IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: May 19, 2006
Location: Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Attendance: 5,757
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for Judgment Day and my goodness it’s a pretty sad world around here. World Champion Rey Mysterio is on a losing streak to various monsters and tonight he gets to face a mystery monster. Given that it’s MAY 19 and we’ve spent months on Kane talking about MAY 19 and his new movie comes out on MAY 19, I’m thinking the Great and Powerful Oz. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at JBL tormenting Mysterio and making it work, because Rey being World Champion is a pesky annoyance.

Opening sequence.

Here’s JBL in his limo to open things up. After declaring himself an American hero, he wants to acknowledge the heart of Rey Mysterio. See, Rey’s people have that machismo, which is Spanish for having more guts than brains. That’s what JBL had when he defeated Eddie Guerrero. Latinos have passion but passion doesn’t pay the bills. The fans chant for Rey, which JBL says they should do now because JBL is taking the title on Sunday. JUST LIKE HE DID FROM EDDIE GUERRERO! I’ve seen herds of cows that weren’t milked as much as Eddie.

MNM/Melina vs. Jillian Hall/Paul London/Brian Kendrick

The Fink is on commentary here and describes MNM/Melina as “the threesome that contains the WWE Tag Team Champions, MNM!” The brawl is on before the bell and we’re joined in progress after a break with Kendrick headlocking Nitro. A headlock takeover out of the corner puts Nitro down and it’s off to London to work on the arm. Mercury comes in to send London into the buckle so Kendrick comes back in to clean house.

Everything breaks down and Kendrick gets chop blocked to put him in trouble. Nitro comes in to tie up the leg and it’s back to Mercury to cannonball down on the leg. The leg twisting continues and it’s Mercury (who is incredibly sweaty) dropping an elbow on the leg to keep him in down. The breakdancing legdrop gives Nitro two (and allows Melina to scream), followed by a headscissors from Melina on the apron.

Kendrick kicks Mercury into the corner for the break though and the hot tag brings in Nitro to pick up the pace. Melina tags herself in for the catfight (and a BIG pop) until Mercury makes a save. Jillian comes in with a high crossbody (which the camera mostly misses, possibly intentionally) for the pin.

Rating: C-. I can always go for the idea of putting two feuds into a big tag match so this worked fine. They almost have to change the titles on Sunday after all of these losses, but I’ve also liked Melina vs. Jillian. No it isn’t setting the world on fire, but they’re both being intense and it comes off like they really don’t like each other. I’ll give points for trying and they’re giving it what they can so well done.

Clip of the Judgment Day press conference. The pay per view’s theme song is This Fire Burns so I keep expecting a CM Punk cameo.

Cole: “Who will be Rey Mysterio’s mystery opponent tonight?” This is followed by a See No Evil package. They never have been good with subtlety.

Video on Mark Henry injuring Kurt Angle.

Angle talks about meeting Mark Henry at the 1996 Olympics. That’s when Angle won the gold medal but Henry won…nothing. Henry has been angry ever since and tried to hurt Angle, but Kurt isn’t Batista and he’s still standing. On Sunday, Henry is learning that Angle is the best wrestler in the world.

Bobby Lashley vs. Jared Steel

Lashley knocks him into the ropes to start and hits a belly to belly suplex as the beating is on in a hurry. Some shoulders set up the gorilla press and there’s the delayed vertical suplex. The spear is good for the pin in a hurry.

Post match Lashley goes to sit on the King of the Ring throne but here are Booker T./Sharmell to interrupt. They walk by Lashley to go to the ring, which means Lashley can’t sit down for some reason.

Raw Rebound.

Gunner Scott/Chris Benoit vs. Booker T./Finlay

During the entrances, Finlay vs. Benoit is announced for Sunday. Scott and Booker lock up against the ropes to start with Booker not being thrilled at being driven into the corner. Some chops and a back elbow give Scott two but Booker thumbs him in the eye. Finlay comes in and Gunner manages to wrap his leg around the rope for a kick to said rope. You don’t do that to Finlay, who knocks him down and grabs a quickly broken chinlock.

It’s back to Booker, who hits his own chops in the corner. Scott gets two off a suplex but Booker kicks him back down for the same. The chinlock goes on and Scott seems to be bleeding from the nose or mouth. Scott manages to fight up and gets over for the hot tag to Benoit so house can be cleaned. Booker breaks up the Sharpshooter attempt so Benoit chops him as well and gets two off the German suplex. Everything breaks down and Scott gets knocked from the top to the floor in a big crash as we take a break.

Back with Scott still in trouble as Booker unloads on him against the ropes. A Russian legsweep gives Scott a breather though and the hot tag brings in Benoit to clean house. Finlay pulls Benoit to the floor for a ram into the steps though and it’s a Shillelagh shot to the ribs to make it worse.

Booker is smart enough to grab an abdominal stretch but Benoit is out in a hurry for the German suplex. It’s back to Scott for a middle rope dropkick with Finlay having to make a save. Everything breaks down again with Benoit and Finlay falling to the floor but here’s Lashley to sit on the throne. That’s enough of a distraction for Scott to grab a crucifix for the surprise pin.

Rating: B-. This was an intense match with everyone working hard. It might not have happened yet, but it’s nice to see them trying something with Scott. You can always go with trying someone new in a spot and maybe it will work out for him. The match was good too, with some back and forth action and Benoit and Finlay beating the heck out of each other. Having them do it again on their own on Sunday should be just fine.

Tatanka is now part of the Lakota Tribe and will debut next week. I can’t wait either.

Here’s Daivari to explain why Undertaker is scared of Great Khali. We see a video of Undertaker’s dominance over the years, only to have Khali destroy him with such ease. Back in the arena, Khali comes out to say “rest in peace.” At least that’s what commentary claims he said.

Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy

This show loves its monsters. Hardy knocks him to the floor and drops an ax handle from the apron. A posting lets Hardy hit the middle rope legdrop for one, meaning it’s time for the destruction to begin. Henry forearms him in the back and grabs the bearhug but Hardy is out in a hurry. The Twist of Fate attempt is countered into a World’s Strongest Slam for the pin.

Post match Henry tells Angle to watch this and hits some splashes.

Another See No Evil video.

Vito and Guido are ready to go out again but here is Paul Burchill to say he saw Vito in a dress too. Guido doesn’t believe it.

Judgment Day rundown.

Rey Mysterio vs. ???

Non-title but before we find out who the opponent is, here’s JBL for commentary and a pre-match chat. After saying we’re in Albuquerque, North Mexico, JBL asks Rey if he knows what the date is. Rey: “May 19.” JBL:” YOU SAID IT NOT ME!” Cue Kane and we’re ready to go. Kane punches him down to start and the beating is on as Cole is losing his mind on commentary. Rey kicks at the legs but gets knocked out of the air as Cole goes on about JBL being sick.

A two arm chokeslam drops Rey again and Kane drops him face first onto the steps. JBL again talks about how the fans are chanting for Eddie instead of Rey, which really doesn’t do much good for Rey but that might be the least of his problems. Rey gets knocked down again but the lights go red.

Kane’s voice comes onto the loudspeaker to talk about how it’s May 19^th and it’s happening again. A 619 hits Kane but he’s right back with a chokeslam as the lights come back on. Kane goes to leave but JBL says Rey is the one who said May 19, earning himself a chokeslam to end the show. No finish to the match so things are looking up for Mysterio.

Rating: D. This was barely a match and wasn’t quite a shocking surprise. I’m sure it’s supposed to be all better when Rey retains over JBL, but JBL has been right on almost every point so far. The racist stuff is the only heel part about him (granted that’s a big part) though and otherwise, it’s really hard to cheer for Rey at this point, when he’s being presented as a face version of the heel who loses all the time but keeps pointing to the title like it makes everything ok.

Overall Rating: C-. That tag match in the middle helped but man alive that main event stuff is killing everything else on the show. The worst part is we’re probably going to see even more of it after Sunday as Rey beating JBL is the kind of thing that would make WWE think everything is equal. Not their worst show, but one match is all that’s keeping it afloat this week.

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: October 16, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the season premiere and that means….well I’m not sure actually as there isn’t really a season finale so this could be a little bit of everything. The two big matches are Roman Reigns defending the Universal Title against Braun Strowman and the New Day’s farewell six man tag. Let’s get to it.

The opening sequence has been updated to include the new roster.

The roster, including Daniel Bryan, is on the stage so HHH and Stephanie McMahon can welcome us to the show. They run down the card (and make a Rick James reference) and introduce some of the new/old names on the roster. That includes the Street Profits but Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode jump the champs from behind and it’s a big brawl to start. Cue Lars Sullivan to clear the ring, leaving Apollo Crews and Chad Gable (Cole called him Gable to give me a glimmer of hope) to be decimated. Jeff Hardy manages to knock Sullivan tot he floor and we take a break.

Lars Sullivan vs. Jeff Hardy

Sullivan runs Hardy over to start and tosses him down with ease. The top rope headbutt misses and Hardy slugs away to limited avail. The Whisper in the Wind gets two and Sullivan sends him outside again. A drop onto the apron gives Sullivan two but Hardy is right back with the Twist of Fate. Sullivan is up before Jeff can get to the top and he pulls Hardy down for the Freak Accident and the pin at 4:18.

Rating: C-. This was all about Sullivan and it worked out fine. Sullivan shrugged off Hardy’s big move which has helped him get to more than one World Title. That makes Sullivan look like a heck of a monster and that’s all it needed to do. Hardy isn’t going to be hurt by a loss and that’s totally fine. Not a great match, but good storytelling.

Bianca Belair vignette.

Here’s New day for their farewell match. Big E. talks about how they have finally found the one thing stronger than the power of positivity: the WWE Draft. Kofi gets a little emotional when talking about all of their moments together. We hear about becoming the longest reigning Tag Team Champions, their wars with the Usos and all of the tears when Kofi won the WWE Championship. Woods tears up a bit when talking about being given a chance by two people he didn’t deserve. Big E. talks about having breakfasts in Waffle House and talking about their families and his….TV or something.

Kofi talks about being unsure about being unsure if he wanted to keep wrestling in 2012 when the two of them came up to him and told him about an idea. Yeah they had some special moments but Kofi thinks of them as brothers and starts crying again. Now they’re going to do this one more time because NEW DAY ROCKS. This was almost hard to watch as these guys are a legitimate special team. You could feel the emotion between them and that’s something you can’t fake.

Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura/Sheamus are ready to end these pancake eating Muppets.

New Day vs. Sheamus/Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

This is New Day’s farewell and their first six man tag in over a year. Nakamura takes Woods down to start before it’s off to Kingston, who gets kicked in the face. A dropkick gets Kingston out of trouble and it’s off to Big E., who is put on Woods’ shoulders for a splash on Cesaro. Sheamus and Cesaro shoulder Woods down to take over again though and Sheamus drops a knee.

