IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: November 29, 2019
Location: Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Aiden English

We’re back after another week off, which continues to not be a good sign for the show’s future. Then again that would suggest that anyone gave this show any kind of thought, which doesn’t seem to be the case around here. It’s time to get ready for next week’s Cruiserweight Title match, which happens to be taking place on NXT. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at the triple threat match from the Survivor Series Kickoff Show, with Lio Rush retaining the Cruiserweight Title over Akira Tozawa and Kalisto, as well as Rush defeating Tozawa in a singles title match on NXT.

Opening sequence.

It’s three years to the day of the start of 205 Live. My goodness how has this thing lasted that long?

Raul Mendoza vs. Ariya Daivari

Daivari grabs a headlock to start and the fans are almost disturbing in their silence. A shoulder gives Daivari two and he tells someone to shut up. I have no idea who it was, but it can’t be that hard to figure out who is saying something in this situation. Mendoza springboards over him to set up a dropkick and even stops to talk some trash. A hurricanrana increases Daivari’s frustration and a top rope version makes it even worse.

Daivari bails to the floor so it’s the suicide dive to put him down again. Back in and Mendoza hits one of the loudest chops I can remember with Mendoza having to stop and shake his hand off a bit. Makes sense because that was a very hard one. Mendoza gets a bit too cocky though, allowing Daivari to shove him off the top. An elbow hits raised knee, which for some reason doesn’t hurt said knee, but Daivari grabs the chinlock a second later anyway.

That’s broken up as well but Mendoza gets sent hard into the corner to take him down again. The top rope splash misses though and they’re both down again. Mendoza makes his comeback with some clotheslines and hits a rope walk top rope dropkick. Daivari’s Rock Bottom gets two but Mendoza is back with a running kick to the chest. The hammerlock lariat misses and Mendoza kicks him in the face. Daivari has had it with him though and now it’s the hammerlock lariat to finish Mendoza at 9:58.

Rating: D+. This was a fine example of a match that was technically fine but MY GOODNESS what were they thinking putting this out there? How in the world was this supposed to be a good choice for a match to keep the fans interested? It’s an ice cold match (meaning there is no reason for these two to be fighting) between two guys with the combined charisma of a cardboard box. What were they expecting here?

Jack Gallagher has been losing lately but he’s here to show why he’s one of the best around. He needs this, and doesn’t know what he’s going to do if he loses.

Angel Garza doesn’t care what Gallagher needs. Tonight, Gallagher gets his wings clipped. Also, Garza wants a rematch with Lio Rush for the Cruiserweight Title.

Danny Burch vs. Greg Williams

Burch gives us a clean break to start so Williams shoves him down. That earns himself a headlock and a grab of the leg blocks Williams’ leapfrog for a face first crash. A slam makes it worse for Williams as it’s completely one sided so far. Williams scores with a jumping knee to the face so Burch headbutts him into the corner. A German suplex into a hard clothesline sets up a top rope hanging DDT to finish Williams at 3:30.

Rating: D+. Burch got to look good here and I’m not sure why it took him so long to get to NXT. He’s kind of the perfect choice for a show like this and adds a different style to freshen things up a bit. It’s fine for a quick squash too and Burch is someone who who could give us a little something else. It’s not like what they’re doing is working at the moment.

Akira Tozawa thanked Lio Rush after their match on Wednesday. Angel Garza came up and Rush had to be held back. The title is on the line again this week. This isn’t exactly an interesting feud but it’s an actual feud and that’s something.

Angel Garza vs. Jack Gallagher

Gallagher blocks a reach for the pants and grabs a headlock, which sends Garza bailing to the floor. That means the tease of a high five to a fan so Gallagher catches him with a headlock takeover back inside. Back up and Gallagher does his handstand stop sign deal in the corner, followed by a kneeling backdrop (that’s a knee one). Garza is fine enough to tie Gallagher’s legs up in the ropes though and it’s a double dropkick to the thighs.

That means GARZA CAN TAKE OFF HIS PANTS before telling the fans to callate. A running shot to the back gets two on Gallagher and one to the ribs is good for the same. Garza dropkicks him for two more and we hit the camel clutch. That’s broken up and Gallagher hits a running forearm, setting up a crossbody for his own two. They head up top with Garza blocking a superplex attempt and dropkicking Gallagher out of the air for another near fall.

The Gentleman’s headbutt rocks Garza but he scores with a superkick to put both guys down. Back up and Gallagher just unloads with forearms to the back to get the fans into things but the Gentleman’s dropkick is blocked. The Lionsault is broken up as well though and Garza gets caught in the ropes for a missile dropkick. Now the Gentleman’s Dropkick can get two more thanks to a foot on the rope. Gallagher slaps on a guillotine with a bodyscissors but Garza slips out and grabs the Wing Clipper for the pin at 12:42.

Rating: C. Best thing about the show by a mile and it’s still all not that interesting. Garza is a very charismatic guy but there is only so far you can go on this show. It really is staggering how much better and more important he seems on NXT, as he comes off like a small star there, while this is more just a thing that he is doing. That’s the case for everyone, and it’s true of Garza here too.

Post match Gallagher clears off the announcers’ table and throws a chair at the referee. Gallagher beats up security as well so Drake Maverick comes out to break it up. Drake suspends him and gets knocked down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. And so ends another edition of 205 Live with little to get excited about, some passable wrestling and nothing more. I know I’m beating a dead horse with this but what else is there to say? This was basically forty five minutes to set up a title match on NXT and the angle at the end, which was hardly anything great. This is the best example of a show that comes and goes with nothing changing and it just never gets better.

Results

Ariya Daivari b. Raul Mendoza – Hammerlock lariat

Danny Burch b. Greg Williams – Top rope hanging DDT

Angel Garza b. Jack Gallagher – Wing Clipper

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

This site launched nine years ago.  It started off as a hobby because I had way too much going on over at WrestleZone and needed a place to store all of these things.  It was hardly financially successful to start but now it has turned into something that lets me provide for my family while also watching a ton of wrestling.  I’ll be around as long as you all want me to be plus probably a bit longer so thank you all for sticking around and checking me out over the years.  I know it’s a bit of a cliche to say this but it really has changed my life for the much better and I don’t know what I did to deserve all of the great things that it and you all have brought me over the years.

KB

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 7, 2005
Location: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re coming up on the Great American Bash but more importantly we are finally set as far as the roster moves go. The roster may not look as strong as it did before but Smackdown has Batista now and that is the only logical followup to losing John Cena over to Raw. Now we get to see where things go. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Cena moving over to Monday, meaning a champion was needed. That looked to be JBL but Batista showed up instead. That’s a rather cruel way to treat JBL actually, as he won that match on his own last week.

Here’s a sneering JBL to open things up. Last week’s screwjob makes what happened to Bret Hart in Montreal look like a parking ticket. He should be Smackdown Champion but now we have Batista on Smackdown instead. JBL is #1 contender though and he isn’t scared of the Animal, because tick tock. The time is ticking on Batista’s time as World Heavyweight Champion and it’s time for the man who looks like Tarzan to fight like Jane.

JBL’s music starts and here’s the limo….containing the Blue World Order, with Stevie Richards as Orlando Jordan, the Blue Meanie as JBL and Nova as the combined forces of the Bashams. Richards introduces us to JBL: John Blue Lamefield, and Ash Me (Ash Me?). Richards dubs himself Bluewheat to some rather weak responses. JBL is really not impressed and orders them out of here before they embarrass him.

Richards says JBL embarrassed himself at One Night Stand because he disrespected ECW and everything they stood for. JBL rants about how Richards wasn’t good enough to flip burgers and Meanie took the beating he deserved. Meanie wants JBL in a match tonight and that’s agreed to in a hurry. We’re not done yet though as the BWO spray paint the limo. That happens a lot around here.

