Smackdown
Date: October 22, 2021
Location: Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re done with Crown Jewel and that means it is time to start getting ready for Survivor Series. The big story coming out of the show is Roman Reigns retaining the Universal Title as Paul Heyman managed to stay in the middle while still interfering in the match. That could mean more than a few things going forward so let’s get to it.

Here is Crown Jewel if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Roman Reigns retaining the Universal Title over Brock Lesnar, albeit with an assist from the Usos and a title belt shot.

Here are Reigns and Paul Heyman for a chat to get things going. Reigns isn’t happy with Heyman, as he doesn’t get why the title was thrown into the middle of the ring last night. Reigns: “Shall we work on this?” He demonstrates how to put the title in his hand and says that Heyman isn’t good as his job. We hear Reigns’ various monikers, including the greatest Universal Champion of all time (that has been a long five years). Reigns lists off all of the people he has smashed while champion, including Brock Lesnar.

Speaking of Lesnar, wasn’t he supposed to be here tonight? Reigns has Heyman pull out his phone to read Lesnar’s promise to beat up Reigns as soon as he arrives tonight. Reigns: “He’s tweeting now!” That makes Reigns laugh and he wants Lesnar out here for his second beating in a row. He faces the Titantron but no one shows up, so Reigns thinks Lesnar must be scared. Reigns makes it clear: he isn’t leaving the ring until Lesnar gets here.

We take a break and come back with Reigns and Heyman still in the ring, with the former talking about how great he is. The fans want Lesnar but Reigns says Lesnar is scared of him, just like everyone else. Reigns is ready to leave but here is Lesnar to cut him off. The fight is on with Lesnar knocking him to the floor but stopping to look at Heyman. One heck of a steps shot knocks Reigns silly and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table.

Cue the Usos for the save so Lesnar beats them up, allowing Reigns to get back up. Lesnar drives Reigns into the post and then steals a camera, which he throws at the post to break it into pieces. Someone gets sent over the announcers’ table so Adam Pearce sends out various wrestlers to calm Lesnar down but they’re beaten down as well. Cesaro, Jeff Hardy and the Viking Raiders finally calm things down, leaving Lesnar to hold up the Universal Title. Now that was a hot angle and it felt like Reigns was running scared for the first time.

Post break, and post a bunch of replays, Adam Pearce gets in the ring to say Lesnar’s actions were unacceptable. Therefore, Lesnar is suspended indefinitely. Cue Lesnar again and Pearce knows he messed up. Lesnar grabs him by the shirt and wants Pearce to say it again. Pearce, while struggling to breathe, repeats the suspension. Lesnar: “Is that right?” Lesnar hits an F5, hears his music start, and hits another F5, with Pearce’s pants being ripped in the process. That’s not enough for Lesnar, who grabs the mic and tells Pearce to say it again. Since Pearce can’t move, Lesnar hits him in the face with the microphone to some rather strong praise from the crowd.

The locker room is worried about what happened and here is Naomi to get in Sonya Deville’s face. Sonya yells at her and since Naomi is a face on the WWE roster, she calmly walks away without any rebuttal. Drew McIntyre pops in to say he’s here to make a difference so it’s open challenge time.

Here is Drew McIntyre in the ring and it is still open challenge time.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn

Sami has a new theme and says he’s used to being forgotten around here. He is actually the longest tenured member of the Smackdown roster and he is kind of a locker room leader. McIntyre may be a former WWE Champion, but he’s a newbie around here. Sami will accept the challenge and drops to the floor at the opening bell. McIntyre follows him outside and sends Zayn into the barricade for a big crash.

We take a break and come back with Zayn hammering away in the corner but McIntyre snaps off an overhead belly to belly. Sami snaps Drew’s throat across the top rope but the Glasgow Kiss gets McIntyre out of trouble. A charge hits post to put him back in trouble though and Sami sends him into said post again. The Helluva Kick, complete with the countdown, is cut off with the Claymore to finish Zayn at 6:50.

Rating: C-. It wasn’t a great match or anything but they kept it short as they should have. I was expecting this to be bell, Claymore, bell and it was only just a little bit more than that. It was a good way to debut McIntyre on his new show and it worked out well enough. Zayn can lose over and over and talk his way right back into being fine so this worked out in a short span.

It’s time for the official coronation of King Xavier Woods, with Kofi Kingston making the presentation. Woods comes to the ring and Kofi puts the cloak onto him, allowing the fans to hit a YOU DESERVE IT chant. Woods: “ME???” The scepter is presented, and that just leaves the crown. Kingston gives Woods a huge over the top introduction and puts the crown on his head to a rather positive reception. Woods promises it will be a fair and fun reign, with Kofi reading a proclamation and waving the robe behind him. Goofy fun here and it’s great to see Woods getting the chance to do something on his own.

Becky Lynch isn’t interested in trading titles with Charlotte, so maybe she should be Becky Two Belts again.

Xia Li is coming soon.

Mansoor vs. Mustafa Ali

Rematch from Crown Jewel where Mansoor won. Ali misses a charge in the corner and walks into a backdrop. There’s a clothesline to the floor and Mansoor backdrops him from the apron to the floor. Back in and a high crossbody gives Mansoor two but Ali is back in with a Batista Bomb for two. A tiger suplex of all things drops Ali but he is back up with a sunset flip. That’s fine with Mansoor, who sits down on it for the pin at 2:37. Mansoor was certainly energetic here.

Ridge Holland isn’t surprise he made it here.

Aliyah is ready to give Smackdown a makeover.

Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo say that winning is easy when you look this good.

Sheamus delivers nothing but bangers. These were short and to the point and a lot better than what I would have expected from introductions.

Here is Hit Row to rhyme about how great they are and now they need a big bag for all of their nice things.

Hit Row vs. Dustin Lawyer/Daniel Williams

Swerve takes Lawyer down in a hurry and hits a running elbow to the back. The backsplash gives Dolla two and it’s a Wasteland/World’s Strongest Slam to Williams and Lawyer at the same time. A side slam/running kick to the head finishes Lawyer at 1:12. Simple, to the point, get the idea over, wrap it up before you overstay your welcome. Not a thing wrong with that.

We recap Lesnar’s destruction earlier, including that of Adam Pearce.

Sonya Deville says Pearce is going to be ok eventually and she told him what would happen. For now though, we have to keep going and she’ll take care of things on her own.

Happy Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title Champions Contenders match and Corbin thanks Nakamura for sending him into the downward spiral that eventually made him happy. Madcap Moss and Rick Boogs are here too as Corbin powers Nakamura into trouble to start. Nakamura is back up with some shots in the face to take over and Good Vibrations (with Boogs accompanying on guitar) makes it worse. Back up and Corbin shoves Nakamura to the apron before dropping him face first…well close enough to the apron as we take a break.

Back with Corbin hammering away on the mat until Nakamura fights up and hits a running knee. Nakamura strikes away and hits the running knee in the corner for two. End of Days is broken up but the Deep Six gives Corbin two of his own. Boogs guitars Nakamura back to life and he knees Corbin down. Kinshasa is loaded up but Moss goes after the guitar, drawing Nakamura out for the save. Corbin sends Nakamura into the steps though and End of Days finishes Nakamura at 9:38.

Rating: C. Sweet goodness I can’t stand that finish and it’s the kind of thing that WWE loves to do. Not only did they not hide how the match was going to end, but a champ takes a fall to set up a title match which could have been set up any of about a dozen other ways. That’s not how WWE likes to do things though, because why put in the work when you can be lazy instead?

Charlotte says Becky Lynch can hand over the title really easily. Just pretend it’s Charlotte’s suitcase that Becky carried for years. We aren’t even done with the first “THE ROSTERS ARE FINALIZED” show and we already have a guest star from Raw.

Here are Becky Lynch and Charlotte, in their gear, to exchange titles. Sonya Deville tells them to hand it over but Becky drops hers. They trade the titles but Charlotte issues the challenge for winner take all. Cue Sasha Banks to call Charlotte a b**** so Becky leaves, saying she’ll see one of them at Survivor Series. Sasha and Charlotte insult each other and Banks wins a quick brawl to end the show. Just like it was last year, this was hardly anything that helped the titles, but that is long past the point of mattering.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a new era and that appears to be what they were going for here. There were new people introduced doing new things and it made for a good way to set things off. I liked how they introduced a lot of new people and set things in motion, with a hot opening segment making it that much better. This might not have been a classic, but it was a good way to make things interesting for the future.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Sami Zayn – Claymore
Mansoor b. Mustafa Ali – Cradle
Hit Row b. Dustin Lawler/Daniel Williams – Side slam/running kick to the head combination to Lawyer
Happy Corbin b. Shinsuke Nakamura – End of Days

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

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Smackdown
Date: May 18, 2007
Location: 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the go home show for Judgment Day and I’m not sure what that is going to entail. Everything was shaken up last week when Edge won the World Title from Undertaker, who seems to be going on the shelf. Edge is going to be defending against Batista on Sunday, meaning it’s time for the rapid fire build. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s cage match, Mark Henry’s return, and Edge’s Money in the Bank cash-in to take the title from Undertaker. That was a heck of a way to wrap up the night.

Opening sequence.

MVP vs. Matt Hardy

MVP grabs some headlock takeovers to start but gets armdragged away to give us a standoff. Some right hands put Hardy into the corner as commentary ignore the match to talk about Edge (it would be during a Matt match). A snapmare sets up the neck crank but Matt fights up in a hurry.

Matt drops MVP again and hits a middle rope legdrop for two as the fans aren’t exactly thrilled with this. MVP gets in a few kicks and drops an elbow for two, setting up the neck crank. That’s broken up and Matt hits an elbow of his own for two of his own. You don’t do that to MVP though as he kicks Hardy in the head to send him outside.

We take a break and come back with MVP getting some more near falls, setting up a running boot to the face in the corner for two more. Matt can barely stand up but the referee lets him continue, as the referee continues to not be that sympathetic. An uppercut drops Hardy as commentary is wanting the match to be stopped. MVP hits a fireman’s carry drop but somehow Matt is up with a Side Effect for two of his own. The bulldog out of the corner and a middle rope elbow get two each but MVP sends him into the post. The Playmaker is enough to finish Hardy.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of win that MVP has been needing as it made him look a lot more intense on the way to the (next) title match with Chris Benoit. MVP has not exactly been seen as a vicious guy so far and it’s nice to have him do something like this over an established name like Hardy. Good match with a good story, and that’s what they should have done.

Post match MVP talks about how the deck is stacked against him but beating Chris Benoit will only solidify his greatness.

