

Lethal struts away from Mike to start so the larger Mike shoulders him down. The threat of Mike’s signature slam sends Lethal outside so Mike runs over the Swirl on the floor. Back in and the Swirl break up another slam attempt as Callis talks about Kyle Fletcher. Gujjar comes in for a running headscissors to Johnson, followed by a dropkick for two.

Back up and Gujjar gets knocked out of the corner as everything breaks down, with the villains clearing the ring. We settle down to Lethal giving Gujjar a DDT, setting up a double superkick from the Swirl. Gujjar fights out of the corner though and it’s a high crossbody to Lethal. Uno gets the tag and cleans house but runs out of wind trying to hit some running corner clotheslines.

A brainbuster onto the knee gets two on Johnson and Uno neckbreakers Lethal as well. Mike comes back in and fires off the string of slams, including tossing Christian over the top onto the other two. The big dive follows but Gujjar’s high crossbody hits Mike by mistake. A Lethal Injection drops Gujjar but he isn’t legal. Instead Lethal has to escape Mike’s slam and the Swirl is back in to strike away. Hail To The King finishes for Lethal at 12:34.

Rating: B-. Another pretty good match here with a lot of action, even though it’s not the best night for the Canadians thus far. Lethal Twist has been a solid grouping in Ring Of Honor and it makes sense to put them on the show. If nothing else, this continues their momentum for what I’m sure will be the eventual showdown with Bandido over the World Title. As for the other team, while I can’t imagine him becoming the top star, Mike has quite the charisma and the fans liked him a lot. Good for him for getting this popular.

Gisele Shaw knows what she’s doing against Deonna Purrazzo and she’s going to do it her way.

Ring Of Honor Women’s Pure Rules Title: Deonna Purrazzo (ROH) vs. Gisele Shaw (MLP)

Purrazzo is defending under Pure Rules (far more technical style, only three rope breaks as the main rule). Shaw takes her to the mat to start and works on the leg, followed by a quick curtsy. Purrazzo escapes just as fast and armdrags Shaw into an armbar. The Fujiwara armbar sends Shaw into the ropes for the break. The breather lets Shaw take her outside for a kick to the head from the apron.

Back in and Shaw hammers away but charges into a boot in the corner. They knock each other down and it’s a double breather. Purrazzo goes after the arm again but Shaw goes for something like a Disarm-Her. That’s blocked by Purrazzo so Shaw hits a hanging swinging neckbreaker, followed by another Disarm-Her. Purrazzo has to use her first rope break so Shaw grabs Shock And Awe (backbreaker into a Downward Spiral) for two.

A quick Venus de Milo sends Shaw to the ropes for the second time, followed by a piledriver to make Shaw use the third and final rope break. Shaw is back up with a Samoan driver into the Disarm-Her, with Purrazzo using the second break. Purrazzo counters something out of a full nelson and pulls Shaw into the Fujiwara. Shaw’s rope grab means nothing but it lets Purrazzo pull her into the Venus de Milo to retain at 14:11.

Rating: B. Match of the night thus far as they were getting into a good rhythm with Purrazzo having enough of an edge with the technical prowess. She’s good at this style, though I still don’t quite know why she needed a championship to go with it. Shaw is someone who has done well every time I’ve seen her and it would be nice to see her getting a shot on a bigger stage in the future.

We look at Rohan Raja becoming the inaugural holder of the Champions Grail. Stu Grayson is coming for the title.

PWA Champions Grail: Stu Grayson (MLP) vs. Rohan Raja (MLP)

Raja is defending and this is a title recognized by three promotions at once. Grayson runs him over at the bell for an early two and sends Raja outside for the suicide dive. Back in and Grayson snaps off a standing hurricanrana, followed by a legsweep to send Rana outside. There’s a big dive to drop Raja again and Grayson hits a suplex back inside. Grayson goes up but gets dropkicked out to the floor for a big crash.

Back in and Raja knocks him into the corner, setting up a hard whip to send Grayson falling out to the floor. Grayson is fine enough to hit a running clothesline but Raja shoves the referee at the ropes, allowing him to pull Grayson down. A nice kick drops Raja again and Grayson is back up to strike away. Grayson wins the battle of the clotheslines and snaps off a string of belly to belly suplexes.

A tornado DDT sets up a swinging Downward Spiral to drop Raja again and a Lionsault gets two. Raja slips out of a torture rack though and grabs a swinging Boss Man Slam into a quickly broken Rings Of Saturn. The pop up powerbomb drops Raja for two and a top rope superplex does it again. A running knee is loaded up but Raja reverses into a quick small package for the fast pin at 13:11.

Rating: B+. Grayson is someone who wrestles a certain style and that’s not a bad thing at all. He is out there flying around with everything he has and doing everything at top speed, which makes for a fun match. He does a lot better on his own than he does as part of a team and this worked well. Raja didn’t get to do much here, though his limited offense did work well. Very entertaining match here, mainly due to the energy from Grayson.

Ricochet is ready to beat Rich Swann. Yes they started off as a group of wrestlers who helped define high flying wrestling, but the difference is Ricochet has leveled up and is the better man.

