Royal Rumble 2015 Preview

If the Royal Rumble isn’t my favorite show of the year, it beats anything else for second place. The namesake match is so insane and all over the place that it’s hard not to love. In addition to that this year though, there’s an interesting triple threat which could throw a major curve into the Wrestlemania picture. In other words, it’s really hard to predict what’s coming and it’s making things that much more interesting. Let’s get to it.

As usual we’ll start with the pre-show match. I’ll take the New Day to win the six man elimination tag over Rose/Cesaro/Kidd with Woods being the only elimination. There’s no reason to have New Day lose yet, even though they’re just not that interesting. I don’t mind them as much as most people, but there’s no reason to care about them yet. Cesaro and Kidd are a good option as a team but they’re stuck in this role because that’s how WWE works.

Ascension over the Outlaws of course. I like the story it seems they’re going with as Ascension can defeat legendary teams to prove their statements right before they go after the belts, but at the end of the day they’re just going to be beating old guys who barely ever wrestle. This is where you need the commentary team to step up and get the story over, but this commentary team isn’t capable of stepping up and getting a lunch order over.

The worst part about Ascension is they’re a fresh idea for a team, but they were ripped apart so fast coming out of the gate that they weren’t given a fair shake. Look at what Ryback did just a few years ago squashing jobbers: he was challenging for the World Title in the main event of a pay per view just a few months later. The commentary team was in awe of him but they jumped all over Ascension and now the fans want the team gone already. Unless they get to prove the commentators wrong, it’s a waste of their time in NXT and a way to get back to the boring tag division we’ve had for years.

Speaking of the Tag Team Titles, I see no reason for them to change hands tonight. It’s not that the Usos are the most interesting team in the world, but the imminent split of Miz and Mizdow would mean there’s no reason to put the belts back on them. After that though, who else could go after them but the Ascension? Cody and Goldust vs. Usos has been done to death so there’s…..New Day? Is that the point we’ve reached already?

Again, I have to wonder why there’s such a lame tag division when there’s such a deep roster. Could it be that they treat tag teams like such jokes and people aren’t interested in seeing two guys randomly paired together with each other without any effort being put in, ala Kidd and Cesaro? The short version of this way too long statement: bring back tag team names.

The other tag match is an unnecessary Total Divas match between the Bellas and Paige/Natalya. I’ll actually go with Paige/Natalya here to set up the next challenger to Nikki’s title, but it wouldn’t shock me to see the Bellas win again to make sure we don’t forget that they’re the greatest, toughest, most dominant and interesting Divas in the history of the world. I mean, what other Divas go to brunch together and are so amazing that they can’t even keep arguing with each other because they’re so awesome they forget it happened and give us a lame explanation of “we’re sisters”?

Now we get to the two main events, which are both wide open but the more I think about them, the more I think they’re going with the most obvious winners. We’ll start with the World Title match with Lesnar defending (yes really) against Rollins and Cena. The addition of Rollins has breathed new life into the long past done Lesnar vs. Cena feud. I really didn’t need to see Cena dying and then leveling up again to fight the final boss one more time. It may not lead to a different ending, but at least it’s something we haven’t seen before.

On top of that, the buildup of Rollins into a main event guy was great, even though he stopped standing up to Lesnar and ran like anyone else would this past Monday. The image of the two of them staring each other down was awesome though and I totally bought Rollins as a top level player.

As for the pick, I’m taking Lesnar with no cash-in. Unfortunately I think WWE is fine with having no title match from now until Wrestlemania with the thinking being they’ve gone this far with the idea so don’t worry about it screwing up Wrestlemania either. My first reaction to this would be to point you to both the Network numbers as well as Wrestlemania XX and SuperBrawl II. Wrestlemania XX is of course Lesnar leaving and having a HORRIBLE match against Goldberg, but SuperBrawl II is a bit more interesting, as well as pertinent to what we’re looking at here.

Back in 1991, it was clear that Sting was the top man in WCW and the uncrowned World Champion. His first run with the belt hadn’t gone that well but now the people were ready to accept him as the star (that’s quite the lesson: Just because a first reign doesn’t work, the second can be much better. See also Bret Hart and Daniel Bryan) when he won the title at SuperBrawl II. Unfortunately it was Lex Luger’s last match with the promotion and he hadn’t been wrestling that much due to already fulfilling all of his contractually obligated dates. Is this ringing any bells?

