Main Event – July 25, 2019: I’m Actually Surprised

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 25, 2019
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Renee Young

I know this show is built around the idea of recapping but when you consider that Monday’s show included Raw Reunion, the recapping is going to be strong on this one. You can pretty much guess where everything is going this week and that could be good or bad depending on what you thought of Raw this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Sarah Logan vs. Naomi

Naomi is the hometown girl here. That means it’s time to escape a few waistlocks and dance a bit, followed by a splits drop for two. Naomi’s sunset flip gets two but Logan forearms her in the face and hits a dropkick to the floor. Back in and Logan pulls on both arms before stomping her down. The standing Cloverleaf goes on, which isn’t as serious as they’re going for given Naomi’s light up shoes. Naomi makes the rope and hits an enziguri out of the corner to start the comeback. Some right hands set up the split legged moonsault to finish Logan at 4:55.

Rating: D. I can go for having Logan show up on this show more often as she has a unique enough style to stand out. She’s not quite good enough to be a star on the main shows but this is better than sitting at home. It was nice to see the hometown star win though, as bringing her out here is a good way to fire up the crowd early on in the night.

Long recap of Raw Reunion.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Kofi Kingston to announce his Summerslam opponent. Before he gets jumped from behind though, he wants Randy Orton out here right now. Orton comes out and Kofi talks about their history from 2009. That would have been in Madison Square Garden when they were in the ring together and the fans were chanting Kofi’s name.

We see a clip of the huge Boom Drop through the production area which should have made Kingston the next big star. That’s not what happened though and Kofi accuses Orton of holding him back. It didn’t work though and now Kofi is WWE Champion. Orton admits that he help Kofi back because he wasn’t ready then. He’s still not ready now though and that title is a fluke.

Orton has been on top for eighteen years and he never had to work hard a single day. He’s gotten where he is by being Randy Orton and hasn’t had to throw pancakes or fake a Jamaican accent. Orton takes credit for Kofi getting a title shot at Wrestlemania because he injured Ali before the Elimination Chamber so Kofi could take his place. Kofi wants to prove himself at Summerslam and Orton agrees to the title match at Summerslam. The RKO will be waiting for Kofi. This was a heck of a segment and them bringing up the history was a very nice surprise.

We look at Bray Wyatt returning to attack Finn Balor.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Finn Balor for a chat. We look at Bray Wyatt returning to attack him last week on Raw with Balor saying that he can’t explain the Fiend. He isn’t scared of Wyatt though….and it’s the return of the Firefly Fun House. Wyatt says he and his friends are fans of Finn but the Fiend doesn’t like him, no matter how many times they tell him how super duper he is. The Fiend has accepted Balor’s challenge for Summerslam. Things get more serious though with Bray saying the Fiend isn’t so nice because the Fiend is power. Let him in. The Fiend appears on the screen and growls the same thing.

Summerslam rundown.

Lucha House Party/Titus O’Neil vs. Robert Roode/Eric Young/EC3/Cesaro

Ok then. Cesaro throws Dorado down to start but the required headscissors is enough to send Cesaro into the corner. Kalisto comes in for the splash and we take a fast break. Back with Kalisto being dragged into the corner and Cesaro getting two off an uppercut. Roode comes in for a backbreaker and Cesaro hits a gutwrench suplex for two more. Cesaro’s gorilla press is countered into a DDT and the tag brings in Titus. Roode has to be saved from the Clash of the Titus, leaving Metalik and Dorado to hit running flip dives. Don’t worry though as Young takes Clash of the Titus for the pin at 7:02.

Rating: D. You can imagine how much of this was clipped for the sake of time as you don’t have an eight man tag that runs for three and a half minutes shown. I do like the idea here as it gets more people in the ring, even if most of the people didn’t get to do much. It wasn’t a good match, but it got wrestlers wrestling so it’s better than nothing.

Video on Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens from last week.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Shane to open things up. He talks about getting to see some old friends last night but he was glad to not see Kevin Owens. Speaking of Owens, he has challenged Shane to a match at Summerslam. Shane accepts, and shows us a clip of Owens quitting on Raw last year in a story that went nowhere. That’s what Shane wants: if Owens loses at Summerslam, he’s gone from WWE.

Cue Owens (Xavier Woods: “I don’t like him but I want to see him beat Shane up!”), to say Shane was smart to find that footage. That was the low point of Owens’ career and he’s a different man today. Owens knew Shane would accept because Shane loves the spotlight. The match is on but Owens isn’t quitting because he’ll beat Shane for good. Owens wants to fight right now but Shane cuts him off and says not until Summerslam. Tonight, Owens can fight Roman Reigns instead.

And from Smackdown again.

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Shane is guest ring announcer, Elias is guest timekeeper and Drew McIntyre is guest referee. Shane does his own rather insulting versions of Big Match Intros but Owens grabs the mic to say he’ll drop Shane tonight no matter what. Reigns takes it away and says he’ll take care of Owens tonight. McIntyre breaks up some early lockups in the corner so Reigns punches him in the face and sends him to the floor. The match is thrown out at we’ll say 1:00.

Post match the fight is on with Shane and company getting the better of things. Owens breaks up a spear from Shane though and it’s superkicks a go go. A spear drops McIntyre and a Stunner drops Elias. Shane tries to escape but gets caught with a Superman Punch and a Stunner. Another Stunner drops Shane again and Owens promises to hurt him even worse at Summerslam to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I’m actually surprised at this as it was almost all Smackdown save for that one package on Raw Reunion. I guess they need to hurry up for Summerslam as the show is in a few weeks and they’re still announcing matches for the show. It was nice for a change, but Raw was a lot more fun this week and I’d have rather seen that. At least it makes sense for a change, which is more than tends to be the case on this show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Smackdown – February 24, 2005: The Slow First Stop

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: February 24, 2005
Location: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re finally done with No Way Out and that means we’re officially on the Road to Wrestlemania. After this week’s Raw, we now have an official main event with John Cena winning the #1 contenders tournament, earning a Smackdown World Title shot against JBL. I wonder what they’ll talk about. Let’s get to it.

Here are Sunday’s results if you need a recap.

This show is sponsored by Friends Of JBL, meaning we’re starting with a look at him surviving No Way Out’s main event against Big Show.

We look at Batista signing to face HHH, leaving Cena to challenge JBL.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Eddie Guerrero/Rey Mysterio vs. Basham Brothers

The Bashams are challenging in a rematch from No Way Out. The fans are behind Eddie to start as he shoulders Danny into the corner early on. Some kicks to the arm allow a tag to Rey, who snaps off a headscissors for two. It’s already back to Eddie but the Bashams get him into the corner, setting up a super spinebuster (cool, though not as cool as it sounds) to send us to an early break.

Back with Eddie grabbing a swinging neckbreaker for a breather but Rey is down on the floor. Danny hits his own swinging neckbreaker for two as we see Doug sending Rey into the steps during the break. I can appreciate the bonus details like that. Eddie gets over for the corner for a tag but there’s still no Rey to keep the theme going. Danny cranks on Eddie’s arms before a quick powerslam gets two. A half crab lets Doug do something in the match but he lets go to take care of Rey again.

Eddie fights out of the corner and walks over for the tag to Rey, which wasn’t as awesome as it should have been. Everything breaks down and the champs hammer away in the corner. Rey’s springboard moonsault press gets two but Doug is right back with an Angel’s Wings for two. Eddie is right back in but the 619 hits him in the ribs by mistake. A belly to back suplex into a top rope headbutt gets two with Eddie diving back in for the save. The 619 into the frog splash into Dropping the Dime retains the titles.

Rating: C. This is a much better use of the Bashams as they’re fine for a midcard heel team who wins on occasion. Rey and Eddie’s tension continues, which you can all but guarantee for a match at Wrestlemania. They can have some better than usual tag matches on the way there though and that’s a nice way to go for a few weeks.

Stills of Cena vs. Angle.

The women are in their locker room when Orlando Jordan, in a tuxedo, comes in (after being invited like a gentleman should). They are all invited to JBL’s celebration tonight and it’s black tie. Good thing they have wrestling gear (or whatever you call what they’re wearing here) and formal wear packed on the same night.

Here’s Kurt Angle for his invitational. He’s not in the mood to play around tonight so let’s get this going fast.

Kurt Angle vs. Matt Martel

Martel is better known as Matt Striker. Hang on though as Martel won’t let Angle finish talking. He wants to know how it felt to lose to Cena. Angle punches him in the face and gets two off a German suplex, which he pulls up at two. Another suplex sets up something like an STF (which Tazz calls a freestyle bow and arrow) into the Angle Slam. Angle pulls him up again so it’s the grapevined ankle lock for the easy win.

Post match Tazz asks Angle about Shawn Michaels challenging him to Wrestlemania. Angle leaves without saying anything.

JBL has a lot of friends arriving for later.

Heidenreich is writing a poem and ignores a question about Booker T. to read it. The poem is about getting disqualified against Booker because Heidenreich is crazy.

Stills of the barbed wire cage match. We also see some new footage of JBL crawling out from under the ring as Big Show posed on the steps. Then Batista and Cena showed up to clean house.

It’s time for the celebration, featuring a bunch of food on tables in the aisle and well dressed people.

JBL is so banged up that he can’t wear his cowboy hat. He isn’t postponing the celebration either because he has earned this moment. It’s his entrance into the Hall of Fame.

The Bashams and Jordan are in the ring as everyone else is drinking champagne. Jordan introduces JBL, who takes his sweet time getting to the ring, with his music even starting over. Jordan gives another introduction and unveils a portrait of JBL as champion. JBL finally gets to talk and says he loves everyone, which is appropriate in the City of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia needs him because none of their sports teams are champion, but they can live through him.

This Sunday, he made the impossible look routine when he beat Big Show. JBL cannot lose and that is why Batista didn’t come to Smackdown. He likes the best things in life and is the kind of champion these people can never be like. In the 242 days he has been champion, he has proven his greatness, which he will do again at Wrestlemania.

JBL says it’s time to start the party (before the ice sculptures of his cowboy hat melts) but here’s Big Show to break a lot of stuff. Uh, you lost clean on Sunday dude. Stop being so uppity. The numbers get the better of Show, who gets tied in the ropes. Cue Cena for the save and I think we have a tag match for later. Naturally the portrait is broken over JBL’s head and we cut to a crowd shot for something. Indeed, here is Long to make the tag match. This went a good while and the setup took longer than it needed to, but Cena’s reaction was very strong.

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Funaki

Chavo is defending and kicks away at Funaki to start. Some stomping has Funaki in trouble but he’s back up with some right hands. Chavo goes face first into the buckle but the tornado DDT is broken up. What looks to be an Alabama Slam out of the corner sees Chavo driven back first into the buckle, only to have him get to his feet (with some help from a rope) for the Gory Bomb to retain.

