IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #34
Date: December 7, 2018
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Rich Bocchini

Last week was a big show and now we have the final event before it’s off to Miami. In this case that means we have the debut of Rush, a big star from Mexico. It’s hard to say what else we might be getting around here, but the good part around here is how you’re almost guaranteed to get at least something worth seeing. Let’s get to it.

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

Earlier today Simon Gotch arrived and was chased by Tom Lawlor. Ricky Martinez shows up to jump Lawlor but didn’t get anywhere.

Opening sequence.

The Hart Foundation went to the Pro Wrestling Tees store and rather like the Hart Foundation shirt. As they should, though it’s not the flashiest thing in the world.

Jason Cade vs. Teddy Hart

Hart has Brian Pillman Jr. with him. Cade isn’t interested in a handshake and strikes away to start instead. A running neckbreaker puts Teddy down and the fans aren’t happy. Teddy gets out of trouble with a Code Red and a Project Ciampa, followed by a bearhug, which actually works despite the sizes. Cade gets planted with a hammerlock DDT, followed by a top rope moonsault elbow (cool) for two.

Since you don’t sell in a match like this, Cade is back up with a tiger driver and a handspring Codebreaker. Cade even goes outside and smacks Pillman around before sending Hart into the barricade. There’s a legdrop off the barricade to Hart’s back but a frog splash hits knees back inside. The electric chair Backstabber keeps Cade in trouble to the point where we even get some old school begging off.

The Stu Hart Special (looked like a suplex flipped forward into a spinebuster) gives Teddy two and Pillman (DANG he looks like his dad here) is shouting at the crowd. Hart hits a piledriver for two more but Cade is right back with some rolling vertical suplexes. A Samoan driver gets another two so Hart pops back up with a super Canadian Destroyer. Another one puts Cade away at 8:41.

Rating: C+. This is all about entertaining spots and no kind of story or flow, which is perfectly fine. Sometimes you need something fun and that’s what you got here. Hart can do the big spots as well as anyone else and Cade is a very talented guy in his own right. I had a good time with this and that’s all that matters in a popcorn match.

An upset Salina de la Renta rants on the phone when Konnan comes up to brag about the Lucha Bros retaining last week. Next up is the World Title, which Konnan will take himself in Miami. After that, he’s coming for Salina. Singing ensues.

We look back at Lawlor and Martinez from earlier.

Konnan finds Martinez down and dripping blood from the head before dropping a padlock next to him.

Marko Stunt vs. Ace Romero

Stunt is about 5’2 and Romero weighs about 400lbs. Tony: “Who in the world booked this?” Stunt dances to Romero’s music before the (literal) squashing can begin. He only comes up to Ace’s chest so they’re definitely going for the freak show style here. Stunt can’t even get his arms halfway around on a waistlock attempt and a chop to the chest just annoys Romero. A running dropkick sends Stunt flying into the corner and Romero goes up (oh dear), only to miss a legdrop onto the apron. I never would have bet on seeing him try a spot like that and the landing looked dangerous.

Stunt hits a suicide dive but Romero CRUSHES HIM against the barricade in a good visual. Back in and the big elbow gets two but Stunt gets fired up. Some running dropkicks stagger Romero and an enziguri makes it even worse. A springboards backsplash to a leaning over Romero gets two and he tosses Stunt into the air, only to get pulled down into a Codebreaker.

Rich brings up a good point: Marko has to make sure that Romero doesn’t fall on him. That’s not usually something that applies but it’s accurate here. Romero takes him up top but Stunt manages a VERY impressive sunset bomb (Rich: “HE BROKE GRAVITY!”) to pop the heck out of the crowd. Marko heads up but his high crossbody is countered into a Black Hole Slam for the pin at 8:41.

Rating: C+. This was fun. That’s the first thing that came to my mind and I’m rather surprised by how much I liked this. Normally this is the kind of match that would make me roll my eyes but I had a good time with it and they didn’t make it seem stupid (for the most part). That’s very hard to do but they managed to pull it off. Well done, and Stunt is slowly starting to change my mind.

We run down next week’s card. Maxwell Jacob Friedman is officially out of the ladder match due to his elbow injury so it’s now a four way match for the vacant Middleweight Title.

We look back at Shane Strickland losing his World Title match two weeks ago and snapping as a result.

Strickland is yelling at CEO Court Bauer (the fact that I have to point out his job title because he’s not around that often is a good thing) behind closed doors and Bauer doesn’t sound happy.

Miami Control Center with both card rundowns.

Salina has had it with Konnan. Low Ki says they came to him with respect and this is what they got. Ricky Martinez comes up, spitting blood into a trashcan. Ki and Salina leave him there after being told it was Konnan.

Rush vs. Sammy Guevara

This is Rush’s (pronounced Roosh) MLW debut and Sammy’s AAA Cruiserweight Title isn’t on the line. Rush’s theme music sounds like it’s being hummed to start but he definitely has some star power. Rush shoves him away to start and dives over a monkey flip attempt. They both try dropkicks and flip up to a standoff, which is enough for Rush to take the shirt off. He throws it all the way onto the lighting grid, which is quite the arm. Rush takes him into the corner and stomps away, followed by a single kick to the face.

That’s enough for a pose ala Andrade Cien Almas (both from the same stable so it makes sense). Guevara knocks him down but stops to pose a little too much, with Tony calling out him for not being serious enough. They fight outside with Rush dropping him onto a table, which doesn’t break. Rush whips him with an electrical cord and gets in a chair shot to keep Sammy in trouble.

Back in and Rush nearly decks the referee and Guevara hits a running shoulder in the corner. Sammy sends him outside for a running flip suicide dive, followed by a springboards missile dropkick for two back inside. They botch what looked to be a standing Spanish Fly so Rush catches him on the top with a release superplex for two of his own. An exchange of superkicks goes to Rush and he headbutts the heck out of Sammy for another near fall. Guevara’s shooting star hits knees so Rush hits a double underhook piledriver (Jay Driller) for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: B-. Oh yeah they have something with Rush. He comes off as a star and has a presence that almost no one around here has, which isn’t something you can teach. Rush is the kind of guy you want on your show because he makes it feel bigger, which is hard to do on a smaller show like this. He’s a good talent to have and someone that hopefully gets a lot of attention going forward.

Post match Rush grabs a mic and says (with subtitles) that he’s here for the rivalry with LA Park, which is quite a big deal in Mexico. Works for me, though I hope Park can carry his side.

After a quick preview for next week’s show, we see Ki and Salina leaving (How are they not gone yet?) and Lawlor chases after them to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good show here as they seem to actually have found a way to bridge out Lawlor vs. Low Ki all the way to February. This company has managed to surprise me more than once and that’s not something I can say very often. That makes for a fun show week to week and that’s what we got here. Nice work again here, which is becoming the norm.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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 11, 2018
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the final show before TLC and the card is actually stacked. This week we have a rap battle between the Usos and the Bar, a Wrestlemania rematch between Asuka and Charlotte and, surprisingly enough, Daniel Bryan vs. Mustafa Ali. That’s a good thing for 205 Live fans but I’m not sure what to expect. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Asuka vs. Charlotte and previews Ali vs. Bryan.

Here’s Bryan for an opening chat. Last week he called the fans sheep who were destroying the world with their endless consumption. With some more thought on it though, he’s decided that they’re really all parasites. These fans take and they take and give nothing in return, especially here in Vegas. They took from the old Daniel Bryan over and over and that’s done for good.

Bryan quotes author William Gaddis (who Bryan says he’s discussed this with, even though Gaddis died about twenty years ago) by saying “stupidity is the deliberate cultivation of ignorance” and that sums up Vegas perfectly. Cue Ali to cut him off but Bryan won’t let him introduce himself. Bryan tells him to get in and introduces him, saying that the fans won’t give Ali a fair chance due to being xenophobic. These people don’t deserve to see a match between then because they’re FICKLE, FICKLE, FICKLE!

Ali wants to know what happened to Bryan. The old Bryan would want to fight, which is what Ali wants. Bryan: “What kind of car do you drive?” Ali drives an SUV, so Bryan calls him a small little man who doesn’t need such a big car. It’s because of his wife and two children, so Bryan slaps him in the face and calls him ignorant. Bryan loads up another one but gets forearmed in the face. A hurricanrana sends Bryan to the floor for a big flip dive. Here’s a referee to have our match now.

Daniel Bryan vs. Mustafa Ali

Joined in progress with Bryan kneeing him in the ribs and putting on a surfboard for some ripping at the nose. The YES Kicks (with some fort of chanting that isn’t YES) have Ali in trouble but he gets in a kick to the face of his own for two. Ali follows him to the floor but gets posted to put him in even more trouble.

Back from a break with Ali caught in the YES Lock and hanging on for a good while until he makes the rope. Bryan puts him in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the ribs but Ali flips out of a belly to back superplex. Ali gets two off a tornado DDT but misses the 054. Bryan wraps the leg around the post a few times and a chop block makes things even worse. A heel hook makes Ali tap at 10:03.

Rating: C+. Ali held his own there and it’s not like losing to Bryan hurts him at all. He got to hit a bunch of his big stuff and that’s the kind of attention that he’s long since earned. I really do want to see him get the Cruiserweight Title at some point, but if this is the start of a move to the main shows, I think I can live with it.

Post match Bryan puts the hook on again, this time on the stage. Just to prove the point you see.

TLC rundown.

Here’s New Day, with Big E. in a suit, to host the rap battle. Back from a break with everyone in the ring so New Day can set up the match on Sunday. Big E. demands no funny business from the Bar….who proceed to do their own version of Ice Ice Baby (Ice Ice Sheamy). Cesaro: “Word to your mother.” And they even drop the mics.

The Usos rap about being ripped off last time and how they’ve already beaten the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles so now it’s time to take care Bebop and Rocksteady. They reference Cesaro greasing Sheamus’ mohawk and the turnbuckle destroying Cesaro’s teeth last year. The Usos promise to win the titles on Sunday but have to send the Bar to the floor. The brawl is on with the Bar standing tall. There were some good lines in there and for a comedy segment, that’s all you can ask.

Asuka admits that Charlotte was ready for her because she stopped kicking. This Sunday, Asuka won’t stop kicking and tonight, Charlotte won’t be ready.

Here’s Miz, with the Best in the World trophy. It’s Shane McMahon’s week to have custody but Miz needs to talk to him about something and this is the only way to get Shane out here. Miz even begs on one knee for Shane to come talk to him. Shane does come out so Miz again begs him to be his partner. It’s starting to get weird, but Miz says that this is important. Miz wants to show Shane what this means….so let’s have a referee out here for a tag match.

Vegas Boys vs. Shane McMahon/The Miz

They’re named Chip and Chad and jump Shane from behind. Shane sends we’ll say Chip to the floor and hammers away on Chad, who has a Hart Foundation skull on his trunks, before mostly botching a floatover DDT. A triangle choke makes Chad tap at 1:29.

Post break the Vegas Boys invoice Paige for $5000 each, as promised by Miz. Paige throws them out.

Here’s Randy Orton for a chat, but first he has to grab a chair. Orton says you need a good chair and shows us some clips of him abusing Rey Mysterio with a chair over the last few weeks. On Sunday, everyone is going to be worried about TLC, but everyone needs to be worried about RK….and here’s Mysterio with a chair of his own to lay Orton out.

Becky Lynch is asked about how much of an advantage she could get if Asuka and Charlotte destroy each other tonight. She says there’s no advantage in a TLC match but fighting against the odds is what she does. Tonight, she’ll be at ringside scouting the two of them. On Sunday, they’ll see the chaos when the Man comes around.

Samoa Joe/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy/Rusev

Hold on though as here are R-Truth and Carmella for a DANCE BREAK, because that joke isn’t old yet in WWE’s minds. Nakamura uses the distraction to jump Hardy from behind and it’s quickly off to Joe. That means Hardy gets sent hard into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Joe cranking on both of Hardy’s arms before charging into Hardy’s elbow in the corner. The Whisper in the Wind drops Joe and it’s off to Rusev to knee Nakamura in the ribs. The running shoulder in the corner sets up a spinwheel kick, followed by the Machka Kick for two. Hardy dives onto Joe, leaving Nakamura to charge into the jumping superkick to give Rusev the pin at 7:02. Lana is VERY happy with the win.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere but it did its job of advancing Joe vs. Hardy. At the same time though, I have a bad feeling that it’s going to be used to set up Rusev vs. Nakamura for Sunday, which would be the thirteenth match on the card. The match should take place, but let it be a big featured Smackdown match instead of something else on Sunday.

