IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 18, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

We’re on the road to Backlash and that means we need to get ready for a midlevel pay per view. I’m not sure what to expect from the show but there is a good chance that something will be added this time around. If nothing else, we have King Corbin as a guest star and an ax throwing contest. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a Becky Lynch highlight reel. I know the timing of this might not be the best, but this feels like an In Memorium segment.

Opening sequence.

Charly Caruso is in the ring to start and brings up the idea of Randy Orton vs. Edge being the best wrestling match of all time, should it take place. Cue Orton to say that challenging Edge to a wrestling match isn’t a surprise because the second W stands for wrestling. They’ve already torn the building apart in a Last Man Standing match and on that night, Edge was the better man.

No one can do what he does in the ring in a wrestling match though, including Edge. Last week Orton saw doubt in Edge’s eyes and the grit (take a shot) and passion are gone. Cue Edge (in a GET GRIT) to say Orton is playing a game of chess so he wasn’t going to rush in. This is just about getting a paycheck for Orton because he was handed this spot.

Orton didn’t grow up dreaming of being WWE Champion or saving up money to go to the show at the end of the month like Edge did. He didn’t cry when he won the Intercontinental Title because it was a stepping stone to the top. Edge remembers beating Orton for that title in 2004 but Orton tells him to hold on. Edge isn’t stopping because Orton doesn’t love this like everyone else does and yes he accepts the challenge. That’s enough for Orton, who leaves without saying a word. I’m digging the love of the business vs. love of a check vibe here, though the “best match ever” thing isn’t working.

We look back at Seth Rollins injuring Rey Mysterio’s eye and getting in a fight with Aleister Black as a result.

Rollins, in a suit, has a revelation for Murphy.

Here are Rollins and Murphy to explain what that revelation is. Rollins talks about falling into a dark place after losing to Drew McIntyre at Money in the Bank, but without darkness, there can be no light. However, he has been pulled out of the darkness by Rey Mysterio. What happened last week has been described as an act of hatred and an act of penance.

Rollins saw it as a moment of clarity that can make him the leader Raw needs. Rey is sitting at home with his family and soon, he will come to know that what happened to him was a blessing in disguise. Soon Rey will say thank you. Cue Humberto Carrillo to say Rey is an idol to millions and Rollins is just a coward. Carrillo gets in the ring but Murphy gets between them.

Murphy vs. Humberto Carrillo

Joined in progress, despite Murphy already having a match with Aleister Black scheduled for later. Humberto gets in a kick to the head from the apron but Murphy sends him head first into the mat. Back up and Humberto hits an enziguri, followed by a springboard kick to the face to put Murphy on the floor. That means the big twisting flip dive but Carrillo glares at Rollins, allowing Murphy to knee him out of the air. Murphy’s Law finishes Carrillo at 2:50.

Post match Murphy stays on Carrillo but here’s Black to start in a hurry. Or not actually as Black tries Black Mass, sending Murphy bailing up the ramp.

King Corbin complains about not having his own private locker room. There were fingerprint smudges on his crown and he has to go from building to building to get food. What is going on here at Raw? Now, he and the referee need to talk about how tonight’s match is going to go.

An emotional Liv Morgan talks about her mom not having much in her bank account but having a lot of determination. She is her mother’s daughter and a couple of weeks ago, she had a match with twelve time champion Charlotte. No she didn’t win, but she did learn. One day, she will be Raw Women’s Champion.

Here’s Charlotte for a chat because she needs to be on every show. Charlotte talks about everything she’s been doing lately, including a champion vs. champion match this week on Smackdown against Bayley and her sidekick Sasha Banks. As for tonight though, she invites Ruby Riott out here for a challenge.

Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott

Non-title and joined in progress again with the fight heading to the floor where Riott can dodges a chop, which hits the post by mistake. Riott goes after the arm but gets sent into the post, allowing Charlotte asks if Liv is watching this. Back up and Riott manages to send Charlotte face first into the middle buckle for two. Riott hits a Downward Spiral, though Charlotte takes it almost like a DDT. A double wristlock is broken up so Ruby tires the Riott Kick, which is blocked with ease. The Figure Eight makes Riott tap at 3:40.

Rating: C. Hey Charlotte wins again while Riott loses again. It’s almost like you could have just gone with that result as soon as Riott’s music came on. The match was the usual way to let WWE praise Charlotte every chance they can, because the solution to everything is more Charlotte (and more Corbin of course).

Bobby Lashley is ready for R-Truth but MVP comes in to bring up the fact that Lashley hasn’t had a WWE Championship match in thirteen years. Lashley already has enough trophies, like that trophy wife. That earns MVP a glare, but all he wants is to unleash Lashley.

We look back at last week’s basketball game. Tonight: axe throwing.

The Street Profits are ready for the competition and run into a bunch of people in viking gear. The Viking Raiders blow a horn and say they have a gift for them: SMOKE, as produced by a fire. Dawkins says they don’t mean it literally, but Ford says you accepts a gift from a bunch of vikings with axes. Good advice really. Ivar throws a perfect axe and Ford is ready to go already. Dawkins says they’ve got this. More on this later.

Here’s Kairi Sane with a bunch of balloons around the ring to celebrate Asuka. Cue Asuka, who is very pleased by the whole thing. Sane presents her with some flowers and talks about all of Asuka’s accomplishments, making her a Grand Slam Champion. Sane busts out a flute and plays a little diddy, only to have Nia Jax interrupt.

There’s nothing to celebrate because Asuka was handed the title. Becky is on maternity leave so Asuka is just on a temp job. Nia will be champion soon because look at her. Then we can have a real party, so Asuka starts striking away. The running hip attack sends Jax outside. This would have been a little better had it not been the same as about 184 other Jax promos.

King Corbin says Drew McIntyre may be WWE Champion but he’s not a king you see. Drew beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship but he still has the ability to slip up. We see Drew watching in the back as Corbin says the next time they face off, he’ll take Drew’s title in the main event of Wrestlemania.

Here’s R-Truth, whose cousin Pretty Ricky has talked about how bad Bobby Lashley has been lately. Now he doesn’t want to be put in Nelson from the Simpsons again but he’s going to have to face Lashley tonight. His childhood hero John Cena would never give up, just like Truth will never give up on getting his baby back. So Tom Brady, he’s coming for you, even if it means a sack! After commentary explains the joke (AGAIN), we’re ready to go.

R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley

Truth accuses Lashley of trying to Debo him and bails outside, where Pretty Ricky appears. Lashley isn’t having that and sends him ribs first into the post. Back in and Lashley slaps him a few times, sending Truth into a frenzy. Unfortunately that frenzy lasts about three seconds as it’s a clothesline into the full nelson slam. The full nelson makes Truth tap at 2:25.

Post match MVP comes out to applaud.

Lana is watching in the back and screams again. She throws some stuff to add an extra dimension.

The Kabuki Warriors are rather happy in the back as Nia Jax watches on.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. IIconics

The IIconics are challenging and show us a clip of their win last week. They’re looking forward to getting their titles back so Bliss and Cross can just leave. Bliss has to fight out of the corner to start and the double knees Royce’s ribs get two. It’s off to Kay for a scoop brainbuster on Cross but she misses a big boot, allowing the (rather early) hot tag to Bliss. Insult To Injury gets two on everything breaks down in a hurry. Bliss blasts Kay with the right hand and Twisted Bliss gets two as Royce makes the save. Peyton sends Bliss into the post three times in a row, which is a DQ at 2:44.

Sane is playing the flute again but Jax sends her into a case.

Post break, Kay blames Royce for the loss and slaps her before they hug and cry.

We look at Chapter Two of Undertaker’s Last Ride.

We look back at Shayna Baszler beating Natalya last week. Tonight, they’re meeting again in a submission match.

Asuka is livid and wants revenge on Nia.

Post break, Asuka jumps Nia as they’re flying through this story tonight.

Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler

Submission match. Natalya goes right after her and tries an early Sharpshooter, which is reversed into an ankle lock. That’s broken up with a boot to the face so Baszler starts bending the arm. Natalya spins out so Baszler pulls her straight down by the hair. Shayna can’t get the Sharpshooter so Natalya puts her own. The rope is reached but THANKFULLY that’s not a break, meaning Shayna has to crawl out of the ring for the break. Back in and Natalya grabs a kneebar but Shayna reverses into a Koquina Clutch for the tap at 3:48.

Rating: C-. Some of the holds looked a bit nasty but it’s still Natalya. Why does WWE think fans are interested in her other than she’s been around for a long time? The match wasn’t terrible but I’m going to need a much bigger reason to care about Natalya than….well whatever reason WWE thinks we have of caring about her. A heel turn isn’t going to work either, as Natalya can’t do emotions no matter what.

Post match the production staff sets up the KO Show but Natalya wrecks everything in a fit.

We look at the issues between Zelina Vega and company.

Vega tells her team to be on the same page out there. Andrade seems to blame Austin Theory for everything and tensions remain high.

Here’s Kevin Owens for the first time since Wrestlemania for the Kevin Owens Show, though the set is still wrecked. Owens has been out since Wrestlemania due to an injury but now he’s back at full health. Therefore, let’s bring out his guests: Zelina Vega, Andrade, Angel Garza and Austin Theory.

Owens heads to the apron so Vega can talk about how there is no distention here and there won’t be a Jerry Springer Show. Vega brags about all four of them and isn’t happy that Owens is on the apron. Owens says he’s offering them some respect but it’s also because there is another guest: Apollo Crews, who runs in to jump Andrade. The big brawl is on and we take a break.

Angel Garza/Andrade vs. Kevin Owens/Apollo Crews

Not joined in progress for once with Garza TAKING OFF HIS PANTS early on. Due to the lighter weight, Crews suplex slams Garza down and hands it off to Owens to stomp away. A backsplash crushes him as Owens tells Andrade to get in. Andrade does just that and kicks Owens down but he’s right back with a clothesline.

It’s back to Crews to pick up the pace, including a hard spinebuster to Garza. Vega offers a distraction so Theory can accidentally hit Garza, allowing Crews to hit the toss powerbomb to finish Garza at 2:49. Owens is very proud of Crews. Not that Owens would want the US Title for himself or anything, because that’s not what we’re doing at the moment.

Post match the team is in disarray and Andrade jumps Theory from behind. The fight is on with Garza helping take Theory down as Vega yells at them to stop. Theory is sent into the barricade and Vega adds a slap, saying she should have never believed in him. Another whip sends Theory into some chairs as the team seems to be down one man.

Drew McIntyre says he’s ready for all of the challenges and Monday is always a good night for a Claymore Party. He knows Bar….hold on let him get this right….King Corbin is dangerous but Drew has a special Claymore for him.