Rating: D+. Another match without enough time to do much but giving Chavo the pin over the former champion is a good idea. He won the title in a gauntlet match and didn’t pin Funaki, so it makes his reign look more legitimized here. It wasn’t anything worth seeing but at least it went the right way.

Post match Paul London runs in and chases Chavo off.

Undertaker vs. Mark Jindrak/Luther Reigns

Good grief how long does Undertaker have to spend beating these two up? Reigns drops to the floor so Undertaker can beat up Jindrak without any problem. Undertaker beats Reigns down and triangle chokes Jindrak for the easy win.

Post match Reigns yells at Jindrak and lays him out until referees break it up.

Here’s Theodore Long to find out the fate of his job. He’s proud of what he has done as GM but here’s Carlito to say he’s looking forward to Long being fired. Long brings in Linda McMahon to bring up the energy….and we’re robbed of the old Wrestlemania theme song because she’s just on the screen. Long gets to keep his job, and even steals Carlito’s apple. Next week, it’s payback time for Carlito. I’m guessing he’s healthy again because the angle ended in a hurry.

Big Show/John Cena vs. Orlando Jordan/John Bradshaw Layfield

Show has a taped up head and JBL has tape on his ribs and left arm. For some reason, Tony Chimel nearly laughs as he reads Big Show’s weight. Joined in progress with Show chopping and throwing Jordan around. He wants JBL and even reaches Jordan’s hand over for the tag which doesn’t come. Instead it’s off to Cena for the first time and the beating continues, with JBL running from Cena.

JBL does trip him from the floor though and then sends Cena hard into the steps, only to be stalked by Show. Now JBL is tilling to come in (how heelish of him) but a single punch to the bad ribs means it’s back to Jordan. A clothesline gives Jordan two and JBL makes sure to choke with the tag rope in the corner. Cena is in trouble so Show comes in to wreck some people, including a big shoulder to Jordan. The FU plants Jordan again but Cena doesn’t cover. Cena: “THIS IS WHAT WE DO!”. The Shuffle of all things gets the pin for a change.

Rating: D+. Just a short form house show main event here, with Cena and Show destroying Jordan in the end, which is how something like this should have gone. There was something rather satisfying about seeing Jordan get run over by Show and JBL laying there while Cena wrecked Jordan was rather appropriate. In other words, I like seeing Jordan get beaten up.

Overall Rating: D. This wasn’t the strongest show but all that matters is Cena vs. JBL and that got a bit of advancement in the end. They have a few weeks to really hammer that match in, though the ending to the title match is about as obvious as you can get. There is still time to set some stories up, though Reigns and Jindrak splitting isn’t going to do it. Not the worst show, but it was all about one story and they spent a lot of unnecessary time talking to get there.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Smackdown – July 23, 2019: More The Other Speed

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 23, 2019
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, David Otunga

Depending on what you thought of last night’s Raw Reunion, this show either has a lot to live up to or a very easy path to being the best show of the week. We’re less than three weeks away from Summerslam and that means we could be in for an eventful night as the card gets filled in. If nothing else, we should be hearing about Kofi Kingston’s opponent, which shouldn’t be hard to figure out. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens over the last few weeks.

New Day is on commentary instead of the advertised Shawn Michaels, who will be on MizTV instead.

Post break, Elias and Drew McIntyre are very happy with Shane’s decision but Shane thinks it needs to be more special. That’s why Drew will be the guest referee and Elias will be guest timekeeper. Elias: “I always wear my watch. I got this.” Shane can be guest ring announcer too.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title. Crews shoulders him down to start as New Day interrogates Tom about whether or not Crews will get a title shot for winning here. We get a crazy long delayed vertical suplex, with Crews walking around for a bit before finally dropping Nakamura after thirty seconds. Nakamura gets set outside and taken down by a big flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Crews getting kicked in the head and taking the sliding German suplex. Kinshasa is blocked with a kick to the head and an Olympic Slam gives Crews two (I bought that because that’s what would happen to the new champ). Crews gets caught on top though and it’s the running knee to the ribs. Kinshasa is blocked with a pop up face plant but the standing shooting star misses. Now Kinshasa can connect for the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C. This seems to be Crews’ sweet spot: the athletic performances where he impresses but never wins the big one. That’s not a terrible place to be as Crews can do a lot of very impressive things in the ring. At the same time though, what does it say that Nakamura surviving against a jobber to the stars nine days after he wins the Intercontinental Title is a relief?

Post match Nakamura hits another Kinshasa to leave Crews laying as New Day wants someone to come help him.

Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville get a match against the IIconics next week and if they win they might get a title shot.

Ali talks about how he has to change the story around here. He was on track to being a star but then he got injured. Now he needs to restart his story and become WWE Champion. No one is writing his story and it ends with him achieving his goals.

It’s time for MizTV. After a quick plug for Miz and Mrs., here’s a package on Raw Reunion. Back in the arena, Miz introduces his guest tonight: Shawn Michaels. New Day nearly has a fit singing Shawn’s music, with Big E. playing the belt like a guitar. Miz talks about Shawn being on Raw Reunion last night, with Shawn saying he’s been on both sides. He understands what it’s like to be a young guy who wants those ol…..legends to get out but like Steve Austin said, they’re all family.

Shawn talks about inducting Seth Rollins into DX/the Kliq (Miz: “Thanks for the invite.”) and moves on to the Summerslam match with Brock Lesnar, only to have Dolph Ziggler interrupt. Miz wants to punch him in the face again but Ziggler has something to get off his chest. A lot of people used to idolize Shawn but he keeps coming back time after time to wave to the crowd. Ziggler: “It was as embarrassing as Goldberg in a wrestling ring.”

Last November, Shawn broke Ziggler’s heart when he came back to wrestle last November because he embarrassed himself. Shawn won’t disagree with him but what’s more embarrassing is working your whole career but being known as a second rate Shawn Michaels wannabe. Ziggler calls Shawn a Shawn wannabe so Miz tells Ziggler to do something about it. Ziggler goes to leave but Shawn grabs his arm and has to duck a punch. It hits Miz by mistake and since this is an angle, Miz goes down from one right hand. Ziggler superkicks Shawn and leaves.

You really could feel the energy go away when Ziggler’s music hit. Shawn is absolutely right about Ziggler doing the same stuff for years and just being known as a Shawn wannabe, but Shawn was famous for one show stealing performance after another. Ziggler is known as being the guy who just stays around and sucks the life out of any angle he’s in. Feel free to leave anytime.

Charlotte vs. Ember Moon

Charlotte knocks her down but here’s Bayley for the distraction into the rollup to give Moon the pin at 47 seconds.

Post match Moon throws Bayley in to Charlotte, who kicks her in the back of the head. Moon Eclipses both of them. Please, not a triple threat.

Michael Cole replaces New Day on commentary.

Samoa Joe vs. Kofi Kingston

Non-title and Orton is at ringside. They fight over arm control to start with Joe grabbing the ropes to give us a standoff. Kofi goes right back to the arm and has to fight out of the corner with some chops. A dropkick puts Joe on the floor and that means the big dive over the top. Back in and Joe hits a hot shot, followed by the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two. We take a break and come back with Kofi fighting out of a neck crank and hitting the Boom Drop. Trouble in Paradise is loaded up but Orton comes in for the DQ at 7:37.

Rating: C. This was more of a storyline segment than a match and there’s nothing wrong with that (and Joe actually didn’t get pinned). Kofi vs. Orton is suddenly a lot better than it was looking and Kofi hanging with Joe and not beating him is a good way to help set things up. Kingston is looking a lot stronger these days and the match with Orton could look be quite a good one.

Post match Orton can’t hit the RKO on Kingston so he hits it on Joe instead, leaving Kofi to hit Trouble in Paradise on Orton.

We recap last night’s wild ride of 24/7 Title changes.

Charlotte wants to know why she was left out of the title match or off of Summerslam in general. She’s going to wrestle at Summerslam and she’ll have a better opponent than Ember Moon.

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Overall Rating: C+. Fans who didn’t like last night’s show probably enjoyed this one a lot more. They announced three matches for Summerslam as the rapid fire build continues. What matters here is they started getting the card ready after last night’s big detour. Summerslam is looking good, though they have a lot more buildup to take care of first. This felt a little more serious than previous weeks, though it certainly didn’t feel like an all new show or really anything close to one. It was good though and these shows are blowing away anything that WWE was doing in the last few months.

Results

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Apollo Crews – Kinshasa

Ember Moon b. Charlotte – Rollup

Kofi Kingston b. Samoa Joe via DQ when Randy Orton interfered

Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns went to a no contest when Elias and Shane McMahon interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Smackdown – February 17, 2005: The Last Stop Before The Last Stop

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: February 17, 2005
Location: Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for No Way Out but the big story tonight is going to focus on something for Wrestlemania. Batista is here to deal with JBL, who tried to run him down on Raw. We’re still not sure who Batista is going to face at Wrestlemania but things are getting interesting. In another Wrestlemania story, tonight we’re getting John Cena vs. Booker T. in a semifinal match in the #1 contenders tournament. Oh and there are currently three matches announced for No Way Out so we need to get some stuff set up. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of HHH shoving Batista out of the way of the limo on Monday and Batista saying he was coming here alone tonight.

Opening sequence.

Rey Mysterio vs. Doug Basham

Danny Basham is here with Doug. Before the match, Rey calls out the Bashams for tearing up Rob Van Dam’s knee. Don’t worry though because he has a new partner and they’re coming for the titles on Sunday. Since Rey is bad at keeping secrets, he announces Eddie Guerrero has his new partner, meaning here’s Eddie to even things up. Danny runs him over with some shoulders to start so it’s a springboard armdrag to put Danny down as well.

A chase lets Rey try a 619 to send Danny outside but an argument with Eddie lets Doug get in some cheap shots. Rey’s sitout bulldog is countered into a belly to back suplex and it’s off to a chinlock. Rey pops up and hits the springboard moonsault press for two, drawing Doug up to the apron. Eddie returns the cheating from earlier by tripping Danny, allowing Rey to hit the 619. Dropping the Dime is good for the pin.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match here to set up Sunday’s title match because they don’t have time to give it much attention. That being said, it helps to have a match ready like this with Eddie being inserted in for what was likely a Van Dam/Mysterio rematch. Rey winning was fine and it was very nice to not have it be a tag loss for the champs here, as tends to be the case far too often.

JBL asks Theodore Long what he’s going to do about Batista but Long says it’s not his fault. That makes JBL think Long was behind the attack on Monday to get the title off of him. Long still doesn’t care because Batista is going to be at No Way Out and then on Monday, Long is going to sign him to Smackdown. JBL threatens lawsuits.

We look at the No Way Out press conference with Long promising that this will be the biggest pay per view in the history of Pittsburgh. I don’t quite buy that but it’s a nice line. There are going to be some Divas competitions, which are destined to make my head hurt.

