Daily News Update – April 29, 2022

Smackdown
Date: November 2, 2007
Location: Nassau Coliseum, New York City, New York
Attendance: 12,300
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We are done with Cyber Sunday and the big story on the blue side is Batista FINALLY defeating the Undertaker to retain the World Title. It is time to get towards Survivor Series and that could go in more than a few directions. They don’t have a ton of time to set it up though so hopefully we start getting somewhere this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Cyber Sunday if you need a recap.

Here is Batista to get things going. He talks about growing up in a rough neighborhood and having to fight for everything. Now he has done the same thing here, with every kind of fight you could imagine. Then on Sunday, he finally accomplished something he thought he would never do when he defeated the Undertaker. Their rivalry has been a war and now they are 1-1-2 and that makes them even.

Tonight they’re partners, but their differences have not been settled. He has Undertaker’s back but wants to know if Undertaker has his. There go the lights and Undertaker appears in the ring. Undertaker says he has Batista’s back because Batista still has the one thing that he wants. Batista asks if that means he wants a rematch, so the match is on. As Batista goes to leave, Undertaker says let’s do it in the Cell. Well that escalated.

In the back, Vickie Guerrero comes up to Jamie Noble, who panics and says he wasn’t hurting anyone. Vickie doesn’t have time for this because she has to work on the Cell match. Jamie thinks he’s being put in the match with them but she has a gift for him: a Rey Mysterio DVD, because he is facing Rey tonight. That works a lot better for Noble, who thinks Vickie is sweet on him. Oh and maybe later they could watch, ahem, some different DVDs.

Festus vs. Domino

Their respective partners are here too as Batista vs. Undertaker in the Cell is set for Survivor Series. Festus starts fast with a backdrop and some shots to the face for two. Domino goes to the eyes to escape and hits some knees to the face. That earns him another kick to the head as Jesse takes out an interfering Deuce. A fireman’s carry flapjack gives Festus the pin without much trouble.

Video on Eve winning the Diva Search.

Rey Mysterio vs. Jamie Noble

Finlay, who is facing Rey next week, comes out to watch at ringside. Feeling out process to start with Jamie flipping him over by the arm and barring it for a bonus. That’s fine with Rey, who climbs up Noble and grabs a sunset flip for two. Back up and Noble hits a running knee to the ribs to cut Rey down but he’s fine enough to load up the 619. That sends Noble bailing to the floor, where Rey gets in a kick to the legs to put Noble in more trouble.

Noble gets back in and hits something like an over the shoulder backbreaker spun into a cutter over the top (that’s a new one) to take over. A northern lights suplex stays on the banged up arm and the armbar goes on again. Noble drops him face first onto the mat and puts on the armbar for a third time. That’s broken up and Rey headscissors him down into a Fujiwara armbar. Noble slips out so Rey hits a springboard seated senton, only to charge into a powerslam. The tiger driver is loaded up but Rey reverses into a hurricanrana for the fast pin.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where you can have two guys do just about anything get a good match out of them. Noble has been used as a goon in recent weeks but he is capable of doing something like this if he is given the chance. Rey vs. Finlay sounds like it should be a good blowoff match next week too, as they have had a solid feud over the last few weeks.

Post match Finlay calls Rey a quitter and a loser, which he’ll prove next week.

Raw Rebound.

Matt Hardy is still healing and he’ll be ready to go next week. That’s cool with MVP, because he survived at Cyber Sunday and they need to get back to dominating. Matt agrees, and wishes MVP luck in his match tonight. MVP doesn’t know anything about a match, but it’s next…and Kane’s pyro goes off.

MVP vs. Kane

Non-title. Kane punches him down to start and a hard whip into the corner bangs up MVP’s ribs. Back up and MVP gets in a few shots of his own but a backbreaker gives Kane two. Some shots to Kane’s bad ribs (you might want to come up with something different) slow him down though and a running shoulder to the ribs gives MVP two of his own.

Kane rocks him with an uppercut but MVP is right back on the ribs as they aren’t making this very complicated. That’s reversed into a bearhug on the mat but MVP reverses into a seated abdominal stretch. MVP kicks him out to the floor and we come back with Kane having to fight out of a bodyscissors. Kane gets in a faceplant out of the corner and the top rope clothesline connects, setting up the chokeslam for the pin.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure who put this together but they could have done a bit better than an exchange of working on the ribs over and over. Have Kane’s shoulder hit the post or something but find a way to mix it up. Also, the US Champion gets pinned again, which probably doesn’t set up another title match, but at least they had this happen again because of course they did.

Post match Big Daddy V comes in to drop Kane and crush the ribs again. Cole: “He is a mean man!”

Mick Foley vs. Jonathan Coachman

Foley is the hometown boy and this match needs a guest referee in the form of Hornswoggle. Coach realizes he’s in trouble and Foley shoves him over Hornswoggle to make it worse. Foley rakes his eyes over the top and drops an elbow, setting up the green Mr. Socko. Hornswoggle adds the Tadpole Splash so Foley can get the pin. Just a quick way to make the live fans smile.

Next week, ECW World Champion CM Punk comes to Smackdown.

