IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: May 15, 2019
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s not a good sign when I have to look back at my notes to see what is going on with today’s show. Since the MSG show, nothing has really stuck with me, aside from Dalton Castle’s nice heel confirming segment last week. The shows haven’t been terrible, but I need something a little better than not very memorable. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Shinobi Shadow Squad vs. Coast To Coast vs. Bouncers

That would be Cheeseburger/Ryan Nova for the Squad. Ali headlocks Nova to start but can’t get an O’Connor roll. A rolling neckbreaker takes Ali down and it’s off to Cheeseburger as the match quality seems likely to go down. Everything breaks down and the Bouncers squash both teams in the corner with some running splashes. Bruiser bites various people but insists that he can’t do it because he has no teeth.

With that paradox confounding some people, Coast to Coast kick the Bouncers out to the floor, leaving the Squad to dropkick Ali and LSG into the corner. Ali is right back up with the big flip dive onto the floor onto various people, sending us to a break. Back with Cheeseburger in trouble, including a slingshot hilo into a chinlock from LSG.

Nova gets knocked off the apron so Cheeseburger settles for a tag off to Milonas, who kicks the heck out of Ali to take over. The swinging Boss Man Slam gives Milonas two as everything breaks down. Nova tries some forearms on Milonas and Cheeseburger has to save him from certain doom. Double superkicks stagger Milonas but Bruiser clotheslines Nova. That leaves Cheeseburger to dive onto Coast to Coast and it’s Closing Time to finish Nova at 9:56.

Rating: C-. Heaven help me but I think I’m starting to like the Bouncers. They don’t do anything revolutionary and they’re rather limited in the ring, but they do what they do quite well. It also helps a lot when so many members of the roster are smaller guys and you have these two monsters. That makes them stand out so much more and it helped a lot here. Not a bad triple threat either.

We recap Flip Gordon challenging Matt Taven for the World Title.

We look at the end of last week’s show with Lifeblood calling out Bully ray for revenge over what he did to Tenille Dashwood.

We look back at the Allure attacking Jenny Rose and Kelly Klein.

We look back at Dalton Castle attacking the Boys. Why are we recapping the last two weeks?

We recap (erg) the Honor Rumble from MSG where Great Muta and Jushin Thunder Liger gave us an awesome moment but we needed to push Kenny King because that has worked so well over the years.

Here’s Kenny King….who is now blind because of being misted in the Rumble. King should be happy right now but since he’s blind, all of his happiness is gone. Since he started at #1 though, he should be called Kenny “Shawn Michaels” King. He brags about throwing out Muta and Liger to win but then Muta misted him and took away his vision. What matters most though is that he and Matt Taven are boys, but King is coming for the title. Before that though, he’s coming for Jay Lethal, albeit after he has his eye surgery. Lethal will bent the knee.

Flip Gordon talks about his knee injury and how hard he worked to beat the timetable for his return. Now he’s ready for his World Title shot next week on the 400^th episode.

Flex Simmons vs. Josh Woods

Simmons is a guy with a rather limited physique who poses a lot. Woods spears him, faceplants him and finishes with the Seismic Toss (reverse fireman’s carry slam) at 38 seconds. Are they allergic to wrestling on this show?

Post break Woods says he’s down to fight. His shirt saying “down to fight” implied that.

Shane Taylor vs. Bandido

Bandido tries some early grappling before just superkicking the much bigger Shane in the face. Taylor’s jumping sitdown splash misses and a basement dropkick puts him on the floor. That means the suicide dive, followed by the Fosbury Flop dive to send us to a break. Back with Taylor not liking being hit in the chest, meaning it’s a single chop to bring Bandido to his knees.

Another chop puts Bandido on his back but he’s right back up and trying a fireman’s carry for some reason. That just earns him a heck of a chokeslam, followed by an even harder right hand. Taylor talks trash before tossing Bandido across the ring as the beating slows down. A running corner clothesline crushes Bandido again and a running clothesline in the middle gets two. Elbows to the face and shoulder give Shane two more and he punches a diving Bandido out of the air for a great visual.

Back from another break with Bandido slugging away again and no selling a shot to the face. He sells a chokeslam though, with Shane going down as well from near exhaustion. Bandido tries a discus forearm but gets headbutted away, allowing Shane to hit a swinging Downward Spiral for two. Another right hand breaks up another springboard and a hanging Stunner gives Shane two more. Ok these kickouts are getting ridiculous. Somehow Bandido is back with a springboard crossbody and a GTS of all things. The 21 Plex finishes Taylor at 13:56.

Rating: B. They lost me near the end there as Shane has been knocking people silly for a long time now and Bandido survived all of it before winning in the end. That’s a lot to take and I didn’t buy it near the ending there. Bandido is a star in the making (if not one already) but this was a bit of a stretch. I’m sure Shane is going to be fine, but that was a little too far with the kickouts.

Post match here’s Bully Ray because OF COURSE IT’S BULLY RAY in the big closing. Ray goes after Bandido but Mark Haskins and Tracy Williams run in. The yelling is on but the newly signed Soldiers of Savagery come in and beat down Lifeblood. Bully Ray and Shane Taylor are confused and ask each other who brought in the Soldiers. The Soldiers leave on their own to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling was better than usual here but egads what was that big stretch of recaps in the middle? It felt like they had to edit something out and that was all they had to fill in time. I’ve said it for the last few weeks but they continue to squander the momentum they had from the biggest show they’ve ever had. That’s rather disappointing but honestly, I’m not really surprised.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #57
Date: May 11, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jim Cornette

Things are starting to wrap up in this taping cycle and we’re coming up on a few big matches. Last week saw Salina de la Renta running things and a tease of a big fight with Sami Callihan but it wound up being Mance Warner instead. Therefore, there is a good chance we’ll be seeing Callihan going after Salina again soon. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Barrington Hughes/Ace Romero vs. Contra, which sounds like a sacrifice in the making.

Opening sequence.

Air Wolf vs. Rey Fenix

Wolf looks rather terrified and the announcers pick up on it. They shake hands to start with Fenix taking him to the mat for a hold that isn’t going to go anywhere. That’s reversed into a double arm crank from Wolf so Fenix flips up to his feet without much trouble. Fenix does a series of flips to get out of a wristlock and Wolf isn’t sure what to do here. They chop it out until Wolf gets in his first big(ish) offense with a springboard wristdrag.

Fenix is right back with his own armdrag to put Wolf on the floor but he’s right back in with a hurricanrana of his own. The big dive to the floor takes Fenix down again as he can’t figure out what to do with Wolf. Back in and Fenix’s rolling cutter is countered into a German suplex. Another German suplex gives Wolf two and a springboard Downward Spiral gets the same.

Fenix finally rolls through for a hard dropkick and they’re both down. Wolf gets tied in the ropes for a rope walk kick to the face as I want to throttle the fan with the air horn. That’s fine with Wolf, who is right back with a butterfly suplex into a DDT for two. Fenix catches him on top with a kick to the head but the Black Fire Driver is countered into a cradle to give Wolf the big upset at 9:48.

Rating: B-. That’s not the biggest surprise as the idea here was to give Wolf a rub before Fenix goes to MLW full time. Wolf hasn’t impressed me all that much yet but giving him some wins like this is a good idea, even if they don’t happen very often. Fenix brought him up a lot and that’s why they were put together.

Austin Aries is coming soon. Does he have to?

