Smackdown
Date: November 10, 2023
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Kevin Owens, Michael Cole, Kevin Patrick

Crown Jewel is out of the way and that means it is time to get closer to Survivor Series. That could make for some interesting situations around here, as we already have a WarGames match set on Raw. I’m not sure what they have around here for a Smackdown version, though Damage CTRL vs. etc. is an option. Let’s get to it.

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

Kevin Owens is brought out as the guest commentator since Corey Graves is at home with his new baby. That old excuse?

Here is the LWO (Owens is a fan) to get things going. Rey Mysterio talks about losing his US Title at Crown Jewel, but the reality is that Logan Paul stole it. Paul needed brass knuckles to win the title, but here is Carlito to interrupt. He wants to talk about Crown Jewel, where Santos Escobar left the knuckles on the apron. The argument is on and Escobar walks out, much to Rey’s chagrin.

Bobby Lashley vs. Carlito

The Street Profits and the LWO are at ringside. Lashley runs him over to start and hammers away in the corner as B-Fab is watching backstage. The Hurt Lock is countered with a jawbreaker and Carlito manages a suplex. They head outside where Lashley gets in a posting and we take a break. Back with B-Fab still watching as Ashante Thee Adonis comes up to ask what she’s doing before they leave together. Carlito fights back and the seconds get in a fight outside. Montez Ford gets in a cheap shot to Carlito though and Lashley hits the spear for the pin at 9:28.

Rating: C+. This feels like it was more about the pre-match deal with Escobar than anything here. That being said, despite Carlito’s recent return, he wasn’t in Lashley’s league on his best day so this was the right way to go. Lashley feels like he could be an easy step away from the main event scene again, so beating Carlito, even with an assist, makes sense.

Post match Santos Escobar doesn’t get in to help but Rey Mysterio runs in with a chair for the save. Rey yells at Escobar and checks on Carlito….and Escobar jumps Rey from behind. Escobar gets knocked to the apron but he crushes Rey’s leg in the steps.

Post break Escobar is leaving and says Rey had it coming.

Kevin Owens says he’s turned on a lot of people, but even he wouldn’t turn on Rey Mysterio.

We look at Iyo Sky defeating Bianca Belair to retain the Smackdown Women’s Title at Crown Jewel with an assist from the returning Kairi Sane.

Here is Bayley for a chat. She has had a lot of success since Damage CTRL started and we hear about everything Iyo Sky has done. Then Kairi Sane returned and Bayley would like an explanation. Cue the rest of Damage CTRL, plus Sane. Sky said she had her own plan and it involve Sane helping her keep the title. Bayley brings up her knocking Sane out of WWE back in 2020 (and we get a clip).

Dakota Kai says Sane makes the team stronger and they’re just trying to take some weight off of Bayley. Sane says she respects Bayley as the leader of Damage CTRL. We get the tentative hug but here is Bianca Belair to interrupt. Damage CTRL points out the numbers game so here is Charlotte…..and Asuka. Apparently tonight it’s a six woman tag.

Video on Dragon Lee.

Dragon Lee vs. Cedric Alexander

Joined in progress with both of them running the ropes until Alexander dropkicks him to the floor. Back in and Alexander snaps off a tornado DDT, setting up the running kick to the back of the head. Lee is back with a dropkick to the floor for a running flip dive, followed by a sitout powerbomb back inside. Alexander sends him hard into the corner and they slug it out. Lee hits a basement superkick but charges into a running Spanish Fly. One heck of a Michinoku Driver gets two on Lee but the Lumbar Check is blocked. Destino finishes Alexander at 5:51.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of a match where you knew exactly what you were going to get as soon as the match was announced. They were able to go out and fly all over the place for about six minutes and that made for an entertaining spectacle. Alexander might not be doing anything important at the moment but he can still turn it on when he gets in the ring.

We look at Logan Paul winning the US Title at Crown Jewel.

Here is LA Knight for a chat before his match. Knight says Crown Jewel didn’t go as he planned and he could come out here and say things didn’t go as planned. The fans still seem to like him, so Knight talks about coming within an inch of winning the title. But then Jimmy Uso got involved and Knight was robbed. Roman Reigns needs to give Jimmy a raise but Knight isn’t done with the Bloodline until he wins the WWE Title.

Cue Grayson Waller (Knight’s scheduled opponent) to say Knight is blaming everyone but himself. Maybe Knight just isn’t the guy. Knight calls Waller a jackass and says the Grayson Waller Effect sounds like an STD. Waller doesn’t like being accused of being in his mother’s basement and the fight is on, with Waller taking some water to the face.

LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller

Knight clotheslines him down to start and cranks on the arm, with Waller bailing out to the floor. A slingshot shoulder hits Waller as this is one sided so far. Knight’s swinging neckbreaker seems to wake Waller up a bit as he hits Knight in the face. That doesn’t seem to bother Knight, who backdrops him to the floor, setting up the rams into the announcers’ table. Waller manages to send him into the steps and hit a hard clothesline though and we take a break.

Back with Waller stomping on the back and grabbing a half crab. With that broken up, the rope walk elbow gives Waller two. Knight avoids another elbow though and snaps off some alternating jabs. A DDT gives Knight two and the LA Elbow into the BFT finishes Waller off at 11:24.

Rating: C+. That’s all it needed to be as Knight needed a nice win to give him a boost after last week’s loss. Knight lost the biggest match of his career but he is already at least somewhat back on track. Waller is the definition of someone who can be built back up with a few annoying chats.

Owens gives us a slow motion video looking at his punch to Grayson Waller and Austin Theory two weeks ago. Telestrating is included.

Classic Smackdown moment: John Cena debuts and gives Kurt Angle a run for his money.

We look at Solo Sikoa laying out John Cena and possibly knocking him into retirement.

Owens shows us the punch again….so here are Austin Theory and Grayson Waller in person. They throw an empty water bottle at Kevin Patrick, so Owens says he’s about to get suspended (the penalty for getting physical tonight) and goes after them for the brawl.

Jimmy Uso is ready for LA Knight next week. He calls Roman Reigns, who makes him be a bit more serious.

Damage CTRL vs. Bianca Belair/Asuka/Charlotte

Belair slams Bayley down to start and the villains are sent to the floor in a heap. Charlotte boots Bayley outside as well and we take a break. Back with Charlotte sending Bayley flying with a fall away slam so it’s off to Sane. Belair comes in with a delayed vertical suplex but Sane gets in a shot to the face.

Some double teaming drops Belair on the apron for two and the beating ensues. Belair fights out of the corner but Sane pulls Charlotte to the floor. A shot to Bayley lets Belair get over for the tag….but Asuka pulls away and mists Belair. Asuka and Sane hug, with Bayley and Sky joining in. Charlotte breaks it up and the big beatdown is good for the DQ at 7:31.

Rating: C+. In a way, this felt like a way to turn this into a WarGames match, but they don’t have a ton of time left to make that happen. With only two shows left before Survivor Series, we have two weeks to find Damage CTRL a fourth opponent and announce the match. That could still be done, but that isn’t exactly leaving them a ton of time.

Post match the beating is on, with Shotzi’s save attempt not working well. Belair is back up but the beatdown is on, with the Insane Elbow leaving Shotzi laying. The villains pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a pretty by the book show and that isn’t a bad thing. On one hand, they seemed to set some stages for Survivor Series, but at the same time, it needed to be the kind of show that got things ready rather than getting ready to set things up later. What we got wasn’t bad, but I was expecting a little big more with the show less than three weeks away. Good enough show, even it might not have been the right kind.

Results
Bobby Lashley b. Carlito – Spear
Dragon Lee b. Cedric Alexander – Destino
LA Knight b. Grayson Waller – BFT
Charlotte/Asuka/Bianca Belair b. Damage CTRL via DQ when Damage CTRL attacked Charlotte

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

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: November 9, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re finally back to the regular shows after two weeks of one offs. That means we can get the first week of fallout from Bound For Glory as we start the long road towards Hard To Kill. That also means the road towards the return of TNA Wrestling, which will likely get a lot of talk this week. Let’s get to it.

We open with a Turning Point recap.

Tasha Steelz vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Fallout from their tag team falling apart. They shake hands to start and fight over a lockup with neither being able to get anywhere. Some grappling goes nowhere either so it’s a test of strength instead. A quick pinfall reversal sequence gets two each and they’re back up for the standoff. Steelz snaps off a running hurricanrana and we pause for some dancing. Purrazzo is fine enough to tie her up for a running dropkick, setting up some dancing of her own.

Steelz’ Black Out is broken up and we get another standoff. They fight over more rollups for two each until a double knockdown gives us a breather. Purrazzo pulls her into the Fujiwara armbar but Steelz reverses into her own Venus de Milo. That’s broken up as well so Purrazzo goes for the Fujiwara armbar again, with Steelz raking the eyes to escape. Steelz snaps off a cutter and a second finishes Purrazzo at 9:25.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the whole mirroring each other but they made it work well enough here. Assuming you ignore that they were only a team for a few weeks, this was a pretty good fight between two of the better stars in the division. At the worst, it’s nice to see Steelz getting elevated a bit, especially since Purrazzo can’t challenge for the Knockouts Title anymore.

Alex Shelley is ready to give Jonathan Gresham a World Title shot tonight. May the best man win.

We look at the ABC getting the Tag Team Titles back at Bound For Glory.

ABC are ready to be the first TNA Tag Team Champions of this generation. Santino Marella comes in to praise them but here are Kenny King and Sheldon Jean to complain about the lack of Digital Media Title shot. The villains mock the ABC and get a Tag Team Title shot next week.

Digital Media Title: Tommy Dreamer vs. Crazzy Steve

Dreamer is defending. They lock up to start and fight out to the floor before Steve takes it back inside for some chopping. A neckbreaker and knee lift get Dreamer out of trouble but Steve knocks him right back down and sings him a lullaby. Dreamer shrugs off some ripping at the face and slugs away.

A reverse DDT gives Dreamer two but the Dreamer Driver is broken up. Steve hits a Cannonball and goes for the fork but Dreamer bites the arm. Dreamer hits a cutter and stabs him with the fork instead. More stabbing has Steve running away and cackling as the match just kind of ends at about 7:15. I’d assume it was a DQ but I didn’t actually hear a bell.

Rating: C. Well, at least Dreamer didn’t win. I would hope that we are going to be seeing a rematch where Steve wins the title as there is no reason for Dreamer to be a long term champion. Dreamer going violent to even things up is fine, but he needs to drop the title to Steve, who is doing some good stuff right now.

Post match Steve crawls away and laughs some more.

Jonathan Gresham is ready to show that honor rises above the chaos.

Joe Hendry vs. Brian Myers

Before the match, Hendry talks about how a rebranding is coming, but we’ll start it tonight. For years, Myers has been known as Edge’s b****, but now he’s Adam’s b****! Hendry slugs away but an elbow to the face cuts him off. We’re already in the chinlock for a bit before Hendry avoids the Roster Cut.