Michael Allen Richard Clark (MLP) vs. Jake Crist (Wrestle Revolver) vs. Daisuke Sasaki (DDT) vs. Brent Banks (MLP) vs. Ace Austin (ROH) vs. Michael Oku (RevPro)

One fall to a finish. Before the match, Clark talks about being tired of being treated with disrespect when he is in the Canadian Pushup Hall Of Fame (please let that be a thing). The ring is mostly cleared to start so it’s Oku dropkicking Banks to start until Sasaki makes the save. Crist is back in to kick Sasaki in the face with Clark coming in to break it up. The parade of knockdowns continues with Austin getting his chance, followed by a superkick to Banks.

Clark is back with a dive to the floor to take Austin out so Sasaki hits his own dive. Crist hits a dive onto the pile before Oku can do his own so they fight onto the apron. Banks knocks both of them to the floor so Austin fireman’s carries Sasaki and Banks at the same time. The squats let Austin show off a bit and it’s time to keep knocking each other down. Sasaki Pedigrees Clark and Oku has to break up a double submission.

Everyone but Oku is down but Austin blocks a half crab attempt. Banks’ top rope twisting crossbody hits Austin and a Michinoku Driver gets two. Oku is back up with a dive onto the floor but Crist cuts him off with a Death Valley Driver. Crist’s Ki Crusher gets two so Banks is back in with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Crist cutters Banks but gets caught by Oku’s Six Star Frog Splash for the pin at 10:27.

Rating: B. I’m not huge on these matches but this was pretty much exactly what it should have been. The match was all action with Oku getting to showcase himself well. I’m not sure how much a win really matters here as Oku seems to have just been the one who got a fall first rather than being some dominant star. Either way, at least another ROH star didn’t win, even if an MLP star didn’t win.

Video on Athena, the crazy long running ROH Women’s Champion, defending against Taylor Rising, who is ready to rise.

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Taylor Rising (MLP) vs. Athena (ROH)

Athena is defending. They circle each other a bit to start and Athena backs her into the corner. A knockdown lets Athena smile and pose a bit but Rising is back with a headscissors. Rising’s running dropkick sends Athena to the floor but Athena pulls a dive out of the air. Athena sends her hard into the barricade and then into the steps before they head back inside. Some forearms to the back have Rising in trouble and we hit the face pull.

Athena fires off some knees to the chest but Rising is back with a quick victory roll for two. The Codebreaker sets up a 619 and Rising faceplants her for two more. What looks like a Pedigree is blocked though and Athena knees her in the head. A Tombstone gives Athena two and she stops to yell at the referee. Athena teases the O Face but gets back down and beats on Rising a bit more.

Another O Face is broken up and Rising grabs a DDT for two more. Rising’s sunset bomb gets two but Athena Saito suplexes her back down. Athena tunes up the band, only for her superkick to be blocked. Rising tries to pick her up but gets pulled into the Koji Clutch to retain the title at 12:31.

Rating: B. They were in a tough spot here as there was no reason to believe that Athena was going to lose the title on a show like this. That being said, Rising did everything she could to make it work and she had a heck of a performance. This was another good match, with Rising getting in some nice hope spots before falling short. It’s hard to make it work in this kind of a situation but they pulled it off.

MLP President Scott D’Amore announces…well actually introduces a video that announces a new weekly series, Mayhem, which will debut in July on TSN. Points for a huge announcement.

Rich Swann (MLP) vs. Ricochet (AEW)

Apparently they’ve had 75 singles matches over the years. Ricochet stalls to start before getting back inside, with Swann backing him into the corner. Swann spins out of a wristlock and we get another staredown. Ricochet pulls him down into a crossarm choke to slow the pace a bit. Swann quickly reverses into one of his own and they trade stereo dropkicks for another standoff. Swann snaps off a dropkick to the floor and adds a running flip dive off the apron.

Back in and Swann hammers away in the corner so Ricochet goes to the eyes…which just earns him a beating. Another poke to the eye cuts Swann off though and Ricochet gets in some stomping. They go outside, where Ricochet slams him face first onto the floor and heads back inside. Swann beats the count so Ricochet hits a running clothesline to the back in the corner. A running uppercut drops Swann in the corner but he’s back with a rolling clothesline for a needed breather.

Back up and some dancing punches set up a neckbreaker to give Swann two. They head to the apron where Ricochet takes over again, setting up a Lionsault for two back inside. The kickout leaves Ricochet rather frustrated so Swann kicks him in the head on top. A super hurricanrana…doesn’t work as Ricochet sticks the landing, only to get kicked in the head for two. Swann kicks away at the chest and they strike it out. The referee cuts Swann off though, allowing Ricochet to roll some suplexes (different types that is) for two. A Death Valley Driver gives Ricochet two and the Spirit Gun gives him three at 19:15.

Rating: B. This was a hard hitting match and it was entertaining, though my goodness would it kill them to have an ROH/AEW star actually take a fall here? It’s becoming a running joke here and that’s not a great thing to see. What was pretty great was these two, who obviously know each other so well, getting a chance to do it again now that Ricochet is doing something different. Rather fun match here, though it never quite hit that next level.

Multiverse is taking place over Wrestlemania Weekend!

Supercard Of Honor is on May 15!

We run down the Uprising (Saturday night) card. Of note, Steve Maclin is announced for a match though that might not be happening after he was injured at TNA Sacrifice.