Back to the woods, where the Vikings are really, really good at axe throwing (or maybe the production staff is really good at camera cuts). Ford asks for some space so he can get his Tiger Woods on. Ivar: “TIGER??? IS THERE A TIGER IN THE WOODS???” Can we PLEASE get some continuity on their level of pop culture knowledge? Anyway, Ford throws and the axe goes sailing over a tree.

Post break, Dawkins goes to throw and accidentally breaks the barrel of ale. Ford offers some of his cup but Dawkins says this is nothing like Thor.

Aleister Black vs. Murphy

Seth Rollins is here too. Black wastes no time in striking away at Murphy and taking it to the floor for a big kick to the chest. Another kick hits post though (like when Charlotte chopped the post earlier) and Murphy takes him inside as Rollins sees Theory still down at ringside. Black fights back and loads up Black Mass but Theory comes in for the DQ at 2:34 on Rollins’ orders.

Post match the beatdown is on with Theory hugging Rollins.

And now, in the fourth segment of the night, it’s time for the actual axe throwing competition. They both get ten throws and only bulls’ eyes count. The Vikings win 10-1 with Ford hitting the only target on the last throw. Then the cops come up to complain about an axe being thrown through their police car window. It must have been someone who couldn’t throw, so Dawkins takes the axe, throws it over his shoulder, and hits a bull’s eye. See, it’s like the opposite of last week, but with axes!

Apollo Crews says he’s been waiting a long time since Money in the Bank and now he had to do something. Now, he knows what he wants: the United States Title, which he wants a shot at next week. Zelina Vega comes in and promises pain next week if Crews goes through with this. Crews is ready for his title shot.

We’re STILL not done with the axe throwing thing, as the cops yell at all four of them for being dangerous. The female cop lets them go though because Ivar is cute. Erik, not so much.

Drew McIntyre vs. King Corbin

Non-title. Hold on though as here are Bobby Lashley and MVP, with the former saying he’s coming for McIntyre’s title no matter what. The two of them watch as McIntyre and Corbin fight over a lockup to start. A shot to the leg staggers McIntyre early on but he’s fine enough to clothesline Corbin outside. Another clothesline puts Corbin over the barricade with MVP clapping from the stage.

There’s a third clothesline to put Corbin at ringside and he goes inside, only to roll back to the floor to avoid a Claymore. Corbin knocks McIntyre off the apron and into the barricade, followed by the slide underneath the corner clothesline for two. McIntyre gets sent face first into the turnbuckle and it’s a superplex to give Corbin one. Corbin talks trash and runs into an overhead belly to belly.

There’s a big boot to set up the top rope shot to the head into McIntyre’s nip up. McIntyre gets two off a spinebuster but Corbin plants him down for one more. Back up and the Futureshock looks to set up the Claymore, which is countered into Deep Six for two. Corbin tries the slide under the ropes clothesline but walks into the Claymore for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: C. Now this is a better usage of Corbin (provided you keep him on one show): let him do one match as a threat to the champ and then send him elsewhere. There is no reason to do anything higher up with him than that and if WWE can grasp that concept, they might be able to get something out of Corbin. It was fine for a warmup for McIntyre vs. Lashley and that’s all it needed to be. Now keep Corbin on his own show if you have to have him in such a big role.

McIntyre calls out Lashley but MVP points at his watch to say on their time to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I’m not sure how to feel on this one as they had some good and bad things going. I like the keeping things moving and making you want to know where things are going next. There is no reason to have some big fifteen minute match and then expect me to want to see more of it next week. Save that stuff for the pay per view and make it feel more important.

Then though you have points where they just kept going with stuff. Nia seems primed to be the next challenger for Asuka. Ok, that’s fine. Have her interrupt, then have her attack Sane, then have Asuka swear revenge for her fallen friend, who Nia could beat in a regular match if you have the chance. That’s probably a month and they did it in about ten minutes. It’s ok to not burn through EVERYTHING in one night while also keeping things moving. Find the middle ground.

That middle ground does not include FIVE SEGMENTS on an axe throwing contest in the middle of the woods, especially a week after a basketball game. The Vikings beat the Profits in a tag match two weeks ago on Raw. In theory that sets up a title match (because WWE loves that trope) but instead, it’s setting up a rehash of MVP/Matt Hardy when neither were healthy enough to wrestle. I know they’re stretched for ideas here, but can we please just get to a match instead of the guaranteed tiebreaker competition next week?

Overall, this show wasn’t the worst by any stretch and they are indeed doing something, but a lot of what they are doing is making my head hurt. Lashley is a great choice as the Monster Of The Month/Two for McIntyre and I like Theory joining up with Rollins, who is a much better fit for him than Vega and company. Just tighten things up a bit and this show could actually work rather than being dragged over the finish line for a change.

Results

Murphy b. Humberto Carrillo – Murphy’s Law

Charlotte b. Ruby Riott – Figure Eight

Bobby Lashley b. R-Truth – Full nelson

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross b. IIconics via DQ when Royce sent Bliss into the post

Shayna Baszler b. Natalya – Koquina Clutch

Apollo Crews/Kevin Owens b. Angel Garza/Andrade – Toss powerbomb to Garza

Aleister Black b. Murphy when Austin Theory interfered

Drew McIntyre b. King Corbin – Claymore

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 26, 1994
Location: Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York
Attendance: 4,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

It’s a new taping cycle to wrap up the month and, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d love to see more Bob Backlund here. He was amazing last week with the complete insanity making the segment the best thing about the show. Odds are that won’t get a ton of focus, but we can only hope. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a quick preview of Razor Ramon vs. Tatanka for the Intercontinental Title.

Opening sequence.

Intercontinental Title: Razor Ramon vs. Tatanka

Tatanka is challenging and has Ted DiBiase in his corner. Razor gets the better of a chop off and there’s a clothesline to put Tatanka on the floor. Back in and Tatanka goes with some overhand chops to more success and a forearm to the back slows Razor down. A backdrop attempt is countered with a faceplant to the mat, meaning it’s Razor’s turn to work the arm.

We hit the armbar with the slaps to the back of the head so Tatanka hits a clothesline. The running elbow gets two on the champ and we take a break. Tatanka misses a charge though and crashes out to the floor. Razor knocks him off the apron to keep him out there but a missed right hand lets Tatanka get in a neck snap across the top. This time it’s Tatanka taking him to the floor and we take a break.

Back with more walking around on the floor and Razor being drive back first into the apron a few times. They head inside again with Tatanka chopping away and grabbing the abdominal stretch. DiBiase gets in on the grabbing thing by grabbing Tatanka’s hand, only to have Razor reverse into one of his own. With that going nowhere, Razor puts him on the top for the belly to back superplex, which draws DiBiase up for a distraction. Razor goes after him so Tatanka follows, drawing out Lex Luger. Bam Bam Bigelow follows and jumps him, only to have Tatanka join in and get counted out.

Rating: D. This was the big Tatanka heel debut: a slow, plodding match which went about five minutes longer than it needed to and saw Tatanka get counted out. What a great way to make me worried about the guy and get me fired up to see him face Luger. This was horrible and a terrible start for the heel run, which doesn’t exactly bode well.

Undertaker is ready for Yokozuna on the Hart Attack Tour.

Kwang vs. Rich Myers

Myers avoids a charge to start but Vince McMahon starts talking about a trade between ESPN, the Arizona Cardinals and the WWF, with Savage being the quarterback, the Bushwhackers going to ESPN and Phil Sims (NFL quarterback) coming to Raw for commentary. Thankfully this goes nowhere as Kwang hits a spinwheel kick for the fast win.

Here’s Jerry Lawler to bring out British Bulldog for the King’s Court. Lawler starts with the dog jokes (Lawler: “My dog’s name is Timex: he’s a watchdog.”) but finally makes a joke about Bulldog’s wife and that’s too far. Cue Jim Neidhart to say Bulldog isn’t part of the Hart Family so he shouldn’t have been at Summerslam. They can fight next week, and that’s fine with Bulldog. He was rather fired up here, and not exactly in a good way.

Next week: a woman’s tag match. That might actually be good given the time frame.

We look back at Bob Backlund going nuts last week. The WWF Magazine editor has a slightly separated shoulder.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Gary Davis

Kid grabs a quick snapmare and Davis swears a hair pull. A wristlock doesn’t work so well for Davis as Kid kicks him down without much trouble. Cue Backlund with a present for Savage, though Vince reads the letter. The present is a dictionary so Savage can know what Backlund is talking about. Kid misses a running dropkick in the corner but stops a charging Davis with a kick to the head. The top rope legdrop finishes Davis in a hurry.

Rating: D+. The match was just background noise for the sake of the Backlund delivery. That’s not the biggest story in the world but Backlund vs. Savage in a promo battle alone could be worth the time. I doubt we’re going there, but at least there is SOMETHING to look forward to around here.

King Kong Bundy is coming back. He’s really big you see.

Shawn Michaels/Diesel vs. Chris Kanyon/Bob Starr

Non-title. I can always go for a surprise cameo like this one. Shawn elbows Kanyon down to start and it’s off to Diesel to throw him into the corner. Starr comes in and takes the top rope elbow (Savage: “That elbow looks familiar.”) and there’s Diesel’s side slam. The Jackknife connects and Shawn comes in for the pin (because he gets the glory).

Rating: D+. You can only get so much out of a short squash like this but at least the champs are the kind of guys who can make almost anyone look good. The more interesting note here is Kanyon, which kind of tells you how little this match meant or had to offer in the first place. At least the champs got to look dominant, even in a short form squash.

Post match here are the Headshrinkers, though it’s the debuting Sionne (Barbarian) taking Samu’s place.

Post break, Lou Albano says that Samu is out due to some bad fish. I remember hearing this live and spending MONTHS waiting for Samu to come back. The brawl is on again to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. The high point of this show was Bob Backlund giving Randy Savage a dictionary. I can’t get out of 1994 fast enough as it’s such a terrible time for the company. Is it any wonder why WCW was on the rise at this point? Hulk Hogan vs. the Faces of Fear wasn’t good, but it’s better than Barbarian debuting as the new Headshrinker. Awful show here, as usual.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 19, 1994
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Attendance: 2,300
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

The big attraction here is Jerry Lawler vs. Duke the Dumpster Droese. I don’t know what else there is to say here, but that’s the high point of the show. We have nothing better than Lawler vs. a trashman and we’re not even in Memphis to make it feel special. I’m almost scared to see what we’re getting here as it’s the dreaded last night of a taping cycle. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Tatanka joining the Million Dollar Corporation. Unlike Lex Luger, he understands the value of a dollar.

Opening sequence.

Lex Luger vs. The Executioner

I’d bet on that being Dwayne Gill under a mask. Luger headlocks and shoulders him down to start but Executioner grabs a small package for two. Some forearms to the back stagger Luger but he’s right back with a running clothesline. The Rack is good for a fast submission.