Myers is sent crashing out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Hendry working on the arm and getting two off a suplex. A swinging slam puts Myers down but he’s right back up with a Russian legsweep for two. Hendry is back with a Trust Fall and we go to another break with Myers in trouble.

We come back again with Hendry slamming him down for two more, only to have Myers post him hard. The chinlock goes on again, until Hendry fights up for the clothesline comeback. Three straight fall away slams give Hendry two but Myers’ implant DDT gets the same. Hendry hits a pop up powerbomb for two, only to have Myers go to the eyes. The Roster Cut finishes for Myers at 17:01.

Rating: B-. These two were getting going at the end and it was working out when they went to the eye rake. Hendry losing again isn’t great to see but what matters is getting him in the ring for a good while. That being said, putting Myers over Hendry is a little weird to see, as Hendry has long since felt like a potential breakout star.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. Will Ospreay.

Ospreay brags about his success and knows what he’s coming up against in Alexander. We’ll see if Alexander has what it takes to beat the best.

Eddie Edwards vs. Eric Young

Alisha Edwards is here with Eddie. They fight over a lockup to start and neither can get very far. Young scores with a dropkick before sliding between the legs. The sunset flip is blocked though and Eddie hits an atomic drop to take over. Alisha even adds some choking before Eddie puts on the chinlock.

A slam puts Young down again but he’s fine enough to avoid a moonsault. Alisha’s distraction doesn’t really work though as Young drops the top rope elbow for two. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Eddie two so Alisha slides in a chair. The referee takes that away so Alisha grabs a kendo stick, which hits Eddie by mistake. Young hits a piledriver for the win at 6:42.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have nearly enough time for it to go anywhere, which is a bit annoying as these two are big enough stars to be able to do something. At the same time, Alisha screwing up isn’t going to go well and we might be in for a little something there. For now though, Young getting a win isn’t a surprise, even if it’s been done to death.

Brian Myers runs into Moose and they argue over loyalty. Heath comes in and is willing to fight both of them.

Sonny Kiss is excited to be here and wants a Knockouts Title shot. Trinity comes in and says she’ll try to make it happen next week.

Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius vs. Nick Diamond/Storm Grayson

Alpha Bravo is here with Dango and Prudius, the latter of whom is having his first match in over twelve years. Prudius wrecks Diamond as Dango goes to join commentary. Grayson comes in and gets knocked out of the air, allowing Dango to come in for the reverse layout DDT and the pin at 2:38.

Jordynne Grace is ready to win the Knockouts Title at Hard To Kill when Bully Ray comes in. Ray mocks her and offers a handshake but KiLynn King comes in to say Grace got lucky to win. Ray, King’s trainer, tells her to take it down a notch. Steve Maclin comes in to call Ray soft but Ray says Maclin is standing there because Ray lets him.

The Rascalz introduces their third member: Myron Reed.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Alex Shelley

Shelley is defending. Gresham gives him a handshake to start but gets taken into the corner as we go to an early break. Back with Shelley running him over, setting up the chop off. Gresham goes to take off his wrist tape and the distraction lets him get in a low blow. A running dropkick to the knee takes Shelley out and we hit the Figure Four. With that broken up, Gresham grabs at the nose as Hannifan is all over Gresham’s lack of integrity. Back up and they lock hands for a strike off but Gresham hits a shinbreaker.

Gresham stays on the leg with more shots as he mixes things up a bit. Wrist tape choking ensues but Shelley slips out and cranks on the arm. A modified Backstabber puts Gresham down but he’s right back with a dragon screw legwhip. We get a dueling OLD CHAMP/NEW CHAMP chant until Gresham takes out the leg again. Gresham is sent outside though and Shelley hits a slingshot dive (Huh?).

A whip towards the barricade leaves Shelley collapsing to the ground and a running forearm gives Gresham two back inside. Shelley Downward Spirals Gresham into the middle buckle, setting up a tornado DDT. The Border City Stretch goes on, but Gresham crawls over the referee to make the rope. Gresham is back on the knee and a rolling cradle gets two.

They slug it out until Shelley snaps the bad arm. Shelley’s knee gives out as well though and Gresham hits a springboard moonsault. They go into a rather intense pinfall reversal sequence for two each until Gresham gets the Figure Four again. The rope is grabbed again and Shelley superkicks him into the Shell Shock to retain at 24:46.

Rating: B. Heck of a TV main event here as they had a good story going with the arm vs. leg battle. Gresham is someone who can wrestle with anyone and knows how to pick apart a limb. At the same time you have Shelley, who is on an absolute roll right now, giving us an awesome match between two of the better stars Impact has to offer today.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was rather good and the rest of the show backed it up well enough. While they didn’t do a lot for Hard To Kill, the two main singles title matches are already set so things could be a good bit worse. They set up a few things for next week though and I’ll take some small development over none at all. Good show here, with the main event being by far the best thing.

Results
Tasha Steelz b. Deonna Purrazzo – Cutter
Tommy Dreamer vs. Crazzy Steve went to a no contest
Brian Myers b. Joe Hendry – Roster Cut
Eric Young b. Eddie Edwards – Piledriver
Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius b. Nick Diamond/Storm Grayson – Reverse layout DDT to Grayson
Alex Shelley b. Jonathan Gresham – Shell Shock

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

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AND

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Survivor Series 2007
Date: November 18, 2007
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 12,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross, Tazz, Joey Styles

It is pretty rare when you have a true one match card but that is what we have here, as Batista is defending the Smackdown World Title against the Undertaker inside the Cell. There might be a few other things going on here, but that has been treated as the be all and end all of the show, as it should be. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the history of the Survivor Series before we move on to this year’s preview.

ECW World Title: Miz vs. John Morrison vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and for the sake of sanity, I’ll only refer to him as champion. It’s a brawl to start with Punk getting double teamed down into the corner. Morrison catapults Punk into the corner but he comes out with a middle rope crossbody. Punk knocks Miz to the floor but the springboard clothesline is broken up to put Punk down again. Miz breaks up Punk’s springboard with a shot to the floor though and it’s a camel clutch to Punk.

That means Morrison comes in for the save, setting up a backbreaker into a neckbreaker to drop Punk again. A suplex from the apron gets two on Miz but he is right back with a running corner clothesline. Punk is back in with a hurricanrana to send Morrison into Miz for a powerbomb and a near fall. The running knee in the corner sets up the corner bulldog to give Punk two on Miz and a double underhook backbreaker onto the knee gets the same. Morrison is back up to go after Miz, only to be sent outside. That leaves Punk to GTS Miz and retain.

Rating: C+. Miz and Morrison’s rise continues as the two of them have become rather dependable on ECW, and now elsewhere. It makes sense to give them the Tag Team Titles and now we should be seeing even more of them. This was a good way to get the show going as Punk has to work to retain and Miz and Morrison have come far enough that they didn’t seem like cannon fodder.

We look at MVP turning on Matt Hardy, costing the two of them the Tag Team Titles.

MVP says Matt will not be wrestling tonight because he can’t walk. He is tired of being Matt’s latest crutch and he is better than any of his opponents tonight.

Beth Phoenix/Melina/Jillian Hall/Layla/Victoria vs. Kelly Kelly/Michelle McCool/Mickie James/Maria/Torrie Wilson

One fall to a finish rather than elimination rules. Michelle suplexes Victoria to start and then kicks her in the face for two. Torrie comes in and gets swung into the side slam, only to come back with a suplex. It’s off to Jillian vs. Kelly, with the latter grabbing a rollup for two of her own. Phoenix comes in and plants Maria but a missed charge allows the hot tag to James to clean house. Everything breaks down and Mickie hits the Long Kiss Goodnight to finish Melina.

Rating: D+. What else were you expecting here? It was a bunch of the good women vs. the bad women and there is only so much you’re going to get from a match like that. They didn’t have time to do anything and given some of the skill levels of the women involved, that is not a bad idea. The positive sign is that the women are making progress, but a lot of them still aren’t ready to be in a match like this. Leave this thing to Raw.

William Regal and Coach are ready to see Hornswoggle get crushed by Great Khali.

Randy Orton is ready to disappoint everyone and break the Heart Break Kid.

Shawn Michaels wants revenge. And the title.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch vs. Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes

Holly and Rhodes are challenging. Rhodes and Cade start things off with Cade grabbing a hiptoss for some early celebrating. A sunset flip gives Cody one and the headlock goes on. That just earns Cody a backbreaker to cut him off so it’s off to Murdoch for a change. Cody takes him into the corner and it’s Holly coming in to forearm away. The hanging kick to the low abdomen has Cade in trouble and the champs need a breather on the floor.

Back in and it’s an atomic drop into a running boot to Holly’s face as Murdoch takes over again. Cade atomic drops Murdoch into a legdrop on Cody for two more and we’re off to the chinlock. Holly suplexes his way out of trouble but Cade is right there with a clothesline. The second atomic drop/legdrop misses though and it’s Cody coming in to very little reaction to clean house. Everything breaks down and Murdoch Code Reds Cody to retain.

Rating: C-. This would have been fine on any given Raw, meaning it was a pretty disappointing pay per view match. Cade and Murdoch are fine as champions and Rhodes and Holly are getting there as a veteran/rookie team, but they aren’t ready for this kind of a match on pay per view. It was far from bad, but this match was sent out there to die and I think WWE knew that was going to happen.

Team HHH, which is down a man due to Matt Hardy’s knee injury, is ready for Team Umaga. Rey Mysterio talks about being an underdog, but that has never been Kane’s thing. Kane brings up the Katie Vick incident (and goes into details). Then Jeff Hardy reminds HHH of the time he put Jeff in the hospital. HHH: “Uh, my bad.” HHH says this is the night when they can come together and do something terrible, so let’s go do it.

Team Umaga vs. Team HHH

Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, Finlay, Big Daddy V, MVP
HHH, Jeff Hardy, Kane, Rey Mysterio

Matt Striker is here with Big Daddy V. Rey and Kennedy get things going and it’s an early exchange of arm cranking. A running headscissors takes Kennedy down and a Code Red gives Rey two (so based on the previous match, Trevor Murdoch is better at Code Redding than Rey Mysterio). Hardy comes in and gets blasted by Kennedy so MVP comes in for a front facelock.

It’s off to V and the big beatdown ensues, only to have Hardy dive over for the tag to Kane. V belly to belly suplexes him down but Kane is right back up with a top rope clothesline. That doesn’t seem to bother V though as he hits a pair of drops (Samoan and elbow) for the elimination. HHH comes in to slug away on V but a clothesline puts him straight down. Umaga comes in with a belly to belly of his own but misses the middle rope headbutt.

