Nice Night For A Neck Injury
Date: December 21, 2019
Location: The Basement East, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Dylan Hales, Steve McCash

This is from Southern Underground Pro, which I have seen in a co-promoted show over Wrestlemania 37 weekend and it went fairly well. I’m not sure what to expect here but there are some names that I recognize on the card. Granted I don’t know what they are going to do, but at least I won’t have to look everyone up. Let’s get to it.

As mentioned, I don’t follow this promotion so please bear with me on storylines and characters.

A rather sweary ring announcer welcomes us to the show and tells the fans to get as close to the ring as they can. Well just not in these spots so commentary and the cameras can see.

The commentator (who is already getting on my nerves) brings out Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini/Kevin Ku), who have a trophy (seems to be the Tag Team Titles) and issue an open challenge.

Violence Is Forever vs. Bazooka Horses

Non-title and that would be Graham Bell (who has a bazooka which shoots fireballs) and Warhorse. To make it better, the referee is wearing a Santa hat. Garrini and Bell go to a test of strength to start before taking turns on each others’ limbs. Bell gets the better of things by cranking on the wrist before they trade chops. Garrini gets knocked back by one but goes to the leg to cut him off.

That doesn’t work for Bell, who is right back with a series of forearms to take over. Ku (in a Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animals sweater) comes in to face Warhorse, who seems rather intense. A wrestle off goes to Ku, who pats Warhorse on his head for some mind games. Warhorse even gets down in referee’s position for some Greco Roman wrestling so Ku kicks him in the leg in a smart move.

Back up and Warhorse slides on his knees (like Kevin does in the Home Alone video games) before ripping off Ku’s sweater for some chops of his own. A powerslam plants Ku again so it’s back to Bell, who seems to be kicked low. Garrini comes back in and it’s a German suplex/running elbow combination to drop Bell hard. A spinebuster gets two on Bell and a hard curb stomp knocks him silly for the same.

It’s back to Garrini for a knee to the ribs and Warhorse is drawn in so Violence Is Forever can bring in some crowbars, ala the Wet Bandits. They get caught ripping at Bell’s face and somehow that isn’t a DQ, apparently because of the season. With nothing else working, Bell grabs Garrini’s bare toe and twists it around but gets German suplexed for his efforts….right into the corner for the tag off to Warhorse.

That means house can be cleaned but Garrini saves Ku from a powerbomb. Some Kawada kicks rock Garrini again and Bell hits an F5. Bell is fine enough to, with an assist from Ku, climb the ropes for a moonsault out to the floor onto both of them. Back in and Bell fires off some YES Kicks but Garrini says bring it, setting up a slap fight. A tiger suplex gets two on Garrini but he’s right back with a heel hook.

Garrini makes the mistake of mocking Warhorse though, meaning it’s a top rope double stomp to break it up. Now it’s Warhorse vs. Ku in another slugout until a snapdragon suplex drops Warhorse hard. Warhorse snaps off his own hard suplex on Ku (who had a previously broken neck).

Ku and Warhorse slug it out again with Warhorse getting the better of things, setting up some rotating running shots in the corner from both Horses. Something like Total Elimination puts Warhorse on the floor and a Gotch style piledriver plants Bell for two. Since this is modern wrestling, Bell pops up and strikes away until a shot to the head cuts him off. A package piledriver into a doctor bomb finishes Bell at 17:27.

Rating: B-. This was a hard hitting fight that got some time and the champs wound up winning, even though it was a non-title match. I liked what we got here and they started well, as the opener was entertaining. Warhorse is a bit over the top, but he kept it in enough check here to not be a distraction. Solid match here and I’m interested in what else they have, so well done.

Here is Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham, who speaks on a headset and has a rather glittery coat, to say his scheduled debate opponent isn’t here tonight, so he wants the biggest disappointment available in the locker room.

Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham vs. Bradley Prescott IV

Prescott has a beer in both hands and dances to the ring. Hold on as Rockingham offers Prescott a brochure with hints about how to make his life better. Prescott does stop to read it, even managing to avoid a charging Rockingham at the same time. Rockingham runs again but Prescott drops to the mat, while still reading the brochure. Back up and Rockingham rips it up, blames Prescott for it, and gets hiptossed for his efforts (complete with screaming into the headset).

We settle down to the two of them missing a bunch of chops in the corner, leaving both of them gasping for air. With breathing restored, Rockingham gets sent over the top to the apron and then knocked down onto a beer can. Back in and Prescott misses a dropkick and gets his neck snapped across the top rope. A kick to the back puts Prescott down as Rockingham yells about going to Yale. Prescott hits a running corner clothesline but he gets run over to give Rockingham two.

They slow down a bit and exchange some stomps until Prescott….gets caught on the ropes while trying a sunset flip. Rockingham takes him down again and gives Prescott a paper cut with the brochure, then spits beer into the cut to make it worse (that’s painful). Prescott fights back and slugs away, with commentary thinking he has been watching Rock movies to throw punches like that.

A whip into the corner crotches Rockingham against the post and a step up backsplash gives Prescott two. Rockingham is back with an over the back backbreaker slammed down like a reverse Samoan drop. The ensuing rollup gives Rockingham two but Prescott grabs a bridging German suplex for two of his own. Back up and one heck of a tilt-a-whirl powerbomb gives Rockingham the pin (with commentary sounding shocked) at 9:15.

Rating: C. This was more a battle of the gimmicks than anything else and it worked out well enough. The smarter than you heel will always work and Prescott….well he was kind of a frat boy style guy and that might not have the longest shelf life. Not exactly a great match, but at least the fans seemed into everything.

Post match Rockingham says this is his first win in THREE YEARS. I’d be surprised too.

Alan Angels vs. Ryder Reid

You probably know Angels from the Dark Order in AEW and Reid is a skateboarder. They slap it out to start until Angels gets the better of a slugout. A running hurricanrana takes Reid down and he grabs an armdrag into an armbar. Despite having the hold on, Angels has the referee give him some beer for a nice boost. They roll out to the floor though and Reid gets posted to keep him in trouble. Angels chops the post though and it’s time for Reid to go after his fingers. Back in and Angels manages to kick Reid’s leg in the ropes and it’s a slingshot faceplant onto the apron to plant Reid again.

A moonsault gives Angels two but Reid is back with a wheelbarrow faceplant. Reid puts Angels on his shoulder and spins him over into a DDT for a big crash and another near fall. Back up and Angels kicks him in the head, setting up a suplex into the corner. The Wing Snapper (a Backstabber with feet instead of knees) finishes Reid at 5:39.

Rating: C. This was a rather indy match with both guys doing their moves until one of them got a pin. Angels banging up his hand was the only way to give Reid a chance but it was all downhill from there. The rest of the match wasn’t too bad, but it didn’t exactly build to anything and they were in and out before it made much of an impression.

Zack Cooper vs. Brett Ison

The fans certainly seem to like the rather large (and seemingly violent/angry) Ison. They trade shoulders and chops to start and an exchange of suplexes have both of them bouncing up. The threat of Ison’s spinning shot to the head sends Cooper bailing into the corner and things slow down a bit. Ison hits a heck of a Saito suplex for two, followed by the running boot to the face in the corner for the same.

Street Justice (whatever that is) is broken up and Cooper hits a running dropkick out to the floor. For some reason Cooper tries a handspring on the apron and gets forearmed down for his efforts. Back in and a Shining Wizard gives Ison two but Cooper is back with a Roode Bomb for the same. Cooper goes up and, after shrugging off some headbutts, he knocks Ison off the top and into the corner. Coast To Coast connects for a very delayed two but Ison is back up with a spinning forearm. A hard knee to the face sets up Street Justice (Jay Driller) for the pin at 7:34.

Rating: C+. Ison is every “I’m big and angry and snarling” heel that you’ve ever seen and that wasn’t exactly inspiring. At the same time, this match suffered from a bad case of indy style, as they made it clear that it wasn’t going to end until someone hit their finisher, which made the near falls a lot weaker. Commentary hyped up Street Justice so much that it was the only way Ison was winning and since he is big and angry and snarling, it was hart to imagine him losing. The action was pretty good, but it wasn’t the best presentation.

Post match, respect is shown.