Duke Droese vs. Jerry Lawler

They’re getting to the big one early this week. Before the match, Lawler makes trash jokes about Droese being filthy. The chase is on before the bell but Lawler is finally willing to get inside. Lawler’s headlock gives him a big smile so Droese shoves him hard into the corner. That means Lawler hides behind the referee as he continues to know how to rile the fans up while doing a grand total of nothing.

Now it’s Lawler being sent outside so he can yell at some fans, followed by a big hiptoss inside. Droese hammers away in the corner for a face first fall, meaning Lawler needs another breather. Back in and Lawler gets backdropped so it’s another trip to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Lawler stalling more, all with the fans being rather annoyed with him (in a good way).

It’s time to go to Memphis with the invisible object and a single shot puts Droese down. Lawler gets on the rope and poses and it’s time to slug away. The middle rope fist gets two but Droese launches him with the kickout. There’s the piledriver but Lawler goes outside to get the trashcan. Cue Dink of all people to spray Lawler with a water gun. The chase is on and that’s a countout to give Droese the win.

Rating: D+. I could go with the standard Lawler antics but then a miniature clown came in to cause a countout because Lawler got distracted by a trashcan. That’s one thing for a fun little match somewhere on the show but this was the featured match on the card, to the point where they even advertised it twice last week. It had some promise and then turned into a product of the era.

Post match the chase is still on until Doink comes out to send Lawler running into the crowd.

Heavenly Bodies vs. Mike Bell/Steve King

Joined in progress with Del Ray suplexing King and rubbing a forearm to his face. Prichard comes in for an elbow drop and it’s already back to Del Ray for a dropkick. A suplex sets up the moonsault to finish King in a hurry. Bell never even tagged in.

Another New Generation confession ad. They thought it was so great that they did another version?

Vince McMahon brings out Bob Backlund for an interview. Bob is booed out of the building, having recently snapped on Bret Hart. Vince asks what is going on in Backlund’s head but Bob needs to make it clear that he is NOT a former champion. He’s coming up on seventeen years as WWF Champion and starts ranting about society today, including bad pencils.

The fans are the ones who changed and he put the chickenwing on Bret because he wants to put it on every one of the fans. The people have manipulated themselves because the chickenwing is the greatest hold in wrestling. Even Bret can’t get out of it and it’s not his fault that people in America can’t stick to a diet or can’t read. Vince asks about Backlund saying no one can escape the chickenwing after saying for years that no one can escape the hold.

Bob is so confident in the hold that if anyone can escape it from the mat, he’ll retire. The jacket comes off and it’s time for a demonstration on a WWF Magazine writer at ringside. The chickenwing goes on and Backlund cranks on the thing, causing Vince himself to try for the save. It’s so much that Savage comes in for the real save, leaving Backlund just staring at his hands. He is MR. BACKLUND and you can feel it. This was awesome as Backlund came off as a complete psycho and having Vince getting involved made it even better.

Bob Holly vs. Richie Rich

Isn’t Macaulay Culkin a little young to be a jobber here? Commentary completely ignores the match to rant about Backlund as Holly works on the arm to start. A clothesline into a high crossbody finishes Rich in a hurry.

Yokozuna vs. Phil Apollo

Vince is back to normal and Yokozuna is making a rare solo appearance. Yokozuna elbows him down to start and hammers Apollo down in the corner without much effort. The Banzai Drop is good for the fast pin.

Post match Undertaker’s music hits to freak Yokozuna out.

Overall Rating: D+. That Backlund promo came as close to saving a rotten show as you can get though even it had a limit. The rest of the show was pretty terrible, though I can appreciate the last two matches being short and to the point rather than dragging them out longer than necessary. They need a pay per view to build towards though because hearing about the Hart Attack Tour every few seconds isn’t quite cutting it.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 12, 1994
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Attendance: 2,300
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

It’s another month here and this time around we’re starting in the middle, as the US Open Tennis Tournament took away the first week of September. We’re a long way off from Survivor Series so we don’t have much to build towards at the moment, but that tends to be the case in 1994 anyway. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Undertaker vs. Kwang

This is Undertaker’s first match on Raw since January and Kwang is Savio Vega under a mask with Harvey Wippleman as a manager. They stare at each other a lot and Kwang makes the mistake of going after him, meaning the beating can start in a hurry. Kwang hits him in the back and gets stared down, followed by a slam for a bonus. The Stunner over the top sets up Old School back inside as we take a break.

Back with Kwang hammering away before Undertaker pretty easily wins a slugout. Kwang scores with a superkick and clothesline to the floor….but Undertaker lands on his feet because that’s what he does. Back in and Kwang spits mist at him, only to have Undertaker spit it right back at him. The chokeslam is good for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was your “welcome home” return match and that’s all well and good. Undertaker looked pretty dominant and that’s what they need from him after such a long absence. Kwang is fine for a midcard villain and I don’t think there is anyone who believed he was ever going to be anything more than that. 1994 wasn’t a great time for midcarders and that wasn’t going to get any better for a long time.

Highlights of Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart in a cage at Summerslam, plus the post match fracas.

Jim Neidhart vs. Tim McNeaney

Owen Hart is here with Jim. Neidhart throws him around with ease and then tosses him outside. A forearm to the chest brings McNeaney back in and Owen tells Neidhart to hurt him a little more. Another slam sets up the camel clutch to give Neidhart the easy win.

Rating: D. The whole Neidhart vs. Bret feud is a good example of how chemistry means so much. Neidhart is not all that interesting on his own but he has a history with Bret and that makes things all the better. It makes things that much better and saves us from boring squashes like this one.

Post match the hold goes on again and Owen puts some Bret glasses on McNeaney.

We look at Jerry Lawler popping Dink’s balloons. Doink looked furious and you never want a crowd swearing vengeance.

It’s time for the King’s Court. After Lawler insults some fans, he holds up a letter from Jack Tunney demanding that he apologize to Doink and Dink. Therefore, Lawler will be the bigger man than Dink, so the clowns can come out here. This includes Dink in a Burger King crown, which is not going to end well. Doink and Lawler make fun of each other’s clothes before Lawler gets in some more short jokes about Dink.

The clowns just want to make things right so they have a present for him. Vince thinks it’s a box of WWF Magazines with Doink and Dink on the cover, because that’s a heck of a gift. Lawler is scared of what’s in there so Doink opens it for him. It’s….a trashcan, because Lawler is facing Duke the Dumpster Droese next week. Lawler kicks the trashcan, which just happens to have metal weights inside. I hate that I laughed at that one.

Come to the Hart Attack Tour!

Diesel/Shawn Michaels vs. Tony Devito/Paul Van Dale

The fans chant for Diesel as Shawn slaps Devito in the face early on. A Diesel distraction lets Shawn knock him outside and it’s off to Diesel for a hard forearm to the face. It’s already back to Shawn for a chinlock but he lets it up in a hurry so Van Dam can come in. That’s fine with Diesel, who plants him with a big boot. The Jackknife sets up Shawn’s splash from on top of Diesel’s shoulder for the easy pin.

Rating: C. This was an entertaining little squash and that’s all it needed to be. Shawn and Diesel are cited as the best big man/little man combination for a reason: they’re really good at what they do and that’s what we saw here. Van Dale wasn’t much, but his daughter was a little more fabulous. You probably know her as Carmella.

We look at Ted DiBiase trying to buy Adam Bomb but Bomb got in a fight with Bam Bam Bigelow instead.

Adam Bomb vs. Dwayne Gill

Bomb is now in blue and yellow for a change of pace. Gill gets shoved down to start and then bounces off of Bomb’s shoulder. Some kicks out of the corner and something like a bulldog onto the top turnbuckle have Bomb in trouble for all of a second before he’s back with a dropkick. A side slam connects and Gill’s missed crossbody sends him outside. Back in and the slingshot clothesline into the pumphandle slam finishes Gill with ease.

Rating: D+. I’ve always had a soft spot for Bomb so this was a fun match. Bomb was someone with the size and athleticism to make it work but it’s not like he had that high of a ceiling. His southern hick voice didn’t help things but I thought he could have been fine as a midcard star and maybe even an Intercontinental Title challenger. Or maybe he could go nowhere while the WWF came up with one horrible idea after another.

A man goes to confession but his priest is watching wrestling. Dig the New Generation. Voiceover: “Put your faith in us.”

Bushwhackers vs. Barry Hardy/Burt Centino

Now you know as well as I do that the WWF doesn’t get the irony of going from a New Generation ad to THE BUSHWHACKERS in 1994. Butch and Hardy start things off and the latter is already in trouble. A bite of the trunks connects as Knuckleball Schwartz is on strike in the crowd. Centino and Luke come in with the latter hitting a clothesline for no count as Hardy comes in. Butch shoves Hardy onto Centino and counts two, which is too far for the referee. A chop staggers Centino and the Battering Ram is good for the pin.

Rating: D. The Bushwhackers in the last match on the show in 1994? For the life of me I don’t get why this took place but that’s what you get around this time. It wasn’t even a good squash as it was mainly comedy, but what else could be expected here? At least it was short, and that’s the signature line about any horrible match.

We end with a preview of next week’s show, with Duke Droese vs. Jerry Lawler listed twice for some reason.

Overall Rating: D. As usual, Shawn and Diesel were the highlights here and they weren’t exactly thrilling. This is a horrible time for the company and the New Generation still wasn’t taking off yet. They needed something to get them a breath of fresh air and that would wind up being Diesel. Based on the reaction he got here, you can’t blame them. You can blame them for the rest of the show though, which was pretty horrible.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 12, 2005
Location: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 7,500
Commentators: Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman

It’s officially a new era as Eric Bischoff was fired last week. That ends a three and a half year reign from Bischoff, meaning we now need a new boss. Or maybe not at the time as we have the build for the Elimination Chamber to get us through the next week or two. That could make for some good stuff so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of last week’s trial and Eric Bischoff being fired.

Here’s Vince McMahon to get things going, but first he has to throw away a microphone that doesn’t work. Last week he fired Eric Bischoff and that isn’t changing. Oh and Merry Christmas to Eric and his family. As for a new GM, Vince has some options. Maybe Stephanie McMahon or Shane McMahon, or Theo Epstein or Ted Turner. It might even be one of the fans here! Vince: “Just ribbing. It won’t be one of you.”

Vince has assigned someone to be the interim GM for tonight. He’s a business genius, handsome and one virile SOB. Naturally that’s Vince himself, and tonight it’s the Elimination Chamber qualifying matches. We’ll start with this, and the fans will NOT be censored during his entrance.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Ric Flair vs. Kurt Angle

Non-title. Flair headlocks him down to start and Angle is already bailing into the corner. With the WOOing out of the way, Angle drives him into the corner and pounds away. Some chops don’t do Flair much good so it’s a German suplex into the ankle lock. A few dives allow Flair to make it to the rope so Angle grapevines it for the four count as we take a break.