That means Rey can come back in and the basement dropkick gets a quick two. The 619 into the springboard seated senton for two more but the springboard crossbody is countered into a wicked release Rock Bottom. The Samoan Spike gets rid of Rey and it’s 5-2. Kennedy tags himself in for some reason and misses a charge into the corner. Hardy misses the slingshot dropkick in the corner though and it’s MVP coming in with a chinlock. MVP misses a running kick though and the Twist of Fate gives Hardy a fast elimination.

HHH comes back in for a clothesline on Kennedy and the spinebuster follows. V comes in for the save but elbows Kennedy by mistake, allowing HHH to steal the pin. That doesn’t work for V, who pulls HHH outside and posts Hardy for a bonus. Back in and a double DDT plants V and HHH evens it up at 2-2.

Finlay starts dropping elbows on HHH before dropping some elbows on HHH. Back up and HHH makes it over for the tag without much effort and Hardy comes in with the slingshot dropkick in the corner. The Whisper in the Wind hit Finlay and the mule kick hits Umaga, allowing HHH to come back in. There’s the spinebuster to Finlay and the Pedigree leaves us with HHH/Hardy vs. Umaga. HHH avoids the running hip attack in the corner and it’s the Pedigree into the Swanton for the final pin.

Rating: B-. Not one of the all time classic Survivor Series matches but they set up HHH and Hardy as a pair of buzzsaws to run through the rest of the team. The HHH vs. Umaga feud has been pretty much decided multiple times now so the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt. This was more or less the Raw main event and it could have been worse, but I could have gone for a lot better for the one elimination match on the show.

We get a preview of Batista vs. Undertaker with a look at their Cell match in Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. Why Batista is wearing a Tag Team Title to the ring isn’t clear.

Vince McMahon sits down with Hornswoggle to explain why he made the match with Great Khali for tonight. Some people think that it is because Vince hates him, but it is really because he wants Hornswoggle to rise up like the McMahons do. Vince has been an underdog against Time Warner and the US government and he won. Now go win against Great Khali.

Great Khali vs. Hornswoggle

Shane McMahon comes out to introduce Vince McMahon and then Hornswoggle for some family flavor. We even get an old school explanation of the rules as the fans want Shaquille O’Neal (in the front row) to help Hornswoggle, but Vince grabs the mic and says he doesn’t care what the fans want. Hornswoggle kicks the knee and then dropkicks Runjin Singh through the ropes. The green mist sets up some right hands but Khali chases Hornswoggle off. The distraction lets Hornswoggle grab the shillelagh but Vince takes it away. Khali loads up the Vice Grip, only to have Finlay come in for the DQ.

Rating: D. What is there to say about something like this? The match was a segment instead of anything competitive and that is all it was ever going to be. At the end of the day, the Hornswoggle/Vince story has run out of steam and adding Finlay into the mix isn’t likely to make things that much better. Maybe they can shift things around, but Vince needs to be on to something else.

Post match Finlay destroys Khali with the shillelagh and a low blow, allowing Hornswoggle to escape.

Wrestlemania XXIV is in Orlando.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels for the Raw World Title. Michaels came back in September and went after Orton, who had put him on the shelf. Orton kept getting superkicked but got disqualified last month. Now Michaels wants revenge but can’t use the superkick. If he does, the match is instantly over, but if Orton tries to get disqualified, he loses the title.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels

Michaels is challenging and we even get a weapons check. Feeling out process with Michaels grabbing a cravate of all things to start. Orton can’t even slam his way out of the cravate but he can drive Shawn into the corner for some right hands. Michaels is right back with a choke on the back before switching to a front facelock as you can feel the anger and hatred here.

Back up and Orton is sent outside, with Shawn hitting an Asai moonsault to take him down. They get back inside with Shawn grabbing a…..wait for it…..Sharpshooter. Orton makes the rope and gets in a poke to the eye, setting up the hanging DDT for two. Shawn fights up and slugs it out, setting up the forearm. More right hands have Orton in trouble but he’s right back with a dropkick for two.

Some slams give Michaels a breather and the top rope elbow looks to set up Sweet Chin Music. That’s a head fake though and they trade some rollups for two each. Michaels grabs a Crossface instead but Orton gets a foot on the rope. The backbreaker cuts Michaels off again but he counters the Punt into an ankle lock of all things. The grapevine goes on in the middle, only to have Orton kick his way to freedom. Michaels’ Figure Four attempt is countered with a kick into the post so he teases the superkick but gets RKOed to retain Orton’s title.

Rating: B. Pretty good here, but the amount of stipulations they had going on made it a little difficult to believe that they were going to change the title here. Shawn not using the superkick at the end looked a bit awkward though and the ending only worked so well. They had a good match otherwise though, which has to be expected when it’s Shawn vs. Orton getting time.

Post match Orton talks trash to Shawn and gets superkicked.

SAVE US!

The Cell is lowered.

We recap Batista vs. Undertaker for Batista’s Smackdown World Title. They’ve fought several times this year and Batista finally beat him for the first time last month. Now it’s the big final showdown inside the Cell.

Smackdown World Title: Batista vs. Undertaker

Batista is defending inside the Cell. They start fast with Batista hitting a hard clothesline but having to elbow his way out of a chokeslam attempt. Undertaker punches him into the corner and hits Snake Eyes into the running big boot. The chair is brought in but Batista spears him down. Undertaker’s clothesline gets two this time and they head outside with Undertaker hammering away.

A face rake against the Cell sets up a chair to the throat has Batista in a lot of trouble so Undertaker chairs him in the ribs for two. Old School is countered into a spinebuster (that was cool) for a delayed two and it’s time to slug it out again. Batista’s running powerslam gets two and they head outside with Undertaker getting blasted with a clothesline. Undertaker is fine enough to whip him into the steps and now a chair to the head has Batista busted open.

Old School is broken up again and Batista hits a superplex but Undertaker pulls him into the triangle choke. Since we’re in the Cell, the rope breaks the hold (erg) and they head outside again. This time Batista hits him in the face with the steps and now Undertaker is busted open too. Back in and a chokeslam gives Undertaker two but the Tombstone is countered into another spinebuster for another near fall.

It’s table time, with Batista tossing him through it for two more. The Batista Bomb onto the steps is countered into a backdrop onto the steps. Undertaker plants him with the chokeslam for two, followed by another onto the steps….and a cameraman breaks it up. That’s because the cameraman is Edge, who cameras Undertaker in the head. A Conchairto on the steps knocks Undertaker silly and Edge puts Batista (who saw nothing) on top to retain.

Rating: B+. These two beat the heck out of each other and it felt like a war, with the Edge interference being a great surprise to give them a back door out of the match. What mattered here is they kept things high impact here, which is exactly what these two do best. Let them go in there and hit all their power stuff until one of them can’t get up, which granted was due to some help in this case. You can all but guarantee the triple threat next month and that is a fresh way to go, so nicely done.

Post match, Edge takes Undertaker down again and leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main events carry the show, but there is a really big gap between the top of the card and everything else. Even the third biggest match on the show doesn’t feel that important as the whole show was built around Batista vs. Undertaker. The show was a fun enough watch, but outside of the main event, it doesn’t feel like a lot of this matters in the long run.

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Survivor Series 2006
Date: November 26, 2006
Location: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 15,400
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

I’ve always been a big Survivor Series fan and there is something great about seeing a milestone show with the 20^th edition. On top of that, we have three elimination tag matches for a change and the card looks pretty awesome. Then again that has been the case with several shows before and you never know if it is going to live up to the hype. The big non-elimination match is Batista vs. King Booker for Book’s Smackdown World Title so let’s get to it.

The opening video briefly talks about the anniversary before moving on to a traditional hype video looking at the big matches.

Team Legends vs. Spirit Squad

Legends: Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes, Ron Simmons

Spirit Squad: Kenny, Johnny, Mikey, Nicky

Arn Anderson and Mitch are at ringside. The Squad has been insulting Flair and the rest of the legends so it’s time to go to school. Simmons is replacing the injured Roddy Piper and scares Mikey down to start. A powerslam drops Mikey again and it’s a bunch of clotheslines to take the rest of the Squad down. Mitch offers a distraction though and Simmons goes out after him.

The stalking and watching Anderson beat up Mitch take a bit too long though and Simmons gets counted out. Simmons takes Mitch to the back with him and Anderson is ejected (with the fans NOT approving). That means Nicky gets to come in and request a salute from Slaughter, who works on his arm instead. It’s off to Flair for some shots of his own before handing it back to Slaughter for the cobra clutch. Kenny gets in a kick to the back of Slaughter’s head though and the mostly out Nicky gets the pin.

Dusty comes in for the Bionic Elbow to get rid of Nicky and it’s 3-2. Some jabs get Dusty out of the corner but a rollup is enough to finish him off. That leaves Flair alone against Kenny/Mikey/Johnny but Flair grabs a rollup and puts his feet on the ropes for the pin. A small package gets rid of Kenny, meaning Flair can chop Johnny and put him in the Figure Four for the fast tap. Flair beat the last three of them in about two minutes.

Rating: D. The wrestling wasn’t the point here of course and it isn’t like the Squad means anything in the first place. Flair can beat all of these guys without breaking a sweat and he came pretty close here. The team almost has to be done now and that is going to be better for Raw at this point. The idea wasn’t going to work no matter what they did so to get as much as they did out of them is impressive enough. Pretty bad in-ring stuff, and that was never the point.

Post match the big beatdown is on with no one coming out for the save.

We recap Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero for Benoit’s US Title. Benoit thinks that Chavo and Vickie Guerrero are taking advantage of Eddie Guerrero’s estate but they told him to stay out of their business (a fair point). Chavo beat Benoit up and tonight he can win the title.

US Title: Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero

Chavo, with Vickie, is challenging. Benoit starts very fast with a slam into a backbreaker for two, followed by easily winning a strike off. A snap suplex and slam get two each on Chavo as JBL says Chavo made Rey quit like a little girl. I’m almost scared to imagine when/how JBL made a little girl say she quit. Chavo comes back with a series of strikes and sends Benoit hard into the post.

There’s a Saito suplex for two and the armbar goes on. Benoit gets creative with a Samoan drop to escape but Chavo dropkicks him right back down. A suplex sets up the frog splash for two but Chavo stops to yell some more. Benoit fights up again and knocks Chavo away for a needed breather so Vickie gets on the apron. After dealing the pesky manager, it’s the Crossface to retain the title.

Rating: C. That is pretty much it for Chavo being seen as anything serious as he loses the big showdown after Benoit kicks out of his finisher. What other reason is there to buy into him at this point? Chavo was not exactly a can’t miss prospect here anyway and it’s ok for him to not win, but this should wrap it up on him being seen as a serious villain, at least for the time being.

Lita, with Edge, affirms that she is still retiring after her title match against Mickie James no matter what. Edge makes fun of Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb while Cryme Tyme sneaks in and steals a box. Edge rants about DX as Cryme Tyme sneaks out of the room.