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T.

For the #1 contendership to the US Title. They go technical to start as you might have expected with Benoit shrugging off a hammerlock and grabbing a hiptoss. That’s good for a standoff so Benoit starts in with the chops to take over. Booker manages to snap him throat first across the top rope, followed by a superkick for two. The armbar goes on, followed by a quick ax kick for two.

That means more armbarring, as it certainly seems to be working so far. This time it’s Benoit fighting back and snapping off the German suplexes but the Swan Dive is blocked. Booker nails a superplex for a very delayed two before trying a cross armbreaker of all things, sending Benoit to the ropes. The arm is fine enough to slap on the Crossface and make Booker tap.

Rating: C+. These two could have a passable match in their sleep and that is more or less what they did here. Benoit is going to be fine going into the US Title match at the Bash, even if it is going to take something incredible to make a match with Jordan work. I’m not sure where this leaves Booker, but he’s going to do well enough against anyone, which is a good way to build up someone new.

Sharmell is disappointed at the loss but Jordan scares her off and takes her place in front of the monitor.

We recap Eddie Guerrero going nuts last week and making Rey Mysterio beg him not to tell Rey’s son Dominick the truth. The emotion in this stuff is rather awesome and they’re both selling it incredibly well.

Mysterio comes up to Eddie in the back and asks him to rethink things. Eddie feigns ignorance so Rey lays it out for him. He begs Eddie not to do this, but Eddie needs a partner tonight to face MNM. That’s a no, but Eddie’s feelings are hurt. Instead, he’ll just go to the ring by himself and tell everyone the truth about their little secret. Rey: “Wait…Eddie.” Eddie: “We having a change of heart here or something?” Eddie says he loves Rey and the only thing he wants is the best for Rey and Dominick. See you out there, partner.

Muhammad Hassan and Daivari rant about the six man match last week. Hassan was never eliminated and should be the #1 contender to Batista. Instead, Theodore Long puts him in a #1 contenders match with the Undertaker. Oh dear it’s time to get here. As for tonight, it’s Daivari vs. Undertaker.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Blue Meanie

No DQ. During the intros, we hear about JBL and Meanie’s issues, including at One Night Stand, but without any specifics as to what JBL did. JBL boots him in the face before the bell and stomps away in the corner before taking him outside to continue the beating. Meanie goes into various hard objects and his comeback attempt goes as well as you would expect.

JBL beats up the rest of the BWO and it’s time for a chair, plus Richards for a bonus. Richards gets in a scary chair shot to the head and Meanie adds a DDT. The Meaniesault gets two and here’s Jordan to distract Meanie. The Clothesline From JBL connects but Batista comes in and gives JBL the spinebuster so Meanie can steal the pin.

Rating: D-. This has been Avoiding Lawsuits With WWE as the BWO guys were just some annoyances to JBL who stole a win to help advance Batista vs. JBL. They kept it short and Meanie got in almost no offense without major help so it’s not like this hurts JBL or anything. Just get it over with and move on so Meanie won’t sue. I get why it had to happen and it wasn’t the worst thing ever or even close. Just a quick thing that we had to get through.

Tag Team Titles: MNM vs. Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrero

MNM is defending and Eddie forces Rey to smile in a funny moment. Eddie takes over on Mercury’s arm to start and demands a tag for the sake of Dominick. Rey reluctantly comes in and hits a basement dropkick for two on Mercury. It’s back to Eddie for Three Amigos but Eddie stops to throw Nitro to the floor instead of covering. The frog splash connects for two anyway, with Eddie pulling off of the pin.

Rey comes in for two instead and Eddie blasts him from behind. Eddie goes to sit down at ringside as Rey takes a double gutbuster to set up the chinlock. Rey fights up and hurricanranas Nitro into the 619 as the comeback is on. The springboard legdrop gets two….as Eddie jumps Rey and beats him up. Eddie chills on the top rope as Rey takes the Snapshot to retain the titles.

Rating: C. It’s a hard one to grade as this was an angle instead of a match. That makes things more interesting too, as we’ve done the Eddie/Rey Tag Team Titles run before. Eddie is completely out there at this point and that makes things a lot different. I’ve loved this story so far and this is a rather nice new twist on things.

Post match Eddie asks Rey if he wants to hit him, but it would cost Rey their little secret. Rey wants to leave but Eddie shoves him in the face and makes Rey hold the ropes open for him. Eddie: “Dominick would LOVE to open the ropes for Uncle Eddie.” Rey reluctantly agrees as the mind games continue.

Raw Rebound.

Christian talks about how awesome he is and how he’s ready for Batista tonight. That’s how he rolls.

Matt Morgan vs. William Regal

This is Regal’s Smackdown debut, or at least it would be if the Mexicools didn’t come out and jump Morgan. Regal looks impressed as the beatdown goes on. Juvy talks about how they’re going to keep making an impact week after week. Psicosis: “Your a** is grass and we are the lawnmowers!”

And that’s it for Matt Morgan, because WWE saw no value in someone who looks like that with that kind of size and felt the need to give him a bad stutter as his only gimmick. Instead, we’re getting the continuing adventures of three guys riding a lawnmower and talking about being cool. Wrestling can be a stupid place at times.

Daivari panics about facing Undertaker but Hassan says that the sacrifice has a reward. He has a plan.

Daivari vs. Undertaker

Daivari bails to the floor before the smoke clears from around ringside but Hassan throws him back in. The chokeslam and Tombstone finish Daivari in a hurry.

And then it happens. Hassan drops to his knees and begins to pray. Five men in ski masks and camo pants, one with a club, run in and beat Undertaker down. One of them pull out a steel wire and choke him out, allowing Hassan to put on the camel clutch. The masked men carry Daivari out like a martyr as Hassan glares at Undertaker.

The announcers do their serious talk about what they just saw.

I’m not sure what to say about this other than I still feel sorry for what happened to Hassan here. The angle itself was always going to be controversial. Now that’s fine on its own and I could see how something like this could have worked if WWE had been capable of pulling it off. However, the problem was this show aired the night of the London Underground bombings. WWE aired a statement saying that the segment would be controversial, but they really needed to just cut the segment entirely. It was a situation where real life was more important than wrestling and there was no way this would go over.

This was more or less it for Hassan, as UPN decided they didn’t want him on their network anymore (the character, not the person) and there was nothing WWE could do. Hassan would wrestle one more time, as the Great American Bash, and then never be seen again. Hence why I’ve always felt sorry for Hassan, whose career was basically ended because of an angle that took place and aired the day of a horrible incident.

WWE could have done something else (air an interview, a clip from Raw or SOMETHING else, even something from last week) but instead they put a disclaimer on there and let Hassan’s career be ended. WWE didn’t know how bad it could have gone, but I would have hoped they would know better than to let this air the day of something that bad. Hassan was going to be a big deal (apparently taking the title from Batista at Summerslam) and while I’m not sure how well he would have done, he never got the chance because of something that wasn’t his fault, and that isn’t fair.

Christian vs. Batista

Non-title. Batista throws him around to start and Christian isn’t sure what to do. A hard running shoulder puts Christian on the floor and we take a break. Back with Christian getting punched out of the air and it’s time to head outside. Christian posts him and then sends him face first into the steps for the first breather he’s had.

Back in and Christian gets two each off a DDT and neckbreaker, followed by the required chinlock. A middle dropkick and some ax handles to the back set up another chinlock to keep Batista down. Batista powers up into an electric chair drop and there’s a World’s Strongest Slam. The spinebuster and Batista Bomb finish Christian.

Rating: C-. Christian was little more than a sacrificial lamb here and that’s all well and good. Batista is going on to bigger things on Smackdown so throwing Christian out there was a fine way to give him a first win. The match went as it should have and Batista looked dominant in a watchable match with little drama.