Chavo Guerrero/Spike Dudley/Akio vs. Funaki/Paul London/Shannon Moore

Preview of a six man elimination match for the Cruiserweight Title on Sunday. Shannon and Akio start things off with Akio grabbing a hammerlock and slapping him in the back of the head. That earns him a spinwheel kick to the face and a double suplex with London helping Moore. Chavo comes in and gets headlocked straight down but Akio’s distraction lets Chavo knock London outside. And hang on as here are the four women in the competition on Sunday with signs to campaign for themselves.

After that completely unnecessary cameo, it’s Akio hammering away on London as the previously scheduled match continues. London fights up and brings in Funaki for a high crossbody to start the house cleaning. Everything breaks down with everyone hitting something until Chavo breaks up Funaki’s tornado DDT. London and Moore hit stereo running flip dives to take out Chavo and Akio, leaving Funaki to superkick Spike for the pin.

Rating: C-. If you ignore the Diva cameos, this was a nice enough six man with a fast pace and energized ending. Funaki losing all but guarantees that he’s losing the title on Sunday. That’s fine as he hasn’t been the most thrilling champion, though he has certainly been trying and that’s always nice to see.

Wrestlemania ad, this time featuring Booker T. and Eddie Guerrero as Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta from Pulp Fiction. Booker can be quite the intimidating presence, though adding in CAN YOU DIG THAT SUCKA at the end of the Ezekiel verse is a bit questionable. Then they accidentally shoot the guy they’re sent to scare because they’re not very good at their jobs.

Here’s Kurt Angle for his Invitational. Before we get an opponent out here though, he wishes Booker T. and Cena good luck for Sunday. There’s won’t be any rapping, but there will be some tapping. Angle: “Now can you dig that suckers?” Now get the opponent out here.

Kurt Angle vs. Danny Gimondo

I believe that’s Danny Inferno, who wrestled in OVW as a stereotypical guy from New Jersey but says he’s from Cleveland here. Angle goes after the leg to start but gets kicked away. That’s fine with Kurt as it’s the Angle Slam into the ankle lock for the easy win.

#1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: John Cena vs. Booker T.

Non-title. Cena and Angle have a staredown in the ramp to preview Sunday. Cena in a Cleveland Indians jersey is a very welcome sight. Feeling out process to start with Cena hitting a shoulder and a hiptoss for two. Some right hands in the corner and an elbow to the face give Cena two more, followed by the armbar. Cena’s big clothesline cuts off the comeback and we hit the front facelock.

It’s way too early for the FU though and a standoff takes us to a break. Back with Cena getting two off a snapmare (A snapmare?) and grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Booker hits a heck of a superkick to take over. A spinning kick to the face puts Cena down again but he’s right back up with a flapjack. Booker sends him outside and Tazz wants to talk about Cena’s kidney.

Cena walks into a scoop powerslam for two and it’s off to another chinlock. That’s broken up again and Cena hits a flying shoulder to get a breather. The spinebuster takes Cena right back down but the ax kick is countered into the AA. Booker grabs the rope and Booker hits the side kick for two but the Book End is blocked. Cena gets elbowed in the face, which only fires him up enough to hit the AA and advance to No Way Out.

Rating: C+. This story has turned into basically the same thing that happens on Raw: it’s clear that Cena is going on to the World Title match at Wrestlemania so there isn’t much drama to anything Cena, or Batista on Raw, is going to do. That’s not the worst thing in the world either though as Cena is racking up one win after another, which is going to help validate him as the top star on the show. It’s a long road, but it’s a road with the right ending.

Video on last week’s Japan show.

JBL talks to the Cabinet about Batista and mentions that he has fired Amy Weber.

Big Show doesn’t care about Batista showing up because he wants to win the title on Sunday. A barbed wire cage match is unlike anything he’s ever seen but he’s ready to take care of JBL. He doesn’t care if Batista shows up because he’s not getting in. JBL isn’t getting out though, because there is no way out.

Booker runs into Heidenreich, who laughs at him while writing a poem. Booker makes fun of him for being scared of caskets and heavy breathing ensues. There’s your third match announced for No Way Out.

Hall of Fame video, now featuring Roddy Piper.

Nunzio vs. Luther Reigns

Reigns doesn’t waste any time and hits some backbreakers to put Nunzio on the floor early on. A kick to the head rocks Nunzio again and the faceplant neckbreaker completes the squash for Reigns.

Post match Reigns says he isn’t scared of the Undertaker because Undertaker isn’t throwing him off his game. It’s his yard now and if Undertaker wants it back, come take it back.

Undertaker vs. Mark Jindrak

The threat of a big boot scares Reigns off so Jindrak tries to get in a cheap shot, earning himself a toss into the corner. Hang on though as Undertaker needs to go outside and beat Reigns up again, only to miss the big boot on Jindrak. That lets Jindrak take him down into the corner for some choking as I wouldn’t bet on the offense lasting long. A dropkick sets up a chinlock, with Undertaker fighting up without much effort. Undertaker’s running DDT gets two and there’s the chokeslam. The Tombstone is good for the pin.

Rating: D. It’s almost weird seeing Undertaker in such a short match but it’s not strange to see Jindrak lose again. I don’t remember the last time he won a match and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Reigns is little more than a muscular monster for Undertaker to face before he can do something bigger at Wrestlemania, which is par for the course in February.

Post match, and before the bell is even done ringing, Reigns hits Undertaker in the back of the head with a camera. He’s sitting up before Reigns can even get up the ramp so Reigns knows he’s done on Sunday.

Carlito comes in to see Long, who is not happy to see him. The decision on Long’s future is coming next week, which doesn’t sit well with Carlito. Long doesn’t care because he’s working on signing Batista this Monday. A staredown of two very different looking heads ensues.

No Way Out rundown, now featuring a six match card.

John Cena accuses Josh Matthews of liking boy bands when Angle comes up. They talk about Cena’s first match in the WWE where Angle beat him. Cena is tired of hearing about not belonging here (Angle: “You don’t.”) or not being good enough (Angle: “You’re not.”) or being a punk kid (Angle: “You are.”). Cena knows that he almost had Angle in his debut and on Sunday, Angle is looking at a hungry son of a b**** who is going to Wrestlemania.

JBL and the Cabinet are ready for Batista.

Here are JBL and the Cabinet to address the Batista situation. JBL isn’t someone to try and attack Batista with a car because he’ll face Batista like he has everyone else. If Batista wants some, come get it right now. Oh and Big Show needs to watch if he can put down the pizza. Batista arrives in the parking lot and takes a look at JBL’s limo. He’s not done though and pulls a baseball bat out of his own very nice car.

The limo windows are promptly destroyed and Batista breaks the longhorns with his bare hands. After making sure he looks ok in the side mirror, Batista gets back in his car as the Cabinet runs up the ramp. Batista drives away so here’s Big Show to go after JBL. The Cabinet runs out but here’s Batista again for the save. JBL and the Cabinet bail with a lot of yelling ending the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This wasn’t a great show as a lot of stuff feels like it doesn’t matter on the way to Wrestlemania. The top two title matches have been known for a long time now but there is only so much that you can do to fill time before you start the actual build to those matches. The rest of the show wasn’t the most thrilling in the world, but the Booker vs. Cena match wasn’t bad and Batista continues to look incredible, even on another show. Then again, none of this matters as next week starts the real build and even though everyone knows what’s coming, the interest goes up because of the big matches.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Smackdown – July 16, 2019: What Comes Before First?

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 16, 2019
Location: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It looks to be an eventful night this week and believe it or not, a big focus is going to be on Shane McMahon. We’re going to have a town hall meeting where wrestlers and people on the show can air their grievances with Shane, which could go a lot of ways. Other than that, Daniel Bryan is going to make a career changing announcement. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Kevin Owens calling out Shane McMahon for taking over the show.

Earlier today, Owens arrived when Shane met him at the door. Tonight, Owens has the night off because Shane is not having him interrupt the town hall.

We look at Undertaker Tombstoning Shane for the win on Sunday at Extreme Rules.

It’s already time for the town hall with the roster on the stage. Shane says anyone can say anything they want as long as they’re respectful. Roman Reigns goes first and says that no one respects Shane. That doesn’t work for Shane, so Reigns is going to be fined and dealt with later. Charlotte goes next and thanks Shane for treating her and her family so great. Liv Morgan, who Owens mentioned last week, calls her out for having everything handed to her. Charlotte: “Do you work here?”

They argue for a bit until Shane calls them off and Buddy Murphy goes next. Murphy says he doesn’t like Owens being rude to Shane and wants to slap the taste out of Owens’ mouth. Shane approves of this and declares Murphy no longer the best kept secret in Smackdown history.

Apollo Crews says no one likes Shane and gets called out by Zelina Vega, likely setting up a match with Andrade. Elias says that he is not Kevin Owens but New Day cuts him off. Kofi Kingston rants about how no one gets an opportunity under Shane. That’s enough for Shane, who says the town hall is over. Everyone leaves but Cesaro wants Aleister Black to pick a fight with him tonight. Shane makes the match in a hurry and Cesaro leaves. Cue Owens behind him and there’s the Stunner, after Owens misses Shane’s head on the first attempt. Owens runs off into the crowd to a rather positive reaction.

Aleister Black vs. Cesaro

Rematch from Sunday where Black won in a good match. Black flips away from Cesaro to start and has a seat as we take a break. Back with Cesaro holding a chinlock but Black fights up and hits the running moonsault for two. Cesaro kicks him in the face for the same and it’s off to a Crossface. That’s broken up and Black hits a knee, followed by Black Mass for the pin at 6:17. Not enough shown to rate but Black kicking another head off is a good thing.

Dolph Ziggler comes up to Shane in the back and says he wants to teach Owens a lesson tonight. That’s a no because Owens is probably long gone. Ziggler can get him back though, and it can be the main event tonight. That’s cool with Shane.

After Extreme Rules, Daniel Bryan ranted about how he failed in his quest to change the planet. If he still wants to do it, he has to go where Bryan has never gone before and he knows what he has to do. Bryan looked a little insane here.

Liv Morgan vs. Charlotte

Charlotte shoves her down to start so Morgan is right back up with a dropkick and a little wave. Liv gets in another knockdown for two but a heck of a powerbomb takes her down. The Figure Eight makes Liv tap at 2:26. Nice job of trying to push someone fresh but this is Charlotte’s world.

Post match Liv grabs a headset and says that Charlotte was right. When she comes back, she’s going to be real.

Ziggler finds Owens’ number.

Mandy Rose/Sonya Deville vs. Ember Moon/???

Moon needs a mystery partner and it’s…..Bayley. Mandy and Sonya jump them to start and Bayley gets choked on the ropes. Bayley fights back in a hurry and hands it off to Moon for the kicks to Mandy’s ribs. The Bayley to Belly sets up the Eclipse to finish Rose at 1:32.