Women’s Title: Lita vs. Mickie James

Lita is defending and gets driven into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs to start. Some kicks to the ribs slow Mickie down and Lita counters a headscissors out of the corner by slamming Mickie down on her face (the simple ones always work). The fans deem Lita a “crack w****” as she gets some near falls. With the chant down, Lawler is right there with more jokes about Lita as the bodyscissors has Mickie in trouble.

Lita misses a splash of all things, sending Lawler into the joy of hope over a wardrobe malfunction. Mickie kicks her in the face for two but the hurricanrana out of the corner is countered into another faceplant. The Litacanrana gets two but the DDT is countered with a grab of the rope. They trade rollups for two each until Mickie hits the MickieDT for the pin and the title.

Rating: C-. The match was about what you would expect from a big Raw showdown but what matters is passing the torch (which Mickie has held before). The bad thing here was the amount of jokes at Lita’s expense, as commentary laid it in even thicker than usual. I know she’s leaving, but WWE can be rather cruel with these things at times, which was the case here.

Post match Lita insists on being called the greatest of all time but has to rant at the fans for disrespecting her so much. Cue Cryme Tyme with the box, sending Lita further over the edge. It’s time for a “ho sale” but it’s cash only. First item up is some yeast infection medicine, followed by some underwear (which JBL wants to smell before buying). Something that vibrates goes for $25 and finally, Lita’s box (it’s cheap and wide) is a hot item to wrap it up. Kind of a cruel way to go, but at least it saves them the cost of a trash bag (April 2021 reference for those of you reading this in 3847).

Earlier today, Batista wouldn’t answer any of Michel Cole’s questions. After a clip of the beatdown on Smackdown, Batista says he’s leaving as champion.

Team DX vs. Team Rated-RKO

DX: HHH/Shawn Michaels/Matt Hardy/CM Punk/Jeff Hardy

Rated-RKO: Edge/Randy Orton/Gregory Helms/Mike Knox/Johnny Nitro

The fans are way into Punk so HHH lets him ask if they are ready. The bell rings and HHH has Kelly Kelly get on the apron for a better view (while covering Shawn’s eyes of course). The distraction lets Shawn hit the superkick for a fast pin and elimination. Shawn chops away at Nitro and hands it off to Jeff to knock him down as well. Helms comes in to take Matt down and it’s Edge coming in as well to stomp away.

The villains start taking turns on Matt, who has to cover up from Nitro’s right hands to the head. Matt kicks him away and brings Punk in, much to the fans’ delight. Matt’s neck snap across the top sets up a Rock Bottom into the Anaconda Vice to eliminate Nitro. Orton dropkicks Punk down and Helms takes over with a front facelock to keep him on the mat for a bit.

The yet to be named Codebreaker connects for Helms and the RKO gets two with HHH making a save. It’s back to HHH for the jumping knees to the face as everything breaks down. Jeff and Shawn hit some dives onto the floor, leaving HHH to bust Helms’ spine. The Twist of Fate into the spinebuster gets rid of Helms and it’s Rated-RKO against all five members of the other team. Rated-RKO try to leave but get thrown back inside for Poetry in Motion into Sweet Chin Music to get rid of Edge. Another superkick into the Pedigree finishes Orton for the win.

Rating: D+. How weird is it to see a squash in a Survivor Series elimination match? Granted the talent on one side was completely nuts but my goodness man. This was completely one sided and I’m not sure how wise that was. Rated-RKO were decimated here, Helms’ title somehow lost even more value and Nitro was just a guy. It was fun, but I’m not sure if this was the smartest move.

We recap Mr. Kennedy vs. Undertaker. Kennedy is the latest young guy to go after Undertaker and say he is the new big star. This time Kennedy even managed to bust Undertaker open with his microphone so tonight it’s a First Blood match, which seems like a nice way out of having someone take a fall.

Mr. Kennedy is ready for his match but MVP gives him a pep talk anyway.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Undertaker

First Blood. Kennedy hammers away to start and gets knocked over the top for his efforts. Undertaker sends him face first into the announcers’ table and then throws Kennedy over it for a bonus. Some headbutts have Kennedy in pain and there’s a big boot to to drop him again. Kennedy is back up with a whip into the steps but gets posted to cut that off in a hurry. Back in and Undertaker hits a top rope superplex but Kennedy is back with a low blow.

Undertaker doesn’t seem to mind and kicks away at the ribs before hammering away in the corner. Another low blow slows Undertaker down but Kennedy’s nose is busted. Cue MVP to towel Kennedy’s blood off….and throw Kennedy back inside as payback for Kennedy doing the same thing on Smackdown. Kennedy hammers away but here is MVP with a chair, which hits Undertaker by mistake (in theory) to bust him open. The referee finally sees it to give Kennedy the win.

Rating: C. The ending sets up a few more things, including MVP’s complete and utter destruction. Much like MVP winning the cage match against Kane on Smackdown, this is the kind of win that helps make Kennedy look that much more important. Of course it would be better to have Undertaker get pinned, but that isn’t something that happens very often so take what you can get here. Granted that’s Undertaker beating Kennedy up for most of the match and then getting cheated at the end, though I doubt Kennedy would mind.

Post match Kennedy brags about the win and talks a lot of trash, allowing Undertaker to wrap a chair around Kennedy’s head. Kennedy is busted open and Undertaker gives him a nasty Tombstone. The gloves come off and some bare knuckle punches have the bloody Kennedy bleeding even more. The referee drags him off.

Queen Sharmell gives King Booker a pep talk so Booker can monologue about how this is it for Batista.

Team Cena vs. Team Big Show

Cena: John Cena, Bobby Lashley, Rob Van Dam, Kane, Sabu

Big Show: Big Show, Finlay, MVP, Test, Umaga

Cena avoids Umaga’s charge to start and sends him outside. Everything breaks down and Umaga hits Cena in the ribs with a TV monitor for the fact DQ. We settle down to Test elbowing Van Dam in the corner and planting him down so MVP can come in with the chinlock. Van Dam, with his nose bleeding, fights up and scores with the spinning kick to the face.

More kicks put all of the villains down and it’s Kane kicking MVP in the face. The Five Star gets rid of MVP but Test is right there with the big boot to eliminate Van Dam. Test sends Sabu outside but Lashley nails a spear, allowing Sabu to hit a tornado DDT for the pin. Show comes straight in to chokeslam Sabu for the pin as these eliminations are flying by. The Leprechaun comes out to give Finlay the Shillelagh and a shot to the head rocks Kane, setting up a chokeslam so Big Show can get rid of him too.

So it’s Cena/Lashley vs. Show/Finlay with Show powerslamming Cena in a hurry. Finlay comes in to stomp away but Cena gets in a knockdown of his own. That’s enough to bring in Lashley and everything breaks down again. A double clothesline drops Show but here’s the Leprechaun, who is thrown onto Cena. The distraction lets Lashley spear Finlay down for the pin and we’re down to 201. Cena manages to DDT Show and there’s a double suplex to put him down again. The finishing sequence is initiated and the FU finishes Show.

Rating: D+. his match, which featured eight eliminations, is now the longest match of the night at about twelve and a half minutes. I’m not sure why we need to go that short with everything but it has been a problem with almost everything on the show. Cena and Lashley teaming up to take out Show worked, but was there really any need for five eliminations in less than two minutes?

We recap Batista vs. King Booker for the Smackdown World Title. Batista had to vacate the title earlier this year due to an injury in this very building. It is his missing to get it back but Booker isn’t going it up so easily. If Batista loses, he can never challenge Booker for the title again.

Smackdown World Title: King Booker vs. Batista

Batista is challenging and starts fast by jumping him before the bell. They get inside to officially start the match with Batista hammering away in the corner. The threat of a Batista Bomb sends Booker bailing to the floor and the fans aren’t pleased. Back in and Batista hammers away even more but a hot shot gets Booker out of trouble. A catapult sends Batista throat first into the bottom rope and Booker stomps away even more.

Booker pokes him in the eye but you don’t need two eyes to hit a side slam for two. They head to the apron for a slugout with Batista knocking him back in. Sharmell grabs the leg though and Booker kicks him out to the floor again. Back in and Booker pounds him down into a chinlock as Cole asks JBL what it feels like to try and get the title back. JBL: “I’m not a loser Michael. Bring up something else.”

Batista fights up and hits the clotheslines into a big boot to send Booker outside. That means a whip into the steps, followed by a top rope shoulder (dang) for two back inside. Booker is right back with a Bookend for two but Batista is up with the Batista Bomb. They’re right next to the rope so Booker saves himself, allowing Sharmell to hand him the title. A Sharmell distraction doesn’t work though as Batista ducks the shot and takes the belt away. Batista’s belt shot is enough for the pin, the title, and the energized celebration.

Rating: D, This really didn’t work and the ending was stupid. How much of a conqueror does this make Batista, when he needed a belt shot to beat Booker? It’s a reclaiming the glory story and that should work, but the lack of drama didn’t help anything. Pretty awful main event with the main bright spot being the fact that they didn’t go long here. It’s the longest match of the show at less than fourteen minutes and it felt every one of them.

Batista celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. For a show that looked pretty fun on paper, this wound up being a nearly complete miss with nothing worth seeing, a bunch of matches that felt rushed, and a World Title change in the end that was about as lame as possible. These Survivor Series matches are supposed to be about hanging in there over a grueling match, but Finlay and Benoit had a match on Smackdown that was longer than anything here. It wasn’t the worst show, but someone needs to teach them how to Survivor Series.

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Survivor Series 2005
Date: November 27, 2005
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 15,000
Commentators: Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman, Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s all about Raw vs. Smackdown as the big elimination tag is all that matters around here. That’s in addition to the Raw World Title match, which should be another good but not exactly thrilling showdown. I’m not sure what to expect for most of the show, but that elimination tag is the centerpiece of the show. Let’s get to it.

The opening sequence is almost all about Raw vs. Smackdown, as it should be.

Booker T. vs. Chris Benoit

Match #1 in a best of seven series for the vacant US Title. Benoit gets backed into the corner to start and it’s a surprisingly clean break. Booker slams him down but Benoit pops back up for a standoff. Some forearms puts Booker on the floor and we’re still in low first gear. They go to the mat with Benoit easily getting the better of things and cranking on the leg to limited success.

That’s enough for Booker to take another breather on the floor. Back in and Booker elbows him in the face so Benoit hits him with a running forearm. That just earns Benoit a side slam for two and the armbar goes on. Make that an abdominal stretch but Benoit fights out again and hits an elbow. Booker elbows him into the corner and gets two off a neckbreaker.

A reverse chinlock doesn’t last long so Booker goes with the jumping kick to the face instead. Benoit grabs a quick dragon screw legwhip but the Sharpshooter is countered into a small package for two. The rolling German suplexes work a bit better but Sharmell’s distraction delays the Swanton, allowing Booker to roll away. A rollup with feet on the ropes and Sharmell grabbing the leg is enough for Booker to get the pin.