We look at Salina de la Renta’s problems with Sami Callihan and Mance Warner last week.

Salina isn’t happy with Mance, who she thinks does things to chickens. Next week, she wants Promociones Dorado vs. Callihan/Warner.

Barrington Hughes vs. Jacob Fatu

If there is any justice in the world, this should be about a minute long. Hughes knocks him into the corner for a splash but gets superkicked in the face. Something like a Whisper in the Wind (remember that Fatu is pushing 300lbs) finishes Fatu in 33 seconds. EXACTLY what it should have been.

The Hart Foundation is in a nice car and thank the Lucha Bros for dropping the titles. They don’t think much of MJF for a variety of reasons. As for Brian Pillman, he’ll gain a lot from competition, like a match against Rich Swann in the National Title tournament.

Alexander Hammerstone is looking forward to facing Gringo Loco in the tournament but he’s thinking about the celebration when he wins the title. MJF has even rented an elephant so Grandpappy Hammer and Weird Uncle Gary Hammer can come celebrate. He promises to win but leaves to take a call about the elephant.

We get the first Fury Road Control Center. We’ll see the tournament final to crown the first National Champion as well as the debuts of Ross and Marshall Von Erich.

Tom Lawlor is ready for Avalanche, because Tom is the only abominable snowman anyone needs to worry about.

Ariel Dominguez vs. Bryan Idol

Idol has some muscle on a somewhat small frame. Ariel gets sent into the corner for a running knee and a butterfly suplex into the same corner makes it even worse. A swinging layout Rock Bottom gets two as the not huge Idol is throwing around the tiny Dominguez. Idol gets two more off a shoulder breaker but misses a moonsault. That’s enough for Dominguez to hit a dropkick and tornado DDT, setting up a kick to the chest for two. A springboard tornado DDT into a small package (eventually as it was several covers before Dominguez tied the legs up) finishes Idol at 4:09.

Rating: D+. They lost me here as Dominguez is just too small and doesn’t do enough crazy athletic stuff to make up for it. The level of suspension of believe necessary for wrestling is very high at times and I can live with a lot, but this was just a bit too far. It’s not a bad match but I didn’t believe it and that’s a problem.

We look at Salina’s challenge again.

Warner and Callihan are in for the match. Warner’s eyes bugging out the whole time makes it that much better. Oh and it’s going to be a tag team fight instead of a match. I think that was already understood. They get in a bit of an argument over thumbs and kneepads going up and down.

Salina talks to Low Ki about his contract but Low Ki doesn’t like the promoter becoming the feature attraction. She even calls him Mr. Silvestri (his real name) to show you how serious it is.

National Title Tournament Semifinals: Gringo Loco vs. Alexander Hammerstone

The rest of the Dynasty lets Hammerstone do this one himself as the fans are way into Loco. Hammerstone powers him down to start as Loco is a little tentative to start. Loco gets thrown away again but manages to flip away for a standoff. The fans let Hammerstone know that he can’t do that and a running hurricanrana to the floor frustrates him even more.

The running flip dive is countered with a kick to the head but Loco is fine enough to get two off a top rope moonsault press. Hammerstone crotches him on top though…where something is botched so badly that they shoot the crowd, which gasps at whatever we can’t see. Hammerstone superplexes him down and hits the Nightmare Pendulum for the pin at 4:56.

Rating: C-. The botch was a one off miss as the rest of the match was perfectly fine. Hammerstone winning is the only call they had and a match against Pillman (or Swann) for the title could be rather entertaining. It’s clear that Hammerstone is a star in the making and pushing him like this is the only thing that can be done with him at the moment.

Post match Hammerstone says he’s a win away from the title because he’s no longer a prospect. Now, he’s the future champion.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t bad as they build towards the tournament and some stuff in the coming weeks, though the idea of another title when some of them don’t even make it onto the show doesn’t do much for me. I’m not sure how it’s going to go, but having so much stuff going on is going to become a problem. The show was good enough, but I’m worried about what’s coming in the future. Just stop doing so much stuff and let the stuff you have work well.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 13, 2004
Location: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Attendance: 4,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

The year is starting to come to a close and Eric Bischoff is back to run things again. This time around that means we need a solution to the World Title being vacated, which should mean some kind of big gimmick match for the January’s pay per view. That would be the regular January show and not the Royal Rumble, because January suddenly needs to pay per views. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Eric Bischoff with the World Title to get things going. Bischoff recaps all the changes since he went on vacation and then gets into the meat of things. Two weeks ago, both Chris Benoit and Edge got a fall at the same time, but traditionally a tie goes to the champion. That would be HHH, so all three are standing in the back watching intently. HHH says no one beat him, clearly not understanding how triple threats work.

That starts an argument with Benoit so Edge says this is how it always goes. Edge has had it with waiting and the fight is on. Bischoff has had it and makes HHH/Batista vs. Chris Jericho/Chris Benoit. As for Edge, he can fight Randy Orton RIGHT NOW. The decision on the title can come later tonight. I think you can guess what it is based on the people put in those two matches, but let’s wait a little longer.

Edge vs. Randy Orton

The fans remind Edge that he tapped out and he’s so shaken up that Orton can shove him into the corner. They go with some amateur stuff in a bit of a surprise, followed by an exchange of missed dropkicks for a standoff. Orton goes with the hard clothesline to put Edge on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Orton grabbing a chinlock (he does love his chinlocks) for a bit until Edge gets a foot on the rope. You don’t see that as a counter to a chinlock very often but you don’t often see a heel in one for that long either. Edge gets up and baseball slides him to the floor, followed by a spear off the apron. Back in and the chinlock with a bodyscissors goes on with Orton taking his sweet time getting up.

A crossbody gives Orton two and they’re both down again (that’s happened a lot in this one). It’s Edge up first but Orton dropkicks him out of the air, followed by the backbreaker for two. The Edge-O-Matic gives Edge two of his own and it’s time to yell at the referee. Orton snaps off the powerslam but misses the high crossbody. The spear misses as well and it’s the RKO to finish Edge.

Rating: C+. Good match, but you could cut off the first ten minutes and not miss anything. These two like to go for the big epic match and it really doesn’t work all that well. Edge losing again doesn’t exactly help his case for the World Title, but we have to keep Orton hot for his title push….whenever that actually happens again.

Ric Flair lists off HHH’s accomplishments so HHH can convince Bischoff to make him champion again. Violence is threatened but here’s Batista to say that’s a bad idea. Batista wants HHH to play the game properly and show Bischoff instead of telling him. When they win tonight, Bischoff will know who the real champion is.

Christy, Melina and Maria are here with a t-shirt gun. After the announcers recap the opening sequence, here’s Gene Snitsky to interrupt, with Melina taking a few extra moments to notice him. Since no one will give him a match around here, he’d rather come out here and play with the t-shirt gun….and dance? Thankfully he reverts to monster form by grabbing Christy by the throat, because he has fun when someone is suffering.

This brings out Lita, who says Snitsky must feel like a big man right now. Despite everything Snitsky did to her, Lita is the Women’s Champion. Uh, he did like one thing to you. Anyway, Kane is coming back to deal with Snitsky. The complete non-reaction to that announcement is rather telling. Snitsky goes after Lita, who escaped behind a wall of fire.

Christian rants about Chris Jericho making him dress like a superhero last week while Candice Michelle does his makeup. Eugene comes up and gets on Christian’s nerves by saying Captain Charisma isn’t as good as Aquaman. He even asks for an autograph but gets broken up by a cameo.