Post match JBL and Orlando Jordan run in to go after Batista, meaning it’s a beating for Jordan to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Well it was certainly eventful. This was as all over the place of a show as you could ask for with the JBL/Meanie shenanigans, a build to the Great American Bash main event, another direction in Eddie vs. Rey and that whole controversy deal which ended Hassan’s career. It was one of the most eventful shows I’ve ever seen but there is one thing that anyone is going to talk about coming out of this show. That’s understandable as well, but dang it’s a shame when so much else happened here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: November 28, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Byron Saxton

My quest to get caught up on everything continues with a show I took in live. Main Event continues to be in a race with 205 Live for the least important show you can watch, but maybe this time will be a bit different. At least this one has the Survivor Series weekend to fill in the time, which should at least be interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the upper deck and looking straight at the Titantron.

Opening sequence.

Natalya vs. Sarah Logan

And there goes most of the potential interest. Logan takes her to the mat in a hurry and punches away, followed by a running forearm for the same result. Back up and Natalya gets in her own takedown but it’s way too early for the Sharpshooter. Instead Logan knees her out to the floor and drives her into the barricade. A toss sends Natalya into the timekeeper’s area as this has been almost one sided so far. The armbar sets up the chinlock to start Natalya’s comeback, meaning it’s the discus lariat to drop Logan for two. Natalya pulls her out of the corner and grabs the Sharpshooter for the tap at 5:16.

Rating: C-. Logan was trying here and the match was certainly better than the seemingly endless feud with Dana Brooke. Natalya is always good for something like this and as long as you keep her away from a microphone or a story, she can be just fine. In other words, she’s perfect for Main Event.

We look at Brock Lesnar retaining the Raw World Title over Rey Mysterio at Survivor Series.

From Raw.

The locker room is around the ring and it’s Seth Rollins, billed as the locker room leader, running a town hall. We wait for the CM Punk chants to wrap up (Seth: “I tried to get him here. He wants to sit behind a desk in Los Angeles.”) before Rollins admits that NXT destroyed them last night. Rollins grew up a fan of Raw and watched people like Steve Austin and DX, but last night, everyone around this ring sucked. If anyone wants to say something, now would be the time.

With no one saying anything, Rollins calls out Orton for being the weak link on the team last night. Orton looks at him and walks out so Rollins calls out Charlotte for failing as a leader last night. Rollins: “And you call yourself a Flair.” Charlotte walks out too and Rollins wants to know where AOP were last night.

They leave when told they aren’t needed, so Rollins focuses on Rey Mysterio. Rollins says he beat Brock Lesnar twice this year but Rey couldn’t do it with a lead pipe and his stupid kid. Rey leaves and so does everyone else, save for Kevin Owens. Rollins rants about Owens being Mr. NXT and how he does nothing on Raw these days. He’ll never be Seth Rollins….and there’s a Stunner to leave Rollins laying. Turning Rollins from the guy who says stupid things on Twitter while still being a face on Raw into a delusional heel is a good idea and something they had to do after how loudly he was getting booed.

Quick look at Rey Mysterio winning the four way to become #1 contender to the US Title.

From Raw.

US Title: Rey Mysterio vs. AJ Styles

Rey is challenging and gets sent into various turnbuckles to start. A backbreaker keeps Rey in trouble for a bit and AJ ties him in the Tree of Woe for a baseball slide to make it worse. The catapult sends Rey’s throat into the rope as AJ isn’t seeming worried here. Rey gets in a few shots to the ribs but his knee gives out on a springboard attempt. He’s fine enough to send AJ shoulder first into the post though and they’re both down. It’s Rey up first but Anderson breaks up the 619, which is good for a double ejection.

We take a break and come back with Rey getting sent chest first into the buckle because he isn’t banged up enough already. The Tree of Woe is on again but the baseball slide earns AJ a crotching this time (Lawler: “Oh no! Oh no!”). The seated senton and the sitout bulldog combine for two but Rey is running out of steam.

AJ catches him on top and it’s the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two. Rey is right back with Code Red for two of his own and now the 619 connects….to bump the referee. Cue the OC but Orton runs out as well to cut them off. A 619 sends AJ into the RKO and the frog splash gives Rey the pin and the title at 15:08.

Rating: B. This was the big culmination of the whole story and the fans got completely behind Mysterio. That’s what Mysterio does as well as almost anyone ever and this was a very well done story. Mysterio overcame the odds again and won the title as a nice consolation prize after last night. And of course it was a good match given who was out there. Well done all around and the feel good moment they were shooting for.

Eric Young vs. No Way Jose

Jose dances out of a headlock to start and then dances over to grab one on Young. That isn’t cool with Young who knees away in the corner, only to get caught in an airplane spin of all things. Young isn’t having that though and goes outside to hit the hot dog in the Conga Line, sending Jose into a new level of seriousness as we take a break.

Back with Young charging into a boot in the corner but sending Jose outside for a crash. Some shots to the back on the apron give Young two and we hit the dragon sleeper in the corner. There’s the chinlock (of course) to set off the comeback (of course again), including the backdrop (you get the idea). Jose gets two off a Backstabber but Young knocks him off the top, setting up the top rope elbow for two more. Young misses a charge though and it’s the pop up right hand to finish Young at 10:06.

Rating: C. The crowd was getting into this one and I can’t say I blame them. Jose knows how to work an exciting style and Young can have a good match against anyone. Just like Natalya though, don’t let him talk too much or get into too big of a story and he’ll be fine. The full version of this was even better and it’s one of the better surprises I can remember.

Quick look at Bray Wyatt defeating Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series.

From Raw.

Kevin Owens has known who he is since the beginning, unlike Rollins, who has been doing everything he can to become whatever someone else wants him to be. All Rollins is is insufferable so tonight, Owens is Stunning Rollins.

And from Raw one more time.

Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Rollins sends him to the floor to start but the suicide dive hits an elbow to the face. A half crab has Owens down but he’s right back up with a superkick to the floor. That’s enough for Rollins to grab a chair, which isn’t going to be allowed as the refereeing seems to have been upgraded after the mist nonsense. Back with Owens in a reverse chinlock, followed by some chops in the corner.

A DDT gives Owens a breather and the Cannonball crushes Rollins again. Rollins rolls outside so it’s a backsplash to make it even worse, plus the frog splash for two. The Pop Up Powerbomb is countered though and Rollins hits the Blockbuster. The Stomp misses though and now the Pop Up Powerbomb gets two. They hit a superkick each and Owens grabs the Stunner but can’t cover. Instead….here’s the AOP to jump Owens for the DQ at 14:03.

Rating: C+. The ending is going to be what matters here and I’m not sure how well it’s going to go. Rollins as a top heel with some big lackeys behind him could work, especially if this sets up a rematch against Owens at TLC. The wrestling was fine enough but you could sense that they were tired after a long weekend, which is understandable.

The fans are NOT happy with this and call it BS, with some fans in my section shouting about how it makes no sense and is therefore bad. That suggests to me that they suggesting that they don’t quite get how wrestling works. Owens gets sent into the post but AOP walks away from Rollins. The Stomp to Owens ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. So this wasn’t so much the Survivor Series recap show but rather the Raw recap show, which makes perfect sense here. There was no need to recap the go home show so this worked out well enough. Throw in a shockingly nice Jose vs. Young match and this was a rather pleasant surprise.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Fusion #86
Date: November 28, 2019
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: AJ Kirsch, Rich Bocchini

This is a special show with MLW running a special Thanksgiving edition. That’s a good idea, and it seems to be serving as this week’s Fusion anyway. It’s all about the World Title with Jacob Fatu defending against Ross Von Erich, who is substituting for his injured brother Marshal. It isn’t clear who attacked Marshall, but there is a good chance we’ll find out tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with an old ad about Thanksgiving before Contra takes over to say this is going to be their night.

