IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: June 30, 2005
Location: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California
Attendance: 15,449
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s a big night for Smackdown with the first ever Smackdown Champion being crowned in a huge elimination match. That could change things up a good bit around here, but so could the final two Draft picks, who will be making their debuts tonight. I’m sure those stories won’t intertwine at all. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the setup of the elimination match, featuring JBL, Undertaker, Booker T., Chris Benoit and Muhammad Hassan. Big Show was originally in the match but got sent to Raw so the match has been downsized a bit.

Opening sequence.

Here are Hassan and Daivari to open things up. Hassan hates how he is treated in America because they don’t feel free. Everyone judges them everywhere they go but it ends tonight as he becomes Smackdown Champion. Hassan brags about beating Big Show last week and promises to win again tonight. He declares the day of the Dead Man over and there’s the gong. Hassan starts backpedaling by talking about how legendary Undertaker is. Undertaker may have beaten a lot of people but he has never beaten Hassan. Daivari’s chair shot completely fails and it’s a chokeslam for the lackey as Hassan bails.

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Paul London

London is defending in what feels like the 197^th match between these two. Chavo gets taken over with a headlock to start and it’s time to bail into the ropes. The chase is on until Chavo gets in a cheap shot to take over. The stomping and choking are on and a clothesline gets two. London dropkicks him out of the air…and here are the Mexicools. They surround the ring and charge in for the double DQ because this feud MUST CONTINUE.

Rating: D+. It was nice enough while it lasted and then turned into the same thing they did last week. The cruiserweights feel as unimportant as they have ever been and these matches without a finish are not helping anything. Normally I would say change the title, but it’s not like anyone is going to be able to do any better.

Post match the beatdown is on, including Psychosis knocking out timekeeper Mark Yeaton. Juvy talks about hoe gringos don’t like Mexicans and wants them to rise against said gringos. We get the formal introduction of the team and Juvy wants us to join a revolution. Yeah it’s bad and someone will be upset at the racial aspect, but it’s still way more interesting than anything else in the division for a long time.

We get some graphics from Wrestlemania 21 with a preview for tonight’s main event. Hassan is absent, with Cole saying he wasn’t at Wrestlemania 21. It was less than three months ago. No one could check that line?

Video on last week’s great Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio match.

Eddie says he was smiling last week because he knows the truth. Tonight, Rey is going to beg him to tell the truth.

Melina is stretching and Nitro/Mercury are admiring the view. She name drops a lot of celebrities coming to watch her in-ring debut tonight. She’s got this one on her own too.

Video on the European tour.

Melina vs. Michelle McCool

Melina is putting her makeup on during Michelle’s entrance. Michelle spears her down to start and throws a running Melina back inside. A basement dropkick gets two as Tazz brings up the rather small size of Michelle’s gear. Melina gets in a cheap shot and powerbombs Michelle out of the corner for the pin, albeit with a grab of the rope. It was short, but they were both trying and it was nowhere near as bad as some similar matches have been.

Post match Nitro and Mercury come in to give Michelle the Snapshot. Heidenreich makes the far too late save.

Here’s Eddie for a chat. Last week people thought he was a loser, but the only loser was Rey Mysterio. Eddie is a winner in life because he has overcome obstacles people can only dream about. He has gone on a journey and just for fun, he filmed the whole thing. The journey involves one of Rey’s family members so here’s the footage.

We see Eddie at a playground, which happens to be at Rey’s son Dominick’s daycare. Eddie wonders if Dominick likes secrets and bedtime stories. He gives Dominick some candy and promises him a bedtime story he’ll never forget. The creepy smiling continues but Eddie makes it work very well.

Back in the arena, Eddie asks Rey if he should tell everyone their little secret. Cue a serious Rey with no music to ask Eddie not to go there. Eddie shoves him down and asks what happened to the fire in Rey’s eyes. Eddie demands that Rey get on his knees and beg him not to tell the truth. Rey does drop to a knee so Eddie pulls out….licorice, asking if Rey want some candy. It gets shoved into Rey’s face and Eddie says chew on that. More good stuff from these two with awesome delivery, but I’m scared of where this could go.

We recap the setup of the elimination match.

Smackdown Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Booker T. vs. Undertaker vs. Muhammad Hassan vs. Chris Benoit

For the inaugural title under elimination rules and you have to tag. It is made clear that ANY form of contact counts as a tag. Also, you can be eliminated by countout or DQ. Hang on though because here’s Theodore Long to make this a six man match again, thanks to the newest Draft pick.

Smackdown Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Booker T. vs. Undertaker vs. Muhammad Hassan vs. Chris Benoit vs. Christian

No Tomko in sight. For the sake of time, Undertaker just appears in the ring without doing the full entrance and stares Christian down as everyone else bails. Undertaker throws him into the corner and we settle down to Undertaker beating Christian up with ease. Hassan gets tagged in and fear ensues as we take a break.

Back with Undertaker beating up Hassan some more and there’s Old School for a bonus. JBL tags himself in and gets punched off the apron, meaning there’s a delay before he can come in and get chopped by Benoit. A flying shoulder knocks JBL down and it’s a German suplex for two, sending JBL over for a tag to Hassan. An exchange of suplexes goes to Benoit (duh) so Hassan forearms him in the back instead. That just earns him another suplex and Hassan lands in front of Undertaker.

For some reasons Hassan punches him in the face, which counts as a tag, so Undertaker unloads on him. This includes a chair to the back….and that’s a DQ to get rid of Undertaker. We take a break and come back with Hassan having been eliminated due to getting massacred, leaving us with Booker vs. Benoit at the moment. Booker kicks him in the face for two but Benoit grabs a German suplex for his own near fall. The abdominal stretch goes on, albeit with Benoit down on a knee.

Some forearms to the back have Booker down until he suplexes his way to a breather. An enziguri puts Booker down but he fights off the Sharpshooter. The second attempt works just fine though with Booker having to roll away. Benoit tries to switch to the Crossface but JBL tags himself in for some neckbreakers. Benoit tags himself right back in and hits a superplex on Booker, but JBL tags himself and DDTs Benoit for the elimination. JBL smiles down at the banged up Booker and we take a break.

Back with Booker kicking JBL in the face so Christian tags himself back in to hammer on Booker. The chinlock goes on, followed by the neck crank to mix it up a bit. It’s back to the chinlock for some rather blatant spot calling. Christian walks into the flapjack and the comeback is on with some right hands. JBL tags himself back in to kick Booker in the face for two but it’s Christian with another blind tag.

A top rope clothesline gets two on JBL and a tornado DDT is good for the same as the fans are into Christian. Another JBL neckbreaker gets two on Christian and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up as well and it’s back to Booker for the chops in the corner. A sidekick (more like a knee) to the jaw sets up the missile dropkick for two more as these near falls are getting strong reactions.

The Book End gets a very close two and we take another break. Back again with JBL getting powerslammed out of the air for two but Christian tags himself back in and rolls Booker up for the elimination. It’s Christian vs. JBL for the title and the Clothesline From JBL is good for the pin and the title a few seconds later.

Rating: C. This was more long than good with all of the blind tags seeming like they would have made more sense in a one fall match. That being said, they were smart to not have Hassan take another fall and no one came out of it looking weak. It was a well booked match and going over half an hour prevented it from a bunch of lame exits, but it still wasn’t all that great and dragged multiple times.

Post match here’s Long to say that JBL won the match….but he’s only going to be #1 contender because the Smackdown title isn’t needed. See, we have one more Draft pick: the World Heavyweight Champion Batista. That was the logical switch and it gets Batista away from HHH so it’s a bunch of positives in one.

Overall Rating: C-. This whole show was built around one match and that’s a good thing, as there wasn’t exactly much else going on. Eddie and Rey had their usual good segment but Melina vs. Michelle was pretty bad and the Mexicools aren’t exactly looking like the next big thing. Next week is going to be the big start of the real new era and it should be interesting to see how the fans take to all of the new stars and stories that come with them.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: November 29, 2019
Location: Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

We’re finally back to normal around here after a pretty wild month that saw NXT invade and everything get turned upside down. Things have settled back down though with Smackdown coming in second place at Survivor Series. I’m not sure if that is going to make much of a difference but now it’s off to TLC. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Roman Reigns to open the show. In his house, if there are still leftovers in the fridge, it’s still Thanksgiving so Happy Thanksgiving everyone. What matters the most around this time of year are health and family and last year at this time he only had family. Things are better now and Smackdown won at Survivor Series. The NXT chants are on and Reigns says it’s all WWE, but Smackdown survived on Sunday.

Reigns thanks his teammates, but says he won’t thank the one dummy on his team. Cue King Corbin, to say it was his leadership that won the match, but Reigns says Corbin was the one who got eliminated. Corbin talks about his feast today and all of the servants he had waiting on him today. Reigns probably had a burned turkey but he’s used to eating dog food anyway, just like everyone here. Corbin can face this man instead.

Robert Roode vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns sends him outside to start before hammering away in the corner. Roode is knocked outside again but Reigns glares at Corbin, allowing Ziggler to grab a leg so Roode can knock him into the announcers’ table. The spinebuster puts Reigns onto the table as well and a drive into the barricade takes us to a break. Back with Reigns kicking him in the face but walking into some boots to the face.

The Blockbuster gives Roode two but Reigns catches him with a sitout powerbomb for two of his own. They head outside with a Corbin distraction letting Roode send him into the steps. Back in and Roman Superman Punches him out of the air for two but the spear is countered into another spinebuster for two more. With nothing else working, Corbin slips Roode the scepter but Reigns spears him down for the pin at 13:41.

Rating: C+. Roode is still the guy who doesn’t do anything flashy but he does everything really well. That’s often a nice formula for a good match, which is what they had here. Reigns vs. Corbin is not an interesting feud, but I’ll take Reigns and Roode having a nice little match over Corbin making dog jokes every single time.

Post match Ziggler jumps Reigns but gets taken out. That brings in Corbin for the failed save, only to have Roode get in a scepter shot. Roode puts Reigns’ head on a chair and says something about his kids but misses the big scepter shot. The Superman Punch drops Roode to the floor for the big spear through the barricade.

Ziggler tries to come after him again but gets knocked over the barricade with the steps. With Roode still underneath the barricade, Reigns turns the announcers’ table onto him. It’s a good segment with a pretty awesome beatdown, but this is setting up Reigns vs. Corbin based on Corbin making jokes about Reigns being a dog. There isn’t much of a way to save that one.

We look back at Daniel Bryan vs. the Fiend on Sunday with Wyatt retaining.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with Bray being thankful to still be champion. The Fiend cuts in with a Fiend themed title which is going to haunt my nightmares for a long time. Bray loves his new toy and he had a blast playing with Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series. The Fireflies seem to approve so if Bryan wants to join in, Bray can make it all change for the better. All Bryan has to do is let him in.

Sheamus is back and calls the current state of Smackdown pathetic due to all of the cowards. He sees no one with a backbone and no one like him. Smackdown is soft so now it’s time for him to return and ravage everyone in his way. Smackdown will be his.

Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak

Ali dropkicks him down to start but gets pulled off the top for a big crash. The half crab has Ali in trouble until he fights up and scores with a superkick. The tornado DDT sets up the 450 for the pin at 3:08.

Rating: C-. Nice little win for Ali here to make it clear that he is still a thing. Gulak’s work over the summer is wasted for another week, but I’m not sure how much of a future he was going to have on the main roster anyway. That being said, he was still too big for the dying 205 Live, but since NXT isn’t an option for no apparent reason, this is what we get.

Here are Sasha Banks and Bayley to say that what happened to the Smackdown women at Survivor Series was not their fault. Smackdown did not lose because NXT is better and Bayley did not lose because Shayna Baszler is better. They rip on the Smackdown women’s division so here’s Lacey Evans to interrupt.

Lacey has been tired for making a Thanksgiving dinner for thirty six people, including the in-laws. She wouldn’t trust these two nasties to lead the Chicken Dance at a garden party so it’s time for someone with some class to take over. We get a pretty loud LACEY EVANS chant before Lacey mocks Bayley for tapping out. Lacey taps the title so Sasha gets in her face. That’s good for a Woman’s Right and Bayley panics. Lacey leaves with a big smile and I guess we have a face turn.

Daniel Bryan isn’t sure if he should accept Bray’s challenge as we get the Firefly Fun House again. Huskus has eaten too much but the only thing that would make him feel better is if Bryan came and played with them. Bray tells us the real story of Thanksgiving, which was about the muscle men dancers and the reptilians throwing over humanity. It’s music video time with Bray and Huskus demonstrating the Muscle Man dance as Huskus talks about how fat he is. Bray insists that we CAN’T let the reptilians in but let him in instead. After all this, Bryan still has no answer.

Nikki Cross vs. Sonya Deville

Fallout from Nikki losing at Survivor Series. Hold on though because Mandy needs to say that Nikki looks like a cold plate of Thanksgiving leftovers. Sonya punches her in the face to start and hits a sliding knee for two. Trash is talked but Nikki pulls her down into a small package for the pin at 1:38.

Post match the beatdown is on but Alexa Bliss returns for the save.

The Miz talks to Bryan about what happens to people who face the Fiend and asks if that is worth it. Miz mentions Bryan’s family and gets stared out of the room.

Drake Maverick holds some mistletoe over Dana Brooke’s head. Dana: “Aren’t you married?” Maverick: “It’s complicated.” Cue the returning Elias to play a song about how he’s back for the Christmas season as Dana dances.

Here’s New Day to talk about everything they ate over Thanksgiving, including hog and….dog? That’s just a joke, but today is Black Friday so they have a deal: an open challenge for the Tag Team Titles. Now we need someone to answer the challenge though. Cue Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro with Sami Zayn running down the idea of Thanksgiving for being about gluttony and imperialistic evil. Sami rips on the idea of Black Friday and says it is time for some honorable men to win those titles.

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

New Day is defending. Cesaro shoulders Kofi to start so it’s off to Nakamura, who gets dropkicked down in a hurry. Kofi gets taken into the corner though and dropped head first onto the top turnbuckle. Sami offers a distraction on the floor and Cesaro uppercuts Kofi over the table as we take a break.

Back with Kofi making the hot tag to Big E. but the Warrior Splash misses Nakamura. Nakamura knees him in the head but walks into the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two. A kick to the face puts Big E. down and it’s Cesaro coming in with a top rope headbutt for two more. Kofi backdrops Cesaro to the floor and kicks Nakamura in the head, setting up the powerbomb/top rope double stomp combination for the next near fall.

Kofi’s launch over the top is uppercutted out of the air and another hits Big E. Kinshasa is countered into a rollup for two so Nakamura kicks Kofi in the face. A sliding….something to the face (they missed on something there) gives Nakamura two more so it’s back to Cesaro to drop Kofi across the top rope. Sami tries to use the pancake tray but gets caught in the act, meaning it’s an ejection. Trouble in Paradise to Cesaro retains the titles at 11:16.

Rating: B. They had me believing that we might get a surprise title change so well done on the most important account. The Smackdown tag division doesn’t feature a lot of interesting challengers to New Day but they’re very good for placeholder champions until someone else can come after the titles. Good match too, though Cesaro already being put in a team and taking the fall in their first match is more of the same thing that has gotten on fans’ nerves for years.

We look back at Reigns attacking Roode earlier.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to talk about everything going on with Bray Wyatt tonight. Earlier today the Miz talked about how the Fiend will change him. Back at Survivor Series, Bryan felt the change from the people. For the last year, Bryan has talked about how the YES Movement is done, but now something has changed. So does he accept Bray’s challenge? YES he does! Cue the Firefly Fun House and Bray is very excited to get to play again but if Bryan does it again, we will see his true form. Bryan helped Bray change in the first place and the Fiend remembers that.

Oh he almost forgot: Bray promised a new face tonight and he is a man of his word. The lights go out in the arena and it’s the Fiend popping up through the ring. Bryan fights him away but gets Mandible Clawed down into the hole. Fiend pulls his hands out of the hole and has a bunch of hair in his hands. He does it again with a bunch of hair being left on the mat and the laughter ends the show. So he’s a Brutus Beefcake fan now?

Overall Rating: B-. This was a fast moving show which kept my interest the entire time. Hopefully that is the case going forward and not just the fallout from Survivor Series, as this show never dragged, despite the first thirty five minutes being dedicated to one story. Bray wanting to fight Bryan again is fine and a souped up Bryan could be a good challenger for Bray this time around. Anyway, solid enough stuff here, even if no one is going to watch.

Results

Roman Reigns b. Robert Roode – Spear

Mustafa Ali b. Drew Gulak – 450

Nikki Cross b. Sonya Deville – Small package

New Day b. Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro – Trouble in Paradise to Cesaro

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: November 22, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for both Survivor Series and Takeover: WarGames. Normally the second show wouldn’t matter around here but the NXT roster is going to be around to make things a little more interesting. That could play out in several ways and I’m curious to see how it goes. Let’s get to it.

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

I was in the arena live for this show, sitting in the upper deck and looking straight at the Titantron. That being said, I couldn’t see a lot of the screen due to lighting equipment so there are parts of this that I didn’t see/hear live.

The Smackdown locker room is in the back in front of what looks like the door to the loading dock. King Corbin, Roman Reigns and others get up and say they know NXT and Monday Night Raw are here tonight. They literally open the door for them and say come on in. Sasha Banks gets up as well and, in that completely natural manner of speaking in WWE, says the women’s division is ready so let’s just do this right now.

Opening sequence.

Here are the Smackdown women to get things going, meaning we have to get the Snoop Dogg version of Sasha’s theme again. I get why they’re going with it but the other one is just much better to get a crowd going. Sasha says this is their ring and no one is going to jump them from behind. They jumped NXT last week so Team Raw can get out here for a fight right now.

Cue Team Raw so a single referee comes out to try and keep the peace. Charlotte thanks them for opening the door but Raw would have kicked it down anyway. If Sasha is interested, they can fight one on one for old times’ sake. Cue Team NXT through the crowd, with the lineup being revealed as Captain Rhea Ripley, Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae and Toni Storm, who has barely ever been in regular NXT.

Rhea wants to make it captain vs. captain vs. captain so NXT gets in the ring as well. As you might have guessed, the big brawl is on and we take a fast break. Back with things having settled down (after the brawl went all the way through the break and started again after being stopped once) and the bell ringing.

Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Sasha Banks

Sasha slugs away at both giants but walks into a double big boot for her efforts. That means it’s time to talk some trash until Rhea rolls out of a waistlock. A superkick rocks Charlotte but she’s right back with a big boot of her own. The shoulders in the corner keep Ripley in trouble but the last one misses, allowing Banks to come in and hammer away at Ripley. That doesn’t last long either as she sends Banks outside, only to have Charlotte get back up and start the fight on the floor. With everyone else getting involved, Charlotte busts out the huge moonsault and takes out Banks and Ripley as we take a break.

Back with Charlotte on the floor and Ripley dropping Banks face first onto the top turnbuckle. Banks is right back with the Meteora but Charlotte runs in with Natural Selection to Banks for her own near fall. Natural Selection hits Ripley as well, sending her straight to the ropes before the cover. That leaves Banks to get caught in the Figure Eight but Ripley comes in and crucifixes the bridging Charlotte for the pin at 9:41.

Rating: C+. The commercial took something out of this as the chaotic nature was great and made it feel like these women wanted to destroy each other. I really liked the ending too with Ripley showing intelligence and catching Charlotte when she wasn’t paying attention. All three were fighting hard here and it was a very entertaining performance from everyone involved, including the people on the floor.

Post match Charlotte and Banks keep up the fight with everyone else getting involved as NXT watches from the stage.

King Corbin tells Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler that they are going to bail when NXT interrupts their six man tag tonight while Roman Reigns, Ali and Shorty G. get beaten up. Then the three of them can beat up Roman and company again! Sami Zayn comes in and seems to want to fight, while holding a bag. If they’re interested, come see him in the ring RIGHT NOW.

Bayley isn’t worried about Sunday and invites Shayna Baszler to come after her face to face tonight.

Here are Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura for a chat. Sami knows that Corbin isn’t coming out here because Corbin is scared of him. People have called Sami annoying, but he would go with something more like….stud. The only person studlier than him is Nakamura, which is why Sami has gotten him a present. That would be a new Intercontinental Title, which is rounder with a black strap and a round center plate. It’s going to take some time for me to get used to that but it’s not bad.

Sami takes the old title, saying this is the only way to get it off of Nakamura. They’re ready for Sunday against AJ Styles and….whoever the North whatever champion is from NXT. Nakamura: “I’m drawing a blank.” Cue the Undisputed Era with Sami instantly getting behind Nakamura, as you would expect him to do.

The two of them leave with Adam Cole introducing the team and promising to win on Saturday and Sunday. That is undisputed, but here is New Day to dispute something. Kofi accuses the Undisputed Era of running off last week without a proper goodbye. They’re all here right now, so how about an eight man tag with these guys joining in?

Undisputed Era vs. New Day/Heavy Machinery

Strong takes Big E. into the corner to start but that doesn’t last long due to some straight power. Suplexes abound to send Fish and Strong down, with the former winding up on the apron for Big E.’s splash. A suplex drops O’Reilly on the floor and it’s Kofi slugging it out with Cole inside. Strong sneaks in on off a blind tag for a half nelson backbreaker though and it’s Kofi in trouble with Fish getting two off a double suplex.

Something like a Gory Stretch has Kofi in more trouble but he slips out and grabs a rollup for two. That’s not enough for a tag though as Strong is right back with a front facelock to keep Kofi down. Kofi fights out and goes up but Strong dropkicks him to the floor, where he lands on Tucker. Otis goes over to check on things but Big E. isn’t happy with that, with a near brawl taking us to a break.

Back with Kofi hitting a dropkick on Fish and diving over for the hot tag to Otis. House is cleaned (Graves: “Like the Kool-Aid Man with a bad attitude.”) and O’Reilly’s kicks are shrugged off by the power of….jiggling? Some corner splashes look to set up the Caterpillar but a save is made.