Woods is quickly over for the tag though and Kingston comes in with a top rope splash. The villains take him to the floor for the triple ram into the post and it’s Kingston in trouble for a change. Nakamura chokes in the corner and Cesaro powers Kofi down with ease. Kingston gets knocked over the top and into the corner as we take another break. Back with Kofi hitting Trouble in Paradise on Cesaro and handing it back to Big E. to clean house.

The Rock Bottom out of the corner onto Woods’ knees gets two but the springboard tornado is broken up. Nakamura’s sliding German suplex gets two but Woods sends him to the floor. Kofi hits the big no hands dive and then kicks Sheamus in the head. Back in and Kofi dives into a kick from Nakamura, setting off the parade of strikes. Sheamus shouts that New Day is nothing without he and Cesaro before missing a charge into the post. That’s enough to set the Midnight Hour for the pin on Sheamus at 14:55.

Rating: B-. For as special as New Day has been and with all of their wacky shenanigans, they can also wrestle a very good trios match. That’s what they had here, and it’s especially fitting that the Bar, who are probably their greatest rivals not named the Usos, were included. New Day really was a big deal and if the World Title wasn’t on the line here, this should have main evented the show. I’m going to miss them, even if it’s all but a guarantee that they’ll have a reunion one day.

Post match New Day huddles and Big E. talks about what their time together means to him. That’s a special moment.

Otis is asked about everything that has gone wrong for him as of late and here’s Sami Zayn to mention all of the bad stuff. Otis shoves him down and Sami is stunned.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to talk about how cool it is to be in the Thunder Dome for the first time. We see Brie Bella and Bryan’s daughter Birdie in the virtual audience for a nice moment. Bryan talks about what we have going on tonight and we hear about all of the new names coming to the show for the next year. Bryan is looking forward to facing a lot of these people in the ring but here’s Seth Rollins to interrupt. Cole: “Some will say one of the most important Draft picks in the history of Friday Night Smackdown.” No Cole, no one is really saying that. Stop lying to us.

Anyway, Rollins says he is here to lead Smackdown and he wants to know which side Bryan is on. Bryan talks about wanting to save the planet but Rollins’ vision sounds self centered and a little dumb. Rollins: “You don’t mean that Bryan.” The fight is on and Rollins stomps away but Bryan hits a running clothesline.

The jacket comes off and the threat of a YES Kick sends Rollins bailing. Cue Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio to chase Rollins back to the ring and Bryan walks away, leaving Rollins all alone. Now it’s Murphy running in and Rollins is knocked to the floor in a hurry. With Rollins gone, Murphy sticks out his hand but Rey and Dominik leave.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Ziggler and Roode are challenging. Dawkins dropkicks Ziggler down to start but misses the spinning splash in the corner. Roode comes in and stomps Dawkins down in the corner, followed by a toss into the Fameasser for two. Everything breaks down and it’s a double DQ at 1:32. Well ok then. Probably pay per view rematch time.

Post match Roode and Ziggler hit a spinebuster/Zig Zag combination on Dawkins but Ford hits a high crossbody onto both of them.

We look back at Bayley vs. Sasha Banks from last week, which set up their match in the Cell.

Here are Bayley and Banks for the contract signing, with Adam Pearce overseeing things. Banks signs in a hurry but Bayley says she is wanting to get this out of the way so she can continue her record setting reign. Bayley says Banks has been waiting to turn on her but Banks says if she could have she would have. Banks promises to take the title so Bayley grabs the chair, which Banks grabs as well. Bayley bails without signing, so Banks promises to make her sign no matter what.

Smackdown World Title: Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns, with Paul Heyman, is defending and Strowman is in street clothes. A Superman Punch puts Strowman on the floor to start and Reigns adds the apron dropkick. Reigns knocks him around again, including sending Strowman face first into the announcers’ table. Strowman gets in a shot of his own and sends him over the announcers’ table, followed by the running shoulder over the barricade.

Back from a break with Strowman hitting…something in the corner as the camera stays on Goldberg in the crowd. Reigns tries the Superman Punch but gets caught in a choke. That’s switched into a powerbomb, followed by the chokeslam for two on Reigns. The kickout includes a low blow (that’s a brilliant spot) and the spear gets two. Another spear is countered into a powerslam attempt but Reigns slips out. Strowman tries a pop up powerbomb but Reigns counters into a guillotine choke of all things and Strowman taps at 10:40.

Rating: C. The match was more about checking a box on Reigns’ run with the title as he has now slayed a monster. Strowman had as much of a chance of winning here as I do of being Miss Nevada 1979 and that’s fine for this kind of a spot. If nothing else, they established that Reigns has a submission now and Jey Uso is in danger at the pay per view. Oh and please no Goldberg. I mean….please just don’t. No one wants to go there.

Post match here’s Jey Uso to stare Reigns down as Reigns hits a spear on Strowman. Reigns grabs a chair and says if he can do this to Strowman, what could he do to Jey? Reigns unloads on Strowman with chair shots, so here are the referees and agents to….not quite break it up. More chair shots keeps Strowman down so Uso gets in, with Reigns dropping the chair. Reigns says this makes no sense and tells Uso to beat on Strowman instead.

Uso grabs the chair and Reigns turns his back so Uso can hit him. Jimmy doesn’t do it, instead punching Reigns in the face and superkicking him down. Jey shouts that he loves Reigns too and chairs him down, drawing the referees back in. With Uso being held back, Reigns hits the Superman Punch and says it took him turning his back for Jey to have his best shot. Reigns leaves as Jey is down to end the show. Again, this is the best story going today and this worked very well again.

Overall Rating: C+. This show felt more like a getting to know you edition and that’s what it should have been. With the big FOX presentation and the Season Premiere deal, it makes sense to go in that direction and it worked out well enough. Outside of the six man, the wrestling wasn’t much to see but what we got was fine. It’s nothing great, but as the first step into a much longer world, it was a nice effort.

Results

Lars Sullivan b. Jeff Hardy – Freak Accident

New Day b. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura/Sheamus – Midnight Hour to Sheamus

Street Profits vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode went to a double DQ when all four brawled

Roman Reigns b. Braun Strowman – Guillotine choke

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: May 12, 2006
Location: ipayoneCenter, San Diego, California
Attendance: 11,700
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re on the way to Judgment Day and that means it’s going to be a bad night for Rey Mysterio. Last week he got destroyed by Mark Henry and tonight it’s probably going to be the Great Khali. But hey, at least he can beat JBL at the pay per view and that makes up for everything, right? Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at Rey Mysterio becoming the underdog World Champion and getting destroyed by Mark Henry last week. Tonight it gets even worse with Great Khali.

Here’s John Bradshaw Layfield, who set up Mysterio’s battles with the giants, to get things going. He talks about how Rey is “a tough little Mexican fighter” and worries that Rey is going to take his innertube back to Mexico. The fans stop to chant for Eddie, who JBL agrees was great, but JBL was greater. Then he took the US Title from Chris Benoit and at Judgment Day he’s going to be the first ever double champion.

After that, he’ll offer Rey’s family a job. Dominik can shine his boots, Rey’s wife can do his dishes in a short little Latino dress, but Rey can sell drugs, get into prostitution or work a donkey show in Tijuana. Rey finally comes out to clear the ring in a hurry. JBL can say these things with some conviction, but dang the times have changed.

Super Crazy vs. Nunzio vs. Kid Kash

The winner gets Gregory Helms, on commentary, for the Cruiserweight Title at the pay per view. It’s a brawl to start with Crazy being sent outside and Nunzio being backdropped out after him. Everyone gets back in for an exchange of rollups for two each until Kash’s clothesline gets two on Nunzio. Kash kicks Nunzio off the top and hits his moonsault for two more with Crazy making the save. Crazy covers both of them for a near fall each and Nunzio makes his own save. Nunzio loads Crazy up in a Doomsday Device but Crazy victory rolls him for the pin as Kash misses the high crossbody.

Rating: C. It was fine enough action but there was no hiding how unimportant everything they were doing was here. The Cruiserweight Title hasn’t meant anything in years and you can see how far it is falling almost every week. Points for trying to do something and having an action packed match, but this was the popcorn/nacho portion of the show.

The returning Kurt Angle storms into Teddy Long’s office to demand a match with Mark Henry. Long says no because Angle isn’t cleared so Angle grabs him by the jacket. The match is on for the pay per view.

Gymini vs. Mike Wellington/Joey Ryan

The Gymini are Jesse and Jake, while Ryan (yes that Ryan) has belt loops on his trunks. Jake powers Wellington to the apron to start and hits a clothesline back inside. Ryan comes in and gets kicked in the head, followed by a double shoulder for a bonus. Some elbows to the back of the head set up a chinlock, with Jesse pulling the hair. Wellington gets slammed onto Ryan and a double toss into the air for a big crash finishes Ryan without much effort.

Rating: D+. There is something rather cathartic about seeing Joey Ryan getting beaten up. Total destruction here of course as WWE has almost always known how to push two big monsters like this. I’m not sure how far they can go from here, but they can do this match well enough, especially given how short it was.

Various wrestlers like the See No Evil premiere, with Kurt Angle having to hide behind Viscera.

We look at Finlay beating Chris Benoit to make the semifinals of the King of the Ring.

Here are Booker T. and Sharmell for a chat. Booker is upset that Kurt Angle was thrown out of the tournament because he was looking forward to the match. He doesn’t want a forfeit so Angle can come out and face him right now (Angle was escorted from the building after talking to Long). Booker even gives him a ten count, with a pause for one last beg at nine, before declaring himself the winner. The celebration is on, complete with spinning Sharmell around and a Spinarooni.

King of the Ring Semifinals: Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

They fight over a lockup to start with Lashley eventually powering him into the corner. Lashley takes him down with an explosive single leg but Finlay is back up with a clothesline. The chinlock goes on for a good while before Lashley is back up with a big boot. A gorilla press gutbuster has Finlay in trouble and a running clothesline in the corner rocks him again.

Some forearms gets Finlay out of trouble though and he chokes with the ring skirt. The chinlock goes on again and a pull of the trunks takes Lashley down again. Cue Booker and Sharmell, with the former sitting on the throne to see Lashley get his knees up to stop a splash. Lashley gets caught in the ring skirt for another beating though and we take a break.

Back with Finlay working on an arm, with an elbow into the shoulder for a bonus. A running shoulder gives Finlay two but Lashley gets fired up and snap off the overhead belly to belly. The running powerslam connects but Finlay blocks the spear with a boot. Finlay throws in the chair and grabs the Shillelagh, the latter of which is taken away. The referee is dumb enough to get rid of it, allowing Finlay to get in a chair shot. Lashley shrugs it off and hits the spear for the pin.