An annoyed Shane yells at Miz and takes the trophy for everything Miz did tonight. Miz loves the McMahon aggression and says that after everything he’s done, he was never considered the best in the world until Shane came along. Shane walks away from the offer of a handshake. This gets dumber and dumber every week.

Lars Sullivan video.

Video on Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles.

AJ Styles is ready for TLC and counting down the days, hours and minutes until he gets his hands on Bryan. This is the real Daniel Bryan, but there can be only one AJ Styles.

Asuka vs. Charlotte

Before the match, Charlotte promises a preview for Sunday. Becky comes out to watch, as promised. Asuka goes for a kneebar almost immediately before throwing Charlotte HARD with a release German suplex. Charlotte kicks her down and tries the moonsault, which is countered into the Asuka Lock. That’s broken up with a drop down onto the back but Asuka grabs it again.

Charlotte gets out a second time and we take a break after a hot start. Back with Charlotte getting caught in an Octopus Hold, which she switches into a triangle choke. Charlotte punches and powerbombs her way out so it’s time for the Figure Four. Asuka turns it over so Charlotte goes right back to the knee in a smart move.

The spear is countered with a Codebreaker and Asuka starts firing off kicks, as the leg is just fine. Now the spear connects for two so Charlotte goes up again. The second moonsault attempt is blocked and the Figure Four attempt is countered into the Asuka Lock. Charlotte fights to the ropes and they fall outside, where Charlotte finds a kendo stick for the DQ at 15:23.

Rating: B. Good match here with both of them hitting everything they were going for here, including the big, hard shots and holds. They made it feel like a big showdown and that’s exactly what you needed in a match like this. I’m fine with the non-finish as you don’t want to take away the momentum from either of them before Sunday.

Post match Charlotte beats Asuka up some more and gets a swing at Becky. This doesn’t go well with Lynch, who sends Charlotte into the steps and unloads on her with stick shots. Asuka gets the stick away and unloads on both of them before posing with the stick to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I think I’ve firmly established how much better this show is than Raw and why that’s the case every week so I’ll spare you from another repeat. They did a nice job of setting up Sunday and that’s what mattered most. I mean, I still don’t need to see more matches added to the card and the Shane/Miz stuff is still annoying, but there’s more good than bad here and I want to see what happens on Sunday, at least with the Smackdown matches.

Results

Daniel Bryan b. Mustafa Ali – Heel hook

Shane McMahon/The Miz b. Vegas Boys – Triangle choke to Chad

Rusev/Jeff Hardy b. Shinsuke Nakamura/Samoa Joe – Jumping superkick to Nakamura

Asuka b. Charlotte via DQ when Charlotte used a kendo stick

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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

One Night Only: Amped Anthology Part II
Date: September 15, 2017
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Cyrus Fees, Chael Sonnen

You might remember that I did this about a year ago and for some reason I never got around to doing the other three parts. Maybe because the first part wasn’t very good and I really didn’t care that much. These have been on my list for a long time though so I might as well get to them. This is the previously unreleased Global Force Wrestling TV show that never made air because GFW never went anywhere. We’re in full on title tournament mode and this would be episodes 5-8, as with commercials taken out the four hour long episodes equal about three hours. Let’s get to it.

Here’s the original if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of last week’s tournament matches, none of which were anything special. You know, like this entire promotion. A preview for tonight’s matches are included too. Not the worst idea in the world, as always.

The announcers preview the show.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Reno Scum vs. Los Luchas

I remember Scum from Impact and I never quite got it. They weren’t bad but they’re just another heel team. Scum jumps them to start and it’s Adam Thornstowe (partner of Luster the Legend) beating on Phoenix Star (partner of Zokre) in the corner. The double teaming begins with a knee drop and a quickly broken chinlock as Star is already in trouble. Zokre makes a blind tag though and comes in with a springboard crossbody to Adam as the pace picks up in a hurry.

It’s already back to Phoenix, who gets taken down by a running clothesline. Adam comes back in with a slingshot hilo and the neck crank only lasts a few seconds. Instead Adam hits a standing moonsault for two but Star flips out of a belly to back suplex and it’s back to Zokre. The Luchas hit a double 619 on Adam and a handspring kick to the face sends Luster outside. Adam dives onto Zokre and Luster, followed by Phoenix diving onto all three of them. Cyrus brings up a good question: at what point is taking out your own partner not worth the effort?

Back in and a springboard Blockbuster into a Backstabber (cool) has Adam in more trouble with Luster having to make a save. Some dives are broken up so Zokre is tied in the Tree of Woe with Phoenix being Razor’s Edged into him for a unique looking crash. A Death Valley Driver puts Zokre down and it’s a top rope Stomp to Phoenix to give Adam the pin at 9:12.

Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows explain the idea of a thing called the Bullet Club and how they do whatever they want because it’s fun.

Here’s Jeff Jarrett for a chat. He thanks the arena and the wrestlers in the back, because this place is nothing without them. Finally, he thanks the fans as well because they’re the biggest reason any wrestling promotion works. We’re in the middle of several tournaments right now, and names like Shelton Benjamin, the Killer Elite Squad and the Bullet Club will be in some of those tournaments.

This brings out Bobby Roode, so Jarrett takes off the jacket. Roode mocks the fans for the THANK YOU JEFF chants. For what? Messing up TNA and starting another two bit promotion? Nobody cares about this place and Roode already made Killer Kross tap out to advance in the tournament. Jeff says GFW is about competing, so Roode’s next opponent is Eric Young. Cyrus: “They’re both currently in NXT.”

Chris Mordetzky (Chris Master) and Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) have both wrestled around the world and it’s looks and power vs. skill. Chris thinks he’s a top star while Meyers is a role player. Myers isn’t impressed.

Reno Scum is proud of winning and Christina Von Eerie, apparently their manager, wants to talk strategy.

We recap the Jarrett vs. Roode segment.

Roode isn’t sweating Young.

GFW World Title Tournament First Round: Chris Mordetzky vs. Brian Meyers

Cyrus again tells us that Myers is on Smackdown as Curt Hawkins. A power exchange goes to Chris (well duh) and he posts Myers out to the floor. Back in and Chris starts in on the back with a powerslam as Nick Aldis watches to find out who he faces next. The camel clutch goes on and Myers is thrown down for trying to escape.

A hard slap to the face puts Myers down so he slaps Chris right back and they’re both down. Myers makes his comeback with some right hands and a running forearm, followed by a Downward Spiral for two. Chris gets a slow two off a sitout spinebuster but the Adonis Lock is blocked. A spear sends Chris to the floor but he kicks the ropes for a low blow on the way back in. Now the Master Lock can go on to make Myers tap at 8:47.

Rating: D+. This is where the problem comes with GFW. While I can get behind the idea of two unknown teams fighting for the Tag Team Titles, this was Curt Hawkins vs. Chris Masters in a battle of former WWE jobbers. I’ve seen them both for a long time in WWE and I don’t want to see either of them here. It doesn’t help that Myers is just a guy while Master is the EXACT same thing that didn’t work in WWE. What’s the appeal here?

Post match, Chris goes to the back and talks trash to Aldis.

The second episode begins so we hit the opening sequence again.

Another preview.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Misterioso Jr./Cielo vs. Teaze N Sleaze

It’s Kenny Klimax (King) and Juicy Joey (Ryan) and we start with some stripping until it’s Ryan getting armdragged down by Cielo. Jr. comes in for a sunset flip off a Cielo dropkick as the announcers talk about Joey’s infamous suplex. King comes in and gets kicked down into a standing moonsault for two as the masked guys are certainly starting fast here. A Joey distraction lets Kenny get in a cheap shot from behind as the team you’ve actually heard of takes over.

It’s back to Joey for some chest rubbing and Kenny throws in some dancing as Cielo continues to take a pretty weak beating. Joey spends a little too much time posing and charges into a knee, meaning it’s a hot tag to Jr. Everything breaks down with Joey having to break up a cover off a moonsault press. A superkick from Joey sets up the Royal Flush to give Kenny the pin at 6:37.

Rating: D. This didn’t have much time and that’s the best option for the guys in there. King and Ryan are little more than a comedy act and while that’s a good thing to have around, it’s not the most important thing to spend time on. Cielo and Misterioso were fine, but you already have Los Luchas around here and they’re a step or two better.

Video on Shelton Benjamin, who lists off his career resume and amateur background.

We get a tribute to Roddy Piper, who passed away less than a week before this was taped. Jeff Jarrett and Brian Granstaff (the writer/star of Roddy’s last movie, which happened to be about wrestling) come out with Jarrett talking about everything Piper did over the years. Piper would come into a territory at one level and then leave at the main event level. He was supposed to be here tonight but we’re celebrating him instead. Brian talks about all the F bombs that Piper dropped on the set of the Christian film in a funny story.

We see some clips of Piper talking about the movie and see the teaser trailer. Back in the arena, we get a ten bell salute. This was a very nice tribute to Piper and felt like something kind of special, especially with the stuff from the wrestling movie. I’d rather they do this than try to make it into some kind of an angle.

Video on TJ Perkins, of course now known as TJP. He was homeless for awhile as he pursued his dream and now he’s part of the Nex Gen tournament.

The announcers recap the tournaments. Chael is ready to personally do a run-in if that’s what it takes to make Mordetzky champion.

Video on JR Kratos, a muscular indy guy sounds nowhere near as intimidating as you would expect from his name. He’s ready to face a veteran like Shelton.

GFW World Title Tournament First Round: JR Kratos vs. Shelton Benjamin

Kratos forearms him into the corner to start but gets caught with an early Dragon Whip (Not named here as the announcers are too busy praising Shelton. That’s a good idea, but they need to pay more attention.). A quick posting cuts Shelton off though and Kratos gets two off a delayed vertical suplex.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as Shelton fights up with some right hands and the Stinger Splash into a Samoan drop for two. Kratos is right back with a powerslam for the same and a running knee to the face. He takes way long going up though and gets suplexed right back down. Paydirt (still don’t like that move) finishes Kratos at 6:00.

Rating: D. Kratos has a good name and a good look and that’s about it for his major positives. There’s only so much that you can get out of a name like Shelton against a newcomer and the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt. Kratos came off like an inexperienced (though not terrible or anything) rookie and that’s not going to work against a pretty big star like Shelton. Not the worst match by any stretch, but nothing you need to see.

We get a preview for “next week”. That’s not a criticism as this isn’t being presented in its intended format.

Episode seven begins with a video on the Bullet Club vs. the Killer Elite Squad.

The announcers preview things again.

Video on Andrew Everett, who is a heck of a high flier. Jarrett says Everett makes him think of the first time he saw AJ Styles, which is quite the praise.

Nex Gen Title Tournament First Round: Andrew Everett vs. TJ Perkins

The bell rings with Perkins’ music still playing as they want to get moving. Everett hits a dropkick to start but gets headscissored down. Chael brings up Prince Iaukea of all people, praising him as the best moving smaller wrestler in years. Just….stick to getting beaten up in MMA dude. Perkins sends him outside but Everett switches places and hits the springboard shooting star for the first big spot of the match.

Back in and a springboard splash misses but Everett kicks him down for one anyway. Perkins slaps on a quickly broken Black Widow before getting two off a crucifix. There’s a slingshot hilo for some Eddie Guerrero flavor and Perkins stays on the arm. A dropkick to the back gives Perkins two more and we hit the bow and arrow hold. Everett gets in a forearm to the face though and a springboard missile dropkick has Perkins in trouble.

That means a standing shooting star press for two but Perkins dropkicks him out of the air for a breather. Some rolling suplexes look to set up a frog splash, which only hits Everett’s raised knees. A Falcon Arrow sets up the 630 but it takes WAY too long, with Perkins rolling away in more than enough time. Perkins frog splashes the arm and a cross armbreaker makes Everett tap at 10:46.

Rating: B. Match of the night by far here with both guys hitting a bunch of high flying spots over a pretty decent amount of time. Perkins was a bigger deal and a more well rounded worker here though, with the arm work actually playing into the finish. That’s what makes a match like this work so well and Perkins was nailing it here, with Everett more than holding up his end.

Earlier today, the Bullet Club arrived and promised to win tonight.

Earlier today, the Killer Elite Squad was at the hotel and promised to win tonight.

Here’s Bobby Roode with the TNA King of the Mountain Title to complain some more. It was his responsibility to be here for the fans, even though Jeff Jarrett is playing mind games with him. Jeff made him qualify for the World Title tournament so he beat the hometown here Kevin Kross. Now he has to beat the crazy man Eric Young, who only belongs in an insane asylum. This brings out Young to chase Roode off and scream a lot, reminding me of how much I couldn’t stand this version of Young. Roode comes in and the fight is on with Young getting the better of it until referees break it up.