Kenny Dykstra vs. Chuck Palumbo

Victoria and Michelle McCool are here too. Palumbo hits him in the face to start and grabs a belly to back suplex for an early two. They head outside with Palumbo being sent back first into the apron as JBL talks about what a great future Dykstra has. Back in and Palumbo snaps off an overhead belly to belly. Michelle cuts off Victoria’s interference and Palumbo hits a top rope shoulder. Full Throttle finishes Dykstra off.

Rating: D+. Palumbo’s total stall continues and that is due to having him face people like Kenny Dykstra and Chris Masters. WWE has presented him as nothing more than a lower level guy and there is no reason to care about him. You’re only going to get so far with this and Palumbo has hit that point.

Rey Mysterio’s DVD went on sale last week.

Great Khali and Mark Henry shout at each other in a strategy session.

Great Khali/Mark Henry vs. Undertaker/Batista

Undertaker starts fast on Henry but Old School is broken up. Some shots to the arm put Henry in the corner though and now Old School connects. Henry gets knocked off the apron and we take an early break. Back with Batista driving Henry into the corner as well, allowing Undertaker to come in for a headbutt.

A running knee in the corner gets two (and has Batista impressed) but Henry powers Undertaker into the corner to bring in Khali. Since you don’t want Khali doing much more than kicking away in the corner, Henry comes back in and gets taken down with the running DDT. Batista comes in and gets elbowed in the face by Khali, setting up the big chop for two.

The Vice Grip goes on and makes Undertaker pace on the apron before eventually making the save. Batista spears Khali down and it’s back to Undertaker to unload on Henry. Everything breaks down and Batista spinebusters Henry, followed by Undertaker big booting Khali. The Batista Bomb is loaded up….but JBL runs in to jump Batista for the DQ.

Rating: C. This worked in a bit of a weird way, mainly because no one is going to buy Henry and Khali as a threat to the top two forces on the show. They didn’t bother having Undertaker and Batista in that much trouble, but the ending was a bit of a surprise. JBL is pretty clearly getting ready to make some kind of a comeback, though I’m not sure how much interest there is in having another big guy on a show with so many monsters.

Henry and Khali wreck Batista and Undertaker to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show was all about the Undertaker vs. Batista Cell announcement and a grand total of nothing else. The second biggest thing on this show was finding out that Rey Mysterio has a new DVD out. Maybe it’s fallout from the pay per view or not needing much for Survivor Series, but this was a weak show and I was pretty bored.

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/B00E6282 W6

AND

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

HIDDEN GEM: Let’s Go To Canada

I love wacky tag teams.

Honky Tonk Wayne/David Schultz/Davey Boy Smith vs. Kerry Brown/Duke Myers/Mike Miller
Date: February 4, 1983
Location: Victoria Pavilion, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Commentator: Ed Whalen

From Stampede as you might have guessed and joined in progress with Smith getting slammed as the villains (I think?) taking turns beating on him. Kerry whips him hard into the corner and Myers comes in for some shots of his own. Some choking ensues and Schultz is drawn in for a failed save attempt.

Miller hits a backdrop and brings Brown back in, with Smith grabbing a quick sunset flip for two. Smith finally dropkicks his way to freedom and the hot tag brings in Schultz to clean house. Everything breaks down with Wayne getting in a few shots of his own. Smith gets low bridged to the floor and is out cold for the countout at 5:04.

Rating: D+. Nothing much to see here but Smith looking young is always hard to fathom. The match itself just came and went with the three villains being about as interchangeable as you could imagine. Wayne would figure out his character in a few more years, but who in the world thought he would make a good face?

Post match Wayne and Schultz don’t have time to worry about Smith. They’ll team with Bret Hart against the same trio next week. That’s cool with Wayne, who had six eggs for breakfast and has six old ladies so a six man tag works well for him. Yeah he would get better with time.

ECW On Sci Fi – October 30, 2007: They Did The Mash

ECW On Sci Fi
Date: October 30, 2007
Location: Nassau Coliseum, New York City, New York
Attendance: 12,300
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

It’s the Halloween special and this time around that means we have the Monster Mash four man battle royal between Kane, Great Khali, Mark Henry and Big Daddy V. They are leaning heavily into the freak show idea here and that is not a bad idea. I could go for seeing what else they have going on here now that Cyber Sunday is gone so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a Halloween themed intro, set to something that is in no way similar to a certain Halloween novelty song about a holiday themed dance.

Opening sequence.

Elijah Burke vs. Jimmy Wang Yang

Before the match, Burke mocks Yang for being a working class guy. Yang slugs away to start but gets sent to the apron and then out to the floor (where there is some spooky smoke for some atmosphere). Burke starts in on the arm and grabs an armbar back inside, setting up a shoulder breaker. Another armbar doesn’t work that well but Burke is kicked out of the air. That’s about it for Yang’s offense though as he is sent into the corner for the Elijah Express and the pin.

Rating: C-. Little more than a squash for Burke here, which is a good idea as he hasn’t had much going on lately. Sometimes you need to just keep him warm and that’s all they were going for here. At least Yang is some fresh blood around here, even if he isn’t likely to go that far.

Video on Kane.

Raw Rebound.

Nunzio is a vampire and scares a bunch of kids but has them come with him. They go trick or treating to Balls Mahoney (in a cage, not in a costume), CM Punk (behind a KEEP OUT door, again not in a costume), and finally the Boogeyman, who scares Nunzio off and gives the kids worms.