Rating: C+. The chinlocks took something out of this but they made Lashley look like a monster and that’s the important part. Lashley is showing some different offense out there most weeks and that’s an encouraging sign for someone who could do three moves and get by on his look alone. Finlay continues to be a nice gem and they worked well together.

Post match Lashley tells Booker to get out of his chair before he gets thrown out.

Here are MNM for a chat. Johnny Nitro says they’re the hot team and the sexiest champions of the century. They don’t like Paul London and Brian Kendrick getting in their way, which is why they got three straight Snapshots last week. After we see a clip from last week, Melina talks about how those punks are just trying to get a rub from the champs. Cue Jillian Hall, who talks about beating up Melina at the makeup table. Melina says Jillian looked better with the growth on her face. The fight is almost on but here are London and Kendrick to pants the champs. Hall rips off Melina’s skirt too and the good guys run.

Mark Henry vs. Paul Burchill

We get the debut of Henry’s signature song. Henry clotheslines him down and hits a kick in the ribs as this is feeling squashish. Burchill is tossed outside in a heap (with one hand) and Henry throws him back inside for a bonus. There’s the running splash in the corner and a second one against the post has Burchill pretty much done. Back in and Henry hits two more splashes, grabs the mic to say Kurt Angle is getting the same thing. The World’s Strongest Slam is good for the pin.

Rating: D. This was little more than a way to keep Henry warm before his match with Angle. It was nothing we hadn’t seen before but there was only so much you can get out of this version of Henry. Also, so much for Burchill, but how long was a Pirates of the Caribbean tribute character going to last?

Tatanka is still becoming a Lakota warrior.

Big Vito says he and Nunzio are going out tonight. Nunzio needs to go get a shower but Orlando Jordan cuts him off, saying that he saw someone who looked a lot like Vito in drag in a club in London. Nunzio doesn’t buy it.

Judgment Day rundown.

Rey Mysterio vs. Great Khali

Rating: F. What do you even say here? This came off as more of Vince and WWE being annoyed at the fans for wanting something and punishing them for it after giving them what they asked for. They do this with so many of their titles and then wonder why it isn’t as important or why the fans are walking away. It made Mysterio, who could potentially draw some money, look like nothing and Khali isn’t likely to get a title shot anytime soon, but at least they advanced Mysterio vs. JBL, which I’m sure people will be flocking to pay for. I remember thinking this was stupid in 2006 and it is even worse now, which doesn’t surprise me.

Post match JBL gets in Rey’s face to talk about how he let everyone down. JBL has another opponent for next week. Tick tock. JBL shoves him to the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Well that happened. This was not WWE’s finest hour as they don’t seem to have a clue about what they want to do here so the solution is to squash the World Champion on back to back weeks. It was a rough sit as this show doesn’t exactly have star power and they are going out of their way to damage the star power that they do have. Bad show here, and WWE isn’t helping itself.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: October 9, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s a special night as we kick off the 2020 Draft. The roster is broken up into two pools so if you don’t see a big name mentioned tonight, odds are they’re only going to be available on Monday. This is always worth a look and we have Sasha Banks vs. Bayley for the Women’s Title as a main event. Let’s get to it.

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

Stephanie McMahon is here to announce the picks.

To Raw: Drew McIntyre

To Smackdown: Roman Reigns

Raw: Asuka

Smackdown: Seth Rollins

Raw: The Hurt Business

Seth Rollins is a little heartbroken because he will miss Raw but now he never has to look at the Mysterio Family again. So we’ve seen our first miracle.

Big E. vs. Sheamus

Falls Count Anywhere. Sheamus starts fast with a Regal Roll for two but Big E. is right back with the spear through the ropes for two on the floor. It’s time for some weapons with Big E. pulling out a kendo stick, only to walk into a jumping knee. Sheamus ties him into the ropes and unloads with the stick before going underneath the ring for some more toys. The delay lets Big E. grab some duct tape and tie his feet together, meaning it’s Sheamus getting hit with the stick as we take a break.

Back with Sheamus’ feet untied and the brawl having moved backstage. It’s time to go over to catering, with Big E. getting covered in flour and eggs. With Sheamus’ back covered in welts from the sticks, they fight into the office area, where Big E. gets in some shots with a broom. A few trashcan shots keep Sheamus down and they go out into the parking garage. Big E. stops for some hand sanitizer but Sheamus gets in a tire iron shot.

White Noise through a windshield has Big E. in even more trouble and Sheamus throws him into the trunk. Sheamus tries to slam the trunk on Big E.’s arm but Big E. kicks his way to freedom. The Brogue Kick hits the trunk, which goes flying off the car. Now it’s Sheamus getting sent through a windshield, setting up a Big Ending from the hood of a car through a table for the pin at 14:44.

Rating: B-. They were going for the brutality here, but that only works so well when you have the eggs and flour in the middle. It got a lot more violent when things moved over to the parking garage though and Big E. felt like he got an important win. This could have been better though and it felt like they were trying to put in too much lighthearted material.

Post break, Big E. is interviewed about his match but here are Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods for the big return. Woods talks about how they need their Tag Team Team Titles back, though Big E. isn’t as into it (which may be due to the whole violent match he just finished thing).

Here’s Jey Uso for a chat. He wants to know what the stipulation is going to be for his match with Roman Reigns but there is no Reigns to speak of. Paul Heyman pops up on screen to say Jey can’t pick the time when Reigns appears, but Reigns (not here) applauds his ambition. Those who become too ambitious and want to come up against the champ will receive this, which sends us into a package on the Clash Of Champions match.

We pan over to Reigns sitting next to Heyman, who says his father taught him to only believe half of what you see in wrestling. As for what Jey just saw though, you can believe that. Reigns tried to help Jey and all he had to do was say the words. Jey had to acknowledge him as the Tribal Chief, so now we are going to have an I Quit match inside the Cell. Reigns just wanted to help Jey because he loves him, but after Jey quits, there will be consequences.

Commentary congratulates Stephanie for topping Forbes’ list of Chief Marketing Officers. Topping, coming in second place, apparently the same thing in WWE these days.

Time for more picks.

Raw – AJ Styles

Smackdown – Sasha Banks

Raw – Naomi

Smackdown – Bianca Belair

Raw – Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler (allowed to wrestle on all shows as Women’s Tag Team Champions)

I like that Naomi/Belair swap as Naomi needs a fresh start and Belair needs a start in the first place.

AJ Styles says he should have been the first pick for Smackdown but he wants to get away from that cheater Jeff Hardy and the neckbeard Sami Zayn.

Miz/John Morrison vs. Matt Riddle/Jeff Hardy

This was made on social media as Riddle said he wanted to team with Hardy just in case they switched placed. Riddle starts fast and knocks Miz and Morrison outside as we take an early break. Back with Morrison cranking on Hardy’s neck but Hardy gets over for the tag to Riddle. That means a quick Broton and, after knocking Morrison to the floor, the Bro Derek finishes Miz at 5:31. Nowhere near enough shown to rate and it didn’t do much in the time it had.

Post match LARS SULLIVAN returns and wrecks Hardy and Riddle. The destruction doesn’t take long and Miz gets beaten up as well.

More picks, with Lars Sullivan being added to Monday’s Draft pool.

Raw – Ricochet

Smackdown – Jey Uso

Raw – Mandy Rose

Smackdown – Dominik/Rey Mysterio

Raw – The Miz/John Morrison

Wait…..the ROLLINS FEUD COULD CONTINUE???? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME???? And Miz moves again! THE TRADITION CONTINUES!!!

The Mysterios are happy to be staying together and promise that it’s not over with Rollins. That’s not fair.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

Bayley is defending and brings the chair with her. Banks goes after her before the bell and strikes away early, including a stomping in the corner. Bayley tries to leave but Banks grabs her by the hair and takes things back inside. The Bank Statement goes on but Bayley reverses into a rollup for two. Banks gets her own two off a rollup and it’s another Bank Statement, sending Bayley into the ropes again. That’s enough for Bayley, who grabs the chair and hits Banks in the ribs for the DQ at 2:28. That’s exactly what they should have done in this situation.

Post match Bayley misses a chair shot and gets sent face first into the chair. Bayley bails from the threat of more violence.

We look at Kevin Owens asking Alexa Bliss about the Fiend’s influence and getting Mandible Clawed for his efforts.

Alexa Bliss comes up to Kevin Owens and says let him in.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

New Day, meaning Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, are challenging here. Woods starts running around Cesaro to start and slides between his legs, setting up a forearm in the corner. The Day Break connects for an early two on Cesaro and we take an early break. Back with Woods fighting out of the corner and hitting the Honor Roll on Cesaro.

Woods hits a dropkick through the ropes to Cesaro and a springboard DDT plants Nakamura. Kofi hits a tornado DDT to the floor but dives into Cesaro’s uppercut. The Cesaro Swing into the Kinshasa is broken up by Woods and there’s Trouble in Paradise to Cesaro. Nakamura kicks Kingston down for two but Woods makes the save. After dropping Nakamura again, Woods hits the springboard elbow for the pin and the titles at 8:22.

Rating: C+. Well dang man. I was getting into Cesaro and Nakamura as champions and now they lose them this fast? I’m really not sure what the point is in having New Day win the titles again, but we are long past the point where the titles mean anything for New Day. I’m not sure what they can do, but New Day is always at least worth a look.

Time for the final round of picks.

Raw – Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods

Smackdown – Big E.

Raw – Dana Brooke

Smackdown – Otis

Raw – Angel Garza

You could feel the air going out of the building when the team was split up but….what else are they supposed to do together? If there has been a more successful trio in WWE history, they’re eluding me at the moment (they even beat Shield due to longevity and titles) but it’s not like they have anything left to do. It’s a risky move, but I can get the idea, especially if it means Big E.’s singles push is for real. That being said, Woods screaming “SAY E! SAY E!” after he and Kofi were moved to Raw was kind of heartbreaking.

Heavy Machinery is ready for Otis’ court case but Miz’s lawyer has filed a continuance so we’ll return to this later.

We look at the Women’s Title match from earlier.

Sasha Banks challenges Bayley to meet her in the Cell.

Next week on the Season Premiere: Roman Reigns defends against Braun Strowman and New Day’s final six man tag.

Kevin Owens vs. The Fiend

This is Fiend’s first ever match on television. Owens sends him straight into the corner to start and hits the Cannonball…but Fiend pops back up. The crossbody drops Owens to the floor and there’s a clothesline to turn him inside out. Back in and Fiend no sells another shot before knocking Owens outside again. Sister Abigail onto the announcers’ table has Owens down again and we take a break.