Rating: B. This was better than their Smackdown match as they were able to build things up a bit better. It’s a good way to start off the show, though it’s not like these matches matter all that much until we get to what is more than likely going to be a seventh match. That sounds good in theory, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the match get a little boring by that point.

Eric Bischoff meets with Vince McMahon in the back and talks about the history of screwjobs at Survivor Series. Tonight, Bischoff Screws Cena. Cue Cena: “So Eric Bischoff screws guys.” Bischoff leaves and Cena shakes Vince’s hand. In a legendary line, Vince: “Keep it up my n****.” Vince struts off as Booker and Sharmell look flabbergasted. I can’t believe this is uncensored on the Network.

Women’s Title: Melina vs. Trish Stratus

Trish is defending and this is interpromotional after Melina and MNM kidnapped Trish on Raw. Mickie James and Melina are here as well. Trish jumps her to start and sends Melina outside for the big dive onto all three of them. Back in and a hair toss sends Melina down and the headscissors does the same. Melina gets in a knee to the back and a kick to the ribs.

They trade boot chokes in the corner and but Melina goes after Mickie, leaving MNM to try the Snapshot on Trish. That’s broken up by a referee actually paying attention and the two of them are ejected. We hit a modified surfboard, which I’m sure is not just an excuse to put Trish in various positions. The Matrish is broken up with a shot to the ribs for two but the Stratusphere works just fine. Stratusfaction is broken up but Mickie saves Trish from a cheap shot to the back. A top rope bulldog retains the title.

Rating: D+. There was only so much you could do here as there is no secret to the fact that this is setting up Mickie challenging Trish for the title at some point in the future. Melina hadn’t gotten good in the ring yet so for now she’s glorified eye candy who can do a passable match. In other words, she’s a traditional Diva of the era.

We recap HHH vs. Ric Flair in a Last Man Standing match. Flair beat him last month in a cage match so now it’s about ending each other in the way WWE ends people.

HHH vs. Ric Flair

Non-title and Last Man Standing. HHH jumps him in the aisle and the beating is on in a hurry with Flair’s robe and belt being ripped off. Flair gets in a kendo stick to the ribs (Flair using a kendo stick is just wrong) and they head into the crowd with HHH managing to backdrop him back to ringside. A suplex has Flair in more trouble inside and the pace slows a bit.

They go outside again and a screwdriver to the head busts Flair open in a hurry. Back in and some kneedrops make the blood flow even more and it’s already back to the floor. HHH takes too long setting up the announcers’ table though and Flair sends him face first into the steps. A spinebuster on the floor cuts Flair off again though as this has been one hope spot after another with HHH dropping him every time. HHH grabs a microphone to yell but Flair grabs him low.

That earns him a trip into the announcers’ table but Flair backdrops him through the other one in the first really big spot of the match. HHH is up at eight so Flair takes him back inside for some chops. Some right hands put Flair down as well so he hits HHH low to even things up. A chair to the head puts HHH down and Flair bites at the head, followed by a crotching against the post.

The chop block takes HHH down again but the Figure Four is broken up. Flair doesn’t seem to mind as he wraps the knee around the post and smashes it with a chair. NOW the Figure Four can go on and Flair even grabs the rope for a bonus. HHH taps so Flair can claim a bit of a moral victory and the hold is let go. A shot to the face knocks Flair into the corner and the steps to the head give HHH five.

There’s the drop toehold to send HHH face first into the steps but he staggers up and hits a Pedigree. Flair pulls himself up so there’s a second Pedigree. He’s up again so they hit the same sequence one more time. Flair gets to his feet a third time so it’s a sledgehammer shot to the….something well hidden by a camera cut but it’s finally enough to finish Flair off.

Rating: B. It’s good but it’s nowhere near as good as the cage match. As usual, the ending didn’t work very well as they were just doing the same stuff over and over again until a big hammer shot put Flair down. Thankfully they didn’t waste a lot of time with the near falls throughout the match, which are always annoying in a match like this. It wasn’t great and it should have been shorter but it worked well enough.

Randy Orton and JBL try to fire up Team Smackdown but Batista comes in and takes care of it for them.

Here are Edge and Lita for a chat. They’re changing things up around here because they are going to have their own talk show with the Cutting Edge. With that out of the way, Edge calls out Detroit Tiger Dmitri Young, who plays for a bad team and is fat you see. Detroit sports jokes abound but Young asks about Edge’s World Title. Edge and Lita are out of here, just like Ford and GM.

We recap John Cena vs. Kurt Angle. Kurt has beaten him a few times but never for the title so now he has Daivari as his personal referee. It’s the final showdown and this should be a good one.

Raw World Title: Kurt Angle vs. John Cena

Cena is defending and Daivari is guest referee. The place goes coconuts for Cena as the star power continues to rise. Angle wastes no time in taking him down by the leg and cranks on the ankle a bit. Some shoulders put Angle on the floor and DANG the fans are into Cena. Daivari won’t let him go after Angle though and things settle down a bit. Back in and Angle stomps him down in the corner until Cena snaps off a release fisherman’s suplex.

That’s not even worthy of a count so Angle grabs the ankle lock. Cena makes the rope so Daivari kicks his hand away. With that not working, Cena kicks him away and slaps Daivari in the face. Daivari is ready for the DQ but Angle gets sent into him for the double knockdown. Angle posts Cena and another referee comes down to count two. Some suplexes give Angle some twos and we hit the waistlock. Another suplex drops Cena again and the fans get even louder.

It’s off to the weird cousin of an STF on Cena but Angle switches to a regular chinlock pretty quickly. Cena suplexes his way to freedom and the comeback is on….so Angle clotheslines the referee on purpose. A low blow drops Cena and the Angle Slam gets two from the third referee. Angle’s top rope superplex gets two more but he misses the moonsault. The FU is broken up and Angle decks the third referee so here’s one from Smackdown. Angle tries to hold him back as Cena DDTs Daivari and then FU’s Angle to retain.

Rating: C+. They had a good match in there somewhere but egads they had too much going on at the same time here. When you have a fourth referee climbing over the three down referees, you’re only going to get so far. Cena needs a fresh opponent now as he’s beaten Angle more than once now so just let him do something else. That being said, who is there right now?

Eric Bischoff vs. Teddy Long

Palmer Cannon is here with Teddy and there is a referee from both shows. Long posts to start and then ducks a clothesline, meaning it’s time to dance. With that out of the way, it’s more dancing and the required crane pose. Cannon gets drawn onto the apron and Bischoff gets in some choking. A sleeper goes on until Long takes off his own shoe and hits Eric in the head. Eric is ticked….and we’ve got the Boogeyman. Choking into a pumphandle slam drops Bischoff and the one shoed Long gets the pin.

Rating: D-. Teddy’s dancing is the only thing that keeps this from failing because it always makes me smile. This was a complete waste of time but they had to have something in there to stretch the show out a bit. It wasn’t a match of course but what else were you expecting out of something like this?

Both teams get cheered to the ring by their locker rooms.

We recap Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown. Back at Homecoming, Bischoff turned out the lights on a Smackdown six man tag so a bunch of invasions started happening. Therefore, let’s have an elimination tag for brand supremacy.

Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown

Raw: Shawn Michaels, Kane, Big Show, Carlito, Chris Masters

Smackdown: Batista, Bobby Lashley, John Bradshaw Layfield, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio

Entrances take forever of course and Rey gets some very loud EDDIE chants. Orton takes Shawn into the corner to start and then does it again for a bonus. Shawn gets in a whip to the other corner to set up some chops as commentary is already bickering. Orton gets in a slam but misses the knee drop so it’s off to Masters. The knee the face works fine on him but it’s quickly off to Lashley, who tosses Masters around.

Carlito gets the tag so Lashley pulls him in and hits a running powerslam for two. It’s back to Shawn, who gets knocked down as well. There’s the Dominator to Carlito but Kane saves Shawn from the same fate. A Kane chokeslam from the apron lets Shawn get rid of Lashley, who wasn’t nearly the factor you would have bet on after the last few weeks. Rey comes in and dropkicks Shawn in the knee as Cole says he’d love to see this dream match. I know he has a short attention span but he can’t remember something from less than two weeks ago?

Kane comes in and gets dropkicked down but is right back up for a big boot. A backbreaker gets two on Rey and we hit the backbreaker. Rey fights out in a hurry though and it’s off to Batista for the shoulders in the corner. A spear into the spinebuster gets rid of Kane but here’s Show for an immediate chokeslam. That’s good for two but Kane is back up for a double chokeslam to get rid of Batista. JBL’s middle rope shoulder is pulled out of the air by Big Show but Orton snaps his throat across the top.

The Clothesline From JBL into the 619 into the RKO into another Clothesline From JBL into the springboard seated senton FINALLY gets rid of Big Show and we’re down to 3-3. Everything breaks down and JBL hits Shawn with a fall away slam on the floor as Masters plants Rey. Carlito comes in for a legdrop and the chinlock goes on. Rey fights up and gets a blind tag from JBL, who blasts Carlito with the Clothesline for the pin.

Masters comes in next and gets hammered down as Shawn is still out on the floor. Rey comes back in and avoids a charge into the post, setting up the 619. Dropping the Dime gets rid of Masters and it’s down to Shawn vs. Orton/Mysterio/JBL. Rey throws Shawn back in and hits the 619 but the West Coast Pop is Sweet Chin Musiced out of the air for the pin. JBL tries the Clothesline but Shawn ducks and superkicks him out for the back to back pins in about fifteen seconds.

That leaves us with Shawn vs. Orton but neither finisher can hit. Orton bails to the floor so Shawn hits a slingshot dive as the fans want Undertaker. Back in and Shawn hits the forearm into the nipup but JBL is still here and brings in a chair. That earns him another superkick but Shawn walks into the RKO for the final pin.

Rating: B. This was good enough and was absolutely the main event of the show. Even though this was for completely meaningless bragging rights, it worked this time because that was something fresh. It’s the difference between doing it once and doing it every year: this time felt like they had built something up instead of throwing it out there because it was November. It also helps when you have Shawn at his best playing the underdog and Orton being great at this match. This nearly identical formula worked in 2003 and it worked here too.

Post match the Smackdown locker room comes in to celebrate….and we’ve got druids. They bring out a casket and stand it upright as the gong hits. Lightning strikes the casket and it is lit on fire, with Undertaker walking out. Undertaker destroys the roster as the Ortons get to the outside. The big staredown with the throat slit ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. For a show that was almost entirely about the main event, this was actually a very good show with only the Long vs. Bischoff non-match being bad. There are several good matches throughout and it doesn’t drag at all. The ending was a bit obvious as everyone was waiting on Undertaker, but that’s not always the worst thing. Check this out if you need something to watch as it’s a very impressive show.