Back with Flair fighting out of a chinlock and belly to back suplexing his way to freedom. The Figure Four goes on but it’s pretty close to the rope and doesn’t last long. The leg is fine enough to pop off an overhead belly to belly but Flair chops him to the floor. Angle grabs a chair so the referee gets rid of them, allowing Angle to whip out a gold medal and knock Flair silly for the pin.

Rating: C+. This was getting good until the end and I’m always appreciative of protecting a champion. Angle beating Flair on his own wouldn’t have been horrible but there’s no need to have the champ lose again so soon after Survivor Series. I could go for more of this, though it would just make me wonder what they could have done in their primes.

Post match Angle goes on a rant about how Raw is going to Afghanistan next week for a Tribute to the Troops. It’s voluntary though and Angle is NOT going because the troops have done nothing for him. MAYBE is they catch Osama Bin Laden, he’ll go over there and sign some autographs.

We cut to Daivari in the back in front of statues of Boston sports legends Larry Bird and Bobby Orr. He whips out some spray paint so he can treat them like Americans treat Angle but here’s angry John Cena to cut them off. Cena goes on a rant about how Angle won’t go honor the troops that keep him safe. Half of the people think Cena sucks too so but that’s because we’re in AMERICA! With no American soldiers there are no American heroes, and you can’t see him, so he spray paints the camera lens.

Edge and Lita mock Flair for being arrested. A fight is teased but goes nowhere.

Shelton Benjamin comes in to see Shawn Michaels and asks him about last week when Shawn wanted an attitude. That’s what Shelton gave him and now Shawn isn’t happy. Tonight, Shelton is qualifying for the Elimination Chamber and he hopes Shawn is there. Shelton hands Shawn a copy of Shawn’s book to show him….I’m not sure actually.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito

Shelton jumps him at the bell to start and Carlito is stomped to the floor early on. Back in and a quick belly to belly drops Carlito again. Shelton follows him to the floor for some clotheslines but Carlito rams him into the apron. Back in again and the Backstabber drops Shelton, followed by a backbreaker to keep the focus strong.

The Boston crab is broken up in a hurry and Shelton hits a Samoan drop into some clotheslines. A sunset flip connects but Carlito grabs the referee to get a slight delay. Carlito hits him in the back but walks into the exploder….for no cover. Instead Shelton grabs the apple and takes a bite, allowing Carlito to small package him for the pin.

Rating: C-. What does it say that Shelton is moving up in the world by having a reason for him to lose? This just keeps getting worse and worse but for some reason WWE doesn’t see much in Shelton. I’m not a big Carlito guy but in this case, he’s the right choice to put into the match. Granted the match might not be the best idea, though that has never stopped them before.

Trevor Murdoch talks to Vince about being the GM. Vince throws him out for having tobacco and moves on to find Candice Michelle. The word position is mentioned several times and lingerie is revealed. Kurt Angle storms in and Vince is ready to kill him as we go to a break.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Big Show vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn gets thrown into the corner to start and has to chop his way out of a chokeslam attempt. A low bridge puts Show on the floor but he catches the dive and throws Shawn back in. The big elbow misses so Show goes with the bearhug instead. That’s broken up so Shawn chops away, only to have the forearm pulled out of the air.

Some more strikes work for Shawn and he counters the chokeslam into a DDT. The top rope elbow connects and so does the superkick…which only puts Show on one knee. Shawn tries it again but gets chokeslammed for his efforts. Cue HHH with a chair to hit Shawn, meaning Show loses so HHH can laugh.

Rating: C+. Shawn was moving out there and had you believing that this could go either way, which is hard to do in about five and a half minutes. The ending sets up a match at No Year’s Revolution and gave us a few entertaining minutes of action. Not too bad, but Shawn can make something work out of almost any situation.

Kurt demands a title match against Cena tonight but Vince reminds him that this isn’t Eric Bischoff’s Raw anymore. Instead, Vince gives Cena a You Can’t See Me match against Daivari, meaning Cena will be blindfolded. Oh and you can disrespect the troops and Larry Bird, but NEVER interrupt him. Angle and Daivari leave so Vince can admire Candice’s magic wand (minus Candice).

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Chris Masters vs. Viscera

Masters powers him into the corner but Viscera comes out with a slam. An elbow gives Viscera two and he falls on top of Masters for daring to try a slam of his own. The Masterlock doesn’t work as Viscera drives him into the corner, setting up a side slam. A Samoan drop puts him down as well, only to have Masters drop toehold him into the corner. The Masterlock to a kneeling Viscera is good for the submission.

Rating: D+. You know, this wasn’t too bad all things considered. Who would have expected anything from these two? Masters getting the hold on Viscera was kind of impressive and the match wound up being a decent enough power showdown. I still don’t see Masters as anything more than a midcarder, but like Carlito, he’s the right choice at this point.

Smackdown Rebound.

Trish Stratus went to talk to Mickie James but Mickie tells a story about growing up watching wrestling with her grandfather. He took her to Wrestlemania X7 where Trish stood up to Vince McMahon (Mickie: “You were totally sleeping with him!”) and then he died soon after. Now she has a #1 contenders match and might get to be in the ring with Trish! Mickie starts crying and Trish suddenly can’t remember what she came here for. Sounds like a delayed breakup.

Here’s Matt Striker to teach us something. His blackboard says Family Values, which have been forgotten. Like working mothers. What happened to mothers who did work when they weren’t on their back? Striker wants to know where the fathers are, but here in Massachusetts, they’re probably marrying each other.

Striker brings up the gay marriage law in Massachusetts and says “that’s the sort of thing that is ruining our country.” The people here are uneducated and that’s where he comes in. He’ll be your father figure! There’s a line in there that wasn’t good when it aired and has aged even more horribly. That would be “Here’s Matt Striker.”

Chris Nowinski and Dusty Rhodes both apply to be General Manager.

Victoria vs. Mickie James

The winner gets Trish, on commentary, for the title at New Year’s Revolution. Victoria starts fast with the spinning side slam for two but a standing moonsault hits knees. Mickie slugs away to knock her into the corner as Trish sounds nervous about the idea of facing Trish. Victoria comes back with a quickly broken Boston crab so it’s the MickieDT to give Mickie the pin and make Trish a little more anxious.

Rating: D+. Another match that didn’t have the time to go anywhere and that’s fine. You’re only going to get so much out of a short match like this, which is even more frustrating when these two are capable of doing more. The women’s division has been three people for a long time now and that needs to change. I mean it probably won’t, but it should.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: HHH vs. Kane

HHH charges into a clothesline to start and Kane hammers away in the corner. The big choke has HHH in more trouble so he goes to the knee. Kane whips him over the corner for the big crash to the floor though and we take a break. Back with HHH hitting a spinebuster but the sleeper is broken in a hurry.

The powerslam sends HHH down again but HHH rolls outside before the top rope clothesline can launch. Back in and the facebuster connects, only to have Kane kick the referee down by mistake. The distraction lets HHH pull out the sledgehammer but here’s the Big Show. Kane gets back up and it’s a double chokeslam for the slow three.

Rating: C-. This was another storyline match but at least they had some time to make it work out a little better. HHH vs. Big Show is a fine enough match, but it’s a little strange to see a Tag Team Champion in a singles match. Much like the women’s division, it’s not like Kane and Show have much competition though so there aren’t many other options.

John Cena vs. Daivari

Non-title, only Cena is blindfolded and yep that’s a major hometown pop. Daivari claps to get Cena’s attention and Cena misses a charge. A slap to the back of the head annoys Cena again and Daivari even talks some trash. Believe it or not that’s not a good idea as Cena gets in a shot to the face. Cena starts pointing for the YES/NO chants from the crowd but Angle gets in a cheap shot. Cena catches Daivari anyway though and it’s the STFU for the fast tap.

Rating: D. These matches almost never work but the fans helping Cena here and keeping it short made this a lot easier to get through. Angle vs. Cena has been done for weeks now though and I really don’t need to see any more of it, even an offshoot like this. At least the hometown boy wins for once though, which shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a theme show and those can be hit and miss. They did what they needed to do for the Chamber though and that’s a good thing. There were a few other things going on and those feuds are only decent. I’ll give them points for having SOMETHING during the December lull though, as that isn’t often the case. Not a bad show, but it was almost all about one idea and if you didn’t care for it, you weren’t getting much out of this.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 11, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

It’s time to start picking things up a lot again around here as Becky Lynch is going to make some kind of major announcement. That sounds like she might be dropping the title, and really that might be the only option as it’s hard to imagine almost anyone beating her. Other than that, it’s hard to say what we’ve got coming up on the way to Backlash next month. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the Money in the Bank ladder matches with Asuka and Otis winning the briefcases.

Opening sequence.

Here’s an emotional Becky Lynch without the title but with the Money in the Bank briefcase. She’s upset about something and needs to go away for awhile. That’s why she made asked the powers that be around here to raise the stakes last night. Cue Asuka to scream about the briefcase, but Becky opens it up to reveal the title, which now belongs to Asuka because the ladder match was for the title, not an opportunity at the title. Asuka freaks out and celebrates around the arena. Becky: “You go be a warrior, because I’m gonna go be a mother.” Asuka stops and hugs Becky before chanting her name in a great moment.

Post break a bunch of wrestlers come in to congratulate Lynch on the news.

Bobby Lashley vs. Humberto Carrillo

No DQ and it’s not a good sign that I heard Carrillo’s music and said out loud “do we have to?”. Lashley throws him around to start but gets knocked outside, setting up a suicide dive. That’s knocked away so Lashley grabs a chair, which is dropkicked into his face as we take a break. Back with Carrillo missing a baseball slide but avoiding a big boot and kicking Lashley in the head. A dive off the barricade is pulled out of the air and Carrillo gets posted hard. Carrillo gets the chair though and unloads, only to get caught in a full nelson to make Carrillo tap at 8:40.

Rating: D+. I know they’re trying with Carrillo and want him to be a thing but egads it’s not working. There’s just not much there and it’s showing more and more every single time. He’s fine enough in the ring but the lack of charisma or reason to care is destroying him. Lashley isn’t going to get much further with a full nelson, but the power stuff is better than the Lana nonsense.

The Street Profits are ready to meet the Viking Raiders….in a game of basketball.

The Raiders don’t know why they’re doing this and think karaoke might work. Oh and worry about fouls.

Asuka and Kairi Sane celebrate the title.

Video on Edge vs. Randy Orton at Wrestlemania.

We look back at Apollo Crews getting injured against Angel Garza.

Zelina Vega and company are arguing in the back.

Angel Garza vs. Akira Tozawa

Joined in progress with Garza sending him into the corner and TAKING OFF HIS PANTS. A loud chop in the corner connects as Vega is arguing with Andrade and Austin Theory at ringside. Tozawa snaps off a hurricanrana but gets caught with a pop up kick to the chest. A penalty kick gives Garza two and he loads up the Wing Clipper, yells at Theory, and plants Tozawa for the pin at 2:45. Tozawa’s back and forth booking between Raw and anything related to the Cruiserweight Title tournament continues to astound me.