Aaron Williams vs. Shawn Dean vs. Lee Johnson vs. Nolan Edwards vs. Patrick Heeter vs. Silas Mason

Here’s your required Scramble match. You can tell Heeter is a heel because he’s bald and flips the crowd off a lot. Mason is the Thrillbilly, which just makes me want to watch a Mickie James match. Heeter gets in the middle of the ring and yells about how he is taller than everyone else (he isn’t). With that out of the way, Heeter bails out to the floor (where he points to his head) as commentary puts over how important scramble matches can be around here.

Mason, by far the biggest guy here, cleans house and grabs Edwards low. Williams superkicks Mason down to accidentally save Edwards but it’s Dean getting up to clean house. Johnson gets back up for the battle of AEW jobbers and blocks Dean’s DDT, setting up Swerve Strickland’s running kick to the back of the head. Heeter is back up but Edwards takes everyone down, only to get kicked down by Williams.

Edwards strikes away to stagger Williams, including a pair of kicks to the head. Heeter blocks Edwards’ dive so Williams dives onto him with a….I’m not sure what that was. Dean is right there with a big flip dive to take a bunch of people down so Johnson tries one of his own, only to land on the apron (EGADS). Thankfully he’s fine and everyone but Heeter gets back inside.

With everyone else in a corner, Johnson hits a bunch of running shots until Mason switches places with him and does the same thing. Heeter plants Johnson with a sitout F5 but Dean is back in with a Project Ciampa to Edwards. That leaves Dean and Williams to have a rather awkward exchange, capped off by Edwards hitting a neckbreaker.

Johnson hits a standing corkscrew moonsault on Edwards but Mason makes a save with a legdrop. Mason gives Williams a VERY swinging Boss Man Slam but stops to pose instead of covering. Heeter plants Mason, only to have Johnson come in off the top with Spiral Tap to steal the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C. I have made no secret about the fact that I do not like this kind of match. There are WAY too many people doing WAY too many things and they don’t allow anyone to really shine. I was worried that they were going with the Heeter win, but thankfully they went with anyone else here. The match was all action, but it was such a mess that it was hard to get much out of it.

Adam Priest vs. Gnarls Garvin

Garvin, billed as Big Beef, is from a trailer park in Louisville, Kentucky and Priest is a guy who got some buzz over at least one Wrestlemania weekend. Priest jumps him before the bell and knocks him to the floor, setting up a heck of a suicide dive. They get inside for the opening bell, with Beef hitting a backdrop to take over. Some chops in the corner don’t do much good for Priest, who gets launched into the corner to cut him off.

Beef gets his jacket off and makes me think I’m watching a Husky Harris match. Priest catches him with a German suplex and a dropkick staggers Beef again, setting up a middle rope moonsault for two. With that not working for him, Beef hits a heck of a powerbomb and a running crossbody against the ropes. A rather big top rope splash finishes Priest at 3:17.

Rating: C-. They kept this quick and that is not a bad thing. Beef is a bigger guy who can move around, but I’m not sure how long he would be able to keep that pace up. At the same time, I was surprised by the ending as Priest seemed to be a bigger deal than Beef coming in. The splash looked good too and it would have been a bit much to have Priest kick out.

Jaden Newman vs. Big Twan Tucker

Twan is indeed big and seems rather proud about staying woke. Apparently Newman has new gear (it’s a onesie) and is wearing an unidentified title. Jaden is an extra evil villain by stomping on the referee’s Santa hat, making me want to see him massacred. Twan powers him down without much effort to start and then does it again for a bonus. With the on the ground stuff working, Jaden goes up top and gets pulled down onto his face.

The onesie is ripped open so Twan can fire off some chops, including a double hand version that leaves Jaden in shock. They head outside where Twan chops him the rest of the way out of the onesie and then smacks him upside the head. Jaden finally wraps the leg in the rope to take Twan down and a running knee cuts him down inside. A bit too much trash talk lets Twan Pounce him for two but Jaden goes old school evil with the eye rake. Jaden ties up both arms and fishhooks the jaw but has to let go because it seems to be illegal. I’m not sure if that is the case, though I didn’t read the updated rule book.

A kick to the head sets up a hard slap but another just wakes Twan up. More strikes rock Jaden and a swinging Boss Man Slam gets two. Jaden’s shot to the face, including a top rope punch, only get one but a running flip neckbreaker drops Twan. That’s good enough for a victory lap (McCash: “Is your goal to win the match you dumb f***???”) which takes way too long, allowing Twan to spear him out of the air back inside. The chokeslam is countered though and Jaden hits a pair of running forearms to the back of the head for the pin at 9:08.

Rating: C. Tucker looked good for a big guy and Jaden was a decent enough heel. There might have been a few too many big spot kickouts but you kind of have to expect that. The other interesting thing is that they kept this clean, even with the villain winning in the end. Not a great match, but sometimes a completely watchable match is all you need.

Bonestorm Title: AC Mack vs. Mr. Brickster

Mack is defending and insists that the referee hold up both of his titles (because he has another one too) so he can handle his own entrance. On the other hand, Brickster has a small saxophone and seems to be a bit of a party guy. Mack tries a chop block (as he did before, putting Brickster on the shelf for six months) but Brickster is ready for him.

The bell rings and Mack misses a charge in the corner, allowing Brickster to start chopping away. A big boot gives Brickster two but he telegraphs the heck out of a missed clothesline in the corner. Mack goes smart by going after the bad leg and the cockiness goes up rather quickly. The fans get behind Brickster but are quieted down when the knee is slammed into the mat.

We pause for Mack to glare at the fans, allowing Brickster to hit a powerslam (from his knees) to send Mack into the corner. Hold on again though as someone throws Brickster a bag containing….a stuffed set of male genitalia with Mack’s face on it. The crowd has various chants as Brickster takes Mack outside so fans can hit Mack in the face with it.

Commentary gets in various jabs of their own and Brickster hits an ax handle to the back for two. Brickster hits a standing Iconoclasm for two (with commentary SCREAMING at the near fall) but here is Shawn Dean for a distraction. Alan Angels crotches Brickster on top and a hanging Pedigree (or something close to it) retains the title at 8:34.

Rating: C+. I’ve seen Mack before and I like almost everything that I’ve seen from him so far. He feels like a seasoned veteran and someone I could see wrestling on a bigger stage. Brickster had a bit of a Brutus Beefcake vibe to him and that is not a bad thing, as he had charisma and the fans got into what he was doing. Nice main event, with Mack feeling like a star.

Post match commentary screams that all of these guys are from Atlanta (including the other title Mack had). Mack yells about how if you invade them, they’ll invade you. Brett Ison and Violence Is Forever run in for the save. Brickster talks about being glad to be back and how we can do great things when we come together. He tells us to never stop believing and Don’t Stop Believing plays, with the fans singing along. Commentary shouts a lot to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show, as it had talented wrestlers and a very modern feel, but it also felt like it belonged in the early 2000s. For every good thing, there was a lot of the IN YOUR FACE feeling with the swearing (I lost count of the number of wrestlers who was introduced as FIRST NAME F****** LAST NAME) and over the top nature. The positive is that mainly stayed between the matches, which did have high energy and felt fun without any of them being close to bad. Overall, it’s clearly a promotion that has been established, but turning it down a notch would be a nice idea.

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

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In a week where there isn’t much going on, we take a trip inside my wrestling mind.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-speaking/

Smackdown
Date: November 16, 2007
Location: Kansas Coliseum, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

It’s the go home show for Survivor Series and that means it is time for Undertaker and Batista to stare at each other because their title match in the Cell has been set for a few weeks now. Other than that, we don’t have much, but I could go for more of Jamie Noble, who has been a gem in recent weeks. I’m not sure how they fill two hours with that but let’s get to it.

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

We open with a video on Batista vs. Undertaker inside the Cell. That’s about as big as it gets on this show.

Opening sequence.

Jeff Hardy vs. Finlay

Non-title and commentary explains that the GM’s have agreed that the Brand Split is out the window for this week. Finlay takes him into the corner for a rare clean break to start before going with a rather simple armbar. Hardy isn’t having that and picks up the pace by sending Finlay outside for a dive.

Back in and Jeff is sent shoulder first into the post and things slow right back down. The chinlock goes on, with Finlay adding in some elbows for two. Hardy tries to fight out but Finlay goes aerial with a basement dropkick, setting up another chinlock. Back up and Finlay sends him into the corner, allowing Jeff to hit a quick Whisper in the Wind. The slingshot dropkick is loaded up so Finlay grabs the shillelagh but the referee grabs it and calls for the DQ.