Luger went out and put in the minimal effort imaginable for someone actually alive and dropped the belt to Sting in a horrible match. Now this was at SuperBrawl, which was an upper tier show but not the biggest. Can you imagine if this happened in the main event of Wrestlemania? I can accept that Bryan could save the match, but can you imagine Reigns in this spot with only his signature moves to save him? The word disaster isn’t nearly strong enough.

That brings us to who Lesnar will be facing, and I think it’s going to be Reigns. We’ve covered everything possibly wrong with Reigns getting this spot this early in his career, but if that’s what WWE is going to force on us then so be it. I still think it could ruin whatever he has going for him, but it looks like that’s what we’re getting whether we like it or not. I’ll take Reigns coming in around #25 or so and cleaning house to win, likely knocking out Big Show for the final elimination ala Shawn in 1996.

As for the other possible winner in Daniel Bryan, I’m guessing they have someone from the Authority take him out, setting up Bryan vs. Authority II with him facing……Rollins I suppose at Wrestlemania. That would be one heck of a match, but it’s yet another reason why Lesnar vs. Reigns would be a disaster to have on top. Can you imagine those two trying to follow Bryan vs. Rollins if that’s what we get?

As for surprise entrants, I’ll go with Orton (should be obvious) and…….eh sure why not the Dudleys. It’s in Philadelphia and they’ll take some of the pressure off the fans who are going to explode if Bryan doesn’t win again. Oh and Rob Van Dam and/or because you can’t have a Royal Rumble without one of them making a SHOCKING return.

This show feels like it could be very entertaining, but man alive does it feel like it could explode in their faces. This show is going to set the stage for Wrestlemania and that could be the biggest disaster in years if they go with the wrong selections. Unfortunately it seems like that’s where they’re going with it and the fans could rip this show apart if they’re not happy. I don’t think it’s going to be nearly as bad of a reaction as last year’s (primarily due to Bryan at least having a chance), but they’re walking a very tight rope.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Saturday Night’s Main Event at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SATPVKW

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:


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




Tables Ladders and Chairs 2014 Preview

So we’re here for Survivor Series 2014 Part II: We Don’t Have Sting, as most of the matches on here are just singles versions of Team Cena vs. Team Authority but with weapons. Thankfully after this we’re likely going to move on to Cena vs. Lesnar III to make sure they scrape every ounce out of every idea they have because the writers tend to be lazy hacks. Let’s get to it.

As usual we’ll do the pre-show first and in this case it’s about as obvious as we’re getting with the New Day defeating the Dusts. There’s no reason for anything else to happen and that’s what we’re getting. New Day is still too new to mean anything but I don’t hate them so far.

Moving on to the main card, we’ll start with some of the less interesting ones, such as Ryback hopefully beating Kane in the chairs match. Then again this is Kane, meaning that his twenty years in the company have earned him the right to never have to take a freaking pinfall. Ryback wins here, earning a victory that doesn’t mean as much as him pinning Harper and Rollins in TV matches. Speaking of TV, has this match been hyped on TV in the last two weeks? It’s almost an afterthought at this point.

Speaking of old giants who need to do a freaking job once in awhile, Rowan beats Big Show in the stairs match. They’re really stretching for ideas here and no, I won’t be referring to this show as TLCS as that sounds like a disease or government agency. Rowan could become a good new giant in Kane’s likeness, assuming he can get Big Show to stay down instead of having someone run in for a DQ.

Rusev beats Swagger because he’s Rusev and Swagger is Swagger. We’ve been through this for months now and I think we’ve figured out what’s going to happen.

Miz/Mizdow retain the belts. Yeah the Naomi stuff is interesting, but there’s no real reason to give the Usos the titles again. There’s just nothing all that interesting about them after their big run. They’re fine as challengers like this and maybe getting the belts back later, but the Ascension is waiting in the wings to probably take the titles from whomever they face first.