Tucker and Strong come in with a splash crushing Strong in the corner. A side slam gets two and Tucker’s moonsault is good for the same as everything breaks down. Big E. throws Fish to the floor (Cole: “Now it’s New Day’s turn to have some fun!”) but the Era cuts Kofi off. Fun haters. The very spinning slam plants O’Reilly and there’s the Caterpillar but Strong is back in with the jumping knee to finish Tucker at 15:04.

Rating: C+. Nice one here as it was more of a fun match than anything else. Putting two teams together to face the Four Horsemen style team worked very well and the Era gets to show that they can hang with and defeat main roster talent. I don’t think anyone seriously questioned that, but it’s nice to see it take place.

Post match Strong and Nakamura have a staredown on the stage. Cue AJ Styles to jump both of them but Sami makes the save before the Era gets up to the stage as well.

Survivor Series rundown.

Post break Styles and the Good Brothers are still yelling about how much they don’t like Chicago. Styles says he could clean house with anyone from this city. Cue the CM Punk chants, with AJ saying he would do it to him too. He’ll win at Survivor Series.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to summon (Summon?) Bray Wyatt. Bryan shows us a clip from last week with Bryan challenging Bray for Survivor Series and getting a big (and kind of maniacal) YES from Bray. Back in the arena, Bryan says he isn’t here to say YES or play with puppets because he wants Bray out here right now.

They can talk about the past or just fight right now….and there go the lights. They come back up with no one in the ring but here’s Miz instead. Daniel: “If there is one thing worse than Bray coming out here, it you.” Miz rants about how Bryan is being insane and how he has always tried to slap some sense into him. Instead he just slaps Bryan and I think you know where this is going.

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

Joined in progress with Miz hitting some YES Kicks but getting thrown outside for the running knee from the apron. Back in and Miz kicks him in the face for a pair of twos and the headlock goes on. Bryan starts with the strikes but gets caught with the corner clothesline. Bryan’s own running clothesline slows Miz down and he headbutts Miz off the top. The missile dropkick into the nip up sets up the real YES Kicks (Graves: “Night night Miz.”) and it’s time for the corner dropkick but we’ve got a Fiend as the match is thrown out at we’ll say 5:40.

Rating: C-. These two are always worth a look but there is only so much that you can get out of a match that only had about five minutes before Wyatt interfered. That being said, was there any reason to not have Bryan get the win here before the Fiend showed up? Bryan isn’t exactly on a roll here so let him get a quick pin and then do the Fiend stuff. It’s not like Miz has anything going on at the moment.

Here’s Shayna Baszler for a chat. She wastes no time in calling out Bayley so the jacket comes off, but it’s Bayley running in from behind with a chop block. The fight is on and they head to the floor with Baszler getting in the Kirifuda Clutch. Bayley drives her into various things to escape….and that’s it. No Becky appearance and no extra fighting. That’s quite the odd ending.

Quick look at last week’s tag match which set up this week’s six man.

Roman Reigns/Ali/Shorty G. vs. King Corbin vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

Ali gets the huge hometown welcome, Corbin is brought out on the throne, and THANK GOODNESS Gable has lost the basketball jersey. It’s a small improvement but I’ll take everything I can get here. Reigns slugs away at Roode to start and the fight is outside in a hurry. Ziggler and Corbin get in a few cheap shots to take over on Reigns, who fights back inside without too much effort.

Gable comes in for some kicks and throws but Roode and Corbin slam him off the apron and onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Ziggler DDTing Reigns for two but walking into a Superman punch. The hot tag brings in Ali to throw some right hands and the rolling X Factor plants Corbin. The dive sends Ziggler into the announcers’ table and there’s the springboard tornado DDT to drop Corbin again. Roode’s spinebuster on the floor plants Gable but Reigns is right back with the Superman punch off the steps. Back in and it’s the Deep Six to finish Ali at 8:53.

Rating: C. This wasn’t a long match in the first place and a lot of it took place during the break. What we got was good enough though, even if they need to let the fans have something to cheer for without putting the heat on Corbin every single week. It’s good to do that a lot of the time, but it’s ok to not snatch everything away from the fans.

Post match Corbin grabs his scepter and goes after Ali but Reigns makes the save. Cue Raw through the crowd with Rollins getting in the ring for the big staredown. The fight is on, with the CM Punk chants being drowned out in a hurry. Braun Strowman leads the Smackdown charge to start the huge brawl…..and it’s Road Dogg/Shawn Michaels/HHH driving a tank into the back with NXT coming inside to make it an even bigger fight.

This is one of the wildest brawls I’ve ever seen and it’s Keith Lee staring Strowman down inside as the show ends with the fighting continuing. This ended WAY earlier than it should have, as Ali hit a huge super Spanish Fly onto the pile to knock everyone down, which at least gave Ali something back after getting pinned, which was completely necessary.

After the show was over, everyone headed to the back and D-Generation X offered to put Corbin on the team. HHH said “for the millions watching at home….even though we’re off the air because this will be on like in about five minutes” and a huge beatdown of Corbin ended the night as DX celebrated.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a case where you need to look at the bigger picture rather than the individual things. The point of this show was making me want to see Survivor Series and that worked out quite well. The wrestling was forgettable at best most of the time but every major story was addressed and the huge brawl at the end was excellent. I want to see where things go on Sunday and that is entirely the point of something like this. Get better wrestling and this is great, but as it is we’ll call it job done well enough.

Results

Rhea Ripley b. Charlotte and Sasha Banks – Crucifix to Charlotte

Undisputed Era b. Heavy Machinery/New Day – Jumping knee to Tucker

Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz went to a no contest when the Fiend interfered

King Corbin/Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler b. Roman Reigns/Shorty G./Ali – Deep Six to Ali

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: June 23, 2005
Location: Convention Center, Tuscon, Arizona
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s time for another big showdown as we get the latest chapter in Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio. That’s certainly good enough for me as those two have been the best things about this show, if not this company, for a few months now. We also get the latest Draft pick tonight as Raw continues to take away a lot of the young, talented stars while sending Smackdown some good names but maybe not with the same amount of future potential. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a quick video on Eddie vs. Rey.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Randy Orton to open things up. Orton talks about having a reputation as the Legend Killer and that is something he has earned. Names such as Mick Foley, Harley Race, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and Chris Benoit have all taken a knee to him, but that brings him to Undertaker. Back at Wrestlemania, Undertaker took advantage of his shoulder injury and Orton has been waiting ever since. Last week he got his revenge with an RKO to Undertaker, who is NOT here tonight.

Orton goes to leave but the lights go out and we see a clip of Undertaker beating Orton at Wrestlemania. The screen shows a Wrestlemania XXI graphic as we see Undertaker Tombstoning Orton. Cole: “This is from Wrestlemania XXI when Undertaker Tombstoned Randy Orton!”

The ring is starting to fill with smoke and there go the lights. The gong strikes and there’s Undertaker to send Orton bailing. Orton: “MY TERMS THIS TIME!” Didn’t he challenge Undertaker for Wrestlemania? Undertaker says death waits for no one and a lightning bolt nearly hits Orton. It was a good match at Wrestlemania so I’m down for a rematch.

Joey Mercury vs. Heidenreich

Fallout from last week’s MNM beatdown on Heidenreich. An early Nitro distraction doesn’t work as Heidenreich hammers Mercury into the corner and hits a backdrop. Nitro’s second bit of cheating works a bit better but earns him a big boot to the floor. Mercury and Heidenreich ram heads and a neckbreaker gives Mercury two. We hit the chinlock for as long as you would expect a chinlock to last here as Heidenreich busts out an armdrag of all things for the break. A clothesline puts Mercury on the floor but Melina gets in a slap, drawing out Michelle McCool to jump Melina after last week. The distraction lets Nitro hit a superkick to give Mercury the pin.

Rating: D+. Did Russo get to guest book a match here? We had three people interfering, multiple distractions and probably a mixed tag being set up in less than four minutes. And it was for a HEIDENREICH match! MNM continues to be a great act, but I’m scared to see who they are going to bring in for Heidenreich’s partner.

Rey really liked hurting Eddie last week and tonight he is going to make it even worse. He’s doing it for redemption.

Melina is furious while MNM is all like “yeah but we won”. They insist that no one is better than Melina, including that B list Diva Michelle. The challenge is on for next week.

JBL comes up to Theodore Long to ask about a rumored Smackdown Championship. If anyone deserves that, it is JBL because he beat Undertaker last week. Long has an announcement for later tonight and JBL is going to be pleased. As for now though, Long needs to keep talking to the Draft pick. JBL: “Just tell me his initials!”

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Paul London

London is defending and the lockup goes to the corner to start. Chavo sends him down and strikes the pose so London gives him some applause. London flips out of a backdrop though and snaps off a hurricanrana to put Chavo in trouble again. A backdrop puts Chavo on the floor….and it’s Juventud Guerrero, Psychosis and Super Crazy carrying a Mexican flag on a lawnmower. Psychosis sends Chavo into the steps for the DQ. There wasn’t much to the match in the first place and then a lot of it was spent looking at the entrance so there wasn’t enough to rate. But hey, at least London and the title are treated as nothing again.

Post match the beatdown is on and we hear about how awesome Mexico is. They even have a Mexican limo! They’re tired of working for us so from now on, you’re working for us. They are taking over America, WWE and the Cruiserweight division because they are the MEXICOOLS.

JBL is in the ring and talking about how it is morning again in America. Since his fluke loss at Wrestlemania, Smackdown has been without a real champion. That changes tonight though because he is Mr. Smackdown. It doesn’t matter what you believe or who you love because you can all bow at the feet of the wrestling god. Cue Booker T. instead, but JBL says he doesn’t have to bow.

Instead he can just shake JBL’s hand in congratulations but that isn’t happening either. Booker doesn’t think anyone should be named champion because they should fight for the honor. They should fight for the title tonight but here’s Chris Benoit to interrupt. He doesn’t want to hear from JBL either and we should have a triple threat for the title instead. JBL doesn’t like the sound of that but here’s Big Show to interrupt as well.

Show says JBL’s options are to make it a four way or get beaten up by all three of them. Cue Long with a covered up title to say JBL will be named Smackdown Champion….if he wins a five way challenge match. It will be the four here (JBL starts counting on his fingers) plus the Undertaker for the Smackdown Title.

Hang on though as here are Muhammad Hassan and Daivari (who were drafted together, though Matt Morgan apparently didn’t go to Raw with Carlito) to say Hassan should be champion. He had the longest undefeated streak in WWE history (uh…….) and didn’t even get a special welcome to the show.

Hassan brags about being awesome and points out that Benoit never beat him. Booker is a five time loser and Hassan could beat Big Show any night of the week. JBL is just like any other American: a big quitter. Hassan wants what he deserves so Long makes next week a six way. The beatdown is on with Hassan being thrown outside. Long isn’t done though and makes a match.