MLP Tag Team Titles: Bishop Dyer/Kaito Kiyomiya (MLP) vs. Bryce Hansen/Sheldon Jean (MLP) vs. Good Brothers (MLP) vs. Gates Of Agony (AEW)

For the inaugural titles and one fall to a finish. You might know Dyer better as Baron Corbin. The Gates jump the other teams to start and the brawl goes to the outside rather quickly. Jean and Kiyomiya hit some dives before Kiyomiya and Anderson get inside to slug it out. It’s off to Gallows to strike away at Kaun in the corner and Anderson comes in to strike away.

Anderson drops Jean but it’s off to Liona to clean house. Liona chokes Anderson on the ropes and we hit the nerve hold. Hansen comes in for a forearm to take Anderson down again and Jean gets to stomp away. It’s back to Hansen for a chinlock before Anderson avoids a Liona charge. A cutter takes Kaun down and it’s off to Gallows to clean house. Gallows Jackhammers Jean for two but Kiyomiya comes back in to strike away, including a running knee for two on Kaun.

Everything breaks down and we hit a parade of knockdowns with Anderson hitting a spinebuster and Gallows adding a chokebomb. Kiyomiya makes a save with a knee to Gallows and everyone is down again. Liona throws Kiyomiya and Gallows at the same time (geez) but gets sent into the post. Dyer is sent into Kiyomiya (makes sense as it’s their first match together) and a Magic Killer drops him to give Anderson the pin and the titles at 12:35.

Rating: B. Another fast paced match that wound up being rather entertaining, though it was similar to the scramble earlier in the night. The good thing is that an MLP team FINALLY won a match (and yes they have worked here a few times before). While that team might be the Good Brothers, I’ll take it after watching Ring Of Honor and AEW lay waste to MLP all night.

Post match everyone else leaves and Dyer lays Kiyomiya out to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was actually a heck of a show as the last stretch of matches is one good one after another. While I could have gone for MLP winning more often, the whole show was quite impressive with nothing close to bad and a bunch of quality stuff. MLP has been one of the better independent promotions I’ve seen in a good while, as they might not do anything revolutionary but they do things well. I’ll take that over some ridiculous idea and it was a blast watching this one.

Results
Eddie Kingston/Ortiz b. Tommy Billington/Adam Priest – Oklahoma roll to Billington
Red Velvet b. Alice Crowley – Chef’s Kiss
Lethal Twist b. Evil Uno/Bhupinder Gujjar/Psycho Mike – Hail To The King to Mike
Deonna Purrazzo b. Gisele Shaw – Venus de Milo
Rohan Raja b. Stu Grayson – Small package
Michael Oku b. Ace Austin, Jake Crist, Daisuke Sasaki, Michael Allen Richard Clark and Brent Banks – Six Star Frog Splash to Banks
Athena b. Taylor Rising – Koji Clutch
Good Brothers b. Bryce Hansen/Sheldon Jean, Gates Of Agony and Bishop Dyer/Kaito Kiyamiya – Magic Killer to Dyer

 

 

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

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

Smackdown
Date: March 27, 2026
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re rapidly closing in on Wrestlemania and the big draw this week is Jelly Roll vs. Kit Wilson, which feels like it’s part of the setup towards Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes. Other than that, Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre seem ready to face off next month and we should get more on it here. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Randy Orton’s explanation of going full evil again. This included taking out Matt Cardona and ignoring the sage wisdom of Jelly Roll.

Here is Orton to get things going and the fans seem rather pleased to see him. Orton talks about how Cody Rhodes wanted him to be the best Orton he could be and to listen to the voices. He shut those down a long time ago, but Rhodes gave him his blessing. Now Orton is listening to those voices again and he can’t be responsible for what happens next. The voices outside of his head are the real problem and the one voice he is listening to is…and we don’t find out who that is as Matt Cardona (with his arm in a cast) interrupts to go after Orton. The fans are rather pro-Orton, even as he is knocked to the floor.

Trick Williams comes up to Nick Aldis in the back, with Aldis giving him a match at Wrestlemania. He has to tell someone so here is Sami Zayn, who hears about the match. Zayn wants to know what he’s going at Wrestlemania but Aldis says that unless something changes, there is no spot for him right now. Zayn goes to leave but has an idea. He punches Williams in the face and promises to have a match at Wrestlemania.

Post break, Randy Orton yells at Nick Aldis about Matt Cardona. Orton wants a match with Cardona tonight and threatens bad things if it doesn’t matter, so Aldis makes the match.

Bella Twins vs. Charlotte/Alexa Bliss

Hold on though as here are the Irresistible Forces, who are ready for their title defense on Raw. There’s no reason for them to be away from this match though so they’ll be watching. Charlotte knocks Nikki down to start but Nikki is back up with a punch into the corner. Brie comes in to twist away at the arm and so Charlotte chops her away without much trouble. It’s off to Bliss, who gets taken down with a Russian legsweep. Bliss gets tied up in the ring skirt and forearmed in the face as we take a break.

We come back with Bliss not being able to fight out of the corner, with Nikki sending her back over for more double teaming. A double DDT is enough for Bliss to get over to Charlotte though and it’s time to forearm away. It’s already back to Bliss, who gets caught in a Hart Attack but is able to trade some rollups for two each. Legend forearms Bliss though and Brie gets a rollup for the pin at 9:34.

Rating: C. This is pretty much what you should expect from the Bellas these days, as you need to have the other teams slow down for them as they just do not have the in-ring abilities to back it up. The fans still respond to them because….I have absolutely no idea why. Anyway, the ending felt like a way to keep us on the road towards some big multi team match at Wrestlemania, which might make sense but it could be quite the mess.