Post match the team keeps arguing but here’s Drew McIntyre to interrupt. McIntyre is ready to fight and Claymores Theory. Garza and Andrade laugh so it’s a Claymore to Garza, followed by a staredown with Andrade.

Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade

Non-title. McIntyre works on an armbar to start and shouts at Vega a bit. Back up and McIntyre hits a kick to the ribs out of the corner to send Andrade outside. Andrade charges into a tilt-a-whirl slam onto the apron as this is one sided so far. Andrade dives under the ring and reaches through the ropes that hold it together to pull McIntyre into the apron.

A baseball slide hits McIntyre in the ribs before Andrade starts in on the arm. Double knees to said arm get two but McIntyre is back with a sitout powerbomb for the same. McIntyre gets sent into the corner for the running knees but the hammerlock DDT is countered into a Glasgow Kiss. The reverse Alabama Slam sets up the Claymore for the pin at 8:34.

Rating: C+. They’re moving with the stories tonight as Vega’s team seems to be on the ropes after only being around for a few weeks. Andrade losing again doesn’t make him look good, but it’s not like his title reign has meant anything in four and a half months anyway. Granted he’s losing to the World Champion so it’s not like it’s some upset. Still though, either protect him or get rid of the title.

Post match Drew says he didn’t come out here for a match but anything can happen on Monday Night Raw. He’s always up for a Claymore party, but he’s here to talk about something else. Last night he was in a heck of a fight with Seth Rollins. He still has the title though and now he has some more exciting news. There is something called the Brand To Brand Invitation, meaning that a wrestler from Smackdown has challenged Drew to a match and it has been accepted. That’s why next week, live on Raw, it’s Drew vs. King Corbin.

MVP asks Lashley when he last had a WWE Title shot. That would be 2007, when MVP was just getting started. Now MVP is back and Lashley is in the same place. When is the real Lashley coming out? MVP walks off and runs into Lana, who he says should let Lashley free. Lana screams. A lot.

It’s time for A Moment Of Bliss with Bliss saying the Man is having a baby. Nikki: “The Man becomes the mom!” Nikki wishes all of the mothers a happy belated Mother’s Day but here are the returning IIconics to interrupt, with Nikki imitating their pose. Peyton doesn’t like being disrespected and the title challenge is on. Nikki says the titles are like their babies so Billie says we can make it non-title. They are the future because they are ICONIC.

IIconics vs. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross

Nikki kicks Peyton to the floor to start and ties her in the ring skirt for the beating. Back in and the IIconics get Cross into the corner for the double teaming. Some rollups give Nikki two but Peyton kicks her down for two. Billie grabs the chinlock and hands it back to Peyton, who gets slammed in a hurry so Nikki can tag Bliss. House is cleaned in a hurry and it’s Insult To Injury for two on Billie. Everything breaks down and a shot to the throat staggers Bliss. Nikki is sent outside and something like a reverse Magic Killer finishes Bliss at 4:28.

Rating: D+. The IIconics aren’t much in the ring and it’s another bad sign for the titles as another team pops up and is now the other half of the division. These might be the least necessary titles in recent memory and it doesn’t make it any better when teams just come and go for months at a time but are suddenly in the title match.

Rey Mysterio, who was thrown off the roof last night, reveals that he landed on a lower roof six feet below so he and Aleister Black are teaming tonight. Seth Rollins, one of Rey’s opponents tonight, comes in to glare at Rey, who congratulates him on becoming a father. Rollins walks away from a handshake.

R-Truth/Ricochet/Cedric Alexander vs. MVP/Brendan Vink/Shane Thorne

Truth dances into the splits to start and makes Thorne sit down in pain. It’s off to Ricochet as Truth becomes Pretty Ricky (crossed eyes, big teeth) on the apron. Vink comes in to elbow Alexander in the face and the pace slows a bit. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by Thorne coming inf or a kick to the back.

Thorne grabs the neck crank and hands it back to Vink, who is kicked in the head. The hot tag brings in Truth (yes Truth, not Ricky) so house can be cleaned on MVP. Everything breaks down and Ricochet moonsaults onto everyone but MVP and Truth. Ricky comes back so MVP knocks out his big teeth, only to get caught in the Lie Detector (and a horrible one at that) for the pin at 4:31.

Rating: D+. Well that was dumb. The Pretty Ricky thing is rather stupid and I have a feeling the big teeth are going to get some people complaining. It wasn’t a good match, but at least MVP took the fall instead of one of the younger people. I still can’t get my head around Vink pinning Ricochet, but they seem to have moved on from that for now at least.

Post match here’s Lashley to spear Truth down and put him in the full nelson. Lashley leaves with MVP.

Jinder Mahal says he’s back.

AJ Styles grabs some popcorn to watch a look at the first episode of the Last Ride.

We look back at Becky’s announcement.

Shayna Baszler can’t believe Becky threw away her career to grow a parasite. Shayna: “Do we know who the father is?”

We look at the first part of the Last Ride.

Becky and Vince McMahon have a moment we can’t hear.

Aleister Black/Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins/Murphy

Yes, a day after what looked like death. Rollins on the other hand seems to be in a trance with his hair all over the place. Black grabs an Octopus on Murphy, followed by a hard armdrag into an armbar. Murphy tries to fight back but Black moonsaults into his sitting position to stare him down. An elbow to the face rocks Black as Rollins still hasn’t moved an inch.

Black knees Murphy out to the floor, with Rollins registering nothing. Another big knockdown sends us to a break. Back with Murphy diving into a knee to the face to put them both down. Rey comes in with the seated senton and the springboard spinning crossbody. Murphy’s Law is countered into the sitout bulldog for two but Murphy sends him into the corner. That means Rey knocks Rollins off the apron so Rollins breaks up the 619…and that’s a DQ at 11:00.

Rating: C. This was an angle instead of a match and that’s ok. Mysterio vs. Rollins could be interesting as Rollins’ Monday Night Messiah deal (assuming it’s still around) wasn’t quite working as a main event story. I’m curious where they’re going with this, but it’s an interesting way to start.

Post match Rollins destroys Mysterio and hits him in the eye. Black gets sent over the barricade and Rollins orders Murphy to step back. Rollins sends Rey face first into the steps and the eye is busted open.

The Viking Raiders practiced basketball to less than successful results. So they know what Carpool Karaoke is but not basketball? WHO WRITES THIS STUFF???

And now, the basketball game between the Raiders and the Profits. Ivar doesn’t know what it means to check and the Profits score without much trouble. The Profits are up big and say they want the smoke. Erik: “Actually, smoking isn’t good for you.” Ivar rolls the ball to Erik, whose shot is blocked without much trouble.

Dawkins knew white men couldn’t jump but they weren’t sure about vikings. It’s 49-0 late in the third quarter and Ford hits a three from half court. Erik picks Ivar up and calls a foul on himself. The Vikings score late and claim a victory, despite the score being 74-2 with the Vikings having committed 19 fouls.

AND THAT’S IT! That’s the whole segment. The Tag Team Champions and the team that beat them last week just played a game of basketball where the Profits destroyed them because the Vikings, at least one of whom can drive and knows how to write a song about worshiping Thor, don’t know how basketball works. I’d pay to see the production meeting where this was written, but it might give me hives.

Natalya doesn’t like Shayna disrespecting motherhood but Shayna says Natalya will never have a kid. The Hart Dynasty dies with her.

Back on the basketball court, it turns out that the Raiders were faking and are quite good at basketball, including Ivar being able to dunk. So wait….you know, actually I’m good. I don’t want to know anything more about this.

And before someone misses the point and explains the idea of “anything you can do I can do better”, I get it. This was just really stupid, as the champs shrugged off the loss from last week, after apparently being eaten up by not being able to beat the Raiders, and played basketball with them.

Shayna Baszler vs. Natalya

Natalya takes her down to start but Shayna drives her into the corner and dances a bit. That earns her some applause from Natalya, who tries to roll her into the Sharpshooter. That’s broken up so Baszler misses the stomp on the arm, only to knee Natalya in the head for the pin at 3:57.

Rating: D+. Baszler was a great jerk earlier but there is only so much that can be done in a short match against Natalya. It was a lot better than having Natalya try to be emotional though as she just isn’t that good at doing so. The knee to the face for the pin looked good though and Baszler could be a great challenger for a face Asuka.

Post match Natalya freaks out over the loss. Yeah still not interesting.

King Corbin doesn’t feel bad about throwing Black and Mysterio off the roof because they’re fine. He’s able to take Drew on next week because Corbin made him the champion. Next week, Corbin is taking him out.

Next week: the IIconics get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot.

Here’s Edge for the big closing segment. He knows his career didn’t end at Wrestlemania but why is he confronting Randy Orton? Edge got his pound of flesh at Wrestlemania….and here’s Orton. Randy says congratulations because the better man won. Orton goes to leave but turns around and comes back because he can’t be the bigger man. The better man won at Wrestlemania but the better wrestler didn’t.

Edge hid behind other wrestlers at the Royal Rumble and then incapacitated Orton at Wrestlemania. He might not have gotten up at ten but it didn’t take him nine years to make it back. Orton talks about how Edge hasn’t had a regular match since 2011 and his grit and passion won’t help him there. If Edge has the guts, they’ll have a straight up wrestling match at Backlash. Edge doesn’t say anything but Charly Caruso says if it happens, it might be the greatest wrestling match ever. Try to get your head around that one to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show was all over the place with one story after another. What matters though is they felt like they were trying again. The energy was back and while a lot of it was in the wrong direction (Basketball? MORE CORBIN???), it was a big difference than the dead shows that we’ve been seeing as of late. Last week had better matches and was a better show on its own, but this one had some stuff that made me want to watch again. You can tell Money in the Bank season is over because there was a point to stuff here. Maybe not good points, but points nonetheless.

Results

Bobby Lashley b. Humberto Carrillo – Full nelson

Angel Garza b. Akira Tozawa – Wing Clipper

Drew McIntyre b. Andrade – Claymore

IIconics b. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross – Spinning faceplant to Bliss

R-Truth/Ricochet/Cedric Alexander b. Brendan Vink/Shane Thorne/MVP – Lie Detector to MVP

Aleister Black/Rey Mysterio b. Seth Rollins/Murphy via DQ when Rollins attacked Mysterio in the ropes

Shayna Baszler b. Natalya – Knee to the face

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

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

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

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

It might be the best way out of things.Becky Lynch vacated the Raw Women’s Title and announced that Asuka won the title in last night’s Money in the Bank ladder match.  Asuka celebrated and Becky told her to go be a champion because Becky was going to go be a mother.