Back with Owens hitting three straight superkicks to knock Fiend down into the corner. Another Cannonball connects and Fiend stays down for a bit, setting up a third Cannonball. They head outside again with Owens hitting a DDT on the floor, followed by an apron splash. Owens hits the Pop Up Powerbomb through the announcers’ table but Fiend is right back up. The Mandible Claw goes on inside again so Owens hits a Stunner, which doesn’t break the hold. Owens is out at 9:59.

Rating: C+. This was much more an angle than a match as the idea was to reheat the Fiend. I’d call that a big success as Fiend looks unstoppable again (provided you don’t put him in there with someone who uses a spear). Owens has credibility and was easily dispatched, so what else can you ask for here? They did what they were trying to do and it worked out rather well.

Post match the lights go out and here’s Alexa Bliss to stare at the Fiend. They both look back at Owens and then stare at each other again to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. There are certain shows where your overall take is going to vary wildly and that is the case here. The wrestling was completely not the point on this show, as they were going for making a bunch of splashes. As a result, this came off more the post Wrestlemania show with returns, surprises and twists, all of which made the night fly by. I had a great time with this, if nothing else for the sake of it being so different. It may not have been a great wrestling show, but it was an entertaining night and that’s what you have to do sometimes. I can see people not liking it and I won’t argue that, but I had a good time.

Results

Big E. b. Sheamus – Big Ending through a table

Matt Riddle/Jeff Hardy b. Miz/John Morrison – Bro Derek to Miz

Sasha Banks b. Bayley via DQ when Bayley used a chair

New Day b. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura – Springboard elbow to Nakamura

The Fiend b. Kevin Owens – Mandible Claw

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: May 5, 2006
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s time to start building towards the next Smackdown pay pr view as Backlash has come and gone. Therefore, it’s time for Rey Mysterio to continue looking like the weakest World Champion in history, which kind of defeats the purpose of making him the World Champion in the first place. It’s rather sad to see but that’s what you get around here sometimes. 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 main event where Kurt Angle had Rey Mysterio in a lot of trouble until Mark Henry ran in for the DQ. Henry destroyed Angle after the match.

Opening sequence.

The fans chant for EDDIE, with JBL saying how it’s always either for EDDIE or JBL because no one cares about Rey. Anyway, there are always places for illegals to take out his garbage or clean his house. It’s the size of the fight in the dog. Rey asks if JBL is calling his people dogs. JBL: “You’re not a dog Rey. You’re a Mexican.” JBL goes on a rant about Rey living off of Eddie’s legacy so Rey says he’ll fight anyone, anytime. That works for JBL, so Rey can fight this man tonight. Cue Mark Henry, who just happened to be standing behind the curtain I guess. The staredown is on and I don’t see this going well. Again.

Booker T. vs. Gunner Scott

Rematch from three weeks ago where Scott scored a big upset. During the entrances, Cole announces that Booker is going to the King of the Ring finals because Kurt Angle has injured ribs and can’t compete. Booker runs him over to start and elbows his way out of a hammerlock attempt. Scott strikes his way out of the corner, only to get caught in a hot shot. We hit the chinlock but Scott fights up with more strikes. Some suplexes have Booker in trouble until he hits the hook kick to the face. A Sharmell distraction sets up the ax kick to give Booker the pin.

Rating: D+. This was a way to right the ship after Booker lost a few weeks back and doesn’t get the King of the Ring match. I’m not sure how much Booker needed the win, but at least he gets some momentum heading into a bigger match. Booker could make for a pretty good king, and the fact that he is talking about it more than anyone else would suggest he is a likely candidate.

Post match, Booker is proud of his win over Gunner somebody and promises to win the tournament. His subjects need to get used to bowing down.

Tag Team Titles: Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs. MNM

Video on Tatanka entering a Lakota sweat lodge to be purified so he can become a warrior.

Great Khali and Daivari come in to see Teddy Long, who has a contract signed by Undertaker for a match at Judgment Day. Khali growls a bit.

King of the Ring First Round: Finlay vs. Chris Benoit

The winner gets Lashley in the semifinals. Finlay drives him into the corner to start but doesn’t get very far. Benoit gets it to the mat for a headlock and then switches to an armbar to counter Finlay’s counter. Finlay winds up mounting Benoit, who punches his way from the mat to get out. Back up and they go nose to nose until Finlay starts slugging away to knock Benoit into the corner.

That earns him a leg takedown with Benoit cranking on the leg. The hold sends Finlay over to the ropes for the break as the chess game continues. Benoit gets sent shoulder first into the post and it’s time to work on an armbar. Some shoulders are driven into Benoit’s shoulder so he sweeps the leg for a failed Sharpshooter attempt. The top of Benoit’s head has been busted open (not that badly) and he can’t get the Crossface t make things even worse.

The release German suplex works though and Finlay comes up holding his shoulder. It’s so banged up that he rolls outside and throws in some chairs as we take a break. Back with Benoit getting two more off a snap suplex but getting sent chest first into the buckle. We hit the chinlock until Benoit jawbreaks his way to freedom, only to get pulled down into another facelock.

Finlay sends him into the corner but misses a charge into the post. The rolling German suplexes set up a missed Swan Dive but Benoit ducks a Shillelagh shot. With the referee getting rid of the club, Finlay gets in a chair shot, setting up the Celtic Cross for the pin to advance.

Rating: B. This was a good example of a match with two guys beating the heck out of each other for a long time and it was rather entertaining. They kept Benoit looking strong in defeat and Finlay gets one of the biggest wins of his WWE tenure. Sometimes you need two people beating the fire out of each other until one of them is done and that’s what you got.

Gymini vs. Scotty 2 Hotty/Funaki

Simon Dean fires the Gymini up before the bell. We’ll say Gymini #1 puts Funaki on the top rope to start and #2 pulls him down to the floor in a crash. Back in and #2 stomps in the corner and we hit the chinlock. There’s a butterfly suplex to drop Funaki again but this time he rolls over and brings in Scotty, who gets suplexed down in a hurry. The Crash Diet (kind of a double powerbomb) finishes Scotty in a hurry.

Rating: D+. Total squash here, but does beating up Scotty and Funaki really mean that much? You can only get so far off a match like this and it feels like the Gymini debuted months ago. It isn’t a hard gimmick to make work, but they’re managing to make two muscleheaded twins look like a big waste of time. That’s hard to do.

Video on See No Evil.

Bobby Lashley comes in to see Booker T., who is in a towel. They both promise violence.

Super Crazy vs. Kid Kash vs. Nunzio

The winner gets a title shot at the pay per view. They start with the rapid exchange of shots to the face until the Sicilian Slice gets two on Crazy. Kash and Nunzio are sent outside for the top rope Lionsault from Crazy….and here’s Great Khali to destroy them all for the no contest.

Khali destroys them all for a bonus feature.

Raw Rebound.

Judgment Day rundown, with Khali having accepted Undertaker’s challenge and Melina vs. Jillian Hall confirmed.

Rey Mysterio vs. Mark Henry

Non-title and JBL is on commentary. After the same video that opened the show, we’re ready to go. Rey starts dodging around to start but nearly gets caught after a chase around the ring. Back in and Henry slugs away, only to get knocked down in a hurry. JBL goes after Rey on the floor and gets sent over the announcers’ table.

Back in and Rey’s springboard is knocked out of the air, which JBL says is like Henry eating Rey like a $3.99 pizza buffet. Cole and JBL argue about whether underdogs or rich people built America as Henry runs Rey over. Some missed charges in the put Henry down and Rey reverses the World’s Strongest Slam. A dropkick to the back sets up the 619 but Henry pulls him out of the air for the World’s Strongest Slam and the pin.

Rating: D+. And so one of the lamest World Title reigns of all time gets to continue because WWE thinks this is what you’re supposed to do to make fans pay for a big show at the end of the month. If you don’t want Mysterio as the champion, just have him drop the title already, because this isn’t helping the title in the slightest. I guess Vince found it funny or something though and that’s all we’ve got.

Post match Henry drags him up to the stage and loads up a splash off the set but JBL runs up to say no. JBL promises him the first title shot when he beats Rey, because if Henry crushes him then there’s no title shot. With Rey still down, JBL makes Mysterio vs. Great Khali for next week in Rey’s hometown of San Diego.

Overall Rating: D. What a strange show. This was a bunch of pretty bad matches with one really good one stuck in the middle. That’s not enough to save the rest of it though and we get this kind of a show, which only left me wanting to get through the pay per view so we can move on to anything else.

So far JBL has humiliated Rey, pointed out that no one really likes him, or even chant for him for that matter. Then you have Rey ready to lose to Angle and then actually lose to Henry here. Imagine any other face World Champion ever being presented like that and see how fast you get a quick headache. Benoit vs. Finlay was good, but that was nowhere near enough to save us from the really bad main event angle.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: October 2, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We are past Clash Of Champions and the pretty amazing moment between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso in the main event. Reigns wants to be acknowledged as the Tribal Chief of the Anoa’i Family and beat his family to get what he wanted. Even Paul Heyman seems scared of what he has done and now we will get to see where things are going. Let’s get to it.

Here is Clash Of Champions if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Reigns destroying Jey until Jimmy Uso came down to throw in the towel.

Here are Heyman and Reigns for Reigns to be officially crowned Tribal Chief. Heyman, sounding shaken, says it’s time for the crowning, but Reigns says he wants to hear Jey Uso acknowledge him. Cue Jey to say he doesn’t know Reigns, who showed his true colors on Sunday. Jey did as well though, because Reigns beat him up. Reigns won’t break his spirit though, and if Jimmy didn’t throw in the towel, Jey would be champion.

Reigns says if Jey wasn’t proud of what he did, Clash was the worst night of his career, both professionally and personally. That’s not what he wanted to do going into that match because he was trying to help Jey. All he wanted to do was put his name in the main event for once. He loves Jey more than Jimmy does and all Jey had to do was acknowledge him as the Tribal Chief.

All he wanted was to represent the family to the fullest, but Jey disrespected him. Jey broke his heart and even now, Jey can’t look him in his eyes. If Jey wants another shot, sure he can have it. We’ll do it at Hell In A Cell, but it will have the highest stakes in WWE history. Reigns hugs him and whispers something in his ear that the microphone doesn’t entirely pick up and walks off with Heyman.

Jey cuts him off though and says whatever the stakes are, Reigns is on. Cole implies that the match is going to be inside the Cell but neither Jey nor Reigns said that. With Reigns and Heyman gone, here is AJ Styles to say it doesn’t matter who gets the most chicken bones at the end of the table. AJ says Jimmy is the better athlete anyway and Jey is just the runt. Jey knocks him outside and hits a dive off the announcers’ table.