Nunzio vs. Tommy Dreamer

Extreme Rules and it’s Dracula vs. Paul Heyman. Dreamer knocks him down to start and sends Nunzio flying off the apron. A pie to the face rocks Nunzio again as commentary isn’t sure what to make of this. Back in and a really big cell phone to the head sets up an apple bowl to the face, followed by the DDT for the pin. Commentary still can’t figure out who Dreamer is supposed to be.

Rating: C. The important thing here is they didn’t waste a lot of time on a joke that was only so funny in the first place. Commentary not being able to say Heyman was kind of amusing and it isn’t like beating Nunzio is going to matter that much. I chuckled a few times here and wasn’t annoyed so call that a win.

Video on Great Khali.

We look back at the Divas Halloween costume battle royal from Raw, with Kelly Kelly winning.

Miz vs. John Morrison

The winner gets an ECW Title shot. Feeling out process to start with Miz slapping him in the face, sending Morrison into a charge. Said charge is cut off by a drop toehold as Miz seems to be getting smarter by the week. Miz blocks a neck snap across the top and kicks Morrison hard into the barricade. Back in and the springboard kick to the face misses for Morrison, allowing Miz to hit the running corner clothesline for two. The Reality Check misses as well though and Morrison is right back with the corkscrew neckbreaker for the fast pin and the title shot.

Rating: C+. Yeah it’s Morrison getting the title shot again, which isn’t exactly a thrilling concept. Morrison has been the main challenger for the title more than once and it would have been nice to see something changed up. That being said, it isn’t like there is anyone else to go after Punk at the moment so this is kind of the only thing they can do at the moment.

Video on Mark Henry.

Video on Big Daddy V.

CM Punk vs. James Curtis

Non-title and John Morrison is on commentary. Curtis drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs as Morrison isn’t all that impressed by Punk. After fighting out of the corner, Punk kicks away, setting up the bulldog and the springboard clothesline. The GTS finishes in a hurry.

Post match Morrison jumps Punk to leave him laying. The title match is next week as ECW continues its search for some new title contenders.

Monster Mash Battle Royal

Mark Henry, Kane, Great Khali, Big Daddy V

Everyone goes after Kane to start but he ducks underneath them until Henry and V collide for a double knockdown. Khali kicks Kane down and is the only one standing for a bit. Back up and Henry just lifts Khali off the mat (geez) before V seems to drop Kane on what was supposed to be the swinging Boss Man Slam. V splashes Henry into Khali in the corner but misses a charge at Kane and gets eliminated. Henry and Kane clothesline Khali out and we’re down to two. Kane can’t dump Henry but he can kick him in the face and go up top. The top rope clothesline is pulled out of the air though and Henry throws him out for the win.

Rating: C. Sometimes you need a fun main event and that’s all they went for here. Henry being pushed as the next monster should work out as he could be an interesting challenger to Punk if that is where they want to go. What we got here was a fun change of pace, but it does kind of feel like a match that they put on because they didn’t have anything else worthy of a main event.

Overall Rating: C. They kind of punted this week, with the Punk vs. Morrison match being the only thing they set up for the future. That’s not a bad idea here though as it was around a holiday and they were coming off of a pay per view, so have a little fun instead of going through with what would have been another lackluster show. ECW still needs to get some better talent in place, but they also need some better stories because this is only so interesting of a show week to week.

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/B00E6282 W6

AND

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

New Column: Happy 20th Anniversary Wrestling Edition

How one year changed modern wrestling forever.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-happy-20th-anniversary-wrestling-edition/

Daily News Update – April 28, 2022

Make sure you check out some recent reviews.

NXT – April 26, 2022

NXT LVL Up – April 22, 2022

Dynamite – April 27, 2022

VIDEO: Second Generation Star Makes NXT Debut.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-second-generation-star-coming-nxt/

Quick Switch: Change Of Plans In Recent WWE Return.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/quick-switch-change-plans-recent-wwe-return/

Omos Reveals His One Of A Kind Medical Issues.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/omos-reveals-one-kind-medical-issues/

Fill Those Brackets: WWE Announces First Time Ever Tournament.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/fill-brackets-wwe-announces-first-time-ever-tournament/

Ric Flair Was So Close To Death That WWE Made Preparations.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/ric-flair-close-death-wwe-made-preparations/

Former Champions Make Surprise NXT Return, Set Up Big Match.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/former-champions-make-surprise-nxt-return-set-big-match/

Former NXT Star officially Moving Up To The Main Roster, Waiting To Debut.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/former-nxt-star-officially-moving-main-roster-waiting-debut/

There Might Be Some New Free Agent Wrestlers On The Market Soon.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/might-new-free-agent-wrestlers-market-soon/

Top AEW Star Announces Coronavirus Diagnosis, Missing This Week’s Dynamite.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/top-aew-star-announces-coronavirus-diagnosis-missing-weeks-dynamite/

Until Next Time: Two Stars Stepping Away From Wrestling.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/next-time-two-stars-stepping-away-wrestling/

WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Considering Expanding Stadium Shows In 2022.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wrestling-rumors-wwe-expanding-stadium-shows-2022/

AEW Teases Debut Of Another Former WWE Star.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/aew-teases-debut-another-former-wwe-star/

Old vs. New: Huge Main Event Set For AEW Double Or Nothing.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/old-vs-new-huge-main-event-set-aew-double-nothing/