Post match Bayley says she wants to elevate the division against someone she’s never faces before. She offers the Summerslam shot to Moon, who of course accepts.

Shinsuke Nakamura is proud of winning the Intercontinental Title and is free to rain chaos. Ali comes up to congratulate him and looks at the title.

Here’s New Day for a chat. Xavier Woods brags about Kofi retaining the title on Sunday but Kofi talks about the two of them winning the Tag Team Titles for the sixth time. They’re like three African American leprechauns with all the gold (Woods: “THESE ARE WHITE GOLD!”). They know what Daniel Bryan’s announcement and they accept the Tag Team Title rematch for right here and right now.

Cue Bryan and Rowan….but then they turn around and leave without saying anything. Then they come back, still say nothing, and leave again. They come back a third time but this time Bryan drops the mic without saying anything. Now it’s Samoa Joe coming out to say he’s ready for a championship opportunity. The New Day is throwing out title chances so Kofi can do the same right here tonight.

Hang on though as here’s Elias to cut him off. Elias says Joe has already gotten his shot but here’s Randy Orton to interrupt as well. He hasn’t had the title in a long time and will get it back with an RKO. Elias says they can’t all have title matches tonight but we can have a six man tag instead. New Day likes the sound of it, with each one getting in a playa for a bonus. Orton: “Nah. I’m good.” Kofi accuses the Viper of going limp and the match is on.

New Day vs. Elias/Samoa Joe/Randy Orton

Kofi elbows Elias in the face to start but an Orton distraction breaks up a cover attempt. Joe comes in and hammers away at Kofi but the running double stomp gives Kofi two. It’s off to Woods and New Day hits their parade of various jumping shots to Joe for two more. Elias comes back in and gets caught in the spanking abdominal stretch from Big E., followed by the Honor Roll to give Woods two of his own. Orton gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Elias takes over.

Back from a break with Woods fighting out of a chinlock but not being able to make a tag. Elias’ superplex is broken up and Woods hits a missile dropkick, allowing the hot tag to Kofi to clean house on Orton. The RKO attempt is broken up as everything breaks down. Big E. gives Orton the belly to belly and Joe is low bridged to the floor. Woods follows with a big running flip dive but Joe grabs the Clutch. Elias tries the running knee on Big E. and doesn’t come close but Big E. goes down anyway. Back in and Trouble in Paradise hits Elias’ side, leaving Kofi to take the RKO for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: C. So we’re going with Orton vs. Kingston at Summerslam? They’re certainly going with the safe paths in the title matches at the pay per view and while that’s not the worst idea in the world, it’s also not the most thrilling one. Hopefully we get something interesting, but you never know how good something like this is going to be.

R-Truth is hiding in some kind of a box when Carmella comes to find him. He’s tired of hiding but she thinks he should hide in plain sight at Comic Con. Truth: “Don’t call me a con. I did my time and paid my debt to society.” Eventually he gets the idea.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kabuki Warriors vs. IIconics

The Warriors are challenging and don’t even get an entrance. The IIconics are shown at ringside to start so this match really does mean as little as it seems. Shane chops Royce in the chest to start and Asuka adds a running knee for two. The running hip attack misses though and Kay hits a big boot for two. Asuka is right back with a spinning kick to the head to send her outside and the IIconics take the countout at 1:19.

Post match the Warriors destroy the champs even more.

Apollo Crews vs. Andrade

Crews jumps him before the bell and the beatdown is on in a hurry. Crews says he can go but gets knocked into the corner again. Andrade hits the running knees in the corner but Crews crucifixes him for the pin at :54.

We look back at Bray Wyatt’s return last night on Raw.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens

The threat of a Stunner sends Ziggler outside for a flip dive but the Swanton hits raised knees back inside. Ziggler gets two off a Fameasser and the chinlock goes on. Owens fights up and hits a superkick, setting up the Swanton for a rather close two. Cue Shane with a small army behind him to surround the ring. Ziggler hits the Zig Zag off the distraction for two (I bought that as the finish) and Owens slaps him in the face.

Ziggler pounds away in the corner and sends Owens hard into the post (Shane: “That looks like that hurt.”). A superkick misses and Owens hits the Stunner, only to have Shane pull him out of the ring. Owens hits another Stunner on Shane on the floor before running away in a smart move at around 6:15.

Rating: D+. This was almost all storyline advancement but they had me on the Zig Zag. Thank goodness they didn’t go that way as it would have been the dumbest thing they could have done. Owens looked great coming out of last week and Extreme Rules, so thankfully they didn’t go in the wrong direction by having him get pinned here.

Shane promises to make Owens pay to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The best thing I can say about this show is that nothing stupid happened. The right people won the matches (save for maybe Apollo) and there are some people they’re clearly interested in pushing. You can see most of the Summerslam card from here and I’d expect Owens vs. Shane in some kind of a loser leaves WWE match to be added soon. They did the right things here and it was certainly an energetic show, albeit nothing that did anything terribly memorable. All in all, not bad and better than Raw.

One very important note: According to Meltzer, Bischoff was NOT involved in this show in any way and was not even in town for it. No word on the reason for the delay, but this was not his debut episode.

Results

Aleister Black b. Cesaro – Black Mass

Charlotte b. Liv Morgan – Figure Eight

Bayley/Ember Moon b. Mandy Rose/Sonya Deville – Eclipse to Rose

Randy Orton/Elias/Samoa Joe b. New Day – RKO to Kingston

Kabuki Warriors b. IIconics via countout

Apollo Crews b. Andrade – Crucifix

Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler went to a no contest when Owens ran away

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Smackdown – February 10, 2005: Barney The Pizza Eating Ty-Ran-O-Saur-Us

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: February 10, 2005
Location: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan
Attendance: 18,757
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re over in Japan for the first time in Smackdown history and it’s tournament time. With less than two weeks to go before No Way Out, we need a #1 contender for Wrestlemania so it’s time for a tournament to get us to that point. There are two first round matches tonight and one of them actually seems interested. Let’s get to it.

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

Assuming the information is correct, there were about 2,000 more people here than for Monday Night Raw. Rather odd given how stacked Raw was.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Kenzo Suzuki

Kenzo is booed out of the building and there’s no Hiroko. The EDDIE chants get on Kenzo’s nerves even more so he starts stomping away in the corner. Choking on the mat makes it even worse and a running knee drop gives Kenzo two. We hit the nerve hold as Cole explains the difference between Japanese and American crowds. Eddie fights up with some right hands to the head and the Three Amigos connect. The frog splash finishes Kenzo without much effort.

Rating: D+. And that’s it for Kenzo, at least on Smackdown. He’s one of those guys who never did anything more than make a few footnotes and there isn’t exactly much to remember about him. Other than the period where he wanted Torrie, there was little more to him than “Japanese villain”. You need more than that and Kenzo never got close.

Kurt Angle is ready for Rey Mysterio in the tournament tonight, even though Mark Jindrak didn’t do anything against Mysterio last week. When he wins tonight, he has a path to the finals because Undertaker didn’t win. Reigns doesn’t like Undertaker being treated like something big and special around here. He talks about his time in prison and being in jail for five calendars (Is “year” now on the no list?). After doing all that, he’s not scared of caskets or the Dead Man. Angle: “That’s the intensity that I want.” I just want an Undertaker feud that doesn’t involve someone saying they’re not scared of him.

Tag Team Titles: Mark Jindrak/Luther Reigns vs. Basham Brothers

The Bashams are defending. Doug and Jindrak start things off with the former double legging Jindrak, meaning Angle’s coaching isn’t doing all that well. Reigns gets in a cheap shot from the back and the challengers take over. Jindrak snaps off a suplex and hits the hip swivel….and there’s the gong. The lights go out and Undertaker appears for the beating and the no contest, which isn’t a DQ for no logical reason.

Rating: D. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and was just there to set up Reigns vs. Undertaker at No Way Out. That’s not the worst idea in the world and it’s not like the champs were dead to rites. It’s a nice enough TV angle, albeit one that came after a match that showed how generic these teams are.

Video on the fans loving the show being in Japan and John Cena meeting some of them.

Joy Giovanni is shooting a t-shirt gun. And that’s it.

Kenzo fires up Hiroko for the Kimono match with Torrie Wilson. He rather likes the idea of Hiroko exposing Torrie.

JBL complains to Amy Weber about the barbed wire cage match and promises to do something drastic to Big Show. He pulls out a tranquilizer gun to shoot Show, which will keep him out of the cage match. Amy takes the gun but Orlando Jordan opens the door behind her and JBL gets shot in the neck. After standing up for a second, JBL goes right back down.

Sumo champion Akebono is here again.

Cruiserweight Title: Funaki vs. Chavo Guerrero

Funaki is the home country champion and gets the biggest reaction of his career. They take their time to start and we get a friendly slap of hands. Funaki takes him to the mat and grabs a quickly broken headscissors. The fast paced covers get two each and it’s a standoff. As you might expect, the commentators ignore the match to talk about JBL being shot as Chavo gets in a cheap shot to take over. Some uppercuts have Funaki in trouble and a suplex gets two.

The chinlock and a belly to back suplex get two more on Funaki as the announcers move on to talking about beer in vending machines. It’s off to an Octopus Hold and the fans gasp a bit at seeing Chavo bust it out. That’s broken up and Funaki hits a basement dropkick, followed by a bulldog for two. The tornado DDT is broken up so Funaki’s enziguri gives him another two. Funaki goes up but gets superplexed back down and a backbreaker gets two. Chavo makes the mistake of putting him on top though and the tornado DDT retains the title.

Rating: C+. Well that was a surprise. It’s a good sign that the announcers got into the match as the action was good enough to draw them in. Funaki winning clean is something you probably wouldn’t get today so it’s nice that the company actually used to care about something like this. Nice match too.

Carlito takes credit for Theodore Long not being here when a rather woozy JBL comes in to ask how Carlito’s hair got through customs. Orlando Jordan comes in to check on JBL, who tells him to go take care of the Vanilla Ice rapper. Jordan leaves and JBL yells at an inflatable dinosaur.

Basic Instinct Wrestlemania trailer, with Stacy Keibler implying a special relationship with Trish Stratus. Chris Benoit, Christian and Chris Jericho asking about various matches, including hardcore and mixed tags, is rather amusing, though Stacy tops them by making lingerie pillow fights sound serious. Moolah and Mae Young as the big gag at the end isn’t funny, but the rest was great.

#1 Contenders Tournament Quarterfinals: John Cena vs. Orlando Jordan

Non-title. Before the match, Cena raps about beating up Orlando Jordan to send a message to JBL while making a bunch of OJ Simpson references. Jordan gets in his token offense to start so Cena hits the hiptoss and release fisherman’s suplex to get us out of the rooking wrestling level. Cena charges into a boot in the face and gets clotheslined down, allowing Jordan to start with the boxing punches. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by an elbow to Cena’s jaw for two. Cena comes back with the hard clotheslines, throws in a bow, and drops the ProtoBomb. There’s the Shuffle and the FU finishes Jordan in a hurry.