Jey Uso vs. AJ Styles

AJ starts with the trash talk (in the loudly mic’d up ring) but gets kicked down. A headbutt to the chest connects but AJ avoids a charge in the corner. Some kicks to the back and chest set up the jumping knee to Uso for an early two. Uso gets catapulted throat first into the bottom rope but he’s fine enough to counter the Styles Clash. AJ gets sent outside again but he’s fine enough to cut off a dive with a kick to the head. There’s a suplex to put Jey onto the announcers’ table and we take a break.

Back with Jey fighting out of a chinlock and grabbing a neckbreaker for two. The superkick is cut off though and AJ grabs the fireman’s carry backbreaker for his own two. Uso kicks him to the floor and hits the big dive but the Superfly Splash hits knees. Jey breaks up the Phenomenal Forearm though and hits a low superkick to set up the Superfly Splash for the upset pin at 10:46.

Rating: B-. This is a heck of an upset win for Jey but it isn’t the biggest stretch in the world and that’s one of the better things about being such a successful tag wrestler. No Jey hasn’t done these things on his own, but he has had success elsewhere so this isn’t coming completely out of nowhere. Good match too, which shouldn’t be a surprise given who was in there.

Post match Jey looks serious and keeps saying “I’m gonna get him.”

We look at Sami Zayn winning the ladder match.

Sami as both Intercontinental Titles and says he knows people are expecting him to gloat. Tonight is a whirlwind of emotions though and at the top of that list is resentment and anger. Initially his anger was against the fans because no one said a word when he was stripped of the titles. When AJ won the fraudulent title the fans cheered and then they just accepted it when he lost it to Jeff Hardy. As the only one around here with any principles, Sami throws the new title in the trash.

We recap Miz and Morrison trying to get Otis to hand over the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Next week: Otis defends himself in court. Oh sweet goodness.

Otis vs. John Morrison

Otis slugs him down to start and runs him over with a clothesline for a bonus. A pop up faceplant drops Morrison again and Otis throws him down with a suplex. The Caterpillar into the Vader Bomb finishes Morrison at 1:39. Well that was efficient.

Big E. says that with the Draft looming, he wants to face Sheamus in a Falls Count Anywhere match next week.

Sheamus vs. Shorty G.

Shorty sends him into the post and gets two off a German suplex to start. The moonsault misses though and the Brogue Kick drops Shorty. Another finishes him at 53 seconds. Of all the people being treated as stupid jobbers, Gable very well might be the most frustrating one I’ve seen in years.

Here’s Raw’s Kevin Owens (in a Street Profits shirt) for the Kevin Owens Show. Since this might be his new home after the Draft, he thought he should get used to this place so he’s here to talk to Alexa Bliss. Owens talks about how he has seen this change in Bliss’ attitude and anger, which reminds him of what he sees in Aleister Black. Bliss doesn’t know what he means and asks about Owens changing as well.

Owens says this is about her changing and asks to understand about the darkness taking over her. In a rather out there voice, Bliss talks about being in his (the Fiend’s) presence and how you feel like you’re on pins and needles. When he looks at you, it’s like you can’t look away. Owens would not know what that is like though, as Owens says we’re not talking about Black anymore. He says it’s like Bliss is brainwashed, and she says that’s true.

All of the lies have been washed away and she has been cleansed by him. Owens: “He’s here isn’t he?” Bliss: “He’s everywhere. I can hear him now. Let him in.” The lights go out and here’s the Fiend for the Mandible Claw to Owens as Bliss looks on. Fiend reaches his hand out to Bliss, who slowly takes it in a pretty creepy moment.

King Corbin/Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Matt Riddle/Lucha House Party

Before the match, Riddle talks about how this might be his last chance to team with his Lucha Bros. Kalisto isn’t there, though the rest of the House Party doesn’t seem to mind. Nakamura strikes away at Dorado to start but gets caught with a dropkick. Cue Kalisto though and we take a break. Back with Metalik being stomped down in the corner and Cesaro coming in for the delayed suplex.

Nakamura grabs a front facelock but Metalik hits a tornado DDT, allowing the hot tag to Riddle to forearm away at Corbin. There’s a t-bone suplex to Corbin into the Broton. The running kick to the chest gets two with Nakamura making the save. The Golden Rewind hits Nakamura but Cesaro comes in to uppercut Riddle for two. Metalik nails the big running flip dive to Cesaro but Kalisto kicks Dorado in the head by mistake. Riddle is right back up with a Final Flash to Cesaro, setting up the Bro Derek for the pin at 6:43.

Rating: C. That was a bit of a weird ending as they did the Kalisto miscommunication and then Riddle just pinned Cesaro a few seconds later. I guess we need to save him pinning Corbin for the epic trilogy match, or maybe they want to just keep Corbin looking strong because….he’s Corbin I guess. At least Riddle got the pin though.

Long recap on the fallout from Bayley attacking Sasha Banks.

The mystery woman is Carmella, who says she danced around forever and it didn’t get her anywhere. Now she is the princess and untouchable, unless she doesn’t want to be.

Here’s Sasha Banks for a chat. Banks talks about how she thought Bayley would have grown a backbone over the years but that hasn’t happened. Next week, it’s Bayley vs. Banks for the Women’s Title and Bayley knows what happens when there is no one there to save her. The neck brace comes off and Banks says Bayley doesn’t stand a chance, b****. I’d like to think that’s going to be shenaniganzy.

Next week: the Draft, Bayley vs. Banks for the title, Sheamus vs. Big E. in a falls count anywhere match and Owens vs. Fiend.

Intercontinental Title: Sami Zayn vs. Jeff Hardy

Sami is defending and has taped up ribs. Jeff gets knocked into the corner to start and Sami stomps away, only to have Jeff get in a kick tot he ribs. The turnbuckle pad got ripped off somewhere in there but Jeff avoids being sent into the steel. There’s a backdrop to Sami to send him outside and a baseball slide sends him into the announcers’ table. Jeff misses Poetry In Motion against the barricade though and we take a break.

Back with Sami putting on a chinlock and shouting about Jeff’s title reign being a fraud. Sami heads to the middle rope for an elbow to the back of the head for two as frustration is starting to set in. With Sami going up again, Jeff follows him up and grabs a top rope superplex for the double knockdown. The Twist of Fate is countered into a backslide for two and the Blue Thunder Bomb is countered into a sunset flip for a near fall.

Sami suplexes him into the corner and now the Blue Thunder Bomb connects for two. Jeff knocks him down again but the Swanton hits knees (with one possibly hitting Jeff in the head). The Helluva Kick misses and Jeff loads up the Whisper in the Wind but Sami pulls him down, sending Jeff face first into the exposed steel for the pin at 14:11.

Rating: B. This is the kind of thing that people forget WWE can offer. They have an insanely deep talent pool, and when they cut away all of the nonsense and bad writing and angles and just let their really good wrestlers have a pretty long TV match, you get good results. It was a very nice wrestling showing between two people who know exactly how to have this kind of a match and I had a good time with the whole thing. Nicely done, and do it more often.

Overall Rating: B-. There were some parts on here which weren’t the best, but those matches were kept very short, leaving us with a pretty solid show. You had two good matches and some stuff was set up both for next week and at the pay per view. This was an efficient use of two hours which even expanded up to downright entertaining at times. Just like the main event, the show felt like it stripped away so much of the boring and downright stupid stuff that you get on Raw, leaving more or a wrestling show. WWE can still do these things rather well and if they just went that way, we would all be much happier.

Results

Jey Uso b. AJ Styles – Superfly Splash

Otis b. John Morrison – Vader Bomb

Sheamus b. Shorty G. – Brogue Kick

Matt Riddle/Lucha House Party b. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura/King Corbin – Bro Derek to Cesaro

Sami Zayn b. Jeff Hardy – Hardy fell onto the exposed turnbuckle

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: April 28, 2006
Location: Wembley Arena, London, England
Attendance: 7,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s time for a huge main event in 2/3 of a Wrestlemania rematch. This time around we have Rey Mysterio defending the World Title against Kurt Angle, with JBL waiting on the winner. Other than that it’s time to continue the King of the Ring as we continue the lull before the next Smackdown only pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video is about Mysterio vs. Angle. Does it need to be anything else?

Opening sequence.

Here’s JBL, in a Rolls Royce, for a US Title defense and a chat. And yes he has an American flag in hand and an American flag jacket. Before the match, JBL brags about America and how much England needs them. If British Prime Minister Tony Blair is George W. Bush’s poodle, then every British person is America’s stepchild.

Therefore, tonight JBL is throwing them a bone by giving an Englishman a US Title shot. How tough can the challenger be though? After all, the British follow a queen, which has JBL on his knees in laughter. The fans chant for ENGLAND but JBL says an American is talking. He wants everyone to salute his jacket but his opponent cuts him off.

US Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. William Regal

Regal, in regular gear this week, is challenging and promises to show JBL what British people think of Americans. The beating is on in a hurry with Regal choking JBL with the jacket and firing off some shots to the face. The fans are all behind Regal and an uppercut puts JBL on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Regal kneeing away but getting punched in the face to cut things off. Regal is bleeding from the ear so JBL goes after it, followed by a sleeper. A belly to back gets Regal out of trouble but JBL kicks him in the face. JBL’s swinging neckbreaker and DDT combine for two but Regal is back with an exploder suplex for a heck of a reaction. Regal grabs the Regal Stretch but JBL gets two fingers on the rope. JBL goes more villain with a thumb to the eye and the Clothesline From JBL retains the title.

Rating: C+. This was a nice match as they didn’t bother with anything tricky and just had two guys hit each other for ten minutes. Regal fighting for his country and getting the huge face pops made for some weird visuals (not in a bad way) and it wouldn’t have been completely insane to see a fluke title change. You could tell Regal was fired up here and it helped a lot.

JBL’s goofy grin while he hugs the title makes it that much better.

Booker T. and Sharmell are ready for Booker’s match with Kurt Angle in the King of the Ring but he doesn’t like being asked about Angle vs. Mysterio. Gunner Scott comes in to remind Booker of the upset win a few weeks ago. Booker agrees to face Scott again….but not tonight because Booker has a chest cold and a sinus infection. He’ll find Scott an opponent who can sop him up like a biscuit.

Kurt Angle’s Winner’s Circle: Kurt beats Rock to win his first WWF Title at No Mercy 2000.

Video on Tatanka’s path to become the new warrior of his Native American tribe. I can appreciate trying to make something out of someone, but Tatanka in 2006 wasn’t going to be the answer, especially with something like this.

MNM/Gregory Helms vs. Paul London/Brian Kendrick/Super Crazy

It’s a brawl to start with the villains being sent outside for the big triple dive. Kendrick gets shoved off the top back inside though and Mercury takes over with some quick near falls. A backbreaker/slingshot elbow combination gets two and Nitro adds his breakdancing legdrop for the same. Helms grabs the quickly broken abdominal stretch and Kendrick gets over for the hot tag to London. Everything breaks down and London rolls Helms up for the pin. Melina is stunned, though that might be due to Tony Chimmel using the high pitched SUPER for Super Crazy.