They Did It Again: Another Title Change Takes Place On AEW Dynamite.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/another-title-change-takes-place-aew-dynamite/

Welcome Back: Injured AEW Star Makes Surprise Return, Teases Big Showdown.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/welcome-back-injured-aew-star-makes-surprise-return-teases-big-showdown/

VIDEO: Footage Released From Jimmy Uso’s DUI Arrest, Uso Swears At Police Officer.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-footage-released-jimmy-usos-dui-arrest-uso-swears-police-officer/

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

Dynamite – April 27, 2022: Stuff

Dynamite
Date: April 27, 2022
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re back with another focus on the Owen Hart Foundation tournament as Dax Harwood faces Cash Wheeler. In addition to that, we won’t be see Hangman Page this week as he has come down with the Coronavirus, meaning that we don’t quite get any advancement in his feud with CM Punk. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler

CM Punk is on commentary and the guys come out together for a nice touch. They go to the mat to start as Punk talks about how he doesn’t necessarily like these guys but he does respect him. A series of headlocks takeovers are countered with a series of nip ups and we get a standoff with some applause. An armdrag into an armbar has Wheeler in control as commentary cracks some jokes about the wrestlers’ names.

Harwood pokes him in the eye though and Wheeler doesn’t seem happy. Wheeler takes it back to the mat for a quickly broken chinlock as Harwood takes him up top for a heck of a superplex. We take a break and come back with Harwood sending him flying off a suplex. They both hit crossbodies at the same time for a double knockdown before it’s off to an exchange of rollups for two each.

Harwood tries a slingshot powerbomb but gets reversed into a hurricanrana for two and they’re both needing a breather. The second slingshot powerbomb attempt works for Harwood but Wheeler is back with a piledriver. Harwood is able to catch him on top but Wheeler slips through the legs and pushes Harwood down.

The belly to back superplex is countered into a crossbody for two on Wheeler and a running crossbody sends them both to the floor. They both make it back inside at nine but Wheeler has a banged up knee. Harwood can’t bring himself to stay on the leg (Punk: “You gotta sharp that shooter!”), allowing Wheeler to try a small package, which is reversed into another one to give Harwood the pin at 14:26.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match you would expect from these two and Harwood wins with a wrestling move in the end. That’s all you could have asked for from these two and now they can go back to being the best team in the world. They teased just enough tension to make it interesting without going over the line and it was good quality stuff on top of that, just in case you didn’t think this would be pretty awesome.

Official for Double Or Nothing: CM Punk vs. Hangman Page for the World Title.

CM Punk heads to ringside and says he has never been in a locker room with as much talent as this before. Before he came back here, he wasn’t sure if he could still do this again. Now he knows that he can do this again and while he can’t guarantee a win, he can guarantee that he will give 100%. He has never been a gambling man, but you can bet that he will fight until the wheels fall off in Las Vegas.

Scorpio Sky says it is no coincidence that he is here, fighting for the TNT Title again. He didn’t ask Frankie Kazarian to step aside if he was going to win and the fans are here to see him beat up Scorpio Sky. There can only be one face of TNT and you’re looking at him.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Factory

Wheeler Yuta gets the hometown reaction and William Regal is on commentary. The Club has nothing to do with this waiting around and jumps them before the bell. Moxley hits the release suplex on Aaron Solow and hits a belly to belly suplex. Regal loves that Solow’s eyes are watering so Moxley can “batter the granny” out of him without him seeing it coming. Yuta comes in with a dropkick for two but doesn’t quite hit the one on Comoroto that well (Regal: “We’ll have to work on that.”).

We take a break and come back with Marshall making the mistake of mocking Danielson, allowing Yuta to snap off a German suplex. Danielson comes in to clean house, including the dive to the floor. There’s the missile dropkick to Solow but Marshall breaks up the LeBell Lock. Moxley takes Marshall down and clotheslines him to the floor, leaving Danielson to kick Solow out of the air. Yuta gets the tag but is thrown around by Comoroto. A pair of chokes doesn’t work on Comoroto so Yuta elbows away and rolls him up (with Moxley and Danielson choking out the other two) for the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. I think we’ve firmly established the idea here and now it’s time for these guys to move into an actual feud. The Club is a hard hitting team who feels like they could fight anyone, but they’ve been beating up lower level people for weeks now. They need to move into an actual story rather than a bunch of one offs, as their status is pretty clear. Maybe they can make one more of these things work, but find them some good opponents soon.

Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Toni Storm are willing to just talk and avoid physicality but Storm brings in Ruby Soho, who has also qualified for the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Soho knows the two of them have always had something to say so she wants to fight right now. Baker says no physicality because they’re off to Soho’s home in catering.

Jungle Boy says that he should have beaten Kyle O’Reilly last week but he didn’t get it done. Christian Cage says that Jungle Boy sounds like a loser, even if he isn’t one. Cage says he’s throwing out the challenge to any top five ranked team so here is Team Taz, ranked #3, to accept. Luchasaurus growls.

Lance Archer vs. Wardlow

Before the match, MJF and Shawn Spears are in the luxury box again, with MJF saying Philadelphia women use their personality as birth control. Wardlow comes out to no music and wearing handcuffs, allowing Archer to dive onto him as the handcuffs are removed. The bell rings and Wardlow sends him straight into the corner, setting up a running shoulder to the ribs. The Powerbomb Symphony is broken up, as is Archer’s chokeslam.