Muhammad Hassan vs. Big Show

Joined in progress with Show tossing him around with ease and standing on his chest for a bonus. Hassan gets sent to the apron so Show slams him right back inside. Cue Matt Morgan to do commentary because we need to hear this joke a few more times. There’s a delayed suplex and a headbutt as Morgan isn’t happy with Cole praising Show so much. Some running shoulders put Hassan down but Morgan comes in. That earns him a chokeslam but Hassan gets in a chair shot. A middle rope ax handle drives the chair into Show’s throat to give Hassan the pin.

Rating: D. This was a way to get Hassan a win while also setting up Show vs. Morgan down the line, at least in theory. The problem is that Hassan is less than a week away from losing to John Cena in about two minutes. How much of an impact can he make when he was squashed earlier in the week? And before he even has that much high level success in the first place?

We look at Mysterio beating Eddie at Wrestlemania. After that, Chavo started causing problems between Eddie and Rey, mainly by driving Eddie into insanity. Eddie even cost Rey a chance to become World Champion, with the team eventually splitting as Eddie went completely over the edge. It has gotten to the point where Eddie has even brought up Rey’s family, more or less threatening to leave them without a husband or father.

A serious Eddie doesn’t think Rey knows what he is capable of. The maniacal look in his eye is great.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

This feels big. Eddie bails to the floor to start before coming back in for a headscissors into a standoff. Eddie’s headscissors is countered again and you can see some early frustration. A top wristlock drives Eddie into the corner so he cranks on both arms at the same time. Rey gets out and hits a monkey flip to the floor, setting up the big dive as we take a break. Back with Rey hitting a dropkick and dropping a running leg for two.

The abdominal stretch goes on and there is a HUGE bruise on Eddie’s ribs. Well at least Rey was smart to go with the ribs hold. A seated abdominal stretch stays on the ribs but Eddie gets fired up and fights up. Rey gets tossed outside and Eddie sends him face first into the announcers’ table over and over. We come back from another break with Eddie holding a Gory Stretch.

A powerbomb gives Eddie a series of twos and it’s off to the camel clutch. Eddie sends him hard into the corner and glares at the fans for their 619 chants. Some choking sets up a full nelson but Rey gets out and snaps off a headscissors. Eddie clotheslines him down for two and the fans are right back behind Rey on the kickout.

Another camel clutch keeps Rey down and a backbreaker cuts off the comeback. The sitout bulldog gets Rey out of trouble and it’s a big boot into the springboard crossbody for two. Rey heads up top but gets crotched right back down, only to roll away from the frog splash. Eddie’s powerbomb is countered into the 619 and Rey Drops The Dime for the pin, guaranteeing Eddie is going to go even further over the edge.

Rating: A-. This was another great match between these two and there was no question that this would be good. They started out very smoothly with both guys looking like they were in for a wrestling match, but then the anger and jealousy drove Eddie insane and turned it into Rey trying to survive against the obsessed Eddie.

The story has turned it into something huge and the point that Eddie had reached before is going to be even worse than before. I’m curious to see how much worse it can get, but at the same time, it may have reached its peak with this, which was a big time match that more than delivered.

Eddie gives a pretty evil smile as Rey leaves.

A quick ad for the six way (elimination) match for the title ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It was a one match show and almost everything else (save for the Orton promo) was bad, but that was a heck of a match that got about half an hour counting entrances. Things are resetting with the Draft going on and I’m almost worried about how that title match is going to go next week. The Draft wrapping up should let things settle a bit, but once Rey vs. Eddie is done, I’m not sure what they are going to be able to do next. At least we had the rocking main event though and that’s more than most shows get to do.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: June 16, 2005
Location: Giant Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 2,500
Commentators: Tazz, Michael Cole

It’s both a fallout show and one of the last shows before the next pay per view as we are stuck between One Night Stand and Vengeance. Normally Vengeance would not mean anything, but the Draft has shaken things up to the point where some people on this show might be on Vengeance anyway. That makes for an interesting time, as does the lack of a World Champion. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Chris Benoit being announced as the first Draft pick last week.

Opening sequence.

JBL and the Cabinet are in the ring to get things going with JBL taking credit for One Night Stand being a success. The ECW “wrestlers” need to take their success and go back to delivering his groceries and parking his car. Where JBL goes, the money follows, which Benoit found out last week. Tonight, Benoit can face one of the members of the Cabinet…so here’s Benoit to cut off the catchphrase.

Chris Benoit vs. Doug Basham

Benoit starts with the chops and there’s a hard whip into the corner to make it worse. Basham knees him in the ribs and starts hammering away, including a suplex to set up some posing. The chinlock goes on, followed by a neckbreaker to keep Benoit down. Another neckbreaker is cut off and Benoit baseball slides the leg out. The rolling German suplexes rock Doug but he catches Benoit on top with a superplex. Basham tries a rollup but Benoit reverses into one of his own for the fast pin.

Rating: C-. As usual, the Bashams are fine enough in their role and that is all they should be doing. It isn’t supposed to be some big competitive match as Benoit is one of the best in the company and needs to be established on Smackdown. The match was fine enough, but it was something that came and went as it should have. This would actually be the last match we would see from either of the Bashams and they were fine for what they were, but they were so wasted during the whole Shaniqua deal that their careers were dead in the water for a long time. I’m not sure how much better they could have been, but that was awful.

Post match the Cabinet beats Benoit down but Undertaker makes the save. Theodore Long comes out to make JBL vs. Undertaker in a No DQ match tonight.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Paul London

Non-title. London charges to the ring and gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Some right hands get London out of trouble but a powerbomb puts him right back in. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker sets up the chinlock for a few moments. London fights up again and hits a leg lariat, only to get crotched on top. Eddie grabs a brainbuster (and nearly drops him) and puts on a Texas Cloverleaf (with a maniacal look) to make London tap.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here, because a champion is the kind of person you squash. They couldn’t have had this be against Akio or have put someone other than London in the same spot last week but that’s what the Cruiserweight Title is for anymore. I’m not sure why they keep it around if this is what it means but that has been the case for years.

Post match Rey Mysterio comes out for the save and uses a chair to get rid of Eddie.

Post break Eddie and Rey are fighting in the garage area, including into a trailer. They slug it out and the door closes with Eddie diving through the door to escape and trap Rey inside.

JBL won’t give Orlando Jordan any help in his US Title match tonight. Jordan points out that he is the only champion in the Cabinet but JBL makes it clear that they work for him. He can’t remember who is Danny and who is Doug though and the Bashams quit.

It’s time for Carlito’s Cabana with no Matt Morgan as he is getting ready for his match against Big Show. That’s for later though, so here are this week’s guests: Booker T. and Sharmell. Booker isn’t happy with Kurt Angle having been sent to Raw because they like beating him up. Carlito likes that idea but would rather talk about something romantic between Booker and Sharmell. Then he mentions Angle going after Sharmell and suggests that she could be sent to Raw without Booker. Sharmell doesn’t like the sound of that and Booker beats him up. They even throw apples at Carlito, which is rather wasteful.

Post break Carlito yells at Morgan, who has to go fight Big Show.

Matt Morgan vs. Big Show

Show wastes no time in taking him into the corner for the big overhand chops. An elbow gives Show two as Carlito comes out. The distraction lets Morgan get in a big boot to put Show on the floor and it’s off to the chinlock. That’s reversed into a suplex and some headbutts put Morgan outside. Show gets sent into the steps and Morgan loads up the announcers’ table but Show is back up. The chokeslam is loaded up but it’s a chair shot from Carlito to draw the DQ.

Rating: D. Carlito continues to be quite the nuisance but at least the match was better than dealing with the stutter again. It’s so sad to see Morgan wasted like that but maybe the partnership with Carlito is coming to an end. The wrestling was barely a thing here as it was all about setting up the ending.

Post match Show shrugs it off and hits the chokeslam to put Morgan through the table. Show stalks Carlito away.

We recap the Undertaker’s return from earlier.

US Title: Hardcore Holly vs. Orlando Jordan

Holly is challenging as I try to figure out the criteria for getting a title shot. Jordan gets stomped into the corner to start as Tazz talks about championship opportunities being few and far between. What is this, Holly’s fourth or so in about a month? Jordan gets in an elbow to the face and a suplex is good for two. A hurricanrana and some clotheslines drop Jordan and a top rope clothesline does it again. The Alabama Slam is broken up so Holly tries a sunset flip but Jordan grabs the rope to retain.

Rating: D. What in the world do they see in Jordan? I don’t remember the last time I saw him do anything memorable and the matches are getting less and less interesting. Holly isn’t exactly thrilling but he completely outshined Jordan here. That being said, it isn’t like it’s all that difficult to do.

Here’s Heidenreich, with a huge (and somewhat eaten) Hershey bar, to read a poem about Hershey chocolate. Cue the Divas to throw Hershey Kisses into the crowd. Jokes are made about how big the bar is but here is MNM to say M&Ms are better than Hersheys. Insults are thrown and the beatdown ensues with MNM standing tall.

Eddie vs. Rey next week.

Undertaker vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

No DQ. Jordan is here with JBL but cue Benoit to take care of him before the bell. Cue the gong and JBL is in trouble. JBL gets aggressive to start and pounds away in the corner….which goes as well as you would expect. An exchange of big boots goes to Undertaker and it’s time to pull on JBL’s arm. Old School connects and the Downward Spiral gets two.

They slug it out on the floor with Undertaker whipping him into the steps but getting reversed into them on a second attempt. Serves him right for being so mean. Undertaker gets crotched on the barricade and we take a break. Back with JBL hitting a flying shoulder (always looks good) for two and getting the same off a swinging neckbreaker. Undertaker gets in a shot to the face to start the slugout so JBL goes to the eyes.

That doesn’t seem to do much as Undertaker boots him in the face and hits the apron legdrop for a bonus. Back in and JBL gets crotched on top and superplexed for two more and they’re both down. Snake Eyes into another big boot gets another two, followed by the chokeslam for the latest near fall.

A low blow gets JBL out of the Tombstone attempt though and the Clothesline From JBL gives him his own two. JBL gets in some right hands in the corner and poses as an idiot. The Last Ride out of the corner is only good for two in a move you don’t see getting kicked out of too often. The Tombstone is loaded up but here’s Randy Orton, as the new Smackdown Draft pick, for the RKO to give JBL the pin.

Rating: C. I know he gets a lot of flack (though I’m not sure how much of it is earned) but JBL can do some perfectly competent brawling and that was the case here. There were a few too many near falls but they didn’t go nuts with the weapons and had a nice enough match. The stipulation was to allow the brawling and the ending so all in all, this wasn’t too bad and the time went by quickly.

Post match Orton says Undertaker got RKOed and he better get used to it because Orton is now on Smackdown. Orton does his pose for a great shot as the shadow goes over the metal set.