Mick Foley of all people pops up and Eugene freaks out because Foley is tied for his four favorite wrestlers. It’s Foley, the Rock (Foley: “That’s a good choice.”), Papa Shango (Foley: “Ok that’s a weird one.”) and Beautiful Bobby Eaton, because he’s from right here in Huntsville, Alabama. Has Eaton ever been mentioned on Raw before? Foley leaves with Eugene, even though he stole his cheap pop. Eugene tells Christian and Tomko to have a nice day, Bang Bang.

Simon Dean is in Eric Bischoff’s office to sign his official Raw contract when Chris Benoit comes in. Dean leaves and Benoit says he worked so hard to get the title. He wants a rematch of the triple threat match for the title but Bischoff says Benoit is already in a tag match. Benoit isn’t happy and says if Bischoff gives the title back to HHH, he’ll just be showing how spineless he really is.

Chris Benoit/Chris Jericho vs. HHH/Batista

Ric Flair is here with Evolution. Benoit slugs away at HHH to start and the loud chops in the corner follow. HHH gets smart by going with the power to drive Benoit into the corner for the boot choke from Batista. It’s off to Jericho who can’t do anything with Batista either so it’s back to HHH for some more first gear grappling. A shoulder and the jumping knee to the face move things up a bit and take Jericho down, followed by a heck of a whip into the corner from Batista.

The chinlock keeps Jericho in trouble and it’s back to HHH for some choking in the corner. A delayed vertical suplex into the knee drop gives HHH one with Benoit making the save. Flair goes after the referee and gets decked by Jericho, sending him into the trademark rage. HHH calms him down though and we take a break.

Back with Benoit hitting a German suplex on HHH but missing the Swan Dive, even with Batista not being able to grab Benoit’s foot in time. HHH whips Benoit back first into the corner for two and it’s off to the abdominal stretch to cause some screaming. The assist from Batista gets HHH caught so he throws some right hands in the corner while calling spots.

HHH’s jump off the middle rope that is designed to land on a raised boot lands on a raised boot, meaning Jericho can come in. Jericho rolls Batista up for two and slips out of the Batista Bomb, setting up an enziguri. The Lionsault connects and HHH is sent to the floor, leaving Benoit to hit the Swan Dive. The Sharpshooter goes on and the saving HHH is pulled into the Crossface. That’s enough of a distraction for Batista to hit the spinebuster for the pin on Benoit.

Rating: B. This was working the formula rather well and Batista is getting better and better every week. His star power is rising as well as he gets sick of HHH, which is only going to mean great things for him. Giving him the pin like that makes things look even better, as HHH isn’t going to be happy.

Here’s Mick Foley for a chat. After all, what would Christmastime be without a Mick Foley book plug? He’s not telling you to buy it or that it’s a great Christmas gift idea though. Actually he’s here to mention that he’s going to be on Smackdown next week, because he’s going to Iraq for the Tribute to the Troops. We get a look at last week’s show and Foley mentions that he still has some John Kerry bumper stickers in his garage. The fans boo and Foley remembers that this is a red state.

Supporting the troops goes beyond political affiliation though and he’s honored to be going over there and entertain the troops. This brings out Muhammad Hassan and Daivari for something that is going to go very badly in a hurry. Hassan talks about blindly supporting the troops and the country, but then 9/11 happened.

People like the two of them are the real victims of the war and none of the people here are real patriots. Why would they support a war that causes the unfair treatment of Arab Americans? Hassan feels the “patriotism” around every airport and right now, though Foley disagrees with almost every word. Foley puts over America as the place where you can say any stupid views you want so Hassan calls Americans infidels. That’s too far for Foley, who lists off various people who were hurt or killed defending his rights. Hassan: “YOU SUPPORT AN EVIL AND UNJUST WAR!” Foley: “I SUPPORT AMERICA!”

Those rights don’t apply in the ring (Foley Island) though and if Hassan comes inside, he’ll get a fist in his mouth. Hassan and Daivari walk away again. I know it was a different time, but this stuff is as heavy handed as it gets these days, with the Love It Or Leave It stuff being a lot to take. I get where these debates have an audience, but it’s not the most interesting thing on a wrestling show.

We look back at Lita winning the Women’s Title last week.

Trish Stratus doesn’t care what the interviewer’s name is because she isn’t happy with what happened. She’ll get her title back.

Rochelle (egads another random woman on the roster) is in Bischoff’s office when Edge comes in to say he deserves the title. We hear his usual list of times where he got cheated and is told that the decision is coming tonight.

Christian/Tyson Tomko/Maven vs. Eugene/William Regal/Shelton Benjamin

Eugene backdrops Christian to start and pulls out his own version of Mr. Socko as Lawler insists that Christian could beat Aquaman. Maven and Christian both take airplane spins but Tomko takes Eugene’s head off with a clothesline. The chinlock keeps Eugene in trouble (Regal: “Come on Eug!”) and it’s back to Maven for an elbow to the head. Regal’s overly loud shouting continues as JR sucks up to the troops all over again. Eugene gets two each off a backslide and small package so Christian rips at his face.

Shelton and Regal are knocked off the apron as the announcers talk about Simon Dean. Come on the match isn’t THAT bad. Maven puts on a chinlock of his own with a knee in Eugene’s back until a Stunner breaks things up. Shelton finally comes in to start taking over and an exploder getting two on Maven as Christian makes the save. Christian gets Socko from Eugene but Maven rolls Shelton up and grabs the rope for the upset.

Rating: D. This felt a lot longer than the seven minutes it lasted. Maven’s continued push isn’t helping anything, but at least having it be in the midcard instead of the main event is a little more believable. The match wasn’t even very good as it was Eugene getting beaten until the last minute when Shelton got pinned.

HHH glares at Bischoff and then nearly begs him to return the title. He seems near tears as he talks about how important the title is to him as this is getting WAY too deep into HHH’s psyche than I’m comfortable with being. See, HHH needs to be champion so people can recognize him. Oh and it’s good for business.

Next week: the Best of 2004. Pick your favorite “that’s going to be a short show” joke.

Bischoff comes to the ring and calls for HHH, Edge and Benoit to join him. The three of them do, with Flair and Batista joining HHH. All the team does is win and the World Heavyweight Champion should be a winner. Bischoff liked the idea of another triple threat match but that’s not what he wants to do. Or maybe he could hand the belt to Edge, but that’s not a good move since Edge has never been champion before.

With that WCW philosophical line out of the way, Bischoff gets to his idea: the Elimination Chamber at New Year’s Revolution, which was the pretty clear pick the entire time. In addition to the three of them, Jericho, Batista and Orton will be involved as well. Only Batista seems to be happy as Bischoff leaves. Benoit gets beaten down so here are Jericho and Orton for the big six way brawl. Orton RKO’s Batista to stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The longer wrestling was nice for a change, but the bigger problem here was how we spent weeks waiting to find out what is going on with the title and the answer is we wait another month. That’s going to make for some very long shows before we get to the title change, but it means they can do very little until we get to the Royal Rumble where things can actually happen. Not a terrible show, but another case of filling time until we get to what really matters.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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: May 15, 2019
Location: Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

We’re coming up on the big rematch between UK Champion Walter and Pete Dunne but we also need to look to the future with more qualifying matches for the #1 contenders fatal four way match. That alone should be enough for a good show but I’ve started to like the prospects of what we might be getting around here week to week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Piper Niven vs. Jamie Hayter

Jamie, making her debut here, grabs the arm to start but gets pulled into a standing chinlock. After slipping out, Jamie tries some trash talk and gets headbutted down for her efforts. There’s a Cannonball in the corner and the Michinoku Driver finishes Jamie at 1:48. Total squash.