Rating: D. This was a world of difference with Cena’s offense having fire and snap while Jordan….well there’s just nothing good about it. He’s boring, he’s first gear the whole way, there’s nothing that makes him stand out and he’s just a warm body for Cena to beat up. That’s fine for a lackey, but watching him have a match is painful.

Post break the Cabinet can’t find JBL. Tazz: “How do you lose a 6’6 WWE Champion with a cowboy hat?” Completely valid (and unique) question.

Torrie Wilson vs. Hiroko

Kimono match, which is the same as an evening gown match. Well, with a different kind of clothing but you get the idea. Hiroko throws salt in the eyes to start but her kicks to the ribs are cut off by a clothesline. Torrie’s kimono gets pulled up so she hits a shoulder in the corner and grabs an airplane spin. Hiroko gets stripped to give Torrie the win. This is every version of the match you’ve ever seen.

Torrie strips as a bonus. As she is leaving, here’s JBL with the dinosaur. He tries to throw it in the ring but it falls backwards onto him in a funny bit. Post break JBL has it in his ring and accuses it of being a lizard on “stee-roids.” JBL: “You’re like Barry Bonds. I bet you play baseball.” As he continues to sound completely out of it (as he should), JBL talks about how it’s just a dinosaur like Big Show (JBL: “His name is Barney. He likes pizza.”). JBL stands for Just Beat A Lizard and the dinosaur falls forward.

The jacket and tie come off and JBL threatens the dinosaur for disrespecting him. He is NOT scared and wants a fight as Cole calls this embarrassing for the champ. There go JBL’s shirt and pants, revealing pink underwear. Cue Big Show, just as JBL decides the dinosaur is a dragon. JBL slugs away and hits the Clothesline, drawing out the Cabinet for the big beatdown as JBL is fine. So it was all a ruse. A chair to Show’s hand misses and Show cleans house without much trouble. That’s making it a lot more complicated than it needed to be. I guess “jump him in the back with a bunch of chairs” was too complicated?

JBL was very funny here and that’s something that people often forget about his title reign. His time as champion seems to be remembered as doing the same things over and over again with nothing ever changing. While that might be the case during most of his matches, JBL did some very good comedy in there and it was really entertaining stuff a lot of the time, like this right here.

During the break, Show talked about how much he could hurt people with no trouble and promised to do that at No Way Out. That brings him to Akebono, who knows what it’s like to be this size. If Akebono is a grand champion, he can get in the ring and prove it right now. Akebono does just that and while he isn’t as tall as Show, he’s certainly wider in girth. They shake hands and Show raises his hand. Well that was anticlimactic, which is probably the best thing right now.

No Way Out rundown, with two matches (cage, Reigns vs. Undertaker) announced for the show, which is in ten days.

Angle tells Mysterio to not get his hopes up, which Rey interprets as Angle not respecting him. The joke will be on Angle tonight.

Video on the Japanese tour, with JBL saying there is no language barrier.

#1 Contenders Tournament Quarterfinals: Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle

This is really a semifinals match as the winner gets a spot in the finals. No springboard entrance for Rey here. Mysterio gets nowhere on a wrestling attempt so it’s time to rethink the strategy. Angle grabs the arm and then a waistlock so Rey elbows his way out. Rey tries to run so Angle knees him in the ribs for the easy cut off. Back up and Rey gets smart with a headscissors but it’s too early for the 619.

That means another standoff before Angle headlocks Rey down for some control. Rey slips out again and hits a basement dropkick, setting up the ten right hands in the corner with the fans counting in English. The quick belly to belly gets Angle out of trouble though and we take a break. Back with Angle fighting out of a chinlock and sending Angle outside, meaning it’s time for a dive. Since Angle isn’t quite human, he’s right back with a German suplex and a backbreaker for two.

Some knees to the back have Rey in more trouble and Angle takes him down for some rolling near falls. Angle ties him in the Tree of Woe, which does not seem cool with the fans. A charge goes into the post though and Rey has a bit of a breather. The springboard seated senton rocks Angle but he’s right back with a hard clothesline. Rey knocks him into the ropes for the 619 but the West Coast Pop is blocked. A standing hurricanrana gives Rey two but the sitout bulldog is countered into the Angle Slam. There’s the ankle lock and Rey taps.

Rating: B. Like this was going to be anything other than good. These two have always had chemistry together and this match told a rather awesome story. Angle was aggressive throughout with Rey getting in his high risk spots where he could, only to get caught in the big moves at the end. Angle winning sets up a big match for Cena in the finals and that’s what matters in the end.

Here are the updated brackets:

Kurt Angle

BYE

Booker T.

John Cena

Overall Rating: C. Raw was way better, but this was a fun show as well with the main event helping out quite a bit. JBL was a nice bit of humor in the middle as well and there were enough good moments throughout to make the show entertaining. No Way Out should wrap up smoothly enough (once we get a card that is) and then it’s on to Wrestlemania, where everything can finally change. This wasn’t Raw, but it was an acceptable alternative.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Smackdown – July 9, 2019: The Final Pull Over The Line

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 9, 2019
Location: SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the go home show for Extreme Rules and after last night’s long list of changes, you have to think that the card is mostly set for a change. Tonight is likely going to focus on Shane McMahon, with Roman Reigns possibly even gracing us with his presence for a change. We’re still waiting on the Eric Bischoff regime to start though, meaning this might not be the strongest show. Let’s get to it.

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

Earlier today, Dolph Ziggler arrived and complained about carrying Kevin Owens when Owens showed up in his car and honked at him. They yelled at each other and got in a fight but some well placed wrestlers ran in and broke it up. Shane came in and told Owens to get out of here. Better than fifteen minutes of talking, though it would be better if Ziggler was arrested by the cops in the background for impersonating an entertainer.

In the back, Shane said he was doing his job and will replace the originally scheduled Ziggler vs. Owens main event.

Owens runs into the arena and rants about how Shane needs to hear the truth. He’s tried to be a good company guy for a long time now but a few months ago, the whole McMahon Family was out here saying they were going to listen to the fans. But now Shane gets more TV time than anyone else and NO ONE HAS EVER WANTED THAT!

It makes him sick, to the point where he wants to smash his head on the table, which he climbs onto. Shane comes out and says cut Owens’ mic. Owens finds another mic and rants about Shane calling himself the Best in the World being an insult to everyone in the back. Shane has that mic cut as well so Owens grabs a commentary headset and keeps going. Security finally chases him off.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Finn Balor

Non-title. On the way to the ring, Nakamura says that he’s getting his career back on track. Balor says that Nakamura won’t be using him to do that. Nakamura knocks him into the corner and we take a rather early break. Back with Balor getting kneed in the ribs but managing to send Nakamura into the corner. A Nightmare on Helm Street gets two but Nakamura is right back with a sliding German suplex. Kinshasa is countered with a Sling Blade so Nakamura hits the running knee in the corner.

The middle rope knee to the head sends Balor outside and a posting makes it even worse. They both beat the count back in but Nakamura sends him back outside for Kinshasa, where Balor beats the count again. We’re not done yet as Nakamura throws him outside for a third time, this time for a whip into the steps. Balor beats it AGAIN, so this time it’s Kinshasa for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: D+. So they had a wide open chance to have Nakamura knock Balor silly on the floor for a countout but nah, let’s just have Nakamura pin him instead. I was even getting my hopes up as they could have set up some kind of gimmick rematch on Sunday, but instead we get this. I’m sure we’ll get the rematch on Sunday, though Balor will be lessened a bit because that’s what the Intercontinental Title does.

Shane, Drew McIntyre and Elias are ready for Sunday’s tag match when Ziggler comes in and wants to fight. Instead of Owens, he’ll face Roman Reigns in the main event.

Video on Kofi Kingston’s title win and reign. Then Samoa Joe choked him out to set up their match on Sunday.

Joe says Kofi can deny the truth all he wants but that changes nothing. Kofi is everything Joe said he was and now Joe is coming for everyone Kofi has used to get where he is today. On Sunday, Joe is taking the title. Joe’s delivery alone has made this 49x better than Ziggler.

It’s time for a contract signing for the Women’s Title match on Sunday. Nikki Cross represents herself and Alexa Bliss and here’s Bayley as well. After looking at a clip of Bayley attacking Nikki last night, Bayley wonders where Alexa is again. Nikki says last night was the real Bayley, which Bayley attributes to Bliss being in her head. Bayley promises to bring whatever she has to on Sunday to beat both of them. Then what happens when Bliss loses and blames Nikki? That sends Nikki over the edge and she promises to win the title so they can be co-champions. She wants Bayley to stick around for the next match too.

Nikki Cross vs. Carmella

Bayley is at ringside as Nikki takes Carmella down to start. A faceplant and some rams of the head into the mat have Carmella in trouble. Nikki gets two off a snap suplex and it’s off to something like a Rings of Saturn. It’s off to a regular chinlock for a bit until Carmella gets up and avoids a charge. The Bronco Buster keeps Nikki down but she’s right back up with the Purge to finish Carmella at 3:42.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t great but the storyline was fine with Nikki being serious and showing what she can do when she’s serious. Now that doesn’t help the fact that Bayley beat her clean last week but I’ll take what I can get. They’ve got something interesting with everyone playing mind games with each other and it could make for an interesting twist.

We look back at the Kabuki Warriors defeating the IIconics in Tokyo to earn a future title shot.

The IIconics run into Paige and the Warriors, who wan their title shot tonight. That’s not happening because Billie is sick though with mad cow bird flu (Peyton: “It’s really rare.”). Paige calls them annoying clowns and slaps Billie, before reminding her that she’s sick. The title match is coming.

We look back at the end of last night’s show with Cedric Alexander dressing up like a janitor to shock Drew and Shane, only to lose in the end and be unmasked, rendering the whole thing rather pointless.

Roman Reigns promises to make Shane and Drew rest in peace.

It’s time for a Tag Team Summit with New Day (whose music came on for half a second before Big E.’s intro), Rowan and Daniel Bryan and Heavy Machinery. New Day is out first and Big E. is excited about the idea of all three members of New Day being able to touch their championship tips together. Bryan and Rowan cut off the hip swivel though with Bryan saying no one takes the titles seriously because New Day doesn’t take them seriously.

Woods wants to hear from Rowan though, because Rowan is always taking orders from someone. It might be Bray, Harper or Bryan and they’re having trouble remembering who his daddy is. Bryan cuts that off and says New Day isn’t serious enough and they have always been a comedy act. It wouldn’t be as bad as if Heavy Machinery won, so here’s Heavy Machinery. Tucker talks about getting close to the titles at Stomping Grounds and now they’ve earned another title shot. Otis mocks New Day’s swiveling as the Chris Farley is strong with this one. Now it’s time for a triple threat.