Rating: C. They got a lot of stuff into a sub four minute match and that’s perfectly fine. I’m not sure if Crazy is supposed to be the next challenger for Helms or if he was just someone put out there to fill in a spot, but this was all about MNM vs. London and Kendrick anyway. They kept this short and got to the point, which is all they needed to do.

Kurt Angle’s Winner’s Circle: Angle beats Austin at Unforgiven 2001.

Melina yells at MNM for losing and insults Jillian Hall for getting fired last week. She offers Hall a job doing her makeup and throws said makeup on her. The catfight is on with makeup being used in various ways.

Bobby Lashley wants to be King of the Ring because of what it has meant for everyone else. He really doesn’t need to be talking.

Kurt Angle’s Winner’s Circle: Kurt beats Big Show at Armageddon 2004.

King of the Ring First Round: Mark Henry vs. Bobby Lashley

Henry shoves him around a few times to start and Lashley isn’t sure about this one. A headbutt puts Lashley down again and there’s a hard whip into the corner. Henry cuts off the comeback with a rather hard clothesline, with Cole telling us to go outside and run into our house to see what that feels like. Hopefully no one with a house boat follows that advice.

A backbreaker plants Lashley again but Henry misses a charge allowing the comeback to start. Lashley hits the clotheslines and the impressive slam but Henry powers out of the Dominator. Henry misses a charge and gets low bridged over the ropes to the floor, giving Lashley the countout win.

Rating: C-. That’s about as smart of a way to do this as they could have had, even if it looked like Henry slipped on a banana peel to end things. Henry is still a monster who shouldn’t be losing very often, so aside from not having him in the tournament, the only way to go was a countout or DQ. Lashley was thrown around a bit, but that slam felt like a pretty impressive moment.

Post match Henry beats Lashley up some more, including a splash against the post to bang up his ribs.

Rey Mysterio is asked about always being seen as an underdog. Tonight he is the underdog again but he knows he has to stay away from the ankle lock. He’ll give it his best but if he loses, it was well worth it. This has been the latest moment of WWE making sure you know Rey is in way over his head.

Kurt Angle’s Winner’s Circle: Kurt beats Brock Lesnar and the Big Show to win the title at Vengeance 2003.

Booker T., complete with chest cold, is here with Sharmell to announce Gunner Scott’s opponent. After using some medicine, here we go.

Finlay vs. Gunner Scott

Booker and Sharmell sit in on commentary. Finlay headlocks him down to start and pulls on the arms with his boot on Gunner’s head. Back up and Gunner hits a dropkick tot he floor but the baseball slide gets caught in the ring skirt so the beating can be on. Scott fights back and hits an elbow to the face, followed by a belly to belly for two. They fight outside where Booker gets in a cheap shot, allowing Finlay to hit the Air Raid Crash for the pin.

Rating: D+. Scott feels like their latest attempt to make someone out of nothing and it’s too early to know if that is going to be a success. Booker having another injury/condition to keep him out of the ring is a bit of a stretch after he was just injured for so long, but his talking is making up for it. On top of that, it’s nice to see Finlay being featured again as he’s doing well in his role as the tough villain.

Post match the beatdown is on until Chris Benoit runs in for the save.

Here are Great Khali and Daivari for a chat. Daivari says that is it true: Great Khali has dominated the Undertaker and destroyed his spirit. Undertaker is afraid of Khali, who yells a lot to emphasize his point. Krystal runs away to wrap things up.

Kurt Angle’s Winner’s Circle: Kurt wins a battle royal to become champion again.

Smackdown World Title: Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio

Mysterio is defending and commentary makes it clear that he is the underdog. Again. Angle drops to a knee as Rey circles him, meaning it’s an early takedown to put the champ down. An uppercut cuts Rey down again but he’s back up with right hands in the corner. That just earns Rey a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a regular version gets two. Rey charges into a belly to belly to the floor and we take an early break.

Back with Rey caught in a chinlock with a bodyscissors. That’s broken up so Rey has to escape the Angle Slam and kick Angle in the head for a double knockdown. The 619 is blocked so Rey is right back with a sitout bulldog for two, allowing Cole to call Rey the underdog again. Another Angle Slam is countered into a DDT for two more but Angle runs the corner for a superplex.

Back up and Angle misses a charge hard into the post and falls out to the floor. That means Rey can hit a top rope Fameasser on the way back in for another near fall, but Angle flips him over with a release German suplex. The Angle Slam is countered for a third time and the 619 connects this time. Angle counters the West Coast Pop into the ankle lock but here’s Mark Henry to jump Angle for the DQ.

Rating: B-. They were having a good match and I can live with the DQ ending, but man alive this “Rey is such an underdog” is getting old in a hurry. What makes it even worse is that it comes after the last three months being about Eddie Guerrero, making Rey feel like a high school student who is in over his head in a bad 90s action comedy. Rey is an underdog, but there’s a difference between someone Barry Horowitz’s 1995 winning streak and one of the best cruiserweights of all time. As usual, WWE needs to lighten up on beating us over the head and I don’t think they’ll get that.

Post match Henry crushes Angle against the post and puts him on a table. The running splash from the apron destroys Kurt to end the show as Rey, again, is forgotten.

Overall Rating: C. As usual, the British shows are always a little off but there was only so much they could do without having anything to build towards at the moment. The next pay per view will start to come into focus soon and Angle vs. Mysterio did feel big, but they didn’t help themselves with making Rey seem like a loser who has gotten lucky. The show did go by very quickly though and nothing was bad, so it was hardly a difficult sit. Just get them something to focus on and we can move on to something a little better.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 25, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

It’s the go home show for Clash Of Champions though the Smackdown side of things might not interest you the most. The blue main event for Sunday’s show will feature Roman Reigns defending against Jey Uso, which kind of slows down the interest that the show is going to have. Maybe the last show before Sunday can help things out. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Road Warrior Animal.

Here are AJ Styles, Sami Zayn and Jeff Hardy for a Championship Ascension ceremony to set up the ladder match. Corey Graves, the emcee, explains the match and says there is no champion’s advantage. AJ says Jeff must think the title feels heavy because it’s the last time he’ll be holding it. As for Sami, why are you here? He took six months off to grow a neck beard and still thinks he’s champion.

Sami accuses AJ of being stupid for winning a tournament and calls Jeff’s title a shampionship. Jeff: “Sami, Sami shut up man.” Hardy actually agrees with Styles when he says Sami has no claim to the title. The belts are hung but Sami drives the ladder into their heads and beats on Jeff, with AJ making the save. Cue Adam Pearce to make the scheduled Sami vs. Jeff match a triple threat with AJ also involved. We’ll do that next.

AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn vs. Jeff Hardy

Non-title. Sami gets sent to the floor so AJ can hammer on Hardy. That doesn’t last long as Sami comes in to jump AJ and then send Hardy outside. AJ is right back with a chinlock on Sami but Jeff is back in with a dropkick for the save. Jeff uses Sami for a springboard to splash Styles in the corner but Sami breaks up the Swanton by knocking him to the floor.

Styles follows with a slingshot forearm and we take a break. Back with the Tower of Doom being broken up and a triple slugout starting. Sami hits a running boot to each of them but AJ nails a Pele. AJ is back up with the Phenomenal Forearm to Jeff but Sami throws him outside and steals the pin at 12:02.

Rating: C. Not only is it winning a match via pin to set up a match that has nothing to do with pins, but it’s the most basic ending to a triple threat that you can find in WWE. Oh and for a bonus, the champ gets pinned. The wrestling was fine, but it feels like the kind of thing that we’ve seem time after time. Kind of like ladder matches in general, as WWE (counting NXT) has run an average of about a ladder match a month for the last year.

Post match AJ jumps Sami and climbs the ladder to pick up both titles.

We recap Miz/John Morrison threatening to sue Otis over the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Otis doesn’t buy this and doesn’t trust Miz’s lawyers so he’s keeping the briefcase. Miz and Morrison come up with the former saying that he is going to take everything, including Otis’ mama’s double wide. More threats are made, with Miz bringing up Mandy Rose being sent to Raw. Otis goes for Morrison’s throat and referees break it up. Is anyone ever going to explain why Otis and Mandy, who work in the same company, in the same city, in the same building, but on different shows where wrestlers seem to come and go as they please, is a big problem?

We look at Bayley attacking Sasha Banks twice in a row.

Here’s Bayley, with the chair that started it all, to have a seat for a chat. Bayley doesn’t have time for the fans booing because the champ’s time is important. She has business to tend to on Sunday because Nikki Cross is waiting for her. Why is Cross thinking it should be different just because there is no Sasha? Bayley looks at the chair and says she is retaining the title. Bayley: “Right Sasha?”

Gran Metalik vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

The rest of Lucha House Party and Cesaro are here too. Graves gets straight to the point by saying that singles matches have almost no bearing on tag team wrestling. Metalik misses a superkick to start but sends Nakamura outside. That’s fine with Nakamura, who sends him hard into the barricade, followed by a hard ram into the turnbuckle back inside. Metalik sends him outside and hits the big flip dive, followed by a slingshot hilo for two back inside. The moonsault misses though and Nakamura pulls him off the ropes. The reverse exploder into Kinshasa finishes Metalik at 4:17.

Rating: C. I was worried they would do something like have Metalik get the cheap pin here, which would be a bit too much to take. Granted when you have commentary saying that the match doesn’t mean anything for Sunday, you kind of have to wonder why we’re supposed to be interested. The match was fine as Metalik is talented, but it didn’t exactly draw me in.

Post match Cesaro comes in and lays out Lince Dorado as Kalisto looks on. After Cesaro and Nakamura leave, Kalisto gets in but gets yelled at by the rest of the team.

Jey Uso wants Roman Reigns to come deal with things.

Video on Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns, including clips of them growing up and members of the Anoa’i Family commenting. Rikishi and Sika talk about watching their sons growing up and Jey is ready to fight his family to be champion. Jey says Reigns used to be a puppy and both dads say their kid will win. This was a really good idea and as usual, WWE knows how to produce a video.

Here’s Jey Uso for a chat. We see a clip from last week’s street fight, where Jey pinned King Corbin and then picked up the Universal Title. Reigns didn’t like the pin or what happened after the match, giving him a big glare to end the show. Uso wants Reigns out here now, but we see Heyman and Reigns in the back sitting in silence.