They clothesline each other down and it’s Archer up first to hammer away. Archer walks the ropes to set up a moonsault into the chokeslam for two, with the crowd not really reacting. The Blackout gets two but Wardlow knocks him off the top and hits a Swanton of all things for two of his own. A four movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes Archer at 5:26.

Rating: B-. The booking of Wardlow continues to be the high point around here and this was no exception. Wardlow survived a beating against someone with some success and won in the end to slay the monster. That’s all it should have been as he gets one step closer to MJF. Double Or Nothing is coming and I’m curious to see what the stakes will be for their showdown.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society for a face to face sitdown with Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz. There will be no physicality so get the three of them out here right now. The chairs are turned over and Jericho talks about how lucky everyone is to be living in his era. Santana flips Jericho off and says that Jericho forgot who got him here.

Trash is talked because Santana and Ortiz can’t hit them and Kingston isn’t happy with this standing around. Kingston talks about what a hit means in his world but Jericho says this place is Kingston’s last chance if he gets kicked out of another company. That’s too far for Kingston, who backs Jericho into a chair and threatens to put him in the ground. Jericho looks terrified as Eddie and company leave. They really need to announce/get to a match between these guys already because they’ve talked a lot.

Sammy Guevara is ready to beat Scorpio Sky again because Sky is so boring.

Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb

Street fight with Shida hammering away to start. The middle rope missile dropkick sends Deeb outside and then rams her into the buckle from the apron. Deeb falls back to the floor but manages to chair a flying Shida out of the air to take over. Back in and a shinbreaker onto the chair makes it worse for Shida as we take a break. We come back with Shida’s knee in big trouble but managing to counter another shinbreaker onto the chair. Deeb is sent outside but comes up with some powder to blind Shida.

That’s broken up as well as Shida comes back with a kendo stick shot, allowing her to wash her eyes out with some water. The Katana is cut off with a chair to the knee though and Deeb wraps the chair around Shida’s leg. That’s broken up as well and Shida hits the super Falcon Arrow for two. Deeb is back with Deebtox onto the chair for the same, setting up some rams of the knee into the chair. The Texas Cloverleaf makes Shida tap at 11:37.

Rating: B-. It was fun enough, though I don’t think it needed the weapons to prove the same point. This feud stopped being interesting more than a few weeks ago and I didn’t exactly need the blowoff but at least the right person won. Deeb gets the win to end the feud and should be on to a run against Thunder Rosa, which should be a good match.

MJF screams at Lexi to get out of his frame and then calls someone, offering him six figures to face Wardlow. He called someone bigger, taller and stronger than Wardlow….and you can’t teach that.

The House Of Black has taken out Fuego del Sol. They tease unmasking him but Alex Abrahantes pops up in the ring to say not so fast. The House goes after him but here is Penta Obscuro, Pac and…..Alex Abrahantes, because it’s Rey Fenix in the Abrahantes costume in the ring. Death Triangle clears the ring and we seem to have a six man tag set. This is another feud that has dragged on for so long now that I can’t quite bring myself to be interested. Also, it’s hard to care that much when I keep expecting Pac or one of the other members to go away for a month and a half after the match.

Swerve Strickland and Darby Allin are ready for their Owen Hart Foundation qualifying match on Rampage. They have fought for years and don’t quite see eye to eye on whose house it is.

Undisputed Elite vs. Varsity Blonds/Brock Anderson/Dante Martin/Lee Johnson

Martin gets punched in the head to start but the Blonds come in for the save. The non-Elite takes turns kicking everyone to the floor and it’s a pair of dives from Johnson and Martin. The good guys rule the ring and we take an early break. Back with Johnson getting double superkicked, setting up a four way BTE Trigger, setting up the Boom for the pin on Johnson at 6:27.

Rating: C. They hyped up this match as something important and then it’s a six minute match with a break in the middle? Kind of a weird way to go with this one but they didn’t bother with much of anything in the way of wasting time. Just have the bigger team take a few shots and then win in the end, as should have been the case. Now maybe we can move on to the most interesting thing in the world: the Bucks having friends.

Post match, the Undisputed Elite all put on matching shirts.

The Jericho Appreciation Society has jumped Santana and Ortiz and throw a fireball at Eddie Kingston. This company has an obsession with angles involving someone being blinded.

Quick video on Trent Beretta vs. Samoa Joe for the Ring Of Honor TV Title.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Scorpio Sky

Guevara is defending in a ladder match. They fight on the floor to start with Sky sending him into the barricade but Guevara comes back with a Release German suplex on the ramp. That lets Guevara bust out some angels in the snow, which has JR a bit taken aback. They get inside with Sammy going up (nowhere near the belt) and then diving off….and hitting only the mat, leaving him knocked silly as we take a break.

Back with Sky climbing a ladder so Guevara dives off another, only to get pulled out of the air with a cutter. With nothing else working, it’s time to bring out a barbed wire ladder (because that’s a thing). Guevara fights up and sends Sky into the ladder but Tay Conti and Dan Lambert get in, with Conti kicking him low. Cue Paige VanZant so the big brawl can be on, with Conti kicking him in the face.