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: November 8, 2023
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We are a week and a half away from Full Gear and that means we should be getting the final push towards the show. This week that includes MJF defending the World Title against Daniel Garcia and an interesting main event of Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe. Other than that, we have a heck of a showdown between Keith Lee and Samoa Joe for the ROH TV Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone brings in MJF to talk about his lost last week but MJF says it will never happen again. Adam Cole calls him so MJF throws it to a video screen and says MJF should take Samoa Joe up on his offer. MJF isn’t sure why but here is Daniel Garcia (challenging MJF for the title tonight) to laugh a bit. Garcia says tonight, MJF is getting the professional wrestler. With Garcia gone, the Kingdom wheels in Roderick Strong, who offers MJF some tips. MJF walks off, which Strong says is what the devil would do. It’s time to remind people who Strong is.

Opening sequence.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia, with Matt Menard and Angelo Parker, is challenging. MJF hits him in the face to start so Garcia does the same, only to have his friends break up the dance (as tends to be their custom as of late). An armbar has Garcia down and a rollup gives MJF two. We take a break and come back with Garcia hitting a one armed German suplex and dancing a bit.

MJF is right back on the arm before a hammerlock DDT gets two. Garcia kicks the leg out and hits a one armed piledriver for two. They’re doing something there with the arm not working at full strength. The Dragontamer goes on but MJF escapes and grabs the Salt Of The Earth to retain the title at 10:38.

Rating: B-. Not too bad at all here, though Garcia continues to not exactly be the most interesting star in the world. He’s a strong technician, but that doesn’t do much to help his charisma. Thankfully they didn’t let this go on too long, as there was no way to make Garcia feel like a serious threat to the title.

Post match MJF wants to shake hands but Garcia’s friends won’t allow it.

Mark Briscoe is ready for Jay White.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Outrunners

Allin headlocks Magnum to start but gets take into the corner for a stomping from Floyd. A suplex is broken up and String comes in to clean house. The Scorpion Deathlock finishes Floyd at 2:58. That’s how it should have gone.

We have a sitdown interview (in black and white) between Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm. Shida promises to beat her again as usual but Storm doesn’t seem to buy it. They sign the contract and go face to face.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Swerve Strickland

Feeling out process to start until Swerve takes him into the corner for a kick to the leg. Swerve bites the fingers but Penta is back with some chops. A Backstabber sends Swerve outside, where he is able to drop Penta face first onto the steps. Penta strikes away and hits a big running flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Made In Japan and the JML Driver both being blocked, leaving us with a double knockdown. A Death Valley Driver gets Penta two and he drops Swerve hard onto the apron to leave Swerve on the floor. Back in and Swerve reverses a headscissors out of the corner by flipping Penta into the corner. A 450 is blocked and Made In Japan gives Penta two. Swerve is back with his own Death Valley Driver and snaps Penta’s arm. The Swerve Stomp gives Swerve the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. One of AEW’s greatest strengths is being able to take any two wrestlers out of a huge number available and have them put on a good match. That’s what they did here as these two came pretty close to tearing the house down. If you can get Penta away from doing his CERO MIEDO line over and over again and let him do his thing, he can put in a heck of a performance and that was the case here. At the same time you have Swerve continuing to showcase just how good he really is as his roll continues.

Post match Swerve goes for the mast but Hangman Page runs in to lay Swerve out with a Deadeye off the stage and through some tables. It seems WAY too early for that as it could have come during their Full Gear match instead.

Jay White is ready to beat up Mark Briscoe tonight and hopes MJF is watching.

The Don Callis Family is ready for serious violence next week against Chris Jericho and pals.

Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega are ready to fight next week, but the Young Bucks come in to bring up an idea of the Elite. They think Jericho is just here to get a paycheck, but Jericho thinks he and Omega are a better team. They agree to fight at Full Gear, with Jericho wanting the Bucks’ Tag Team Title shot on the line. That works with the Bucks, but if they win, Jericho and Omega are done as a team and they get back to being the Elite. Omega says he’s beaten the Bucks before so he can do it again.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Keith Lee

Joe is defending and grabs a headlock to start. Lee isn’t having that and runs Joe over with a shoulder. Some choking on the rope keeps Joe down but he’s back up with the snap jabs in the corner. Back up and Lee leapfrogs over him and knocks Joe outside to send us to a break. We come back with Joe taking out the leg, including hitting a dragon screw legwhip. Lee manages a pop up powerbomb for a delayed two but Joe is right back up. Joe pulls him into the Koquina Clutch to retain the title at 11:26.

Rating: B-. This was the hoss match it was advertised as being and that made for a good fight. While I could go for more of Lee being a monster who runs people over, there is little shame in losing to someone as dominant as Joe. That being said, this felt like a match that could have been built up a lot better, but that is the case for a lot of things on AEW TV.

Post match Joe says he’s vacating the title to go after the AEW World Title. After a year and a half and Joe retaining the title when it seemed perfect for Joe to lose, he just walks away from it without putting anyone over? And not even on the ROH show. This has been your weekly reminder that RING OF HONOR MEANS NOTHING.

Orange Cassidy, with Hook, is rather serious and says he has to beat Jon Moxley.

Gunns b. Bollywood Boyz

3:10 To Yuma finishes Gurv at 42 seconds.

Post match the Gunns promise to beat up MJF and win the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles.

Jon Moxley says he’s in for the Full Gear title shot against Orange Cassidy, but he and Wheeler Yuta might crush Cassidy and Hook before they get there.

Wardlow is ready to end MJF.

Julia Hart vs. Red Velvet

This is Velvet’s return after nine months on the injured list. Velvet snaps off some armdrags to start and strikes away in the corner. Hart knocks her out of said corner though and we take a break. Back with Velvet making the clothesline comeback and hitting some running knees. An Iconoclasm out of the corner gives Velvet two but Hart kicks her down. The moonsault finishes for Hart at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Hart gets some momentum back after losing at WrestleDream and still looks like she’s keeping most of her momentum. She seems to have turned a corner in recent months and that moonsault looks good every time. It’s also nice to have Velvet back as you never want to see someone on the shelf, especially for that long.

Post match Hart goes after Velvet but Skye Blue comes out for the staredown. Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale come in to break it up before things get physical.

Mariah May is ready to debut in AEW and is excited about Toni Storm being here.

Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe

The rest of Bullet Club Gold is at ringside. Mark sends him outside to start and White needs an early breather. Back in and Mark chops away, setting up a suplex to put White down again. Redneck Kung Fu puts White on the floor and there’s the Bang Bang Elbow to make it worse. The Club knocks Mark off the top though and we take a break.

Back with White kicking the knee out but getting cut off with a middle rope dropkick. They strike it out with Mark getting the better of things and hitting a fisherman’s buster for two. A dragon screw legwhip over the ropes hits White again and there’s a Death Valley Driver. The Froggy Bow gets two but White snaps off the swinging Rock Bottom. White goes for the knee but the Blade Runner is countered into an exploder suplex. More chops have Mark down again and the sleeper suplex drops him hard. The Blade Runner finishes for White at 14:00.

Rating: B. Another good one here, though I’m not wild on having Briscoe lose so soon after his comeback. Granted it’s against a big name in White who has a major match coming up, but it’s still a bit of a weird choice. That being said, Mark getting to showcase himself is a good thing as he really is one of the better hands in the ring around here.

Post match MJF comes out with the diamond ring to chase White off but he still can’t get the belt back. For the first time ever, MJF has a reason to fight for everyone in the arena and wants to know if White can pull the trigger.

The lights go out and we cut to the back where the masked men are attacking Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed. Anthony Bowens is sent through some glass as we see the person in the devil mask watching. MJF runs to the back, where Samoa Joe pops up to say MJF is running out of friends.

Overall Rating: B. Better show than last week and it’s nice to see things getting a bit back to normal. They had more of a focus this week as they get ready for Full Gear and things got more interesting with the angle at the end. Throw in some good wrestling up and down the card and it made for a good Dynamite. Now just get to Full Gear with the same efficiency and everything should work very well.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Daniel Garcia – Salt Of The Earth
Sting/Darby Allin b. Outrunners – Scorpion Deathlock to Floyd
Swerve Strickland b. Penta El Zero Miedo – Swerve Strickland
Samoa Joe b. Keith Lee – Koquina Clutch
Gunns b. Bollywood Boyz – 3:10 To Yuma to Gurv
Julia Hart b. Red Velvet – Moonsault
Jay White b. Mark Briscoe – Blade Runner

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

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

AND

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

Make sure you check out a recent review:

NXT – November 7, 2023

Priority Acquisition: WWE Very Interested In Signing Reigning NJPW Champion.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/priority-acquisition-wwe-interested-signing-reigning-njpw-champion/

WATCH: 53 Year Old Former WWE Superstar Surprises Chelsea Green After Monday Night Raw.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-53-year-old-former-wwe-superstar-surprises-chelsea-green-monday-night-raw/

They’re Into Him: WWE Backstage Officials Reportedly Impressed With Monday Night Raw Star.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/theyre-wwe-backstage-officials-reportedly-impressed-monday-night-raw-star/

On The Dotted Line: WWE Announces New NXT TV Deal With Huge Rights Fees Increase.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/d*otted-line-wwe-announces-new-nxt-tv-deal-huge-rights-fees-increase/

Ouch: Monday Night Raw Match May Not Have Ended As Planned Due To Possible Injury.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/ouch-monday-night-raw-match-may-not-ended-planned-due-possible-injury/

That’s A Status: TKO Officially Lists Vince McMahon As “Risk Factor”.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/thats-status-tko-officially-lists-vince-mcmahon-risk-factor/

Improvement: Injury Update On AEW Star Following Five Month Absence.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/improvement-injury-update-aew-star-following-five-month-absence/

As always, hit up the comments section to chat about what is going on and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page and follow us on Twitter (featuring news stories written by ME).

NXT
Date: November 7, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re done with Halloween Havoc and now it is time to start getting ready for Deadline. That will be the case this week, as a group of legends will begin considering the participants in the qualifying matches for the Iron Survival Challenge. Other than that, we have the Von Wagner vs. Bron Breakker showdown. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week.

Heritage Cup: Akira Tozawa vs. Noam Dar

Tozawa, with the rest of the Alpha Academy (to counter Dar’s Meta Four), is challenging. Round one begins with Tozawa grabbing the wrist but getting caught in a front facelock. Dar rolls Tozawa up for two and kicks away but Tozawa fires up and kicks him in the head. The Meta Four offer a distraction though and Dar hits a superplex but can’t cover in time. Round two begins with Tozawa striking away but he misses a kick. That’s enough for Dar to grab a rollup and go up 1-0 at 30 seconds of the round and 4:02 overall.

Dar gets in a cheap shot between rounds and we take a break. Back with Round three ending after the time runs out but Dar elbows him in the head a few times after the bell. Round four begins with Dar hitting a running shot to the head for two but Tozawa escapes the ankle lock.