Heyman finally comes out of Reigns’ locker room and says the world should get to see these two face to face in the ring. Here’s where everyone has it wrong though: it’s on Reigns’ time, not Uso’s. That will happen tonight, but on Reigns’ time. Uso isn’t happy with that and says he’ll man up at Clash and tonight. Welcome to the Uso Penitentiary.

We recap Matt Riddle vs. King Corbin.

Corbin is ready to make Riddle say Bro, but with meanings involving all kinds of pain.

King Corbin vs. Matt Riddle

We get an inset promo from Riddle, who says he can’t wait to throw down and show Smackdown the difference between a stallion and a jacka**. Riddle starts fast and hammers away but Corbin catches him on the way inside. Corbin powers out of what looked like a Kimura and hits a hard elbow for two. A kick to the face sends Corbin outside though and Riddle throws him over the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with Riddle grabbing a triangle but Corbin powers out in a hurry. Corbin’s running right hand drops Riddle again and he can barely get back up. It’s just a ruse though as Riddle catches him with a jumping knee to the face. The Broton into another knee gets two so Riddle tries the Bromission. That’s broken up as well and Corbin hits the Deep Six but the End of Days is countered into another knee to the face. The Floating Bro hits knees though and End of Days finishes Riddle at 11:23.

Rating: C+. Was anyone asking for this to continue? I’m not sure, but WWE had the chance to set up a trilogy and all it took was Riddle losing clean to Corbin of all people. I’m sure we’ll have a third match at some point, but it’s not like Riddle had any momentum going after beating Corbin in the first place.

Post match Riddle says losing sucks but it isn’t stopping the stallion. He is going to keep going until Smackdown is the Bro Show.

The mystery woman puts on her jewelry and makeup. She also writes UNTOUCHABLE in lipstick on her mirror and takes a picture of it.

Alexa Bliss vs. Lacey Evans

Fallout from last week when Bliss took Lacey out after a match. In an inset promo, Alexa calls Lacey a Karen without calling her a Karen. Bliss rolls her up for two to start but Lacey knocks her down. Lacey sends it into the corner and throws the napkin at her, followed by the slingshot dropkick for two. We hit the cobra clutch for a bit but Bliss comes right back by cranking on the arm. Hold on though as the Fiend’s laugh is heard and we take a break.

Back with Evans stomping away and tying up Bliss’ legs for a forearm to the face. Bliss gets sent into the corner and a nasty slingshot dropkick puts her on the floor. Back in and Lacey gets two as we cut to a crowd shot (possibly so Bliss can fix her gear). Bliss makes the comeback with a basement dropkick but Evans cranks her down by the arm. Evans misses the double jump moonsault (Bliss had moved before the second jump) and we have the Fiend’s red light. Bliss snaps and unloads on Evans for the DQ at 10:50.

Rating: D. These two didn’t even seem to be in the same book out there for a lot of this, but some of that is due to trying to cram in a little too much. They did the Fiend’s voice and then did the light, all so Bliss could snap. On top of that, Lacey is now a former Marine, a tough mom, a southern belle, and now Karen. Pick two of those at most and calm down.

Post match, Alexa hits Sister Abigail on the floor and Fiend’s voice says let me in.

Here are Reigns and Heyman for the big closing. Before Heyman can get very far, here’s Uso to interrupt. Reigns cuts him off and says this family needs him to be the tribal chief. That’s why he’s keeping the title on Sunday and he walks away. Jey asks what if Reigns is wrong. Why can’t Jey be the Big Dog and provide for his family and kids as Universal Champion?

For his whole life, it has been Reigns as the star and the man. Whenever anyone talks about Jey, they ask which one he is. On Sunday, Jey is going to the top. Uso goes to leave but Reigns pops back up with a Superman Punch. Reigns screams at him about feeding the entire family with the title. Jey can take the payday and the whipping that comes with it, but he’s never taking the title from Reigns. He is never taking Reigns’ place at the head of the table. This was more incredible stuff from Reigns, as it tends to always be these days.

Overall Rating: D+. The wrestlers were trying, but this came off like a show that did not matter in the slightest. It was a bunch of middle of the road stuff, including a match where commentary said it didn’t matter with regards to Sunday. This felt like a show where they took the week off and threw whatever they had out there to fill in the time. Uso vs. Reigns has actually been set up well though and I’m more than a little impressed with how they have turned what should be a two minute squash into something interesting. Well done there, but the rest might as well have been Main Event.

Results

Sami Zayn b. AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy – Phenomenal Forearm to Hardy

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Gran Metalik – Kinshasa

King Corbin b. Matt Riddle – End of Days

Lacey Evans b. Alexa Bliss via DQ when Bliss attacked Evans

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: April 21, 2006
Location: Savvis Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 16,108
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

The King of the Ring is still rolling after last week’s opener, meaning we could be in for some good stuff going forward. Smackdown seems to be throwing out a bunch of more gimmicky stuff at the moment and I’m curious to see what else they have. There is something fun about seeing these characters that you might remember from years gone by making their debuts and we should be in for some bigger names and moments. Let’s get to it.

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

Booker T. and Sharmell are ready to win the tournament and Matt Hardy is up first.

Matt Hardy talks about everything he has gone through this year and will not die.

King of the Ring First Round: Booker T. vs. Matt Hardy

Sharmell is here with Booker. Feeling out process to start with Booker elbowing his way out of a hammerlock. Hardy is back with a running clothesline for two and we hit the headlock on the mat. That’s broken up with a belly to back suplex and some knees to the ribs have Matt in trouble as they seem to have a long time to use here. Matt is back with a swinging neckbreaker but the moonsault press misses.

We hit the chinlock but Matt is out in a hurry with the middle rope elbow to the back of the head. The comeback is cut off by Sharmell low bridging Hardy to the floor as we take a break. Back with Booker snapping off some suplexes for two but he takes too long going up and gets superplexed back down.

Matt still can’t get anything going as Booker kicks him down and grabs the chinlock again. Another comeback includes elbows and clotheslines for two but Booker kicks him in the face for two more. The Book End lets Booker hit the Spinarooni but the ax kick misses. Matt grabs the Side Effect for two but Sharmell offers a distraction so Booker can hit a low blow. Now the ax kick can finish Matt.

Rating: B-. This was better than I would have expected as they were hitting some big stuff and the fans were into what they were doing. It says a lot when I was a little surprised at some kickouts when I already knew who was winning here. Good match and one of Matt’s best in a long time now.

Post match Booker puts on the crown and does a Karate Kid pose.

In honor of JBL’s Championship Celebration tonight, here’s a look at JBL beating Eddie Guerrero for the World Title.

William Regal is in drag again and Paul Burchill thinks it’s hilarious. Tonight, they’re in a tag match but Regal doesn’t know about this because his chest is a bit too big. Burchill has a teddy bear costume for him but that’s too much for Regal. The shenanigans continue.

Joey Mercury vs. Paul London

Johnny Nitro, Melina and Brian Kendrick are here too. London hurricanranas him down to start and hammers away but a Nitro distraction lets Mercury shove him off the top. Back in and we hit the choking on the ropes. The waistlock goes on, followed by a northern lights suplex for two on London. Kendrick and Melina get up on the apron with Kendrick being knocked down, allowing Nitro to get in a slingshot elbow/backbreaker combination.

Rating: C. This wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world as it was fairly obvious where they were going the second last week’s match was announced. It’s an idea that WWE has used for years and while it works well enough, it isn’t exactly something that is going to draw in my interest.

Regal is now a bear, with Burchill adding a head, including lipstick. And yes it has a tail.

Last week, Kurt Angle snapped Randy Orton’s ankle. That’s how you write Orton off for a suspension due to “unprofessional conduct”.

Chris Benoit/Bobby Lashley vs. Finlay/Orlando Jordan

Lashley and Jordan start things off with Lashley driving him into the corner without much effort. Benoit comes in and tries the Crossface, sending Jordan scampering away. A Finlay distraction lets Jordan take him down by the arm. It’s off to Finlay to crank on said arm, plus drive some elbows down for a bonus.

Benoit’s arm goes into the post and it’s back to Jordan to pound on the arm some more. Benoit finally suplexes his way to freedom and the hot tag brings in Lashley to start cleaning house. The delayed vertical suplex gets two on Jordan and Benoit dives onto Finlay. There’s the spear to Jordan and the Dominator is good for the pin.

Rating: C-. This could have been a lot worse but there is one important detail here: it is the last time Orlando Jordan is going to be wrestling on Smackdown. I have no idea how in the world WWE thought he was going to be some star and thank goodness I’m glad that he is gone for good. He just isn’t that talented as a wrestler so maybe he can be….a guy who makes canned peaches.

Another Great JBL Moment: he throws immigrants across the border.

This Week In WWF History: Steve Austin crushed The Rock’s Lincoln. This was on Raw too.

Teddy Long makes Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Title next week.

Now Regal is in a chicken costume, with Burchill telling him not to get cocky. There is no tail on this one, but the hole is revealing….uh, yeah.

Funaki isn’t worried about Great Khali, who comes in to shout.

Funaki vs. Great Khali

Chop to the head, big boot and double arm chokeslam in less than a minute.

Now Regal is a gorilla, but Burchill has one more idea and we’ll see it in their match.

William Regal/Paul Burchill vs. Gymini

Simon Dean is here with the Gymini and Regal is….kind of rather British, but has feathers in his hat (which is over a curly black wig). Burchill and Jesse start things off with Burchill hammering away. Jesse gets in a shot of his own though and it’s off to Regal, who gets suplexed out of his wig. The chinlock goes on but Regal fights up and goes for the tag, only to have Burchill walk away. The Cross Trainer (double Regal Cutter) finishes Regal.

Another Great JBL Moment: beating Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania.

Miz tries to get in for the celebration but Palmer Cannon isn’t having that.

Raw Rebound.

We look back at Jillian Hall almost costing JBL the US Title last week.

It’s time for JBL’s Championship Celebration, hosted by Jillian Hall (who walks past the big inflated eagle). She leads out a marching band and here’s JBL in a (horned) Hummer limo as the balloons drop. JBL isn’t pleased though and yells that he is worthy of the New York Philharmonic and Jillian brought him a bunch of refugees from a Big Brother program. JBL: “Never trust a woman to think!” He makes fun of her over inflated balloons and fires her, telling Jillian to go lap dance her heart away.

JBL lists off some great Americans and declares himself an American hero. After all, he’s the real champion over Rey Mysterio. Now he wants the winner of Mysterio vs. Angle next week, so here’s Angle to interrupt. Angle lists off his own American Hero credentials but JBL doesn’t think so. Angle: “Well compared to me, you suck.”