Toni Storm warns Nina Samuels to stop talking about her career. An out of control Storm is not a good thing and she’ll even put the title on the line.

Sid Scala is excited for both the title match and the qualifying matches when Kassius Ohno comes up with a complaint. He’s here to showcase pure British wrestling but he’s not in a qualifying match. Scala promises an answer next week.

Fatal Four Way Qualifying Match: Ligero vs. Jordan Devlin

Feeling out process to start with Ligero sending him into the corner to start, meaning Jordan wants an early breather. Devlin takes him down in a test of strength but Ligero is right back with a scary looking Canadian Destroyer (or a very sloppy Code Red). Thankfully Devlin isn’t knocked silly as Ligero dropkicks him to the floor, setting up the slingshot dive.

Back in and Devlin trips Ligero right back to the floor for a ram into the barricade. A backbreaker sets up the release Rock Bottom into the standing moonsault for two as Ligero’s ribs are banged up. Something like a seated abdominal stretch stays on the ribs, meaning Ligero fighting up for a crossbody isn’t the best idea.

Ligero gets two off a middle rope dropkick but makes the big mistake of trying a top rope splash. That means raised knees so Devlin can get two, but his moonsault hits raised knees. A powerbomb into the top rope splash gives Ligero two, with the ribs being a casualty again. Devlin breaks up C4L though and it’s the Saito suplex off the middle rope to put Ligero away at 10:33.

Rating: B-. Ligero has really surprised me as you wouldn’t think of him as someone who could hang in a bigger match like this. What we’ve been getting instead is a guy who can wrestle a pretty good match against different styles of opponents, which I never would have expected from a guy in a mask with big horns like that. Good stuff here.

Post match Devlin says this match shouldn’t have happened because he should be #1 contender without a qualifying match. Every card in the deck falls short against the Ace.

Walter says there is normally pressure on the new champion but he isn’t normal. Being in the ring with Pete Dunne was difficult but enjoyable because Dunne brought the real competition. It’s good that Dunne is training so hard because Walter wants him at his best.

Moustache Mountain is ready to see Dunne win the title back. Then they want another rematch for the NXT UK Tag Team Titles.

Ilja Dragunov vs. Jack Starz

Nigel is VERY excited about Dragunov, possibly due to his entrance, which features a song of people singing in Russian and closeups of Ilja’s red eyes. Dragunov takes him straight into the corner for an elbow to the face and Starz’s uppercuts just make him smile. Some running clotheslines, followed by a standing clothesline, knock Starz’s head off and an even harder one does it again. Starz gets in a dropkick and a choke, which is easily broken up by Dragunov. A jumping backsplash sets up Torpedo Moscow (running headbutt to the chest) to finish Starz at 3:07.

Rating: C-. Oh yeah they’ve got something here with Dragunov. I’ve seen him before and there are very few people with that kind of intensity. The finisher of a running headbutt to the chest will work just fine, but Dragunov’s mannerisms and look will get him a long way. You can’t stop looking at him when he’s in the ring and that’s a great thing to have.

Noam Dar and Mark Andrews are ready for their rematch next week. Noam is sorry for what he’s done before and wants the competition.

Killer Kelly vs. Xia Brookside

Xia rolls out of a wristlock to start but gets pulled down with a top wristlock. A headlock doesn’t get Xia very far as she gets reversed into a headscissors. That’s reversed into another headscissors as the feeling out continues. Back up and they shake hands….and here’s Jinny to interrupt. Jinny brings out the debuting Jazzy Gabbert and the match is thrown out somewhere around 2:45.

Gabbert comes to the ring so Kelly runs, leaving Xia to take a Dominator. So Jinny has some muscle, which is an improvement for her future.

Fatal Four Way Qualifying Match: Dave Mastiff vs. Wolfgang

Mastiff wastes no time in running Wolfgang over for an early two so Wolfgang gets a little smarter with some clotheslines in the corner. An armbar works a bit better on Mastiff and Wolfgang even mixes things up with a full nelson. Mastiff fights up again so it’s an ax handle to the head into a fireman’s carry slam, which is good enough for some polite applause from the fans. The Howling misses though and Mastiff hits a running crossbody. A German suplex sends Wolfgang into the corner and Into the Void sends Mastiff to the four way at 4:35.

Rating: D+. It was short but those holds in the middle took away some of the energy the match had. Mastiff’s push continues to surprise me as you would have expected him to lose at some point already but that actually hasn’t been the case yet. That’s a positive sign for his future as the longer he goes before the loss, the better his chances are after that.

Post match the Coffey Brothers run in and beat Mastiff down, allowing Wolfgang to hit the Howling. That means the only WE LOVE GALLUS chant in history.

One more video on Walter vs. Dunne wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C+. This show came and went, which isn’t the worst thing in the world. It didn’t feel long and when you consider that it was little more than a way to set up a future match for a future title shot, that’s not too bad of a result. The wrestling wasn’t too bad and while some of it was better than the rest, nothing is horrible and I want to see next week’s title match. I don’t remember the last time this show was bad and that’s a good place to be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

The timing on these things is getting annoying.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-dont-screw/

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: May 15, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for a fresh taping cycle and that means a few fresh things around here. First of all we have to deal with the Tag Team Titles, as the Viking Raiders are now on the main roster, meaning they aren’t likely to be able to defend the titles around here. Oh and Takeover is in two and a half weeks so we need some matches. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Mauro and Nigel talk about Percy Watson leaving and wish him well. Beth Phoenix is introduced onto the team.

Here are the Viking Raiders, with Mauro giving a quick explanation about the name change which we really didn’t need. They talk about raiding Raw recently and promise to raid again in the future. For right now though, they want William Regal out here for an announcement.

This brings out the boss and the Raiders make it quick: they’re relinquishing the titles effective immediately. Cue the Street Profits, who think the Raiders are running from them. They know they can beat the Raiders, with Dawkins making a joke about the Raiders not using their real names. The Profits want one more match for the titles and Regal says it’s on. As usual around here: the problem comes up and NXT has a solution to it in a hurry.

We look at the end of last week’s show, with Roderick Strong costing Adam Cole the match against Matt Riddle. Cole wasn’t happy and the argument continued after the show went off the air. A fight nearly broke out and Cole thought Strong didn’t deserve to be on the team.

The Undisputed Era, minus Strong, talk about who the leader of the team is but something is going on behind them. With all of them trying to see what’s happening, here’s Strong to say that he thought about what happened last week. The Matt Riddle problem has been taken care of, and Strong hands Cole a flip flop. That’s quite the abrupt shift in storyline so there might be something bigger afoot.

Cezar Bononi vs. Keith Lee

Lee leapfrogs over him to start and runs the big Bononi over with a shoulder. A drop toehold sends Lee throat first into the rope but Bononi’s shoulders have little effect. Lee blocks a whip and hits a running forearm in the corner, followed by a heck of a Pounce. The Spirit Bomb finishes Bononi at 2:30.

We look back at Io Shirai jumping Shayna Baszler last week at the Performance Center.

Official for Takeover: Baszler defends against Shirai.