Perkins is proud of his win and Everett comes in to congratulate him. Well thank goodness he was happy with the match and not distraught over being eliminated from the tournament.

Shelton may have a concussion and is on his way to the hospital.

The announcers recap and preview.

Video on Nick Aldis, who has been successful everywhere he’s gone and is ready to be the star.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Killer Elite Squad vs. Bullet Club

The Squad is Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer. It’s Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, with Amber Gallows as the Bullet Babe, for the Club here. The fight starts on the floor (well duh) with the Squad taking over until it’s Archer and Anderson slugging it out inside to officially get things going. A choke suplex and clothesline have Anderson in trouble and it’s off to Smith for a camel clutch.

Anderson fights out and uppercuts his way to freedom but Archer kicks him in the face and drops a leg for two. Smith’s belly to belly gets two and the Squad goes high/low for two more. A missed charge in the corner lets Anderson hit an enziguri and it’s off to Gallows so house can be cleaned.

Some kicks to Archer’s face put him down and Gallows is all fired up. Gallows hits a reverse full nelson slam but walks into a Hart Attack for another near fall. The Killer Bomb (powerbomb/full nelson slam combination) is good for the same with Anderson coming in for the save. Smith and Anderson go to the floor, leaving Archer to miss the moonsault. The Magic Killer gives the Club the win at 9:13.

Rating: C. This was fine for four big, power guys beating each other up for a little while. The Club was white hot at this point so it makes perfect sense to have them win here. At the same time, the Squad is an awesome team who was coming into their own at this point. I could go for more of these two on a bigger stage, though maybe in another year or so.

Here are the final four for the Tag Team tournament:

Bollywood Boyz

Bullet Club

Teaze N Sleaze

Reno Scum

Preview for the final show.

Episode eight opens with a preview for tonight’s show. These things don’t work so well in marathon form.

The Akbars (Ali and Omar) are tired of being discriminated against, including when they were eliminated from the Tag Team Title tournament “last week”. Tonight, they’ll unleash some of that anger.

Los Luchas and Sonjay Dutt are ready for their six man tag.

Akbars/PJ Black vs. Sonjay Dutt/Los Luchas

Ali and Phoenix start things off and it’s an early double 619 to Ali’s head. Sonjay and PJ come in with Black underestimating Dutt’s flipping abilities. A hurricanrana has Black in trouble so he dropkicks Dutt outside where the Akbars can beat on him. Back in and Omar works on the armbar before Black comes in for a chinlock. Dutt fights up and hits a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle, setting up the hot tag off to Phoenix so things can pick up.

Everything breaks down and the Luchas hit some fast dropkicks. A moonsault and a Swanton hit the Akbars, followed by Dutt diving onto Black. The big running flip dives have the villains in even more trouble but Omar hits Zokre with a release fisherman’s suplex. Dutt is back in with a tornado DDT, followed by Phoenix spearing Ali down. Black comes back in with a top rope double stomp to put Phoenix away at 7:56.

Rating: C. Just a fun match with a bunch of people flying around to pop the crowd a few times and that’s a good idea later on in a taping like this. Dutt is an entertaining guy to watch and there’s a reason he was being pushed all the way to the X-Division Title at this point. Good little match here, which is often one of the best things you can do.

Post match the Akbars beat the Luchas down and Black adds a superkick to Dutt.

Video on Nick Aldis, who has become more complete now that he has a child.

Here’s Chael Sonnen in the ring for his Bad Words talking segment. His first guest is the future World Champion, Chris Mordetzky. Chris talks about Sonnen beating British MMA fighter Michael Bisping, so now Mordetzky is going to beat a British wrestler in Nick Aldis. Then after winning the match, he can go to Aldis’ house and tell Nick’s wife Mickie James to make him a steak (Sonnen used the same line to hype a fight). Aldis comes out to say there’s a problem if Chris ever brings up Mickie again. Sonnen: “She doesn’t know how to make steak?” The brawl is on with the Master Lock leaving Aldis laying.

After Aldis is taken out, MMA fighter Phil Baroni is in the crowd so Sonnen insults him, leading to the referees having to hold Baroni back.

Video on Eric Young and Bobby Roode’s history together. They used to be friends and then rivals, but tonight they’re fighting for a shot at the World Title.

Cyrus asks Sonnen about what just happened and gets blown off.

Video on Amber Gallows, who might be in the Women’s Title tournament. Karen Jarrett gets to talk, because….I have no idea actually. Were there no female wrestlers who could talk here?

GFW World Title Tournament First Round: Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young

Roode’s King of the Mountain Title isn’t on the line. They slug it out to start with Young getting the better of it off a backdrop. The fight heads outside with Sonnen talking about Young wearing pink while also being in charge of Sanity in NXT. My goodness the timing is odd here with a mix of original commentary and redone material. Roode dropkicks him off the apron and stops to pose before slapping on a waistlock.

Back up and they run the ropes with neither being able to get anywhere. That means a double clothesline for the double knockdown and it’s time to slug it out again. Young slides between Roode’s legs and hits the belly to belly. The top rope elbow gets two but the piledriver is countered into Roode’s spinebuster.

Roode stays on him with the Crossface but Young is too close to the ropes. A Falcon Arrow gives Roode two more so he yells at the referee, allowing Young to score with a big boot. The piledriver is countered again, this time into a failed Roode Bomb attempt. Young tries a sunset flip but Roode drops down into a cradle with a grab of the rope for the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C+. You had to expect that two people who knew each other this well would have a good match and that’s what they did here. Roode cheating to win fits him perfectly and it’s pretty clear that he’s going to the finals to face Aldis. Young losing is always nice to see, especially when he’s this version, which drove me absolutely up the wall for a long time.

Here are the updated brackets:

Nick Aldis

Chris Mordetzky

Shelton Benjamin

Bobby Roode

In the back, Aldis can’t get to Mordetzky to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Just like last time, this was perfectly watchable but nothing that I’ve going to think about after about ten more minutes. The wrestling was fine, the stories, while few and far between, were acceptable and while commentary wasn’t very good, it certainly wasn’t horrible. The problem is that it’s just not a show you need to see and is more of a curiosity than anything else. Having four straight episodes would seem like a bit much but it actually doesn’t drag at all. It’s fine, but not worth your time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 10, 2018
Location: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

We’re at the go home show for TLC and the question now becomes how bad can things actually get. Tonight is likely going to be focused on the final push towards the bigger matches, even if there isn’t any interest in those bigger matches. In other words, expect another Baron Corbin night as he has to hammer in his power before possibly losing it on Sunday. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Seth Rollins to get things going. He isn’t happy with Dean Ambrose and tonight it’s time to spit some truth. Rollins is tired of hearing Baron Corbin (you and me both brother) talking about things so Corbin can get out here right now. Corbin says his door is always open to a superstar of Rollins’ caliber but Rollins tells him to cut it. Since Rollins has been dealing with Dean Ambrose, he hasn’t had the chance to tell Corbin how much he sucks as General Manager.

Rollins talks about everything Corbin has done wrong, including ruining a team like the Revival in whatever a Lucha House Party Rules match is. If Corbin keeps firing people, is it just going to be him, Lashley and McIntyre out here? Rollins: “That’ll send ratings up.” Or maybe they can have more urination segments. Then there’s BROCK LESNAR, who is never around and hasn’t wrestled on Raw since 2002. Right now, morale and TV ratings are at an all time low and it’s all because of Corbin’s job as boss.

Corbin says he doesn’t care about any of this because he’s in charge. If Rollins isn’t careful, it’s going to get worse for him. Rollins: “I don’t think it can get much worse around here pal.” Corbin talks about becoming permanent GM of Raw on Sunday after Rollins loses his Intercontinental Title. Then it’s time for Rollins’ life to become a nightmare.

Rollins tells him to start doing it tonight so the challenge is on. Actually, if Corbin wants to have a TLC match so badly, let’s do that tonight. Corbin says no so Rollins calls him a coward over and over. That’s eventually enough to get Corbin to agree to the match and it’s going to be for the Intercontinental Title.

I’m of two minds about this. On one hand, it’s a good sign that WWE is acknowledging how much people have been rejecting the show. The problem though is that this isn’t making things better. Having a TLC match is going to be cool, but not if Corbin is involved as he’s a big part of the problem. It’s one thing to admit that something is wrong, but until you do something to fix it long term, the problem is still there.

Post break Rollins says he wants to be a leader and has to take a stand. If he won’t, he doesn’t deserve the title.

Tag Team Titles: Drake Maverick/AOP vs. Chad Gable/Bobby Roode

Maverick and the AOP are defending in a handicap match. Fallout from last week when Roode lost a match he had to win to earn a title shot. Gable has his own robe and is now in regular gear. Akam takes Gable down to start and hands it off to Rezar for a knee to the ribs. Everything breaks down for a few seconds and AOP are knocked to the floor, leaving Maverick to be hiptossed inside. That’s followed by a heck of a toss over the top and we take a break.

Back with Gable in trouble again as even Maverick can get in some shots to the ribs. Maverick runs back over to Akam for a tag but Gable sends him into the corner and makes the hot tag to Roode. House is cleaned for a few moments until everything breaks down. The Super Collider takes Roode down but Gable reverses his into a hurricanrana. The sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combination plants Gable but Maverick wants the pin on Roode. As expected, he takes a little too long posing and gets rolled up to give Roode the pin and the titles at 8:24.

Rating: C-. This feels like part of the course correction that the show seems to be on. Either that or it’s another example of giving the fans a thrill for the sake of making them ignore how bad some of the other things are. Either way, it’s a nice moment and thankfully erases some of the mess from the whole robe situation.

We look back at Dolph Ziggler defeating Drew McIntyre last week, followed by Drew attacking Finn Balor for interfering.

Post break, Roode and Gable are proud of their win and say there hasn’t been much hope as of late. They knew if they put the work in it would be worth it and now they feel GLORIOUS.

Here’s Natalya to talk about what Ruby Riott is putting her through. Natalya has gone through so much just to get to WWE, including a little thing called the Montreal Screwjob. We’ll ignore how stupid that is and move on to Natalya dedicating her match on Sunday to Jim Neidhart. You know, the guy who worked for the company after the Montreal Screwjob. She’s going to use everything she has to put Riott through a table on Sunday.

This brings out the Riott Squad, with Morgan and Logan bringing out a table with a sheet on it. Ruby talks about Natalya feeling sorry for herself all the time and how she needs to get a good therapist already. Since Ruby won’t be invited to the Hart Family Christmas, she has a gift for Natalya. That would be the table with a picture of Jim Neidhart on it, so he and Natalya can be closer than ever. As usual, Natalya can’t talk and Ruby is a great promo.

Dolph Ziggler says he brought Drew McIntyre in from obscurity. Tonight, he’s not the good guy or the bad guy. He’s Dolph Ziggler and he’s taking McIntyre out.

Here’s McIntyre for a chat before his match. No one stays undefeated forever, including Andre the Giant or the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. The loss has made him even more dangerous and Finn Balor can explain that to you. Tonight, he’s kicking Ziggler’s head off.

Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler goes right after him to start but has to fight out of the corner as Drew slugs him down. A belly to belly suplex sends Ziggler flying and we take a break. Back with McIntyre hitting Super White Noise with Ziggler almost falling out for a nasty looking landing. They head outside with Ziggler posting McIntyre for a close nine but Ziggler collapses trying a superkick back inside. McIntyre talks a lot of trash so Ziggler snaps off the Zig Zag for two. They both take a good bit of time to get up and it’s Ziggler trying another superkick, only to get caught with a quick Claymore for the pin at 8:19.

Rating: D+. Nothing much to this one and I really, really hope that Balor isn’t going to be replaced by Ziggler on Sunday. I don’t get how he could possible be the third biggest face on the show, mainly because he’s not a face but rather a heel who was beaten down by another heel. At least McIntyre won though.

Post match McIntyre destroys Ziggler some more but referees break up a powerbomb on the floor. Instead, McIntyre kicks Ziggler’s head into the LED ring skirt.

We look back at Corbin forcing Heath Slater to face Rhyno and end his career as a result.

Bayley vs. Alicia Fox

Sasha Banks, Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers are all here. Apparently since Finn Balor is hurt, Apollo Crews is taking his place in Mixed Match Challenge. That thing is cursed man. They fight over a lockup to start with Fox actually driving her into the corner. That’s more success than I would have bet on for her. A takedown sets up the early chinlock until Bayley fights up, only to get caught with a sunset flip out of the corner.

That’s countered into an elbow drop, followed by a belly to back suplex to drop Fox. A Stunner over the middle rope means it’s time to adjust the ponytail. The Singh Brothers offer a distraction so Fox can kick her in the face, drawing out Crews to deal with the Brothers. Banks gets involved as well, leaving Bayley to hit the Bayley to Belly for the pin at 3:47.