Rating: C+. I like the ending here and there is something fun about watching Finlay take someone apart. It is what he does best and you can believe that he is capable of hurting just about anyone you put him in there against. If nothing else, I can go for seeing the Intercontinental Champion not taking a pin in a match designed to set up another one.

Jeff clears Finlay out.

We look at Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels in the first Cell match.

Here is Undertaker for a chat. Undertaker talks about how evil the Cell is but no one comes out of it the same. He has been in it more than anyone else so let’s call it the Deadman’s Playground. On Sunday, Batista’s fate will be the same as everyone else and he will lose the World Heavyweight Championship. Oh and he will rest in peace. Much like Batista last week, this was short and to the point, which is a good thing.

Beth Phoenix/Victoria vs. Mickie James/Torrie Wilson

Mickie and Victoria start things off with Mickie getting out of a wristlock and grabbing a victory roll for two. Phoenix comes in to take Mickie down by the hair but Mickie sends her into the corner. That’s enough for the tag to Torrie, who gets in some forearms before Phoenix grabs her with a side slam. The Glam Slam finishes Torrie without much trouble.

Jeff Hardy goes to take care of some personal plans, which is cool with Matt Hardy. Kind of a random interaction.

Undertaker destroyed Mankind in and outside of the Cell.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge and MVP gets straight to the point by bringing in Matt Hardy as his guest. MVP talks about how they have been rivals but became partners and champions. Matt likes the sound of that, but brings up MVP pulling Jeff Hardy off the apron on ECW and injuring him to win a tag match. MVP’s explanation: he was in a wrestling match and tried to win! That’s not good enough for Matt, who wants his US Title shot. MVP says they need to worry about the Tag Team Titles but Matt says they aren’t friends. Matt wants his title shot right now….but MVP says they have to defend the Tag Team Titles RIGHT NOW.

Tag Team Titles: MVP/Matt Hardy vs. Miz/John Morrison

Miz and Morrison are challenging. Miz takes MVP into the corner for a clean break to start so MVP knees him in the head. The running boot in the corner tweaks MVP’s knee though and that means it’s off to Hardy. Morrison comes in and starts going off Matt’s knee so the champs can match. A clothesline gives Matt a breather but Morrison twists the knee right back down. Matt fights up again and tries the Twist of Fate but Miz chop blocks him and covers for the pin and titles in a big upset.

Rating: D+. That ending screams shenanigans and it would not surprise me to see something screwy happen after the match. MVP and Hardy did some great things as Tag Team Champions but at some point you have to move on to the next point in the story. That seems to be where we are going now and that is better than almost anything else they could do.

Post match MVP says not so fast because the rematch is being cashed in RIGHT NOW (while referring to Miz and Morrison as 98 Degrees and N’Sync).

Tag Team Titles: MVP/Matt Hardy vs. Miz/John Morrison

Miz and Morrison are defending. Joined in progress with the limping MVP hammering on Miz until the knee buckles. Matt comes in so Miz takes him down by the leg and starts cranking away. The Mizard of Oz gets two on Matt and Morrison grabs a half crab. That’s switched into something like a kneebar on the mat and Matt taps to retain the new champs’ titles.

Post match MVP helps Matt up…and then takes out the knee again. The big beatdown is on, with Matt’s knee being crushed in the steps. A shinbreaker onto the steps makes Matt scream and MVP’s leg seeming just fine.

Undertaker shoved Rikishi off the top of the Cell.

Survivor Series rundown.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Rey Mysterio

Rey has bad ribs coming in but is fine enough to snap off an armdrag. Kennedy gets sent out to the floor fast but is ready for the dive, leaving Rey in the ring as we take a break. Back with Kennedy going for the mask before settling for a shot to the ribs to keep Rey in trouble. Some shoulders in the corner and a suplex give Kennedy two, setting up the bodyscissors.

Kennedy cranks away until Rey (who shouts that he can’t breathe) makes the rope so it’s out to the floor with the ribs being sent into various things. A torture rack of all things stays on the ribs until Rey slips out for a rollup and a near fall. Rey manages a spinning DDT to put them both down for a breather.

Back up and Rey hits the springboard spinning crossbody, setting up the springboard seated senton. A big kick to the head gives Rey two but Kennedy is right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two of his own. The 619 looks to set up Dropping The Dime but Kennedy is too far away so Rey gets back inside. Kennedy takes him down again and loads up the Green Bay Plunge. That takes too long as well though, allowing Rey to hit a super hurricanrana for the pin.

Rating: C+. Another case of two talented wrestlers having a good match and that is not the biggest surprise. Smackdown has been having these longer matches to give the show a more old school wrestling feel and that is a nice thing to see. This was a nice preview for Survivor Series and it actually gives one of the teams a bit more momentum for once.

Undertaker beat up Randy Orton in the Cell.

It’s time for the official weigh-in between Great Khali and Hornswoggle. After they both come out, Hornswoggle goes first and weighs 138lbs. Khali tries and breaks the scale, with Michael Cole saying that if Khali weighs 420lbs, he’ll outweigh Hornswoggle by more than 280lbs. Runjin Singh translates Khali’s rant about the people he has hurt. Then we get a photo opportunity between then and Hornswoggle cries, with Khali pointing at him and tearing up Hornswoggle’s hat.

Batista vs. Mark Henry

Non-title and No DQ. Batista knocks him down to start and they’re on the floor in a hurry. Back in and Batista works on the arm before going with a slam to show off. A belt shot to the head finishes Henry fast. This was similar to Undertaker vs. Great Khali last week, but without as much Khali.

Post match Batista takes him outside for a whip into the steps. Batista chokes him with a camera cord and spears him down. Cole attributes this to the Cell possessing his soul, but Batista cuts him off with some chair shots to Henry. Undertaker’s face appears on the Titantron (though Batista’s bugged out eye look easily tops it) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked this show a pretty good bit as they set up some other Survivor Series matches aside from the main event. You can only get so far with the focus being on that one match and it is the kind of build that Survivor Series needed. Good show here, with some longer matches that made me want to see the pay per view that much more.

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

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Make sure you check out some recent reviews.

NXT UK – May 5, 2022

Dynamite – May 11, 2022

WWE Is Bringing Back A Classic Show Next Month For NXT.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-bringing-back-classic-show-next-month-nxt/

Maybe? Two More Matches Added To AEW Double Or Nothing Card (Kind Of).

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/maybe-two-matches-added-aew-double-nothing-card-kind/

Worth The Wait: Update On Cesaro’s Wrestling Status.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/worth-wait-update-cesaros-wrestling-status/

WWE Hall Of Famer Reportedly Going Through Serious Health Issues.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-hall-famer-reportedly-going-serious-health-issues/

More Details On Roman Reigns’ New WWE Deal, Not Appearing As Often.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/details-roman-reigns-new-wwe-deal-not-appearing-often/

Here Is How WWE Internally Ranks Some Of Its Wrestlers.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-internally-ranks-wrestlers/

Drew McIntyre Wants To Bring Back A WWE Attitude Era Championship.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/drew-mcintyre-wants-bring-back-wwe-attitude-era-championship/

WATCH: CM Punk Meets Hook And Danhausen After AEW Dynamite (It Didn’t Go Well).

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-cm-punk-meets-hook-danhausen-aew-dynamite-didnt-go-well/

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

Dynamite
Date: May 11, 2022
Location: UBS Arena, Belmont Park, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re back on Long Island this week and that means it’s going to be a bit of a Bizarro World situation. CM Punk is getting to face Long Island’s own John Silver, but the big story is MJF getting to name the stipulations for his match against Wardlow with Wardlow’s freedom on the line. If nothing else, it should be fun to hear MJF get that kind of a hero’s welcome. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Owen Hart Foundation First Round: Adam Cole vs. Dax Harwood

Harwood starts fast with some shots to the face but gets kneed in the ribs to cut him down. That means Cole can start to pose a bit as he stomps Harwood down even more. Harwood gets sent ribs first into the post and it’s time to go outside. Cole sends him into various other things, including HARD into the post as we take a break.

Back with Harwood getting sent chest first into the buckle. Harwood is fine enough to hang in a slugout and grab a slingshot powerbomb for two of his own. A rollup gives Harwood two but the kickout sends him into the corner, only to have him come out with a spinning crossbody out of the corner. Cole is back with a superkick but Harwood rolls him up for two more.

The Panama Sunrise is blocked so Cole goes with a kick to the face and another Panama Sunrise attempt is countered, setting up a piledriver for two. With that not working, Harwood grabs the Sharpshooter but Cole kicks him off and out to the floor. That’s good for a nine count so Cole grabs his own Sharpshooter back inside. Harwood tries to bridge out but finally collapses and taps at 15:34.