They go outside for a bit and come back in with Tozawa grabbing the ankle lock for the tap to tie it up at 1:39 of the round and 10:18 overall. Round five starts with Tozawa hitting some Helluva Kicks and something close to an angle slam for two. Tozawa blocks a kneebar and hits a German suplex but Lash Legend pulls Dar away from the top rope backsplash. The Nova Roller retains the title at 2:22 of the round and 13:14 overall.

Rating: C+. I for one am shocked that Dar retained the Cup 2-1 as it’s not like he has ever done that before in the history of his reign. I’m incredibly tired of this whole thing as it has been done to death and even when Dar lost the Cup, he got it back due to reasons of pathetic. They’ve covered just about everything they can with this stuff and it would be nice to see them move on already.

Post match Oro Mensah goes after Tozawa but the Alpha Academy makes the save.

Shawn Michaels has allowed Mick Foley to pick some Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches. Therefore tonight it’s Fallon Henley vs. Tiffany Stratton and Dijak vs. Tyler Bate.

Lola Vice brags about her win last week but Kelani Jordan says Elektra Lopez plays a big role. Other women argue until Roxanne Perez comes in for the Spanish argument. This was the latest edition of “women who can’t act recite lines that no human would ever use”.

Here is Lyra Valkyria for her first comments as Women’s Champion. She says people will tell you to never meet your heroes but those people have never met Becky Lynch. A lot of people want the title but here is Xia Li from Raw to interrupt. She reminds Valkyria what happened to Becky last night on Raw, so Valkyria says bring it.

Tyler Bate is ready for Dijak.

Fallon Henley is ready for Tiffany Stratton and she’ll do it on her own.

The Alpha Academy will be back next week to be on Supernova Sessions when Drew Gulak and company come in. Insults are exchanged, with Otis telling Gulak to stretch this. The result is Gulak vs. Otis tonight.

A referee says Shawn Michaels has ordered him that there will be a winner between Von Wagner and Bron Breakker tonight.

Iron Survivor Challenge: Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley

They fight over a lockup to start with Henley pulling her away from the ropes for a crash. A half crab sends Henley bailing to the ropes before she goes up top. Henley superplexes her right back down for two and the half crab goes on again. That’s broken up again so Henley hits her in the face as we take a break.

Back with Henley kicking her in the head for two but Stratton picks her up for a LAUNCH through the ropes. They get back in with a sitout spinebuster giving Stratton two, followed by a nasty looking leg crank. Henley gets dropped in the corner but the Prettiest Moonsault Ever misses. Stratton kicks her into the buckle though and a chop block sets up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pin at 10:28.

Rating: C+. I like Henley a good bit but it wasn’t her place to win here. Stratton is a far bigger star and it makes a lot more sense to put her forward into the big Deadline match. That match is going to need a big lineup and Stratton being in it makes sense. That being said, I could go for more of Henley as she has a certain spark to her that would work quite well.

The dancing Wes Lee is back and has a list of things to accomplish, but here is Baron Corbin to interrupt. Corbin mocks Lee, who says Ilja Dragunov is going to beat Corbin up.

Bron Breakker says Von Wagner needs to be worried.

Dijak is ready for Tyler Bate.

Von Wagner vs. Bron Breakker

Mr. Stone is here with Wagner. The fight is on fast with Wagner slugging away and kicking him down on the floor. Back in and Wagner hammers away until Breakker knocks him away. The beating is on and Breakker grabs the Recliner, only to have Wagner drive him into the corner for the escape. A big boot gives Wagner two and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table. Breakker is back with a low blow though and it’s time to go after Stone. Wagner makes the save but gets taken down. The spear finishes Wagner at 5:28.

Rating: C. They did the right thing here by having it be a fight instead of a match as this is a personal feud. It was also right for Breakker to go over, as not only is he a bigger star than Wagner but he’s coming in at full strength. Not much of a match, but they beat each other up, as they should have done.

Post match Stone comes in with a chair shot to Breakker and the fans know pain is coming. Wagner makes the save and powerbombs Breakker through the announcers’ table.

Carmelo Hayes looks back at Trick Williams’ return last week but once again denies being the attacker. Williams wants answers tonight and Hayes will give them to him.

The Brawling Brutes walk the streets and say they grew up here, just like OTM. They’ll fight next week.

Elektra Lopez/Lola Vice vs. Roxanne Perez/Kelani Jordan

Hold on as here is Arianna Grace to say she wishes everyone luck. Lopez takes Perez down and grabs a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Jordan comes in to dropkick Lopez but a running hip attack in the corner cuts that off fast. A crossbody gets Jordan out of trouble and it’s back to Perez to pick up the pace. The villains come in for stereo hip attacks to the head but Perez is right back up. Jordan gets to come back in and clean house with Perez hitting Pop Rox on Lopez. With Perez taking Vice out on the floor, Jordan hits the split legged moonsault for the pin at 4:39.

Rating: C. This match had a fast pace but they didn’t exactly have much of a flow going on. It was a string of people being knocked down and getting right back up to do something else. Jordan gets the win to save some face as she seems to be moving up the ladder rather quickly around here. I could go for Perez having a more important feud though, as she hasn’t been doing anything significant as of late.

Post match Grace tries to announce the winners but gets jumped from behind by Karmen Petrovic.

Joe Gacy talks about anger issues.

Ilja Dragunov talks about how hard it was to beat Carmelo Hayes last week but now he’s waiting for Baron Corbin.

Corbin is watching in the back and mocks Dragunov, plus some tag teams who don’t think much of him.

Otis vs. Drew Gulak

All of their friends are here too. Otis shakes his way out of a headlock to start and powers Gulak into the corner. A missed charge sends Otis into the post though and Gulak grabs a triangle choke back inside. The powerbomb escape lets Otis escape with a powerbomb and a hard belly to back suplex drops Gulak again. Some spinning back elbows set up the Caterpillar and a jackknife finishes Gulak at 4:25.

Rating: C. This was little more than a “hey here’s a fan favorite in a short match” match and that’s perfectly fine. Otis has gotten over with his weird antics and he beat up someone who doesn’t do much around here. There is a good chance that we’ll see more from these guys and their friends and that might not be a bad idea.

Tiffany Stratton and Kiana James don’t like Roxanne Perez or Fallon Henley but they both know who is winning Iron Survivor.

Jacy Jayne is at Chase U when some mafia looking people bring in a letter for Andre Chase. With the mafia gone, Jayne opens it and sees something shocking but Chase comes in to take it away. Duke Hudson and Thea Hail come in but Jayne and Chase don’t say anything about what just happened.

Chase dismisses class (because this happened in front of a class) and after everyone leaves, he opens the letter and looks worried. So does the Family own the school or something? Vic: “Sounds like we may have a rematch next week for the tag team gold.” 1. How did he get that out of what we saw? 2. Hudson already said they Tony D’Angelo/Stacks would get a rematch.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Tyler Bate vs. Dijak

Bate goes right after him to start but Dijak nails a right hand. Some boots to the face (as in Bate grabs his own boot and swings it into Dijak’s head) stagger Dijak and Bate sends him to the floor for the big dive. Not that it matters as Dijak swings him over the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Bate hitting something like a fisherman’s superplex but walking into High Justice for two. Bate is fine enough to hit the airplane spin for two and they trade shots to the face. The rebound clothesline gives Bate two but Dijak launches him with a release suplex. Dijak goes up but gets flipped backwards…and sticks the landing, setting up the cyclone boot for two. Neither finisher can connect so Bate goes up, only to dive into Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: B-. Match of the night here and that shouldn’t be a surprise. I like Dijak going over in something of a surprise, though again it wouldn’t shock me to see Bate finding a way into the match. For now though, you had Dijak’s pure power against Bate’s variety of stuff and it made for a good fight. They were laying it in near the end and that made things all the better.

The other legends who will make qualifying match picks: Lita, JBL and Jerry Lawler.

Here is Carmelo Hayes, who asks Trick Williams to come out here and talk about what is happening between them. Williams comes out and Hayes says that he understands what Williams is going through. Hayes talks about their history and says there is no him without Williams, who cuts him off. Williams says he did everything to make Hayes a star, with Hayes saying it worked.

That’s true, but Hayes was the only one winning. Where was Hayes when it was Williams’ turn to win? Williams seems to ask him about the attack but Hayes cuts him off and talks about how much he has praised Williams over the years. That sends Williams into a bit of a rant about Hayes not being there when Williams needs him. Williams didn’t see who attacked him but all he knows is he didn’t get his shot at the NXT Title.

Hayes is stuck on Williams not seeing who did it, so Williams flat out asks if Hayes did it. Hayes asks if Williams wants the truth….but here is Lexis King to interrupt. Williams and Hayes tell him to mind his own business, though King says it seems we know who did it. It might be someone else trying to make his name though, and King wants Williams to say what everyone else is thinking. Williams swings at King but hits Hayes by mistake. Vic: “He was aiming for King….wasn’t he?” Williams hugs Hayes, who doesn’t look happy to end the show. That added something, though I’m not sure how interested people are in King.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a bit of a mixed bag, as the wrestling wasn’t the best, but they covered quite a bit of stuff. We had a title match, a grudge match and some qualifying matches, all with the big Hayes/Williams deal at the end. It might not be the most important edition, but I want to see where these things go and that is a good sign on the way to Deadline.

Results
Noam Dar b. Akira Tozawa 2-1
Tiffany Stratton b. Fallon Henley – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Bron Breakker b. Von Wagner – Spear
Roxanne Perez/Kelani Jordan b. Elektra Lopez/Lola Vice – Split legged moonsault to Lopez
Otis b. Drew Gulak – Jackknife powerbomb
Dijak b. Tyler Bate – Feast Your Eyes

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

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

AND

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

Make sure you check out some recent reviews:

Survivor Series 2004 (2019 Edition)

Monday Night Raw – November 7, 2023

On The Card: WWE Announces Top Match For Survivor Series.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/card-wwe-announces-top-match-survivor-series/

He Would Know: Corey Graves On How He Believed Vince McMahon Would Fire Him On Live TV.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/know-corey-graves-believed-vince-mcmahon-fire-live-tv/

Double Shot: WWE Announces Two New Survivor Series Title Matches.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/double-shot-wwe-announces-two-new-survivor-series-title-matches/

On The Dotted Line: WWE Officially Promotes NXT Stable To Monday Night Raw.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/dotted-line-wwe-officially-promotes-nxt-stable-monday-night-raw/

That’s A Relief: Often Injured WWE Superstar Returns To The Ring Again.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/thats-relief-often-injured-wwe-superstar-returns-ring/

Battle Ready: WWE Announces Lineup For Survivor Series WarGames Match.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/battle-ready-wwe-announces-lineup-survivor-series-wargames-match/

Nope: Former NXT Star Not Returning To WWE, Signs With New Promotion.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/nope-former-nxt-star-signs-with-new-promotion-despite-wwe-discussions-about-possible-return/

As always, hit up the comments section to chat about what is going on and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page and follow us on Twitter (featuring news stories written by ME).