The ladder is set up and they both climb, each with a woman on their back. The women are thrown off, leaving Sky to bite Guevara’s finger. Guevara shoves him down anyway and goes up, only to be knocked down onto the barbed wire ladder. Sky goes up and, after knocking the springboarding Guevara down again (because he was back up in 12 seconds), wins the title at 14:02.

Rating: C+. This show ended about 20 minutes ago now and I have no idea what to make of this match. They certainly did some stuff and Sky gets the title back, but that’s about the extent of the logic. I was more or less checked out on the match as soon as the barbed wire ladder was brought into play, as that sounds like something you put in a comedy match rather than something important. Throw in Sammy bouncing back up from landing on it and the rather scary landing before the break and this was much more a WHAT ARE THEY DOING match than anything I would have liked to see.

Overall Rating: B-. Given how ridiculously (and I don’t mean that in a good way) stacked this show was, I was fairly disappointed in what we got. The ten man tag was a squash, the street fight was pretty good and the ladder match…..hey did you see that street fight? They crammed A LOT into this show but most of it only somewhat delivered.

There was some rather good stuff in here though as Wardlow continues to be presented perfectly and Sky winning the title again got a great reaction. I liked Punk’s stuff too and the opener was very good, but the parts that they hyped up the most didn’t work all that well and it brought things down a bit.

Results
Dax Harwood b. Cash Wheeler – Small package
Blackpool Combat Club b. The Factory – Cradle to Comoroto
Wardlow b. Lance Archer – Powerbomb Symphony
Serena Deeb b. Hikaru Shida – Texas Cloverleaf
Undisputed Elite b. Brock Anderson/Dante Martin/Lee Johnson/Varsity Blonds – Boom to Johnson
Scorpio Sky b. Sammy Guevara – Sky pulled down the title

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NXT LVL Up – April 22, 2022: This One’s Just….Well Not Right But Ok

NXT LVL Up
Date: April 22, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Matt Camp

I’m at the point where I don’t know what to expect from this show, as you might get someone making a one off appearance before debuting on the main NXT show or a name with nothing else going on. The show has worked before so maybe they can do it again here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Malik Blade/Edris Enofe vs. Quincy Elliott/Damaris Griffin

This is Griffin’s in-ring debut. Blade staggers the much bigger Elliott with a dropkick but Elliott hits a quick splash on the back to take over. Griffin comes in to work on Enofe’s arm but that’s reversed into another wristlock, allowing Blade to come in with the ax handle. A double belly to back suplex drops Griffin again but he’s right back with a spinebuster.

Elliott comes back in to knock Enofe down, allowing Griffin to whip him into the corner over and over. Elliott’s Pounce sends Enofe flying and the nerve hold goes on. A sitdown splash misses though and the hot tag brings in Blade to clean house. Blade’s high crossbody gets two on Elliott but it’s back to Griffin for a powerslam. Enofe dives in for a save and it’s a legsweep into a frog splash for the pin on Griffin at 6:33.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t exactly a classic and it was a match between two teams not going anywhere but I got into this by the end and was wondering who was winning. I could have gone for more of this as Blade and Enofe are starting to become quite the nice young team. Do more stuff like this around here and the show would be a good bit more enjoyable every week.

Fallon Henley vs. Thea Hail

Henley powers her into the corner to start and then sends Hail down, which has Hail thinking twice about this. There’s a shoulder to put Hail down again and Henley throws in a dance. Back up and Hail hits a running ax handle to take over for the first time and a rollup gets two. The double arm crank goes on but Henley fights up and hits a Shining Wizard for the pin at 4:19.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t quite as intriguing as Henley didn’t seem to break a sweat against Hail. Henley is just a step above a manager on NXT at this point, though at least she has a personality compared to her days as just another wrestler. Hail isn’t exactly a star yet but she has done well enough in her limited appearances.

Dante Chen vs. Bodhi Hayward

Andre Chase is here with Hayward (who seems to be a bit sunburned), who takes him to the mat with a headlock. That’s reversed into a headscissors but they’re both back up to run the ropes without hitting each other. Chen grabs a headlock takeover before switching to a front facelock to stay on the neck. We hit the chinlock, leaving Chase to coach from ringside. Hayward fights up and (with a bloody nose) hits his bouncing splash for two. Chen’s fireman’s carry is broken up and Hayward grabs a spinebuster for the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C. Just a match here, but it was nice to see Hayward get a win like this. He is capable of doing some good things in front of a fired up crowd and that is enough of the case around here most of the time. Hayward and Chase aren’t ready for anything that much bigger, but there is nothing wrong with being popular in front of a specific crowd.

Overall Rating: C. The opener was surprisingly good but the rest of the show was just kind of there, with a pretty lame match and one firmly in the middle. There wasn’t much to see with this show and that isn’t exactly surprising, as it tends to be the norm. I can’t imagine they change much to the formula, but at least there is a formula in the first place.

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NXT – April 26, 2022: Feel The Rhythm, Feel The Rhyme, Get On Up, Rhyme Rhymes With Rhyme

NXT
Date: April 26, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

Things got weird last week as Joe Gacy suddenly had a cult (minus his one regular follower) and sent them after Bron Breakker. That’s your NXT Title match for next week and….yeah I’m not sure what to expect there. Other than that, we need to start building up the rest of the card and that will probably be done tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend

They go right at the brawling with Lyons getting the better of things and taking her to the ground for some right hands. Legend sends her crashing out to the floor though and a ram into the steps makes it worse. Back in and Lyons gets a sunset flip for two but Legend is back with a spinning side slam for the same. The neck crank has Lyons in trouble but she is back up with the kicks to the leg. There’s a snap suplex to drop Legend and a German suplex does it again. The spinning kick to the chest finishes Legend at 5:02.