We get a quick highlight reel of Edge’s World Title moments.

We see some exclusive footage from the after last week’s show, with druids carrying Undertaker away. There are various clips of the big beatdown/Undertaker’s career included.

Jimmy Wang Yang/Brian Kendrick/Paul London vs. Deuce N Domino/Chavo Guerrero

London, with a goatee, starts with Chavo and snaps off a headscissors out of the corner. A rollup gives London one and it’s off to Yang for a high crossbody to Deuce. Domino offers a distraction though and Kendrick gets knocked down to put the villains in control for a change. Kendrick fights out of the corner in a hurry though and it’s off to Yang to clean house. Chavo cuts him off with a suplex but everything breaks down, with Yang hitting a top rope moonsault press for the fast pin.

Rating: C-. This feels like something that we’ve seen a dozen or so times in recent months. It was nice to mix up a pair of feuds instead of doing the singles deals again, but the Cruiserweight Champion taking another fall is hardly the most original idea. I’m sure Yang will get a short and technically sound title shot but it isn’t like it’s going anywhere further. Just find a new way to present the title and the division, because this isn’t helping anyone.

Mark Henry says this is a jungle and he has no predators because he is the king.

Mark Henry vs. Funaki

Funaki bounces off of him to start and is promptly hammered down. The World’s Strongest Slam finishes for Henry in about a minute. That’s how it should have gone.

Raw Rebound.

Finlay vs. Chris Benoit

Non-title. Feeling out process to start until Benoit just hits him in the face to turn violent. Finlay sweeps the leg and pulls on the knee a bit, even with Benoit chinlocking him from the mat. Benoit reverses into a chinlock so Finlay goes to the ropes, setting up a chinlock of his own. That’s broken up so they head outside with Benoit being sent knees first into the steps. Back in and Finlay goes right back to the knee, unfortunately with the same hold.

Benoit fights up again and avoids a charge in the corner, setting up the German suplex. The knee won’t let him hit another one though, meaning he has to settle for Three Amigos. It’s time to load up the Swanton but the knee slows Benoit down again, allowing Finlay to knock him off the apron for the crash. Back in and Finlay grabs another leglock to send us to a break.

We come back with more of the same hold until Benoit fights up again. Some chops don’t do much to Finlay who, say it with me, takes him down to work on the leg again. Benoit gets up again and hits an enziguri, setting up the rolling German suplexes. Cue Hornswoggle, who gets taken down for a Sharpshooter attempt. Finlay uses the distraction to grab the Shillelagh but Benoit reverses into the Crossface. Cue MVP for the DQ.

Rating: C. As soon as I saw Benoit vs. Finlay, my expectations went up. It’s one of those matches that should be pretty great no matter what they do, but then it just wasn’t very good. Most of the match was spent with Finlay working the leg, which is fine in theory but gets pretty repetitive in a hurry. The match was far from awful, but it was pretty boring and that’s not what you expect from these two.

Post match Benoit goes after MVP but Finlay gets in a Shillelagh shot to the knee. MVP leaves Benoit laying.

Ozzy Osborne is here to perform the Judgment Day theme song so Jillian Hall tries to audition for him.

Ashley introduces Ozzy Osborne for I Don’t Wanna Stop. Performing ensues and I’ll have the chorus stuck in my head all day.

We get another movie trailer for Edge’s inaugural address later tonight.

Miz vs. Christian York

Miz clotheslines him down to start but misses an elbow that takes its time being set up. Back up and Miz hits a running corner clothesline but pulls York up at two. A swinging neckbreaker finishes York in a hurry. This was the much more serious version of Miz and even JBL has to compliment him a bit.

Timbaland will have a music video featuring some WWE Divas.

Krystal thanks Teddy Long for giving Vickie Guerrero the chance to be his assistant. Vickie comes in so Krystal leaves, with Teddy saying he isn’t sure about this. He knows the history of the Guerrero family but Vickie wants the chance to change the perception about the family. After some sucking up about Krystal, Teddy agrees to give her the interview.

Another Edge video.

Kane vs. William Regal

Boogeyman, Little Boogeyman and Dave Taylor are here as I had no idea this feud went on for so long. Regal slugs away to start and actually strikes him down in a bit of a surprise. Some more shots keep Regal down and we hit the chinlock as JBL still seems to be scared of the Boogeyman.

Kane fights up and tries the chokeslam but is quickly countered into an exploder suplex. They slug it out until Kane kicks him in the face and scores with the side slam. The top rope clothesline connects but Taylor offers a distraction to give Regal a breather. Taylor throws Little Boogeyman inside but the distraction lets Kane hit a chokeslam for the pin.

Rating: C. This was another kind of weird match as Regal was nearly squashing him until Kane made his comeback. You don’t often see something like that but it was actually working well enough. Kane and Boogeyman are growing on me as the freak show pairing and it’s not like the tag division has any kind of depth otherwise, so why not see what they can do?

Worms are busted out post match.

Judgment Day rundown.

Teddy Long brings out Edge for his inaugural address. Edge says he’ll handle the introduction before saying that HE is YOUR World Heavyweight Champion. He is ashamed to be a Canadian citizen (but he would be ashamed to be American too) because he never gets any respect.

Another place he didn’t get any respect was on Raw, where he beat everyone but still didn’t get treated right. He’ll take on all comers here, which gets Long’s attention. Long reminds him of his upcoming title defense against Batista, which doesn’t bother Edge. He beat Undertaker in three seconds after Batista couldn’t do it in three months, so bring Batista on. Cue Batista to welcome Edge to Smackdown and promise to take the title back on Sunday.

Overall Rating: C. This was a bit of a weird show as Judgment Day was already set, save for the main event, so they had to cobble something together at the last second. Edge vs. Batista is the only choice they had for the spot and the match should work out. Other than that, it was a totally ho hum edition of the show, which is kind of surprising after what they have been doing as of late. Not bad, but things feel like they have hit a bit of a wall for both shows this week.

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

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Smackdown
Date: October 15, 2021
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re in a unique situation as this is the go home Smackdown for a pay per view but there is one more Raw to go. Crown Jewel is in less than a week with Brock Lesnar challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Title. Lesnar is here tonight as part of the special Supersized show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Edge and, after we see a video on his feud with Seth Rollins and the announcement of Hell in a Cell at Crown Jewel, it’s time for a chat in a chair. Edge talks about how the two of them have had problems for a long time but now Rollins has gone to Edge’s home. That’s the place where he breaks bread with his family and tucks his little girls in at night. It was right out of Edge’s playbook, like the time he slapped John Cena’s dad.

They have traded wins and now it is time to settle this inside the Cell. Rollins is the only one who can match Edge’s intensity and Edge will put him down for good. The trilogy ends in the Cell with Rollins being stomped out for good. Edge’s in-chair promos are awesome and he sold the story rather well.

We recap the Smackdown half of King of the Ring.

Finn Balor is ready to end Sami Zayn.

King of the Ring Semifinals: Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor

Balor takes him down to start and then counters a sunset flip with a basement dropkick. Sami is back up with a shot to the face and some choking on the ropes. Balor fights out of a chinlock though and sends Sami outside for the big flip dive as we take a break. Back with Balor making a comeback and catching Sami on top with a loud chop.

The superplex is broken up with Sami shoving him off the top, only to dive into a dropkick out of the air. Sami is right back up and hits a Blue Thunder Bomb for two of his own. The exploder suplex sends Balor into the corner but the Helluva Kick misses. Instead Balor kicks Sami in the head but the Coup de Grace is broken up as well.

Sami’s rollup with feet on the ropes gets two and it’s time to argue with the referee. Balor is back up with the Sling Blade into another missed Coup de Grace. Sami rolls him up for two more but another exploder is countered, setting up the jumping double stomp. There’s a shotgun dropkick in the corner, followed by a shotgun dropkick in the corner. Now the Coup de Grace sends Balor to Crown Jewel at 11:24.

Rating: B. Again, the men’s match gets the time and winds up being pretty good stuff. There wasn’t much in the way of drama here as Sami doesn’t do the Saudi Arabia shows, though it’s hard to imagine Sami beating Balor in a big match in the first place. Good match here, with the last few minutes being rather hot.

Video on Paul Heyman being put in the middle of Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, which certainly has him torn between two monsters. We see some clips of Heyman and Lesnar’s time together over the years. Reigns isn’t sure where Heyman’s loyalties lie and Lesnar isn’t making it better by thanking Heyman for his free agent status. We also see last week, with Heyman doing what Reigns says and promising Reigns will beat Lesnar before dropping to his knees in reverence. This was excellent, as tends to be the case with this kind of WWE video.

Naomi vs. Sonya Deville

Hold on though as Sonya is here in a suit. The match is still happening, but we have an addition.

Naomi vs. Sonya Deville/Shayna Baszler

No tags here so Sonya slaps Naomi in the face, only to have her kick Shayna in the face. The chase is on until Sonya hits a running knee to the face. Shayna holds Naomi up for a shot to the ribs but she fights out and hits a springboard kick to drops Shayna in a hurry. Sonya grabs the foot though and it’s the Kirifuda Clutch to put Naomi out, allowing Sonya to cover her with a foot for the pin at 2:33. I’m glad to see Sonya back in the ring, as she really was getting good when everything happened last year.

Video on Hit Row.

Here’s what’s coming up, which is translated to “don’t switch to the Rampage Buy-In show”.

Sasha Banks is ready to beat Becky Lynch tonight, which is about righting some wrongs. She’s getting the title back at Crown Jewel.

Crown Jewel rundown.

Here is Seth Rollins (looking like a deck of cards/Harley Quinn exploded on his jacket) for a chat. He heard what Edge said earlier tonight and it was the best joke he has heard in months. No he isn’t scared to face Edge inside the Cell. See, Hell has already frozen over tonight in Los Angeles, because Edge has already said that Rollins is not Edge Lite.

It is time to prove that he is better than Edge in every single way and now he is going to prove it inside the Cell. Rollins makes it clear that he is not afraid of Edge, who the fans want to see. Rollins has more experience in the Cell and it made him the man he is today. It does end in the Cell, but not like the fairy tale Edge is expecting. Good promo, though not quite as good as Edge’s.

Carmella and Zelina Vega know that they’re better than Toni Storm and Liv Morgan. Tonight, they’ll have a fair match in the Queen’s Crown Tournament.