Post match the Forces come in to clean house until Bayley and Lyra Valkyria run in for the save.

We look back at R-Truth and Damian Priest winning the Tag Team Titles in a big surprise last week.

R-Truth is trying to rebuild the Judgment Day Clubhouse (he has a tape measure) but Priest says that’s not happening. Jelly Roll comes in (R-Truth doesn’t recognize him) but here is Rhea Ripley next to him. R-Truth: “DOM AND MAMI BACK TOGETHER!” Priest has to correct him, but R-Truth says they’re getting a hot tub in the clubhouse. Priest: “….that’s cool.” Ripley hits him and Roll gives Ripley a pep talk. Roll goes to get ready for Kit Wilson, with R-Truth following him. Ripley tries to make sense of it but Priest cuts her off for the sake of everyone’s sanity. Anyway Ripley congratulates him on his win.

Tiffany Stratton NXT Origins video.

Charlotte and Alexa Bliss argue with the Bella Twins about the end of their match. More violence seems suggested.

Here is Rhea Ripley for a chat (and the fans seem to like her). She’s not happy with B-Fab and Michin being so desperate to stoop down to Jade Cargill’s level. No one is stopping her from getting to Wrestlemania so get out here right now and let’s do this. Cue Cargill with B-Fab and Michin, with the trio being booed out of the building. They don’t like Ripley getting all of the praise and attention when Michin and B-Fab have put in the work too. Now Cargill is giving them a chance, which has Ripley laughing. Tonight, it’s B-Fab vs. Ripley, with Ripley saying it’s time for B-Fab to learn that actions have consequences.

Rhea Ripley vs. B-Fab

We’re joined in progress with Ripley kicking her in the face. Michin offers a distraction though so Ripley goes outside, where Cargill sends her into the steps for the DQ at 52 seconds shown.

Post match the trio lays Ripley out without much trouble.

Kit Wilson wants Miz in his corner tonight but Miz is freaking out, as he has stepped in gum, his packages have been sent to Romania by mistake, and his phone fell into the toilet. BUT THERE IS NO CURSE! Miz leaves and Danhausen comes in to say he has machismo but Wilson cuts him off. Wilson says he is handsome, so Danhausen says Wilson is CURSED!

We look at Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu, which goes even bigger next week in a big brawl and a rather big crash.

McIntyre is here and while he doesn’t want to fight, if Fatu starts something, McIntyre will finish it.

Jelly Roll vs. Kit Wilson

Before the match, Wilson has a poem to defend the honor of his mother. Wilson insists that his mother would NEVER choose Roll and then hits him with the book to start fast. A charge in the corner has Roll in trouble early in but he comes back with a string of atomic drops. Some dancing jabs and a clothesline send Wilson outside but he comes back in to kick away. Back in and Wilson gets in a cheap shot before slowly hammering Roll down.

Wilson misses a charge in the corner though and a belly to belly suplex leaves them both down. Roll fights up and slugs away before powerslamming a diving Wilson out of the air for a rather near fall. Roll grabs the book but walks into a Twisting Stunner for two. Another one is loaded up but Wilson is sent crashing into the corner, setting up a chokeslam to give Roll the upset pin at 5:42.

Rating: C. This is kind of a weird one as they basically did a regular match with Roll winning clean. That’s a really weird way to go though as it’s not a big deal to have Wilson lose, but it’s kind of weird to have him lose this way. Just a weird way to go, though you can all but guarantee that something else is going to happen with Roll this week. I’m sure Wilson will be fine with his rather goofy stuff, which can pick up with someone else rather quickly.

Post match Roll celebrates with his son.

We get a long recap of the CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns/Usos segment from Raw, with Jey Uso acting a lot more like the Tribal Chief, or at least the devil on Reigns’ shoulder.

Solo Sikoa wants the rest of the MFTs to be on the same page, but he apologizes for going a bit too far last week. Roman Reigns would never do that, with Sikoa focusing on Tama Tonga. With everyone else gone, Shinsuke Nakamura comes in to check on Tonga, who insists that he’s fine.

US Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. ???

Hayes is defending against…Sami Zayn. Yeah that makes sense. Hayes certainly seems to approve of Zayn getting the shot, despite being surprised. Hold on as here is Trick Williams (with quite the entrance) to join commentary. Hayes’ headlock doesn’t last very long to start as Zayn is back with an armdrag into a quickly broken armbar. They trade shots to the face with Hayes getting the better of things and tying him in the ropes for the Fadeaway.

We take a break and come back with Zayn clotheslining him out to the floor. Zayn follows with the dive and a glare at Williams, only to get dropkicked out of the air back inside (nice timing). The First 48 is countered into a sitout powerbomb to give Zayn two, followed by a top rope superplex to leave both of them down as we take another break.

We come back with Zayn sunset bombing him out of the corner for two more. Hayes knocks him away, only to get explodered into the corner. The Helluva Kick is countered into the First 48 for a rather near fall, leaving Hayes stunned. Nothing But Net is countered into the Blue Thunder Bomb for two…and Williams grabs the US Title. Williams throws it in for a distraction and swings at Zayn, only to hit Hayes by mistake. The Helluva Kick gives Zayn the pin and the title at 16:15.