Nikki retains the title over AJ, likely setting up the battle of the Bellas down the line to put everyone to sleep. Again the rumor is that AJ leaves soon but I’ll believe it when I don’t see her. The story isn’t half bad actually with the Bellas against the world, but then the Bellas have to talk and the whole thing just dies.

Ziggler takes the Intercontinental Title back to give him his big moment in Cleveland and to capitalize on his win at Survivor Series by….putting him right back where he was before the whole thing started. Odd how that works isn’t it? This match does have the potential to be a show stealer though and I’m looking forward to it more than anything else on the card.

I’ll take Ambrose in the namesake match, even though nothing really should be hanging above the ring. There’s a chance they’ll make it a pinfall match, but I don’t really see this as the end of the feud. It likely will be as there isn’t much else they can do, but the story seems like it should be going somewhere after this.

Finally we have Cena vs. Rollins in a tables match with Cena’s #1 contendership on the line. It’s not like Rollins can win anything other than pride, so let’s not pretend this match really means anything. Just let Cena win the thing and set up Cena vs. Lesnar III so we can all roll our eyes at the match and get on to Reigns being crowned king of the company. Rollins has ruled 2014 but I can’t picture him winning here, even though Cena has a pretty bad record at TLC.

Overall this show feels…..lazy. As usual, it feels like they’re just doing the same set of stories with a slight twist on them so we the writers don’t have to come up with something fresh. Thankfully though these shows tend to be entertaining due to the high levels of violence and pure carnage. If you don’t know that, I’m sure WWE is going to call this the Demolition Derby of WWE about 19 times in the first fifteen minutes. Also, maybe the NXT guys will light a fire under them and wake this roster up a bit. It’s been done before, but it’s going to take nothing short of perfection to beat R-Evolution.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PZ1GR7E

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:


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

Finally, I’m holding a Holiday Special for my e-books: any two of them for just $5.  Check out the details here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/11/28/holiday-sale/




Survivor Series 2014 Preview

It’s time for this months pa…..you don’t actually have to pay for this, unless you pay for the Network every month. However, this is as one note of a show as you can find as the entire show is about Team Cena vs. Team Authority and the rest is barely mentioned. Even after Raw there were only four matches announced with a bonus being added later in the week. This show is going to be all about the main event which is usually a bad idea. Let’s get to it.

We’ll start with the preshow with the new and improved Fandango facing someone to be announced. I have a feeling this is a way to have a big name return against him and beat him, which would be more entertaining. Fandango stopped meaning anything after he didn’t win the Intercontinental Title so I don’t see this meaning anything.

I’ll go in reverse order this time so you might have a reason to keep reading.

Miz and Mizdow need the titles at this point as there’s no reason to not capitalize on Mizdow any longer. He has a short shelf life so giving him a Tag Team Title is about as good as you can ask for from him.

The Bellas get the Divas Title because it’s been a whole month since this stupid personal servant thing started and about three weeks since it meant anything. The sisters seem totally fine with each other anymore and I think we’re setting up a Bellas reunion as a season finale of Total Divas, making the last few months completely pointless. AJ doesn’t need the belt anymore, though to be fair I don’t need the Bellas anymore in general.

Paige, Cameron, Layla and Summer to win the elimination tag in a match that means even less than it seems to.

Bray vs. Dean is one of those matches where it’s a coin flip. Bray needs the win to rebuild himself and Dean has basically been thrown in a freezer since the Cell. The story is good but they need to actually go somewhere with it instead of just saying vague things about Ambrose’s dad causing him all this emotional damage. I can’t imagine this has a clean finish and I’d assume we’re seeing a gimmicky match next month.

That brings us to the main event, which is more along the lines of what kind of swerves we get. The possibilities range from someone turning on Cena to HHH offering immunity to a member of Team Cena to HHH having to step into the match himself and probably a lot more than that. I still think Orton returns and completes his face turn, likely setting up a showdown with Rollins, perhaps for the briefcase and then a feud with Lesnar. Or maybe I’m just wishful.