Queen’s Crown Tournament Semifinals: Carmella vs. Zelina Vega

Carmella is willing to fight without the mask here and takes Vega down by the arm to start. Vega rolls her up so Carmella kicks her in the face. That’s too far for Vega so Carmella begs forgiveness, sending Vega into a face punching rage. Now Carmella wants the mask, plus a timeout to put it on. That’s going to be difficult as Liv Morgan has the mask, which scares Carmella back inside so Vega can grab a small package for the pin at 2:45. They really can’t help themselves with these short matches can they? Or is this just trolling now?

Video on Sheamus.

It’s time for Happy Talk with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss. First up, Moss tells a story about a chicken who has an eggsisential crisis. That moves them on to Kevin Owens, who isn’t all that much to see. Corbin is excited about the new names showing up next week but Rick Boogs interrupts the jokes (to McAfee’s incredibly happiness). Shinsuke Nakamura is here to dance around the ring as Boogs plays guitar and McAfee wishes Cole a happy birthday. That’s all that happens, meaning there is no reason for the show to end.

Video on New Day.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Usos

The Profits are challenging in a street fight and get some Boogs during their entrance. It’s a brawl to start with Ford hammering on Jimmy in the corner, only to get pulled down for a neckbreaker. Dawkins is taken outside and sent into the barricade, only to have Ford hit a crazy flip dive over the post. The Profits whip out a table but the Usos take them down with a dive as we take a break.

Back with the Profits still in trouble and the kendo sticks being brought in. Dawkins is left alone for the shots to various parts of his body, including the big double swing for two. The kickout sends the Usos into a rage with more shots but Ford is back in with a VERY high crossbody to take both of them down. Ford chairs Jimmy down for two but Jey is back in with a pop up Samoan drop.

That earns him a toss into a belly to back suplex and more kendo stick shots from the Profits. A Doomsday Device is broken up and Dawkins is sent shoulder first into the post, setting up a double superkick for two on Ford. Dawkins is back for the Anointment into the twisting frog splash, only to have Jey break up the cover. Jey puts Ford through the table at ringside so Dawkins tackles him down and hammers away. The double teaming cuts him down again though and it’s the double Superfly Splash to finish Dawkins at 14:18.

Rating: B. Pretty awesome fight here with both teams working hard, though that’s a pretty definitive way to wrap up the feud between the teams. The Usos have beaten the Profits more than once now and it seems that we are getting ready for the New Day vs. the Usos. Again. As always. Anyway, this was rather awesome and a heck of a TV match.

Becky Lynch talks about how great she is, from going undefeated for so long to winning the title back after having a baby. She’ll win again at Crown Jewel.

Video on Charlotte.

Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

Non-title and here is Bianca Belair to join commentary. Becky works on the arm to start and then runs Banks over with a shoulder. Banks is right back with a missed running Meteora, allowing Becky to roll her up for two. An exchange of rollups gives us a standoff so Banks tries and fails to get the Bank Statement. Becky manages to catch her with a legdrop to the back for two and the stomping is on in the corner. Banks is sent HARD into the post and now it’s time to work on Banks’ shoulder.

We hit the reverse chinlock to keep Banks down but she fights up with the Three Amigos. That’s fine with Becky, who sends her shoulder first into the post. The middle rope Fameasser in the ropes gives Becky two but Banks sends her into the post for a change. Banks hits the running knees in the corner, setting up the top rope Meteora for two. The Backstabber sends Becky outside (Bianca: “Hey Becky.”) but she counters a sunset bomb into a legdrop on the apron.

Back in and Banks drops her again, setting up a frog splash for two. Banks hits the double knees in the corner but another try is countered into an exploder. Becky goes up top for the top rope legdrop and another near fall. The kickout has Becky mumbling to herself and she misses another middle rope Fameasser. They head outside with Becky dropping Belair but getting kicked up against the barricade. Back in and Lynch gets up her knees to block another frog splash and they’re both down.

A butterfly suplex sets up a cross armbreaker (not the Disarm-Her Cole) but Banks slips out again. Some uppercuts rock Banks but the Manhandle Slam is countered into a rollup. Another Backstabber sets up the Bank Statement, sending Becky bailing to the rope. That lets Belair try a hair whip on Becky’s arm, setting up another Backstabber to finish Becky at 18:37.

Rating: B. This was a long match and felt like it belonged on a pay per view, as you do not see Becky lose a singles match like, ever. Belair costing Becky (after she missed the legdrop that had served her well in the match) the match is a good way to set up the title match, as it feels like a match where three women have a reason to fight. You don’t get that very often and this was a pretty awesome way to get things ready.

Adam Pearce pops up to get the contract signing ready. Here are Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, with Brock Lesnar coming out next. Lesnar puts his feet up on the table as Heyman says his counsel is to sign the contract. Reigns signs and Lesnar does as well, without even looking at the deal. That makes Reigns laugh and say Lesnar must be some kind of a dumb***. Lesnar says he already read the contract this morning….with his advocate Paul Heyman. That’s enough for Lesnar who walks away with a big smile on his face. Reigns is NOT pleased and can barely look at Heyman.

We run down the Crown Jewel card to fill in some of the five minutes left with the big segment over.

Overall Rating: A-. That’s one of the best Smackdowns, or probably WWE shows, in a VERY long time with three good to great matches and a pretty awesome closing segment as well. I had a great time with this show and it is worth the watch, assuming you skip the first two women’s matches. Other than that, this was WWE letting the wrestlers wrestle and the show worked as a result. Awesome stuff with three matches carrying the night.

Results
Finn Balor b. Sami Zayn – Coup de Grace
Sonya Deville/Shayna Baszler b. Naomi – Pin after a Kirifuda Clutch
Zelina Vega b. Carmella – Small package
Usos b. Street Profits – Double Superfly Splash to Dawkins
Sasha Banks b. Becky Lynch – Backstabber

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: May 11, 2007
Location: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s a big show this time around with the Undertaker defending the World Title against Batista inside a cage. That alone should be enough to carry the show and….well that’s about what it’s going to do as that’s the only major thing set for the show. Unless you could spoilers that is, as WWE has already said what happens this time. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Undertaker vs. Batista and how we got to the cage match. I have a feeling we’re getting a bunch of history tonight.

Opening sequence.

The cage is already around the ring.

Chris Benoit/Matt Hardy vs. Finlay/MVP

They either edited the heck out of something or the cage had a rocket attached to it, as there is no way they raised that thing up so fast. Benoit and Finlay lock up to push each other around the ring to start. It’s already off to MVP to shoulder Benoit down but he has to escape an early Crossface attempt. Matt comes in to drop an elbow and it’s already back to Benoit to stomp away in the corner. Finlay has to break up the cover off a suplex so Matt comes back in for a neckbreaker. Benoit misses a baseball slide to Finlay but clotheslines him down instead. Cue Hornswoggle to….do nothing as we take a break.

Back with Hardy bulldogging Finlay for two and cranking on a headlock. It’s back to MVP to stomp away but Hardy suplexes him for two, with Finlay having to make another save. Matt elbows MVP off the top and actually hits a moonsault, only to bang up his knee in the process. MVP is smart enough to go right after the knee before handing it off to Finlay for a half crab.

That’s broken up but MVP is right there to cut him off again. That lasts all of two seconds though before it’s the hot tag to bring in Benoit to clean house. The rolling German suplexes get two but the Swan Dive misses. MVP comes in, walks into a dragon screw legwhip, and gets jackknife covered to give Benoit the fast pin.

Rating: C+. This was good enough, though MVP losing AGAIN is getting old. It’s ok to let him steal a pin in a tag match but he has to lose there too. It’s one thing to get pinned by Chris Benoit but losing to him over and over takes away a lot from MVP. Not a bad tag match though, which is one thing you can almost always depend on: throwing talented wrestlers out there and giving them time to do something.

Here’s another video on Batista vs. Undertaker.

Next week: Ozzy Osbourne performs the Judgment Day theme song.

Jillian Hall vs. Michelle McCool

Jillian sings a slowed down version of her theme song until Michelle’s entrance cuts her off. Michelle hammers away to start and it’s a catfight with more punching than usual. The reverse chinlock sends Jillian over to the ropes but she is right back with a cartwheel into an elbow. The chinlock has McCool in trouble but she’s back up with an elbow to the face. A jackknife rollup gives McCool two and a belly to belly gets the same. Jillian gets in some elbows in the corner but charges into a backbreaker to give Michelle the pin.

Rating: D+. No it wasn’t good, but you can tell that they are trying to have a good match. There is a world of difference than this and some of the nonsense that you would see out of the Divas division. They need a lot more time and polish, but you can see the effort and some of the basics in there. In other words, Finlay continues to be a wizard with this stuff.

Krystal is rubbing Teddy Long’s shoulders and asks if he has found an assistant yet. He hasn’t found anyone appropriate yet but she has an idea. We’ll have to hear about that later though as two hillbillies from West Virginia come in. They’re here to fight but Teddy says if they can get to Baltimore next week, they can have a match. Long mentions their name as the Dalton Boys as they leave. Krystal goes back to shoulder rubbing and suggests Vickie Guerrero as the assistant. Teddy is skeptical about hiring a Guerrero but Krystal talks him into letting her have an interview next week. That’s good enough for Krystal.

More on Undertaker vs. Batista.

Raw Rebound.

Ashley joins us from Stamford and wants to get back to Smackdown. If nothing else, she wants to get her hands on Jillian and to see Paul London and Brian Kendrick get their Tag Team Titles back.

Domino vs. Paul London

I know I make fun of these teams having a bunch of singles matches but COME ON ALREADY. Deuce, Cherry and Brian Kendrick are at ringside too. London dodges a double leg dive to start but gets shoved away. The referee breaks that up so Domino kicks him in the ribs, only to get dropkicked down.

London scores with a moonsault to the floor (which he missed to cost his team the titles a few weeks ago), only to get snapmared back inside. Domino grabs a cobra clutch but London is back up with a cradle for two. A headscissors into a basement dropkick connects and a snap spinwheel kick drops Domino again. Deuce tries to offer a distraction so London hits the dropsault onto Domino for the pin.

Rating: C. Not too bad here, but e pluribus gads I’m sick of seeing this match. It’s been done to death at this point and I don’t see any reason to want to watch it again. Hopefully we get to the title rematch so Deuce N Domino can retain and move on to ANYTHING else. These teams have fine matches, but the interest has been depleted after seeing some combination of it so many times.

Another Undertaker vs. Batista video.

Snitsky video.