Rating: B. I don’t think there was any real doubt about the winner here and that is not a bad thing. Harwood made Cole work here but ultimately fell in the end. The last few months have been a great showcase of FTR and it is great to see Harwood getting a moment to shine here on his own. Cole is a much bigger singles star and a real threat to win the tournament so this was a very nice way to use Harwood, even if he had no real chance of winning.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy. They know each other and Allin has asked Tony Khan to relax the rules so they can be insane like they want to be.

CM Punk vs. John Silver

Hangman Page is on commentary. Punk, in a New York Islanders jersey, has his music stopped so the fans can boo him even more. Feeling out process to start with Silver running him over with a shoulder. Punk’s hiptoss is countered into a backslide for two but he gets in a shot of his own and we take a break.

Back with Silver firing off some kicks, including a low superkick into a brainbuster for two. Silver slips a bit in the corner but still manages a tornado DDT for another near fall. A running leg lariat gives Punk a needed breather and he goes to the apron, but stops to stare at Page. Punk hits a not very good Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 8:06.

Rating: C+. This was a similar story as the first match and that is something that works well. Punk vs. Page is starting to feel bigger and while they are going to have their work cut out for them, it is something they can pull off. That being said, Punk might need to stick to the GTS as that lariat wasn’t exactly great to see.

Post match Page storms to the ring and gets in Punk’s face. Punk talks about how the title is just business to him and this isn’t personal. Every morning, Punk would wake up and ask if he was a good guy. Now he is waking up to ask if he is the champ and yeah he thinks he is. At Double Or Nothing, Punk is winning the title and Page is going to shake his hand whether he is conscious or unconscious. Punk extends his hand but gets flipped off as Page leaves.

Britt Baker doesn’t care about who she is facing in the Owen Hart Tournament but she knows that Jamie Hayter is going to win. Tonight, the Toni Storm is going to pass. Oh and Baker is cool with facing Hayter in the semifinals.

Danhausen vs. Tony Nese

Danhausen loads up the curse but Nese sends him into the corner and hits the Running Nese for the pin at 32 seconds. It makes sense. There is nothing to suggest Danhausen is anything more than a joke so treat him as such.

Post match Nese hits another running knee and loads up another but here is Hook for the save. Nese runs off so Danhausen extends a hand to Hook, who shakes it, much to Danhausen’s shock.

We get a promo for the next season of Dark Side Of The Ring, as narrated by Chris Jericho, about an upcoming episode on MJF vs. Wardlow. Hold on though as Jericho says he doesn’t want to narrate something from MJF….but then he finds out how much he is being paid. This turns into a video about their history, with Taz not wanting to talk about Wardlow and Barry Horowitz talking about how much of a jobber Wardlow really is. Awesome, as usual with this stuff.

It’s time for the contract signing between MJF and Wardlow, with Wardlow coming to the ring in handcuffs and MJF sporting an Islanders jersey, allowing him to soak in even more cheers. MJF goes on about the greatness that is Long Island and explains the story, even for the fans in the cheap seats (MJF: “You’re poor but you’re still beautiful.”). He also doesn’t want the fans to boo Wardlow (with some very massive winking going on) and oddly enough, Wardlow is booed out of the building.

With that out of the way, it’s time to talk about the conditions, because it is time for Wardlow to pay for everything he did to Cody Rhodes. MJF again hints that he’s leaving in 2024 before saying at Double Or Nothing, he is going to whip Wardlow not one, two, etc etc, nine or…..hey Shawn Spears, how many times is he going to whip Wardlow? Anyway, if Wardlow is going to get his match, he has to beat Spears in a cage.

Wardlow REALLY likes that idea, until MJF says he’ll be the special referee. If Wardlow survives there, he can get his match at Double Or Nothing, but if he loses there, he can NEVER sign with AEW. Wardlow tries to sign but can’t with the handcuffs….so MJF says take them off. Spears and Mark Sterling point out that this is a REALLY BAD IDEA but the cuffs come off anyway.

Wardlow signs but doesn’t want the cuffs put back on. Security is taken out (with MJF hiding behind Spears) and Spears is taken out, leaving Sterling to save MJF from the Powerbomb Symphony. Then Sterling is put through the table instead. Commentary says MJF vs. Wardlow is set for Double Or Nothing, and I think it’s the whipping, the cage match and MJF vs. Wardlow all at the pay per view. Or maybe not as it’s kind of unclear. It seems that Wardlow has to get through the other stages first and then gets MJF, but their wording could have been a lot better here.

Video on Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt/Satnam Singh.

FTW World Title: Ricky Starks vs. Jungle Boy

Starks is defending. They go a bit technical to start with neither being able to get anywhere until Jungle Boy blocks a right hand. Starks gets dropkicked out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Jungle Boy hitting a rebound lariat but Starks knocks him back as well. Roshambo is blocked and Jungle Boy hits a superkick for two.

As JR goes on some weird tangent about Taz having a special guest at Thanksgiving (apparently he means Danhausen, which had nothing to do with anything going on at the moment), Jungle Boy gets the Snare Trap but Starks is in the ropes. Starks tries to leave but here is Swerve Strickland to cut him off. That means the referee doesn’t see Jungle Boy roll Starks up. Once the referee is back though, the Roshambo can retain the title at 10:01.

Rating: C+. Jungle Boy gets protected in the loss but it’s still weird to see him get pinned. This would seem to set up something between Strickland/Keith Lee and the Jurassic Express, even though Team Taz is right there. That’s the calling card of a triple threat and in this case, it makes enough sense. Starks and Jungle Boy had the perfectly good match you would expect them to have too so this was completely watchable.

Post match Christian Cage and Luchasaurus come out to check on Jungle Boy and don’t look happy with Swerve. Cue Keith Lee and it’s a three way staredown, also involving Team Taz.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society for a victory speech, though commentary isn’t sure what victory they’re talking about. Matt Menard talks about how excited being on this team makes him before it’s off to Jericho, who says he was glad to get out of this dump. He’s the Wizard and throws fireballs in people’s faces, including Eddie Kingston.

Hold on though as Kingston needs to stay home because he needs to keep his wife happy. If Kingston can’t, call Jericho and he’ll take care of it. Daniel Garcia talks about how sports entertainers always beat wrestlers, and it’s Jon Moxley interrupting. Jericho tells him to go on another hiatus but here are Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta and William Regal.

That isn’t enough to even things up, so here are Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston to start the real brawl. House is cleaned and even Regal gets in a shot on Jericho. The villains flee, as I wonder when they installed the invisible wall that is keeping the good guys from going after Jericho and company. That’s quite the one sided match on paper, but I’ll take this over the BCC crushing more and more jobbers.

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter

They go to the mat to start and neither can get very far. Back up and Hayter wins a power off and sends Storm outside as we take an early break. We come back with Storm getting two off a high crossbody but getting caught in a Rock Bottom backbreaker (with Hayter just barely getting the knee in). The ripcord lariat is countered into a German suplex though and Storm gets a breather as Hayter rolls to the apron. They slug it out until Hayter grabs a superplex, only to get small packaged for two. Hayter rolls through a backslide but Storm is right there with Storm Zero to advance at 8:32.

Rating: C+. They kept this one moving and had a physical fight to get there. I like that Storm is getting rehabbed a bit as she came in and then cooled off rather quickly, but at least they’re doing a little something with her here. I’m not sure if she is getting past Britt Baker, but one win on TV is better than another loss.

Video on Kazarian vs. Scorpio Sky.

Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti warn Kazarian about Scorpio Sky but he doesn’t want to hear it. Guevara: “SCU later.” Kazarian: “Your vlog sucks.”

Here is what is coming up on various shows. They do clarify that Wardlow will get his ten lashes next week.

Owen Hart Foundation First Round: Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy

Anything goes and Sting/Matt Hardy are the seconds. Allin starts at the bell and dropkicks Hardy to the floor. A bunch of chairs are set up next to each other (eight, set up four by two) but Jeff sends him face first into the steps. Hardy hammers away and turns the steps on their side but the Twist of Fate is blocked. Instead, Hardy pulls out a ladder (as we’re less than three minutes into the match) and we take a break.