Opening sequence.

Injustice vs. Zenshi/Gringo Loco

Elimination rules with Kotto Brazil and Jordan Oliver for Injustice. Before the match, Oliver says that he usually doesn’t like Thanksgiving but he’s feeling hungry tonight. He’s hungry for money, but also for justice. Myron Reed gets thrown out at the bell so Zenshi and Loco are free to double spinebuster Oliver. A split legged moonsault gets one on Oliver and Zenshi backflips into a seated pose.

That leaves Loco to hit a big dive to the floor, allowing Zenshi to hit a slingshot corkscrew Swanton. A cartwheel moonsault gives Loco two on Oliver and it’s Brazil getting in a cheap shot from the apron. Brazil gets two off a Backstabber and we hit the reverse chinlock. Loco, sporting a bloody nose, is tripped back down so Oliver can hit a springboard elbow to the back of the head.

A springboard 450 gives Brazil two but Loco is up for the tag a few seconds later. That means Zenshi can come in with a 450 clothesline (that’s a new one) to Oliver. A Pele and running shooting star take Brazil down, setting up a middle rope 450. Loco’s Swanton gets two and Zenshi’s insane diagonal flipping Coast to Coast makes it even worse.

Oliver takes Loco down though and it’s Brazil’s By Any Means Necessary (running Sliced Bread) for the pin on Zenshi at 8:16. Loco is back up with a Tombstone to eliminate Brazil at 9:11 though and it’s down to one on one. But wait, as Oliver suddenly realizes he has a knee injury, allowing Reed to run back down for a distraction. Oliver is back up with the middle rope cutter to finish Loco at 9:48.

Rating: C-. The elimination rules were just a detail here and a needless detail at that. It’s a nice nod to history and all that jazz but could you come up with something that made it work a bit better? Injustice has completely surprised me though as there was no reason to believe they would be anything special but they’re actually quite a nice act with some surprises in them.

King Mo is ready to beat up Ricky Martinez.

Interviewer Kaci Lennox looks for Priscilla Kelly in the bowels of the building….and eventually gets jumped by Kelly instead. The Mandible Claw knocks Kaci out and the cameraman takes a beating of his own.

Video on King Mo.

King Mo vs. Ricky Martinez

We haven’t seen Martinez in a bit and I miss that music, though that might be because he normally has Salina with him (not this time). Mo does get a star’s reception so there’s a little something there at least. They talk trash to start and Martinez gets chased to the apron, where he manages to snap Mo’s throat across the top. A springboard is speared out of the air though and it’s a gutwrench powerbomb into a kneebar to make Martinez tap at 1:42. Well that worked, and I’ve never been anything close to a Mo fan before.

We look back at last week’s Falls Count Anywhere match with Mance Warner beating Jimmy Havoc, only to have the feud continue because it can never end.

Warner tells Havoc not to mess with him again because he got a W against Havoc last time. Then Havoc went after him again so Warner isn’t about to forgive Havoc. It’s always an eye for an eye, which Warner says over and over.

Video on Jacob Fatu.

Various shows are coming.

Next week: a battle royal and the return of Salina de la Renta.

The Dynasty had a great Thanksgiving, even if MJF had to join them over Facetime. It’s time for Hammerstone to give Holiday his gift though, which is……a giant man. That would be Grogan, who must be a good 7’3 and will be in next week’s battle royal.

Tom Lawlor gives Ross Von Erich a pep talk, calling himself part of the family.

MLW World Title: Ross Von Erich vs. Jacob Fatu

Fatu is defending and it’s Tom Lawlor and Josef Samael as the seconds. They take their time to start with Fatu shoving him around, followed by a swinging collar and elbow to send Ross flying again. Ross’ dropkick works a bit better but he runs into an uppercut to stop that offense cold. Fatu misses a backsplash and Bronco Buster though, allowing Ross to snap off a Cannonball.

The kickout sends him outside though and Fatu takes over again with a superkick. A heck of a headbutt sends Ross to the apron and Samael gets in his required cheap shot. The nerve hold goes on and does so again after a quick break. Fatu’s sitout powerbomb gets two more as he’s surprised that Ross is hanging in there. A crossbody gives Ross a breather and some Sling Blades have Fatu down again.

There’s a missile dropkick to put Fatu on the floor where Lawlor thinks about a cheap shot but stops himself. Fatu gets taken down again by a suicide dive and it’s the Claw back inside. With Fatu in trouble, he falls over the top for the break and they’re both down on the floor. It’s Fatu up first and taking things into the crowd to keep destroying Ross.

Back to ringside and the chop hits post but what was supposed to be a superkick (more like a hip strike) sends Ross into the referee. For some reason that earns the referee a running Umaga attack in the corner, followed by the pop up Samoan drop to Ross. The moonsault connects for no count because, you know, Fatu ended the referee. Even Samael doesn’t see the logic in that one.

Fatu’s Stinger Splash hits post and Ross nails the spinning high crossbody. Samael’s chair is dropkicked into his face so Lawlor picks it up….and hits Ross in something that isn’t the biggest surprise. After some profanities about the Von Erichs, Lawlor leaves so Fatu can hit the double jump moonsault and retain at 14:58.

Rating: C. The match dragged a lot at times but Ross hung in there well enough to get to the heel turn. There wasn’t much of a reason to believe that a title change was possible so it was all about getting to a pretty obvious heel turn. That worked well enough too and it’s about as good of a main event as you could get in this situation. Fatu continues to be a monster and the more I see of him, the more you can feel WWE drooling.

Overall Rating: C-. The biggest problem here is the opener as it really didn’t add anything of feel special in the slightest. The main event came off as a big deal and had the angle to close the show so that’s a positive, as is the very effective King Mo debut. Overall, the show felt mostly special, but there is nothing you need to watch, which holds things back a good bit. Fatu is becoming the special attraction though because someone built like that shouldn’t be able to do those things.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: December 6, 2019
Location: Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

The very slow build on the fast road to TLC continues with one of the last two shows before the pay per view. The big story coming out of last week is the return of the YES Movement as Daniel Bryan gears up to fight the Fiend one more time. It didn’t go so well in round one but this company loves itself some rematches, perhaps this time with less hair. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s the Miz to get things going. He has been looking for Daniel Bryan since Bray Wyatt attacked him last week and will find him no matter what. Miz knows what Bryan has meant for Smackdown since he arrived and that can’t go away because of the Fiend. Bray pops up on screen to say that something bad happened to Bryan last week. Bryan was supposed to come play at TLC and now that might not be happening. Maybe Miz can come play instead!

Miz isn’t sure, but that makes Bray unhappy. Ramblin Rabbit pops up to tell Miz to run while he can but Bray scares him off. The Word of the Day is family, because Bray used to have one. Now Bray has a chance to join a new family, so he holds up a picture of Miz, his wife Maryse and his two daughters. Does Miz want to come play with him now? Miz storms to the back.

Post break, Miz calls Maryse and tells her to lock the doors. He wants to do something about this but she wants him to come home.

Alexa Bliss vs. Mandy Rose

Of note: Jessika Carr makes her main roster debut at the first full time female referee. Mandy gets sent outside early on to start but avoids a baseball slide, allowing Mandy to hit a jumping knee to the face. Back in and Mandy takes her down to PULL OUT HER EYELASHES. Mandy yells that Bliss will never look like her so Bliss hits her in the face. Some stomping keeps Mandy down as Nikki Cross takes out Sonya Deville on the floor. Twisted Bliss finishes Mandy at 4:18.