Kane vs. Dave Taylor

Boogeyman, Little Boogeyman and William Regal are here too. Kane appears to be a mixture of happy and confused by the Boogeymen. They start fast with Kane hitting a hard slam as commentary is busy freaking out about the people at ringside. Taylor gets a boot up in the corner and hammers away until Kane kicks him down. Regal trips Kane and feigns innocence in a way that feels so appropriate for him. Kane is back up with the sidewalk slam and the top rope clothesline as Boogeyman and Regal get in a fight on the floor. The chokeslam finishes Taylor.

Rating: C-. About what you would expect here and that was fine enough. Kane and Boogeyman are growing on me as the freaky tag team as it’s a bit of a different direction for both of them. If nothing else, seeing Regal and Taylor being disturbed by what they’re looking at every week has been great. Not a good match, but another part of an entertaining story.

Undertaker beat Batista at Wrestlemania.

The Condemned.

Undertaker and Batista went to a draw in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash.

Smackdown World Title: Batista vs. Undertaker

Undertaker is defending in a cage with pinfall, submission or escape to win. Batista has a bad leg and Undertaker has a bad arm to slow both of them down a bit. They go to the slugout to start until Undertaker kicks him in the face. A clothesline gives Batista two but a shot to the bad leg breaks up the Batista Bomb. Undertaker gets knocked down and it’s a top rope shoulder to give Batista two.

We take a break and come back with Batista breaking up an escape attempt but getting hit in the face for his efforts. Batista takes him down and hammers away before a low blow drops Undertaker again. The shoulders and clothesline in the corner let Batista climb but Undertaker hits him in the leg for a crotching. The running big boot knocks Batista into the cage but Batista kicks him down as well as we take a break.

Back again with Batista blasting him with a clothesline for two. Undertaker hits some clotheslines of his own and it’s Snake Eyes into the big boot. There’s the chokeslam for a close two but Batista sends him into the cage. We take another break and come back with the busted open Undertaker walking into a spinebuster for two.

Batista, apparently having never watched an Undertaker match, hammers away in the corner and gets Last Rided for two. Undertaker can’t quite get out of the door so they both go up top for a slugout. Batista knocks him down and climbs up but Undertaker is right there to meet him. They both climb down and drop to the floor….at the same time.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a fight and as usual between these two, it felt like a war with the question being who could survive, let alone win. These two have some great chemistry together and it was on display again here. They feel like each others’ equals and given that they have had more draws than decisive wins in their rivalry, it feels that way in the ring too.

The referees go over to the monitors to look and the feet hit the ground at the same time so the match is officially a draw, with the Undertaker retaining the title. The cage is raised…and here is Mark Henry to jump Undertaker. Henry sends him into the post and crushes him with the splash inside. That’s quite the bad situation for Undertaker and now it’s about to get worse.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Undertaker

Edge is challenging via Money in the Bank cash in. The bell rings and Edge covers for two but Undertaker can’t sit up. He pulls himself up on the ropes and it’s the spear to give Edge the pin and the title.

Post match Edge hits him with the briefcase and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The cage match alone is worth the watch and the rest of the show continues its hot streak. That’s going to be it for the Undertaker for a long time though as the arm injury was a torn bicep, putting him out of action for several months. That leaves Batista to carry the show again, and now he’ll be able to feud with Edge for the time being. Solid show here, but it feels like the start of a new era, which might not be so great.

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Smackdown
Date: October 8, 2021
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re done with the Draft, though we still have a few weeks before we switch over to the new roster. Until then we have Crown Jewel in less than two weeks, which is likely to get a lot of the focus tonight. Since it’s WWE, we also have a contract signing to deal with tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the contract signing, with Bianca Belair in the ring, Sasha Banks on the announcers’ table and Becky Lynch at her own table in the aisle. Becky doesn’t think much of Belair, who she beat in 26 seconds and Banks, who looks like a disco ball. Banks thinks Becky is jealous because she’s a bigger star than the two of them.

Belair doesn’t want to hear it and just wants to get the contract signed. Becky gets her attention so Banks runs in to jump Belair, meaning the brawl is on. That just lets Belair put them both in the KOD but she can’t flip them over. Instead she puts Banks onto the table and puts Becky through Banks and the table. The contract wasn’t signed in all of the melee. Of every contract signing, at least this one was short.

Rey Mysterio says being King of the Ring is the second best thing in WWE (after being Universal Champion), but it would make him sick to see Sami Zayn as king.

King of the Ring Tournament First Round: Rey Mysterio vs. Sami Zayn

Before the match, Sami tells Dominik Mysterio that Dominik is better than his dad. Sami misses a Helluva Kick to start but Sami grabs a powerbomb for two instead as Cole talks about how important the tournament is. Rey is right back by sending Sami outside and the flipping hurricanrana takes him down again. There’s the top rope splash for two on Zayn, who is right back with a shoulder first whip into the post.

We take a break and come back with Dominik at ringside as Sami suplexes Rey into the corner. The Helluva Kick is countered though and Rey gets two off Code Red. A springboard hurricanrana gets the same but the 619 misses. Another Blue Thunder Bomb gets another two on Rey so Sami goes to pull off the turnbuckle pad. Dominik goes to put it back but Rey is sent into him, allowing Sami to grab a rollup for the pin at 9:47.

Rating: C+. There was an energy here that I wasn’t expecting as both guys were working hard to make this better. Rey hasn’t moved that well in a good while and Zayn did his thing as well. Good match, while also advancing their story and the tournament. That’s a rather nifty use of about ten minutes.

Here are the brackets:

Sami Zayn

Cesaro
Finn Balor

Kofi Kingston
Jinder Mahal

Xavier Woods
Ricochet

Hit Row is coming.

Commentary is excited about the changes from the changes from the Draft.

We look at Seth Rollins invading Edge’s house last week and messing with his stuff as Edge freaked out.

Rollins doesn’t know why everyone is freaking out about what he did last week. He managed to beat Edge in Madison Square Garden without any cheating and then he went to Edge’s home as promised. That being said, Rolling still hasn’t gotten an answer to his challenge so he’s going to find someone who can make it happen.

Queen’s Crown Tournament First Round: Zelina Vega vs. Toni Storm

First match in the history of the tournament. Storm goes with the power to start but Vega is back with the Thesz press and a bunch of right hands. The modified dragon sleeper has Vega in trouble but Storm fights up and cranks on the arm. There’s a running hip attack in the corner to keep Vega down but she is back up to crotch Storm on top. Storm tries a backslide but gets reversed into a Code Red to give Vega the fast pin at 2:12.

Here are the brackets:

Zelina Vega

Liv Morgan
Carmella

Doudrop
Natalya

Dana Brooke
Shayna Baszler

We look back at Roman Reigns’ rough night last week, with Reigns being the #1 overall pick but having to deal with Brock Lesnar as well. Lesnar then announced that he was a free agent, much to Reigns’ annoyance as he believe Paul Heyman is behind it.

Here is the Bloodline for a chat. Reigns likes being acknowledged but he wants to get to the point: did Paul Heyman set up Lesnar’s free agent status? Heyman goes into a nearly begging rant about how he has nothing but loyalty Reigns. He may have been accused of a lot of things over the years, but never of being stupid. Wouldn’t it make more sense to stretch this out until Crown Jewel and set up Reigns’ strategy and then tell Lesnar about it? Heyman talks about how Reigns will conquer the Conqueror at Crown Jewel, but Reigns wants Heyman to tell Lesnar himself.

That means Heyman has to look into the camera and tell Lesnar what is going to happen. Heyman, with some more seriousness in his voice, talks about how Lesnar conquered the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, but now he has met his match. Reigns will retain the title, and that is a spoiler. Heyman drops to his knees before Reigns, who seems pleased. This was more awesome stuff from the best thing going in wrestling today.

Seth Rollins comes in to see Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville because he wants to know if Edge is going to be here tonight. Either way, Rollins will be in the ring at the end of the show for an answer. If the two of them see Edge first though, he asks them to return this photo of Edge and Beth Phoenix from their house.

Queen’s Crown Tournament First Round: Carmella vs. Liv Morgan

Carmella puts on her mask but Morgan takes her down and hammers away. The Code of Silence has Morgan in trouble so she grabs the mask to escape. An enziguri sets up Oblivion for two with Carmella putting her foot on the rope for the escape. Back up and Carmella superkicks her down for the pin at 1:46. As much as I don’t want to say it, I think it’s time to give up on believing it’s ever going to happen for Morgan. If you’re losing to Carmella in less than two minutes, what kind of future do you have?

Mace says he isn’t coming here to compete because that implies there is competition. All he sees is prey.

Here are Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss for Happy Talk. Before they can get too far, here is a ticked off Kevin Owens. Moss gets beaten up in the aisle and Owens goes inside to jump Corbin but the numbers game takes him down. Owens gets laid out again.

Naomi comes in to see the bosses and wants to know why she wasn’t in the Queen’s Crown Tournament but Sonya Deville cuts her off. Next week, Naomi is in the ring against….Sonya herself.

King of the Ring Tournament First Round: Cesaro vs. Finn Balor

Cesaro grabs a headscissors on the mat to start but Balor is right back up. That just earns him a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to give Cesaro two and there’s a hard whip into the corner. Balor manages a quick double stomp to the chest though and Cesaro is tossed over the top. The big dive is countered into Swiss Death to give Cesaro two and we take a break.

Back with Balor knocking Cesaro down again and stomping away. Cesaro manages to start the uppercut train but Balor Sling Blades him back down. The Coup de Grace is cut off though and Cesaro adds a headbutt on top. The superplex gives Cesaro a delayed two and a Crossface has Balor in more trouble. Balor rolls him up to escape and the Swing is countered into a cradle for two more. Cesaro misses a charge into the post and there’s the big flip dive to the floor. Back in and the shotgun dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace for the pin on Cesaro at 9:43.

Rating: B-. I don’t think it’s any surprise that these two were going to have a good match. It helps that they got some time, just like Mysterio vs. Zayn. That’s a bit better than the two women’s matches tonight, which got about four minutes combined. It shows just how much of a difference that detail makes, but I don’t think WWE cares that much these days.

We look back at the contract signing, which did not include any contracts being signed.

Becky Lynch goes on a rant about how she isn’t respected around here but Sonya Deville says prove it by signing the contract. Becky signs to get us a third of the way to the match, though she throws the contract at Adam Pearce, hitting him low.