So that’s probably all you’ll see of Lynch for the next year or so and that’s not a bad thing.  Lynch held the title for nearly 400 days and there is no shame in going away for something as great as this.  Asuka won a major match last night and the title needed some fresh blood anyway.  Becky is already a legend and getting to come back and challenge for the title she never lost will be a fine way to go whenever she’s ready.  Good for her and Seth Rollins.

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 5, 2005
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Joey Styles

We’re closing in on the final pay per view of the year and the Raw vs. Smackdown theme seems to be continuing. That’s not the most thrilling idea in the world but it’s not like Armageddon has ever been an important show in the first place. Hopefully the build works out well so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Joey talks about Ric Flair being arrested for road rage last week, which will be addressed on the Cutting Edge. This screams bad impersonation somewhere along the lines.

Here’s Vince McMahon, who drives a garbage truck into the arena. There are two chairs and a podium in the ring so here’s Eric Bischoff to face the music. Bischoff is looking rather upset and talks about what this job means to him. The fans are already singing the Goodbye Song as Vince talks about how he’s fair. Everyone should deserve their day in court so tonight is the trial of Eric Bischoff. Vince calls out Bischoff’s lawyer, the Coach, and Bischoff doesn’t seem impressed. Coach: “My client Eric Bischoff is an a******.”

Bischoff is paid to provide an exciting show and deserves a raise. Now we get to the prosecutor: Mick Foley. Mick says no one has ever done more for Raw than Bischoff, who told the fans about a title change on January 4, 1999, which gave the company a lead in the Monday Night Wars which they never released. Vince says they’re going to WWE Court and the decision will be announced by the end of the night.

Tag Team Titles: Kane/Big Show vs. Val Venis/Viscera vs. Tyson Tomko/Snitsky vs. Heart Throbs

Kane and Big Show are defending in a warmup before they face Rey Mysterio and Batista at Armageddon. House is cleaned in a hurry but Viscera manages a running splash on Kane. That earns him a double chokeslam to send him outside, with Show throwing Antonio onto him. Back in and a triple chokeslam to Antonio, Tomko and Venis is good for three pins at once. Total squash, which is impressive against six people.

We go to the court with Judge Vince McMahon, who is flanked by Bailiff Chris Masters. After taking his feet off the table, Mick calls in Stephanie McMahon, complete with music, as his first witness. She and Shane both think Bischoff should be removed from office and we see exhibit A: the kiss from Halloween 2002. Coach: “I object!” Vince: “SHUT UP!”

Mickie James vs. Victoria

Trish Stratus, Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle are all here. Mickie snapmares her down to start for the basement dropkick as Lawler is drooling extra hard this week. Victoria manages to send things outside though and the other women get in some cheap shots. Back in and Victoria stands on her chest before hitting the standing moonsault for two.

Mickie’s arm is sent into the buckle and then the mat, followed by a clothesline to take her down again. Mickie gets a hurricanrana out of the corner to start the comeback and a spinning kick to the face drops Victoria. Torrie gets on the apron and is dragged inside, allowing Candice to distract Mickie. A rollup gives Victoria the pin despite Trish’s best efforts.

Rating: D+. This is one of the matches that makes the future generations of Divas all the more frustrating. They put together a coherent story here with the wrestlers doing the wrestling and the eye candy being there for their most basic purposes. It can be done at an acceptable (ok barely acceptable) level but it just wouldn’t be the case most of the time.

Post match, Mickie looks incensed that Trish couldn’t help her more.

Back in court, Tajiri, through a translator, talks about how he was a star in ECW but was wasted on Raw. Now he wants a pregnant rhinoceros to violate Bischoff, and then that he get fired. Coach, now with matchmaking powers, makes Tajiri vs. HHH. With Tajiri gone, Mick brings in Moolah and Mae Young.

Post break, Mae: “And that’s why Eric Bischoff has no penis.” Foley gives us exhibit B: Mae kissing and Bronco Bustering Bischoff at Bad Blood 2003. Coach blames Mae for being oversexed as Bischoff is about to be sick. With that out of the way, Coach gets to call Chris Masters as his first witness. Masters, with no shirt and after removing his hat…..is instantly accused of perjury because his real name is Chris Mordetzky so he’s disqualified from testifying. Vince: “Bailiff, if you would please remove yourself.” I chuckled a few times in there so they’re off to a good start.

Shawn Michaels and Shelton Benjamin are ready for their main event tag match. We hear some of Shelton’s amateur credentials but Shawn points out his lack of recent success around here. See, Shawn might not have the best reputation, but he’s successful. So does Shelton want to win, or make friends? Shelton seems to get something out of the idea.

Coach has a special witness coming in.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Lance Cade

Chavo slugs away to start but gets sent over the top in a hurry. Cade rams him into the post as the EDDIE chants start up. Back in and Chavo hits a dropkick before slugging away. Cade grabs Chavo and drives him into the corner though and shows him how to give a real beating. A suplex is countered into a DDT though and Chavo hits the frog splash for the fast pin.

Rating: C-. This was little more than a showcase match for Chavo and that’s not a bad thing. Chavo is a fine choice for a midcard hand and putting him into a story here or there isn’t going to hurt anything. I’m a little surprised at how fast Cade and Trevor Murdoch have fallen though. Yeah they won the titles, but you would think they would have done something else before dropping them.

Coach’s witness is Daivari, who says that Bischoff was a fair man who gave him his job back and a chance to make a name for himself. Vince, however, has his headphones in. Vince: “Sorry, I was listening to Ashlee Simpson on my new iPod.” Never mind repeating it because we’ll be having a recess. Mick is happy and busts out the Moon Pies and RC Cola.

It’s time for the debut of the Cutting Edge, with Edge and Lita promising to offend everyone and ask the hard questions. Lita doesn’t mind Edge staring at various parts of her and brings up Edge yelling at Dmitri Young at Survivor Series. As for tonight, Ric Flair isn’t here tonight and Edge thinks it’s out of fear. Edge says Flair is now the mug shot posin, handcuff wearin, road rage commitin convict!

Cue Sgt. Slaughter and Michael Hayes to break this up (Lita: “AKA two legends who now make a living kissing Vince McMahon’s a**! Edge: “Wait, Michael, someone told you I had a bottle of Jack Daniels and an eight ball down here didn’t they?”) with Hayes saying he doesn’t get kids today.

They don’t have any respect for the business the legends like the two of them and Flair build. Hayes respects Flair and everything he’s done around here. He’ll give Flair the benefit of the doubt and asks Edge how many main events he’s been in. How many arenas has he sold out so the people had to be turned away? How many World Titles has he had?

Edge says cut the mic and says Terry Gordy isn’t coming to help him because Gordy is dead. Hayes: “The only reason you have this show is you’re banging Matt Hardy’s ex-girlfriend.” That’s enough for Edge, who slugs Hayes down and low blows Slaughter. Hayes gets back up and fires off in the corner but a briefcase to the head takes him down. We’ve seen this kind of thing before but it was nice having someone different in the role for a change.

HHH vs. Tajiri

Tajiri goes straight to the strikes in the corner early on but HHH clotheslines him from behind to break up the handspring elbow. The second attempt connects but the Tarantula is broken up. HHH suplexes him down and hits the Pedigree for the quick pin.

Simon Dean is the next witness but the Boogeyman pops up instead. He says a lot, breaks the clock, and disappears, sending Vince into confusion and Mick into another Moon Pie.

HHH runs into Big Show in the back and a challenge is teased for later.

Mick calls his next witness in the form of Maria, who wants to be questioned by Mr. Socko. Foley slowly agrees and Maria goes into a rant involving several big words about how Bischoff abused his power and should be fired. That’s it for Maria, and everyone, save for Bischoff, watches as she leaves. Vince says that’s enough and closing arguments will take place in the arena.

Smackdown Rebound.

Kurt Angle/Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin/Shawn Michaels

Daivari is at ringside and not refereeing as per Vince’s orders. Shelton and Carlito start things off with Carlito getting his arm barred. A belly to belly lets Shelton hammer away even more and Carlito is rather upset (possibly about his hair). Angle comes in to take Shelton to the mat by the leg but Angle has to escape the exploder. The Dragon Whip works instead and we take a break.

Back with Shawn charging into Carlito’s elbow in the corner but getting over to the corner for a tag to Shelton anyway. Angle gets knocked off the apron but a Daivari distraction lets Angle knock Shelton down. Back in and Angle unloads in the corner before snapping off the overhead belly to belly.

The fans are behind Shelton, even as Angle German suplexes him into a waistlock. The Angle Slam is countered into a DDT and the hot tag brings in Shawn. House is cleaned, including the forearm into the nipup and a bunch of clotheslines. There’s the top rope elbow so Shawn tunes up the band, only to have Shelton tag himself in. Shelton misses a top rope clothesline though and Carlito gets the easy pin.

Rating: C. This was a story based match and that’s not a bad thing. The idea here was to show that Shelton needs a lot of work and given how much he’s been losing as of late, a heel turn might not be the worst thing for him. They’re way past the point where he can just bounce back so a big change is all they can really do.

Post match Shawn is incensed but Shelton won’t hear it.

Vince and Stephanie arrive in a limo, because they left….I guess? HHH pops up to say Bischoff should say but Vince thinks it’s just so HHH can manipulate him. He’ll take it under advisement, and then introduces HHH to Stephanie for the awkward staring.

We go into the arena for the closing arguments, with Foley just saying Bischoff is bad at his job. Bischoff says he makes WWE money with ideas like the Elimination Chamber. Maybe they could use it again at the next Raw pay per view for the WWE Championship. Vince knows what it’s like to be hated in this industry so he should be able to sympathize with Bischoff. Just let him keep his job so they can make money. Vince seems to think about it but here’s John Cena to interrupt.

Cena is here to point out everything Bischoff does and how much fun he’s taken away from this show. Like when he censors the SUCK in Kurt Angle’s YOU SUCK. Cena asks the 10,000 witnesses here in the building about Bischoff staying, but they seem to want him gone. The two letters that sum up Bischoff’s career are FU so Vince asks the fans about the Elimination Chamber. They seem pleased, so the match is on. Bischoff won’t be there for it though, because HE’S FIRED. Cena gives Bischoff the FU and Vince throws him in the back of the garbage truck. Vince even drives it out of the arena to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. There wasn’t much here other than the Bischoff deal, which is long overdue at this point. Bischoff has done everything possible as the evil boss and it’s time to give us something new. The rest of the show just came and went though with little wrestling of note as we need to fill time before New Year’s Revolution. Hopefully things can pick up in the next few weeks, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 4, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

We’re taped this week and that means it could be the last Raw with no fans in the building. That could hopefully bring some life to these shows, but there isn’t much of a reason to believe that is going to be the case. It’s the go home show for Money in the Bank and that means we need to build some momentum. May(be) the Force with be will them on that. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look back at the end of last week’s show with Murphy saving Seth Rollins and taking the Claymore for him.

Opening sequence.