Rating: D. Bad stuff here, but that’s to be the case when you have five people getting into a fight on the floor. I’m completely ready for Mixed Match Challenge to be over and at this rate, the entire roster will have been involved in the thing in one way or another. However, how in the world are they supposed to fill in the spots left over from the lack of Mixed Match Challenge preview matches?

Dean Ambrose talks about how that was the real Seth Rollins earlier tonight: he was insane, off the hinges and going without a plan. Rollins isn’t an architect, but if he’s still Intercontinental Champion after tonight, Dean is taking the title on Sunday. As for Roman Reigns, who apparently doesn’t know what’s going on between Dean and Seth, who cares? Dean is asked to talk about a video of Roman’s farewell speech on the same night Rollins and Ambrose won the Tag Team Titles and the ensuing fallout. This goes on for several minutes and Dean has no reaction.

Here’s Elias for a song. Before he gets to that though, Elias talks about Lashley having an interview earlier today where he said all the San Diego sports teams should move to a cool town like Los Angeles. Elias on the other hand would rather perform downtown in San Diego than in front of a bunch of LA trash. He’s not happy with himself for hitting a child like Lio Rush in the back with his guitar last week but tonight he’ll beat him in a match. As for the song, it’s mainly about how much Lashley sucks. Therefore, here are Lashley and Rush to interrupt.

Elias vs Lio Rush

Heath Slater makes his refereeing debut. Rush gets gorilla pressed to start and Elias tosses him around with a heck of a hiptoss. A whip into the corner sends Rush through the ropes (that’s a new one) but Lashley gets in a cheap shot, allowing Rush to start his flipping around back inside. A sitout Last Ride crushes Rush so Lashley comes in….not for the DQ for some reason. Lashley stares Slater down and a spinebuster plants Elias. Rush brings in the guitar so Lashley can break it over Elias’ back and Slater counts the pin at 4:13.

Rating: D. Much more of an angle than a match, as you had to expect. Slater as the intimidated referee could be interesting and it’s not like we’ve seen that story in recent memory. There isn’t much else for him to do in the ring at the moment so mix things up a bit and see if we can get people to care more. What can it hurt?

A disgusted Slater leaves.

We recap the opening segment.

We recap the Tag Team Title change.

We recap Ruby Riott revealing the Jim Neidhart table.

We recap Drew McIntyre injuring Dolph Ziggler.

Corbin comes in to tell Slater he did a good job. Slater is ready to go home but Corbin says he has another match to referee tonight.

Tamina vs. Ember Moon

Ember throws her outside to start and we pause for a Nia vs. Tamina staredown. Back in and Tamina gets in a hard shot for two. A whip into the corner sets up a chinlock for longer than it needs to go on. Ember fights up and starts in with the kicks but gets caught in a powerslam. Some knees to the face put Tamina down and with Rousey throwing Nia over the barricade, the Eclipse finishes Tamina at 5:10.

Rating: D-. Good. Now fire Tamina, tell her to never disgrace us with her presence again, and keep her away from anything involving television. I don’t remember the last time I saw anyone who can suck the life out of a show like her and what could have been an entertaining Moon match was a barren wasteland of joy because Tamina is that bad.

Baron Corbin doesn’t like being accused of abusing his power. Then on Sunday, he’s going to win by forfeit because Strowman is too hurt to compete. Charly Caruso asks him about rumors that Strowman is going to show up but Corbin laughs them off.

TLC rundown, with Elias vs. Lashley now a ladder match.

Lars Sullivan video.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin is challenging in a TLC match with Slater as referee. Rollins stomps him down in the corner and knees his way out of a suplex. They head outside with Rollins grabbing a chair but getting punched in the face for his efforts. Corbin orders Slater to get him a ladder but the delay lets Rollins hit a spring clothesline and we take a break. Back with Corbin cracking a chair over Rollins’ back and whipping him into the barricade to make things even worse. Rollins gets in a dropkick and tries for a ladder but Corbin suplexes him into said ladder in the corner.

Corbin hits the slide under the ropes clothesline and stops to hit the Strowman pose. A backdrop sends Rollins to the floor but he springboards in to catch Corbin on the ladder and hammer him down. Corbin is fine enough to knock him outside and we take another break. Back again with Corbin hitting a Deep Six and some big right hands to the head. Corbin tries another slide but walks into an enziguri.

That means it’s time for the big beating with a chair as Cole recaps the opening segment again. Back to back suicide dives connect but the third sees Corbin throw him through a table. Corbin can’t climb fast enough though as Rollins chairs him down. One of the chair shots hits Slater and knocks him off the apron, though Rollins doesn’t seem to mind as he hits a huge splash off the top through Corbin through a table.

Back in and Rollins goes up but Slater shoves the ladder over, sending him arm first into a table in the corner, which doesn’t break. Corbin climbs up and…..gets powerbombed through the table as Rollins won’t stay down. With Slater down, a Stomp is enough for Rollins to climb up and retain the title at 24:30.

Rating: C+. It’s hard to screw up a TLC match and there was some drama at the end, even though the Slater turn (I think?) didn’t mean much. The problem here is even more Corbin, which is the last thing this show needed. Rollins winning to give us a hero we can believe in helps, but my goodness did we need a twenty five minute Corbin match to wrap things up?

Overall Rating: D. Much like the opening promo, I’m not sure what entirely to think here. First of all, there were some better parts this time around. The main event was good if you ignore everything going on before it and the Tag Team Title change was a nice little surprise that offered something to cheer for.

The problem though continues to be Corbin, who is all over the show and not interesting enough to warrant more than about five minutes a week. This week he opened the show, closed the show (with nearly half an hour in the main event) and appeared in multiple backstage segments. That’s too much for almost anyone not named The Rock or Steve Austin and Corbin, like almost any other wrestler ever, is nowhere near those two. Most of this show was about “will Corbin keep his power” but he’s killed off so much interest in the show that I don’t care what happens to him or the show itself.

Rollins trying to be the hero is a good thing, but like he said, with no World Champion to chase, what’s the point? If Strowman wins on Sunday, it’s probably six weeks until Lesnar defends the thing again and I’d be rather surprised if Strowman gets the title. If Corbin wins on Sunday, nothing changes around here and we wait for a new challenger to get a shot. Either way, it’s a lot of sitting around waiting, which isn’t helping the show’s problems. I need a reason to watch and Baron Corbin getting 25 minutes after being the anchor that drags this show down isn’t it, no matter how many things Rollins jumps off.

Results

Bobby Roode/Chad Gable b. AOP/Drake Maverick – Rollup to Roode

Drew McIntyre b. Dolph Ziggler – Claymore

Bayley b. Alicia Fox – Bayley to Belly

Lio Rush b. Elias – Guitar to the back

Ember Moon b. Tamina

Seth Rollins b. Baron Corbin – Rollins pulled down the title

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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: WrestleCade

WrestleCade 2018 Supershow
Date: November 24, 2018
Location: Benton Convention Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Commentators: Blake Chadrick, Cyrus Fees

So this is kind of like WrestleCon Thanksgiving with a big wrestling convention and a few shows, including this supershow. I’ve wanted to go down to this for a few years but I might as well take a look at the major show. This could be anywhere from great to horrible and it’s hard to guess one way or another. Let’s get to it.

National Anthem. You don’t get that very often outside of Wrestlemania.

Opening sequence, mainly including clips of past conventions and shows. Makes sense, even if this isn’t something you would expect on a show like this.

Apparently there was a dark match with Billy Gunn losing to Vanguard Championship Wrestling Champion Brandon Scott. Fair enough.

Eli Drake vs. Hurricane Helms

Not bad for an opener. Hurricane has Kelly Kelly and the H2 Empress (his wife) with him. Before the match, Drake says a year ago, he stood right here as the Impact Wrestling World Champion. Now, as the greatest wrestler on this planet, he knows there are two places you want to be: in the main event or in the opener. He wants to get this done so he can go get his, ahem, Pop Tarts (read as pie) so let’s downgrade Hurricane to a light breeze.

Hurricane starts in on the arm but gets shoved down, setting up a jumping neckbreaker to send Hurricane outside. That goes nowhere so Drake reverses a suplex into a neckbreaker for two back inside. A swinging neckbreaker (we get the point) gives Drake two more as he’s working the neck to set up the Gravy Train. Hurricane makes the comeback with a neckbreaker of his own but the chokeslam is broken up with an atomic drop. Drake makes the mistake of going after the women though and gets slammed off the top. The chokeslam gives Hurricane the pin at 7:53.

Rating: C-. This was fine for an opener as Drake is a star and Hurricane is going to get a reaction from his reputation and mannerisms alone. The wrestling wasn’t the point here and on a show like this, there are going to be more than enough people going out there and trying to steal the show. This was more of a curiosity match and for the spot they were in, that’s all it needed to be.

The announcers talk about Taya Valkyrie vs. Penelope Ford coming up later tonight.

The Boys vs. War Kings

That would be Dalton Castle’s Boys vs. Crimson/Jax Dane (the Veterans of War from TNA) with Animal in their corner for some reason, meaning they have the LOD face paint on. The Boys are cleared out for trying a handshake early on. Serves them right. Dane starts with we’ll say #1 (their names are Brent and Brandon but the announcers can’t tell them apart either) with a standing fall away slam sending #1 flying.

Crimson comes in to chop #2 but a very delayed vertical suplex is broken up with a kid to the knee. A double Eat Defeat and a double clothesline put Crimson on the floor, setting up a double suicide dive. Back in and Crimson launches #1 into the air for a crash, allowing the tag back to Dane. A pop up spinebuster crushes #1 but we get some “they might as well be twins” magic….and it doesn’t matter as #2 takes a fireman’s carry into a cutter to give the Kings the pin at 5:09.

Rating: D-. Nothing to see here at all as it was just a squash, though I’m still not sure what the point was in having Animal out there. The War Kings are fine for a power team and having them destroy the Boys for a little while was fine. That being said, was there really a point in having a squash on a one off show like this?

CW Anderson vs. Kid Kash

Jerry Lynn is guest referee. Anderson has John Skyler and an unnamed blonde with him. Kash on the other hand has Joel Gertner with him, who might be able to explain how the 49 year old Kash can still be a kid. Gertner does get in a PG-13 version of his signature dirty introductions, which are still funny after all these years. They run the ropes to start and Kash sends him outside for a big flip dive.

Back in and a top rope clothesline gets two on Anderson, who is right back up with a spinebuster. They head outside again and it’s time for a chair, with Anderson sending him shoulder first into the post and then pelting the chair at said shoulder. That’s very Anderson of him. The armbar goes on for a few seconds, followed by a heck of a left hand (again, very Anderson of him) as the announcers talk about Kash’s time as part of the Pitbulls in WWE.

Kash gets in a clothesline for a breather and it’s time to slug it out. A powerslam gives Kash two but he gets caught in a superplex to put them both down. Skyler gets inside to yell at Lynn….and here’s New Jack with the weapons. Jack starts cleaning house, including with a vacuum between the legs. A swing at Lynn sends him running off but he comes back in to take a chair away from Kash. The distraction lets Anderson hit a superkick to finish Kash at 11:02.

Rating: D+. The wrestling we got wasn’t terrible, though the completely random Jack cameo didn’t do the match any favors. If they just have to do the ECW match, at least it was someone different than the Tommy Dreamer/Sandman/everyone else that always gets these spots. Anderson wasn’t too bad and Kash, despite being ancient, was fine as well. Not a good match, but it could have been much worse.

Post match Anderson asks the ECW alumni to come get in the ring, so here are Blue Meanie, Shane Douglas, Chris Hamrick and a few others. This is an ad for an upcoming ECW panel so it’s hardly the worst thing in the world.

MVP/Moose vs. Carlito/Eddie Edwards

What a completely random match that you would only get on a show like this one. Side note: how in the world did Carlito never get a run in TNA? He’s kind of perfect for that place, especially in a quick run. Eddie in in his TNA hardcore mode here, which isn’t the worst idea in the world. It makes extra sense when Moose is in there with him, so we’re at least getting some continuity from the bigger show. In something I don’t think I’ve ever seen: the referee is wearing glasses.

MVP and Moose can’t decide who start so we pause for Eddie to high five a fan. We start with MVP and Carlito, the latter of whom doesn’t want to hear about the apple. The fans DEMAND an apple so someone brings one from the back, allowing the two of them to finally lock up. MVP headlocks him down and then headstands his way out of a headscissors, offering Carlito a friendly tap to the chest. Carlito scores with a dropkick so now it’s off to Moose vs. Edwards to start the fight.