Rating: B+. These two beat the living daylights out of each other with one big spot after another until Williams cost Hayes in the end. Zayn has been obsessed with getting to Wrestlemania and this is about as good of a way as he has right now. Williams vs. Zayn could be good, though hopefully Hayes isn’t either added in to make it a triple threat or left out altogether.

Jacob Fatu limps in and says he isn’t here to stay backstage. He wants to talk to the people in the arena.

Sami Zayn talks to Nick Aldis and asks if he’s going to Wrestlemania. He is indeed, where he’ll defend against Trick Williams. Works for Zayn.

Here is Jacob Fatu for a chat. He’s injured and all of his problems are due to Drew McIntyre. Last week McIntyre hit him with a car and threw him off the side of a building but that wasn’t going to keep him down. Fatu is still standing and that means every week, he’s going after McIntyre, who comes out to interrupt. McIntyre says Fatu committed a crime and did time and since he got out, he’s stolen from McIntyre over and over. Fatu has stolen food from McIntyre’s table for his kids. McIntyre: “Screw your d*** kids.” Cue Nick Aldis to make the Wrestlemania match, but it’s unsanctioned.

Jelly Roll comes up to Matt Cardona and says he isn’t sure what is going on with Randy Orton. Cardona wants to beat Orton up, which Roll understands. Aleister Black and Zelina come in to talk about how Orton has changed but Cardona doesn’t seem to get it.

Tiffany Stratton runs into Chelsea Green, who thinks they got off on the wrong foot. Green thinks they should be a team but Stratton says Green may be a two time Women’s US Champion, but that means she’s lost it twice. So that’s a no.

Giulia vs. Tiffany Stratton

Non-title and Kiana James is here with Giulia. Stratton flips her down by the arm to start so Giulia is back up with some rams into the buckle. That’s shrugged off and Stratton sends her outside as we take a break. We come back with Stratton hitting some clotheslines, only to get rolled up for two.

Giulia’s running knee gets two but Stratton shoves her off the top. A rather not great looking Swanton (she barely rotated over and it was mainly her legs making contact) gives Stratton two but James’ distraction makes the Prettiest Moonsault Ever hit raised knees to give Giulia the pin at 9:44.

Rating: C+. That was a weird ending as it seemed like we were getting this match for the title at Wrestlemania. At the same time, there is a good chance that we’ll see the match again, possibly after Stratton beats up James on the way there. If nothing else, it would be nice to see Giulia actually defend the title for a change.

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria say they’re here to keep their eyes on the Tag Team Titles, which they’ll win on Raw.

Randy Orton is on the phone again and says he’ll see whomever is on there soon.

Video on Oba Femi clearing out Brock Lesnar again on Raw.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Randy Orton vs. Matt Cardona

Cardona has a bad arm coming in and slugs away in the corner to start fast. They go outside with Cardona’s bad arm being slammed into the announcers’ table. Orton goes inside to break up the count and then comes back outside to stomp on the arm again. Back in and a quick Rough Ryder gives Cardona two but Orton takes it back to the floor. The arm is sent into the post and Orton bends it around the turnbuckle in the corner. More stomping has the arm in more pain and Orton posts him again. There’s the RKO and Cardona is done at 5:26.

Rating: C. This was little more than a squash with Cardona only getting in that one Rough Ryder and pretty much nothing else. That’s all it should have been too, as Orton is getting more and more violent on the way to Wrestlemania. If nothing else, hopefully Orton can find a way for the fans to boo him, because it isn’t happening so far.

Post match Cody Rhodes arrives and post break he’s in the arena. So is Nick Aldis, along with security…who let Rhodes get in the ring for the brawl. Security can’t break it up to start, eventually hold them apart, and then the brawl is on again. Orton is sent outside and beats up some security, allowing Rhodes to get at him some more. They’re held apart again and Jelly Roll gets inside, only to get RKO’d to maybe the biggest pop of the night. Rhodes checks on Roll to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show that was mostly about moving forward matches and feuds that have already been set up. That’s not a bad way to go, but at the same time, it feels like we’re a very long way away from Wrestlemania. That has felt like it has been the case for far too long now and hopefully they have something to bridge the gap a bit better, because some of these stories don’t seem to have the legs to get there. Nice enough show here, though it it still feels like we’re slowly crawling to Wrestlemania.

Results
Bella Twins b. Charlotte/Alexa Bliss – Rollup to Bliss
Rhea Ripley b. B-Fab via DQ when Jade Cargill interfered
Jelly Roll b. Kit Wilson – Chokeslam
Sami Zayn b. Carmelo Hayes – Helluva Kick
Giulia b. Tiffany Stratton – Small package
Randy Orton b. Matt Cardona – RKO

 

 

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

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

Sacrifice 2026
Date: March 27, 2026
Location: Alario Center, Westwego, Louisiana
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re back with another big show that isn’t quite a pay per view but it’s close enough. The main event certainly feels like it belongs on one of the bigger shows as Mike Santana is defending the World Title against Steve Maclin. That should be enough to carry things but we also have Moose finally getting his hands on Eddie Edwards. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Ryan Nemeth vs. BDE

Before the match, Nemeth says he wants BDE to play a real game. Like Duck Hunt. Nemeth wrestles him down to start but BDE is up with a springboard crossbody. BDE grabs his phone and records himself doing a dive before sending Nemeth outside. Nemeth gets in a running forearm to the head and sends him into the post, followed by a chinlock. BDE fights up so Nemeth takes him down for the chinlock sequel, only for BDE to fight up again. A reverse layout DDT gives BDE two, followed by the springboard cutter. The frog splash hits raised knees though and Nemeth grabs the tights for the pin at 6:26.