Back with Allin on top of the big ladder in the ring and, after doing Jeff’s pose, flip dives onto Hardy onto the eight chairs. With that horrifically stupid idea out of the way (and Allin thankfully still moving), Allin misses a Coffin Drop onto the apron, allowing Hardy to put him on the steps for the Twist of Fate. The Swanton only hits steps though and Allin takes him back in for the Coffin Drop….so Hardy rolls him up for the pin at 10:16.

Rating: D. I know that’s not going to go over well but I got angrier and angrier throughout this….well it wasn’t wrestling so I’m not sure what to call it. Within three minutes, they had eight chairs, the ring steps and a ladder in play. After a break they did a crazy spot, then they did a crazy spot, then Allin hit his finisher but Jeff pinned him anyway. As in Jeff hardy, who can barely move, pinned Darby Allin, who (assuming he isn’t in a wheelchair because no one with any authority will tell him to stop doing those dangerous spots) could be a top star around here. If you liked it then that’s cool, but this was absolutely not for me in any way.

Post match the Undisputed Elite comes out to stare down the Hardys to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a MUCH better show than last week so I think we can write that off as the kind of bad night that happens to everyone. Main event aside (and I’m likely to be pretty alone on that one), this was an entertaining show but more importantly, it moved things forward towards Double Or Nothing. A lot of the card is either already set or is pretty clear, so now they can spend the next few weeks hammering things down. That is the important part of this week, but they also had some good action throughout. Nice stuff this week, which tends to be the case around here.

Results
Adam Cole b. Dax Harwood – Sharpshooter
CM Punk b. John Silver – Buckshot lariat
Tony Nese b. Danhausen – Running Nese
Ricky Starks b. Jungle Boy – Roshambo
Toni Storm b. Jamie Hayter – Storm Zero
Jeff Hardy b. Darby Allin – Crucifix

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

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NXT UK
Date: May 5, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

We’re back to the title picture this week with Meiko Satomura defending the Women’s Title against Isla Dawn in a World of Darkness match. I’m not sure what that means but NXT UK has enough of a track record that I can believe they’ll pull it off. On top of that, we get more of the build towards next week’s 200th show. Let’s get to it.

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

Lash Legend arrived earlier today and conscripted Emilia McKenzie to take care of her bag.

Opening sequence.

It’s time for Supernova Sessions, this time in the ring. Noam Dar says this is the first edition of Supernova Sessions 2.0, which makes me scared for this place’s future. This week’s guest is international superstar Lash Legend and, after taking some time to get her seated, Dar gives her something resembling a plant. Hold on though, as Samuel Sha brings in a much nicer bouquet, which she puts in the Heritage Cup.

Legend rhymes about how awesome she is and talks about being here to run through the competition. Dar has his another present for her in the form of a Lash video package, which Legend certainly likes. Then Dar tries to open a water but it seems to be soda and sprays all over him. With Dar dealing with that, Samuels looks at the odds for the incoming NXT exchange students having success around here, though he isn’t sure who Damon Kemp is.

Legend talks about how her physical abilities are like some animals and promises to leave everything else for the vultures. Now play the funky music. This was pretty terrible and one of the worst things I can remember on NXT UK in a long time. Granted that might be due to it being about Lash Legend and nothing actually happening.

Sid Scala talks about finding challenges for the Tag Team Titles, with a triple threat title match coming up. Von Wagner comes in to shake Scala, but Sam Gradwell says he’s here to do that. A match seems likely.

In the back, Damon Kemp comes up to Sha Samuels and Lash Legend. That’s enough to get Legend to leave so Kemp can complain about being a 400/1 underdog on Samuels’ odds.

Tiger Turan vs. Tate Mayfairs

Turan is a masked guy and kind of skinny. Mayfairs’ wristlock is flipped away to start and Turan cartwheels over him, setting up a butterfly suplex. A high crossbody gives Turan two but Mayfairs pulls him out of the corner for a crash to take over. That doesn’t last long as Turan chops him down a few times and scores with a middle rope dropkick. Turan hits a Swanton for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: C. Turan is fairly small but he was good enough to look decent in there. I don’t know how much of a future he’ll have around here as this place seems to be the new NXT dumping ground but when has that stopped NXT UK from getting something out of someone before? Not much of a match but I can always go for a masked man.

Gallus runs into Oliver Carter/Ashton Smith and they both seem to want the Tag Team Titles. They’ll meet next week in one of the #1 contenders matches.

Video on some of the NXT UK stars who have moved on to become NXT/main roster stars.

Video on Ivy Nile.

Nina Samuels doesn’t like Nile stealing her spotlight and she’ll do something about it next week.

Danny Jones vs. Damon Kemp

Kemp wrestles him down to start but Jones slips out in a bit of a surprise. Jones grabs the arm but is quickly reversed into a gutwrench suplex. A clothesline drops Kemp and the neck crank is on, only to have Kemp come up with some overhead belly to belly suplexes. Kemp hits a Regal Roll, setting up a running powerslam to finish Jones at 4:26.

Rating: C. Kemp continues to impress but I think you can get the idea of what the new NXT UK, or at least this taping cycle of it, is going to be about. Kemp made short work of someone who has had some nice appearances around here before and that is probably going to be the case for more than one NXT UK regular. I get that NXT UK is the minor league, but making them practice dummies is a bit hard to swallow.

Post match Sha Samuels runs in to beat Kemp down.

Tiger Turan is celebrating his win but here is Kenny Williams with wanted posters, apparently thinking that Turan attacked him last week.

Die Familie is on their roof and talk about their upcoming matches, with Charlie Dempsey facing A-Kid and Teoman/Rohan Raja wanting the Tag Team Titles.

Video on Jordan Devlin vs. Ilja Dragunov for the United Kingdom Title next week. Devlin talks about his dad telling him to be whatever he wanted, but to be the best. They had their first match but it wasn’t quite how Devlin wanted it. Now it’s time for the title match, but also Loser Leaves Town to make it more interesting.

Women’s Title: Isla Dawn vs. Meiko Satomura

Satomura is defending in a World of Darkness match, which means a street fight with the lights dimmed. We get the Big Match Intros, but this time Satomura jumps her before the bell to start fast. Dawn kicks her out of the air to little avail as Satomura kicks her to the floor. The apron kicks are blocked though and Dawn busts out a broom. Some shots with said broom have Satomura in trouble so Dawn kneels to make some thunder and lighting go off.

Back in and it’s time to open up Dawn’s box of trinkets and pull out Dani Luna’s hair. The hair is wrapped around Satomura’s eyes but she fights up, steps on the box, and starts kicking away. A spinwheel kick gives Satomura two but Dawn catches her on top with some chair shots. The backdrop driver onto the chairs is broken up though and Satomura kicks her out to the floor.

That works for Dawn, who whips out a rope/cord and ties Satomura to the post. Some whips have Satomura in trouble until she kicks her way to freedom. Dawn misses a dropkick into the steps, allowing Satomura to get in a kendo stick shot back inside. The cartwheel knees to the back let Satomura swing the stick again but Dawn is back with a Tarantula. The top rope rope Meteora onto the chair gives Dawn a delayed two (thanks to her banged up knees) and it’s time to set up some chairs. Dawn can’t suplex her through the chairs and it’s Scorpio Rising to retain the title at 12:49.

Rating: C-. The lights were darker? That’s really all they had for this? That might be the lamest gimmick I have seen in years as it felt like something Russo would have done. All they did was a weapons match with the lights dimmed down and I’m supposed to find that more interesting? That’s a bad sign coming after a pretty lame show and that’s a rather bad sign.

Satomura celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Please don’t let this be how NXT UK is going to go. Please. It’s the one consistently very good show that they have. While it is one thing to send someone over to another show to let them have some more time, this show felt like the NXT dumping ground with a BIG focus on the lower level NXT stars, plus a really lame main event. NXT already has two shows. I know these people need to be in the ring, but can they just get back on the Coconut Loop again instead of taking away one of the few shows that I like week in and week out? Please?

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

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Make sure you check out a recent review.