Eddie wastes no time in sending him outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Moose gets in a shot to the face, allowing MVP to come in for some stomps. Eddie chops away at Moose though, giving us the always cool visual of the sweat flying off his chest. MVP comes back in and grabs a chinlock, followed by Ballin for two.

Moose tries his own but only hits mat, allowing the hot tag off to Carlito. House is cleaned in a hurry with a Roll of the Dice getting two on MVP. Moose makes the save and fights to the floor with Eddie as everything breaks down. MVP can’t hit the Playmaker on Eddie and there’s the apple spit in MVP’s face. A DDT gives Eddie the pin at 11:54.

Rating: D+. Just a tag match here and the kind of weird combinations that work very well on a show like this. MVP and Carlito didn’t do anything for me most of the time but they can wrestle a perfectly fine match like this one. Eddie being aggressive and crazy still works well and this was fine, especially with the apple actually playing into the finish after getting the attention at the start.

Penelope Ford vs. Taya Valkyrie

Hardcore with Amber O’Neal (former NWA Women’s World Champion and Luke Gallows’ wife) as referee. Ford is Joey Janela’s girlfriend who had a star making performance at All In. Taya’s entrance takes some time so Ford blasts her in the face with a trashcan to start. Valkyrie gets posted and it’s time to bring in some toys, like a ladder and a chair. A handspring back elbow drives the ladder into Taya but she’s right back with a spear to take Ford down.

The ladder is laid across the middle rope and Taya suplexes her onto it, with the ladder not budging a bit for a very scary landing. Taya puts a chair between Ford’s legs and dropkicks a trashcan into said chair, drawing quite the gasp. It’s table time, which can mean a variety of things at a show like this. They head outside with Taya ripping open Ford’s sweater for a chop but getting whipped into the barricade. Another table is set up but they fight into the crowd and have a seat in a pair of chairs.

That means a slap off, with Ford nearly falling out of her top, to the point where the black tape can be seen. Taya gets the better of it and hammers Ford back to ringside, only to be sent into a table that of course doesn’t break. Ford going face first into it doesn’t work either but Taya taking her shirt off gets a much more positive reaction. Back inside and Ford fires off some kicks in the corner, followed by a DDT onto an open chair for two.

Taya gets in one on the closed chair but she takes WAY too much time loading up a middle rope splash through the table. Ford takes too long with her super hurricanrana though and it’s a superbomb through the table to give Taya the pin at 16:06. O’Neal wasn’t a factor whatsoever.

Rating: C. I’ll give them big points here having a physical fight with the weapons being used like any men’s match of the same rules. So many times you’ll see a women’s match with some weak weapons usage but they were beating the fire out of each other here. Second, it was a big relief to not have the announcers talk about their rather revealing gear. It wasn’t mentioned once when it was almost impossible to ignore. Yeah it’s there, but focus on what you’re getting instead. Nice surprise here, with the extra time not even being a problem.

The announcers preview the rest of the show as the ring is cleared.

Crazzy Steve vs. Vampiro

Casket match and I forgot Steve existed, though he has Sinister Minister (James Mitchell) with him. Steve jumps him before the bell and Vampiro falls to the floor but is still able to whip Steve into the barricade. Another whip sends Vampiro into the side of the casket but Vampiro looks to be near death. Like more so than usual.

They brawl into the crowd and you can barely see anything more than Vampiro’s head. Steve hits a running something and bites Vampiro’s head before they head back to ringside. Vampiro looks for a weapon but settles for a Nail in the Coffin onto the coffin instead. So Nail on the Coffin. Minister comes in for a low blow and Steve adds some mist to the face for the win at about 6:15 (remember no opening bell).

Rating: D-. I heard good things about this match and yet this is what we got. It didn’t have any time and really, that’s probably the best thing possible as Vampiro looked horribly out of shape here and seemed barely able to do anything more than walk around. Bad match, bad execution and a bad idea in general, with the one good thing being they went home in a hurry. That’s actually a big point as so many matches would just keep going no matter how bad it was.

Post match Vampiro grabs the mic and talks about doing this since 1984. He’s beaten cancer and survived a broken back and he didn’t fly from Colombia to have these two censoreds do this. Vampiro does these things on special occasions and that’s not how this is ending because the people didn’t come here to see that. He doesn’t need to get booked on any show because he is the show. Next year, he’s showing up to face the two of them in a cage with no rules and no time limit. Vampiro asks the fans to cheer for him to wrap things up. Uh, yeah Vampiro. You do all those things.

AML Title: Caleb Konley vs. Jason Kincaid vs. Luchasaurus vs. Marty The Moth vs. Mil Muertes vs. Psicosis

This is the America’s Most Liked Wrestling Title and Konley is defending in a ladder match. If nothing else I get a nice flashback with Psicosis’ old WCW music. I haven’t heard that in years. Luchasaurus is better known as Vibora in Lucha Underground and Judas Devlin in NXT. For reasons I don’t understand, he’s a face here, because when you think monster with a mask, you think face. Konley is the hometown boy and brings in his own ladder.

That leaves Kincaid to hit a big springboard armdrag but Psicosis backdrops him onto the pile in the required spot. Psicosis hits his own dive and it’s time for the first ladder. A headscissors sends Luchasaurus into the ladder in the corner and it’s off to Kincaid to hammer on Muertes. A springboard dropkick doesn’t work on Muertes but an X Factor does. Muertes no sells a monkey flip into the ladder and it’s a chokeslam to send Kincaid into the ladder instead. Luchasaurus comes back in but gets caught by Marty’s ladder to the face, only to have Konley come in with the ladder around his neck for the spin.

Konley is the first person to go up but Marty and Muertes pull him down. Another ladder is put up and all six climb at once with some of them even going for the title. Everyone comes down until Marty is left alone for a climb. Luchasaurus makes the save this time but Muertes pulls him down.

With Luchasaurus in trouble, Muertes wrecks everything in sight, including taking the ladders down. He’s a complicated guy at times. Everyone gets smart and beats Muertes up, capped off by a cutter from Psicosis. Konley is left alone after a series of dives but Marty pulls him through a ladder. With Marty going up, Konley pulls himself up into a German suplex. That’s enough to retrieve the title as Konley retains at 13:04.

Rating: C+. This was just a bunch of spots with some wrestlers the fans should be familiar with and that’s perfectly fine. It’s a fun match and they had some time to hit a few flips and dives in between the spots with the ladder. The title change wasn’t likely to happen and there’s nothing wrong with seeing a fun match with the fans getting a treat. Fine for the show it was on and that’s important to keep in mind.

Top Rope Belts Battle Royal

Hurricane Helms, Zane Riley, Mallaki Matthews, Ricky Roberts, Dave Dawson, Chris Dawson, Keith Mac, Bazooka King, Mike Camden, Cam Carter, Yahya, Leo Pride, Jeremiah Plunkett, Gigolo Justin, Axton Ray, Sean Denny, Mark Denny, LaBron Kozone, Chad Skywalker, Rex Bacchus, QT Marshall, Bobby Fulton, Dylan Fulton, JB Cole, Chris Hamrick, Billy Brash, Fallah Bahh, Mr. Hughes, Gary Wolfe, Shane Douglas, George South, Simon Gotch, Stan Lee, Blue Meanie, Glacier, Fred Rosser, Sandman

Hurricane won this last year so I’m assuming he’s defending. I’m sure I missed a few people (the audio was hard to make out) but does it really matter in a match like this? I don’t know a lot of these names but Rosser is better known as Darren Young. Everyone goes after Hurricane to start and he’s out in fifteen seconds. Bahh um, shall we say, releases some pressure from his stomach and about ten people leave at once but here’s Sandman, a surprise last minute entrant, to fill in some of the gap.

We look at most of his full entrance (to be fair, it’s amazing in person) as the battle royal could have just about anything going on at the moment. The song finally ends after over FIVE MINUTES (a normal length for Sandman) and he canes Lee from the apron for some flopping around like a fish selling. Another cane shot gets rid of Kozone but South kicks Sandman out, becoming a huge heel in the process. South is out a few seconds later and pulls Lee with him.

Cole, Bacchus and Meanie are gone as the eliminations are barely getting any mention here. Grimm eliminates Skywalker (just called Walker by the announcers) and there go Roberts and Marshall. Brash and Glacier go as well and it’s down to Bahh, Zane Dawson and Rosser (I told you it was going fast).

Dawson gets double teamed but Bahh clotheslines Rosser down. Rosser eliminates Dawson and Bahh hits a crossbody. The Banzai Drop is broken up and Rosser gets him to the apron but Bahh pulls him out there as well. A neckbreaker on the apron doesn’t get rid of Bahh, who hiptosses Rosser out for a double elimination at 12:56. Bahh is named the winner despite hitting first. Eh it’s not like it matters that much.

Rating: F. Yeah it’s bad, but it’s not the kind of bad that I’m going to get upset about. This was ENTIRELY for the live fans so they could say they saw a battle royal, but the big joke elimination wasn’t exactly funny and didn’t help things. This wasn’t so much bad as much as it was “yeah get this over with” and the Sandman entrance makes up for some of that. Cool moment, but a nothing match of course.

Actually hang on as it was close enough that they’re restarting it, even though Rosser looks to have banged his head on the way down. Bahh backdrops him out for the real win in about thirty seconds. I like it better than having the really bad finish, which seemed to be a botch. They shake hands for a bonus.

PJ Black/Johnny Impact vs. Juventud Guerrera/Ultimo Dragon

Lucha rules with Taya Valkyrie and Sonny Onoo of all people as the seconds. I guess Sonny isn’t offended by the Japanese stereotype character if it’s an indy show and not WCW. At least we get the old Juvy music as the WCW is strong with this show. Before the match, Johnny insults North Carolina and says that himself, Black and Taya are the real Mexican legends. Dragon and Impact start things off with Dragon taking him into the corner for a clean break.

The wristlock doesn’t work for Impact as Dragon does his big spinning escape and it’s time to hit the mat. Dragon flips out of a leglock as we hear about the still incredible J-Crown Title (that famous shot of Dragon holding nine titles). Black comes in and is immediately chopped by Juvy and the running DDT sends Black to the floor. That means the big suicide dive and it’s Black in trouble for the first time. A poke to the eye cuts Dragon down and it’s back to Impact for a kick to the head.

The double teaming is on with Juvy chasing Impact to the floor, which just allows Taya to get in some stomping of her own. It’s back to Juvy for a faceplant but Taya breaks up the 450 and Black PULLS OFF THE MASK. Juvy is rightfully ticked off but Black suplexes him down and grabs a double arm crank. Impact comes back in for a Moonlight Drive but misses the Countdown to Impact, allowing Juvy to hit a quick Juvy Driver. The hot tag brings Dragon back in and everything breaks down with the villains getting caught in the always stupid looking rowboat leg stretch.

Rating: C+. The match was fun and the old guys looked anything but old….if you ignore the rather ridiculous Sonny part. It’s not like he was anything other than a low level comedy manager back in the day so why is he beating up a World Champion and someone who used to be a champion in WWE? Fun match though, with Dragon alone being more than enough to make it a cool moment.

The announcers preview the main event and incorrectly say Ric Flair won his first NWA World Title at Starrcade 1983.

NWA World Title: Jake Hager vs. Nick Aldis

Aldis is defending and Hager (carrying his wife Catalina on his shoulder) is better known as Jack Swagger. Nick actually has a second of his own in indy wrestler Kamilla Kaine. EARL HEBNER is referee for the real star power and we get some old school instructions. Hager takes him (Aldis, not Hebner, as Hager isn’t that horrible of a person) down with a quick Gator Roll and Aldis bails to the floor for a minute.

Back in and we go into a bit of a grappling exchange with Hager slipping outside to avoid a Kingsland Cloverleaf. The women nearly get into it on the floor but the distraction lets Aldis get in a shot from behind to take over. Back in and Aldis gets two off a suplex, followed by a clothesline into a middle rope elbow. A jumping back elbow to the jaw gets two more and it’s time to work on the leg. With the Cloverleaf not working again, Aldis slaps on the Figure Four as the announcers get in the Flair error again.

Hager makes the big turn for the reversal so Aldis is in the ropes almost immediately. The comeback is on with the belly to belly powerslam, followed by a big clothesline for two. The running Vader Bomb hits raised boots and the Mag Daddy Driver gets two more. Hager’s superplex is broken up and Aldis drops the top rope elbow. That’s still not enough for the Cloverleaf and Hager slaps on the ankle lock.

That’s broken up as well and it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown. The women get in for no logical reason and it’s the much bigger Kaine flipping her over without much effort. More referees come out to get rid of the two of them and Hager grabs the ankle lock with a grapevine. The long crawl to the ropes gets Aldis out of trouble so Hager puts it on again. Can’t fault the logic there. This time Aldis rolls out though and a small package retains the title at 17:30.