Rating: D. This was rough, didn’t flow well and was just a mess as these two, especially Legend, just is not ready for live TV. I completely get why they want to put both of them on television, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Lyons is ahead of Legend at the moment, but I wouldn’t leave her out there for a longer match either. At least it was relatively short, though that about the extent of the positives.

Post match Natalya runs in to jump Lyons but Cora Jade makes the save.

Tony D’Angelo isn’t worried about facing Xyon Quinn….because he isn’t cleared to compete for some reason. Instead, he gets to face Von Wagner, who is going to be sleeping with the fishes. Right Santos Escobar?

Roderick Strong gives the rest of Diamond Mine a pep talk and has even gotten the Creed Brothers a match next week…..with the Viking Raiders. Cool with the Brothers.

Von Wagner vs. Tony D’Angelo

They start a bit fast with neither being able to get very far. Wagner gets him into the ropes for some choking to take over as the fans are behind D’Angelo. A show to the face keeps D’Angelo down and we take a break. Back with D’Angelo fighting out of a chinlock and hammering away.

The fisherman’s neckbreaker is broken up with a toss to the floor but here are Legado del Fantasma to go after Wagner. Cue the Wise Guys (as commentary calls them) to cut them off so Santos Escobar comes in to take out D’Angelo’s knee. Back in and a big boot finishes D’Angelo at 10:02.

Rating: C-. I keep hoping that they will pull the plug on Wagner as he’s just another generic big man doing generic big man things. D’Angelo is at least someone they have put some effort into so maybe there might be something there, but at least they protected him in the loss. I’m still not into the D’Angelo vs. Escobar stuff whatsoever though.

Toxic Attraction mocks Roxanne Perez over her cheating win last week but she’s ready for Mandy Rose. Tonight. Rose is ready to teach her a lesson.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen give Fallon Henley a pep talk before she gets to fight Elektra Lopez. Sofia Cromwell comes in and distracts Jensen, but he gets snapped back into reality.

Nathan Frazer comes out for his debut match but Grayson Waller jumps Frazer’s unnamed opponent. Chase U distracts Waller so he says to get in here and fight him. Chase U comes to the ring and Frazer jumps Waller to clear the ring. Apparently Frazer’s opponent was Guru Raaj if you’re into the least interesting trivia available this week. You couldn’t have Frazer win in a minute or so and then do the Waller stuff?

The Women’s Breakout Tournament begins in two weeks, featuring Arianna Grace, better known as Santino Marella’s daughter Bianca.

Tiffany Stratton freaks out because Sarray pulled her hair three times last week. Grayson Waller comes in to rant about Nathan Frazer. Stratton rants about Frazer’s bad hair and accent, with Waller agreeing about how horrible accents are.

Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Valentina Feroz/Yulisa Leon

Cater armdrags Leon to start but it’s off to Feroz for a hurricanrana and some dancing. Back in and Carter catches her with a kick before handing it off to Chance for a springboard crossbody. A seated abdominal stretch has Feroz in more trouble until she fights up and hits an elbow to the face. The tag brings in Leon to clean house and Chance is knocked to the floor. Carter gets caught in an Octopus but Leon misses a Lionsault. That lets Chance come back in for the 450/neckbreaker combination and the pin at 5:58.

Rating: C. This was fine enough, but egads cut it out with the name changes. All this did was make me have to erase Catanzaro over and over because that’s who I see out there. It isn’t like there was some reason for the change other than Vince McMahon has a new thing, making it all the more annoying of a move.

Post match the winners dance, because at least half of the women in this division must dance.

Brooks Jensen has been jumped and Josh Briggs knows it was Legado del Fantasma. Briggs and Fallon Henley leave to fight as Jensen tells the medics he can go.

Kay Lee Ray lights her baseball bat on fire and names herself Alba Fyre, because Vince McMahon has to change ALL THE NAMES, because if you skip a few weeks and are confused, THAT’S YOUR PROBLEM!

Legado del Fantasma vs. Josh Briggs/Fallon Henley

Handicap match as Brooks Jensen isn’t here. Briggs and Henley clear the ring to start and it’s the women officially getting things going. Lopez misses an elbow so it’s quickly off to Briggs to run over Del Toro and Wilde. Del Toro is suplexes into Wilde and Lopez gets kicked in the head.

We settle down to Briggs getting double teamed as Mr. Stone gets on commentary to suggest that Von Wagner took out Brooks Jensen. An electric chair splash gets two on Briggs, who manages to kick Wilde into the corner. The double tag brings the women back in so Henley can hit a running shoulder. A running kick doesn’t quite work but gets two on Lopez anyway. Everything breaks down and the women are chased off, leaving Briggs to get caught in the Russian legsweep/big boot combination for the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C. Briggs looked good here and Henley got to show some fire, which makes me think there is some hope for their trio. That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Briggs and Jensen split up after Jensen sells his soul for Cromwell, because modern WWE could somehow screw up the country boy tag team trope. This needed a bit more time to get good but it worked while it lasted.