Rating: D+. Just a match here as Bliss is back after her injury. They finally seem to have pulled the trigger on her full face turn, which is something that they have wanted to do for a very long time. I can get how they are shooting to make her the new Trish Stratus and it isn’t that much of a stretch. If she can improve her in-ring abilities, it wouldn’t be that impossible to have her get in the same universe.

Dana Brooke is at catering when Drake Maverick comes in. He heard that Dana is going on a date with Batista and wants to know what Batista has that he doesn’t. Elias comes in to sing a song about what Batista has over Drake. Various jokes about Drake’s sex life are included so Drake slaps him, seemingly setting up a match tonight.

Post break, Drake is in the ring to say everyone thinks this is funny. He wants Elias out here right now for a fight instead of a match so here is Elias, rather promptly at that. Dana is with him as well and Drake can’t get in a single shot. Elias even bends him over his knee for a spank and Dana has to throw Drake back inside. Drift Away connects to leave Drake laying so Dana can get a three count.

Miz is marching through the back and hears a noise. He goes into a room and finds the same photo of his family, but with Bray’s picture over his face. Bray jumps him from behind and hits Sister Abigail before singing a little There’s No Place Like Home.

Video on Tribute To The Troops, which was taped earlier today.

Ali/Shorty G. vs. Lucha House Party vs. Revival vs. Heavy Machinery

Elimination match and the winners get New Day, on commentary, for the titles at TLC. Gable front facelocks Gran Metalik to little avail to start so it’s off to an armbar to work a little better. Ali comes in to flip out of a wristlock and it’s time for a big flip off, drawing New Day to their feet in applause. Lince Dorado and Tucker come in for an exchange of dropkicks as everything breaks down.

The House Party hit stereo dives to take out just about everyone and New Day is rather pleased by the competition. Back in and the Compactor finishes Metalik for the first elimination at 3:29. We come back from a break with Tucker kicking Wilder away and bringing in Otis to clean house. The shirt comes in for some dancing and the power of jiggling absorbs Dawson’s chops. The Caterpillar hits Dawson but the legal Wilder rolls Otis up (with trunks) for the pin at 9:43.

So it’s the Revival vs. Ali/Gable and they’re on the floor in a hurry with Revival being sent onto the New Day. Cole: “THERE ARE PANCAKES EVERYWHERE!” We take a break and come back with Ali German suplexing Wilder for two with Dawson making the save. Ali’s tornado DDT is countered into a powerslam for two but Ali kicks Wilder right back down. The 450 misses though and Ali is tossed over the barricade into the timekeeper’s area. Gable dives onto both of them and ankle locks Wilder but Dawson comes back in for the Shatter Machine and the pin at 18:42.

Rating: C+. The action got better at the end but it was a little deflating to see Revival get yet another title shot. Revival is becoming the second set of Usos as they feel like they have fought the New Day a hundred times now. I’m sure the match is going to be good, but it’s something I’ve seen so many times that it just doesn’t mean much anymore.

Post match the Revival says they won’t let New Day disrespect the titles anymore. The new day is over because they’re taking it back to the old days.

Roman Reigns isn’t worried about Baron Corbin promising to humiliate him tonight. The only humiliating thing is that Corbin and company can’t beat him. At TLC, Reigns is humiliating him.

Sheamus is still coming to destroy Smackdown.

Lacey Evans vs. Haley Jones

Lacey powers her into the corner and the Woman’s Right is good for the pin at 1:13.

Post match here’s Sasha Banks to yell at Lacey for knocking her out last week. Sasha calls herself the blueprint for the division but Lacey is just a Mary Poppins wannabe. Just because Lacey is a bad role model to her six year old daughter….and Lacey cuts that off to say never do that again. Lacey talks about how being in the Marine Corps put leadership in her so she’s ready to fight right now. The threat of the Woman’s Right has Sasha cowering so Lacey leaves, only to get jumped by Bayley. The beatdown is on and Lacey is left laying.

More from WWE at Tribute to the Troops earlier today.

Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler can’t wrestle him down to start but he can go to the knee for some more success. The chinlock and a hair pull put Reigns down again and Ziggler sends him into the steps to make it worse. Back with Reigns still in trouble, including being sent hard into the corner. We hit the chinlock again with Ziggler cranking away until Reigns powers up to his feet. Reigns’ running clothesline misses and they fight to the floor where Ziggler dropkicks him out of the air.

Cue King Corbin, complete with the throne being carried to the ring of course. We take another break and come back with both guys down. Reigns gets back up and hits the Superman Punch for two but Ziggler is right back with the Zig Zag for the same. That doesn’t work for Corbin, who gets on the apron and is punched right back to the floor. The spear finishes Ziggler at 17:48.

Rating: C-. The chinlocks hurt this one a bit but the longer run time didn’t hurt things all that badly. Reigns wasn’t about to lose to Ziggler here because he’s Roman Reigns in a match against Dolph Ziggler. The match was littler more than a way to advance Reigns vs. Corbin, and if that has to happen, there are worse ways to get there.

Post match Corbin’s handlers jump Reigns and Corbin gets involved too with Reigns fighting them off. Someone underneath the ring grabs Reigns’ leg but he beats Corbin up some more. Ziggler superkicks Reigns and grabs some handcuffs from underneath the ring. Reigns fights them off again but the guy from underneath the ring grabs his foot again and the numbers get the better of him.

They handcuff him around the post and unload on Reigns before pulling out….dog food. It’s poured over Reigns’ head and rubbed in his face to end the show, with Reigns screaming as the other two leave. Really effective angle here as it’s the first time Corbin and Ziggler have actually done something to get to Reigns rather than just making stupid dog jokes.

Overall Rating: C+. I can’t believe I’m saying it but that big Corbin angle at the end was the best part of the show. It made me want to see Reigns take him apart and that is the first time I’ve felt something like that about Corbin. The rest of the show came and went, but at least we have a few matches set up for TLC now. Bryan being out of the match makes sense as there is no reason to do Bryan vs. Wyatt twice in a row. Let him come back and win later, as Miz gets to fight for his family but come up short. Good enough show here, and it actually didn’t have anything terrible.

Results

Alexa Bliss b. Mandy Rose – Twisted Bliss

Revival b. Ali/Shorty G., Heavy Machinery and Lucha House Party last eliminating Ali/Shorty G.

Lacey Evans b. Haley Jones – Woman’s Right

Roman Reigns b. Dolph Ziggler – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: December 5, 2019
Location: Bonus Arena, Hull, England
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness

The big story has started picking up as we have the now face Gallus vs. Imperium, which seems to be focused around Joe Coffey challenging Walter for the United Kingdom Title. That works very well as we are just over a month away from Takeover: Blackpool II. Tonight is the negotiating session, which sounds like a fancy way of saying “they’ll talk and then they’ll fight.” Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Toni Storm vs. Killer Kelly

Storm starts fast with a low dropkick and a running big boot drops Kelly again. Kelly knocks her down though and hits some crossface shots to set up the reverse chinlock. Back up and a jumping spin kick to the chest rocks Storm so she hits Kelly in the face. A release German suplex drops Kelly and it’s Storm Zero for the pin at 2:12.

Post match Toni grabs the mic but it’s Kay Lee Ray jumping her from behind. Cue Piper Niven for the save and Ray leaves, but Storm doesn’t seem happy with Piper for helping her.

Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews want to be the #1 contenders. Let them have a chance in Blackpool.

Post break, Storm tells Niven to stay away from her.

The Hunt vs. The Outliers

That would be Riddick Moss/Dorian Mak (Dan Matha). Boar pulls Moss into the corner to start and then punches him right back out. Make up your mind dude. Moss is right back with a heck of a running shoulder into the corner and the trash talk is on in a hurry. Mak comes in and it’s time for some slow stomping.