MVP is in the ring for the VIP Lounge and talks about last week’s show breaking down into a brawl. We’re going to class things up a bit with the women’s Raw competitors, though they got in a brawl of their own last week. That means Asuka (with MVP speaking some Japanese to her delight), Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax all come out and have a seat.

MVP explains the rules and Nia asks if he even watches these shows. She is relentless and that is all she needs to dominate on Sunday. Asuka shouts in Japanese to confuse Jax so we’ll go on to Shayna, who speaks Latin to say she talks with actions. That’s what makes her different, right Asuka? More ranting ensues and a staredown is on with Shayna mocking her for everything until Nia stands up…and is knocked right back down. MVP has to break this up and a lot more staring ensues. This was rather odd and I’ll take that over another triple threat.

We look back at Apollo Crews’ knee injury from last week. There is a gauntlet match to name the replacement tonight.

Becky Lynch is back next week. It’s about time.

Gauntlet Match

We don’t know how many people are involved but Bobby Lashley is in first (minus Lana) and Titus O’Neil is in second. They shove each other a bit and the spear gets rid of Titus at 50 seconds. Akira Tozawa is in third and hits a quick Trouble in Paradise, followed by a missile dropkick. That just annoys Lashley and it’s another spear for the pin at 1:40.

Shelton Benjamin is in fourth and he sends Lashley into the buckle before he gets inside. A Blockbuster drops Lashley but he comes right back with forearms to the head. Shelton sends him to the floor and hits a running knee, followed by a slingshot faceplant onto the apron. A hard whip sends Shelton into the barricade and Lashley drives him in again for a bonus. Back in and the spear cuts Shelton in half for the pin at 3:47.

Humberto Carrillo is in fifth and we take a break as I roll my eyes at WWE bringing in three people for less than four minutes of work combined under these circumstances. Back with Carrillo kicking him in the head and hitting a missile dropkick for two. Lashley slams him off the top though and it’s time for some choking in the corner. He does it for quite a bit, and that’s a DQ at 10:49.

Lashley spears Carrillo in half so here are a bunch of referees to break it up. Angel Garza is in sixth and we take a break with Carrillo in big trouble. Garza chokes away in the corner as Zelina Vega is rather pleased. Carrillo is down in the corner so Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS and hits a running basement dropkick for two. We hit the bow and arrow on Carrillo, followed by a reverse slingshot suplex. A reverse Boston crab keeps Carrillo down and the Lionsault gives Garza two more. The Wing Clipper is reversed into a sunset flip though and Garza is done at 22:04.

Austin Theory is in seventh and we take another break. Back with Theory hammering away and putting on a waistlock before stomping Carrillo down in the corner. Carrillo comes back with a few kicks but the springboard spinning crossbody is forearmed out of the air. Theory’s top rope superplex connects but Carrillo ties the legs up in a small package for the pin at 26:55.

AJ Styles returns in the eighth spot and we take another break. Back again with Carrillo hitting a dropkick but getting planted down as Styles isn’t exactly sweating this. Another waistlock stays on the ribs and it’s off to an abdominal stretch, with Carrillo having to dive to the rope. AJ switches to the leg with a kick to the knee and a dragon screw legwhip. Carrillo pops up with a short DDT and they’re both down. A pumphandle gutbuster plants Carrillo and the Calf Crusher sends AJ to the ladder match at 38:49.

Rating: C. Not bad here, though I have no idea why we needed the first few names in there when Lashley slaughtered all of them. There isn’t much of a point in bringing them in for a show like this but I’m sure having Titus in there for 50 seconds was worthwhile in WWE’s minds. AJ is right back into the title scene and that’s a smart move, given the rather thin main event picture at the moment. Now can we please retire the gauntlet match for a long time?

Post match AJ wraps the leg around the post for a bonus. AJ says he isn’t a zombie or a ghost and there is no Undertaker here to steal his moment. He hasn’t lost anything because there are no rules in a Boneyard match. Now he has seized an opportunity and it’s worth it. He’ll do whatever it takes, and if that means throwing Aleister Black off the roof, that’s fine with him.

We get the first part of a Top Ten Money in the Bank moments countdown, including anything related to the briefcase at all.

Here’s Seth Rollins for a sitdown interview. Seth knows that Drew McIntyre is a dominant man but Drew is not a leader. It will not be Drew leading WWE into the future and while he will put up a fight at Money in the Bank, Rollins is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Drew isn’t ready for what comes with being a champion so Seth is trying to unburden him from this responsibility. That’s what he will do on Sunday by becoming the new WWE Champion.

MVP gives Brendan Vink and Shane Thorne a pep talk. They’re ready to win and MVP looks pleased.

Murphy talks about Seth Rollins taking him under his wing and how much he has learned as a result. Now Murphy is going to get McIntyre ready for Rollins.

Brendan Vink/Shane Thorne vs. Cedric Alexander/Ricochet

Vink charges into Cedric’s boot in the corner but takes him into the corner for the tag to Thorne anyway. Ricochet comes in and kicks Thorne down for two but Cedric is pulled to the floor and sent into the barricade. Back in and we hit the reverse chinlock on Cedric, who powers out in a hurry and brings in Ricochet. Everything breaks down and Alexander knees Vink in the face. Ricochet kicks Vink in the ribs but Thorne hits Cedric with a running Cannonball in the corner. Vink kicks Ricochet in the face for the pin at 4:43.

Rating: C-. I’m sorry what now? If you want to push Vink and Thorne then fine, but having Vink, this newcomer with about five matches so far, pin Ricochet clean? Good on them for pushing new talent, but bad on them for having Ricochet take the fall, or even being in this tag team in the first place.

Street Profits vs. Viking Raiders

Non-title. Hold on though as the Profits talk about how they started here and then ran into the Viking Raiders. Tonight, they want the smoke. After a break, Erik backdrops Ford, who can’t quite stick the landing and thankfully doesn’t bang up his ankle. Ford flips around a bit and says you can’t touch him. That earns a forearm to the face as Ivar drops Dawkins on the floor.

A powerbomb into a top rope splash gives Ivar two but Ford dives over and makes the hot tag to Dawkins. That means a dropkick to Ivar and it’s already back to Ford. Ivar clotheslines Dawkins but it’s off to Erik, who drives Ivar into Ford in the corner for two. Things settle down to Ivar armbarring Ford but it’s broken up in a hurry. Another tag brings Dawkins back in to clean house and we take a break.

Back with Dawkins holding a chinlock on Erik and Dawkins coming in with a dropkick. Erik is up for the tag off to Ivar anyway and it’s a big clothesline to drop Dawkins. There’s a Bronco Buster for two but Dawkins gutwrench suplexes Erik for the double knockdown. It’s back to Ford who can’t manage to belly to back suplex Ivar. He can however enziguri him and double belly to back suplex Ivar with Dawkins’ help.

A moonsault gives Ford two but it’s back to Erik for more throwing Ford around. The Viking Experience is broken up and Dawkins spears Erik down. The spinebuster into the frog splash gives Ford two with Erik making the save. Erik throws Ford outside and the Viking Experience finishes Dawkins at 16:24.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what was going on here but it didn’t feel like they were connecting. The action was fine, but it felt like they were in search of a way out. They kept doing a bunch of good sequences, though they just kind of kept coming and going until one of them finished Dawkins. On top of that, I’m not thrilled with the idea of seeing the rematch for the titles on Sunday. Why I’d want to see a sixteen minute match to set up a title match is beyond me. Have the Raiders beat Ricochet and Alexander and let Vink and Thorne beat a bunch of jobbers to get over (as you can still do you know).

Drew McIntyre is ready to take care of that confused young man Murphy.

More MITB Top Ten.

The Viking Raiders say this is dominance because they’re just better than the Street Profits. They extinguished the smoke.

We look back at AJ winning the gauntlet match and promo mentioning Aleister Black.

Black says being buried didn’t make AJ more humble. If AJ does throw him off, pray that he doesn’t get back up.

Rey Mysterio is ready for the first ever Money in the Bank ladder match at WWE Headquarters. It’s time for him to pull down the briefcase for the first time ever and become the WWE Champion again. The risk is worth the reward.

Here’s Charlotte for a chat. Charlotte talks about how she is the hardest working woman in wrestling because she works twice a week. This Wednesday she is defending her title against Io Shirai, who won a very hard hitting ladder match to get hero, but she will bow down to the Queen. Cue Liv Morgan to ask if Charlotte remembers her. Charlotte doesn’t quite take her seriously so Liv calls her out for being born with a silver spoon stuck…uh, somewhere. Sooner or later, Charlotte is going to be a champion and if she has to dethrone a self entitled queen to do it, that’s just fine. Charlotte laughs it off so let’s have a match.

Well we will in a minute as we need a video on Jinder Mahal first.

Charlotte vs. Liv Morgan

Non-title. Charlotte powers her into the corner and then to the mat to start, meaning it’s a nipup to show off a bit. A forearm to the back and some trash talk have Morgan in more trouble but she forearms her way out of trouble. Morgan hits a running hurricanrana and snaps off a middle rope missile dropkick. Charlotte sends her shoulder first into the post though and we take a break.

Back with Charlotte driving her face first into the mat a few times but Morgan fights back with a faceplant of her own. A sunset flip is blocked with some stomping and Liv hits a jawbreaker, followed by a springboard Codebreaker. Charlotte counters another hurricanrana into a sitout powerbomb for two but Liv gets to the middle rope.

A dropkick is countered (with the help of an edit) into the Boston crab, which sends Liv straight to the rope. Charlotte’s backbreaker out of the corner lets her go up top but Liv hits a Codebreaker to bring her back down for a rather near fall. Charlotte dodges Oblivion though and it’s the Figure Eight for the tap at 11:46.

Rating: B-. Well you knew Charlotte wasn’t going to lose here and thankfully Liv got a lot in the loss here. She was hanging with Charlotte until the end and that’s a mile ahead of where she was just a year or so ago. You can tell that they have plans for Morgan and that’s a good thing. They need some new names in the division and Liv is as good as anyone else for bringing someone from nothing to a contender.

The #1 moment in the history of Money in the Bank: Rollins cashes in at Wrestlemania. They needed to cut this into four parts to get to the most obvious choice possible?

Randy Orton is back next week.

We look at the inside of WWE Headquarters and a path wrestlers might take to the roof.

Drew McIntyre vs. Murphy

Non-title and Seth Rollins is watching from the stage. Murphy gets knocked outside early on and McIntyre throws him over the barricade for a bonus. McIntyre stares at Rollins a bit too much though and gets sent into the barricade. Back in and the Meteora gets two on McIntyre, who comes back with one heck of a chop.

Murphy strikes away again, only to get caught with a Glasgow Kiss. McIntyre knocks him hard off the apron though and it’s a top rope clothesline for two back inside. A super White Noise is countered though and Murphy hits a powerbomb for two. Murphy loads up his own Claymore but walks into the real thing for the pin at 6:21.