NXT – May 10, 2022

They Do Have A Plan: Update On WWE Tag Team Title Unification Match.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/plan-update-wwe-tag-team-title-unification-match/

WATCH: WrestleMania 38 Rematch Takes Place After Monday Night Raw.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-wrestlemania-38-rematch-takes-place-monday-night-raw/

WATCH: Wrestling Legend Singing At A Bar After Horrible Health Issues.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-wrestling-legend-singing-bar-horrible-health-issues/

WATCH: Former WWE World Champion Debuts Very Different Character.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-former-wwe-world-champion-debuts-different-character/

Update On The Future Of Edge’s Judgment Day Stable.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/update-future-edges-judgement-day-stable/

WWE Offers Explanation For Recently Released Star.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-offers-explanation-recently-released-star/

DiBiase Family Facing Civil Lawsuit Over Huge Embezzlement Scheme.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/famous-wrestling-family-facing-lawsuit-huge-embezzlement-scheme/

WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE May Be Planting Seeds For RKBro Split.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wrestling-rumors-wwe-may-planting-seeds-rkbro-split/

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

NXT
Date: May 10, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

While things should have changed last week with NXT Champion Bron Breakker beating Joe Gacy at Spring Breakin, Gacy’s minions beat Breakker down and kidnapped him. Since wins and losses don’t matter around here, Gacy vs. Breakker continues while the women’s Breakout Tournament begins. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s title match, plus the post show beatdown and Gacy and Company taking Breakker into a field with a sack of his head. They seem to leave him there as Gacy is all nutty.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Toxic Attraction vs. Roxanne Perez/Wendy Choo

Toxic Attraction is defending against the criminals. Choo dives in off the top from behind to take the champs down and it’s Perez starting with Jayne. That’s fine with the champ as Perez gets sent into the corner, allowing Jayne to do some of the most blatant spot calling I can remember (she grabbed Perez’s head and talked to her).

Jayne makes the mistake of talking too much trash though and it’s Choo coming in to clean house. Choo sends them outside and holds the ropes open so Perez can hit a double dive as we take a break. Back with Jayne taking Choo down but the tag off to Perez doesn’t take that long. A Russian legsweep gets two on Dolin as everything breaks down. Mandy Rose gets in the ring so Choo goes after her, allowing Jayne to hit a superkick on Perez for the pin at 10:01.

Rating: C+. Choo’s gimmick is still horrible but she can wrestle a somewhat exciting match. That kind of makes me wonder what in the world the point is in trying to have her be this goofy thing that is impossible to take seriously. If she was having matches like this in regular gear, she would be downright useful, but it is a little hard to buy her as anything important based on how she is dressed in the ring (and what she does out of it).

Post match Toxic Attraction beats Choo down.

Grayson Waller and Tiffany Stratton went shopping.

The Creed Brothers aren’t happy with Roderick Strong interfering against the Viking Raiders last week. Strong says the win is what matters but next week the Creeds are going to face the Raiders again. That’s cool with Strong, who is bringing in someone who has been wanting to join the team for a long time now: Damon Kemp. The Creeds say that new members are supposed to be a group decision, so they’ll talk about this later.

Here is Joe Gacy, with minions, for a chat. Gacy says that Bron Breakker has to take the next step in his journey all alone. He started his own journey here months ago and allowed anyone to be a part of real change. Two men, the minions, separated themselves from the pack and have proven their worth to him and themselves. Now Breakker can be a part of this change and receive eternal joy. Otherwise, affliction and hardship await those who resist. And that’s it, because Gacy is just another cult leader that has been done time after time.

Sarray, a schoolgirl again, talks to Chase University and since Bodie Hayward speaks Japanese (Chase: “We got a foreign language department?”), he translates that Sarray wants to team with Chase in a mixed tag. Chase is in.

This week at the Performance Center, Ivy Nile had an exercise challenge, starting with pushups. More on this later as some participants drop out early.

Here are the eight Women’s Breakout Tournament participants and we’ve got brackets:

Nikkita Lyons
Arianna Grace

Fallon Henley
Sloane Jacobs

Roxanne Perez
Kiana James

Lash Legend
Tatum Paxley

Everyone gets introduced with a quick bio graphic.

Women’s Breakout Tournament First Round: Fallon Henley vs. Sloane Jacobs

Henley misses a charge in the corner to start, allowing Jacobs to try a dropkick that is left a big short, meaning Henley has to lean into it for the near fall to make sense. Cue Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs to cheer Henley on as Jacobs kicks her in the face for two. Back up and Henley manages a clothesline for a double knockdown, setting up a running knee to finish Jacobs at 4:16.

Rating: C-. They did the right thing by having Henley go forward, but the brackets would suggest that she is going to get wrecked by Nikkita Lyons in the second round. Henley has fit in rather nicely with the country boys and that is a good starting point for her. Jacobs isn’t even 20 years old yet so she has a long way to go, but at least the base seems to be there so far.

Respect is shown post match.

Legado del Fantasma doesn’t feel bad about kidnapping AJ Galante last week. Now it’s time to start the car again.

Cruz del Toro goes to start the car but Tony D’Angelo and company jump him and beat him down. Then they put him in another car trunk and drive off.

Alba Fyre vs. Amari Miller

Fyre grabs a rollup to start as we go split screen to see Ivy Nile putting her contestants through burpees to get rid of even more. Miller comes back with a Regal Cutter for two but Fyre superkicks her for the same. Fyre plants her again with the Firebomb (Gory Bomb) and hits a Swanton for the pin at 3:38.

Rating: C. Fyre looked good here, but that isn’t hard when you’re one of the best in the world. I know WWE felt the need to change everything about her but at least the red hair is about as much of a trademark as you can get. It wasn’t quite a squash as Miller has a bit of standing around here, though Fyre should be either in the title scene or on the main roster like yesterday.

Solo Sikoa won’t let Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes in the building.

Cora Jade is ready for Natalya and isn’t that little girl that Natalya remembers.

Here is Solo Sikoa for a chat. He likes what he did to Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes and wants the North American Title. Cue Cameron Grimes to say that once he beats Hayes, Sikoa is next. That’s cool with Sikoa, who walks away, but here are Hayes and Williams to beat Grimes down. Sikoa slowly leaves, then turns to look back and very eventually makes the save.

Legado del Fantasma calls Tony D’Angelo and company and threats are made. Santos Escobar throws in a “f*** you” to end the call and D’Angelo breaks things.

Nathan Frazer is excited to be here when Xyon Quinn comes in. Quinn says something Frazer doesn’t understand when Wes Lee comes up too. Frazer says he thought it was some American thing and leaves, which seems to set up Lee vs. Quinn.

Tiffany Stratton/Grayson Waller vs. Andre Chase/Sarray

Sarray transforms, but it also changes Bodhi Hayward into a schoolgirl and changes Chase’s sweater to blue. The guys start things off with Waller working on the wristlock. A shot to the face annoys Chase so it’s off to Stratton, who has to run away from Sarray. That lets Stratton get her into the ring for a forearm to the face, only to have Sarray take her down by the leg. The Muta Lock goes on, with Sarray having to grab the hair for the escape.

Chase and Sarray hit the spelling stomps and we take a break. Back with Waller beating on Chase until a suplex gets him out of trouble. Everything breaks down again and the Sunray dropkick hits Waller. That leaves Sarray to get planted though and Stratton hits the twisting Vader Bomb….for two as Hayward blasts the air horn. Stratton dives on him (Stratton: “THAT’S A TEACHABLE MOMENT!”) but gets rolled up by Sarray for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: C+. Chase U has rapidly become one of my favorite things in all of NXT and that is due to the efforts that Chase has put in. He has turned a totally dumb story into something I like to see every week and that is a rare thing to see. It is all in the performance for him and I could go for more of that and people like him. Waller and Stratton were fine here and Sarray winning….I just can’t imagine it’s going to stick this time. She has fallen too far and the still lame transformation stuff is making it worse.

Ivy Nile has people doing lunges.

Mr. Stone says if people step to Von Wagner, they are going to get hurt. Ikemen Jiro comes in and attacks him and they get separated.

Indi Hartwell is sad about Dexter Lumis (whose name we can’t say) being gone when Toxic Attraction comes in. Mandy Rose talks about how she can’t imagine what Indi is going through….because no one would ever leave her. Go find Wendy Choo and cry with her. Hartwell shakes her head a lot.

Women’s Breakout Tournament First Round: Nikkita Lyons vs. Arianna Grace

Grace hits her in the face to start and manages to take Lyons down early on. Something like an Anaconda Vice has Lyons in trouble but she’s back up with some superkicks. A release German suplex sends Grace flying and a spinning kick to the face drops her. The splits splash finishes for Lyons at 3:08.

Rating: C. They kept this one short with Grace getting in some offense before falling tot he bigger star. There is nothing wrong with pushing the heck out of Lyons as she has the physical gifts and intangibles to go a long way. Grace looked good in the short term, but you can only get so much out of her selling a lot in a three minute match.