Rating: C. Pretty run of the mill match for BDE here, meaning it was a nice enough collection of spots before he lost to a better star. That’s just kind of what you expect here and it’s not a bad idea. Nemeth is little more than a goof and that’s a good spot for him, even if he isn’t going anywhere else.

Kickoff Show: Jody Threat vs. Tessa Blanchard

Harley Hudson, Myla Grace, Mila Moore and Victoria Crawford are here too. Threat starts fast but a suplex is broken up, allowing Blanchard to start in on her knee. Some elbows to the knee set up some cranking but Threat is back up with some running knees. The running kick to the head sets up a German suplex but the knee is banged up.

A Backstabber out of the corner gives Blanchard two but Threat is back up with a toss powerbomb. Moore puts the foot on the rope though and the seconds get in a fight on the floor. The distraction lets Moore come in with….I believe a shoe to Threat, allowing Blanchard to hit the Buzzsaw DDT for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: C. Another quick and to the point match with the villains cheating to win. That’s kind of the point, though the ending would suggest that the feud isn’t over. At the same time though, Blanchard should be on her way up the card, as she’s more than enough of a star to not be around a title.

Post match the beatdown stays on, with Threat getting choked with some cables.

And now, the show proper.

The opening video is a pretty standard look at the bigger matches on the card.

X-Division Title: Eric Young vs. Leon Slater

Slater is defending. Young jumps Slater during the entrance and beats him down as the fight heads to ringside. Young pulls Slater’s hood off…and that’s not Slater. Instead here is Slater in the ring for a running flip and they keep brawling on the floor with Slater in control. Back in and the bell rings, with Slater’s Swanton (not the 450 version) connecting for two.

Slater knocks him into the corner and shrugs off a comeback attempt, setting up the handspring elbow for two. They go outside with Slater being sent into the steps but he comes back in with a Styles Clash attempt. That’s broken up with a bite to the leg of all things, leaving Young to hit his own Styles Clash for a near fall. What looks like it was supposed to be a wheelbarrow neckbreaker from the top winds up being more of a belly to back slam for two as Slater is in trouble.

Slater fights up with some forearms but gets dropped with a hard clothesline for two. A neckbreaker gives Young two but he can’t hit the piledriver. Slater is back up with a twisting neckbreaker for two but the Swanton 450 takes too long. Young catches him out of the corner with a Death Valley Driver for two before knocking Slater off the top.

The top rope elbow gives Young two so Slater strikes away, setting up a release Blue Thunder Bomb. Young bails out to the apron so Slater kicks him back inside. A rake to the eyes cuts Slater off though and Young piledrives him on the apron. That’s good for a very close two back inside and (the bleeding) Young can’t believe the kickout. A super piledriver is broken up though and it’s a Styles Clash into the Swanton 450 to retain the title at 15:16.

Rating: B+. Oh that was a sigh of relief as I was worried that they would try something crazy like pushing Young again. Slater continues to look like an absolute star and I can’t imagine him staying out of the World Title scene for the rest of the year. The good thing is they had a heck of a match, with Slater surviving to beat yet another former World Champion. Awesome opener.

The One Man Gang of all people is here.

We run down the rest of the card.

Mike Santana is ready to defend the World Title against Steve Maclin face to face. The title represents the sacrifices that he has made over the years, like missing with his baby girl, to get here as the World Champion. Yes he got Maclin his job back, and as payment, he’s eating Santana’s heart. Santana was fired up here and that worked, as usual.

Home Town Man/Elijah vs. Frankie Kazarian/AJ Francis

Man has quite the entrance, complete with people handing out beads. Elijah works on Kazarian’s arm to start and it’s off to Man for a string of right hands. A middle rope ax handle to the ribs has Kazarian in more trouble and everything breaks down, with the good guys hitting stereo Old Schools. Elijah hits a big running dive to the floor but Francis trips Man down, setting up the Flux Capacitor from Kazarian.

A stomp to the hand has Man down again but he fights out of the corner, allowing the tag back to Elijah to clean house. Kazarian is kicked out of the corner and Francis is sent into it, setting up a spinning electric chair powerbomb to give Elijah two. The rope walk Canadian Destroyer is blocked though and Francis plants Elijah for two more. Francis goes to get the guitar but Elijah takes it away, with Kazarian taking it away from him. Kazarian breaks the guitar on the floor and it’s Down Payment to the Man. Francis is cut off and Fade To Black finishes Man at 11:18.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine midcard tag match here, with Francis getting to do something different than be his usual bullying self. It was a nice way to mix a pair of feuds into one match and the results were good enough. None of them have a hot feud going at the moment so this is as good of an idea as they had.

The System is ready for Jeff Hardy and Vincent.

Here are Tommy Dreamer and Carlos Silva for a chat. Dreamer talks about his history in this city and everything that it means to him to be here. He wants to bring out someone who is an inspiration to this company, which brings out Chris Bey. That’s quite the nice moment, with Bey talking about the success he has had and the future of this place. With that, he brings out the newest signee: Ricky Sosa, who debuted a few weeks ago. Sosa is happy to be here tonight and this is the moment he’s been working towards for five years. He hits his catchphrases and signs.