The Forgotten Sons don’t like the Street Profits being handed another title shot. They won’t let Regal forget them again.

Kona Reeves vs. Kushida

Kushida taps his watch to make the lights change for a nice touch. They go straight to the mat with Kushida getting a front facelock and riding Reeves all the way to frustration. A hammerlock keeps Reeves down but here’s Drew Gulak of all people to watch from the stage. Reeves fights up and slams him into the corner, followed by some right hands to the head. The chinlock goes on but Kushida is up in a hurry, this time with a series of kicks for two. The Hoverboard Lock is countered so Kushida kicks him to the floor and hits a top rope flip dive. Back in and the Hoverboard Lock makes Reeves tap at 5:05.

Rating: C. This was a strong showcase for Kushida with Reeves only getting in a few shots here and there. Kushida vs. Gulak could be rather interesting for a technical showcase and the popular Kushida shutting up the annoying Gulak is a good idea. I’m liking how Kushida is being presented so far and he could be a big success around here.

Bianca Belair doesn’t like Mia Yim talking to Regal about stealing her title shot but Yim was talking about a rematch with Belair. That doesn’t work either so Belair goes into Regal’s office.

Riddle has taped up ribs and talks to Johnny Gargano about something.

Gargano isn’t worried about the Undisputed Era being back so strong. That’s why he’s defending against Cole at Takeover.

Vanessa Borne vs. Jessie

Jessie is from the Mae Young Classic. Borne runs the rather tall Jessie over to start and hooks a drop toehold for good measure. Some stomping makes it even worse and stomping in the corner makes it much worse, but in a corner. Aliyah adds a slap to Jessie’s face but she comes back with a spinwheel kick to Borne. That’s it from Jessie as Borne snaps off a running swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 2:50.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Viking Raiders

The Raiders are defending. It’s a brawl to start with the Raiders taking over but the Viking Experience is broken up with a spear from Dawkins. Ivar and Dawkins trade cartwheels and Dawkins takes him down again, setting up the frog splash from Ford for two. We get down to a regular match and it’s the Forgotten Sons coming in to jump Ivar for the DQ at 2:15.

Post match the brawl is on, with Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch joining the fun. The Profits take Erik down and count their own two before running away. The Vikings aren’t happy and it’s a springboard clothesline/German suplex combination to Burch. Lorcan gets thrown over the top and onto a pile of people, followed by the Viking Experience to Blake. The Raiders hold the titles to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was flying by with a bunch of matches that didn’t get a lot of time. However, they also got a lot of stuff done with the Tag Team Title situation being addressed (more on that next week I’m sure), the issues with the Undisputed Era getting fixed up (for the time being) and two title matches being set up for Takeover. As usual they know how to get things done when they need to and that’s what happened here.

Results

Keith Lee b. Cezar Bononi – Spirit Bomb

Kushida b. Kona Reeves – Hoverboard Lock

Vanessa Borne b. Jessie – Running swinging neckbreaker

Viking Raiders b. Street Profits via DQ when the Forgotten Sons interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

Oh boy indeed.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/breaking-aew-officially-announces-tv-deal-major-cable-network/

So there it is.  The company is officially on a major cable network which is on equal footing with USA.  The hard work begins now, but this is a major, major success and something that is way beyond the best case scenario.  Well done indeed.

Oh and thank you Impact fans for trying to defend Pop and Pursuit because wrestling scares away major networks.  That defense was bogus for years and here’s even more proof of how wrong it was.

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: May 14, 2019
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the second of two nights in London and that means we get to see how close to four names WWE can bring in from Raw this week. This is also the go home show for Money in the Bank so it’s time for the brawl between Kofi Kingston and Kevin Owens. Throw in the required build towards the ladder matches and we could be in for a nice little show. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Roman Reigns to call out Elias, but first he wants the Miz out here. After sucking up to the crowd, Miz talks about how he has five days until Shane McMahon is trapped in a cage. Shane attacked Miz’s father and that is not acceptable, so it’s time for payback. It’s also time for Shane and Elias with Shane saying that Miz isn’t a Wild Card because he’s just disgusting. Therefore, Miz is banned from the building tonight.

Elias doesn’t like Reigns calling him a wedding singer and Reigns has underestimated him. At Money in the Bank, Reigns will find out what WWE stands for. Shane wants to get rid of Miz and Reigns right now so here are Rowan and Daniel Bryan to help. The beatdown is on so it’s the Usos for the save.

Post break Shane makes himself, Rowan, Bryan and Elias vs. Reigns/Usos. If Miz interferes, the cage match is off.

Randy Orton vs. Andrade vs. Ali vs. Finn Balor

Non-title. Before the match, Orton says he’ll win the briefcase on Sunday and make RKO the dangerous letters for the WWE Champion. Zelina Vega promises a spoiler for Sunday, which means Andrade wins the briefcase. Joined in progress with Ali holding his leg but being able to roll Orton up for two. The snap powerslam drops Ali but he comes back with a dropkick for a breather.

Orton teases the RKO out of the corner so Ali hangs on and takes Orton down instead, meaning it’s Andrade coming in for the save. Andrade runs Balor and Ali over, setting up the running knees in the corner. Instead of covering though, Andrade listens to Vega and throws a ladder in. Said ladder is superkicked back into his face by Ali, who dives into another ladder shot from Andrade to take us to a break.

Back with Balor hitting a Sling Blade on Andrade and dropkicking him into the corner. Ali hits the rolling X Factor on Balor but misses the 450, instead rolling into the RKO. Balor takes care of Orton though and we’re down to two for the moment. Andrade is back up and sends Balor into the steps, setting up the hammerlock DDT for the pin at 9:58.

Rating: C+. Gotta pin that champ! It’s another match where there were more options to take the fall but instead of going with Orton, which would mean more and hurt him less. I doubt this is going to go to another title match between Balor and Andrade, though it would make sense to give Andrade the title at this point after pinning Balor twice.

Post match Andrade climbs the ladder but here’s Ricochet to springboard onto the ladder and punch him down. Ricochet grabs the briefcase, more or less guaranteeing that he won’t do it on Sunday.

Carmella says she’s the favorite this Sunday and is going to threepeat.

Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston fire each other up.

Here’s Charlotte for a chat. She talks about her historic rivalry with Becky Lynch, which will end on Sunday with her as the Smackdown Women’s Champion. We get a video history of their feud, dating back to NXT. They met in the main event of Wrestlemania and now they’re doing it again here. It is quite the feud, but I could go for something else already. The problem though is the lack of challengers for Lynch, which has been the case for awhile now. Charlotte didn’t need to be in the ring for this.

Lacey Evans promises to make Becky Two Belts Becky Black Eye. On the other hand, she’ll go from Lacey Evans to Lacey Evans: Raw Women’s Champions.

Aleister Black talks about appearances being deceptive and how no one likes the place they try to venture into when they try to accomplish their goal. He tries to hide his villainy with old odd ends, stolen from various places, when most he plays fade to black. I think I need an English degree to understand what he just said.