Rating: C. So yeah, the unstoppable champion pinned the lackey after a fairly competitive match. This was less a contest and more counting down until one of two possible conclusions. That’s what we got here and it wasn’t all that interesting. Rollins could be an interesting threat to McIntyre but sending Murphy out there isn’t the way to go about it.

Post match McIntyre begs Rollins to fight him but Rollins walks off instead. Rollins runs back to the ring and hits McIntyre with a knee to the face. He shouts about how this is bigger than either of them and looks at the title. The title is dropped though and McIntyre avoids a Stomp, setting up the Glasgow Kiss. Seth bails from the threat of the Claymore to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There’s enough good wrestling on here to carry things, but my goodness what a boring time of the year this is. This show was built around setting things up for Sunday and they went about that in a weird way. Why would I want to sit for three hours to see McIntyre beat up a lackey? It has no bearing on Sunday, it doesn’t do anything more than give McIntyre a tiny bit more momentum, and it’s not like it was that great of a match.

That was the case with a lot of stuff here. Aside from the gauntlet match, it didn’t feel like any of this mattered for the most part. The Raiders are likely getting a title shot (which you would have given them in other ways than having them beat the champs, who we know they can beat), Charlotte wins again because she’s Charlotte, and Drew vs. Seth continues to be fine for a first major feud for McIntyre’s title reign.

Nothing in here is overly interesting and it feels like you could skip everything from Wrestlemania to Money in the Bank. The problem is how many times of the year that could apply to and it’s a lot more than it should be. Nothing really stands out and I don’t remember the last time we had a hot midcard feud. You’ll get some interesting ones with good matches, but when was the last time you felt like someone was breaking their back to steal the show? I know the roster is capable of it, but WWE doesn’t exactly seem like they want that to happen.

Maybe it’s waiting on Money in the Bank to be decided so something else can feel important, maybe it’s the lack of fans or maybe it’s the post Wrestlemania slowdown, but these shows just aren’t clicking. It’s like they’re placeholder shows, but that is the feeling far too often. We need something to light a spark in this company and I don’t see that happening anytime soon, which has been the case for years now.

Results

AJ Styles won a gauntlet match last eliminating Humberto Carrillo

Brendan Vink/Shane Thorne b. Cedric Alexander/Ricochet – Big boot to Ricochet

Viking Raiders b. Street Profits – Viking Experience to Dawkins

Charlotte b. Liv Morgan – Figure Eight

Drew McIntyre b. Murphy – Jumping knee to the face

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 28, 2005
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman

We’re done with Survivor Series and unless Raw is doing something at Armageddon, we’re building towards New Year’s Revolution. John Cena retained the World Title on Sunday and needs a new challenger now that Kurt Angle is out of the way. I’m not sure who that is going to be though and that could be a problem. Let’s get to it.

Here is Survivor Series if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

An annoyed Eric Bischoff is in the ring to start things off. He’s about to call every Raw wrestler out here because he needs to give them a piece of his mind. Last night, Raw let him down and failures like that will not be tolerated. Bischoff demands everyone out here right now so he can fire the first person he sees.….so here’s Vince McMahon. Vince: “How do you do? I’m Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board.” Vince talks about Bischoff failing at everything he promised to do last night. Bischoff tries to explain himself but is told to shut up.

Vince: “YOUR RECORD SUCKS! If Monday Night Raw is a failure, they’re going to perceive ME as a failure!” Bischoff has one job tonight: set a goal of any kind and accomplish it, or Vince can look for his replacement. That’s fine with Bischoff, who doesn’t think Vince can find much of a replacement. Almost on cue, here’s the returning Shane McMahon and Bischoff looks like he just ate a bad chimichanga. Shane says he’s never liked Bischoff and is looking forward to seeing him go. In case you’re not that bright, Shane clarifies that he will be the replacement if Bischoff fails.

Shawn Michaels vs. Carlito

Carlito is out to prove that he should have been the captain of Team Raw. The apple goes into Shawn’s face to start and Carlito knocks him to the floor. Shawn chops away but gets knocked down again, setting up the headlock on the mat. Back up and Shawn tries to skin the cat but gets knocked outside, setting up a slingshot dive to the floor. Shawn is right back up for a chop off in the corner, followed by a middle rope crossbody for two on Carlito.

The forearm into the nipup doesn’t quite work as Shawn’s knee gives out and we take a break. Back with Carlito staying on the knee until he fights out of the corner. The moonsault press takes too long to set up though and Carlito crotches him down. That earns Carlito some elbows to the face and now the top rope elbow connects. Sweet Chin Music is countered into a DDT for two but Shawn escapes a Roll of the Dice. Now the superkick can put Carlito away.

Rating: C+. This was one of the better Carlito matches I can remember, though a match with Shawn might not be the best measuring stick of Carlito’s abilities. Maybe he was fired up for some reason but it was a stronger performance than usual from him. Granted when your normal isn’t very good, any improvement is a nice thing to see.

Kurt Angle storms in to Bischoff’s office and says last night was the biggest screwjob in the history of Survivor Series. Daivari comes in to rant as well. Angle wants the World Title tonight.

Clips from last night’s main event.

Video on HHH beating Ric Flair in a Last Man Standing match.

Maria comes in to ask Bischoff, who is rubbing his head, if he thinks he’ll be fired tonight. Bischoff wants to know why she came in here and it was Shane’s idea. Tonight, Maria is making her in-ring debut…against Kurt Angle. Bischoff’s goal for tonight is to make sure she never asks another question.

Kurt Angle vs. Maria

Daivari is referee and yells at Maria, so the regular referee pulls him off. The referee hits Daivari in the mouth so Daivari stomps him down and puts on the camel clutch. Angle comes out and hugs Maria….followed by the Angle Slam. John Cena runs in for the save as this feud must continue.

Post match (the bell rang), Chris Masters runs in for a Masterlock on Cena so Angle can hammer away. Bischoff comes out and has a main event: an anything goes triple threat submission match for the World Title. Angle gives Cena an Angle Slam for a bonus.

Post break, we look at what we just saw.

Trish Stratus/Mickie James/Ashley Massaro vs. Victoria/Candice Michelle/Torrie Wilson

Mickie sends Torrie into the buckle to start and it’s off to Ashley for an ax handle to the arm. Torrie pulls her into the corner though and Victoria comes in for a wishbone. A snap suplex gives Victoria two and we hit the chinlock. That doesn’t last long and Victoria misses the slingshot flip legdrop so Mickie can get the hot tag. Mickie cleans house and there’s a hurricanrana out of the corner to drop Victoria. Trish takes Torrie down and Mickie hits Stratusfaction to finish Victoria off.

Rating: D+. What are you expecting here? They made no secrets about the fact that the women are in there to look good and the wrestling is secondary. It does help that Trish vs. Mickie is turning into a story, though we could be a long way off from them getting to the point. That’s the only real opponent on the horizon for Trish at the moment and that’s not a good sign.

Shane comes in to see Bischoff, who is confident that he’ll accomplish his goal. Shane didn’t think much of the Maria deal so Bischoff calls him a member of the Lucky Sperm Club (that family has some weird clubs). Bischoff winds up against the wall and the threat seems to make its intended point.

Daivari assures Angle that he’s ringing the bell the first time that Angle grabs a hammerlock. Masters comes in and says he knew something was up. That’s why he’s gone to Vince and they’ll be having an impartial referee tonight.

Video on the European tour.

Trevor Murdoch vs. Shelton Benjamin

Shelton knocks him to the floor in a hurry and hits a big clothesline off the top. Back in and the Stinger Splash misses so Murdoch can stomp away. The Dragon Whip gives Shelton two but he misses another top rope clothesline. A Downward Spiral gives Murdoch two but Shelton is back with the Stinger Splash from behind. Murdoch sends him face first into the middle buckle though and a rollup with trunks finishes Benjamin.

Rating: D+. That’s not something you expect to see and I still can’t get what they’re doing this for. The losing streak is something that has been done for years but who looked at Shelton and thought it was the right move for him? Shelton’s momentum has been gone for months now and I have no idea why they’re giving him this story.

Here’s HHH for a chat. HHH knows that some people don’t think he’s compassionate but he took care of Ric Flair. He made sure Flair is in a nice hospital room with a plasma TV on the wall and the USA Network included. His advice to Flair is easy: stay down, because he’s done. There is nothing left for Flair to do after back to back pay per view matches with HHH. There’s no shame in losing to the best, so Flair needs to go home after this is over. The fans don’t like that but HHH says that’s what separates them from him: they knew something needed to be done about Flair but HHH did it.

There is no one alive who will look him in the eye and say something to his face, so here’s Big Show to interrupt. Show has known him for a long time but now HHH needs to hear it to his face: he is a piece of s***. The fist is held up next to HHH’s face so does he have the guts to fight Show now? HHH tries to say something and the mic is knocked out of his hand. That’s going to be it for HHH, who bails in a hurry.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Kane/Big Show vs. Snitsky/Tyson Tomko

Snitsky and Tomko are challenging and we’re joined in progress with Tomko hammering Kane down for two. It’s off to Snitsky to choke on the ropes until Kane sends him face first into the mat. Show comes in with the big side slam as everything breaks down. Kane hits the top rope clothesline to Snitsky and Show chokeslams Tomko to retain in a hurry.

Raw World Title: Kurt Angle vs. Chris Masters vs. John Cena

Cena is defending and it’s submission only. Cena charges straight at Angle but the numbers have him in trouble early. Masters and Angle take turns dropping elbows on him but Angle sends Masters to the floor. That leaves Angle to slip out of an FU attempt and grab the ankle lock until Masters makes the save with the Masterlock to Angle. That’s broken up by Cena so Masters Masterlocks him.

Angle makes a very delayed save and hammers away, while managing to tell Masters that he sucks. The ankle lock has Masters in trouble so Cena hits a top rope ax handle for another save. Cena unloads on Angle until Masters breaks up the Shuffle. The straps come down and Angle grabs the chair, which is kicked straight back into his face. Cena smashes the chair on Masters’ leg and grabs an STF to retain. Coach: “WHERE DID CENA LEARN THE STF???” Make your own jokes.

Rating: C-. This was a weird one but I remember watching it live and being very surprised by the STF. It was a good surprise and while I know Cena’s version doesn’t have the best reputation, it was a great debut for the hold. That came out of nowhere and gives Cena a new weapon to use. The FU is good but now he can switch things up a bit, which is a smart idea.

We cut to Vince, who says that next week, the trash is taken out.

Overall Rating: C. They got out of Survivor Series mode here and that’s what they needed to do. There’s only so much that you can do when you have the one big story going on for so many weeks and it was time to move on. Now we have some fresh feuds and hopefully some of them can pick up the pace around here. I liked this well enough and maybe things can improve a bit as they hit December.

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