Here is Seth Rollins to call Edge out. Rollins says they can have any match Edge wants, anywhere they want. They can even have it Edge’s living room with his wife and kids cheering him on. Rollins says Edge is disappointing everyone, from his fans to his family. He can’t imagine how much this hurts Edge’s daughters’ hearts….and Edge arrives in the back (cutting it close with two minutes left in the show). Cue Edge to start the fight in a hurry and break the bar off of the chair. The Crossface is teased but Rollins elbows him to escape. Edge: “YOU! ME! HELL IN A CELL!” Rollins’ jaw drops to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I love a show that is quick and to the point and that’s what we got here. They didn’t bother trying to do anything more than hit the tournament stuff and advance or set up things for Crown Jewel. That’s how you run an efficient show and it feels like to have a night that has such a focus. Good show here, though the women’s matches left a good bit to be desired. Would it really hurt to give them five minutes each?

Results
Sami Zayn b. Rey Mysterio – Rollup
Zelina Vega b. Toni Storm – Code Red
Carmella b. Liv Morgan – Superkick
Finn Balor b. Cesaro – Coup de Grace

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Smackdown
Date: May 4, 2007
Location: BJCC, Birmingham, Alabama
Attendance: 5,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re done with Backlash but it does not seem like we are done with Batista vs. Undertaker. The two of them went to a draw in a Last Man Standing match at the pay per view and that probably means we get another match between the two of them, which is not a bad thing. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but hopefully WWE can keep up their roll. Let’s get to it.

Here is Backlash if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

William Regal vs. Boogeyman

This isn’t quite the normal start, but Little Boogeyman is back. Dave Taylor is here too but he doesn’t have quite the merchandising potential. Grappling doesn’t quite work for Regal so Boogeyman gyrates a bit. Regal gets a bit more violent by sending him shoulder first into the post and kicking the arm. Some forearms have Boogeyman in trouble as Cole calls him a “must see character”. The chinlock doesn’t last long as the fans bring Boogeyman back to life. The chokebomb connects but Taylor comes in for the DQ.

Rating: C-. This was short and to the point, likely for the sake of setting up another match of some kind. They went a bit more technical than I was expecting here but Regal got better once he turned into the brawler. Keeping this short was probably better for Boogeyman, as he isn’t exactly the best thing to see in the ring most of the time.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Little Boogeyman taking a beating of his own. Kane runs in for the save, chasing the Brits into the crowd.

We look at Vince McMahon becoming ECW World Champion.

Dusty Rhodes is in Teddy Long’s office but Teddy doesn’t think he would be a good choice for an assistant’s role. Rhodes thought it was for the GM’s job and leaves (Dusty: “See ya playa!”). MVP comes in (MVP: “Was that the American Dream?”) and isn’t happy with what happened to him at Backlash. If he doesn’t get another US Title shot, he’s sitting out the rest of his contract. Long says he can have the title shot if he wins tonight….against Kane. Yelling ensues so MVP leaves, running into Sgt. Slaughter, the Brooklyn Brawler and the Miz, all of whom want to be Long’s assistant. Miz even throws in a HOO RAH.

Brian Kendrick vs. Domino

It really would be nice to think that WWE knows another way to present a tag team feud but that seems to be false hope. Deuce, Cherry and the injured Paul London are here too as Domino grabs an early headlock. Kendrick sends him outside and hits a heck of a suicide dive, only to have Domino come back with a knee to the face.

Back in and another knee, this time in the form of a drop, gives Domino two and we hit the chinlock. Kendrick raises a boot to cut off a middle rope unidentified flying….thing and hits a running forearm in the corner. Deuce takes out London but Kendrick kicks Deuce off the apron as he hits Sliced Bread for the pin.

Rating: C. Kendrick was flying all over the place here and it made for a good enough match, even if this feud has gone so far beyond stale that it’s barely worth caring about. The tag division really is that weak at the moment, or at least the face side of it is, because there has been nothing suggesting even one other team coming after the titles.

Here is Mr. Kennedy, complete with a graphic counting down to his Wrestlemania XXIV countdown. It’s 331 days until there is a new champion and his name is…..a catchphrase.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy

JBL thinks that Hardy could be in the main event of Wrestlemania as well, because JBL isn’t a great analyst. Hardy headlocks Kennedy down to start as JBL thinks next year’s Wrestlemania is in Tampa. Back up and Kennedy works on a headlock of his own to little avail. Cole uses this opportunity to hype up an upcoming clip of the end of Batista and Undertaker for approximately the 193rd time tonight.

Kennedy starts working on the arm before elbowing Hardy in the face. A backdrop sends Kennedy over the top though and we take a break, with Kennedy possibly having a busted nose. Back with Hardy hitting a middle rope elbow to the back of the head, only to have Kennedy take him down by the arm. The chinlock goes on again, meaning Cole can get in his 194th reference to the Batista/Undertaker clip.

Back up and they collide coming out of the corner until Kennedy is sent outside. He comes up favoring his shoulder but is still fine enough to kick Hardy hard into the steps. They head back inside with Kennedy grabbing a cravate to keep Hardy down. A clothesline gives Kennedy two and let’s hit that chinlock again. That’s broken up but Hardy’s bulldog out of the corner is broken up.

The second attempt connects to give Hardy two but Kennedy pulls him throat first across the top. The Side Effect drops Kennedy for two more and a double clothesline gives them two each. Kennedy counters the Twist of Fate into a Regal Roll for two but the Kenton Bomb only hits raised knees. Hardy’s middle rope legdrop gets yet another near fall so Kennedy shoves him at the referee. That doesn’t seem to bother Hardy, who comes back with the Twist of Fate for the pin.

Rating: B. This got some time and really picked up the pace in the last few minutes as they were trading a lot of near falls. That is not something you get to see very often in a free TV match and they made it work for the better part of twenty minutes. Nice stuff here, though Mr. Money in the Bank losing again holds it back a bit.

Video on Batista and Undertaker in the Last Man Standing match at Backlash. It was rather good, but not quite the epic showdown Cole made it out to be.

Teddy Long announces that next week, it’s Batista vs. Undertaker in a cage match to finish everything once and for all.

Maryse welcomes us back to the show.

Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Gregory Helms

Yang shoulders him down for a headlock to start, setting up an armdrag into an armbar. Back up and Helms blocks another armdrag and sends him outside. Helms tosses Yang back inside and grabs most of a half crab (minus stepping over), followed by a waistlock. Yang fights up again and hits a dropkick into a hurricanrana for a breather. Helms slams him out of the corner for two but a superplex is broken up. The top rope moonsault press finishes for Yang.

Rating: C. This was two people having a match for a few minutes with some nice moves thrown in. It had nothing as far as interest goes, as it’s not like the Cruiserweight Title means much of anything at the moment. The fact that it took me a little while to remember who the champion was should tell you all you need to know about the division right now, and that isn’t likely to get any better anytime soon.

Here is a serious Batista for a chat. He talks about what he and Undertaker put each other through at Backlash before going over the limit. After they crashed through everything, Batista was laying there asking himself it this was all worth it. Of course it was and he wanted to step out of his body and slap himself for asking such a stupid question. He’s ready to do it all over again because he has promised himself to win the title back, even if it means getting inside a cage next week.

Mark Henry is still coming back.

Finlay vs. Miz

Feeling out process to start until Miz actually manages to knock him outside. Even JBL is impressed, though Finlay nailing Miz in the head cuts that off in a hurry. Hornswoggle pops out for a cheap shot, sending JBL into a rant about how we have Little Boogeyman, Hornswoggle and Tazz around here. They head back in and Finlay takes off the turnbuckle pad, allowing him to throw Hornswoggle at Miz behind the referee’s back. Miz sends him shoulder first into the post for two though and the running corner clothesline hits Finlay again.

Cue Hornswoggle again (three times in a four minute match is a bit much), this time with a Shillelagh shot to Miz. The distraction lets Finlay run Miz over but Miz sends him into the apron. Hornswoggle pulls Miz underneath the ring this time but he’s right back out….wearing Hornswoggle’s hat. That’s too much for Miz, who takes the countout.

Rating: D+. This was basically Miz vs. Hornswoggle and that got a little tiring in a hurry. That being said, Miz is also starting to get a lot more comfortable in the ring and you can see a star starting to emerge. He has always been able to talk but if he can survive in the ring, he becomes even more valuable. Now someone get me Hornswoggle’s hat.

Undertaker promises to make Batista rest in peace next week. Short and to the point here.

We look at Vince McMahon winning the ECW World Title (they’re REALLY high on this story, as they should be).

Kane vs. MVP

The winner challenges Chris Benoit for the US Title at Judgment Day. Kane powers him into the corner to start and then throws him back out, setting up an early bearhug. A powerslam out of the corner gives Kane two and it’s off to a chinlock with a knee in MVP’s back. Kane knocks him down again and we take a break. Back with MVP sending him shoulder first into the post and hammering away to get a breather. The armbar makes it worse for Kane and a forearm to the shoulder gets two.

The referee breaks up something in the ropes so Kane is back with a clothesline. MVP is sent into the corner for the running clothesline but another shot to the arm gets him out of trouble. Kane uses the good arm to hit a side slam for two but MVP’s swinging neckbreaker is good for the same. A slam puts MVP down though and Kane hits the top rope clothesline. Cue William Regal and Dave Taylor though, with the latter distracting the referee so Regal can get in a brass knuckles shot. The Playmaker gives MVP the pin and the title shot.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how much drama there was to this but it was nice to see things tied back into the opening segment to wrap this up. MVP continues to look like he could be a big deal on the show, but egads he has to win that title at the pay per view. It was a pretty nice match though, and Regal’s knuckles shot looked painful to make it better.

Overall Rating: C+. Overall, this was a solid enough week with Hardy vs. Kennedy being the highlight, but I think you can tell that something is a little off. Undertaker appearing in a pre-tape and a sudden World Title match being booked for TV isn’t the most encouraging sign, as it would suggest that something was wrong (which it turns out there was). Still though, good show, despite what felt like some stuff being thrown together at the last minute.

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

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Smackdown
Date: October 1, 2021
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

It’s a big night as we are starting this year’s Draft. That means we are going to be seeing a bunch of names moved from show to show, though it is not clear if NXT will be included as well. That could make for some interesting changes, but they might not all be for the best. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary welcomes us to the show and sets up a few rules: half of the roster will be eligible for drafting tonight and half on Raw, but the rosters will not officially change until October 22, the night after Crown Jewel.

We waste no time as Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce are here to announce the first round picks:

Round 1
Smackdown: Roman Reigns
Raw: Big E.
Smackdown: Charlotte
Raw: Bianca Belair

Here are Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman for a chat, but first we look at a package on Reigns vs. Finn Balor from Extreme Rules. Reigns’ shirt now says We The Ones and he demands to be acknowledged, which the fans are VERY interested in doing. Heyman says that’s not good enough and talks about how the Demon is no longer undefeated.