As for the match itself, I can’t imagine it winds up with anyone but Cena at the end, triumphing over the Authority and winning the day. While this could be a great chance to give someone else a rub, it doesn’t seem like that’s something that’s likely to happen. Rusev isn’t going to get pinned and odds are Ziggler or Rowan pins Harper to set up a match for the title later on. At the end though, it’s probably Cena pinning either HHH or Rollins to free the company from the Authority.

As for the big name rumored to make an appearance, as I’ve said millions of times, I’ll believe it when I see it. If he shows up here to plug the game and that’s the last we see of him, it’s like Dolph Ziggler’s 45 minute title reign a few years back: yeah it happened, but it’s a cheap way to check something off a list.

Overall Survivor Series really isn’t doing it for me, though the main event should be fun. There’s almost bound to be something extra added to the card, with Rose vs. the Bunny as a possibility. Of course they could add a third elimination tag without too much effort, but I can’t imagine they’ll actually do that at SURVIVOR SERIES.




Hell in a Cell 2014 Preview

This show has a strange build to it as we’ve seen almost everything there is to see for the setup but I don’t know if WWE can give us the payoff we need due to the lack of the violence. We always hear about the violence inside the Cell and how insane it’s supposed to be but there’s a good chance we’re not getting anything close to that. Let’s get to it.

We’ll start with what is likely going to be the main event and say Cena beats Orton. That’s unfortunate as Orton vs. Lesnar could headline a few PPVs in a row but it looks like we’re going to get another Cena vs. Lesnar match which really doesn’t have a huge audience. Orton is on the brink of a face turn too and face Orton with the RKO against Super Beast Brock would have me drooling. Instead though it’s probably going to be Cena and it’s probably going to headline the show because that’s what WWE seems to think we want to see.

Next up is the match that has had the build and should be the main event since Cena and Orton don’t need it, but instead will probably be the show stealer that people want to see close things out. I think Rollins beats Ambrose due to some shenanigans but the drama is going to be amazing. Ambrose could be a huge deal, but I don’t see him winning while holding the briefcase. Unfortunately Reigns is kind of holding the match hostage and there are so many possibilities with him in there. I just can’t see Ambrose winning, but I think Rollins takes the beating in a lifetime to get the win.

Nikki beats Brie due to interference of some sort. There’s just no logic in having Brie win, but it means I don’t have to listen to BRIE MODE twice in a row. Nikki wins and is all evil to Brie for a month, setting up yet another match that drags the show down. Somehow Brie is the best face the division has at this point, but I have no idea why I’m supposed to care about these two fighting.

Sheamus beats Miz to retain the title and we get Miz vs. a face Mizdow in the future. Damien has a future due to pure hard work. Imagine that.

Rusev beats Big Show, hopefully by TKO. These two had a match that was way better than it had any right to be recently so maybe they can do it again here.

AJ beats Paige in another match we don’t need to see again.

The Dusts retain in a match that feels like we’ve seen it a dozen times due to all the six man tags.

Ziggler retains over Cesaro, making the losses mean nothing whatsoever.

Overall the show has me interested but my expectations are low due to the violence not being allowed. That’s the problem with PG: they can talk the matches up as being the most violent things you’ll ever see but they can’t deliver due to the restrictions. There’s nothing wrong with the restrictions and you certainly can have a violent match in the Cell in this era, but I don’t know if the young guys can pull the pathos to make it work.

As for the other Cell match….I just do not care. I’ve seen these two fight about 40 times now and I do not want to see it again. I don’t care that it was in the Cell, I don’t care that it’s for the title shot and I don’t care that it’s likely going to headline the show. The interest isn’t there and it’s high time WWE figures that out. They’ve WAY overplayed this match and there’s almost nothing left for them to do anymore. When they’ve traded the title so many times before and talked so much about how big and epic their rivalry is, I just do not have enough interest in seeing these two fight.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:


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




Bound For Glory 2014 Preview

Joe, Carter, MVP, Team 3D, Tanaka, Norvus (because they’re the first team I saw), Havok, Muta/Tajiri.

Preview over.




Night of Champions 2014 Preview

I have a feeling this is going to be a shorter one as most of the matches are fairly obvious, meaning there isn’t much to say about them. That’s a bad sign too as most of the matches haven’t had a ton of effort put into them and it really isn’t all that hard to guess most of them. WWE has done a very bad job of setting up this show other than the main event and it’s going to catch up to them. Let’s get to it.