We look back at Tessa Blanchard cheating to win on the Kickoff show.

After the match, Mila Moore followed the white rabbit when Havok popped up behind her. Screaming ensued and this is To Be Continued.

Women’s Title: Arianna Grace vs. Lei Ying Lee vs. Dani Luna

Grace, with Stacks, is defending, Lee (with Xia Brookside) is the former champion and Luna never got a title shot she earned. Luna jumps Lee during the Big Match Intros and Grace tries a quick rollup, which has Luna even angrier. Grace is sent to the floor so Lee dropkicks Luna into the corner. Stacks’ interference doesn’t work and Luna is knocked down on the floor.

Back in and Lee kicks away at Grace but Luna suplexes both of them. Stacks low bridges Luna out to the floor though, with Grace getting two on Lee as Luna dives in for the save. A big boot gives Luna two on Lee but she catches another boot, only for Grace to come back in with a cravate. Grace fisherman’s neckbreakers Luna for two but Lee is back with the Warrior’s Way. Luna makes another save though and everyone is down. Lee Thunderstrucks Grace to the floor but gets caught with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.

Luna loads Grace up with a super Samoan drop, drawing Stacks up for a distraction. Lee comes back in and German superplexes both of them for two each. Stacks saves Grace from the Warrior’s Way so Brookside cuts him off. Lee dives onto Stacks and Grace before heading back inside for the showdown with Luna. They slug it out until Lee kicks her in the head. Warrior’s Way connects but Stacks breaks it up, allowing Grace to steal the retaining pin at 13:43.

Rating: B-. That’s about the ending I was expecting and that’s not a terrible thing. Ultimately, Grace stealing the pin against what felt like insurmountable odds was a good way to go as there is a long line of people coming after the title. I’m curious to see who comes after the title next, but Grace as the annoying, beatable champion isn’t a bad way to go for her.

Allie gets Mara Sade to follow the White Rabbit until she meets Rosemary. Sade wants her to make Michael B. Jordan appear but is told to let the man have his privacy. Rosemary isn’t about to stab her or send her to something like Wrestle House is she? Rosemary: “RD Evans is rolling over in his grave.” They’ll have a talk after Sade’s match. Again, To Be Continued.

Order 4 vs. Trey Miguel/Jada Stone

Mustafa Ali/Tasha Steelz for Order 4 here. Miguel and Ali start things off with Ali working on the arm. They trade some flips for an early standoff and it’s off to the women. Stone snaps off a quick headscissors to take Steelz down but the men have to break up a brawl. Ali seems impressed with Steelz and we settle down to Ali vs. Stone. This has Ali laughing as he grabs a lockup and swings her around with ease.

Stone is back up with a heck of a DDT to plant Ali, followed by a super hurricanrana to send a bewildered Ali outside. The Great Hands break up a dive so Miguel takes them down with a step up flip dive. Steelz is back up to feed Stone into a hanging DDT onto the floor and the villains take Stone into the corner. Stone fights out though and brings Miguel back in to clean house. Miguel rolls the dice on Ali so it’s back to Steelz to slap him in the face.

Ali kicks Stone down by mistake but Miguel avoids a charge into the corner. Dance With The Devil drops Miguel again so Steelz drops a frog splash for two. Back up and Ali pulls Miguel into a cutter off the top, only for Miguel to come back with a top rope Meteora. Stone comes back in to pick up the pace with a split legged moonsault getting two on Steelz.

Stone’s tornado DDT plants Ali and a Canadian Destroyer sends Ali crashing out to the floor. Ali gets planted again and a corkscrew moonsault gives Stone two. With nothing else working, the Great Hands zip tie Miguel to the ropes so Dancing With The Devil can plant Stone. Ali pulls her up at two and the 450 finishes for Ali at 15:15.

Rating: B-. The idea here was to push Stone as a star but I was having a bit of an issue suspending my disbelief that she was regularly beating up someone of Ali’s size and success. It might work every once in awhile but it was going too long here. That’s especially the case with Ali getting a title shot at Miguel in just over two weeks. It wasn’t a bad match at all and the action was good, but it went too long and that hurt things.

Arianna Grace and Stacks laugh at Lei Ying Lee, with Xia Brookside defending her friend. They argue over their fathers so Santino Marella comes in to make a title match for Impact. Stacks calls Marella a terrible father.

We recap Moose vs. Eddie Edwards. Moose started the System but then got thrown out, prompting him to go after each member of the team. Edwards is the final one to go.

Moose vs. Eddie Edwards

Alisha Edwards is here too and Eddie yells at her before we get started. Alisha takes the kendo stick away from him before the bell so Moose kicks Eddie down. Cue Order 4’s Special Agent Zero to jump Moose for the DQ at 30 seconds. Apparently this is a result of a meeting between Order 4 and the System on the Kickoff Show.

Post match the big beatdown is on, with Alisha yelling at Eddie and Zero.

Mara Sade vs. Elayna Black

No DQ. Sade brings a bedazzled bat with her but Black takes it away to jump start things. They fight to the floor with Sade taking over but Black gets in a kendo stick shot. Black grabs a stop sign, which is kicked into her face. Black winds up crawling underneath the ring but comes back with a chair shot to take over. A stomp gives Black two and it’s already time for a table.