Ivy Nile gets rid of more people with the battle ropes and pullups. Nile outlasts the one remaining person and doesn’t look happy.

Video on Cora Jade vs. Natalya, and yes that really is the main event.

The Viking Raiders are in on a rematch against the Creeds.

Natalya vs. Cora Jade

Feeling out process to start with Jade spinning out of a wristlock and taking Natalya down early. The threat of some kind of a hold has Jade slipping out, only to send Natalya to the floor. We take a break and come back with Jade escaping a surfboard, setting up a running knee in the ropes. A tornado DDT gets two on Natalya but she is fine enough to suplex Jade hard into the corner.

Jade’s knee is crushed in the ropes so Natalya wraps it around the post. That allows Jade to pull her face first into the post and Sliced Bread gets two. With nothing else working, Jade grabs the Sharpshooter but Natalya powers out as Jade’s knee can’t hold up. Natalya grabs the Sharpshooter and Jade passes out at 14:06.

Rating: B. They were managing to pull me in here, and while I get the idea of Jade hanging in there to fall in the end, I’m not sure that’s the best way to go. Is Natalya really important enough that Jade can’t beat her? I know WWE seems to think of her as a legend and yeah I think I just answered my own question.

Post match Jade wakes up and Natalya helps her to her feet for the big hug to end the show. Please, not another tag team.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event pulled this one over the line and while it took time, I’m glad it actually got there. NXT continues to push some rather uninteresting stars and characters though, from Choo to Gacy to D’Angelo and company to Sarray to Natalya and it doesn’t help me through the show. There are good and interesting people on here who could use the TV time, but the bad names are bringing things WAY down and it’s making parts of the show a chore rather than entertaining. Side note: has there ever been a full, regular show that has a woman in every match? That might be a first.

Results
Toxic Attraction b. Roxanne Perez/Wendy Choo – Superkick to Perez
Fallon Henley b. Sloane Jacobs – Running knee
Alba Fyre b. Amari Miller – Swanton
Andre Chase/Sarray b. Tiffany Stratton/Grayson Waller – Rollup to Stratton
Nikkita Lyons b. Arianna Grace – Splits splash
Natalya b. Cora Jade via referee stoppage

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

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Make sure you check out some recent reviews.

Wrestlemania Backlash 2022

ECW On Sci Fi – November 13, 2007

NXT LVL Up – May 6, 2022

Monday Night Raw – May 9, 2022

Former World Champion Makes Surprise Return Over The Weekend.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/former-world-champion-makes-surprise-return-weekend/

Get In There: New Member Added To WWE Stable.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/get-new-member-added-wwe-stable/

Say The Words: Title Change Takes Place At WrestleMania Backlash.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/say-words-title-change-takes-place-wrestlemania-backlash/

WWE Star Suffers Broken Arm At WrestleMania Backlash, To Miss Some Time.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/top-wwe-star-suffers-broken-arm-wrestlemania-backlash-miss-time/

WATCH: WWE May Be Making A Huge Change To Money In The Bank.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-wwe-may-making-huge-change-money-bank/

Important Update On Roman Reigns’ Current WWE Status And Future.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/important-update-roman-reigns-current-wwe-status-future/

WATCH: Sasha Banks Surprises Students In Amazing Moment.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-sasha-banks-surprises-students-amazing-moment/

Here’s The (Good) Reason For Charlotte Taking Time Off From WWE.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/heres-good-reason-charlotte-taking-time-off-wwe/

AEW Wanted To Run Two HUGE Tournaments.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/aew-wanted-run-two-huge-tournaments/

Time For A New Career: WWE Star Loses Her Job This Week On Monday Night Raw.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/time-new-career-wwe-star-loses-job-week-monday-night-raw/

Switch Em? SmackDown Star Might Have Been Sent To Monday Night Raw.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/switch-em-smackdown-star-might-sent-monday-night-raw/

WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Using Old Crowd Footage For Unrelated Matches.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wrestling-rumors-wwe-using-old-crowd-footage-unrelated-matches/

VIDEO: Roman Reigns Suggests He Won’t Team With The Usos Again.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-roman-reigns-suggests-wont-team-usos/

Roman Reigns Signs New WWE Deal, Not Wrestling Nearly As Often.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/roman-reigns-signs-new-wwe-deal-not-wrestling-nearly-often/

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 9, 2022
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re done with Wrestlemania Backlash and now it is time to start getting ready for Hell In A Cell. This means that we are likely in for MORE rematches, as WWE continues to get more time out of their one set of ideas. Not much happened last night on the Raw side, but Cody Rhodes’ rise continues. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wrestlemania Backlash if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of last night’s main event, with Roman Reigns pinning Riddle so the Bloodline could beat RKBro/Drew McIntyre.

Here is RKBro for a chat. Randy Orton talks about how they came up short last night, but that was just a battle and they will win the war. The original plan was for a Tag Team Title unification match, but Roman Reigns cut that off because he knows the Usos can’t beat RKBro. That’s why they’re going to Smackdown this week and DEMANDING that Reigns allow the match. If Reigns doesn’t say yes, it shows how little he believes in his cousins.

Cue the Street Profits, who are scheduled to challenge RKBro later tonight. They are going to be winning the titles tonight and then unifying them against the Usos because they want the titles and the smoke. Riddle: “RKBro 4:20 says we just smoked your a****”. I think that’s a yes. To a match that was already set.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. RKBro

RKBro is defending and Ford takes Riddle down early to start, setting up Ford’s version of Randy Orton’s pose. Back up and Riddle tries an armbar, allowing Riddle to mock Orton’s pose for a bonus. It’s off to Dawkins, who gets taken into the corner so Orton can come in. The assisted Floating Bro gets two as Riddle comes back in and sends Dawkins outside. The penalty kick is blocked though and Ford hits the big flipping dive to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Riddle fighting out of a chinlock but getting taken back into the corner to keep him in trouble. Riddle flips out of a suplex though and the hot tag brings in Orton to clean house. The hanging DDT plants Dawkins and it’s right back to Riddle, who accidentally dives onto Orton on the floor. Back in and the frog splash gives Ford two on Riddle with Orton making a VERY last second save. Ford goes up again but this time the frog splash is countered into an RKO to give Riddle the pin at 10:15.

Rating: C+. Those RKOs out of nowhere are still great and that was the case for the pin here, as Riddle makes up for mistakenly taken out Orton earlier. This should be enough to set up the Tag Team Title match, likely inside the Cell, in the match that shouldn’t have been initially advertised for last night. Still though, nice enough match here and Orton’s reactions are getting louder and louder.

We get a….my goodness we get an old school platform style interview (platform, edge of the stage, same thing) with Theory. He isn’t worried about defending the US Title against Cody Rhodes later tonight and is the youngest United States Champion for a reason. Is it because every previous champion has been older than him? He is the future and the future is Theory.

Here are Edge (who has hacked his hair off) and company, now including Rhea Ripley, for a chat. Edge talks about how he listened to the fans for years and all it got him is a Hall of Fame ring. He is bigger than the Hall of Fame. You can point at any part of him and he has had surgery on it. Everyone here tries to stand by their principles and then go home like a bunch of keyboard warriors. Edge holds a mirror up to all of them and they see someone ugly and wrong.

Damian Priest says the truth hurts and while he and Edge could destroy everyone’s favorites, but now they have Rhea Ripley by their side. Ripley says this was the easiest decision of her life because she wanted to be like them. She is done signing autographs at the airport and then seeing them sold on eBay.

That brings her to Liv Morgan and tonight it is time for Liv’s destruction. Edge talks about everyone believing that Ripley was holding Liv down and takes credit for slitting Liv and Rhea up. He saw potential in Ripley and wants her to run everything over. This movement isn’t done and they are looking for more….and here is Liv Morgan to interrupt.

Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley throws her into the corner to start and hits some shoulders to the ribs but Morgan is back with a springboard hurricanrana. That earns her a kick to the chest and some right hands on the mat, setting up the bodyscissors. Liv fights out of the Riptide and kicks away, setting up the springboard Codebreaker for her own two. Ripley knocks her back down and grabs the Prism Trap for the tap at 5:40.

Rating: C-. Hey remember when These two were partners for like a month and then lost their two title shots and then they split up and it was nowhere near as big a deal as WWE presented it as being? Well this was Ripley winning the singles match between the two of them. I don’t think this goes anywhere else, save for having Liv as the designated woman in mixed tags as a group of guys go after Edge N Pals, assuming that has any value.