There hasn’t been a pre-show match but the rumor is the Bunny/Rose vs. Slater/O’Neil. I can live with this, but they better nail the unmasking. The rumor of Darren Young would be about as big of a letdown as you could ask for.

The main event is the only match that matters here and WWE has done a good job of making me believe Cena could pull it off. At the end of the day though, I’m hoping Lesnar holds onto the title. If not, it’s a pretty big waste of Brock’s huge push, especially when Cena doesn’t really have anyone other than Rusev to fight with. I’ll go with a double DQ though to set up the showdown in the Cell.

Since Reigns is out with the surgery, I’m hoping they go with the obvious idea of Rollins giving an open challenge and Ambrose returning for the big showdown. I’m not sure if Reigns’ condition is legit or not, but man alive it’s convenient that they did Rollins vs. Reigns on Monday, right before Ambrose is due back.

Cesaro takes the US Title, though I have no idea what he does with it.

I’d like to see Miz take the title as he’s doing very well with the character. That being said, he isn’t going any higher with it. I wouldn’t mind seeing Breeze debuting with the entourage soon though.

Unfortunately, odds are Nikki walks out with the title because for some reason the Bellas are the second biggest act on the card right now, despite the interest just not being there. Oh wait it’s to get 14 people to watch Total Divas or vice versa. I’m so glad we get to deal with this stuff. Did I mention I REALLY hate this story?

Rusev beats Henry. Duh.

I’ll take the brothers to walk out with the Tag Team Titles. I mean the brothers who paint their faces. Gah this is annoying. The Dusts win the titles and maybe we finally find out what the Cosmic Key is.

Orton beats Jericho. Does ANYONE care about this match?

Night of Champions is one of the least interesting cards I’ve seen in a very long time. This company just has no energy anymore and hasn’t since Summerslam was over. WWE has put in almost no effort to the show and it’s clear that they’re not interested in trying hard for this one. This is the really bad fall lull and we’ve got a few more months of it to go before things start getting better. Maybe some of the NXT guys can breathe life into the company but I wouldn’t bet on it right now. Lesnar vs. Cena should be good though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:


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




Summerslam 2014 Preview

It’s time for the biggest party of the summer and it feels like we’ve been getting here for the last nineteen years or so. The card has been set for the last several weeks now and we’ve had to sit through a long stretch of Raws and Smackdowns where almost everything was filler. Hopefully it’s been worth the wait. Let’s get to it.

RVD vs. Cesaro has been announced as the pre-show match. Neither guy has anything going right now but I could see RVD being the American version of Jericho to Cesaro’s Bray Wyatt and give the guy on a losing streak a win. The match should be entertaining, although it’s likely going to be short.

We’ll start the full card with the main event of Brock Lesnar challenging John Cena for the World Title. I’ve heard people say that Lesnar could win by DQ and Rollins cashes in, but I just can’t see it happening. There’s no reason not to put the title on Brock as a payoff from the Undertaker win. No he won’t be defending a lot, but that could open up the door for some more people to make a splash. I could even see this holding out until Wrestlemania where Reigns can punch Lesnar in the jaw to win the title. I don’t see it happening, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

The other major match is Ambrose vs. Rollins, but I don’t think it’s time to pull the trigger on Dean’s win yet. This thing is destined to go to a match for the briefcase, which would almost have to be in the middle of a big brawl. The lumberjacks are an interesting idea but it’s not what I would have picked for the stipulation. Still though, it’s going to be entertaining to see Dean hammer on Rollins for eighteen minutes. The match will be a lot better if I don’t have to listen to Cole try to get “lunatic fringe” over as the new catchphrase.

Bray Wyatt beats Jericho and there’s zero reason to think anything else is logical. Granted the same thing could have been said about their Battleground match.

I think Nikki turns on her sister to cost Brie the match, because the world is clamoring for the Bellas to go at it. This story hasn’t been interesting most people and I can’t imagine there would be any real desire to see the story continue. Therefore, you can pencil in another match at Night of Champions.