Shane McMahon/Daniel Bryan/Rowan/Elias vs. Roman Reigns/Usos

Jimmy and Bryan start things off with a basic sequence, including Bryan hitting a shoulder block. Jey comes in and gets taken into the corner for some chops from Elias as the villains take over. Something off the top bangs up Jey’s knee and it’s off to Shane for some elbows to the new target. Bryan comes in to add a running dropkick to the knee. Jey gets shoved off the top for a hard crash into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Jey in trouble and Elias slamming him down for some near falls. An enziguri finally takes Shane down so Reigns can come in to clean house. Reigns fires off clotheslines in the corner to keep Bryan in trouble but an Elias distraction lets Bryan get in a kick to the ribs. Rowan comes in so Elias immediately tags himself in, much to Rowan’s annoyance. A jumping knee to the face gives Elias two, followed by an elbow from Rowan as we take a break.

Back again with Elias getting caught in a Samoan drop so Jimmy can come back in to pick up the pace. Bryan misses a superkick but all of his teammates take one, followed by Jey tagging himself in for some double superkicks. Everything breaks down and Rowan knocks Jimmy to the floor. Reigns comes off the steps with a Superman Punch to Rowan, leaving Jimmy to take the Coast to Coast for the pin at 19:12.

Rating: C-. Gotta keep Shane strong, just in case being the top heel in the company isn’t enough. This one is a lot less annoying than Balor taking a fall though as Shane has a brighter present than Andrade and possibly even a better future. As much as I cringe saying that, at least Shane vs. Miz should be done on Sunday, a mere six and a half months after it started.

Post match Miz comes in and cleans house with a chair but Shane escapes unscathed.

Here’s this week’s Firefly Fun House, which seems to be the start of Wyatt’s return to the ring.

Ember Moon says she’ll risk it all to win it all.

Bayley says Sunday is a chance to show what she can be.

Pay per view rundown, which doesn’t look bad.

Asuka/Kairi Sane vs. Sonya Deville/Mandy Rose

The IIconics are on commentary but before the match, Paige officially names Asuka and Sane…the Kabuki Warriors. The fans don’t care in the slightest so here are Mandy and Sonya to make fun of the name with some Royal Baby jokes. After Mandy is Ms. Money in the Bank, they’re coming after the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Asuka (not sure if she’s Kabuki or the Warrior) hits a running hip attack on Sonya to start and Sane adds a kick to the face and we take a break.

Back with Sane getting two off a crossbody to Rose, who nails a Kiss of the Rose to take over. Deville’s running knee gets two but Mandy misses a running boot in the corner. It’s back to Asuka to clean house with the Asuka Lock getting broken up by Sonya. That’s enough for Sonya to come back in for some kicks to the chest and a spinebuster. Mandy wants the pin though, allowing Asuka to roll her up for the fast pin at 8:46.

Rating: D+. This show is dragging and this was another case of the same. The ending was a quick one though and a way to make Sonya think that she might have made the wrong decision by letting Mandy have the spot. At the same time, Kabuki Warriors? They really spent time and came up with that?

Video on Lars Sullivan.

Lars Sullivan has nothing to say.

Kevin Owens can’t wait to interview Kofi Kingston and isn’t worried about the rest of the New Day. He talks about the various things he could do to hurt Kofi but New Day’s entrance cuts him off.

We come back from a break with Kofi sitting in the KO Show chairs with no Owens in sight. Kofi says he accepted an invitation to come onto the show and asks where Owens is. Owens pops up on screen to say that Kofi is on his own for the first time in eleven years. After he loses the title, reality sets in. That reality is that Kofi doesn’t win the title without New Day and on Sunday, he’s facing the most dangerous man in WWE. We see a video on Owens rising to the top of WWE, starting with laying out John Cena on his first night on the main roster.

Owens finally comes out but stops in the aisle, meaning Kofi charges out to go after him. Cue Sami Zayn to jump Kofi from behind, I guess confirming that the Usos only count as one Wild Card entry, because WWE STILL CAN’T MAKE SENSE OUT OF THIS STUPID RULE! Woods runs in for a failed save attempt so Owens shouts about how he has help and Kofi doesn’t. The Cannonball misses and the Helluva Kick only hits rope. Trouble in Paradise takes Sami down and Kofi shouts at Owens to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. It felt like they had been on tour for a long time and now they’re just running on fumes. Tonight’s show actually felt long for a change and that hasn’t been the case for Smackdown lately. The lack of a major focus on the ladder matches helped though as I’m liking the Kofi vs. Owens story more and more every week. They’ve got a little something with Kofi being on his own and Owens knows just how to exploit it. Not a very good show here, but it could have been worse. Oh and they still can’t count to five (spare me about the Usos being one Wild Card as that would be stretching it even for WWE).

Results

Andrade b. Finn Balor, Randy Orton and Ali – Hammerlock DDT to Balor

Shane McMahon/Rowan/Daniel Bryan/Elias b. Roman Reigns/Usos – Coast to Coast to Jimmy

Kabuki Warriors b. Mandy Rose/Sonya Deville – Rollup to Rose

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

So here’s one of those things I never, ever thought I would live to see. Back in 1986, a wrestler named Tom Magee came to WWE. He was from Canada (a good place for a wrestler), stood about 6’5 and looked like he was carved out of stone. Throw in a martial arts background and powerlifting experience and how could he not be a smash hit?

Well he wasn’t very good. However, the look alone and his athletic background kept him around the WWF for years, though he never rose very high. You might be wondering how someone could stay around on just potential alone, and the answer is that isn’t exactly the case. There was also an infamous match with Bret Hart, where Magee allegedly looked like a star. The reason it is so infamous is that it never saw the light of day….until now. The match was taped for TV but never aired due to a promise to Bret, so it’s a full on WWF TV match, complete with commentary.

Thanks to the magic of technology (and Bret’s assistant finding the tape and being given permission to sell it to WWE), we have the match on the WWE Network. Throw in a documentary because of course WWE has one and I give you something I never actually thought I would see.

I’ll spare you the discussion of various people (mainly Canadians) recapping the story and how it was mainly Hart being the real star. Kassiuh Ohno gets in a great line with “They thought they were looking at their next World Champion. It was just the wrong guy.” They certainly don’t bury Magee, but they make it clear that he wasn’t the best in the world. The discussion about the match being this urban legend that almost no one has ever seen is kind of amazing.

Magee himself even shows up and seems to be a rather positive guy which is rather nice to see. He’s happy that the match came back and hopes people enjoy it. It’s really cool that he doesn’t come off as jaded here as it seems wrestling was just something that he did at one point in his life. Both Hart and Magee say they would watch it again if they had the chance. Funny they should say that.

Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee

Date: October 7, 1986

Location: War Memorial, Rochester, New York

Attendance: 8,200

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan

Joined in progress (I’ll take what I can get) with Bret holding a headlock as Jimmy Hart is rather pleased from the floor. Magee fights up and my goodness his back is HUGE. A cartwheel into a standing backflip gives the crowd something to cheer for and it’s an armdrag into an armbar to put Bret down. Back up and Magee does it again as Heenan insists that he is NOT worried about Magee sticking around.

Bret fights up again and Magee moonsaults over Bret out of the corner, setting up a pair of dropkicks to put him on the floor. Even Heenan is impressed and Hart takes a breather on the floor. Back in and Bret grabs the atomic drop as Monsoon needles Heenan about Paul Orndorff being a Benedict Arnold. A legdrop to the back of the head keeps Magee down but he gets in a sunset flip for a breather.

The backbreaker cuts Magee off again though and the middle rope elbow (with feet out instead of knees under as Bret is better known for) gets no cover cover. Instead Magee gets up and whips him chest first into the buckle (you knew that was coming), setting up a rollup for two. Another dropkick misses though and Bret sends him outside for some yelling from Jimmy. Back in and Magee slips out of a suplex and grabs an O’Connor roll for the upset at 7:48.