Rating: B-. Not too bad here, even with the women not exactly being necessary. The story of the battle of the submission holds was fine, even if Aldis never actually got the Cloverleaf. Beating Hager is a nice win for Aldis as he’s a former World Champion in WWE and, even if it’s been a long time, that still means a lot. I’m still not huge on Aldis but this was a good performance. Good wrestling here and one of the better matches of the night.

They shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a show where you need to remember what you’re seeing. This isn’t supposed to be some big, epic show and that’s not what you get here. Instead it’s a lighthearted night of wrestling with a bunch of legends and a few lower level current stars. That’s perfectly fine for what it was and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a much more laid back atmosphere than something like WrestleCon (which is better and has bigger names) but for about three and a half hours, I’ve seen much, much worse.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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

Vengeance 2004
Date: July 11, 2004
Location: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the final pay per view before Summerslam and that makes this one kind of a quick stop more than anything else. The main event is HHH getting yet another shot at the title because that’s his inalienable right. The wildcard this time is Eugene, who HHH has manipulated into thinking World Champion Chris Benoit is out to get him. I’m sure this will go according to plan. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at Benoit’s path to the title. HHH doesn’t like that Benoit is holding his title and tonight, it’s time to set things right.

Rhyno/Tajiri vs. Garrison Cade/Jonathan Coachman

This is mainly about Tajiri vs. Coach but I don’t think anyone was going to tolerate that on pay per view so this was set up on Heat. Coach freaks out upon seeing Rhyno as Tajiri’s partner. Appropriately enough, Coach and Rhyno start things off….with Coach tagging out five seconds later. Rhyno shoulders him down without much effort so Cade yells at the referee and slaps Rhyno in the face.

The beating begins in a hurry with Cade bailing to the floor to avoid the Gore. Tajiri comes in and hits Cade in the face before getting two off la majistral. A Coach distraction lets Cade get in a few shots though and Tajiri is in trouble for the first time. That means Coach gets to be on offense and somehow he’s more coordinated than a lot of full time wrestlers.

A double suplex drops Tajiri to give Cade two but Coach charges into a boot in the corner to set up the Tarantula. The mule kick is enough for the hot tag off to Rhyno so the pace can pick up. Tajiri tags himself back in as Rhyno is sent to the floor and it’s a handspring double elbow to Cade and Coach. There’s the mist to Cade (King: “Cade’s been mystified!”) and the big kick to the head gives Tajiri the pin on Coach.

Rating: D+. Fine enough for a Heat main event, but this wasn’t exactly pay per view worthy. At least they had something with some energy and a villain that the fans wanted to see get beaten up. That doesn’t make it a good idea though and it’s some time that could have been better used elsewhere.

Evolution has a meeting about Eugene and HHH says it’s cool. Flair isn’t convinced but HHH says when the time is right, Eugene….wait where is Eugene? They’re not sure if he’s here so HHH goes to find him. He does indeed find him, talking to Benoit, who tells him that Evolution only cares about HHH getting the title. Benoit tells Eugene to be careful and leaves. HHH isn’t pleased.

Batista vs. Chris Jericho

These two have been having some issues in tag matches so tonight it’s a regular match. Batista starts with the straight power by throwing knees to the ribs in the corner. Jericho gets smart by low bridging him to the floor, giving us a perfect summation of the match in a nutshell in the early going. A missed charge lets Batista pull Jericho outside for some shots to the head and a neckbreaker of all things gives Batista two. I’ve never seen him use that before or since and it was weird to see from him.

That’s followed by a seated half nelson as I wonder where all of this offense came from and went. Batista pulls him down into a regular full nelson but Jericho gets up and leverages him outside a second time. Back in and a dropkick to the knee staggers Batista so he forearms the heck out of Jericho in return. Again: power vs. intelligence and cunning. Jericho’s top rope back elbow to the jaw gets two, followed by Batista’s side slam for the same. It’s back to the back with back to back shots to the back, followed by a backbreaker. You can’t say Batista isn’t focused.

Jericho flips out of another backbreaker attempt (more intelligence) and hits a chop block. The Walls are broken up though and Batista hits the big spinebuster for two. The Batista Bomb is reversed into a rollup for two and Batista is getting mat at Jericho for not letting it end. Jericho bulldogs him down but the Lionsault hits knees. He’s fine enough to hit the running enziguri for a delayed two but it’s another spinebuster to destroy Jericho. The Batista Bomb is good for the pin, even with Jericho’s foot on the ropes.

Rating: C+. There was a nice story here with Jericho trying to outsmart the powerful Batista but not being able to overcome the huge power advantage. That’s a great rub for Batista who beat a former World Champion and never felt like he was in any real trouble at all. He’s becoming a bigger and bigger deal every single time and it’s not like Jericho is going to lose much by putting him over here. He’s Chris Jericho, and that’s going to keep him over no matter what.

An upset Eugene sits on Evolution’s couch and HHH starts up the manipulation machine, saying that Benoit is just lying to him to protect the title. Remember when Benoit hit him with a chair a few weeks ago? Tonight, they’re taking the title back, but first they have a surprise for Eugene. It’s an old Ric Flair robe, with Flair staring bullets through Eugene as he hands it over. The manipulation stuff is great, but I’m kind of dreading where it’s going.

Tag Team Titles: La Resistance vs. Ric Flair/Eugene

Flair and Eugene are challenging. Flair’s music cuts off O Canada and Flair looks so annoyed at having to be here. Eugene and Conway start things off and let’s have a WOO first. The second WOO comes after Conway is taken into the corner and Flair’s frustrations continue. A drop toehold lets Eugene grab a headlock in a Flair spot and it’s time for the chops. Flair: “THAT’S MINE!!!”

Grenier comes in and wants Flair but gets Eugene doing Flair’s shinbreaker instead. A few shots stagger Eugene and he does the Flair Flop in a funny bit. The Figure Four is broken up though and Eugene is kicked into the corner, allowing Flair to tag himself in and work off some annoyances. Flair WOO’s a lot and shows Grenier how to throw the chops and punches in the corner. A suplex drops Conway and there’s the strut, meaning NOW we go to school with the Figure Four.

Some easy cheating lets Grenier break it up though and now it’s Flair in trouble for a change. Grenier hammers away in the corner and hands it off to Conway, who actually wins a chop off. Flair can’t chop his way out of trouble and a backdrop gives Grenier two. The required chinlock, with Grenier kneeling to the side behind Flair for a unique style, goes on and the fans cheering for Flair in this situation still feels weird.

The front facelock keeps Flair in trouble and Conway runs around to pull Eugene off the apron for a ram into the steps. Back in and Au Revoir hits Flair but Eugene is all fired up for the save. Conway’s legs get wrapped around the post and Eugene pounds on Grenier in the corner but a shove to the referee draws the DQ.

Rating: C. Another perfectly fine match as Eugene knows how to do the Flair tribute act, which in this case makes a lot of sense. I’m glad they didn’t change the titles here as the wacky champions thing really isn’t necessary here when you already have HHH as the real big bad in the whole thing. La Resistance are fine as the heel champions and they can hold onto the belts in this role for a good while.

Post match Eugene hits a Stunner, Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow. Flair looks so annoyed as Eugene tries to hug him to make things better after the loss.

We recap Kane vs. Matt Hardy. Lita agreed to sleep with Kane to get him to leave Matt alone and got pregnant in the process. Matt is furious (and rightfully so), meaning tonight it’s a No DQ match so Matt can get revenge and Kane can have some fun.

Matt Hardy vs. Kane

No DQ and no countout. They start the fight in the aisle with Matt getting in a few right hands. The Twist of Fate on the announcers’ table is shoved away, with Matt nearly crushing a production guy in the process. Kane pounds away on the floor some more and then takes it inside for the first time for some choking in the corner. He switches it up to ripping at Matt’s face before cutting Matt down with a clothesline. Matt can barely stand so Kane asks why he doesn’t fight.

With Matt still down, Kane grabs a chair but gets caught with a Twist of Fate over the ropes. Kane’s feet get tied in the ropes so he’s hung upside down and there’s a bell shot to the head. The top rope legdrop to the back of Kane’s head connects and the Twist of Fate is good for two. Kane hits a chokeslam but would rather grab the steps than cover. Cue Lita (you knew this wasn’t ending until she came out) to beg for Kane’s forgiveness so he throws the steps down. Then he picks them back up, allowing Matt to hit them into his face with a chair for the pin.

Rating: D. This was Kane slipping on a banana peel to give Matt the win that doesn’t mean much. There’s nothing that is going to stop Kane from attacking Matt again and you can set up the bigger rematch at Summerslam from here. I haven’t been big on this whole story but I feel sorry for Matt after Lita had to save him again. Normally I would ask how much worse it can get but that’s never a good sign in wrestling.

In the back, Lita begs Matt to talk to him. Matt recaps the whole thing and asks her to stay away from the ring so both her and the baby can be safe. I’m sure she’ll listen too.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Edge. Orton has held the title for a long time now and has grown up during his reign. He’s becoming a bit too cocky though and Edge is ready to take a stand and become champion as he wants to run through Evolution.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Orton vs. Edge

Edge is challenging and JR gets in his stat of the night by saying the Intercontinental Title has changed hands more in July than in any other month. Doesn’t mean much, but that’s the kind of little trivia note that I like to hear. They trade headlocks to start as the fans are firmly behind Orton. Not what you would expect but I can kind of see the new version of Edge not being as popular. He’s been pushed pretty hard and hasn’t had the performances that made him a star since his return.

A crisscross goes on for a long time until Edge takes him down with another headlock. The threat of a dropkick sends Orton outside but Edge isn’t letting him walk up the ramp. Orton gets in a shot of his own though and suplexes Edge back in for two. As the champ rakes a boot over Edge’s face, Lawler has it figured out: Edge is jealous of Orton’s ability to get women. I’ll let you figure out how JR responds to that one. The chinlock goes on for a good while until Edge fights up with a clothesline to the floor.

Orton goes to get the title so Edge baseball slides him down and the fans are behind the champ again. A missile dropkick gives Edge two but the spear gets kicked away. Orton hits an elbow to the chest and now it’s a LET’S GO EDGE chant. Egads these people are fickle. Back in and Orton gets two off a legdrop to the back of the head as the announcers are rather confused by the crowd. Dude it’s a live wrestling crowd. Why would you expect them to make sense?

Orton chokes on the ropes and gets two off a dropkick, followed by another chinlock. A legdrop sets up another chinlock as they’re certainly dragging this one out. The fans accurately call this boring as the latest chinlock eats up two full minutes. Edge fights up and dropkicks Orton out of the air, followed by a neckbreaker to put both of them down again. A slugout goes to Edge and he gets two off a Russian legsweep. After shoving Orton off the top, Edge hits a high crossbody with the champ rolling through for two.

Orton pokes him in the eye and takes off a turnbuckle pad, which has to be some Flair influence. The Edgecution gets two more so Edge hammers away in the corner, only to get dropped face first onto the exposed buckle. That and a rollup with feet on the ropes are good for two but this time it’s Orton going into the buckle. The spear hits unexposed buckle but Edge is right back up with a whip into the steel, followed by the spear for the pin and the title.

Rating: B-. This was much more long than good as there’s a lot that could have been cut out to do the same match. The ending was really strong though and you could tell the fans were getting into things and wanted to see the title change. Even with the title loss though, you can tell that Orton is going to be getting a huge push as you don’t have him lose a long match clean like that without having something bigger planned. Good match, but much longer than it needed to be.

Orton gets the Goodbye Song because they really can’t make up their mind about what the heck they want.

Molly Holly vs. Victoria

#1 contenders match. Molly works on the arm to start as JR tries to figure out why she’s still wearing the wig. You would think it would have grown back in nearly four months. Victoria scores with a monkey flip but the shaking moonsault takes way too long. Instead it’s a moonsault press out of the corner for two on Molly so she heads outside with Victoria nearly screwing up a slingshot dive.

A trip sends Victoria’s face and shoulder into the steps for a near countout. Since that doesn’t work, Molly starts in on the arm with a seated armbar as you can’t fault the psychology here so far. A Fujiwara armbar keeps Victoria down but Molly misses an elbow. Victoria gets two off a powerslam but the arm gives out on the Widow’s Peak attempt. With the arm not an option, Victoria nails a superkick for the pin.

Rating: C+. Considering the spot they were in with this being an added match and in between the show’s two big matches, this had no expectations coming in and turned out to be a very nice match. It didn’t have any reason to be much but the girls did had a rather nice match with some psychology and good looking offense. Well done here in a very nice little surprise.