Reigns performed an exorcism, and now he is moving on to Crown Jewel, which will not be taking place in Suplex City. That’s because Brock Lesnar will be running into the Suplexorcist and be smashed….but here is Lesnar in person. We get a long staredown and then the brawl is on, with Lesnar clearing Reigns out. The Usos come in and get dropped with F5’s, sending Reigns and Heyman away.

Charlotte isn’t surprised that she was brought over to Smackdown because Fox knows star power when she sees it.

Happy Corbin vs. Kevin Owens

Earlier today, Corbin introduces his new happy friend, Madcap Moss (that’s not bad). Owens clotheslines him to the floor to start but it’s too early for a dive. Moss trips Owens up though and it’s a lot of laughter to send us to a break. Back with Owens making the comeback but the Stunner is countered into a rollup for two. Corbin plants Owens with Deep Six for two but Owens knocks him into the corner for the Cannonball. They head outside where Corbin hits End of Days (Cole: “Or should we call it Happy Days?”) and another version connects inside for the pin at 7:28.

Rating: C. It was a good enough power brawl but the rise of Happy Corbin continues to be one of the more entertaining things in all of WWE. No it might not be great or brilliant, but dang I’m having a good time with the thing. Throw in Moss getting something to do again and it’s another bonus.

We look back at Sasha Banks returning at Extreme Rules and costing Bianca Belair a shot at the Smackdown Women’s Title.

It’s time for round 2:

Round 2
Smackdown – Drew McIntyre
Raw – RKBro
Smackdown – Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods
Raw – Edge

So basically, Edge was traded for New Day and Drew McIntyre. I’ve heard worse deals….I think.

Here is Drew McIntyre to say that he had a great time on Raw but he has some unfinished business. There is a cloud hanging over Smackdown and it is time for McIntyre to break it up. With a point of Angela, McIntyre says he wants the Universal Title.

Here is Edge for a chat. After soaking in some loud cheers, Edge talks about how he is the only person here who was on the first Smackdown. Now though, he has been sent to Raw, which he sees as a challenge. Speaking of a challenge, we have Seth Rollins, who attacked him in Madison Square Garden three weeks ago and took him out again. Edge is on his way to 100%, and wants Rollins to come out here and make him saw Rollins is better.

Cue a laughing Rollins on the Titantron. Rollins is rather happy to be here….because he’s at Edge’s house. Edge storms to the back as Rollins lets himself inside and asks for Beth (Phoenix, Edge’s wife). Rollins helps himself to an apple and orange juice, while admiring Edge’s kids’ backpacks. As Rollins has a seat in the library, we cut to Edge frantically calling Beth and telling her to go to her brother’s (and ignore the groceries).

Carmella vs. Liv Morgan

Extreme Rules Kickoff Show rematch. Liv knocks her to the floor before the bell but Carmella says hang on a second. She has a team of people put a mask on her, then goes back inside to beat Morgan up, including an X Factor. No match, as I try to figure out what the point of that was.

Time for Round 3:

Round 3
Smackdown: Happy Corbin/Madcap Moss
Raw: Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash
Smackdown: Hit Row
Raw: Keith “Bearcat” Lee

Hit Row is awesome in NXT. It’s going to be sad to see their immediate demise on Fridays.

New Day/Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy/Dolph Ziggler/Bobby Roode

Ziggler and Kingston start things off (as their VERY longstanding rivalry continues) with Kofi hitting a jumping back elbow for an early two. It’s Ziggler being taken into the corner for the ax handle from Ford (still with the taped ribs). Gable comes in for an armdrag and sunset flip to Ford, setting up the ankle lock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Ford knocks all of the villains off the apron. Ford’s dive off the apron is cut off by Otis, who sends him hard into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Gable countering Ford’s sunset flip into a northern lights suplex for two (that was sweet). Ford manages to get in a shot to Gable though and the hot tag brings in Dawkins to clean house. Everything breaks down, with Dawkins hitting his double underhook neckbreaker for two. Otis runs everyone over but gets sent outside, leaving Roode to hit a spinebuster for two on Dawkins. New Day is right back in though and Daybreak finishes Roode at 10:09.

Rating: C+. It was an energetic match and that’s about all you can ask for from something like this. Eight wrestlers with ten minutes between them and a commercial thrown in is not going to be enough to let everyone get some time and that was the case here. What we saw was fun and Ford got A LOT of the focus, but we didn’t get to see very much.

Xavier Woods did some stuff with the Boys and Girls Club. Jenga was involved.

And now the final round:

Round 4
Smackdown – Naomi
Raw – Rey Mysterio/Dominik
Smackdown – Jeff Hardy
Raw – Austin Theory

Theory is interesting. Dominik isn’t.

Here are the final picks:

To Smackdown:
Round 1 – Roman Reigns
Round 1 – Charlotte
Round 2 – Drew McIntyre
Round 2 – Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods
Round 3 – Happy Corbin/Madcap Moss
Round 3 – Hit Row
Round 4 – Naomi
Round 4 – Jeff Hardy

To Raw:
Round 1 – Big E.
Round 1 – Bianca Belair
Round 2 – RKBro
Round 2 – Edge
Round 3 – Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash
Round 3 – Keith “Bearcat” Lee
Round 4 – Rey Mysterio/Dominik
Round 4 – Austin Theory

Jeff Hardy is in the back for an interview, but Brock Lesnar interrupts. He dismisses Hardy and Kayla Braxton to announce that he is officially a free agent because of Paul Heyman. Therefore, he can do whatever he wants to do. Mic drop.

We go to the Bloodline’s dressing room, where Paul Heyman is rather nervous. Roman Reigns asks if he and Heyman are good friends, with Heyman saying of course they are. Reigns says if they are friends, he needs to make sure that the Usos are drafted to Smackdown. Heyman says he’s the wise man but Reigns seems to laugh it off. Reigns: “YOU’RE ONLY THE WISE MAN WHEN I SAY YOU’RE THE WISE MAN!”

Reigns mocks the idea of sticking to the plan, and orders Heyman to go to Raw and make sure the Usos stay on Smackdown. Heyman thanks Reigns and leaves in a hurry. Reigns sends the Usos to Raw to make sure this gets done. If Heyman fails, leave him for dead. Reigns turning into a near Mafia boss is great stuff.

Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks

Becky Lynch comes out for commentary as Banks grinds away on a headlock to start. A running hurricanrana drops Belair again as Becky talks about how unfair the Crown Jewel triple threat will be. Belair sticks the landing on a monkey flip and sends Banks into the corner as Becky rants about Banks interfering on Sunday. Banks’ crossbody is countered into a gorilla press drop (Becky: “I do CrossFit too!”) but Banks escapes the KOD. A HARD running forearm sends Banks outside and we take a break.

Back with Banks hitting a top rope Meteora for two. Belair isn’t having that and hits a double chickenwing slam, followed by a delayed vertical suplex for two of her own. Banks catches her on top and a tornado DDT drops Belair for another near fall. The frog splash gets two more but Belair fights up. That’s enough for Becky to trip her up though and Banks grabs a rollup for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B-. These two still have great chemistry together and that is likely always going to be the case. The Becky interference was fine and it’s not like Belair lost clean. There is a very real chance that Belair leaves Crown Jewel with the title anyway so everything until then is just kind of filling in time.

Post match, here is Charlotte to take out Banks and Belair, setting up the dueling title pose with Becky to end the show (and setting up Survivor Series). I’m fully convinced they’re just trolling with Charlotte these days and that makes things a lot easier to take.

Overall Rating: C+. These shows are always weird to grade. They aren’t about wrestling whatsoever (as they shouldn’t be) but you also can’t really know what things are going to look like until we get done with Raw (and apparently Crown Jewel). There were enough moves that made me interested to make it work though so I’ll take what I can get. Add in Reigns seemingly at the brink with Heyman and it was an enjoyable enough show, with some pretty important moves thrown in.

Results
Happy Corbin b. Kevin Owens – End of Days
New Day/Street Profits b. Bobby Roode/Dolph Ziggler/Alpha Academy – Daybreak to Roode
Sasha Banks b. Bianca Belair – Rollup

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

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AND

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

Smackdown
Date: April 27, 2007
Location: Earl’s Court, London, England
Attendance: 11,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re overseas for the go home show for Backlash and that has all the makings for a pretty dull show. I’m sure the big names will be around, but how much are they actually going to do in this situation? This doesn’t feel like a spot for a bunch of top level stuff, though I would have said something similar for this week’s Raw. Let’s get to it.

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

We open in the back with Batista beating up Mr. Kennedy. A rake to the eyes gives Kennedy a quick breather until someone who might have been Finlay makes the save, taking the cameraman out in the process. Batista and Finlay brawl into the arena until Kennedy comes in to go after Batista’s taped up thigh. Then the gong hits and the lights go out, with Undertaker appearing in the ring. Batista turns to yell at the villains and Undertaker disappears.

Post break Mr. Kennedy and Finlay want to see Undertaker vs. Batista tonight but Teddy Long puts them in the tag match instead. Let’s make that No DQ too. You would think the bad guys would learn one day.

Kane/Boogeyman vs. Dave Taylor/William Regal

Kane unloads on Regal in the corner and it’s still weird to hear the fans cheering for Regal for once. Taylor comes in and gets choked in the corner as well so it’s back to Regal to actually punch Kane down. As JBL wonders how Boogeyman gets through customs, Kane hits a side slam into the top rope clothesline for two on Regal. Taylor gets knocked outside and we take a break.

Back with Taylor taking over on Regal’s arm and grabbing a crossface chickenwing. It’s back to Regal to hammer away some more as JBL is still going on about the customs. Kane belly to bellies his way to freedom but Taylor cuts him off again. There’s a double suplex to keep Kane in trouble but Taylor misses a middle rope spinning crossbody. Everything breaks down and Kane kicks Regal into a chokebomb for the pin.

Rating: C-. Nothing to see here other than the freak show appeal, which is perfectly fine for a one off team. Despite commentary hyping up the idea that Kane and Boogeyman could go after the Tag Team Titles, it doesn’t feel like anything more than a quick one off match to blow off Kane vs. Regal/Taylor for good.

Post match Regal and Taylor bail from the threat of worms.

The Condemned opens today. Now get it onto DVD and then out of people’s minds so we can get away from it for good.

Deuce vs. Brian Kendrick

Domino, Cherry and Paul London are here too. Kendrick avoids some shots to the face to start and grabs a headlock. The headlock takeover lets Kendrick grind away a bit but Deuce fights up and puts on a headlock of his own. That’s broken up and Kendrick dropkicks him into the corner, only to get taken down again.