The Outliers take turns stomping in the corner but stop to mock Boar for not being able to make it over to the ropes. Mak grabs a bearhug to mix things up a bit and Boar’s bite to the finger doesn’t get him very far. A missed charge allows the tag off to Primate though and it’s time to clean house. Moss gets sent outside for an apron splash and it’s three straight top rope headbutts into a double top rope headbutt to finish Mak at 7:41.

Rating: C. This was a fairly dull one for the most part but then the ending comeback from Primate made up for a lot of it. The Outliers aren’t the most original team in the world but they make for some annoying heels that you want to see lose and that’s a nice act to have around. I still like the Hunt, but they seem a long way off from the title picture.

Jordan Devlin vs. A-Kid

This could be interesting. Devlin headscissors him down to the mat to start but Kid flips up and we get the early staredown. Kid’s springboard is cut off by a kick to the leg and Devlin is starting to get cocky in a hurry. Cue Tyler Bate as Devlin puts a knee in the back and cranks on the leg at a rather unnatural angle (A-Kid’s foot is parallel to his hip for a cringe inducing visual).

Kid gets up and climbs the ropes into a springboard moonsault DDT. Back up and Kid’s knee gives out on a whip across the ring, meaning it’s a slingshot cutter to give Devlin two. The Devil Inside is shoved off though and Devlin falls to the floor, allowing Kid to hit a great looking springboard moonsault out to the floor. Devlin kicks him in the face though and, after a glare at Bate, hits the Devil Inside for the pin at 7:25.

Rating: C+. You have two guys with a lot of talent and give one of them a reason to be more aggressive than usual. Bate vs. Devlin is going to be a big deal as not only is the match going to be entertaining but it might be the boost that Devlin has been needing. British Strong Style is still the most over group of people around here so having Devlin in there with Bate is going to be nothing but great for him.

Jinny isn’t happy with the loss to Piper Niven and calls it disrespectful. It was the same thing when Jazzy Gabert was ejected from ringside. Everything is fine though, with Gabert speaking for once to say the same thing.

Joseph Conners vs. Ligero vs. Travis Banks

Fallout from Conners breaking up Ligero vs. Banks from three weeks ago. That earns Conners a double beatdown in the corner to start so some chops and kicks can make his skin crawl. Ligero and Banks stare each other down but go with a double superkick to put Conners on the floor instead. We get a double cover between Ligero and Banks so Conners rolls both of them up for two at the same time in a smart move. Not a successful one, but smart.

They head outside with Ligero headscissoring Conners down but getting stomped from the apron by Banks. Everyone is back in with Banks dropkicking Conners into the corner and Ligero following him in to give Banks two. Conners breaks up a cover on Banks with the slingshot DDT before DDTing both of them down for two each. A shortarm clothesline gets two more on Ligero but Banks shoves Conners off the top.

Ligero is back up with a super armdrag to bring Banks down and it’s a triple knockdown. Banks and Ligero chop it out on the apron until Banks is sent out to the floor. That means Conners comes out to join him and knock Ligero into the steps. Conners, with a busted nose, tries a dive but gets caught in the ropes as Banks is back up.

The Slice of Heaven hits Conners but Ligero hits C4L on Banks. Conners is back up with Don’t Look Down on Ligero so Banks nails a top rope double stomp for the save in a session with a lot of action but not much selling. Another Slice of Heaven is countered into a powerbomb from Ligero but Conners snaps his arm across the top rope. Another Don’t Look Down gives Conners the pin on Banks at 10:36.

Rating: B. Winner aside, they had a very fast paced match here with everyone getting a chance to shine. Banks continues to look like a star, Ligero is someone who is playing way above his head and Conners is still the least interesting guy in the promotion. Giving him wins isn’t making him more interesting and I don’t know what WWE sees in this guy.

Kassius Ohno doesn’t like that Tyler Bate got underneath his skin. He doesn’t like that so from now on, the knockout artist is taking a backseat to the wrestling genius. It’s going to be holds instead of strikes because the genius is back.

Sid Scala and Johnny Saint are here for the face to face between Coffey and Walter. Coffey tells Walter to start negotiating but Walter wants to hear his terms. Walter has a seat and Coffey talks about him showing up at Blackpool in January to take the attention. That night, Walter kicked him in the face and left a mark that hasn’t gone away. Now Coffey wants the title, which doesn’t surprise Walter. But what would Walter get in return?

He wants Wolfgang and Mark Coffey to defend the Tag Team Titles and Joe says yes before Walter can get another word in. Walter isn’t done yet though because he also wants Ilja Dragunov vs. Alexander Wolfe in a No DQ match. Joe can’t do that because Dragunov isn’t part of Gallus, but here’s Dragunov to say he’s in.

Scala makes the Tag Team Title match for next week and the No DQ match for some point in the future before confirming Coffey vs. Walter for the title at Takeover. Coffey leaves but Walter stops Dragunov, saying that he made a bad decision. Wolfe pops out from underneath the ring and here are Barthel and Aichner to destroy Dragunov. They put him through the table to end the show with no Gallus save. This was fine, though it didn’t exactly set up anything surprising.

Overall Rating: C+. Good wrestling and an ok enough ending segment make for a pretty nice show as Takeover is starting to pick up steam. This show may not be the best week to week but, like any other, it gets better when they have a target in sight. That’s what they have now and it made this show better. It’s a good week and maybe they can keep it going.

Results

Toni Storm b. Killer Kelly – Storm Zero

The Hunt b. The Outliers – Double top rope headbutt to Mak

Jordan Devlin b. A-Kid – Devil Inside

Joseph Conners b. Ligero and Travis Banks – Don’t Look Down to Banks

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: November 27, 2019
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
Hosts: Ian Riccaboni, Quinn McKay

I don’t even know where we are around here anymore. We’re very slowly building towards Final Battle, but Ring of Honor seems happy with only setting things up one match at a time. It’s like they don’t care about their own pay per view, but based on the TV shows lately, I’m not sure if they care about anything. Let’s get to it.

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

We look at clips of Dragon Lee vs. Jeff Cobb from the Experience, a fan voted on show with Cobb being chosen as Lee’s opponent. Lee wins with a crucifix.

Clips of Rush/Shane Taylor vs. Dalton Castle/Matt Taven where Castle and Taven couldn’t get along and Taylor pinned Castle for the win.

Video on Bateman, who Tombstones people and has nice facial hair.

We look at some of the new talent in the company.

Ryan Nova vs. Dak Draper

Draper won the Top Prospect Tournament but Nova says Draper never beat him. Draper gives Nova a participation ribbon to start but it’s quickly returned. Nova tries a quick knee to the face but gets thrown to the floor for his efforts. Back in and a tilt-a-whirl powerslam plants Nova again and it’s time to pose a bit. A knee drop sets up a delayed suplex but Nova knees his way to freedom. Draper clotheslines him right back down so Nova chops away to little avail. The cross armbreaker is blocked and Draper picks him up for the powerbomb. The Magnum Drop (Wasteland) finishes Nova at 4:33.

Rating: C-. Not too bad here and Draper looks like a good….prospect. Nova is someone who does well when he gets to show up on TV and it’s a little bit when he doesn’t have Cheeseburger around him too. The match was a good way to get Draper on the map, but I’m not sure where he is going to fit into the very few slots that are available around here.

Post match Draper gives him the participation ribbon. That’s a nice little heel move.

Video on PCO becoming #1 contender by defeating Marty Scurll.