Overall Rating: D+. The Draft couldn’t come at a better time because this show has some real weak spots. Look at the middle part of the show: stuttering Matt Morgan (again: bad gimmick), Orlando Jordan vs. Hardcore Holly in a title match, and the Cruiserweight Champion jobbing clean (yes it was to Eddie but they could have put in any cruiserweight and told the same story). That’s quite a run of bad in a row, meaning that it took the Undertaker to get Match Of The Night off of a departing Doug Basham. The ending was good, but dang that midcard needs an overhaul.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: November 15, 2019
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

We’re actually having a normal night this week as opposed to all of the insanity that it has been in recent weeks. I’m hoping we can get somewhere new with the NXT invasion as last week’s show barely saw anything take place on that front. They still need to hammer in some details of the card and that can be done tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of King Corbin vs. Roman Reigns over Corbin making dog jokes.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Corbin on his carried throne with Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler waiting on him. Corbin talks about the importance of having loyal subjects who appreciate hearing the truth. Last week he told the truth about Roman Reigns being a shell of what he used to be. He decrees himself the captain of Team Smackdown and we get an updated graphic for the team.

Tonight, Ziggler and Roode are going to take Ali and Shorty G.’s spots on the team so Reigns better pull his weight. Ziggler and Roode promise to make it a glorious win and Corbin invites Reigns out here to watch the match. Cue Reigns’ music but the image of the dog turns into a chihuahua……and there’s a dog mascot in a Reigns shirt. Hold on though as Corbin makes the dog kneel and then shake before we go to a commercial.

This was stupid, bad, idiotic, moronic, immature, all Vince’s doing, a waste of my time, a waste of your time, a waste of Miller Time, something that should be banned from television, something that a stupid person would call stupid, dumber than Cameron on Total Divas, not good enough for Russo and EXACTLY the kind of thing that fans mock WWE for doing.

We see CM Punk returning on Backstage.

Shorty G./Mustafa Ali vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

The winners are on the Survivor Series team. Gable takes Roode down to start and runs him over with a shoulder. Ziggler comes in as Graves makes Space Jam jokes about Gable’s gear. It’s off to Ali to get beaten up in the corner, followed by a shove off the apron and onto the barricade.

Cue Reigns (I guess he was having a piping bowl of soup earlier) as we take a break with Cole shouting RUN SPOT RUN. Back with Ali hitting a superkick and it’s a double tag to Gable and Roode. Gable takes off the stupid looking jersey, making him look more like an indy wrestler with bad fashion sense.

The moonsault gets two but it’s the spinebuster/Zig Zag combination for two with Ali making the save. The ankle lock goes on with Roode having to make a save of his own. Reigns jumps Corbin but gets sent into the announcers’ table. That means a dive from Ali and a spear from Reigns, leaving Gable to hit Rolling Chaos Theory into the 450 to give Ali the pin at 12:04.

Rating: C+. As completely annoying and downright stupid as the dog stuff is (and it’s REALLY stupid), the match was fast paced and fun with Reigns spearing Corbin being rather cathartic. Gable is trying as hard as he can to get around this Shorty stuff but the Space Jam jokes are making it even worse. Terrible ideas, nice match.

We look back at the Fiend attacking Daniel Bryan last week.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with bray Wyatt doing some magic. He turns the Universal Title blue and says he’s looking forward to MizTV with Daniel Bryan. He’ll be watching!

Corbin, Ziggler and Roode are in the back and need to make things better. Corbin and the mascot dog leave, because this is apparently going to be a thing.

Drew Gulak vs. Braun Strowman

The B Team is here with Gulak, who has a graphic showing that he would be able to save Team Smackdown. The three of them jump Strowman, who fights them off like the losers they are. Gulak gets powerslammed to end the non-match.

New Day is ready to defend their titles without Xavier Woods, but they’re defending them in his honor.

Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura again try to get Daniel Bryan on their side, especially now that Bray Wyatt is after him. Apparently Cesaro is on their side as well, but Bryan wants to know where Sami went last week when the Fiend attacked. Sami thought Bryan was right behind him and he was going to get Nakamura anyway. Bryan gives them a firm no but suggests recruiting Braun Strowman instead. That sends Sami into a rant about Strowman, who is right behind him. Panic ensues.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Revival

New Day is defending. Kofi gets taken into the wrong corner to start but fights out with a missile dropkick. Wilder is right there with a powerslam though and we take a break. Back with Dawson hitting a swinging neckbreaker but missing a top rope elbow. That’s enough for the tag off to Big E. for a bunch of suplexes.

The Warrior Splash hits knees but Big E. is fine enough to hit the Rock Bottom out of the corner. Wilder gets two off a tornado DDT and everything breaks down with Kofi hitting a missile dropkick. The big dive over the top takes down both Dawson and Wilder but the Midnight Hour is broken up.

Dawson hits a quick DDT for two on Big E., who backdrops both of them to the floor. Kofi’s dive is cut off and he gets sent hard into the post. Big E. gets dropped onto the announcers’ table and it’s the Shatter Machine for two as Kofi springboards in for the save. Cue the Undisputed Era to jump Kofi though and it’s a DQ at 10:25.

Rating: B-. The ending is the perfect call for this one, even if it took over an hour to get to anything NXT tonight. These teams can have a good match in their sleep but it’s also a match I’ve seen so many times that I don’t care about it all that much anymore. At least they got the ending right though and that’s what matters most.

Post match the beatdown is on until the Smackdown locker room runs in for the save.

Heavy Machinery vs. Kevin Tibbs/Kip Stevens

Otis throws Tibbs onto Stevens and there goes the shirt. Stereo vertical suplexes (with a bit of a toast by clinking them together) sets up a running splash to crush Tibbs in the corner. The Caterpillar sets up the Compactor for the pin at 2:16.

We look at Shayna Baszler invading Raw and Smackdown, only to have Bayley jump Shayna on NXT.

Bayley says this is all about her and she can’t wait to crush Nikki Cross’ dreams tonight. Sasha Banks believes in Bayley and knows Cross isn’t winning.

We look at the Wrestlemania ticket on sale party.

Recap of the opening tag match. Next week, it’s a six man tag.

Nikki Cross vs. Bayley

Non-title and if Cross wins, she’s on the Survivor Series team. Of note: Nikki’s entrance was before the break, a look at the on sale party and the recap. They really couldn’t have put that together a bit better so she wasn’t standing in the ring for six minutes? They start fast with Bayley knocking her to the floor….but here’s Shayna Baszler to chase her over the barricade. Some more NXT women show up to throw Bayley back to ringside but Sasha Banks jumps Baszler inside. The Smackdown women come through the crowd (for no apparent reason) and we’ll say the match was thrown out at 30 seconds.

Banks issues a challenge for a Survivor Series preview.

Nikki Cross/Sasha Banks/Carmella/Dana Brooke vs. Rhea Ripley/Tegan Nox/Dakota Kai/Mia Yim

Kai kicks Cross to start so it’s off to Yim, who gets caught in an armbar. Carmella comes in and superkicks Nox off the apron, which is enough to bring Nox in to stomp Carmella down in the corner. Kai and Nox take turns beating on Carmella, until a forearm allows the hot tag to Banks.

Ripley comes in for a rather nice staredown with Banks, who slaps her in the face. Banks gets muscled over with a suplex and everything breaks down, meaning a lot of shouting takes us to a break. Back with Cross hitting a crossbody on Rhea but Nox hits the Shiniest Wizard. Everything breaks down with a parade of kicks to the face. The Purge finishes Nox at 9:24.

Rating: C-. They had a lot of stuff to cram in here and it didn’t really work all that well. It was cool to see some of these women on the main roster though, even if it is just for a single week. The Survivor Series match needed a boost and this is as good of a way as they could go to make that happen.

Post match the brawl is on until the rest of the Smackdown women make the save.

Survivor Series rundown.

It’s time for MizTV with Miz quickly introducing Daniel Bryan. Miz asks about the Fiend attacking Bryan last week but Bryan can’t bring himself to say anything. Miz wants to know what is going on with Bryan, who looks confused about everything going on. Does Bryan not know who he is anymore? Bryan stands up and says he’s been quiet because MizTV sucks, just as it always has.

Miz doesn’t understand the passion that he has, just like these people. It was a mental instability combined with his passion that drove him to do things. Bray Wyatt understands though and that’s what makes him dangerous. Bray is unstable….and the Firefly Fun House starts up. Wyatt says it’s rude to talk about someone when they aren’t there. Being confused is a scary feeling, but maybe Fiend did it to scare Bryan. Or maybe it’s because of what Bryan did. You remember what that is, right Bryan?

It isn’t explained, because we need to look in Bray’s toy box. After throwing out some stuff, including a saw, he finds the Universal Title. If Bryan wants to come play, all he has to do is say that one word. Bryan: “NO!” This turns into an argument with Bray’s friends but if they’re going to fight, it’s going to be for the Universal Title. Bray says yes and starts his own YES chant. That goes on for a long time with Bray’s eyes bugging out. Bray stops and Miz announces the title shot for Survivor Series. Bryan leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This show was a near miracle after one of the worst first thirds of a show that I can remember in a very long time. The rest of the show worked out well enough with some build towards Survivor Series, but the big problem continues to be WWE trying to promote too many things at once.

Since there are only three weeks between Survivor Series and TLC, it’s time to set up Corbin vs. Reigns for that show and for some reason, that needed the first forty minutes of this week’s episode. But maybe the dog joke market is that strong. Anyway, all time horrible start and a pretty great rest of the show doesn’t make for a good mix, but it could have been much worse.

Results

Mustafa Ali/Shorty G. b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – 450 to Ziggler

New Day b. Revival via DQ when the Undisputed Era interfered

Heavy Machinery b. Kip Stevens/Kevin Tibbs – Compactor to Tibbs

Nikki Cross vs. Bayley went to a no contest when Shayna Baszler interfered

Sasha Banks/Dana Brooke/Carmella/Nikki Cross b. Dakota Kai/Tegan Nox/Rhea Ripley/Mia Yim – Purge to Nox

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: June 9, 2019
Location: Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
Attendance: 4,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

Things have gotten interesting all over again here in the form of the Draft, which saw Smackdown World Champion John Cena head over to Raw this week. That means things are going to be shaken up in a hurry and we’re going to need some new talent coming in here. That will be the case tonight and that could be a very good thing given how some stuff has gone around this place. Let’s get to it.

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

Theodore Long is in the ring to get things going. He recaps the Draft and we see Cena going over to Raw to start the process of becoming the biggest star in the world. This means Smackdown doesn’t have a champion so here’s a very happy JBL, giving us a great deadpan glare from Long. JBL is willing to make Long’s job that much easier because he knows the locker room is nervous. Of course he doesn’t spend time with them, but he knows that’s what’s going on.

Long tells him to shut up because there will be no decision on the title until after the Draft at the end of June. With that out of the way, here’s the first Draft pick to Smackdown: Chris Benoit. There wasn’t much left for him to do on Raw and he fits in anywhere so this is a good move.

Benoit is glad to be here because unlike JBL, he has never quit. JBL backs off at what sounds like a threat and talks about some of Benoit’s biggest victories before ranting about Kansas City and ECW. Benoit says he regrets nothing about his career and is glad to be here because he didn’t quit. Anyway they’ll fight tonight so JBL swings at him but has to escape a Crossface attempt.