Otis vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Xavier Woods

Bryan bails to the floor to start so Woods grabs a headlock. That’s reversed with a toss around the ring so here’s Bryan again for an attempt at a double suplex on Otis. He delayed vertical suplexes both of them at the same time (geez), leaving the other three to get in a brawl on the floor. Big E. and Tucker put Rowan over the announcers’ table and get thrown out.

Back from a break with Woods throwing Bryan into the barricade, only to have Bryan grab the LeBell Lock inside. Otis dives in for the save so Bryan kicks at him a bit. The big one is reversed into a suplex and there’s the Caterpillar, with Bryan rolling to the apron. That leaves Woods to take a World’s Strongest Slam for the pin at 8:48.

Rating: C-. The break in the middle was a little better and didn’t feel as forced so it wasn’t as bad as last night. Otis winning was the right call as it adds a little big more intrigue to Sunday’s match. I still don’t see Heavy Machinery winning the titles, but it’s a nice way to make things more interesting.

Video on Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler, which isn’t happening tonight.

We recap the opening segment.

Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville interrupt Ember Moon at catering because this is still going. Ember’s win last week brought the two of them closer together and it’s a tag match for next week, assuming Ember can find a partner. If she can’t, she’ll fight on her own.

Ali isn’t scared of the devil in any form because he’s seen so much evil on the streets of Chicago as a police officer. He’ll ask the devil if he can have this dance and evil only shows up if you won’t fight.

Extreme Rules rundown.

We get a split screen interview between Aleister Black and an empty chair. Black looks a bit confused and then laughs when he is told that the opponent will not be announcing his identity at this time. This is something that Black himself would do so it’s very smart. Black doesn’t care who it is anymore but someone walks up to the chair. Their hand touches the chair and they sit down to reveal…..Cesaro. Black says he’ll fight him on Sunday.

Shelton Benjamin is asked about tonight’s main event, says “well” and leaves.

We’re ready for an interview with Kofi Kingston but Paul Heyman walks by first. Kingston, who didn’t seem to see Heyman, comes in and says last week he kicked Samoa Joe in the head. He likes facing people like Samoa Joe because it makes his title reign more impressive. This Sunday, he’s keeping the title.

Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler

Hang on though because here are Shane, Drew and Elias to watch. Shane is on commentary as Ziggler kicks Reigns down to start and nails a quick Shot to the Heart. Roman fights back up and knocks Ziggler outside for the apron dropkick. A distraction lets McIntyre post Reigns though, which Shane just happened to miss. Back in and Ziggler gets two, followed by another Shot to the Heart for two. A neckbreaker is good for the same and we hit the chinlock.

Another neckbreaker is broken up, as is Ziggler’s running DDT. Reigns starts the comeback but has to Superman Punch Elias, allowing the Zig Zag to hit for two. The superkick is countered with a Superman Punch for two but Elias pulls Ziggler out before the spear. Reigns hits the no hands dive but goes too far and lands face first on the floor. Thankfully he pops up as Shane comes into the ring. Ziggler superkicks Reigns but here’s Owens for a Stunner to Shane. Reigns and Ziggler get back in so the spear can finish Ziggler at 8:48.

Rating: C-. The Owens interference breathed some much needed life into this one but it wasn’t doing well before then. Ziggler and Shane continue to feel like the annoying friends who tag along on everything you do whether you want them there or not. Shane is likely gearing up for a match against Owens at Summerslam and Ziggler….well he’ll be there too, likely saying the same things he always says.

Overall Rating: D+. Owens was by far the best part of this show but so much of tonight felt like watching everything drag across the finish line to Extreme Rules as we FINALLY end this horrible stretch of programming. The build for Summerslam can’t get here soon enough, just because we’ve been watching these same boring stories for weeks now. Owens hopefully will be a breath of fresh air, but I fully expect him to be looking up at the lights at Summerslam as Shane’s music plays. Until that changes, things aren’t going to get much better.

Results

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Finn Balor – Kinshasa

Nikki Cross b. Carmella – Purge

Otis b. Daniel Bryan and Xavier Woods – World’s Strongest Slam to Woods

Roman Reigns b. Dolph Ziggler – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Smackdown – February 3, 2005: Cena’s Path Is Clear

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: February 3, 2005
Location: HP Pavilion, San Jose, California
Attendance: 9,200
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s always nice to see a birthday show. This was taped after Raw on Monday so the fans are going to be a little more worn out than usual. We’re coming off of the Royal Rumble where JBL retained the World Title, but now he has a barbed wire cage match with Big Show. Oh and John Cena, who was the runner up in the Rumble and clearly the next top challenger. Let’s get to it.

Here are Sunday’s results if you need a recap.

We’re not wasting time this week as here’s Cena, with a censored hat, to open things up. Cena talks about this being a chain gang town before talking about being controversial. He references the hat (looked like the Ruck Fules hat) being controversial and throws it into the crowd. Since he’s always involved in controversy, it makes sense that he was in the end of a controversial Royal Rumble. That’s in the past though because Batista was the winner. Cena wants him to come to Smackdown because the champ is here.

Instead, here’s Theodore Long for a chat. There is a chance that Batista is coming to Smackdown but just in case he doesn’t, the WWE Champion will need a #1 contender. Therefore, tonight we’re starting an eight man #1 contenders tournament. If Batista comes over anyway, the title match will be a triple threat. Cue a ticked off JBL to say that the champ is here now. JBL yells at Long about the cage match and takes credit for all of Smackdown’s success. AND DON’T CALL HIM DAWG.

Long says the tournament is still on and next week it’s Orlando Jordan vs. John Cena in at first round match. JBL: “You didn’t tell me Orlando was in it!” Long: “You wouldn’t shut up!” As for Cena, it’s too bad that he doesn’t make it beyond the first round but he doesn’t deserve it anyway. The fans tell JBL to shut up but he goes on about how Cena will never get a WWE Title shot because he isn’t in JBL’s league. Jordan charges at Cena and gets thrown to the floor, followed by an FU to JBL. Just in case you needed to wonder who was winning the tournament.

Here’s Kurt Angle for the Invitational, but first he talks about how much fun it was to beat up Shawn Michaels at the Royal Rumble. He stopped the Showstopper and made Shawn suffer so it was a good night. Next week his Road to Wrestlemania begins with a first round match in the tournament. As for tonight though, here’s the hometown challenger.

Kurt Angle vs. Nunzio

Nunzio says he told the other kid to stay in the back because he wants revenge for Angle taking his spot. Angle is so intimidated that he pulls his straps back up before taking Nunzio down by the arm. Another takedown is reversed into a rollup to give Nunzio two and now Angle is annoyed. The first suplex sets up the ankle lock and the grapevine makes Nunzio tap in a hurry.

Video on WWE coming to Japan.

Angle is pleased with his win and is ready to face Mysterio next week. Then he finds out that his second round opponent could be the Undertaker, meaning it’s time to talk strategy with Luther Reigns.

Carlito tells Long that he has sent in the petition, meaning Long will be in Connecticut next week, explaining his actions to the Board of Directors.

Rey Mysterio vs. Mark Jindrak

Mysterio crawls between the legs a few times to start and makes Jindrak charge into some boots in the corner. Possibly inspired by Rey, Jindrak hits a boot of his own (the left leg for a weird sight) but has to block the 619. A hard whip into the corner has Rey down again and we hit the chinlock.

One heck of a left hand gives Jindrak two and we hit the hip swivel. That means a takedown and basement dropkick into the springboard seated senton for two. Jindrak grabs a pop up backbreaker for two but Mysterio starts kicking at the leg. Another dropkick sets up the 619 but the West Coast Pop misses. That’s fine with Rey as it’s a headscissors into the corner, setting up a rollup to finish Jindrak.

Rating: C. Better than I was expecting here as Jindrak’s athleticism was on at least half display here. Mysterio was looking rather crisp here as well with someone different to work against. Having Mysterio beat one of Angle’s lackeys makes sense as a way to set up next week’s tournament match too.

Amy Weber gives Joy Giovanni a $200 dry cleaning bill for ruining her dress last week. If Joy doesn’t pay, the Bashams will make Big Show pay instead.

Wrestlemania Eugene/Forrest Gump ad.

Basham Brothers vs. Big Show

Show chops and tosses Danny to start so Doug tries his luck instead. Show throws him around too but charges into some boots in the corner. A high crossbody gives Danny two and Doug hammers away in the corner to some avail. Danny tries to bring in a chair but it gets punched into his head. The chokeslam finishes Doug.

Rating: D. This wasn’t as bad as Batista squashing the stuffing out of La Resistance but it wasn’t much better. Big Show was never in any danger here and he beat up the champs in short order. It’s not like the titles are strong in the first place so why have them lose like this? Get jobbers, get another team, have Show fight them one at a time. Just don’t have him beat them up this badly.

We get the announcement of some of the Hall of Fame Class of 2005:

Paul Orndorff

Iron Sheik

Nikolai Volkoff

Bob Orton

Jimmy Hart

Not a bad class, but it needs the big name.

Here are the tournament brackets:

Rey Mysterio

Kurt Angle

Undertaker

Rene Dupree

Orlando Jordan

John Cena

Booker T.

Eddie Guerrero

#1 Contenders Tournament Quarterfinals: Rene Dupree vs. Undertaker

Undertaker headlocks him to start as the announcers talk about writing on trunks. As Tazz decides that Cole’s trunks would say Pony Pants, here are Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak to watch from ringside. We take a break and come back with Undertaker working on the arm, setting up Old School. Dupree manages to send him outside though and a bit of dancing distracts the referee long enough for Jindrak and Reigns to stomp away. An ax handle off the apron is countered into a ram into the post though and the apron legdrop connects.

The running big boot in the corner misses though and Dupree starts in on the leg. A scoop powerslam sets up the French Tickler but Undertaker sits up. Undertaker’s running DDT sets up the triangle choke but he has to go after Jindrak and Reigns instead. Dupree falls outside as Undertaker beats the other two up. Reigns grabs Undertaker’s leg to keep him from getting back inside though and it’s a double countout.

Rating: D+. You know, this felt like a match that should have been boring but Dupree gave it everything he had and got as much out of it as possible. There is only so much you can do to make Undertaker vs. Dupree believable and they came as close as they could to making it work. The downside though: Undertaker vs. Jindrak/Reigns.

Big Show is looking forward to destroying JBL at No Way Out because JBL is right where he wants him. He’d love to face Batista at Wrestlemania.

Booker T. isn’t happy with Eddie Guerrero for eliminating him from the Royal Rumble. He can make up for it by advancing in the tournament though.