Here are Brian Zane’s Top Five Final Battle moments, in chronological order, with….well no winner actually since it wasn’t a countdown. It included Low Ki vs. Kenta, Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima in a Fight Without Honor, El Generico vs. Kevin Steen Mask vs. Career, the Young Bucks vs. SCU vs. Briscoes in a Ladder War and Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe with Aries finally taking the title.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Villain Enterprises vs. Cheeseburger/Colt Cabana/Jeff Cobb

Enterprises are defending, but with ROH legend Dan Maff replacing the injured Brody King. The challengers were voted on by the fans. Cabana and Scurll start things off with some technical stuff with Marty stopping to show off the muscles. Marty takes him down with a test of strength but can’t break Cabana’s bridge on the mat. Instead Cabana tells him to STOP….and grabs another wristlock. Scurll offers to let Cabana pose but it’s Cheeseburger coming in instead. Cheeseburger gets PCO instead and I could enjoy some of this pain.

Some kicks to the ribs have no effect on PCO so it’s Cobb coming in to face Maff. The exchange of shoulders and forearms don’t get us anywhere until Maff hits a hard shoulder to put him down. Cheeseburger comes back in and tries a sleeper, earning himself something like a running Death Valley Driver into the corner. Back from a break with Cabana hitting the Flying Apple for two on Scurll, meaning it’s time to miss the Bionic Elbow.

Cobb and PCO get to slug it out some more as everything breaks down. Scurll backdrops PCO onto a bunch of people on the floor but Maff breaks up a dive….so he can hit his own. Back in and it’s Cobb getting crushed in the corner, setting up PCO’s chokeslam and an assisted backsplash from Maff. Cobb breaks up the chickenwing attempt though and muscles Maff up for a heck of a superplex. Cheeseburger comes back in and a series of shots to the head gets two on Scurll.

The Shotei misses though and Scurll suplexes Cheeseburger down. PCO’s Swanton to the apron only hits apron though and it’s a top rope double stomp for two. The Shotei takes PCO to his knee…but he’s right back up with a Tombstone to Cheeseburger….and a double chokeslam to Cobb and Cabana at the same time. Ok so it was more of a double chokeshove but still, cool idea. The PCOsault hits Cheeseburger but Maff is legal and hits a Burning Hammer to end Cheeseburger at 15:11.

Rating: B-. This blew away any expectations that I had coming in and I’m rather surprised by the whole thing. Everyone got a chance in there and while Maff returning isn’t exactly thrilling, it’s not like they have anything else drawing interest at the moment. That being said, PCO is the #1 contender. Why is he selling for Cheeseburger and not getting the win in dominant fashion?

Overall Rating: C-. This one entirely depends on what you’re looking for from this show. Above all else, I see it as the show with less than a month before Final Battle with a grand total of one thing being hyped for the pay per view. It continues to come off like ROH doesn’t care about anything other than fulfilling their required content quota and bringing in people who haven’t been here in ten years isn’t exactly making me want to stick around. The main event was fine, but this was another waste of time in a long list of them.

Results

Dak Draper b. Ryan Nova – Magnum Drop

Villain Enterprises b. Cheeseburger/Colt Cabana/Jeff Cobb – Burning Hammer to Cheeseburger

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 26, 2019
Location: Don Kolov Arena, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Giuseppe Scovelli Jr., Sexton Hardcastle

So you remember Southpaw Regional Wrestling right? That wacky and HILARIOUS set of vignettes that WWE put out where they mocked an old territory promotion? Well Impact is one upping them with a full episode of the same concept, including actual matches. This is completely non-cannon and is all about having a good time and that is a lot better than busting out the turkey suit again. Let’s get to it.

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

This show is from the IPWF: Impact Provincial Wrestling Federation. Oh yeah this is going to be fun.

We even get an old school intro with the shots of various wrestlers. Sweet goodness they’re actually getting it right.

Commentator Guiseppe Scovelli Jr. (Josh Matthews) has a huge mustache and a bigger cigar as he runs down the gimmick heavy card. Sexton Hardcastle (Don Callis) is….actually what Edge used to be known as in Canada for an inside joke.

The ring announcer, in a rather hideous tie, runs down the members of the commission. The ring has red, white and blue ropes and a big stain in the middle just for some flavor.

Rip Rayzer (Ace Austin) vs. Rapid Delivery Pete (Rich Swann)

It’s a grunge rocker against a pizza delivery guy, naturally complete with a skateboard. Hardcastle: “He’s got pizza. I want to get some pizza.” Pete: “The pizza……IS READY!!!” Rip doesn’t want pizza but can put a cigarette in his mouth. Pete shoulders him down and shouts a lot, only to get tripped up. Hardcastle tries to figure out shoes (just shoes in general) as Rip rakes Pete’s chest. Apparently Scovelli Sr. runs the territory so Hardcastle has some jokes going in a hurry. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Pete hits an armdrag and dropkick. A spinning splash (the Special Delivery) finishes Rip at 3:01.

Rating: D+. Oh yeah this is going to be great. This isn’t the kind of show where the wrestling itself has any meaning so the ratings are going to mean very little. Instead, this show is all about the entertainment

Backstage interviewer the Iceman brings in International TV Commonwealth Champion Julian Cummerbund (Ethan Page, the TV Champion) and Sonny Sanders (Sami Callihan as Jim Cornette, complete with tennis racket) and talks about how awesome and expensive the title looks. Sanders puts on a rather think southern accent to talk about how they’ll beat Downtown Daddy Brown in tonight’s Loser Leaves Town match for the title. After that, cheeseburgers with extra pickles, and the fans GET NO PICKLES (good, because they’re horrible).

Everyone should be thanking Julian for the house….but here’s Brown (Willie Mack), who promises to take the title tonight. A fight breaks out and Julian hits Sanders by mistake, meaning it’s time to rip off Julian’s suit in a Ric Flair tribute. You can get some Dusty Rhodes vibes from Brown too as this is feeling more like a Halloween special than anything else.

The Hard Workers (Hall and Oates, played by the Deaners) are the Fabulous Ones. Yeah there’s no hiding this one: it’s as much of a knockoff as Cornette.

Xcessive Force (Fallah Bahh/D’Lo Brown as what looks to be an overweight Powers of Pain/Demolition) say the Hard Workers’ time is winding down. Brown talks about getting in their boats and sailing away as

Xcessive Force vs. Hard Workers

Force is Pummel (Brown) and Plunder (Bahh) and the Workers weigh “enough to drive the women wild”. Force jumps them from behind to start and it’s a double headbutt to Oates. We settle down into a regular beatdown with Plunder nailing the big headbutt. Oates gets in a clothesline but Pummel decks him from the apron to put him right back down.

It’s Pummel coming in to stomp around a bit as this is getting a bit slow (as it should). The nerve hold goes on but Oates sends Pummel into the corner and gets over for the tag to Hall. Everything breaks down and it’s a sunset flip into a sunset flip to give Hall the pin on Pummel at 4:04.

Rating: D. This wasn’t much of a match (again, not the point) but it also wasn’t all that funny. The vignettes were funny and the Deaners do a great Fabs impression. Force….I’m not 100% sure what they were supposed to be but having them be some big hybrid is a more interesting way to go.

Post match Force isn’t done and crushes the Workers’ hats. My goodness that’s like an act of war.

The New Wave (Jake and Dave Crist as surfers) are coming.

Johnny Swinger vs. Buck Gunderson

Rematch from last week….in the future. Swinger takes him into the corner to start and rakes the eyes a lot, allowing him to pump the arms a bit. A spinebuster out of the corner sets up the Swinger Neckbreaker for the pin at 2:00.

We get some new technology with an “instant replay” to see the ending. AGAIN!

Frank the Butcher (Rhino, in the same gimmick he had in Southpaw) is coming.

The announcers talk about Frank with Giuseppe trying not to crack up.

The Rough Ryders (Jordynne Grace as Georgia Cobb, Jessika Havok as Ladybird Johnston, Alexia Nicole as Mildred Moore and Tessa Blanchard as Blanche Ardmore) promise to come on us like no one before and take over the territory. Cobb and Ardmore are the Tag Team Champions and they can’t imagine anyone would want to step in the ring with them. Moore knows they’re the best around here and Johnston says it doesn’t matter who they have to ride over. Once it’s over, it’s time to go back to the Marriott where the Tunnel of Love is open all night long.