Carlito vs. Charlie Haas

Matt Morgan and Hardcore Holly are both here. Haas shoulders him down to start and goes after the arm as a wrestler tends to do. Carlito gets in a shot of his own and we see Morgan stuttering his approval. The front facelock goes on to keep Haas slowed down until he fights up with the dropkick. Morgan gets on the apron so Haas sends Carlito into him and dives onto Morgan for a bonus. The distraction lets Carlito grab a rollup with trunks to pin Haas.

Rating: D+. Well that was a little overbooked for what they were going for here. The match wasn’t anything of note but they’ve done a nice job of setting up Haas and Holly as lower level jobbers. They can both have a good enough match under the right circumstances, such as not doing this much in a match that barely broke three minutes.

Long recap of the ECW invasion of Raw, which was really good stuff.

Heidenreich wants Benoit to be his best friend but Benoit thinks he’s a bit much. After Heidenreich leaves, Eddie Guerrero comes up to say he didn’t expect to see Benoit until One Night Stand. They reminisce about Wrestlemania XX where they were both World Champions, so maybe they’ll fight for the new Smackdown title. They’ll still be friends though of course. Benoit isn’t so convinced because he’s seen how Eddie has treated his friends. Besides, Benoit’s title match would be against Rey Mysterio since Eddie can’t beat him. See you Sunday amigo.

Kurt Angle says he is obsessed with Sharmell and couldn’t stop staring at her last week. When he pinned her last week, it felt so good to look down at her. Then Sharmell wouldn’t let him go he looked into her eyes and felt the chemistry between the two of them. Tonight, the games with Booker T. end because to the victor go the spoils. After Booker taps, Sharmell is coming home to daddy.

Paul London vs. Akio

Non-title. London’s headlock doesn’t work so he jumps over Akio in the corner. Hang on though as here’s Eddie for a distraction, with Akio showing some intelligence by beating London up as Eddie walks to the ring. Eddie grabs the mic and gets in the ring while the match is going on. London dropkicks Akio into London so the beatdown is on for the no contest which should be a DQ but wrestling doesn’t do DQ’s in situations like these for some reason.

Post match, and after tossing London (just kill the Cruiserweight Title already), Eddie complains about the lack of respect he receives around here. No one thinks he can beat Rey, even though he has left Rey laying. Rey remembers being laid out and taken away by the EMTs as the fans screamed about him. After talking about the ways he has hurt Rey, Eddie talks about never breaking a promise he made to Rey. More on this later.

Kurt Angle vs. Booker T.

Before the match, Angle calls out Tazz again, saying he wants an answer by the end of the night. Tazz doesn’t answer but says on commentary that he doesn’t answer to anyone and is going to call the match. The bell rings and they circle each other because that’s what Booker should be doing right now. A hiptoss and armdrag into an armbar continue the completely unrealistic responses.

Booker reverses into an armbar of his own, showing how worthless Booker is as a protector when it comes to defending valet wives. Booker fights up and drapes him over the top for the ax kick to finally get somewhere. Back in and they slug it out with Booker getting the better of it off a kick to the face. Angle snaps off a release German suplex, followed by more suplexes to keep Booker in trouble. A very telegraphed charge lets Booker backdrop him to the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Booker fighting out of a waistlock and hitting a Stunner. The Angle Slam is reversed and it’s a Book End for two. Angle is right back up with the rolling German suplexes for two and the Angle Slam is good for the same. A missed charge sends Angle into the buckle and Booker hits a quick spinebuster.

Now the ax kick gets two more but Angle is right back with the ankle lock. Booker eventually kicks it off but the referee gets bumped, meaning it’s time for Angle to glare at Sharmell. Angle grabs a chair and hits Booker’s ankle but the second chair shot hits the top rope so the chair hits Angle in the head by mistake. The scissors kick gives Booker the pin.

Rating: C-. This felt like it belonged on a pay per view but wasn’t all that good. Angle has beaten Booker up in almost every match but keeps losing, as he should, but it isn’t exactly something that warrants more rematches. Then there is the story stuff which is just disturbing in a lot of ways. I’m hoping this wraps things up because there are very few good ways to keep it going.

Post break and post recap, Angle grabs a chair and a mic because he wants his answer from Tazz. The sunglasses and headset come off with Angle threatening violence if he doesn’t get the answer he wants. Angle…then sits down next to Tazz, who just stares at him. After a few moments of nothing, Angle snaps and hits him with the chair. Tazz is bleeding from the head as the trainers come down to check on him. He tries to walk away but collapses and has to be helped out.

Heidenreich vs. Rory Fox

Heidenreich finds a friend before the match, though this time she is a woman in her twenties. The Boss Man Slam finishes Fox in about thirty seconds.

Post match Heidenreich reads his new friend a poem.

Raw Rebound.

Chris Benoit vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

Paul Heyman replaces Tazz on commentary and has ECW with him. JBL has the Cabinet with him to even things up a little bit. Benoit takes him into the corner to start and the fans already want tables. A hard whip into the corner puts Benoit down but he chops his way out of trouble. The first suplex looks to set up the Sharpshooter but JBL gets out twice in a row. Back up and JBL hits a big boot as Heyman rants about Eric Bischoff, as he is known to do.

A powerbomb is countered into the Sharpshooter but Benoit has to deal with the Bashams and Orlando Jordan as they earn their pay. Cue Carlito and Matt Morgan and we take a break. Back with JBL choking underneath the ropes and hammering away as the pace has slowed. A sleeper has Benoit in trouble until he belly to back suplexes his way to freedom. There’s the snap suplex and it’s time to roll the German suplexes. The Crossface goes on and Kurt Angle comes in for the DQ.

Rating: C. They weren’t exactly hiding where this was going until the ending and there is nothing wrong with that. JBL is still a big deal at this point and putting him in there against the #1 Draft pick makes a lot of sense. It also helps to advance One Night Stand, which really is coming off like a big deal for a change. Benoit should have won under normal circumstances, but the build to One Night Stand isn’t all that normal.

The big brawl is on and here’s Tazz to choke out a Basham as the ECW guys clear the ring with finishers. ECW stands tall and Michael Cole is their biggest fan to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s a pretty weak show but getting Benoit helps, as does setting up the tease of a new World Champion, finishing Booker vs. Angle (we can only hope) and making me want to watch One Night Stand again. They’ve done a good job here and Sunday’s show is looking strong, so hopefully we’re in for WWE treating ECW right. Not a good show on its own, but it gives me some hope for the future.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: November 8, 2019
Location: MEN Arena, Manchester England
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s an interesting week here as we are over in the United Kingdom (or in Manchester, New Hampshire if you believe WWE.com) for a taped show because WWE hasn’t gone all over the world enough just yet. That means things could get interesting as we see the matches that were supposed to take place last week before everything went nuts. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s NXT invasion.

Opening sequence.

It’s the standard pre-FOX set, with the basic stage and Union Jack flags on the side.

Here’s King Corbin to open things up. He isn’t happy with the NXT invasion from last week but that’s all over now that they’re here. That brings him to Roman Reigns, who he certainly respects. Reigns has main evented four Wrestlemanias and even came back from leukemia in less than a year. I mean, who does that? But what has Reigns done lately? Now Reigns is a family man who spends time making appearances with children.

It’s like the Big Dog now has some little marbles and sounds like a chihuahua. Corbin shows us a computerized dog head on screen with a high pitched bark. So Corbin went through the time, effort and perhaps money to have that made just for the sake of that ten second visual? There’s no Reigns though because he isn’t here yet but he’ll be here tonight for the main event. Then the fans can get out their dog scoop bags to take care of Reigns. Corbin has such a bag with him because THEY GOT IN THAT PROMO DEAN AMBROSE TALKED ABOUT.

New Day is ready to win the Tag Team Titles because they have to keep up with Charlotte. This one is for Xavier Woods.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Revival

Revival is defending. Kofi rolls Dawson up for some early near falls and it’s off to Big E. to go after Wilder’s knee. The referee has to check on Wilder and we take an early break. Back with Big E. hitting a belly to belly on Wilder, whose knee is just fine. Kofi comes back in for the dropkicks and the big dive onto both champs. Back in and Dawson avoids Trouble in Paradise, leaving Kofi to get two off the SOS to Wilder.

Big E.’s Rock Bottom out of the corner is broken up and it’s a double hanging DDT to Big E. for no cover. A middle rope uppercut/German suplex combination gives Wilder two but the Shatter Machine is broken up. Dawson gets sent outside and Big E. holds Wilder up for Trouble in Paradise for the pin and the titles at 8:30.

Rating: C+. Well so much for Kofi’s post title loss depression. I’m not sure how much sense it makes to go back to that but if Kofi needs another line on his already Hall of Fame resume, so be it. At this rate he’s already a two time Hall of Famer so it’s hardly a stretch to have him win another title. The match was the usual entertaining stuff between these two.

Sami Zayn comes up to Daniel Bryan in the back and suggests that if Bryan had joined up with he and Shinsuke Nakamura, Bryan would be the new NXT Champion. They need to stick together and Sami should could watch Nakamura’s tag match later and see what can be done.

Heavy Machinery comes out for a match but Imperium jumps them. Some Smackdown guys run out for the save.

Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro vs. Ali/Shorty G.

My money is on Da Ali G Show. Bryan comes out to watch as Gable grabs the armbar over the ropes to put Nakamura in early trouble. Cesaro comes in to throw Gable into the corner though, only to have Gable Victory roll his way over to Ali. The big tornado DDT drops Cesaro and everything breaks down.

Gable belly to belly suplexes Nakamura to the floor, followed by Gable and Cesaro joining them. Ali dives onto Cesaro and it’s Gable grabbing the ankle lock. That’s broken up and Nakamura hits Ali with the reverse exploder. Kinshasa is blocked with the superkick but Cesaro sends Gable outside. Now Kinshasa can connect to finish Ali at 4:08.

Rating: C+. They packed a lot of stuff into a short match but it was entertaining. What matters here is the Sami stuff with Bryan, as the attempted manipulation is strong, even if it isn’t likely to work. That makes for a good story as you can see what is going on and there is a possibility that it could work. Not knowing where it is going (though one result is pretty heavily favored) makes it more interesting.

Sasha Banks vs. Nikki Cross

Bayley is on commentary. Banks has a remixed version of her theme song, including some vocals from Snoop Dogg. Cross gets sent into the corner for some early choking to start, followed by more choking on the ropes. The fans sing to Bayley as Cross starts the comeback with some armdrags. Cross goes after Bayley instead though and grabs the headset to shout something I couldn’t understand.

Banks uses the distraction to get in a cheap shot, only to be small packaged for two. Back with Cross fighting out of trouble and hitting a tornado DDT for a double knockdown. Cross’ crossbody misses but she stays out of the Bank Statement. That works for all of a few seconds before Banks locks it in for the tap at 8:39.

Rating: C-. They’ve done a nice job of trying to make Cross into a thing but she hasn’t won anything of note on her own. Having her lose over and over again isn’t a recipe for success but WWE doesn’t seem to see it that way. Granted she has already been more successful than I would have bet on for the main roster, though there seems to be more potential there.

Post match Bayley jumps Cross but Shayna Baszler runs in and lays Bayley out.