And never mind as Black sends it back underneath the table rather than let the fans be happy. Sade gets up and grabs the bat to swing away but Black enziguris her back down. Black gets a bag of thumbtacks but the Blackout is countered, with Sade sending her into the tacks instead. A slam plants Black onto the tacks and Sade’s moonsault finishes at 9:28.

Rating: C. This didn’t do much for me, as not only was the thumbtacks spot not something I needed to see, but the whole thing didn’t feel like it needed the No DQ at thing. At the same time, I’m not seeing much of the upside in Black. She’s not the worst, but she doesn’t feel like the most natural in the ring. Maybe this just wasn’t their stipulation, as it really didn’t click.

We talk about the World Title match.

We recap Jeff Hardy/Vincent vs. the System. The System are the #1 contenders and took out Matt Hardy so Jeff is out for revenge, with the Righteous’ Vincent stepping up as a replacement partner.

The System vs. Vincent/Jeff Hardy

It’s Cedric Alexander/Brian Myers for the System here. Hardy and Myers start things off and everything breaks down in a hurry, with the System being cleared out. Back in and Myers takes Vincent into the corner, with the villains getting to take over. Alexander comes in and knocks Vincent into another corner for the chops and it’s back to Myers. A Russian legsweep gets Vincent out of trouble though and it’s back to Hardy to clean house.

An elbow gives Hardy two but Alexander is back up with a Michinoku Driver for two. Everything breaks down and Alexander gets Twisting Stunnered into a spinning DDT to give Vincent two. Another Twisting Stunner connects and Hardy goes up but we see a rather bloody Matt Hardy on the Titantron. Dutch is standing over him and seems rather pleased, leaving the distracted Jeff to get hit by the Roster Cut. The Lumbar Check gives Alexander the pin at 8:42.

Rating: B-. This was a means to an end more than anything else, as I don’t think it was any secret that the Righteous were going to turn on the Hardys at some point. The question was much more “when” than anything else and the answer was apparently here, which isn’t a bad thing. This sets up their big showdown, though the System is likely to get a title shot first.

We run down some upcoming cards.

Here is the Elegance Brand (minus Ash, who is still recovering after being called a mark) to threaten ODB to not show up again, as she needs to stay in her dirty food truck. Cue ODB, who thinks a little two on one sounds fun tonight, but she’s a married woman now. She has a lot of friends wherever she goes though, like New Orleans’ own Taryn Terrell, who doesn’t like all the garbage these b****** have been saying. So let’s have them say it to her face.

Mr. Elegance threatens to beat up ODB so ODB brings out Mickie James to even things up. Mr. Elegance tries to cut her off but James calls him “Pickle Dick”, which apparently isn’t kosher. The brawl is on and Mr. Elegance gets beaten up rather painfully. This went on for a long time and we’ve covered the “Knockouts legends beat up the Elegance Brand” deal.

Santino Marella and Daria Rae argue over the main event, with Rae not liking Marella picking sides.

We recap Steve Maclin vs. Mike Santana for the latter’s World Title. Maclin lost his job via Feast Or Fired but he attacked Santana, which got him his job back as Santana wanted revenge.

TNA World Title: Mike Santana vs. Steve Maclin

Santana is defending. They take their time to start and Santana works on a headlock. That’s broken up so Santana kicks him down with the fans rather approving of the champion. Hold on though as something happens and we need the medical staff to check on Maclin. Santana plays to the crowd a bit as Maclin stands up but then drops back down to a knee. Cue Eddie Edwards in street clothes to go after Santana as Maclin is taken out. I think we can call the Maclin match off, as they only had about a minute and a half of action before the injury.

Santana fights back and loads up a table before dropping Edwards with Spin The Block. A top rope splash puts Edwards through the table on the floor and Santana is declared the winner by no contest. I don’t believe Edwards’ portion was him cashing in his title shot as that was little more than a brawl. There was no bell for them either. I’m guessing that was a legitimate injury from Maclin as the show ends with Santana celebrating. Dang I hope it’s not serious.

Overall Rating: C. The show was just decent enough to get by, but DANG that was some horrible luck at the end. I won’t hold it against them as they took care of someone who was hurt, but it could not have come at a worse time. The opener was very good, though unfortunately that was about it. The Moose vs. Edwards match was an angle advancer and the Elegance Brand stuff was just long.

It’s not a bad show, but it’s pretty much totally uneventful and felt designed to set up Rebellion more than anything else. Hopefully Maclin is ok though, as that was a nasty looking superkick that took him out. It’s a terrible ending, but that part isn’t TNA’s fault. The rest of the show not being very interesting certainly was though and that’s a rough way to go.

Results
Ryan Nemeth b. BDE – Rollup with tights
Tessa Blanchard b. Jody Threat – Buzzsaw DDT
Leon Slater b. Eric Young – Swanton 450
Frankie Kazarian/AJ Francis b. Home Town Man/Elijah – Fade To Black to Man
Arianna Grace b. Lei Ying Lee and Dani Luna – Warrior’s Way to Luna
Order 4 b. Trey Miguel and Jada Stone – 450 to Stone
Moose b. Eddie Edwards via DQ when Agent Zero interfered
Mara Sade b. Elayna Black – Moonsault
The System b. Jeff Hardy/Vincent – Lumbar Check to Hardy
Mike Santana b. Steve Maclin via injury stoppage

 

 

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

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