An elbow drop gives Deuce two and he punches Kendrick in the face to break up a sunset flip attempt. The double arm crank goes on but Kendrick is back up with a headscissors into an enziguri. Sliced Bread connects but Cherry offers a distraction, allowing Domino to go after the injured London. Deuce kicks Kendrick in the face for the pin.

Rating: C. Basic tag match here as it is clear that London and Kendrick’s time is over. They held the titles for the better part of ever so it is time to let someone else do something for the time being. There is nothing wrong with that either, as it isn’t like there is anyone else to challenge for the titles at the moment.

We look back at the opening brawl to set up tonight’s main event.

Deuce and Domino don’t feel like answering questions so they make like a banana and split.

Here is MVP with another of his international challenges. This week, he is facing two champions, both of whom are better than Chris Benoit. First up is a guy like Braveheart: the Scottish Champion, Hamlet Macbeth!

MVP vs. Hamlet Macbeth

Non-title and Macbeth (What bloody man is that?) has Braveheart face paint and a kilt to go with what looks like a bad fitting white sweater. MVP elbows and clotheslines him down to start the stomping. A neckbreaker lets MVP stomp away (as he makes assurance double sure) but the comeback is on, even as Macbeth loses his wig (this is a sorry sight). MVP takes his head off with a clothesline and hits the running boot in the corner, knocking him silly with one fell swoop. The Playmaker wraps Macbeth up, and what’s done cannot be undone. Hopefully he can bear a charmed life.

Post match MVP wants his second competitor, but gets a surprise challenger.

Chris Benoit vs. MVP

Non-title. Benoit suplexes him down for an early two and sends MVP hard into the corner. The charge hits boots though and MVP kicks him outside as we take a break. We come back with Benoit fighting out of a chinlock but getting knocked right back down. A suplex gives Benoit two and the chinlock goes on.

Back up and Benoit snaps off a German suplex into the Crossface, sending MVP straight to the rope. A superplex gets some delayed near falls and the Sharpshooter goes on, with MVP going to the rope again. Another Crossface sets up a third rope break so Benoit rolls some German suplexes. MVP rolls outside before the headbutt can launch though and takes the countout.

Rating: C+. It was intense while it lasted and MVP walking out makes the most sense. There is no need for him to get banged up when he has a title match coming up in two days so why take the beating here? MVP should win the title on Sunday as there is little for him to do if he doesn’t finally step up.

Teddy Long and Kristal are kissing in his office and declare their love for each other. They would love to spend some more time with each other so maybe Teddy could find someone to help him with his work around here. Kristal seems to approve.

Mark Henry is still on his way back.

Jillian Hall comes out to sing a song for the newly single Prince William until someone cuts her off (edited off of Peacock).

Jillian Hall vs. Michelle McCool

Some hair takedowns have Michelle in trouble to start but a cartwheel splash hits raised knees. Michelle slugs away and gets in an elbow to the face, setting up a Russian legsweep ala Brad Armstrong. Not that it mattes as Jillian hits an X Factor for the fast pin.

Post match Jillian goes to sing again but Michelle beats her up.

Backlash rundown.

Mr. Kennedy/Finlay vs. Batista/Undertaker

No DQ. Before the match, Kennedy talks about being a REAL American, where they play REAL football. Undertaker and Batista jump them before the bell and we start fast. Batista knees away at Finlay in the corner before it’s off to Undertaker and Kennedy. Undertaker actually gets caught in the corner so Kennedy can hammer away, only to get clotheslined down for two. Batista comes back in and catches Finlay on top before clearing the ring as we take a break.

Back with Batista hammering on Kennedy and handing it off to Undertaker. Old School is broken up but Undertaker is right back up with a boot to the face. Back to back Old Schools connect for two and Batista sends Finlay into the steps. Undertaker throws Kennedy outside and hits the big boot to the side of the head. Finlay gets thrown over the announcers’ table and we lose Cole for a bit.

Back in and Batista gets to beat up Kennedy, who eventually goes after the leg. The Shillelagh to the knee takes Batista down again and Undertaker is content to let Batista get beaten up. A spear gives Batista a breather but Finlay makes the save. Undertaker gets knocked off the apron and that’s enough to bring him back inside to clean house. Chokeslams plant both villains but Batista comes back in for the spinebuster to finish Kennedy, much to Undertaker’s annoyance.

Rating: C+. This was just a way to have Undertaker and Batista in the same ring before Backlash, with Undertaker being pleased at Batista’s pain. Kennedy and Finlay could have been any two good enough heels to fill in these spots and it would have worked out fine, so it isn’t like there is much to complain about.

Post match Batista says no one keeps him down for ten and he’s taking his title back. Undertaker says he’s coming for Batista’s soul to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. For a two hour commercial for half of Backlash, this worked out pretty well. You shouldn’t have been expecting much from this show and while what we got was good enough, it isn’t like there is anything worth seeing. Backlash has been ready to go for a few weeks now and this was about not screwing up on the way there. Good enough show, but just get us to the pay per view already.

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

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AND

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

Smackdown
Date: September 24, 2021
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

It’s the go home show for Extreme Rules, which is mostly minus the extreme. The one stipulation confirmed so far has been Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor in an Extreme Rules match, though maybe we can get some more added this week. There is also an Intercontinental Title match scheduled so let’s get to it.

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

Here is Becky Lynch to get things going and we see a clip of her interrupting Bianca Belair’s homecoming last week. Becky talks about how much fun she had last week and wonders where her celebration is. She never lost the Women’s Title, then came back less than a year after having a child and won the title in record time. Last week, Becky tried to come out and offer Belair a handshake but she wouldn’t let go of Becky’s hand. What choice did she really have? Becky wanted to give Belair time, but then she was goaded into a rematch at Extreme Rules, so what choice does she have?

Cue Bianca Belair to interrupt, telling Becky to stop talking about embarrassing her last week. Becky has embarrassed her at Summerslam and in her hometown, but Belair didn’t know she was facing Becky last time. Becky: “But you knew you were going to have a match.” (Yep.). She asks if the EST thing is just a catchphrase, sending Belair into a list of her various accomplishments, which took a quarter of the time Becky took. Belair: “Oh and I won an ESPY.”

Belair promises that she won’t lose in 26 seconds on Sunday and sticks out her hand, earning a slap to the face. The fight is on and Belair plants her with the KOD. This wasn’t great as Belair sounded whiny in a lot of places, but her jacket with various patches listing off her accomplishments, including names she has beaten, was awesome.

Intercontinental Title: Apollo Crews vs. King Nakamura

Nakamura, with Rick Boogs, is defending while Crews has Commander Azeez with him. They start fast by running the ropes until Crews muscles him up for a gorilla press toss out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Nakamura fighting out of a chinlock. The sliding German suplex brings Crews out and the middle rope knee to the chest gets two.

Kinshasa is cut off with an enziguri though and it’s a World’s Strongest Slam tossed into a Samoan drop for two on the champ. A powerbomb plants Nakamura again but he pops up for a spinning kick to the head. Nakamura follows him outside but gets stared down by Azeez. That leaves Boogs to suplex Azeez (dang) and Nakamura tries a cross armbreaker, which he turns into a cradle to retain at 7:43.

Rating: C. Not too bad here, though Boogs continues to look like the star. Nakamura holding the title feels like something he is just doing at the moment, which is fine enough (McAfee loving Boogs makes it good enough), but he could use a big challenger. Good TV title defense here though and that’s all it needed to be.

We look at Roman Reigns making a special appearance on Raw.

Montez Ford is ready to win the Tag Team Titles at Extreme Rules, even if Angelo Dawkins is away at a wedding. The Street Profits have beaten the Usos a few times before and he has been watching them act as Roman Reigns’ Bloodline B******.

Roman Reigns is with Paul Heyman and doesn’t look pleased. Heyman recaps what Ford says and Reigns wants him tonight. Heyman tries to talk him out of it but that isn’t happening, so he’ll get the match made.

Post break, Heyman gets Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to agree to the match. They’ll talk about the Draft later.

We look back at Seth Rollins wanting Edge back to face him one more time to end this once and for all.

Rollins has not heard anything in a week and the sound of Edge’s silence is deafening. It reveals the truth, which is that Edge is hurt badly. Edge is ashamed to admit that Rollins is the reason he will never compete again but that isn’t good enough. Rollins wants an answer and he wants it next week, with Edge crawling to the ring. Next week, he wants to hear that he is the better man and not Edge-Lite. Rollins knows Edge will make the right decision.

Liv Morgan vs. Zelina Vega

Carmella joins commentary (while sitting on the table) as Vega takes Morgan down into something like a dragon sleeper (as Aleister Black used to use). Morgan slips out and goes after Carmella, allowing Vega to kick her in the face. A Code Red finishes Morgan at 2:19. Morgan is probably winning on Sunday, but dang it’s hard to believe she will.

Happy Corbin has gone on a shopping spree because his talk show debuts this week.

Here’s Happy Corbin for the first edition of Happy Talk. Corbin whistles the theme song and talks about how he wants to put smiles on people’s faces. That made him wonder who his first guest should be, so he has found someone who embodies happiness. Therefore, his guest is….himself! After Corbin brags about his clothes, we look at him attacking Kevin Owens last week. Cue Owens, but the returning Riddick Moss jumps him from behind. A double chokeslam plants Owens onto the steps. Good enough use of Moss.

Montez Ford is excited to face Roman Reigns tonight and he doesn’t regret anything he said. He’s ready for Reigns and he wants the smoke.

Nikki Ash vs. Natalya

Rhea Ripley and Tamina are here too because this story needs to keep going. Nikki dropkicks the knee out a few times to start and Natalya needs a breather in the ropes. A suplex drops Ash though and Natalya hammers away in the corner as the camera cuts are on fast. Tamina gets up on the apron but Ash reverses a small package for the pin at 1:48 anyway. Women’s matches going short again and I’m not a bit surprised.

Post match here are Shotzi and Nox to (hopefully) finally set up the title shot they earned a bunch of times. They even fire the tank at the champs, which doesn’t go well. Cole: “Shots have been fired!” It was one shot you counting challenged twerp.

Dominik Mysterio tells Rey Mysterio that he’s being suffocated and would have won without Rey out there. Rey leaves because Dominik isn’t thinking straight. Sami Zayn comes in to say Dominik has the tools but should listen to his instincts instead of Rey. Dominik seems to think about it.