Rusev should beat Swagger in the Flag Match, but I’m still not clear what the rules are. I’ve heard it’s basically a flag on a pole match and I’ve heard a regular match with the winner getting to wave their flag. If it’s the former, I’d be far more likely to believe Swagger could win. Either way, Rusev is the guy here and should head on to winning the US Title after this.

AJ Lee retains against Paige but has to cheat to do so. I’m not sure why they think she should turn heel but that’s where they’ve been heading recently. The match has potential but I can’t imagine it’s anything great.

Reigns beats Orton. Is there really any other possible option?

Miz isn’t going to lose the title this soon, especially not when he’s actually nailing the character as well as he has been lately. If they play it right, this could wind up being a very successful title reign for him and a way back up the card for Miz.

Overall Summerslam looks good on paper and I’m pretty sure the big matches are going to deliver, but I’m not sure if it’s going to be worth all the build we’ve had to sit through. I’m not sure where we’re heading for the fall, but it has to be more interesting than the last few months of 2013. Lesnar vs. Cena is going to rock and the lumberjack match won’t be too far behind. Summerslam should be solid but I can’t see it coming close to last year’s show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:




Battleground 2014 Preview

We’ve arrived at what was the worst show of 2013, but this year’s version looks to be far more interesting than last year’s mess. The card has actually been built up rather than just being thrown together as a filler show, meaning we continue to benefit from the Network. This has the potential to be a solid show and that’s always a good thing. Let’s get to it.

The pre-show is Cameron vs. Naomi and unfortunately I think Cameron wins because WWE thinks she’s a star because she’s on a reality show they produce. Hopefully Naomi wins because she has some talent.

Cena retains the title in the obvious match of the night. There’s never been anything that makes me think he doesn’t win and there’s nothing wrong with that. This is a token title defense and a way to get us to the big showdown with Lesnar at Summerslam. That brings us to the two major questions about this: does Rollins cash in and does Lesnar appear on Sunday? No.

Time for my pick that makes no sense and it’s likely to happen: Dallas wins the Intercontinental Title. This is more something I want to happen that has any possibility to happen. Battle royals are really hard to predict though so it’s pretty much random guessing. Either Dallas, Cesaro or Diego. You don’t want to sleep on him.

Bray over Jericho. There’s no reason for Jericho to win and I really don’t think there’s a logical argument for it.

The Wyatts take the Tag Team Titles. Again, there’s really no reason for them not to and the Usos have had a nice title reign already.

I’ll take Paige to get the Divas Title back from AJ to complete her heel turn and set up a submission match at Summerslam.

Ambrose vs. Rollins is likely going to a non-finish to set up another match at Summerslam, perhaps for the briefcase. This is going to be the best match of the night and there’s no reason for it not to tear the house down.

That brings us to the match where I have no idea what to expect. I know I’ve said for weeks that Rusev is going to snap Swagger in half and sprinkle over him his Russian pizza, but then real life intervened. In case you haven’t heard, a Malaysian Airlines flight was blown out of the sky, killing nearly 300 people a few days ago. There’s a chance that that the Russian military had something to do with it, and that’s REALLY not something you want to mess with. I can’t imagine Rusev getting pinned or submitting, but maybe losing by countout or DQ. There’s also a chance they have a non-finish to set up a rematch when real life has calmed down.

Overall, Battleground actually looks pretty awesome. The main event should be a fun fifteen minutes and Rollins vs. Ambrose should be a war. The battle royal actually has me intrigued and that’s not something I would have imagined coming in. It’s just a bridge heading up to Summerslam, but it’s a nicely constructed bridge that should be an entertaining show. I know this is short, but most of the matches range from obvious to really obvious. That doesn’t leave me much to talk about.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:




Money in the Bank 2014 Preview

Money in the Bank is tomorrow night and while it’s going to shape a lot of things going forward, my interest is only kind of there. The card has been upgraded a bit over the last few days though so maybe there’s something in there to make me care. Let’s get to it.

Daniel Bryan is on the preshow. I don’t expect much from this but it’s always cool to see him and we might get an idea on his return date.

I’m going to go in a bit different order this time and get the obvious and unimportant matches out of the way.