New Wrestlemania ad with HHH as Braveheart. Ric Flair pops up at the end to pull a donkey.

#1 Contenders Tournament Quarterfinals: Eddie Guerrero vs. Booker T.

Cole: “Who will be brave of heart in this next match?” They take their time to start with Booker being kicked away from the leg. Eddie suplexes his way out of a headlock and grabs one of his own as they seem to have a lot of time here. A suplex gets Booker out of trouble as well and we hit the chinlock. Booker gets two off an elbow to the jaw but walks into a flapjack. It’s way too early for the frog splash though and we take a break with Booker rolling to the floor.

Back with Eddie hitting the slingshot hilo but getting caught on top with a superplex. A top wristlock is broken up with Booker being sent head first into the buckle so it’s a sleeper to keep Eddie in trouble instead. Eddie fights up but misses a charge to send him crashing outside in a heap. Booker sends him into the steps and grabs the Book End back inside but Eddie gets a foot on the rope.

The comeback is on with some dropkicks and Three Amigos but the frog splash misses. The referee gets kicked down and Booker’s ax kick gets a very delayed two. Eddie shoves Booker into the referee for a second bump before dropping to the mat, clutching his knee. Booker yells at the referee but smiles because he knows what Eddie is doing. Eddie’s suplex is countered into a rollup with tights to give Booker the pin.

Rating: C+. This one took some time to get going and they were going slowly, but it was the kind of slowly that helped a lot when they got to the more intense parts at the end. The ending was rather nice too as I love when a wrestler thinks during a match. Booker was smart here and that’s not something you get enough of in wrestling. He was smart enough to know exactly what Eddie was doing and caught him using his own game.

Overall Rating: D+. They’re not hiding the fact that Cena is the next guy but it’s going to take some time to get there. No Way Out is kind of a necessary evil at this point as the show isn’t going to mean anything but it would be far too much waiting around to build Cena vs. JBL. That’s where we’re going, but it’s going to take some time to get there, which isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Smackdown – July 2, 2019: Is He Back And Is It Better Than Ever?

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 2, 2019
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

For the first time in a very long while, Smackdown actually has some catching up to do with Raw. Last night’s show was pretty good for a change and a lot of that has to do with the Paul Heyman influence. While it isn’t clear if Eric Bischoff’s influence will begin tonight or not, it certainly does make for an intriguing possibility. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look back at last night when Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley blew up the set and were taken away in ambulances. Lashley has been released from the medical center and we’ll hear from him tonight. Strowman is pretty banged up and may have a ruptured spleen.

Here’s Kevin Owens for the Kevin Owens Show. He reads his opening statement about the upcoming tag match at Extreme Rules (while having to switch cards between “Under” and “Taker”) and brings out his guests: Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre. We see a clip of Undertaker’s appearance from last night, followed by Shane talking about his winning streak. Now it’s time to beat Reigns again and now the match is going to be No Holds Barred.

Drew talks about what they do in regular matches and how vicious of an assault the tag match is going to be. Owens doesn’t seem convinced and wants to see a piece of the footage. That would be McIntyre and Shane running away from Undertaker during his entrance. Owens thinks Shane looks a bit afraid of Undertaker but in reality, it was just a reflex action that sent Shane running into the crowd. Shane: “What are you doing?”

Shane tells him to be a good talk show host and read the cards like they agreed to. Owens reads about Shane winning at Super ShowDown with NO help….but then switches to asking about Shane losing to Undertaker after a seven year absence. Drew gets in Owens’ face but here’s Dolph Ziggler of all people. Owens cuts Ziggler off, saying that he doesn’t want to hear from Ziggler about how it should be him. Owens: “It should have been you eight years ago and it was kind of but it’s not SO GET OVER IT!!!”

Ziggler goes into his usual speech and says he looks the part but Owens looks like he should be in a hot dog eating contest. Owens says he would win, which is better than Ziggler does in wrestling matches. Owens puts it up to Shane who should get the next title shot but that won’t happen. Instead, the two of them can team up against Heavy Machinery. The winning team will be added to the Tag Team Title match at Extreme Rules to make it a triple threat. Owens’ reactions were hilarious here, but how many wet blankets can WWE manage to throw onto this show in one segment?

Daniel Bryan and Rowan don’t like their match becoming a triple threat match but will walk out with the titles anyway.

New Day is ready for a fight and promise to take their titles back at Extreme Rules.

Big E. vs. Daniel Bryan

Big E. swivels his way out of a waistlock to start and the gyrating continues as Bryan looks on. Bryan tries some running shoulders to no avail so Big E. grabs the abdominal stretch with the trombone accompanied spanking. A clothesline turns Bryan inside out and we take a break.

Back with Bryan working on Big E.’s knee but his running clothesline is countered with a pair of belly to belly suplexes. The YES Kicks are countered into another suplex and the Warrior Splash gets two. Bryan sends him to the floor though and Rowan posts Big E. While Woods dives onto Rowan, the running knee gives Bryan the pin at 8:09.

We look back at R-Truth losing the 24/7 Title to Drake Maverick last night.

R-Truth tries to talk about going on his honeymoon, but it never actually happened. He heard that Hornswoggle and his wife were here in San Antonio instead of on their honeymoon. R-Truth: “So Mr. 7/11 European TV Champion, I’m coming for you! I want my baby back!”

Alexa Bliss sends Nikki Cross out to host a Moment of Bliss because it’s time to kick her out of the nest.

Here’s Cross for a Moment of Bliss (we’re forty four minutes in and the number of talk shows currently doubles the number of matches). Nikki introduces herself and promises to talk slowly so her accent doesn’t become a problem. She brings out Bayley as her guest, who seems impressed with Nikki’s hosting so far. Nikki says she’s here to ask the tough questions, like why Bayley called Bliss a liar. Bayley says she’s telling the truth because Nikki beat her last week and then beat Carmella last night. So why isn’t Nikki getting the title shot? Nikki doesn’t know, but she’ll fight Bayley right now.

Nikki Cross vs. Bayley

Non-title. Bayley hits a dropkick and suplex at the bell before hammering away. Nikki bails to the floor for a bit and gets caught with a jawbreaker back inside. With nothing else working, Nikki jumps on her back for a choke, which is broken up in a hurry. A high crossbody works a lot better for Nikki and she hits a splash in the corner. An ensuing bulldog looks to set up the Purge but Bayley reverses into a backslide for two. The Purge is countered into the Bayley to Belly to give Bayley the pin at 3:06.

Rating: C-. Well thank goodness they cut off that Cross momentum before it got out of hand. The right move was to set something up to offer something interesting and then bail out so we can go right back to the same match we saw last month because that’s how good storytelling goes. If you want to get to Bliss vs. Cross, why make them both seem like losers before you get there?

Ali talks about how people chase the WWE Championship for money and power. He chases it to bring change to millions of minds who have been taught that their name or hometown defines them. He’s going to change that and if you believe that lie, he’ll change your mind. When he becomes WWE Champion, it’s going to change your mind. Then he’ll be on the billboards and posters and fans will see someone who looks like them. Let the chase continue. Along with the rather awesome promos. Now make them go somewhere.

Here are Kofi Kingston and Samoa Joe for a face to face showdown. Joe talks about choking him out last night, which was an act of generosity. It seems that Kofi is always receiving some kind of act of generosity. Whenever New Day is given a singles match, it’s always Kofi getting the shot because he’s the New Day’s guy. Joe says they’re using the people just like he does and in a few years, Woods and Big E. can be the hype man and butler.

Kofi talks about everything he has done by himself while Joe lost the US Title to Ricochet. Joe is the one always jumping people from behind but Joe isn’t convinced. He knows Kofi always has a way out planned, like when he brought in his kids. Kofi calls Joe jealous but Joe offers a handshake in honor of choking Kofi out two weeks in a row.

If Kofi will shake his hand, Joe will promise the safety of everyone Kofi holds dear until Extreme Rules. There’s no handshake, so Joe gives him five seconds before he starts slapping Kofi around the ring. Instead Kofi flips him off (that feels WAY out of character for him) and hits Trouble in Paradise.

Heavy Machinery is very excited about their big chance tonight. They’re up against a team who has won 18 combined titles but never one as a team. They know the numbers from great scouting but Owens and Ziggler aren’t a team. They’re coming for the titles.

We look at the Strowman/Lashley explosion from last night again.

We see a video from Lashley’s Twitter, saying Strowman got what he deserved. That had nothing to do with wrestling because they went into an unsafe area. Lashley could have been electrocuted or something worse but Strowman didn’t care. The next time Lashley sees that son of a b****, he’s sending him to the morgue.

Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

Andrade stomps him into the corner to start and the running knees get two. Crews knocks him back down though and it’s an apron moonsault for two as we take a break. Back with Apollo hitting a jumping enziguri while Andrade is on the middle rope. The gorilla press drop into the standing moonsault gets two but Andrade sends him outside. That means a slingshot dive but Apollo catches him in midair. With Andrade being sent back inside, Zelina Vega gets in a hurricanrana off the steps. Back in and the hammerlock DDT gives Andrade the pin at 5:49. Not enough shown to rate but it was your usual match from both.

Owens and Ziggler say this won’t work but Owens has a plan: Ziggler stands in the corner and looks pretty while Owens does the work. Ziggler thinks Owens should just have a hot dog and let him do the work instead. Owens says they should try because the Tag Team Titles are worth it. Ziggler agrees because he’s done worse. Just no hot dogs.

Aleister Black says there was a knock at his door last week….but there was no one there. He applauds whoever knocked because whoever it was is now fighting on a spiritual plane. Now he only cares about the person showing up at Extreme Rules. For if they shall fight in the heavens, they shall fight through the seven layers of h*** and if they meet in purgatory, fighting they shall. Black flat out said the person doesn’t matter. At least he knows it too after all this time.

Ember Moon vs. Mandy Rose

Sonya Deville is here with Mandy and offers an early distraction. That doesn’t seem to matter as Mandy gets caught with a forearm for two, only to come back with a belly to back faceplant. A knee to the face gives Mandy two more and we hit the chinlock. Ember fights up in a hurry and hits a jawbreaker, followed by the Eclipse for the pin at 2:16. You have to give her a win at some point I guess.

Shelton Benjamin is asked about the upcoming WWE Championship match at Extreme Rules. He looks around, smiles, and says nothing.

Heavy Machinery vs. Dolph Ziggler/Kevin Owens

The winners go on to face New Day, Daniel Bryan and Rowan, all of whom are out for commentary, at Extreme Rules. Otis takes Ziggler down to start but the fight breaks out on the floor with Bryan running through Big E. with another knee. Rowan breaks up the pancake table and claw slams Woods through it as we take a break.

Back with the match having been restarted (because there was NO OTHER OPTION other than that) and Tucker shoulders Owens down for two. Tucker dives over Owens and runs him down for two more but a low bridge sends Tucker outside. Ziggler comes in for a neckbreaker into a backsplash from Owens, setting up a Crossface.