Here is Naomi to say she is here to wrestle and wants a match right now. Cue Sonya Deville to say not so fast because Naomi isn’t doing this. Naomi wants to face Sonya, who says she would slap her face off if she was still a wrestler. Deville is an executive (Naomi: “Not a good one.”) though and orders Naomi’s mic cut off. Security takes Naomi out with Deville telling her to TikTok her way to obscurity. Hopefully this leads to Deville back in the ring and Naomi doing….well anything.

The Usos are walking Roman Reigns to the ring but run into the Alpha Academy for the staredown.

A fired up Becky Lynch isn’t scared of Bianca Belair because she can beat her in 26 seconds.

Extreme Rules rundown.

Roman Reigns vs. Montez Ford

Non-title and Ford starts fast by dropkicking Reigns outside as we take an early break. Back with Reigns in control and raining down the right hands in the corner. Ford shrugs off the clotheslines in the corner and enziguris Reigns out to the floor. A whip sends Reigns into the barricade but the announcers’ table breaks before Ford can do anything with it. Back in and Reigns tosses him into the air for a big crash, setting up the jumping clothesline to drop Ford again.

We take another break and come back with Ford flipping around, not quite sticking the landing, but hitting a dropkick anyway. The running Blockbuster gets two on Reigns and a DDT drops him again, but the frog splash hits knees. Reigns guillotines him for the tap at 15:58.

Rating: B-. These two had a rather nice match here and that’s what they needed to do. It was a good match between two guys who can work a few styles, with Ford hanging in there long enough to give Reigns a bit of a sweat. We weren’t about to get an upset or anything close to it, but why should we in a match like this? Good stuff, as you probably guessed.

Post match Paul Heyman says that isn’t enough so Ford needs to suffer some more. Heyman calls the Usos out and the beatdown is on, including Ford going through a table. The lights go out though and here is the Demon to dive on the Bloodline. Balor unloads with chair shots to everyone and stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Where did this show go? It felt like they had just gotten started and then it was wrapping up. The Lynch/Belair stuff ate up some time, but there were two matches of any kind of length without much in between. It wasn’t much of a show and it’s heading into not much of a pay per view, but the Draft next week is rendering both of them worthless anyway. Nothing to see here, though everything picks up next week.

Results
King Nakamura b. Apollo Crews – Rollup
Zelina Vega b. Liv Morgan – Code Red
Nikki Ash b. Natalya – Small package
Roman Reigns b. Montez Ford – Guillotine

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: April 20, 2007
Location: Datchforum, Milan, Italy
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

The Italian trip continues with the blue show and that could make for a good Smackdown. Last week saw the announcement of Undertaker vs. Batista II in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash, complete with some wacky bad partnering. I’m curious to see what else they have on tap around here as Smackdown has been pretty good as of late. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

It’s the 400th episode for a nice milestone.

Batista vs. Finlay

The referee warns Finlay about the shillelagh to start and Batista shoves him down to make it even worse. Back up and Batista works on the arm, including an armdrag into an armbar for a little variety. With that broken up, Finlay backs into the corner but comes back with a cheap shot to the face. That just annoys Batista so he takes Finlay down, sending Finlay to the ropes with complaints of something in his eye.

They head outside with Batista nailing a big boot to keep Finlay in trouble. We hit the chinlock back inside as we look at the third replay of the big boot. Finlay fights up and gets knocked over the top in a heap as we take a break. Back with Batista beating on Finlay on the floor but Mr. Kennedy runs in for the DQ. The post break part was maybe fifteen seconds.

Rating: C. This was a weird one as Batista basically squashed him throughout. They’ve done a good job of making Batista feel like that much more of a monster heading into Backlash though it’s weird to see Finlay taking this kind of a beating. It wasn’t a bad match or anything, but it was a strange way to go.

Post match the double beatdown is on and Batista is left laying with the Celtic Cross.

Smackdown is in an Italian newspaper.

Here’s your weekly Condemned video.

Here is Jillian Hall for a chat. Hall asks if the fans remember her and we see a clip of her attacking Ashley last week. Since Ashley can’t be here tonight, Hall has a special operatic song for us. The song is about eating a pizza so here is Michelle McCool to say Hall is horrible (in Italian for a twist). The brawl is on and Hall bails in a hurry.

Hardys/Chris Benoit vs. MVP/Gregory Helms/Chavo Guerrero

When did Chavo and Helms become the new midcard heel team? Benoit and Guerrero get things going with Benoit shouldering him down. Guerrero grabs him by the leg and hands it off to MVP to stomp away. Helms comes in just as fast and gets taken into the corner so Matt can come in with the middle rope elbow to the head.

Matt gets hit in the face a few times though and Helms is back with a running clothesline. That just earns him a trip into the corner so it’s off to Jeff for a hiptoss. The Whisper in the Wind misses though and Helms gets him into the corner to set up the triple teaming. MVP’s big boot gets a Masahiro Chono reference from JBL (in case you thought it came from Cole) and it’s back to Helms to hammer away on the ropes.

Chavo’s basement dropkick gets two and we hit the front facelock. A dropkick gets two on Jeff and it’s a Demolition Decapitator of all things for two more. MVP’s kick to the back sets up a suplex for two but he makes the mistake of going after Benoit. The distraction lets Jeff get over for the hot tag to Benoit as everything breaks down. The Twist of Fate into the Swanton into the Swan Dive crushes Helms and a weird looking Sharpshooter is enough for the tap.

Rating: C+. I can always go for a good six man tag, if nothing else just for the sake of keeping things a little more fresh. Helms has fallen a few miles over the last few months and taking a fall here doesn’t change anything for him. It’s a perfectly good match and a fine way to use some TV time.

Maryse welcomes us back to the show.

Tag Team Titles: Brian Kendrick/Paul London vs. Deuce N Domino

Deuce N Domino are challenging (again) and have Cherry with them. Kendrick and Deuce start things off with Kendrick running the ropes for a forearm to the face. London comes in to work on the arm with Kendrick coming back in with the elbow to the shoulder. A top rope stomp to the arm sets up another kick to said arm but Cherry offers a distraction. Domino is knocked outside and London loads up a moonsault…which only hits mat. The referee goes to check on London and the double teaming is on back inside.

Cue the trainers to check on London and he is taken to the back, leaving Kendrick to get double pummeled. The chinlock goes on and Domino hits a clothesline for two. Deuce grabs the front facelock before choking with a knee in the corner. It’s back to Domino for another two off another clothesline but Kendrick fights out of the corner. The attempt at a tag lets Kendrick know there is no London available and Crack Em In Da Mouth FINALLY gives Deuce N Domino the titles.

Rating: C. This was all about the last three seconds as London and Kendrick finally, and I do mean finally, lost the titles. It probably should have come a few weeks earlier as this is probably the fifth match between these teams. The fact that it was a handicap match for a good chunk of time at least made it a little different, though the ending was a little flat after Kendrick had been beaten up for awhile.

Raw Rebound.

Backlash rundown.

Mark Henry is still coming back.

Kane vs. William Regal/Dave Taylor

Regal starts for the knee and fires off the knees. That earns him a big toss into the corner as the fans are a bit silent here. Cole gets to list off various shows that don’t have as many episodes as Smackdown as Kane works on Regal’s arm. A shot to the face allows Regal to bring Taylor in, where Kane elbows him in the face. We get what sounds like an EDDIE chant as Regal sends Kane into the steps to take over.

Back in and the slow beating begins, including a variety of forearms from Regal. That earns him a heck of a right hand to knock Regal across the ring so it’s back to Taylor for a cravate. Regal comes back in and gets backdropped to give Kane a breather. Taylor grabs a crossface chickenwing (with Taylor insisting that HE’S GOT KANE NOW) and a jumping ax handle to the back gets two.

A double suplex gives Regal two more and the frustration begins to sit in. Taylor hits a dropkick into a chinlock, setting up Regal’s knee drop. A running knee to the face knocks Kane out of a fireman’s carry for two more but Kane is back with the double clothesline. Taylor is sent outside, leaving Regal to get side slammed. There’s the top rope clothesline to send Regal outside and the villains walk for the countout.

Rating: C. Everyone was working and the heels know how to do this style to perfection, but it isn’t the most interesting stuff to watch in a longer form. It also doesn’t help that they did all this stuff and then it went to a countout. These guys have been feuding for a few weeks now and it still hasn’t gotten beyond just kind of there.

The Condemned is getting media AND it has STUNTS!

William Regal and Dave Taylor complain to Teddy Long about Kane. That’s fine with Long, who puts them in a tag match (Regal: “I just told you we wanted to get AWAY from him!”) against Kane and the Boogeyman. The two of them leave so here is Kristal, who just finished a shopping spree. Various things were purchased on Teddy’s dime but he thinks she’s worth it. Kissing ensues.

We look at Mr. Kennedy and Finlay taking out Batista earlier.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Undertaker

Non-title. Before the match, Kennedy talks about how he has been called a lot of things over the years, but now he is being called Mr. Money in the Bank. Kennedy ducks a right hand in the corner to start and gets punched in the face for his efforts. More quick shots from Kennedy don’t do him much good as Undertaker knocks him down again.

A big boot gets two but Kennedy slugs his way out of Old School. The superplex brings Undertaker back down for two and Kennedy unloads as well as he can in the corner. That’s broken up with a clothesline and now Old School can connect for two. We take a break and come back with Undertaker sending Kennedy’s arm into the buckle and slapping on a Kimura. The running big boot in the corner misses though and Kennedy gets to stomp away for a change.

The kicks to the ribs and knee keep Undertaker in trouble and a running boot to the face makes it worse. We hit the chinlock as we get the second Chono reference of the night. Undertaker manages to dump him outside and the bad leg connects for the apron legdrop. They slug it out, allowing Cole to get in the best pure striker line. Snake Eyes and the big boot set up the chokeslam but Finlay runs in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. The ending was lacking a bit but at least they had a hard hitting fight on the way there. Kennedy is still good in the ring but he has yet to have that big match which takes him to the next level. This was better than some of the matches he has had before, which probably had something to do with being in there with Undertaker.

Post match the beatdown, including the briefcase to the head, puts Undertaker down and there’s the Celtic Cross to make it worse. The fans want Batista but the villains just leave, because Kennedy doesn’t seem to get how the Money in the Bank briefcase works.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a rather sandwiched edition of the show as you had the main event angle to open and close things, but not much in the middle. The Tag Team Title change meant a little something, but is anyone really going to be interested in those changing hands? It’s a fairly good show with nothing bad, though it was another show that was just a bridge to the pay per view next weekend.

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