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 6, 2023
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are done with Crown Jewel and that means we have less than three weeks to go before Survivor Series. There were only so many major changes at Crown Jewel, but the biggest on the Raw side might be Sami Zayn stealing Damian Priest’s Money In The Bank briefcase before the cash-in could take place. Priest won’t be happy with that and we might have some fallout to deal with tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Crown Jewel if you need a recap.

Crown Jewel recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going. Rollins is very glad to still be the World Heavyweight Champion and he has some people to thank. First of all, he thanks Drew McIntyre for a great match and making him a bit better than he was before. McIntyre said that he was not in league with the Judgment Day and that was proven on Saturday. Other than that, Sami Zayn helped him cut off a cash-in attempt so if Sami is listening, get on out here.

Cue Sami, minus the briefcase, which Adam Pearce made him return. Rollins thinks he owes Sami something but Sami cuts him off, saying he was there to help prevent Judgment Day from becoming the Bloodline 2.0 because they hold all but one title around here (Gunther anyone?).

He will fight to prevent Judgment Day from taking over but Rollins says the reality is he runs Raw. Rollins appreciates that but he has gotten Sami a little thank you: a title shot anytime he wants. Sami says he wants to beat a champion at 100% but Rollins knows Sami isn’t at 100% either. Rollins tells him to just say when so let’s do it tonight. They shake hands and Rollins is in.

Judgment Day is NOT pleased.

New Day vs. Judgment Day

Non-title. Kofi jumps over Balor to start and sicks the landing on a monkey flip to up the early frustration levels. Everything breaks down and some stereo running flip dives take out Judgment Day in a big crash. Back in and Woods’ honor Roll gets two on Priest as we take a break. We come back with Woods hitting a missile dropkick and the double tag bringing in Kingston and Priest to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and a superplex into a top rope elbow gets two on Balor with Priest making the save. Balor Sling Blades Woods and the South Of Heaven into the Coup de Grace finishes Woods at 9:10.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure why you would burn through a match like this on Raw as it could easily be a major pay per view title match. Like them or not, New Day is one of the most successful tag teams in WWE history and can still hang with anyone around here. That could have been a big match and probably will be again at some point, but this is a weird way to use the first match.

Earlier, Drew McIntyre arrived and left.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Akira Tozawa

Nakamura strikes away to start but goes up and gets super hurricanranaed back down. The top rope backsplash hits knees but Tozawa snaps off another hurricanrana. Then Kinshasa cuts Tozawa in half for the pin at 2:31.

Post match Otis gets in Nakamura’s face, sending Nakamura bailing.

Video on Natalya.

Adam Pearce hypes up tonight’s four way Intercontinental Title #1 contenders match between the Miz, Bronson Reed, Ivar and Ricochet.

Seth Rollins assures Adam Pearce that he is ready for Sami Zayn tonight.

Miz vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ivar vs. Ricochet

The winner gets an Intercontinental Title shot at Survivor Series. Miz and Ricochet dropkick the monsters to start until Ricochet flips away and dropkicks Miz to the floor. Ivar is back up with a spinning kick to Ricochet but Miz is back in to break it up. Ricochet is draped over the ropes as Reed uses it as a springboard, which is enough to launch Ricochet into a hurricanrana to send Ivar back outside. The monsters crush the other two on the floor and then slam into each other as we take a break.

Back with Reed crushing Ivar in the back and going up, only to have Miz and Ricochet powerbomb both of them down. Miz is back in with a springboard crossbody and spinning DDT to plant Reed for two. Ricochet drops Miz for two but it’s Ivar coming back in with a splash for the save. The monsters drop Ricochet and Miz again before going up (gulp). Ivar’s moonsault hits Ricochet but Miz avoids Reed’s Tsunami, allowing Ivar and Miz to get the double pin at 13:43.

Rating: B-. They didn’t hide the fact that Miz was the likely winner here and that is ok. There is something funny about Miz being able to turn it up like he did here, as he was moving and working harder than usual. While I can’t imagine Miz taking the title from Gunther, he is a fresh challenger with a history of winning matches no one would expect him to win before.

Apparently Ricochet kicked out in time so only Miz wins and gets the title shot. Ivar drops Miz and gives him the moonsault anyway.

The Alpha Academy give Akira Tozawa a pep talk before his NXT Heritage Cup shot tomorrow. They’ll even be there live! Maxxine Dupri comes in and she’s ready to become #1 contender as well.

We look back at the Creed Brothers’ debut last week.

The Creeds and Ivy Nile officially signed with Raw earlier today when DIY came in to set up their match tonight.

Creed Brothers vs. DIY

Julius wrestles Ciampa down to start but Gargano comes in off a blind tag to double team Julius and take over. The Creeds are sent outside where they cut off stereo dives. DIY slips out of the counters but get dropped again as we take a break. Back with Ciampa cleaning house, setting up running kicks to the head in the corner.

Brutus Samoan drops Gargano so Julius can hit a standing shooting star, followed by Brutus’ standing moonsault for two. Gargano fights his way out of trouble and brings Ciampa back in to pick up the pace. Brutus breaks up Meet In The Middle though and cue Ludvig Kaiser to deck Gargano, allowing the Brutus Ball to connect for the pin at 9:39.

Rating: B. It might not have been quite as good as last week’s match against Alpha Academy but the Creeds seem to have proven themselves in two matches. DIY being kept somewhat protected is a good thing as well and now I’m curious to see where they go. While Judgment Day is tied up with the main event scene, if the Creeds run through another team or two, there won’t be anything left for them but going after the titles.

We look at Sami Zayn getting a title shot against Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber in Montreal earlier this year. Jey Uso cost him the match and Zayn wasn’t happy.

Jey comes in to see Sami and apologizes for what happened at Elimination Chamber. Sami says that was then and this is now so Jey gives him a pep talk. As for Jey, he and Cody Rhodes have a Tag Team Title shot next week.

Becky Lynch is ready to fight anyone at Survivor Series after she wins the #1 contenders battle royal tonight. Nia Jax comes in to say no one is throwing her out tonight, which will make her as happy as she has been since she broke Lynch’s face. Lynch laughs that off and says that after that, she went on to headline Wrestlemania while Jax got fired.

Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark seem ready to win the battle royal.

Battle Royal

Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, Piper Niven, Chelsea Green, Shayna Baszler, Becky Lynch, Kayden Carter, Katana Chance, Natalya, Indi Hartwell, Nikki Cross, Zoey Stark, Ivy Nile, Tegan Nox, Raquel Rodriguez, Maxxine Dupri

Hold on though as Xia Li comes in to jump Lynch during her entrance, meaning Li isn’t going to be allowed to compete. After a break, Becky is out as well due to having no memory of what happened. Cross stands in the middle of the ring again as the bell rings, meaning she is tossed pretty quickly. Everyone else fights on the floor as Cross keeps blankly staring. Nox and Maxxine get together and dump Niven but the distraction lets Nia get rid of Maxxine.

Carter and Chance start double teaming Nia but can’t get her out so they switch to Rodriguez instead. That’s broken up as well so Carter, Nile and Chance all go to the apron, with Nile getting rid of both of them. We take a break and come back with Rodriguez and Natalya being sent to the apron but Green can’t get in a double noggin knocker. Instead Green and Natalya switch places, leaving Green to slap both of them. Rodriguez puts Green out and Natalya does the same to Hartwell. Nile dropkicks Natalya out as her nice debut continues. Jax is back in to run a bunch of people over and Nox is out.

Everyone gets together and goes after Jax for the big elimination (and a ROAR from the crowd). We’re down to Stark, Nile, Baszler and Rodriguez…but Jax pulls Nile out to blow off some steam. Baszler and Stark get rid of Rodriguez, leaving them to fight on the apron. The Kirifuda Clutch goes on but Baszler lets go before Stark can flip her to the floor. That leaves Stark to hit a DDT and knock Baszler out for the win at 15:57.

Rating: C. This went long but the relief when Jax was eliminated helped quite a bit. Stark getting a singles match is a fresh way to go and I could go for seeing what she can do in the spot. Other than that, Nile had a very nice debut and seems to be someone WWE wants to push. They could have cut the time down a bit here but what matters the most is getting Ripley a challenger and that was well covered.

Rhea Ripley is ready to face Zoey Stark at Survivor Series but Stark comes in to say she had Rhea beaten at Crown Jewel. Ripley hasn’t forgotten about her and says that while Zoey couldn’t beat one person, Ripley beat four at once.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

We look at John Cena getting beaten by Solo Sikoa and teasing retirement after.

Raw World Title: Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins

Zayn is challenging. Feeling out process to start before they go with the grappling. Zayn teases a shot to Rollins’ bad back but just taps it instead to play some mind games. Rollins is sent outside but avoids the dive, leaving them to go toe to toe. We take a break and come back with Rolling chopping away until Zayn hits a middle rope elbow for two.

Rollins fights up again and knocks him outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Rollins fires away with some running forearms in the corner, followed by a Swanton into a Lionsault for two. They head to the apron where Zayn can’t hit a Blue Thunder Bomb, but he can hit a backdrop to send Rollins crashing to the floor.

We take another break and come back again with the Stomp being countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Zayn suplexes him into the corner but the Helluva Kick is countered into a Pedigree for two more. The Stomp is countered into a Liontamer of all things, followed by a regular Boston crab. That’s reversed as well and Rollins small packages him to retain at 20:20.

Rating: B. This was a rather good V main event and they even got in a few teases of a title change. Zayn coming after the title is certainly interesting and seeing him going on a long road to FINALLY winning a World Title could make for a heck of a story. Rollins moving forward to whomever is next is a good way to go, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the two of them involved in WarGames, likely against Judgment Day.

Post match Judgment Day runs in to jump Zayn from behind and Rollins takes a beating of his own. Jey Uso runs in for the save but gets beaten down as well until Cody Rhodes makes the save. Referees and Adam Pearce come in to break it up, with Pearce saying they can play games if they want. IN WARGAMES! The brawl is on again and Rhodes jumps onto the pile to put Judgment Day down to end the show. They didn’t have much time to set up Survivor Series but this is the match that has been all but ready for months now anyway.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show with one good match after another. They covered a bunch of stuff for Survivor Series, with two title matches plus WarGames being set. Raw has to do a lot of things to keep interest going for three hours but they pulled it off here. Pretty awesome show this week and if they can keep up that momentum going into Survivor Series, we could be in for an outstanding show.

Results
Judgment Day b. New Day – Coup de Grace to Woods
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Akira Tozawa – Kinshasa
Miz b. Bronson Reed, Ivar and Ricochet – Rollup to Reed
Creed Brothers b. DIY – Brutus Ball to Gargano
Zoey Stark won a battle royal last eliminating Shayna Baszler
Seth Rollins b. Sami Zayn – Small package

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