Sami tries to convince Bryan to not do the YES Movement again. The lights go out and the Fiend appears for the Mandible Claw on Bryan as Sami runs away.

We look at Tyson Fury defeating Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel.

Here’s hometown boy Tyson Fury to fire up the crown. He has been around the world and fought everywhere, including last week in Saudi Arabia. That brings him to Braun Strowman, who he wants to see right here in front of him. Cue Strowman, with Fury praising him for a great fight and offering a handshake. They shake hands and Fury says they should be a tag team. Strowman likes the idea but doesn’t think anyone is crazy enough to face them. Cue the B Team, with Dallas saying the B stands for fearless. The beatdown doesn’t take long with Strowman running them over and Fury hitting a right hand.

Fire & Desire vs. Carmella/Dana Brooke

The winners are two of the five entrants on the Smackdown women’s Survivor Series team, joining Sasha Banks. Sonya throws Carmella around to start as we hear that it’s going to be a three team, fifteen woman Survivor Series match. Mandy and Carmella come in with the latter getting stomped in the corner.

The beatdown continues until Carmella runs over and makes the hot tag off to Dana. A lot of screaming ensues with Dana’s cartwheel moonsault getting two. Carmella superkicks Mandy and throws Sonya to the floor so Dana can flip over her. A dropkick into the steps sets up the Swanton to give Dana the pin on Sonya at 4:00.

Rating: D+. As one of the four people in the world who watches Main Event, Dana has grown on me quite a bit over the last year. No she is not great or even very good, but she has improved a lot and looks like she is trying every time she is out there. It’s not her fault that she went from signing to start training in 2013 and was on the main roster less than three years later. She’s slowly getting better, but unfortunately we’ve spent three years laughing at her because she was thrown into the deep end before she could wade into the water.

Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin

Reigns jumps him before the bell and hits a clothesline to the floor. After a quick beating, it’s Corbin coming back inside and hammering away. Reigns hits a big boot but here are Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler to go after Reigns, because he’s lost the locker room or something. Corbin catches Reigns with Deep Six back inside and we take a break.

Back with Ziggler getting in another cheap shot so Corbin can send Reigns into the barricade. They get back in and slug it out until Corbin hits a chokeslam. Corbin misses a shot off the top though and Reigns hits a running clothesline for two. Ziggler and Roode come in again though and the distraction lets Corbin hit End of Days for the pin at 9:27.

Rating: D+. This really missed for me as Corbin vs. Reigns is boring enough on its own, and then we have Roode and Ziggler, who shouldn’t like Reigns in the first place, attacking him because….he took time off for cancer? It feels like it could be the start of Reigns’ big road to redemption, because that’s a story WWE loves to do. It isn’t the worst thing they could go with, but please find a more interesting way to go about doing so.

Overall Rating: D+. The first half was pretty good but it was downhill in a hurry with the Corbin stuff not doing it any favors. This felt really out of place after last week with Imperium and Baszler being the only invaders, and Imperium is more of a different thing than last week. The previous show felt important and interesting while this one felt like a standard “we’re in England” show. It’s the curse of the schedule again, as I’m assuming they didn’t want to bring all the NXT people over and therefore we have to wait a week to get back to what was a hot angle. We got one week out of it, but WWE fumbled it. Again.

Results

New Day b. Revival – Trouble in Paradise to Dawson

Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro b. Ali/Shorty G – Kinshasa to Ali

Sasha Banks b. Nikki Cross – Bank Statement

Carmella/Dana Brooke b. Fire & Desire – Swanton to Deville

King Corbin b. Roman Reigns – End of Days

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: June 2, 2005
Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Attendance: 5,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re in that weird period where the fallout from a pay per view is over and now we’re on the way to nothing because there isn’t another Smackdown pay per view for over a month. At the same time though, we’re less than a week away from the Draft so it’s time to get some new toys around here. Let’s get to it.

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

We look back at Kurt Angle winning a battle royal and granting himself a match against Sharmell tonight. Eddie Guerrero attacked Rey Mysterio before the match because Eddie is insane.

Opening sequence.

We open with Carlito’s Cabana (again) with Matt Morgan acting as security. Carlito isn’t happy about being in Canada because Edmonton is the least coolest (his words) city in North America. We look at Morgan putting Big Show through a table last week with an F5. Morgan stutters at the crowd before Carlito brings out his guest for the week: John Cena. With the Wayne Gretzky jersey on, Cena mocks both Carlito and Morgan, the latter of whom does not like being called a palm tree.

Cena mocks the stuttering a lot before saying that since this might be their last night together on Smackdown, he needs to get to the point: Carlito isn’t cool. He’s a cabana boy with bad hair and hangs out with Michael Cole wannabes. We hear a bunch of similarities between Cole and Morgan (Hair, bear, affinity for oiling themselves up and wearing spandex) until Carlito says he can’t wait for someone to come over from Raw and embarrass Cena. That sounds cool with Cena, who says anyone who wants some can come get some. As for coming and getting some, tonight it’s Carlito/Morgan vs. Cena/Big Show.

Theodore Long is on the phone (which looked like the same Motorola I had around this time) when Booker T. and Sharmell come in. Booker wants Sharmell out of the match because she’s no wrestler, but Long says it’s all in the rules. However, Long does have an idea: Booker can be added to the match to make it a handicap match. That’s cool with Booker, so Long tells him to go handle his business.

Tag Team Titles: MNM vs. Charlie Haas/Hardcore Holly

MNM is defending in a fifteen minute Iron Man match, because this needed a trilogy match with a gimmick. Haas trips Nitro to the mat to start so Nitro bails to the floor for a breather. Back in and a crossbody gets two on Nitro, who is chased into the corner for the tag off to Mercury. Holly pulls him in and hits a Russian legsweep for two, followed by the hanging kick to the ribs.

The Alabama Slam is loaded up but the referee is off yelling at Haas, allowing Nitro to hit a superkick for the pin and the first fall. Holly stays in and grabs an armbar on Nitro, which doesn’t exactly last long. Therefore Holly puts it right back on as the stalling continues and we take another break. Back again with less than six and a half minutes to go after MNM got a second fall during the break when Haas was posted and pinned.

Haas grabs a quick Oklahoma roll to get a fall back so the champs start slowing the pace down again. The fans want Holly with five minutes left as the announcers make basketball analogies about the clock. Holly finally comes in for a save and tries to drag Haas to the corner in a move that isn’t done enough. A running hip shot knocks Haas to the floor so Holly throws him back inside.

Back in and Haas finally gets in a clothesline for a breather and an enziguri allows the hot tag with less than two minutes to go. Holly cleans house and gets two off a full nelson slam, followed by the dropkick for two. There’s a minute left and the Snapshot is broken up so Holly can hit the Alabama Slam. Melina dives in and covers Nitro though, presumably making her the Tag Team Champions as time expires.

Rating: C. Uh yeah fine, now can we PLEASE find some new challengers? The matches have been fine enough but Holly and Haas have lost three times now and weren’t interesting challengers in the first place. The fans are getting into Holly and they’re nothing close to a disaster or even bad, but we need something fresh.

Long video on Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio, going from their teaming together to their split, with Chavo Guerrero playing a great devil on Eddie’s shoulder.

Here’s Kurt Angle for his match with Booker and Sharmell but first, he needs to talk about Tazz not doing commentary during last week’s Kurt Angle Invitational. That comes off as disrespectful, so Angle has a clip of his own. That would be from his one night in ECW, where Tazz said Angle was a great amateur but he’s a great professional.

Back in the arena, Angle knows that it was Paul Heyman making Tazz say it. Tazz isn’t a wrestler like the people in ECW, though they weren’t wrestlers either. The WWE made him a star, so Angle wants Tazz to come with him to One Night Stand and kill ECW once and for all. Tazz takes his sunglasses off but doesn’t say anything.

Booker T./Sharmell vs. Kurt Angle

Thankfully Booker acts sane here and makes Sharmell stay down on the floor but the referee says everyone has to be in the ring at the same time. Angle knocks Booker outside so Sharmell runs (because she’s smart), allowing Booker to get back up and Catch Angle on the floor. A clothesline puts Booker on the floor again though and it’s time for more stalking. Like any distressed woman in wrestling, Sharmell trips over the steps and Angle throws her inside for a powerbomb, complete with hip swivel.

There’s a bit too much swiveling though and Booker hammers away. The Book End looks to set up the Houston Hangover but Angle crotches him. There’s a superplex but Angle can’t get up, so Sharmell covers him for two. We take a break (In this match???) and come back with Angle holding a Fujiwara armbar as Booker seems almost out. Booker fights back with chops but gets caught in the rolling German suplexes.

Angle takes Sharmell down into something close to a choke but seems to be whispering in her ear instead. Booker makes the save and gets caught in the Angle Slam for two. That’s enough for Angle to back Sharmell into the corner and take down the straps so she bites and slaps away. The low blow is countered into the ankle lock but Booker kicks him in the face.

Booker hits the spinning kick but misses the ax kick, allowing Angle to drive Booker into Sharmell and the referee at the same time. A superkick puts Angle on the floor but he’s back in with some chair shots to Booker and now Sharmell is all alone. Angle stacks her up in a rollup (you can imagine the positioning) for the pin.

Rating: F. The wrestling wasn’t even very good because Booker was going wild out there (makes perfect sense) but is there ANY reason why Booker and Sharmell tried to have the match? Long didn’t threaten them if they didn’t go through with it, so why not have Sharmell run away and just take the countout or DQ while Booker stays in the ring and beats Angle up? This made no sense and I spent the whole match wondering why they weren’t just doing the obvious thing. Oh and given how completely absurd this whole thing is, it’s about as much of a failure as you can get.

Post match Angle climbs on top of her so Booker makes the save to send a smiling Angle off.

Video of John Cena’s media tour for his album.

Heidenreich vs. Devon Nicholson

Nicholson is a tiny bit famous as Hannibal. Heidenreich goes to find a friend before the match and she looks just like Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap. He reads her a poem about having an unsure future in the Draft before pummeling Nicholson like the jobber that he is. The Boss Man Slam gives Heidenreich the pin as I try to get Do You Believe In Magic out of my head.

The women are backstage, as they tend to be, when Mark Jindrak comes up. He hopes there are some new women around here in the Draft. Jindrak: “Some ones that put out.” He is shouted off in a hurry.

Nunzio vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

Hold on though as JBL needs to rant about how bad ECW was. He blames all of the violence in wrestling on ECW and is appalled at the idea of Paul Heyman being a genius. Heyman claims to have brought in a bunch of legends but in case you haven’t heard, he is a liar. JBL rants about the ECW wrestlers we got, including Sandman and Lance Storm (those two are not often listed together), before saying ECW will not invade New York. He will be one of the crusaders at One Night Stand and lead the forces against ECW.

Speaking of ECW, let’s make this an ECW Rules match. JBL boots him to the floor so Nunzio slips underneath the ring and comes out the other side with a kendo stick. Some kendo stick shots connect but the Cabinet comes in so the Clothesline From JBL can connect. The big kendo stick shot finishes Nunzio quick in a match that was secondary to the promo (which is fine here).