JBL was never as good of a champion as Rey, who finally comes out to interrupt. The fans chant for Eddie and because JBL is a good heel, he points out that Rey can’t even get his own chant. JBL has already taken titles from Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, so Rey can be the third amigo. One short/Spanish joke too many earns JBL a beating and Rey and Angle stare each other down to end the show. JBL is still a heck of a heel, but he’s right in pointing out how little fans seem to care about Rey himself. It doesn’t help that Rey feels like he’s in way over his head as champion too.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a weird one as the ending was a big celebration which only set up a title match between two people who have nothing to do with JBL at the moment. The rest of the show was your usual fare and they did a nice job of making Angle vs. Mysterio feel like an important match. It’s not exactly must see stuff, though they still have a few weeks to set things up before we get to the next pay per view.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 18, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We are coming up on Clash Of Champions and that means it is time to start getting ready for the pay per view. There are a lot of different things being set up, including a few more title matches. Tonight we might get a few steps closer to that but you never know around here. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the Dirt Sheet, with Miz and John Morrison promising to get all of the dirt on the biggest stories going on in WWE today. After a clip of Miz announcing Mandy Rose is on her way to Raw on Talking Smack, Miz insists that he is not trying to get back at Otis. No, instead he is trying to help Otis as a former Mr. Money In The Bank. Now that Mandy is gone, Otis can focus on cashing in the briefcase while the men on Raw can focus on Mandy. Morrison: “Isn’t Ziggler over there?”

Cue Otis to beat both of them up, with Tucker throwing both of them back in as they try to escape. Otis is so angry at Miz that he hits the Caterpillar, showing the height of his violence. He even strips Miz down to his underwear, which isn’t quite the biggest deal when he wrestles in the same kind of gear.

Post break, Miz makes a phone call and says they have a plan.

Gran Metalik vs. Cesaro

The rest of Lucha House Party and Shinsuke Nakamura are here too. Metalik headscissors him down to start but gets taken into the corner for the uppercut. The armbar goes on as Kalisto and Lince Dorado seem to argue at ringside. Metalik gets sent outside and the referee ejects the rest of the House Party. Cesaro is pleased but the distraction lets Metalik hit a big springboard flip dive and we take a break. Back with Cesaro getting two off a big boot but Metalik gets up top for a flip dive and his own two. The moonsault hits raised boots though and Cesaro Neutralizes him for the pin at 6:59.

Rating: C. The Lucha House Party’s collapse continues, even though they’re getting a pay per view title match. I’m not sure how good it is going to be to split them up because the trio doesn’t seem like the kind of guys that are going to get a push on their own, but tag teams exist to be split up in WWE so it doesn’t matter that much. Also, how random is that champion vs. champion match on Monday feeling? It really does seem to be just a one off instead of building to anything, which is a little odd.

After looking at a clip of last week’s main event, Jey Uso says he trust Roman Reigns tonight. At Clash Of Champions tonight though, one of them is leaving as the Universal Champion. They’ve been fighting since they were little, but now they aren’t little anymore.

And now, Know Your Bro with Matt Riddle. Matt demonstrates how many different emotions you can convey with the word “bro”.

It’s time for A Moment Of Bliss, with Nikki Cross as the guest. We look at Bliss giving Cross Twisted Bliss last week and walking away, only to have Cross win anyway. Cross and Bliss hug before Bliss can get to the question: why should we believe Cross can beat Bayley after losing to her all summer? Cross says she’s ready for Bayley and promises to win the title. Now that we have that settled, Cross has a question for Bliss: what is going on with her?

Last week she hit Cross with Sister Abigail, but Bliss can’t explain it. She doesn’t know how to handle it…and here’s (the rather not dead) Lacey Evans to interrupt. Lacey asks if this is the View with these women talking about their feelings. Cross should be thanking Bliss for helping her last week because Bliss threw Lacey off of her game. Besides, Cross can’t win if she doesn’t have a mean streak. The fight is on and they fight to the ring for their scheduled match.

Lacey Evans vs. Nikki Cross

Bliss is on commentary but hang on because Evans needs to sanitize before the bell. Cross kicks her to the floor and then takes it back inside to jump on Evans’ back. Lacey sends her into the corner and starts working on the arm with some hard knee drops. A running boot in the corner connects and there’s the slingshot Bronco Buster for two.

The chinlock doesn’t last long but Evans cuts her off again and starts pulling on the arm some more. Evans rams her head first into the mat and stays on the arm before hitting the standing moonsault. With Cross down, Lacey sprays the hand sanitizer in Nikki’s eyes, but she’s right back up with a hair takedown. Nikki hits a corner splash and finishes with the hanging neckbreaker at 7:12. Bliss seems rather pleased.

Rating: D+. The sanitizer deal was rather dumb here as Nikki acted like it was water in her eyes instead of alcohol. The rest of the match was Evans beating up Nikki in a match she had no chance of winning because Nikki has a title shot coming up and Evans has fallen through the floor. Nothing to see here, which shouldn’t be that shocking.

Post match Evans crawls over to Bliss while shouting about the Fiend. Bliss goes into the same trance as last week, hits Sister Abigail, and slowly walks off in the trance.

Paul Heyman narrates a video about the Anoa’i Family being perhaps the greatest wrestling family of all time. We see a lot of the members in action and dang there have been a ton of them over the years. Heyman talks about how it is a battle of the family at Clash Of Champions, but while they feast at the same table, there is one ruler of the dynasty.

We get a sitdown interview with Sasha Banks, beginning with a look at Bayley attacking her two weeks ago. Banks is nearly in tears and says she’s still here as we hear a lot of cheering noises. Cole talks about how Bayley used her and Banks knows that Bayley finds her useless now. She and Bayley used to walk these halls and talk about everything they have done together.

They had planned to take over the whole company together but now she sees these halls and, through tears, she sees all of the things she and Bayley did together. Banks gets a lot more serious and calls Bayley an idiot who is nothing without her. Now Banks is coming for the title. Bayley runs in and blasts her with a chair before wrapping the chair around Banks’ neck again. Some rather short people run in to break it up before Bayley can stomp on the chair. The idea made sense, but Banks isn’t much of an actress and the delivery hurt it a lot.

Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles

Sami goes to insist that he is introduced as the Intercontinental Champion but AJ jumps him from behind to start fast. Sami gets in a few shots and stomps away before grabbing a quickly broken chinlock. As Cole manages to find new levels of annoyance by talking in that completely unnatural manner associated with WWE commentary, Sami kicks the post by mistake and falls to the floor.

The slingshot forearm takes him down again and we take a break. Back with Sami hitting a Stun Gun but AJ grabs a neckbreaker for two. Sami slugs away but the Pele kick connects to drop them both. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Sami two and he suplexes AJ into the corner. The Helluva Kick misses though and AJ grabs a rollup, possibly with tights, for the pin at 10:18.

Rating: B-. Not too bad here but you can almost see the triple threat at Clash from here. Sami at least looked good after his long time off. AJ was a smart choice for the first opponent too as he can have a good match with anyone, meaning this was almost a layup. It’s hard to make heel vs. heel work but they pulled it off here.

Post match Sami jumps AJ and complains about the tights being pulled. Cue Jeff Hardy to take Sami out…and grab a ladder (oh freaking dang it). Jeff is tired of being called cheat and a fraud so let’s end it once and for all, with a ladder match. Good grief I’d give so much money to put a ban on ladder matches for a few years.

Otis is served with a lawsuit. Apparently Miz and Morrison are suing over emotional distress, creating an unsafe working environment (STOP MAKING UP STORIES ABOUT THAT BECAUSE YOU DO IT ALL THE FREAKING TIME!) and violating their First Amendment rights by interrupting their news program. Otis has a week to decide if he will forfeit the Money in the Bank contract or go to court.

Sheamus and King Corbin are ready for their Samoan Street Fight tonight. The guy who lured Big E. to the parking lot last night comes in to say Sheamus’ car is being towed. Sheamus goes outside and gets jumped by Big E. in disguise. Big E. beats up the guy from last week as well, including a Big Ending on the car and throwing him in the trunk, showing more seriousness than he has in years. Adam Pearce comes in to say Big E. needs to leave. This worked a lot better than I would have expected.

The mystery woman gets dressed behind a screen. She turns around but there is a mirror in front of her face.

Roman Reigns/Jey Uso vs. Sheamus/King Corbin

Samoan Street Fight and Paul Heyman is here with Reigns (actually present to start the match) and Uso. Before the match, Reigns says he didn’t want any confusing this week. This is his yard, island, ring and WWE. If you want to change it, come take it. Sheamus is a little banged up but still here. It’s a brawl to start and thankfully there are no tags here because thankfully they understand the idea of a street fight.

The villains are sent to the floor early on, where Corbin pelts a chair at Reigns’ head for a scary crash. Jey dives onto Corbin but a second dive is countered into Deep Six on the floor. Back in and Corbin grabs a chair but gets kicked in the head for his efforts. Reigns chairs Corbin down but Sheamus runs Reigns over on the floor. The beatdown is on and Reigns is thrown over the announcers’ table. A regular table is brought inside and Uso gets planted through it for a near fall.

Reigns is back up and throws an announcers’ chair at Corbin’s head for a pretty impressive power display. Sheamus knocks him down again and loads up the announcers’ table but White Noise is broken up. Reigns kick Sheamus low and Samoan drops him onto (not through) the table. Corbin is posted and Sheamus is speared through the barricade. Back up and Corbin jumps Reigns before throwing Jey over a bunch of stuff. Uso is back with a title shot to the face though and Reigns adds a spear. The Superfly Splash gives Jey the pin at 6:10.

Rating: B. This was a lot of fun and most of that is because of Roman Reigns. THIS is the Reigns that people had been wanting to see for a long time. He was like a bulldozer here and running through everyone in his path, which made for some really awesome moments throughout. That’s the kind of Reigns that looked like the star of the company and someone who could be the champ for a long time with a huge moment being needed to take it from him. I liked this a lot and Reigns came off as the monster they have been wanting for a long time now.

Post match Reigns doesn’t look happy with Uso. Jey grabs the title and teases posing with it but throws the title to Reigns for a smile. Reigns and Uso hug so Jey can leave, with Reigns glaring at him from the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They’re taking an interesting approach to Clash as the main event is little more than a formality but the story has been set up well. Reigns vs. Uso is much more like the next step in Reigns’ story as we’ll get to see what he is willing to do to family, which makes it a lot better than what it would have been otherwise. Then you have Bayley vs. Nikki Cross, which is the most throw away, lame duck title match in recent years. The pay per view is looking hit or miss, but this week’s show worked out well enough. Just enough with the lawsuits and ladder matches though, please.

Results

Cesaro b. Gran Metalik – Neutralizer

Nikki Cross b. Lacey Evans – Hanging swinging neckbreaker

AJ Styles b. Sami Zayn – Rollup with a handful of tights

Roman Reigns/Jey Uso b. King Corbin/Sheamus – Superfly Splash to Corbin

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

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