We recap HHH vs. Chris Benoit. HHH lost the title to Benoit at Wrestlemania and hasn’t really left the main event since. Now it’s time to get the title back and HHH has manipulated Eugene into being in his corner for this one, while Benoit is trying to convince Eugene of what’s really going on. The manipulation has been great on this story and while the fans aren’t exactly enamored with Eugene, it’s still good stuff.

Raw World Title: Chris Benoit vs. HHH

Benoit is defending and, as always, looks cool holding the title over his head on the stage. A fight over a lockup goes nowhere so Benoit armdrags his way out of a top wristlock. HHH’s headlock takeover doesn’t work so he tries it again and gets reversed all over again. Benoit finally gets sent into the corner and HHH….lets him get back up. It’s too early for the Crossface though and HHH gets outside for the breather. Back in and HHH scores with a jumping knee to the face, followed by a hard elbow to the jaw for two.

Instead of the face, HHH switches over to the back with a backbreaker before pulling Benoit out to the floor. Again he lets him back in though and it’s a snap suplex to take HHH down. A catapult sends HHH into the corner and a clothesline puts him on the floor. Benoit isn’t done and sends him into the steps as this is starting to pick up a few gears. Back in and Benoit misses the Swan Dive, setting up a heck of a Bret Hart chest first bump into the corner. HHH does it again for good measure and starts in with some kicks to the chest.

A release front suplex drops Benoit on his chest again and HHH does it again in a smart move. HHH puts a knee in the back and stretches both arms to stay on the chest as the targeting continues. They head outside with Benoit being whipped into the barricade, followed by another whip into the buckle for a few near falls. The abdominal stretch goes on and thankfully Lawler is right there to talk about how painful the hold is. Benoit reverses into one of his own but gets hiptossed down in short order.

The Sharpshooter works a lot better and HHH finally makes the rope, because just touching them a few seconds earlier didn’t count. HHH is in trouble so Benoit rolls the German suplexes. That’s enough to send HHH outside for the big dive through the ropes and they’re both down with the fans rather pleased. Back in again and this time the referee gets knocked out to the floor in a heap, which you had to know was coming. A Crossface attempt is countered into a DDT and they’re both down, allowing HHH to shout for Eugene. As Eugene comes out, HHH gets caught in the Crossface.

Benoit wisely shouts at Eugene to get the ref before flipping HHH back to the middle for the tap. There’s no referee so Eugene starts getting in, earning himself a big right hand from Benoit. That would be in the better safe than sorry category, though it lets HHH get in a low blow from behind. Now the Pedigree connects but there’s still no referee. Eugene brings in the chair this time as the referee is now face down on the mat.

Hang on though as Eugene grabs the chair, earning himself a shove to the floor and a lot of yelling. Benoit gets in a forearm to the face but has to chair down an interfering Batista and Flair. HHH kicks him in the injured chest but Benoit gets in a low blow so everyone is down. Now it’s Eugene with the chair and he’s not sure who to hit. Benoit grabs it as well but then lets go, sending it into HHH’s head. That’s enough for Benoit to grab a rollup and retain the title.

Rating: B+. I was digging the heck out of this until the Eugene stuff came into play but it wasn’t enough to derail everything. HHH was working on the chest for most of the match and then used it again in the end, though it was ultimately his own plans being a bit too big and evil that cost him. Benoit retaining is a good thing of course but I have a bad feeling I know where that ending is leading. At least it was a good, long match though and the ending was right, even with Eugene getting so much attention near the end.

Post match Benoit leaves so HHH can stare at a panicking Eugene to end the show. Make sure you end things on the real stars there guys.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, Raw is just that much better than Smackdown at the moment because the wrestling is that much better. While some of the storyline moves aren’t the best (again: Eugene), you’re almost guaranteed a few good matches on the show and pretty logical storyline progression. That might not be anything that reinvents the wheel but it gives you a good show, which is what this company needs after all the weekly messes on Smackdown.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/09/28/vengeance-2004-a-forgotten-little-gem/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Eight years ago today, I posted the first review on the site.  Thank you all for coming here this long and I hope that you keep doing so.  It’s been a blast and that’s going to be the case as long as you all want me around.

KB

IMG Credit: WWE

Hidden Gems #4
Date: 2012, 2013

There’s no real reason to go with these two years but I just finished 2009 and 2011 so this way I can have the last ten years done in two days. We’re still mainly down in FCW here and that’s not the worst place in the world to be, especially now that some of the talent has had another year to grow up. There’s one thing in particular here that I’m looking forward to so let’s get to it.

Leakee vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
Date: February 5, 2012
Location: FCW Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Byron Saxton

I’ve seen this one before and this is about nine and a half months before they were the Shield. The winner gets a shot at Florida Heavyweight Champion Leo Kruger. No entrances here and Ambrose immediately starts yelling at Regal instead of focusing on the match. Regal: “I don’t really like Dean Ambrose.” Dean gets sent to the floor as Regal talks about all the horrible things that Ambrose drove him to, to the point where he can barely look at his children.

Rollins gets knocked down and it’s Leakee throwing Ambrose across the ring without much effort. Ambrose and Rollins get together to double team Leakee before staring each other down. Well you knew that was coming. Back from an early break with Leakee getting double teamed some more, including a double suplex to send him into the corner. Of course Dean turns on Seth (some things….you get the idea) and small packages Leakee for two.

Dean gets sent outside and Leakee punches Rollins out of the air but can’t hit Checkmate (a running bulldog) as Dean makes a save. The Regal Stretch has Leakee in trouble (and Regal nearly smiling with evil pride) but he makes the rope. Regal: “The only problem with it is it’s Dean Ambrose doing it and not William Regal.” Now it’s Rollins’ turn to come in for the save and Leakee is knocked to the floor.

A belly to back faceplant gives Ambrose two but he misses a Regal knee trembler. The Stomp misses as well so Rollins dives onto Leakee to no reaction. Back in and it’s a slugout with Rollins and Ambrose as Regal talks about knowing Ambrose will be his downfall. Leakee comes back in for a Samoan drop to both of them at once (he barely held them up but it worked), followed by Checkmate for the pin on Ambrose at 9:26.

Rating: C+. This is more of an historical note than anything else and there’s nothing wrong with that. Regal was really praising Ambrose here and I wanted to see them have their big rematch (which thankfully is coming). The important thing here was showcasing three future stars, as WWE pretty clearly knew they had something here and that would be the case on the main roster later in the year.

Florida Heavyweight Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kassius Ohno
Date: April 29, 2012
Location: FCW Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, William Regal, Chris Russo

Rollins is defending and it’s SO strange to see Ohno thin and in shape. Also of note: Ohno was originally planned for what would become the Shield with Reigns eventually taking his place. We even get Big Match Intros for a special bonus. The grappling exchange begins with Rollins hooking a headscissors on the mat to slow Ohno down. After a long standoff, Ohno goes with a cravate as the announcers talk about Ohno wanting a knockout. That’s reversed into la majistral for two on Ohno and an Oklahoma roll gets the same.

Ohno goes back to the hard strikes, this time with forearms to the shoulder blades. With Ohno on the apron, Rollins strikes away but can’t hit the sunset bomb to the floor. Back in and the chinlock takes us to a break. We come back with Rollins fighting out of the hold, which thankfully means we didn’t miss anything here. That’s always appreciated. Ohno sends him outside for a bit, followed by a sliding boot to the side of the head back inside. Some more shots to the face have Rollins down but a flipping backsplash hits knees.

The comeback is on with Rollins forearming him to the apron and kicking him to the floor. Back in and Ohno knees him in the ribs (the striking does seem to work for him), followed by a Crash Landing (release suplex) for two. Rollins starts kicking away and gets two of his own off a top rope clothesline. Ohno’s rolling elbow gets two and the Ohno Blade (a hard forearm to the back of the head) is good for the same. That’s it for Rollins who hits an enziguri and the Curb Stomp to retain at 14:41 shown.

Rating: B. This is pretty much the same Rollins who would become NXT Champion later in the year and that’s not a bad thing. He’s figured out what works and is being allowed to go out and do his athletic stuff that gets over every time he does it. At the same time you have Ohno, who was perfect in the role of hard hitting villain who can challenge for the title without actually winning the thing. Granted being in the kind of shape that means he doesn’t have to wear a shirt to the ring helps too.

And now for something completely different, we get Renee Young’s audition tape for WWE. Like I said, they certainly mix up the content in this series. Basically she’s given a piece of metal and has to sell it to the audience. Renee says it’s a pet groomer and cuts a sales pitch promo talking about all of its users and functions. It’s nothing wrestling related (even the producer says that) but for an on the spot promo, not too bad. This one kind of has to be seen instead of described but it’s cool for a special feature.

William Regal vs. Dean Ambrose
Date: July 15, 2012
Location: FCW Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Dusty Rhodes

Now this is something I’ve been wanting to see after all the FCW matches featuring Ambrose in these collections. Late last year, Ambrose attacked Regal from behind, setting up a match where Regal beat him. Since then, Ambrose has gone over the edge (shocking I know) and become obsessed with beating Regal. Regal sees his past self in Ambrose and knows that in order for Ambrose to become great, he’ll have to defeat Regal and finish him once and for all. Ambrose is pretty easily the top heel in the promotion here but with NXT looming (as this would be the last episode of FCW), it has to end here.

Feeling out process to start as you can tell this is a big one. Regal starts going after the arm, which he severely injured in their first match. A takedown by the arm has Ambrose in trouble with Regal driving his shin into Ambrose’s arm. Back up and Regal sneers down at him as Ambrose is favoring the arm pretty badly. Regal uses his legs to hammerlock him in the corner and it’s a break with Regal getting in as much cranking as he can.

More arm cranking ensues with Ambrose trying to shake off some knee drops and telling Regal to take the arm home with him. Regal pulls him back down to the mat and pulls on the arm again before going with an exploder suplex. All Regal so far as they head outside. The arm is squeezed between the steps and ring for a kick before Regal pulls on the good arm to make things even worse. As the referee gets Regal away, Ambrose loosens a turnbuckle and we take a break.

Back with Regal whipping him down by the arm but Ambrose posts him to finally get a breather. Ambrose pounds his own arm into the buckle to make it work a bit more and unloads on Regal as he comes back in. Regal’s balance is thrown off and he can’t stand up, so of course Ambrose is suddenly much happier.

Ambrose unloads with shots to Regal’s ear and drives it into the now exposed buckle. That’s the kind of violence you don’t get very often and it’s rather awesome to see. Regal’s ear is bleeding now and we actually pause for a bit so the trainer can check on him. Regal is able to get up and hits a running forearm as he’s just not going to let it end. More referees come in and the match is thrown out at 13:42 shown.

Rating: B. This was all storytelling and there’s nothing wrong with that. Regal being all dastardly to start and then falling to the younger, hungrier opponent was the perfectly logical move and exactly how something like this should have gone. The ending was fine as Regal was giving it his last shot but Ambrose was clearly going to win in the end, just due to being able to stand. Excellent story here, which would have been even better with the full build.

Post match Ambrose isn’t done and beats up the referees. Some wrestlers come out and get beaten up as well, allowing Ambrose to stomp on Regal’s ear some more. The Regal Stretch goes on for some bonus evil. Regal gets to his knees and applauds Ambrose, who blasts Regal with the knee trembler. The locker room finally comes out to hold Ambrose back.

We’ll wrap it up with a trip to NXT on May 23, 2013 in this unaired segment. To put it mildly, NXT fans didn’t like main roster stars coming down and sending Ryback made things even worse. This didn’t air on television and was only a dark segment for the live crowd but it was filmed (defying the definition of dark but whatever).

Ryback is in the ring and wants anyone to come out and see why Ryback rules. This brings out Enzo Amore and Big Cass (before they had the signature theme and with Enzo looking odd cleanshaven). Enzo does his entrance (doesn’t have the cadence or crowd reactions yet) but it’s missing HOW YOU DOIN. They’re not S-A-W-F-T though and if they had a dime for every time they were beaten up as kids, they would have zero dimes.

Cass tries to get SAWFT over as a chant before talking about how tired he is of hearing Ryback cry about being eliminated from the Royal Rumble. We get to the FEED ME MORE chants with Enzo making fun of Ryback’s appetite. They both get inside and offer to take Ryback to Golden Corral for a list of food. Cass says they can cap it off with a marshmallow, which Ryback says is soft like these people.

Ryback says Cass’ parents must be brother and sister so it’s time to fight. Well it’s time to talk about fighting first, with Cass and Enzo running over their strategy on the microphones. A quick Meat Hook drops Cass so Enzo backtracks and offers Golden Corral again. He even hugs Ryback, who pats him on the head before hitting a Meat Hook and Shell Shock.