Rating: C+. So that’s that. The match is far from a classic but for someone who seemed a bit limited in the ring (as Magee was since he was only 28 here and had never wrestled on this kind of a stage), it was certainly watchable. That being said, this was almost ALL Bret who was doing the heavy lifting and walking Magee through the match. I don’t mean that as an insult as Bret is one of the best of all time and has carried a lot of people over the years. It’s a completely fine, if not pretty good match, but to call it a classic or some game changer is a bit much.

Magee certainly had talent and was an athletic freak, but it seems that anyone who thought he was the next big thing was just looking at the surface. He looks like Kerry Von Erich, though a lot of people have had that kind of a physique over the years. Magee needed more time in the ring and some good coaching to get somewhere, but for what we had here, it was easy to see why the company thought so much of him. It’s definitely worth seeing just for the sake of history, though I wouldn’t expect some kind of classic.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 13, 2019
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Renee Young, Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re over in England this week for a taped show, which happens to be the go home show for Money in the Bank. I’m not sure what we’re going to be seeing this week but odds are we’ll be getting a match between the people involved in Sunday’s ladder matches. Oh and at least four people from Smackdown, because the Wild Card Rule is a mess. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Miz for MizTV top open things up. He talks about how important Money in the Bank is for the future but there is something else we need to get out of the way. That would be Miz’s match with Shane McMahon, when they will be locked in a cage. Miz promises to win and then brings out Roman Reigns as his guest. Reigns doesn’t think much of his Money in the Bank opponent Elias, who has never actually done anything in this company. That sounds good to Miz, who talks about Reigns’ movie career and suggests a buddy comedy.

Reigns doesn’t like it because that sounds like the old Miz. He wants to talk to the new Miz, who chased Shane McMahon and Elias out of the arena with a chair last week. After seeing a clip of that chase, Miz talks about getting some respect after thirteen years around here. Last week he brought the fight, which is what he is going to do to the daddy’s boy on Sunday. Shane is going to go down faster than his dad did to a Superman Punch.

This brings out Shane to say that he is still the boss and therefore, MizTV is over. Cue Bobby Lashley and Elias to attack from behind and join Shane in the aisle. Actually let’s get a referee out here, as the show opens with a fifteen minute talking segment, Shane McMahon, and an impromptu match.

Elias/Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns/The Miz

Shane is at ringside. Miz hammers on Elias to start and gets two off an early Reality Check. It’s off to Reigns, sending Elias bailing to the floor. Back in and the good guys clean house, with Miz hitting alternating YES Kicks to both of them. Lashley picks Miz up and tries a powerbomb but settles for a Downward Spiral.

We take a break and come back with Shane choking Miz on the ropes, allowing Elias to hit an Old School Meteora for two. Lashley’s delayed vertical suplex has Miz in more trouble but he DDTs Elias to get a breather. The hot tag is cut off by Lashley though and Miz is still down. Lashley misses a charge into the post but Shane pulls Reigns off the apron and sends him into the steps for the DQ at 11:08.

Rating: D+. Just a tag match here though at least they kept it a little shorter than they did before. That being said, just having Reigns around isn’t going to be enough to fix the ratings woes as this was the same main event style tag match that they run ever week, albeit with Shane interfering. It was watchable, but nothing that they haven’t before.

Post match the brawl is on until Miz cleans house with a chair.

We get a long video on Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles, looking at a comparison of the two paths they took to get here. Rollins rose up the ranks and has been successful everywhere he has gone. Styles on the other hand started in the dying days of WCW, then did something else for a long time, and was in WWE to show how great he really was. Seth defeating Brock Lesnar while AJ failed is the big difference, with AJ wanting to prove that he can win the big one on Raw.

We look at Braun Strowman nearly murdering Sami Zayn last week. How Sami survived that and appeared on Smackdown the next night still hasn’t been explained.

Strowman says he regrets that the trash compactor didn’t turn Sami into a cube. No one can stop him from becoming the Monster in the Bank again. An assistant comes in to say Shane wants to talk to Strowman. Did Strowman just admit to attempted murder?

Post break, Sami is pleading his case to Shane when Strowman comes in. Sami thinks he deserves something for what happened last week, like Strowman’s Money in the Bank spot. He’ll even fight for it tonight. That sounds good to Shane, who removes Strowman from his match against Drew McIntyre and makes it Sami vs. Strowman, falls count anywhere, for the spot in the ladder match. Strowman promises to eat Sami alive and fear sets in.

Mojo Rawley vs. Apollo Crews

Crews would be your fourth Smackdown name, assuming you count Shane (Vince had to write him off as part of the Wild Card Rule last week and his profile on WWE.com says Smackdown so I’d think he counts.). Some stomping in the corner has Rawley in trouble to start but a flip from Crews tweaks his knee. Crews says he can go and gets his leg taken out, allowing Rawley to yell a lot. The running right hand in the corner sets up the Alabama Slam to give Rawley the pin at 1:13. So he screams a lot and paints his face. That’s the best they can come up with?

Alexa Bliss complains about her luggage being lost because she’s a celebrity. Nikki Cross, now sounding completely sane, comes up to ask if anything is wrong. Bliss doesn’t know how Cross grew up in a place like this and could use someone to talk to. Cross didn’t think anyone had noticed her being here in four weeks so Bliss spills her guts about her recent issues. She can’t wrestle tonight without her gear, so Cross gets the chance instead.

And now for the show’s centerpiece: a double contract signing! Lacey Evans, Charlotte (that’s five) and Becky Lynch all come out for the signings with the fans being behind the champ. Becky talks about how great it is to be back in London before promising that Lacey will crumble under the pressure of the Man being on her neck.

Charlotte talks about Becky’s big mouth getting her in trouble again and how it’s always been her issues. Lacey complains about Becky not wearing the proper clothing to such a formal occasions. This isn’t a fight in a barn. Who wears a camisole and leather pants to a barn fight? Becky laughs it off and signs, leaving Charlotte to talk over the BECKY TWO BELTS chants. She finds this hilarious and Becky’s confidence can’t hide her jealousy. On Sunday, Becky will bow down to the Queen.

Charlotte signs and Lacey says the WWE needs a lady to show them the way. Lacey says Becky can “continue to pretend to swing around something that she doesn’t have” and it’s not going to be enough to take out two real ladies. Becky offers her a free shot as Becky signs. The table is shoved aside and the fight is on with Lacey getting caught in the Disarm-Her. Charlotte breaks it up with a big boot and a double powerbomb puts Becky through the table. Both titles are held up for a pretty good visual.

That’s the second contract signing in three weeks. Is that really the best thing that they can come up with? It’s not like it’s some brilliant trope that you never see anywhere else. They’re just sitting there trading shots at each other. Do they really have nothing better to do than the contract signing? Just have them yell at each other on stage or something for the sake of a little change of pace.

Baron Corbin vs. Ricochet

Ricochet starts with the flips, including one over Corbin to set up a springboard crossbody. Corbin heads outside so Ricochet kicks him in the face and hits the moonsault off the middle rope. Back in and a heck of a clothesline drops Ricochet as we take a break. We come back with Ricochet trying more flips until running into Deep Six.

Ricochet spins around into a DDT for two but the 630 misses. Instead he settles for a hurricanrana and a standing shooting star for two, with a rather big surprise at the kickout. Corbin hits End of Days for the pin at 9:31. Graves: “You may not like it but you have to accept it.” The WWE booking philosophy ladies and gentlemen.