With that broken up, Tucker comes off the middle rope with a spinning crossbody and the hot tag brings in Otis. A spinning slam and t-bone suplex gets two on Ziggler as everything breaks down. Owens gets sent outside and the Zig Zag is broken up. The Caterpillar hits Ziggler but Owens is back up with a superkick. The Stunner is broken up though and Ziggler superkicks Owens, setting up the Compactor to pin Owens at 6:13.

Rating: D+. I’m still trying to get my mind around the restart thing. Anyway, this is the right call as Heavy Machinery is a lot better than another wacky tag team. Odds are we’ll see Ziggler vs. Owens at Extreme Rules, so at least we can hear Owens rip on Ziggler’s repetitive promos again.

Post match Ziggler helps Owens up and gets Stunned for his efforts to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I would certainly hope that this wasn’t the first Bischoff show because the future would look very bleak. This wasn’t a good show with a bunch of the same things that have been happening for months now. The wrestling was nothing special, the stories were acceptable but not exactly interesting, and nothing memorable. It’s not terrible, but after last night, this was really lacking.

Results

Daniel Bryan b. Big E. – Running knee

Bayley b. Nikki Cross – Bayley to Belly

Andrade b. Apollo Crews – Hammerlock DDT

Ember Moon b. Mandy Rose – Eclipse

Heavy Machinery b. Kevin Owens/Dolph Ziggler – Compactor to Owens

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Smackdown – January 27, 2005: Why Does No One Remember This?

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: January 27, 2005
Location: Alltel Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and that means more polishing up John Cena for either winning the Royal Rumble or getting the next big title shot after the show. Other than that, we have a rather spiffy three way feud for the World Title, which is a lot better than I was expecting. Maybe they can even continue it as we get through the final show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the three way feud between Kurt Angle, Big Show and WWE Champion JBL, which has mainly been focused on Joy Giovanni and Amy Weber. Last week, Angle and JBL teamed up to take out Big Show’s knee. In quite the surprise, the two of them haven’t dragged the feud down and have played their roles rather well.

JBL, Angle and their respective cronies are happy with what they did last week. Tonight, they’re going to do it again when they take down Booker T., Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio in a six man tag. Well Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak and Orlando Jordan will that is. JBL: “United we stand, divided they fall.”

Orlando Jordan/Mark Jindrak/Luther Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrero/Booker T.

One of these teams is very talented. I’ll let you figure out which is which. Booker and Jindrak get things going but the fans want Eddie. A clothesline takes Jindrak down and it’s Eddie coming in with the slingshot hilo. Rey adds the springboard dropkick for two but Jindrak takes him into the corner. Jordan comes in and gets caught with a springboard crossbody as the pathetic lackeys can’t keep anything going.

A backdrop cuts Jordan off and Booker comes in for the Big Apple Blast (Hart Attack with a side kick instead of a clot). Everything breaks down for a few seconds and it’s Rey being thrown over the top and down onto Eddie as we take a break. Back with Booker hitting the Book End on Jordan and bringing Mysterio back in. A dropkick sends Jordan into the corner but Jindrak saves Jordan from the Bronco Buster. Reigns and Jordan get in an argument over who gets to beat up Mysterio but Jordan is fine enough to get two off a backbreaker.

It’s off to Jindrak for a chinlock until a Booker distraction lets Eddie sneak in with a poke to the eye. That’s not enough for the tag though as Jordan comes back in for a neck crank. Rey breaks out and crawls through some legs before sending the villains into each other. The hot tag brings Eddie in and the fans are rather pleased. Everything breaks down and it’s a 619 to Jindrak. The ax kick into the frog splash is good for the pin.

Rating: C-. The parade of chinlocks was a little much but the last minute and a half picked things up a lot with Mysterio knowing how to get a crowd going. The coalition style team isn’t going to work in the end and it’s even worse when they’re against a team with that much talent. Cut out a few minutes in the middle and this could have been rather good.

Post match Reigns shoves Jordan down and blames him for the loss. The Bashams come out to break things up. Angle and JBL come out as well and we take a break. Back with JBL blaming Angle for everything but Kurt says it was Jordan’s fault for being a bad deputy. JBL needs a cabinet because he’s the champion, which Angle will never be again. Angle says he was winning championships when JBL was getting drunk at frat parties.

JBL is one ankle lock away from being the cowboy in the bar, which sends JBL into a rant about Bill Clinton. Threats are made but here’s Theodore Long (in a salmon jacket) to interrupt. It turns out that Big Show is healthy enough for Sunday, but Long is interested in Angle talking about being the last man standing. That’s why tonight it’s JBL vs. Angle in a Last Man Standing match.

Clip of the Steve Austin press conference.

Video on Heidenreich vs. Undertaker for Sunday’s Casket match.

US Title: John Cena vs. Kenzo Suzuki

Cena is defending and hammers away to start as I don’t see this being the most competitive match. They head outside with Cena sending Suzuki into the post as this is complete dominance so far. Cena drives him back first into the announcers’ table before channeling his inner Rock by doing his own commentary. Back in and Kenzo finally sends him into the corner for a breather….which lasts all of five seconds before Cena is back with some chops. Cena initiates the finishing sequence and ends Kenzo with the FU.

Rating: D+. Cena might as well have been facing the Brooklyn Brawler here, which has been the case with just about anyone he’s been facing as of late. That triple threat feud on top of the card is leaving Cena without anything interesting to do but at least they’re not making these matches longer than they need to. Bring on the Rumble.

Post match Cena says that’s momentum and tonight, Suzuki ran into the Chain Gang. That’s what’s going to happen to twenty nine people on Sunday. Cena wants to know who is in the Rumble and mentions a fan in a certain seat, which happens to be a kid. Cena: “Little man, if you was in the Rumble, we would all whip your a**!” With that threat to a minor out of the way, Cena wraps things up.

Eddie and Rey are celebrating their victory and laughing when Booker comes in. He’s not happy with not being invited but calms down a bit as they praise him for his part earlier tonight. Booker gets on Eddie for costing them the titles last week but Eddie talks about the Rumble, which he could win. The other two don’t see it that way and Rey tells him to sit down. They both think they could win and won’t trust Eddie on Sunday. This was a perfectly nice character building segment and I could go for a lot more of those.

Here’s Heidenreich for a chat because that match needs two segments. He has a poem for us but stops in a hurry because a fan has a mini casket with a picture of Heidenreich inside. After breaking that apart, he gets through his poem, which is about his greatest battle. As he talks, he starts foaming at the mouth and shouts NO CASKET. Can we please get rid of this goon already?

Angle goes to Long’s office but Long comes outside for some reason. The main event tonight is unfair but Long sees it differently. Maybe Angle is just scared of JBL? The match is still on.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Spike Dudley vs. Paul London vs. Shannon Moore vs. Funaki

Non-title and one fall to a finish. Funaki knocks Spike off the apron at the bell and it’s time for the very early rollups. Shannon gets thrown outside and Spike gets two off a belly to back to Funaki. London knees Spike in the face for the same but Spike is right back with a half Walls of Jericho.

The other two make the save as Tazz talks about Moore’s makeup. Funaki pulls London off the corner and sends him outside for a nasty looking crash. Spike’s running headbutt to Funaki’s ribs gets two with Shannon making the save. Spike knocks Moore outside but gets caught in a reverse tornado DDT. London is back up and shoves Moore and Funaki off the top, setting up a 450 to Spike for the surprise pin.

Rating: C. As usual, what are you supposed to do with four and a half minutes in a four way match? London winning was a nice surprise and it’s not like Funaki is hurt by a loss like this. If nothing else for the sake of letting him have a big bump during his elimination, which he does as well as anyone else.

After blowing off Carlito’s request for a petition signature, JBL goes to ask Long about getting the match canceled. This time Long just slams the door in his face, which is enough to make JBL sign.

ANOTHER video on Heidenreich vs. Undertaker.

Amy Weber comes up to the rest of the women in the locker room. Dawn Marie takes obsession to Amy snapping her fingers but listens to her pitch to sign Carlito’s petition. Joy isn’t there but Amy is NOT scared to ask her. Joy comes up from behind with some yogurt. The obvious happens.

Royal Rumble rundown.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Kurt Angle

Non-title Last Man Standing match. Reigns, Jindrak, Jordan and the Bashams are at ringside. We’re joined in progress with Angle taking JBL down but JBL runs him over and drops an elbow for….well nothing because that’s not how this match works. Kurt goes for the arm so JBL powers out and chops away in the corner. The fall away slam gives JBL a five count and a top rope superplex is good for nine.

The Clothesline From JBL is countered into the ankle lock to make JBL tap but thankfully Angle is smart enough to not let it go. Instead the Bashams break it up and the fight is on outside. Despite them not breaking any rules, the referee ejects everyone and we take a break. Back with Angle going face first into the steps as things have turned into more of a brawl, which makes sense for something like this.

JBL whips him over the announcers’ table but spends too much time clearing it off, allowing Angle to dive off and get a breather. Angle backdrops his way to freedom but can’t get the Angle Slam through the table. Instead JBL posts him for a nine count (took thirty seconds) and gets annoyed when Angle gets up. Back in and Angle rolls the German suplexes, hitting a ridiculous eight in a row before letting go.

JBL gets up again so Angle grabs a rear naked choke. That’s still not enough so Angle tries a front facelock, which is reversed into a spinebuster (makes sense as JBL couldn’t do much more than pick him up and drop him). The powerbomb plants Angle for nine but he’s right back with the Angle Slam.

That’s another nine and JBL blasts him with the Clothesline. They’re both up at nine and the exhausted/near defeated look on JBL’s face is a great visual. With nothing else working, JBL grabs a chair but Angle takes it away. JBL kicks it into his face but Angle blasts him in the head before collapsing, meaning it’s a double ten count for the draw.

Rating: B. I know all of the focus is on the Rumble and Batista/Cena, but this is a really underrated feud, especially with Big Show thrown in. There’s a rather nice chemistry there and the story is actually making me want to see more. I know everything goes away as soon as Sunday is over, but they deserve a good deal of credit for a story that has no reason to be this interesting. The match itself was a good brawl with both guys beating each other up and the logical finish of a draw. As usual, JBL is better off working a power brawling style and Angle can play off of that all day long.

We cut to Long’s office where he thanks Big Show for the idea for the match. Show says he loves it when a plan comes together and promises to win on Sunday.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s good that we’re moving on soon enough because this holding pattern has been going on for a while now. That being said, it’s been a rather nice holding pattern with a shockingly good World Title feud and Cena oozing star power. They’ve set things up very well and Cena can get his title shot either by winning the Rumble or whatever else he has to do at No Way Out. This was an enjoyable show and they’re hitting the right notes at the correct time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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