Natalya is ready to beat up Cora Jade and put the locker room ON NOTICE. Lash Legend says it isn’t over with Nikkita Lyons next week and then win the Breakout Tournament.

Kiana James is smart and bringing corporate strategy to the Breakout Tournament. I guess the modern day Alexandra York is a way to go.

Solo Sikoa vs. Trick Williams

Cameron Grimes is on commentary. Williams sends Sikoa shoulder first into the corner a few times to start but Sikoa reverses into an armbar of his own. Some kicks put Sikoa down and Williams adds a slam for a bonus. The running neckbreaker gets two as Grimes talks about the various things he has done around here over the years. Sikoa fights up though and the fired up Sikoa hits a belly to back suplex. The running splash in the corner sets up the Samoan drop and the Superfly Splash is good for the pin on Williams at 5:08.

Rating: C+. Williams continues to hold his own in the ring despite being little more than a mouthpiece for someone who doesn’t need one. Sikoa is someone who has the tools but needs ring time, so letting him slowly progress is a good thing. While he probably won’t win the North American Title next week, it’s nice to see him getting a chance and not feeling like he is in over his head.

Post match Grimes gets in the ring to argue with Carmelo Hayes but Sikoa superkicks him down before the three of them face off for the North American Title next week.

Malik Blade gives Edris Enofe a pep talk in the mirror in a scene straight out of Cool Runnings (nearly copying the dialogue).

Legeado del Fantasma are fired up over their win but they want to get rid of Tony D’Angelo and his associates.

Edris Enofe/Malik Blade vs. Viking Raiders

Erik knocks Blade around to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Enofe comes in to try his luck and gets blasted in the face with a knee for two. The fans are behind Erik as he works on the armbar. It’s back to Blade as commentary seems to quote Lose Yourself and Cool Runnings back to back. A double high crossbody gets two on Ivar and that’s enough of being beaten up for him. House is cleaned and it’s off to Erik for a full nelson slam backbreaker. The Viking Experience finishes at 4:45.

Rating: C. The ending wasn’t really in doubt but NXT might have something with Blade and Enofe. They’re young, they work well together and their matches aren’t too bad. Give them some time to develop and maybe they can be the next “it” team around here. NXT is supposed to be developmental and these two seem to be developing so well done.

Post match the Creed Brothers come out for a staredown.

Wes Lee is on the beach and talks about taking is months to get back to the Tag Team Titles. Losing was hard, but it was even worse to have them taken away. He could whine and complain or he could knuckle up and makes the waves that he is destined to make. I’ve heard far worse promos.

Tony D’Angelo introduces us to his associates: Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan and Channing Lorenzo, better known as Stacks. D’Angelo wants Santos Escobar at Spring Breakin.

Mandy Rose vs. Roxanne Perez

Non-title and the rest of Toxic Attraction is here. Rose takes her down with a wristlock to start but Perez nips up and grabs a victory roll for one. Back up and Perez starts biting the finger, as Barrett is panicking over the manicure. A ram into the steps has Rose in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Rose taking over again and putting on a backbreaker with Perez bent over the knee. That’s broken up and Perez starts the comeback with a Russian legsweep into a standing moonsault for two (which isn’t innovative offense). A crossbody gets the same but Rose hits the jumping knee for the pin at 9:55.

Rating: C-. I get why it had to happen this way but I wouldn’t have had Perez losing in her second match on NXT. She is someone who came in and had a little buzz so don’t have her lose so fast. Rose is the bigger star, but at least have Toxic Attraction interfere to cost Perez the match.

Post match Wendy Choo appears to chase off Toxic Attraction….and a net falls onto them. Choo and Perez spray them with silly string. This was worse than Perez losing.

Sloan Jacobs is 19 years old but she spent years fighting with her sisters so she’s ready to overcome the odds in the Breakout Tournament.

Spring Breakin rundown.

Here is Joe Gacy, with druids, to talk about the strides they have made to embrace change. Now he knows that Bron Breakker has been hurt and left on the sidelines so now Gacy can be crowned NXT Champion. Cue Rick Steiner to interrupt and say Breakker is cleared to compete, so the druids get in the ring. Cue Breakker to clean house, because I guess he was having a sandwich while Rick came to the ring. Gacy hits the handspring clothesline and drops Breakker before posing with the title to end the show. This wasn’t good, but it was miles ahead of last week’s nonsense. If this is as bad as it gets anymore, it should be ok.

Overall Rating: C-. This show could have been worse, but the bad parts were really bad and that brings things down a lot. They went with faster matches and got a lot of people on the show this week but it didn’t have anything you needed to see. Spring Breakin doesn’t feel like a show that needed to exist and that is becoming more obvious each week. Not their worst (especially after last week’s Gacy/Breakker stuff) but it really didn’t work very well.

Results
Nikkita Lyons b. Lash Legend – Spinning kick to the chest
Von Wagner b. Tony D’Angelo – Big boot
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter b. Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz – 450/neckbreaker combination to Feroz
Legado del Fantasma b. Josh Briggs/Fallon Henley – Russian legsweep/big boot combination to Briggs
Solo Sikoa b. Trick Williams – Superfly Splash
Viking Raiders b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – Viking Experience to Blade
Mandy Rose b. Roxanne Perez – Jumping knee

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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