Various wrestlers are coming to various local house shows. The details in these things are awesome.

Jazzy Fitbody vs. Agnes Beerheart

That would be Madison Rayne (I think you get that one) and Alisha Edwards. Cue Sebastian Baker (an evil agent played by Jimmy Jimmy Jacobs) to watch as he has been trying to sign Jazzy, who bicycle kicks Agnes away. A hair toss into the corner has Jazzy in trouble and she even loses her hair band. Agnes suplexes her into a chinlock but Jazzy fights up for a hair takedown. Jazzy grabs a fireman’s carry, does some squats, and then drops her. A few steps onto the back keep Jazzy’s cardio up and a middle rope splash is good for the pin on Agnes at 3:02.

Rating: D+. Another battle of the gimmicks here and Jazzy is someone who fits this whole thing perfectly. Agnes was just kind of there but at least they did something different by having the angle going on with Baker. That makes this feel a lot more realistic, or at least as realistic as this could get.

Post match Baker gets in the contract and says Jazzy’s one week to decide is up. Jazzy signs, kicks him low, and rips up the contract. I’m not sure if that’s how contracts are properly broken.

The $300,000 Man (R.D. Evans) doesn’t think anyone can slam Kongo Kong.

Tim Burr/Jim Nasium/Bill Ding/Ray Strack vs. Rough Riders

That would be Josh Alexander/Dez/Trey/Wentz as a lumberjack, a gym teacher, an architect and a race car driver, just because. The Riders are just women in matching red shirts and jeans. Blanche and Ding start things off with Blanche’s headlock perplexing him. Ding slips out but hold on because he needs to shave. That earns him a kick to the face and it’s off to Strack vs. Cobb with the former running around to crank up some gears (good line from Hardcastle).

Cobb rolls out of a sunset flip attempt but gets rolled up for two. That earns Strack a hard clothesline and a shoulder puts him down again, this time meaning it’s Nasium and Moore coming in for a change. A quick takedown lets Nasium do some pushups and jumping jacks but Moore snaps off a headscissors. We get the final pairing with Burr vs. Johnston completing the set.

That means a bearhug to Burr (seems appropriate) but he bites his way to freedom. A middle rope ax handle to the head has Johnston staggered and a second one, from the top, puts her down for two. Hardcastle: “MY GOD THE INNOVATION!” A chop off goes to Burr and it’s Strack coming in for superkicks all around. The big one gets two on Blanche but Strack misses a top rope splash, setting up the hammerlock DDT for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: D+. This one didn’t work as well as it was just a bunch of joke names, though the women looked dominant. One interesting point here was the women weren’t treated as a novelty but rather just a regular team who happened to be women. I’m not sure how historically accurate that would be, but Tessa getting to show off is always good.

Last week, no one could slam Kongo Kong for $2,000.

Therefore, this week’s it’s a $3,000 body slam challenge with the $300,000 Man sounding pretty confident. This brings out Mr. Atlantis, who seems to be a regular Canadian wrestler. He gets a leg up but can’t go any further, meaning it’s time for a replacement. This brings out Muscles McGee (Brian Cage), a proud Canadian. The fight is on until McGee hits the slam to earn $3,000 Canadian dollars. Now can we leave Kong in the past?

Former IPWF Champion Tommy Dreamer (just Tommy Dreamer, because it’s funny you see), in his Ribera Steak House jacket, was stripped of the title last Boxing Day and now he is coming to get it back. Jack Tunney stripped him of the title for using the piledriver so he slapped Vinny Jr. and is coming to beat up Race and Rhodes to get his title.

We look at Captain Joystick (Joey Ryan) trying to use the Eddie Guerrero chair trick on DJ Too Large (Moose) but getting his head clotheslined off for the pin instead.

In the Cockpit (haha), Joystick and Miss Mile High (Kiera Hogan) bring in Too Large but won’t let him get in a word. Instead, we hear about how bad rap music is until Too Large takes the mic and punches Ryan out of the green screen.

We look at Gama Singh throwing a fireball at Cowboy Colt McCoy (Eddie Edwards).

McCoy has both eyes bandaged and there is a chance that his vision will never be back. He’s coming for Singh, because he’s cowboy strong.

Gama Singh vs. Colt McCoy

Blindfold match. McCoy’s eyes don’t have bandages but he can barely see. Giuseppe: “I hear he has a grandson who is a pretty good football player.” We even get a Karachi Vice shirt on Singh, who also has Dada Singh in his corner. They stumble around with no major contact in the first minute. Dada trips McCoy so Gama cheats and gets in a cheap shot. Gama leapfrogs no one as McCoy is still in the ropes. McCoy misses a big stomp but manages to punch out Dada and hit a Twist of Fate to finish Gama at 3:20. This was barely a match so no rating, but they were smart to keep it short.

Post match McCoy is proud of being farm strong but the Soviets Michael Elgin and Mad Man Fulton) run in and beat him down, complete with the Russian chain. Giuseppe Senior runs in and gets beaten down, leaving McCoy to be covered by a Russian flag. Giuseppe Jr: “I guess I have to take over the territory.”

Post break Giuseppe Senior (Scott D’Amore) comes to the announcers’ booth and rants a lot. He’s going to lace the boots up one more time next week and get revenge, as he turns into Bill Watts (who did the flag deal multiple times). Oh and hot dogs are half off for the rest of the night.

International Commonwealth TV Title: Downtown Daddy Brown vs. Julian Cummerbund

Cummerbund is defending and it’s Loser Leaves Town. Julian takes him into the corner and hammers away to start but gets atomic dropped for his efforts. Brown gets in a right hand to the floor and Sonny Sanders has to help him up. It’s too early for a tennis racket shot as Brown glares him away and the fight heads into the crowd. The second attempt at the tennis racket shot works to give Julian two and Brown is sent to the floor.

As Julian claims an ankle injury, Sanders gets in a few shots and sends Brown back in to a dancing champ. We hit the Figure Four (you knew that was coming) and Sanders even gets in some cheating, which you also knew was coming. Brown turns it over but Julian is right in the rope, meaning it’s time to slug it out.

Julian actually gets the better of it but gets sunset flipped for two. A missed charge in the corner lets Brown slug away and drop an elbow for two with Sanders putting the foot on the rope. Another Sanders distraction lets Julian get in a racket shot but Brown sends them into each other, meaning it’s a rollup to give Brown the pin and the title at 9:53.

Rating: C. This was the only regular match on the show and it was a formula that has been done to death over the years. That being said, it was something that fit well and a match that made sense after how they built it up. It’s not like it’s anything bad and Mack is someone you can get behind no matter what.

The locker room comes out to celebrate with Brown to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. Yeah this outstanding and the kind of show that is a love letter to the old days. The wrestling itself was all that was missing from Southpaw Regional Wrestling and while that does offer a lot, it is a great time to see something like this. It isn’t something that is going to work full time (see also: NWA Powerrr) but it is something that worked great for a holiday show. If you miss the old days, check this out as it’s one of the best tributes I can ever remember.

Result

Rapid Delivery Pete b. Rip Rayzer – Special Delivery

Hard Workers b. Excessive Force – Sunset flip to Pummel

Johnny Swinger b. Buck Gunderson – Swinger Neckbreaker

Jazzy Fitbody b. Agnes Beerhead – Middle rope splash

Rough Riders b. Tim Burr/Jim Nasium/Bill Ding/Ray Strack – Hammerlock DDT to Strack

Colt McCoy b. Gama Singh – Twist of Fate

Downtown Daddy Brown b. Julian Cummerbund – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Something I can’t get my head around.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-scheduling-conflict/