Post match Edge tells Ripley to put the hold on again so Liv taps again. Cue Finn Balor, with AJ Styles, because it’s his turn now.

Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest

Priest throws him into the corner to start and seems to be rather pleased with himself to start. Some more striking and pounding has Balor in trouble but he comes back with a dropkick to the knee. Some shoulders to the ribs in the corner have Priest in trouble and Balor counters a chokeslam into a rollup for two. There’s the Sling Blade to send Priest outside but Ripley gets in the way of a dive. That allows Edge to come in with the spear on Balor for the DQ at 4:19.

Rating: C. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere but it makes sense to have Edge want to hurt Balor rather than worry about the win or loss. That’s kind of the point of the team and they will likely get to stand tall after a beatdown. I’m expecting a big tag match next month, but that needs to be it for the feud so Edge and company can move on. To what….I’m not sure.

Post match Styles and Styles get beaten down.

Alpha Academy promises Kevin Owens DNA evidence next week that will prove that Ezekiel is Elias. Owens is happy because his brother Ken Owens is here to compete against Ezek…er, Elias.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge with MVP hyping up Omos’ win over Bobby Lashley last night. MVP starts to explain what happened to Lashley but here is Cedric Alexander to interrupt. Alexander keeps saying THEY DID IT and seems to think that he’s back in the team. That doesn’t seem likely, but here is Lashley to clean house, though MVP escapes. Cedric springboards into the Hurt Lock to really leave him laying.

Sonya Deville isn’t happy with Adam Pearce’s formal investigation but he promises her quality competition later tonight.

Sonya Deville vs. ???

Before the opponent is announced, here is Pearce to say that as a result of the formal investigation, Sonya is FIRED as an official, but she is still an active star, meaning she is having a match with this person.

Sonya Deville vs. Alexa Bliss

DDT and Twisted Bliss finish Deville at 34 seconds.

We look back at Cody Rhodes beating Seth Rollins last night.

Ezekiel vs. Ken Owens

It’s Kevin in a gray wig, because Ken is his older brother. Ken goes on a big rant about how he can’t stand liars like Elias and how stupid the people are here for buying this. The wig eventually comes off (with Ezekiel giving a funny shocked face) and the fight is on, but Alpha Academy runs in to beat Ezekiel down. No match.

We recap the return of Asuka to interrupt Becky Lynch.

Becky interrupts Asuka in the back and doesn’t get why Asuka is getting a title shot. Not so fast as Asuka has to beat Bianca Belair to get a title shot, which has Becky confused about the idea of beating a champion to get the chance to beat the champion (preach it). Becky talks about handing Asuka her last title but Asuka screams that she didn’t need Becky’s help. Asuka shouts about Becky acting like a baby instead of a mom, causing becky to say that Asuka is the one with the weird green tears on her face as she walks away.

Veer Mahaan vs. Frank Lowman

Lowman has a bit of size to him and says he doesn’t want to get taken out on a stretcher. He has a wife though and three triplets to go with her, so he is doing this for his family. Lowman gets in a shot to start but is taken down by a Thesz press (minus the press). A side slam sets up the Million Dollar Arm. The Cervical Clutch makes Lowman tap. Lowman was one of the better looking jobbers in a long time.

Cody Rhodes is proud of his win over one of the best in the world. Now he is seeing someone with limitless potential like Theory, but you have to dig deep to find that potential. Theory better be ready to dig deep.

US Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Theory

Cody is challenging and they lock up to start. Theory takes him down and strikes a quick pose so Cody hits a forearm to the face. That’s fine with Theory, who snaps the arm across the top rope and scores with a rolling dropkick. A dropkick to the knee cuts Cody off again but he’s right back with a springboard kick to the face. Something off the apron is broken up though and they go to the announcers’ table, which sends Theory running back inside.

We take a break and come back with Cody fighting out of a chinlock and they both hit crossbodies for a double knockdown. A powerslam gives Cody two and a moonsault is good for the same, meaning frustration sets in. Back up and Theory elbows him in the face, setting up the fisherman’s buster onto the knee. Cody isn’t having that and hits the Disaster Kick into the Cody Cutter but Seth Rollins comes in for the DQ at 13:08.

Rating: B-. They were starting to cook a bit near the end, but Rollins’ interference might as well have had a big countdown clock running for the entire match. You knew they were going to go to a third match between those two, probably in the Cell, and now they have a reason. At the same time, I like the idea of using a title match to set up one more fight. Cody gets screwed out of something he wants and Rollins keeps him from getting something he wants. Not a bad way to go.

Post match Seth Stomps Cody onto the announcers’ table and screams about Cody never taking anything else from him again.

Doudrop/Nikki Ash vs. Naomi/Sasha Banks

Non-title. Doudrop headbutts Naomi away to start and sits down on her to break up a sunset flip attempt. The cobra clutch goes on for a bit before a running corner splash crushes Naomi. A step up enziguri gets Naomi out of trouble though and it’s Banks coming in with a high crossbody, which is pulled out of the air for a slam. Nikki tags herself in (Doudrop doesn’t approve) and covers for two but Banks fights up and gets over to Naomi. The Codebreaker/Bubba Bomb combination finishes Nikki at 4:10.

Rating: C-. Anytime WWE wants to drop the Doudrop name and the Ash gimmick, I’m certainly cool with it. These are two talented women who could be doing something and are instead left as little more than losers, especially Nikki with that dead end idea. I could see both of them being released soon too and while that is sad, odds are they aren’t going to get to do anything of note anytime soon.

Post match Doudrop yells at Nikki but Miz, guest referee for the next match, comes out to cut them off.

Mustafa Ali vs. Ciampa

Miz is guest referee and neither of the two of them get an entrance. Ali grabs a rollup for no cover to start so Ciampa runs him over and stomps away. A running knee knocks Ali off the apron and a clothesline on the floor makes it worse. That lets Ciampa sit on the announcers’ table for his pat on the back but Ali rolls him up for….a very delayed one back inside. The chinlock goes on but Ali comes back with a hard clothesline. Ali hits a superkick and a tornado DDT for a VERY delayed two. Ciampa uses the distraction to hit a reverse DDT for the very fast pin at 5:33.

Rating: D+. It’s an idea that you have seen time after time and this happened to be the latest instance. I’m glad Ali is back and a feud with Miz isn’t the worst thing, but Ciampa being little more than a pawn who isn’t given as much as a decent introduction is a sad thing to see. You know, because this show is so flush with interesting talent that they can throw Ciampa out there with nothing behind him.

We get what sounds like a mashup of the Lacey Evans Story. Has she just been traded and we’re supposed to forget last week’s Smackdown?

We look at Bobby Lashley attacking Omos/MVP/Cedric Alexander earlier.

Lashley wants Omos in a cage next week.

Dana Brooke and Tamina have talked to R-Truth about getting divorces, but here are Reggie and Akira Tozawa with flowers and candy. Then R-Truth serves them with divorce papers. Well not so much Tozawa, as he runs away without taking them.

Asuka vs. Bianca Belair

Non-title CHAMPIONS CONTENDER match and Becky Lynch is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Belair flipping over her and telling Asuka to bring it. Belair goes with a leapfrog and runs Asuka over. With Asuka down, Belair loads up the handspring moonsault but Becky pulls her to the floor for a whip into the steps and the DQ at 2:59.

Post match Becky beats Asuka down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show started well and then fell hard, as most of the last hour, plus some more before that, was rather rough. Three disqualifications in nine matches is a lot, but the biggest problem continues to be the lack of a World Title. You have Edge and company as the monsters but with no one to chase, they are only so interesting. Nothing on here feels especially important and it comes off like they’re trying to find a way to get to the next pay per view without having a main story. That can work every now and then, but when it is the feature, there is a big problem.

Results
RKBro b. Street Profits – RKO to Ford
Rhea Ripley b. Liv Morgan – Prism Trap
Finn Balor b. Damian Priest via DQ when Edge interfered
Alexa Bliss b. Sonya Deville – Twisted Bliss
Veer Mahaan b. Frank Lowman – Cervical Clutch
Cody Rhodes b. Theory via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered
Naomi/Sasha Banks b. Doudrop/Nikki Ash – Codebreaker/Bubba Bomb combination to Ash
Ciampa b. Mustafa Ali – Reverse DDT with a fast count
Bianca Belair b. Asuka via DQ when Becky Lynch interfered

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

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

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