Rating: D+. Graves’ line at the end is great and sums up Corbin quite well. He’s winning more and more big matches despite not exactly being thrilling, while Ricochet’s only win as of late has been a pin over perennial midcarder Robert Roode. I know we’re going to get Corbin as World Champion at some point and I kind of wish we could just get it over with already so the nightmare can be real.

Post match Corbin pulls out a ladder but Ricochet shoves him off.

Rey Mysterio says Samoa Joe crossed the line by yelling at his son last week. Cesaro comes in and asks when Raw became bring your kid to work day. Well Shane was first a referee in 1988 so somewhere around then? Cesaro says Dominic looks more like Joe than Rey because he’s a foot taller, so is Dominic even Rey’s kid? The fight is on as I wonder how many more people we can accuse of being Dominic’s father.

We get a long video on Roman Reigns, the same one we saw last week on Smackdown.

AJ says he’s ready to win on Raw and make Monday Night Rollins the House that AJ Styles built.

Naomi vs. Nikki Cross vs. Natalya vs. Dana Brooke

During the entrances, everyone, including Bliss, gets to talk about how important winning MITB would be. Cross is her usual fired up self during her entrance. Bliss comes out for commentary so Corey can lose his mind again. It’s a brawl to start with Naomi hitting a Bubba Bomb on Dana, leaving Nikki to tie Natalya in the ring skirt for the forearms. Naomi knocks the two of them down and we take a break. Back with Dana’s handspring elbow getting elbowed in the back so Natalya can put on the surfboard. Nikki goes up top to dive onto it but Naomi shoves her down and breaks it up herself.

Brooke and Natalya get together and double gorilla press Naomi but Nikki comes back in with something like the Rings of Saturn on Naomi, plus some screaming. This time Natalya makes the save so Naomi gives her the split legged moonsault for two as Brooke makes her own save. Hang on though as we now have a ladder set up at ringside, with Nikki spearing Natalya underneath it. Brooke dives onto the other three but Nikki pops up and takes her down. Back in and Nikki’s hanging swinging neckbreaker finishes Natalya at 9:20.

Rating: C-. Not terrible here and it’s nice to see Nikki win, though I could go for her being in the ladder match over Natalya. That being said, we can’t do that because Natalya is a veteran and that means she needs to be around every single time. Naomi was rather energetic here, though I don’t give her much of a chance to win on Sunday.

Sami rants about Braun being part of the toxic fantasies around here because everyone wants to run through their problems. It’s better to be right than strong though, which is why Sami will figure something out tonight.

Cesaro vs. Rey Mysterio

During the entrances, Samoa Joe says Rey is the one who crossed the line by bringing his son into WWE. On Sunday, he hopes he sees Rey and Dominic. Rey starts fast with the short hurricanrana and a better headscissors out of the corner. Cesaro grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but Rey winds up on his shoulders.

Another headscissors tries to take Cesaro to the floor but he lands on his feet….with Rey still on his shoulders. The third headscissors sends Rey into the barricade but Cesaro is right back with a pair of swings into the barricade to knock Rey silly. There’s a one armed apron superplex for two more and we take a break.

Back with Rey reversing a suplex into a DDT and speeding things back up. The spinning faceplant sets up la majistral for two and Cesaro is rocked. The 619 is countered into the Swing but Cesaro misses the Swiss19. A Code Red gives Rey two of his own but the Neutralizer is reversed into a headscissors. That means the 619 into the top rope splash to finish Cesaro at 10:40.

Rating: B. Best match of the night by a mile here as both guys were allowed to show off a bunch of their rather impressive stuff. It’s a fine move to have Rey get built up for his title shot on Sunday, though Cesaro’s latest singles push is already starting to falter, which tends to be the case every single time.

We recap the Usos tormenting the Revival over the last two weeks.

The Revival is sick of the Usos tormenting them and it stops now.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House but Bray is nowhere to be seen but pops up from behind a table. Rabbity is seen in a chair with a bandage over his eye as Bray talks about having a secret. It’s almost time to show the world what he has been working on, but he’s going to need the help of all his Fireflies.

The cheering warms his soul, but there is still a lot of darkness in his noggin. This time though, he has learned how to control it. Bray gets a lot more sinister and asks if we want to see his secret. He turns to the door and we cut to some rather creepy images of what looks like a bunch of toys, and Bray morphs into something like an evil clown with his hair down. Bray, in a dark voice: “Yeowy wowwy.” Well that worked, though you need to see it to get the full effect. I’m not sure how well it works in an arena, but these are great.

We look back at the contract signing.

Money in the Bank rundown.

Seth Rollins says it is personal with AJ now. We see a match between the two of them from 2006 (which isn’t fifteen years ago like Seth says) at NWA No Limits, where Seth says his family got to see him. Now it’s time to show what he can do as the backbone of Raw, but now he isn’t looking up at AJ anymore. Now it’s AJ looking up at him.

Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn

Falls Count Anywhere with Braun’s Money in the Bank spot on the line. Braun starts fast and rips Sami’s hoodie off before sending him outside. That means the running shoulder so Sami bails into the crowd. A beer to Braun’s face lets Sami run even more and they make it to the concourse. Some trashcan shots to the head just annoy Braun, who throws Sami into a column for two.

Cue Baron Corbin with a chair to the back plus some trashcan shots to put Strowman down. A belly to back suplex puts Strowman through a merchandise table so Sami can get two. Strowman is back up and sends Corbin into a wall as we take a break. Back with Strowman in control again and throwing Sami into a barricade in the arena. The threat of a ladder sends Sami bailing to the back again but this time it’s Drew McIntyre jumping Strowman.

A DDT onto a chair gives Sami two so Strowman gets up and hits McIntyre with an ice chest. Sami crawls away and goes through a curtain to get back into the arena. Strowman follows and drops a bunch of ladders on Sami but here are Corbin and McIntyre to beat Strowman up. A ladder to the face puts Strowman down and the two of them suplex him through a ladder. The Claymore is enough to give Sami the pin at 14:36.

Rating: C+. This was a nice garbage brawl with Sami having to come up with something to survive against the monster. I can go for having Sami in the ladder match as he’s a more interesting candidate than Strowman, who isn’t likely to win the title anytime soon. The interference was a good idea and I liked the match well enough, with the right decision helping a lot.

Post match Strowman gets up so Corbin throws Sami to him. A chokeslam through the announcers’ table leaves Sami laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. After the last two weeks, this was a major relief and it still wasn’t that good of a show. They kept things moving and they even had some stuff happen, but most importantly it wasn’t a show with a lot of explanations or meaningless matches that didn’t change anything. Those promos during the show helped a lot as well and were a lot more effective than having the wrestlers come out and talk where they take forever to say something. Money in the Bank is looking a little better, but it might just be that Raw wasn’t as much of a slog this week.

Results

The Miz/Roman Reigns b. Elias/Bobby Lashley via DQ when Shane McMahon interfered

Mojo Rawley b. Apollo Crews – Alabama Slam

Baron Corbin b. Ricochet – End of Days

Nikki Cross b. Natalya, Naomi and Dana Brooke – Hanging swinging neckbreaker to Natalya

Rey Mysterio b. Cesaro – Top rope splash

Sami Zayn b. Braun Strowman – Claymore from Drew McIntyre

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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