Booker and Sharmell come in to rant at Long, demanding a match with Angle. If Long won’t make it, Booker will do it in the streets. Long can’t guarantee anything, but if they’re both here after the Draft, it’s on.

Raw Rebound.

Big Show/John Cena vs. Carlito/Matt Morgan

Show’s shoulder and ribs are heavily taped up but Cena lets him start with….well hang on as Morgan and Carlito aren’t sure who is starting. Carlito drops to the floor so Cena throws him in and the chops are on. Morgan gets shoved off the apron and Carlito is tossed onto him for the big crash.

Back from a break with Show knocking Morgan into the corner and hitting some loud chops before bringing Cena in. A slam puts Morgan down but he’s fine enough to bring Cena into the corner so the villains can take over for the first time. Morgan misses an elbow though and it’s back to Show for the house cleaning. There’s a side slam to Morgan but it messes up the ribs all over again. Ever the well trained rookie, Morgan is smart enough to kick at the ribs and drives a knee into them for a bonus.

Carlito even makes himself useful with a left hand to the ribs. He even comes in to stay on the ribs but Show sends him into Morgan, which counts as a tag. The required bearhug goes on until Show fights out and chops away at everyone. Morgan breaks up the chokeslam but it’s off to Cena to pick up the pace. Show Cactus Clotheslines Morgan to the floor and Cena hits the Shuffle into the (sitout) FU for the pin on Carlito.

Rating: C-. Cena has rocketed from the top of the card into the superstar status so fast that it’s almost hard to believe. He was a big deal when he won the title but now he feels like the real star that WWE has wanted him to be. That presents a problem though as there is no one who can fight against him, at least not on Smackdown at the moment. Carlito isn’t someone who is believable against this Cena and that was very obvious the whole time here. To be fair though, that wasn’t exactly what they were going for and that helped a lot.

Cena checks on the injured Show to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. So yeah, other than Rey vs. Eddie, it is more than time for some fresh blood around here and that is painfully obvious. Angle vs. Booker is just disturbing and Cena needs a challenger, though at least the ECW stuff is helping things along a bit. The show wasn’t the worst, but it’s running out of gas and that is the kind of thing that can create some rough watches. Not a bad show, but that Angle vs. Booker stuff needs to be forgotten in a hurry.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: November 1, 2019
Location: Keybank Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Aiden English, Renee Young, Tom Phillips

So, as anyone could have guessed could have been a problem, WWE wasn’t able to get their wrestlers halfway around the world in a single day so most of the talent is stuck in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it’s going to be a show built around the wrestlers who didn’t go, Brock Lesnar and some surprises, likely from NXT. I’m sure FOX will be thrilled with this being their return on investment. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar to open things up. Heyman brags about Brock beating Cain Velasquez at Crown Jewel….and we see the match in full.

WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez

Lesnar is defending and gets a monster pop. Rey Mysterio is here with Velasquez, who does look a little better in ring gear than he has recently (emphasis on a little). They start slowly as Lesnar has learned from what got him in trouble against Cain the first time. Lesnar takes him into the corner for some clinch fighting but Cain gets in a kick to the head to drop the champ. Ground and pound ensues but Brock grabs the Kimura for the win at 2:07.

Back in the arena, Heyman talks about Rey Mysterio coming after Lesnar and attacking him with a chair….which we see as well.

Post match Lesnar won’t let go so Rey hits him with a chair, earning himself a toss to the floor. Brock chairs Cain down and hits the F5 onto the chair. Rey comes back in with another chair and swings it quite well for someone with one good arm. Enough shots connect to send Lesnar outside and we would have a fresh challenge if the Brand Split didn’t exist. I mean, I’m sure that’s going to last of course, right?

Back in the arena, Heyman talks about how Lesnar wants Rey so he’ll be going to Raw to get him, because he doesn’t care about the contract situations. YOU MEAN THEY COULDN’T MAKE IT THREE WEEKS AFTER THE DRAFT??? Just to get around the contracts, Brock quits Smackdown for good.

Brock and Heyman are in the back and leave…..as HHH and Shawn Michaels look on.

Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross

Bayley is defending and Sasha Banks is at ringside too. Cross goes straight at her and knocks her to the floor, setting up a tornado DDT off the apron as we take a break. Back with Bayley getting two off a clothesline and sending Cross into the steps. Cross slugs away and hits a bulldog but Banks breaks up the Purge. Bayley kicks her down and hits the top rope elbow for two. The fans chant for Bayley as she breaks up a tornado DDT attempt. Bayley gets tied up in the ring skirt and pummeled again but Banks shoves Cross off the top. Something like a Stroke retains the title at 8:26.

Rating: C+. The wrestling was fine here and for something that was designed to be little more than a fill in match, it worked well enough. Cross was already the #1 contender so it’s not like this came out of nowhere. Bayley needs some fresh challengers and Cross was a good enough choice as a challenger who was going to be a serious threat.

Post match it’s Shayna Baszler of all people coming in to destroy Banks and Bayley to a big reaction. A knee to the face knocks Bayley cold.

Sami Zayn likes the idea of NXT showing up on Smackdown’s night but they better watch where they step. Keith Lee and Matt Riddle come up and Sami backs off a bit. He opens his jacket to reveal….a plain black shirt because he took the NXT one off to avoid getting his vinegar based dressing on it. Sami tries to leave but the chase is on. They wind up in the arena and, after some begging off, it’s a Bro Derek from Riddle and a middle rope moonsault from Lee.

Clips of Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman.

Here’s the Miz for MizTV. After sucking up to the Buffalo crowd, he talks about how he was going to be interviewing Bray Wyatt, who won the Universal Title last night. We see a package of the win but since Bray isn’t here, we’ll move on. Miz talks about all the NXT talents in the building tonight, with Riddle and Lee beating up Sami being his favorite.

Miz can’t wait to see what happens next….so here’s Tommaso Ciampa to a huge reaction. Ciampa talks about how Miz likes to pretend that he’s a star while Ciampa is literally breaking his neck for wrestling. Miz likes acting so while he’s acting the part, Ciampa is playing the part. That’s something Miz has heard for fifteen years and he’s so tired of hearing it that he’s ready to fight right now.

Miz vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Miz’s headlock doesn’t get him anywhere so he slides between Ciampa’s legs for a sunset flip. Ciampa gets sent outside but is fine enough to send Miz into various things, allowing him to sit on the apron and applaud himself. Back in and Miz’s Reality Check gets two but Ciampa beats him up again to take over.

The Fairy Tale Ending is broken up and Miz gets in a shot to the knee to cut Ciampa down. The shot DDT gives Miz two and it’s the Figure Four going on, only to have Ciampa glare at him and escape. Miz tries it again but gets small packaged for two. Ciampa’s half crab doesn’t get him very far as Miz hits the running corner clothesline. Miz gets kneed out of the air though and the Fairy Tale Ending finishes Miz at 7:41.

Rating: C. Ciampa is an interesting case as he is more than capable of hanging on the main WWE roster (if not thriving) but he seems tailor made to be an NXT lifer. Maybe it’s his size, age or history but he screams perfect for NXT and that’s all he needs to be. This was an important win for him, though I can’t imagine him being a big deal on the main roster, at least not one Vince controls.

Daniel Bryan asks HHH and Shawn why they’re here. HHH says NXT has been called out for Survivor Series and it’s like they were looking for a fight. Bryan finds that interesting because he’s looking for a fight. Maybe he and HHH should go fight right now. Shawn takes off his jacket as HHH says he knows someone who is looking for a fight. Shawn: “It’s cold in here!” And the jacket goes back on. HHH: “Champ!” Cue Adam Cole, who is willing to fight Bryan tonight. That’s cool with Bryan, as long as it’s for the NXT Title. HHH says it’s on.

Fire & Desire vs. Dana Brooke/Carmella

Or not as Bianca Belair jumps Brooke and Carmella in the back. We have some substitutes though.

Fire & Desire vs. Rhea Ripley/Tegan Nox

Sonya kicks Nox’s knee out on the floor and beats her up against the barricade. Nox fights back and sends her over the barricade though, with Renee taking a boot to the face. Rhea beats Mandy up inside, only to have Nox come in for the Shiniest Wizard. The standing Cloverleaf makes Mandy tap at 1:28. Ripley is a star and if Nox can stay healthy, she’s a mega star.

Stephanie McMahon comes out and introduces a package on Lacey Evans vs. Natalya from Crown Jewel.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Daniel Bryan

Cole, with a still injured wrist, is defending with HHH and Shawn. Roderick Strong comes out with Cole but heads to the back before the match. Bryan starts fast with the kicks and stomps on the arm for a bonus. The surfboard dragon sleeper doesn’t last long as Cole slips out and tries a suplex to the floor, with both of them crashing over the top. Back from a break with Cole suplexing him down and dropping an elbow.

We hit the Figure Four necklock for a bit but Bryan fights up with shots to the face. Cole gets backdropped over the top and eats the knee off the apron. A missile dropkick puts Cole down again but he’s fine enough to cut off the running dropkick with a superkick for two of his own. Bryan knocks him to the floor for the suicide dive but the second one is cut off by a jumping enziguri as we take another break.

Back again with Cole getting crotched on top and belly to back superplexed back down. The Swan Dive misses though and the brainbuster to the knee gets two. The Last Shot is countered into a half crab into a legbar but Cole makes the rope. That’s fine with Bryan who goes with the LeBell Lock, only to let go and stomp away at Cole’s head.

The LeBell Lock on Cole’s bad wrist goes on again, with Bryan pulling back on the free arm for a bonus. Therefore it’s a foot on the rope for the break so Bryan kicks him in the head, only to charge into another superkick. The middle rope Canadian Destroyer sets up the Last Shot and Bryan is done at 20:07.

Rating: A-. Yeah this was great and you knew it would be. They didn’t have much of another choice here and they did the best thing that they could have done. Throw out NXT’s best guy and one of the best from Smackdown and see what you can do. It was a wrestling match with a clean ending and sometimes, that’s the best thing you can offer.

Post match the NXT crew hits the ring, including a bunch of people who didn’t appear yet. HHH gets in the ring and says if WWE wants a fight with NXT, it can be Raw and Smackdown vs. NXT. Tonight was the first shot from the NXT army and at Survivor Series, Raw and Smackdown will know that WE ARE NXT.

Overall Rating: B+. Oh yeah this worked and it was exactly the energized show that they’ve been needing. The wrestling was mostly good, the surprises made me want to keep watching and the angle at the end certainly teased WarGames at Survivor Series. On the other hand, this show explained how bad of an idea the Brand Split really is. With just one roster, you know who will and will not be there and that takes away so much from a show. Sometimes you need a twist and cutting the roster in half doesn’t make that the most likely situation. Anyway, this was great and I’m looking forward to the next few weeks if this is a preview.

Results

Bayley b. Nikki Cross – Legsweep faceplant

Tommaso Ciampa b. Miz – Fairy Tale Ending

Rhea Ripley/Tegan Nox b. Fire & Desire – Standing Cloverleaf to Rose

Adam Cole b. Daniel Bryan – Last Shot

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

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

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

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