This was long, not funny and really boring with Enzo and Cass not being over yet and the fans not caring about what they had to say. At the same time though, they got beaten up by the villain, who looked more annoyed to be there than anything else. This really didn’t need to air and if it did, it would have been one of the worst segments of the year.

Overall Rating: B. Well the non-wrestling parts ranged from “oh that’s kind of interesting” to “STOP THIS ALREADY” but the wrestling was especially good, with a bunch of young, hungry guys who wanted to become the next top stars in the company. These matches are all entertaining and you can see a lot of NXT in these final FCW shows. I could go for a lot more of this kind of stuff, as it’s the future before it gets to the main roster. Check out that Regal vs. Ambrose match and see how the subtle style can still be incredible.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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: July 8, 2004
Location: Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s title night around here as John Cena is defending the US Title against Booker T., who earned his shot at the title by winning a triple threat match last week. Other than that it’s time to build things up for next week when JBL defends the Smackdown World Title against Eddie Guerrero. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Rob Van Dam vs. Mark Jindrak

Rene Dupree is on commentary. I had forgotten Jindrak is a thing, though he’s now called the Reflection of Perfection, meaning he has Lex Luger’s mirror in the ring. He and Teddy Long have also split, but it’s described as amicable. Jindrak knocks him to the floor at the bell and the beating is on in a hurry with some rams into the barricade. Back in and the choking continues with Jindrak nipping up to show off a bit.

Rob tries to go up top but Jindrak hits an awesome looking standing dropkick (at one point Jindrak had the highest vertical leap in WWE history) to knock him into the barricade. The reverse chinlock with a knee in the back has Van Dam in more trouble but Rob comes back with a kick to the face. Rob’s rolling monkey flip out of the corner sets up another kick to the face but Rolling Thunder hits knees. A belly to back superplex is broken up though and Van Dam hits the Five Star for the pin.

Rating: C-. Jindrak was an amazing athlete and could jump like few others but everything between those jumps didn’t work so well. At least he’s a fresh name though as we haven’t see him do anything in recent months. That’s better than having Van Dam and Dupree fight each other time after time and a lesson that WWE could learn a lot from today.

We look back at JBL defending the World Title against Spike Dudley last week and Eddie Guerrero coming in for the post match beatdown. Eddie announced a cage match for the title two weeks later. Good ending after a dull match.

JBL talks about how much better a champion he is because Eddie didn’t offer handshakes or come to Canada while he held the title. Eddie is no gentleman and he probably didn’t even graduate from high school. JBL isn’t worried because he’s a champion’s champion and a man’s man who doesn’t belong in a cage. The growing JBL fan club will carry him through though and he can hear the chants starting from here. Tonight, he’s facing El Gran Luchadore, the champion of Mexico, who he’s fought before and comes in to see him here (looks to be Shannon Moore this time around). This time, it’s going to be a massacre.

Tag Team Titles: Paul London/Billy Kidman vs. Dudley Boyz

The Dudleys are defending and this is a rematch from Velocity where the champs had to get themselves disqualified to save the titles. It’s a brawl to start with London hitting a top rope missile dropkick, followed by an assisted moonsault for two on D-Von. London unloads with right hands until Bubba low bridges him out to the floor. Back in and D-Von hits a Hennig neck snap of all things and it’s Bubba coming in to stay on the neck.

Actually make that the knee as Bubba finally takes notice of the big brace. D-Von comes back in to grab the foot and….really that’s about it. He doesn’t twist on it or anything and is really just putting his hands on the foot. Bubba adds the apron legdrop and it’s a reverse chinlock to keep D-Von in control.

The middle rope headbutt misses though and there’s the hot tag to Kidman, in full accordance with the tag team formula. Everything breaks down and it’s D-Von and London being sent to the floor. What would have been the longest What’s Up ever is broken up so Kidman rolls through and lets London hit it on Bubba instead. London’s superkick sets up the shooting star press to give Kidman the pin and the titles.

Rating: C. The title change is quite the surprise but the big deal here is how fast the Dudleys fell. They went from main eventing a pay per view to losing the titles completely clean here in about two weeks. That’s an incredible collapse and really, something that needed to happen. Amazingly enough, that would be the team’s last title reign in WWE. It’s almost hard to believe that they never did it again but they would be gone in a few months and then left for about ten years. Quite the low key ending to their title years.

Post break the celebration is on, complete with champagne and congratulations from Billy Gunn. Well now it’s certainly a big deal. The Dudleys come in and shake their hands and no violence ensues.

Kenzo Suzuki has Hiroko translate a promo for him. He doesn’t like what John Cena has been saying about him lately and wants revenge. Kenzo is misunderstood and has great respect for America because it’s the land of opportunity. Kenzo: “God bless of America!”

US Title: John Cena vs. Booker T.

Cena is defending but before the match he needs to remind us that the champ is here in Manitoba. Booker isn’t getting the title back tonight because Cena is five times better and has five times the groupies. Cena isn’t losing to a Whoopi Goldberg lookalike, which is a line that the fans rather like. Cue Kenzo Suzuki for a fight but Cena beats him down with ease. With Suzuki down on the floor, Luther Reigns comes in and lays Cena out with the reverse swinging neckbreaker. I guess the match will be taking place later, because Kurt Angle will send his goon in to lay Cena out, but he’s fair about things.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. El Gran Luchadore

Non-title and JBL makes sure to shake hands on the way to the ring. It’s such a relief to have this new “I love you people” gimmick than what we were getting before he won the title. It’s still bad, but it’s not insufferably bad and that’s a step up. Hang on though as JBL needs to sanitize his hands. That’s very important in a foreign company. Luchadore rolls away to start but gets caught with a right hand to the mask.

Back up and Luchadore poses a bit too much, earning himself another knockdown. A running dropkick has JBL in trouble and a moonsault press gets two. JBL has had it with this and sends him outside so the real beating can begin. The huge clothesline drops Luchadore and there’s a second one to make it even worse as the fans chant for Eddie. Luchadore gets tied in the Tree of Woe with JBL ripping at his face for painful measure. A belly to back superplex makes things even worse and JBL kicks him out to the floor.

Cue a second El Gran Luchadore from underneath the ring to throw JBL outside and leave a banana peel on the mat before hiding again. The referee is so confused that the Luchadores are able to switch and the Eddie Guerrero dance might give you a clue as to what’s going on (in case you’re REALLY slow). Three Amigos (Cole: “That’s Mexican!”) have JBL bailing to the floor and it’s a countout as Luchadore says there’s no running next week.

Rating: D+. This was an entertaining squash until the angle, which went on a little longer than it needed to. JBL not taking a pin is a good idea as he doesn’t have the highest standing in the world at the moment and having him get beaten so soon would have been a bad idea. Not as bad of an idea as making him champion in the first place, but a bad idea nonetheless.

Luchadore says play Eddie’s music because they’re close.

Booker says he’ll win the title because he’s better than Cena. That’s about as to the point as you can get.

Raw Rebound.

Rey Mysterio, Scotty 2 Hotty and Spike Dudley are ready for their six man tonight when Bubba and D-Von come in to talk to their cousin. Scotty and Rey leave and advise Spike to help defend the family name tonight because he already let them down last week. Spike says he didn’t want their advice last week when they were champions. Why would he want it now? Sick little burn there.

Rey Mysterio/Scotty 2 Hotty/Spike Dudley vs. Chavo Guerrero/Akio/Jamie Noble

It’s off to Scotty to clean house and everything breaks down. Spike drops a top rope double stomp to the ribs and stomps on Chavo in the corner. The Dudley Dog gets two on Noble with Chavo making a quick save. That earns Chavo the Worm but Akio knocks Scotty outside. Chavo ducks the 619 so Rey catapults him outside, setting up a top rope Asai moonsault onto Chavo and Akio. Back in and Noble tiger drives the heck out of Spike for the pin. Like I said: Rey didn’t need partners.

Rating: B-. This was a heck of a fun little match with all six guys going out there and getting in everything they could in a little bit of time. Mysterio needs a fresh challenger though and it would make sense to have Noble (or anyone for that matter) come after the title. They could have had something special with more time, but what we got was quite good.

Paul Heyman doesn’t care about the Dudleys losing the Tag Team Titles because he has to worry about the Undertaker. Fair point actually. Heyman needs to say something to Undertaker and he’ll do it in the ring tonight.

We look back at last week’s completely unshocking moment with Undertaker announcing that with Paul Bearer gone, he’s going to destroy Paul Heyman.

Speaking of Heyman, he’s in the ring, with the Urn, to address Undertaker. He pulls out a statement, which says that everything that happened to Bearer was the Dudleys’ fault. Then the Dudleys got what they deserved so now Heyman wants to make a peace offering: the return of the Urn. Near tears, Heyman gets down on his knees and begs for a pass, rather than begging for forgiveness. No one is backing him up out here and he’s a little lamb lost in the wilderness, begging the reaper to pass on by. If Undertaker lets him live, Heyman will cross his path no more. And that’s it as I guess we’ll get to that later.

US Title: John Cena vs. Booker T.

The banged up Cena is defending. Hang on though as here’s Kurt Angle, still in a wheelchair but now carrying a cane. The distraction lets Booker get in a cheap shot and the beating is on in a hurry. A superkick gets two and it’s off to a top wristlock instead of staying on the bad neck. Cena starts the early comeback with a powerslam and hip toss for two each, followed by the Shuffle for two more.

The FU is blocked with the grab of the rope and Booker dumps him. Angle gets to his feet for the first time in months and limps over to Cena for a cane shot (breaking the cane) to the back. We take a break and come back with Booker dropping a knee and grabbing the chinlock. What a change of pace to coming back to the chinlock. Totally different you see. Cena fights up like a good guy fighting out of a chinlock but walks into a spinebuster.

The jumping kick to the face gets a delayed two and it’s right back to the chinlock. Cena kicks out of three straight covers and, you know it, back to the chinlock again. Back up yet again and Cena grabs a DDT for two of his own. Booker’s snap suplex gets the same and a Cactus Clothesline puts them both on the floor. Cena isn’t done and clotheslines Booker into Angle. Back in and Cena hits the FU but Reigns comes in for the DQ.

Rating: D. Quite the slog of a match here with Booker using a ton of chinlocks and Cena’s neck injury not having much to do with the match. With Booker jumping Cena from behind, you could have written the Reigns attack from earlier out entirely and not changed a thing. These two should be capable of so much more and that’s kind of a shame given how the match had been set up.

Post match Reigns beats Cena down but Angle says bring the title with him. Cena causing Angle to be knocked over is enough for him to be stripped of the US Title. Angle is very happy to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Not a very good show here with the six man tag being the only really strong part. The Eddie/JBL segment did its job but took too long to make it work as well as it should have. Other than that, the show was pretty mediocre at best and that’s not enough to make a full show work. That being said, I’ll take this over the horrible shows they were putting on just a few months ago any day.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

A bunch of words say it all.

Daniel Bryan is actually pretty good as a heel. I enjoyed his first major heel run in WWE when he cashed in on big show, but he’s actually impressing me thus far with his skills. Is there any way he can get someone else to his WM30 level as a face? I guess the only option is Styles. Daniel Bryan’s build build was well in progress by this time.

I can answer this in….well in several words actually.

No. No no, no no no, no no.

Here’s the problem: Bryan’s face run was one of a kind. It was lightning in a bottle with the fans wanting to cheer for Bryan. Not someone like Bryan, but Bryan himself. I mean, if it was just someone like Bryan, why wouldn’t they do the same thing again? Look at how many times WWE has tried to recreate Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon. It’s a great story, but it’s only really worked that one time because A, it was the right people at the right time and B, everything that comes after it looks like they’re trying to recreate the same idea.

As for now though, Bryan is still trying to find his footing as a heel. I’ve liked a lot of what he’s doing and he’s going to be great at it (again, because he’s done it before) but building him up to that level by Wrestlemania isn’t going to happen. That Wrestlemania was a years long process (you could easily argue that it was started all the way back at Wrestlemania XXVIII, if not earlier) and had the right people with the right stories and the right precision with the right people involved. And a great story which I still think was a complete work from the start (yes, I think the 2014 Royal Rumble was WWE’s plan all along).

Overall though, Bryan’s title reign can be a great story that can have an awesome finish as someone finally shuts him up to take the title and become a big star in the process. However, it’s not going to be the kind of story that takes over the company, at least somewhat because Bryan is on Smackdown and that’s just not how something like this works in WWE. It’s going to be an awesome angle, but not the kind of game changer that Bryan’s road to New Orleans was. That was once in a lifetime and you can’t recreate it, no matter how much WWE may want to.