Rusev beats Big E. Again. Not much to say there.

I don’t think Naomi takes the title yet but she’ll be champion someday. Paige is starting to reach the point where she could drop the belt though.

Goldust and Stardust win as there’s no way they lose this early in their run. It’s a shame that Ryback and Axel have been stuck in this feud instead of getting a title shot.

I’ll flip a coin and say Summer beats Layla. It’ll be a nice view if nothing else. Fandango is guest referee and playing Charlie Haas to Dawn Marie and Jackie Gayda.

The Wyatts take the Tag Titles so the evening isn’t a total loss for the Family. I fully expect the title change but I wouldn’t be furious if the Usos kept the belts. They’ve had a nice reign though and it’s time for a switch.

Now we get to the big ones, where things are obvious in theory but that might be the time for a surprise. I’ll go Rollins to win the briefcase and give Ambrose something to chase besides revenge. It looks like Barrett is out or else he would have been my dark horse to win. Rollins and Ambrose will have some fun moments in there.

The logical move is Cena winning the title so he can be fed to Lesnar at Summerslam, but that DVD cover could change a lot of things. WWE has this weird obsession with the idea that people won’t watch if they can predict something. I get the theory behind that, but it doesn’t hold up when you actually test it. People are going to watch Cena vs. Lesnar because they’re two huge stars and had a great match already. Knowing it’s coming a month earlier than it’s announced isn’t going to change that. Hopefully it doesn’t lead to some swerve that doesn’t make sense and isn’t necessary.

Overall Money in the Bank should be fun but it doesn’t have my interest for the most part. The ladder matches will be good but the rest of the show doesn’t do much for me. That could be because there are fifteen guys in two matches and no personal feud between most of them but why would we need anything like that? The show is usually good and it gets us closer to Summerslam so maybe it works. It doesn’t look bad and WWE ppvs have been good lately so hopefully it pulls through.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Survivor Series at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:




Slammiversary 2014 Preview

One of the biggest shows of the year is tomorrow and I don’t think a lot of people care.

Since MVP is injured and can’t wrestle, the main event has been changed to a three way in the cage, because wrestling NEEDS triple threats. Eric Young will still be defending, but his opponents will be determined. Instead of selecting a challenger, the winners of two previously announced matches will be entered in to face Young.

The first qualifying match is Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley. This is the more interesting one of the two and I think they’ll keep Lashley strong, even though Joe presents a more interesting case to be champion. Unfortunately this is TNA, so Joe has to look strong one week and then get beaten a few days later.

The other qualifier is Austin Aries vs. Kenny King. I’ll take Aries here, even though it looks like they’re setting up Young to overcome the odds again and keep the title over the other two members of the Trio.

In case it’s not clear, I’ll take Young to keep the title. Odds are they’ll put the title on someone else at Destination X anyway.

Two of the Von Erich children are having a tag match. This hasn’t been advertised on TV much if at all, but if they did we might have to cut out one of 19 segments a given act got o a show. Their opponents are to be announced, but could it possibly be anyone other than the Bro Mans? Von Erichs win.

Ethan wins the Texas Death Match due to Dixie causing trouble. She has to go through a table in New York. I mean…..she HAS TO.

Magnus beats Willow, setting up a tag match with Abyss joining Hardy to face the Brits in the future.

Storm beats Anderson but they’ll have 97 gimmick matches in the future to keep the feud going way past its expiration date.

Love beats Kim and I don’t care enough to go into why.

The other match that hasn’t been announced on Impact: Sanada vs. Manik vs. Tigre Uno vs. Crazy Steve vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Davey Richards for the X-Division Title. We’re less than two weeks away from Destination X and the X Division Title match can’t even get a backstage promo. Is it any wonder why this company is in such horrible shape?

Overall Slammiversary looks like the most thrown together PPV in a long time. The main event isn’t their fault, but too much of the card is either tacked on or a match that hasn’t been given enough time for people to care about it. The show should set up some interesting stuff in the future with Destination X so soon but instead it feels like they’re just filling time until we can get back to the multi way war for control of the company. Then again, Slammiversary has been a very solid show for a few years running now.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Survivor Series at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at: