IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 18, 2018
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

We’re past Hell in a Cell now and AJ Styles is still the Smackdown World Champion, despite having tapped to Samoa Joe. That almost guarantees a rematch in Australia next month and that means the title is in jeopardy. Other than that, Becky Lynch won the Smackdown Women’s Title, which isn’t going to make people boo her any more. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a video on Lynch taking the title from Charlotte.

Here’s the Miz for MizTV to get things going. He starts things off by announcing Miz vs. Daniel Bryan in a #1 contenders match, which was announced weeks ago. His guest this week is Maryse, who apparently was rather hard to get. Miz lists off everything that Maryse has done, though she found beating Brie Bella on Sunday to be the easiest thing in her career. They talk about the reasons neither Brie nor Bryan are really happy for each other and their marriage was one of convenience.

As for something more personal, this is Maryse’s last night on Smackdown. The fans are very happy so Miz calls out Bryan for a fight right now. Cue Bryan, to say you don’t talk about his wife that way. So where was he before Miz called him out? Politely waiting to stand up for his wife’s honor?

Bryan dropkicks Miz, sending him right into Maryse. Everyone panics but Maryse smiles as Miz jumps Bryan. That goes badly as well and Maryse gets dropped off the apron again allowing Bryan to stand tall. This feud still doesn’t have that spark, and it probably has something to do with three big matches taking place in less than two months.

New Day is on a safari for….something not specified.

Post break Bryan says he knew that was coming because Miz wouldn’t call him out without some ulterior motive. In Australia, he’ll punch Miz in the face and punch his ticket to a title shot.

Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston

Prelude to the Bar’s Super Show-Down title shot, proving that yes indeed that tournament was a waste of time. Before the match, New Day talks about getting rid of the other day and Big E. goes into an Australian accent, which Woods says is terrible and Kofi finds offensive. Cesaro cuts him off too and we’re ready to go.

Joined in progress with Kofi in trouble as Cesaro works on the knee and an uppercut rocking Kofi for two. An enziguri gives Kofi a breather but Cesaro catches him with a dropkick on top. Kofi sends him outside for a rolling dive (Woods: “I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT WAS BUT IT WAS GOOD!”) and the SOS gets two back inside. That’s enough from Kofi though as the knee gives out and the Neutralizer finishes him off at 3:39.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match to help set up the Bar as challengers, because again, that tournament meant nothing and they’re in trouble again because there’s so much stuff going on that they have to rapid fire teams into title shots. Why they couldn’t do a double DQ between New Day and the Bar on Sunday to set up a rematch in Australia eludes me. Just go with something that makes sense so it’s not all screwy.

Rusev blames Aiden English for the loss on Sunday so English rants about Lana behind Rusev’s back. Speaking of behind a back, Lana is behind English’s so the apology begins in short order. She leaves to tell Rusev.

Randy Orton demands that a production guy show him the violent clips from Sunday and asks how those make him feel. More destruction will ensue.

Clip of the ending of AJ vs. Joe from Sunday.

AJ says he got lucky and maybe that was karma catching up with Joe. There’s a rematch in Australia where anything goes and there must be a winner. Tonight though, AJ has to deal with Andrade Cien Almas and he can’t look past him.

Rusev asks English to intro him and says he’ll talk to Lana later.

US Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev

Nakamura is defending. Feeling out process to start until Nakamura kicks at the leg and says COME ON. An overhead belly to belly throws Nakamura down and it’s time to go to the floor for a breather. Back in and Nakamura kicks him in the face to send us to a break. We come back with Nakamura kneeing his way out of a suplex attempt as English starts up the RUSEV DAY chants, much to Lana’s chagrin.

Rusev fights back with clotheslines and the spinwheel kick, followed by the kick to the back of the head for two. Nakamura’s running knee in the corner hits turnbuckle but he rakes the eyes and hits a middle rope knee to the chest instead. Kinshasa runs into the Machka Kick though but English jumps on the apron to tell Rusev to CRUSH. That’s enough for the distraction so that Nakamura can roll Rusev up to retain at 11:22.

Rating: C-. While the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt, I do have to wonder how WWE has managed to botch Nakamura again. You spent two months setting up his stuff with AJ and now he can manage one or two matches a month without even appearing at the first pay per view after winning the title. Nakamura could have been anyone here and that’s not a good sign for the US Champion.

Post match English jumps Rusev with the microphone and says Happy Rusev Day.

AJ Styles vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Non-title. Almas jumps the champ during his entrance but AJ says ring the bell. That earns him a big boot to the face and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two as we take a break. Back with AJ scoring with a tornado DDT as he still doesn’t even have his shirt off. A spinning back elbow takes Styles down but he’s right back with the fireman’s carry backbreaker and the seated forearm. The Styles Clash is broken up but Almas double moonsault hits knees. Almas is fine enough to catch AJ on the ropes and hits the top rope double stomp to drive him back first onto the apron.

Back from another break with Almas falling to the floor and AJ hitting a slingshot forearm for two more. The Clash is broken up again but Almas is favoring his knee. A springboard missile dropkick sets up double knees in the corner for another two so Almas loads up the hammerlock DDT. That’s reversed into a jackknife cover but AJ backflips into the Styles Clash for the pin at 14:55.

Rating: B-. They clearly have big plans for Almas as you don’t have someone go move for move with Styles and Bryan without wanting to turn him into something special. The ending was awesome and one of those things where you look at Styles do it and then wonder how he pulled that off. Not many people can do that and it’s a big reason why he’s in the spot he’s in.

Post match Samoa Joe jumps AJ but bails into the crowd after raking the eyes.

Asuka vs. Billie Kay

Before the match, Billie and Peyton Royce get in their usual insults to the town and say Asuka’s hair looks like Naomi’s glow. Peyton offers an early distraction so Billie can slap Asuka down and put on the cravate. A big boot gives Billie two but Asuka reverses a suplex into the Asuka Lock for the tap at 1:48. This was on the same level of every Asuka vs. Billie match.

The announcers tell us how to donate to the Red Cross to help Hurricane Florence victims.

Here’s Paige to introduce Becky Lynch for the Championship Celebration. Becky is glad that she’s finally getting the recognition that she deserves but wants Charlotte out here. Charlotte comes out and says Becky was the better woman on Sunday. The thing is Becky gave up a lot to become champion and Charlotte is coming back for it at Super Show-Down. Becky: “I’m sorry, I stopped listening after you said I was the better woman.”

Becky wants Charlotte to put the title around her waist but she’ll settle for being called queen. Charlotte: “B****.” The fight is on with Charlotte being thrown over the announcers’ table and the Disarm-Her going on. The Bexploder leaves Charlotte laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I know I talk about this a lot but it’s almost remarkable how much easier this show is when they don’t hype up three shows at the same time. We’re coming up on Super Show-Down and that was the focus tonight. WWE knows how to set up a regular pay per view and that’s what they have here. That’s all this needed to be and the show was a million times easier to sit through as a result. Good show with mostly good wrestling and angle advancement, which is what this week needed to be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: April 15, 2004
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

Is it too much to ask to have more than one big story on the show? Last week saw JBL announced as the new #1 contender in a story that dominated the last two weeks. The second biggest story has been Booker T. vs. Rob Van Dam, which feels a long way down the ladder. That’s the main event tonight though so maybe it’s going to get a little better. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of last week’s big angle, partially set to Steve Blackman’s music for some reason.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Eddie Guerrero to open things up. He’s received about 27 phone calls this week from Kurt Angle (complete with an imitation, with Angle insisting that he DOES NOT suck), demanding an apology. JBL isn’t a great American because of his riches. See, JBL has been trying to pull one over on the fans by saying he’s from New York in his business suits. Eddie looks at him and sees a great American sellout.

JBL’s money doesn’t make him better or smarter than anyone else….and here’s an approved message from JBL on the screen. It’s a campaign style ad focusing on Eddie’s lying, cheating and stealing, which has a small vocal minority. Real Americans need to silence that voice and support a good man like JBL. Eddie says he’s tired of dealing with this same stuff since he became champion and he’s sick of it. Yeah he does all those things but he worked hard to get here. It took him seventeen years to get his first title shot and it wasn’t handed to him in a bogus award ceremony. Now JBL is #1 contender so let’s do it tonight.

Instead here’s Kurt Angle, who doesn’t appreciate any of this. Angle doesn’t appreciate him (how rude) so Eddie can have his title match tonight. Now it’s JBL in the limo to interrupt. He’d love to face Eddie tonight but after a week of shaking hands and kissing babies (and some baby mamas), he’s a little tired so the match can’t take place tonight. Angel agrees and lets JBL have his title match at Judgment Day. Tonight, it’s Eddie vs. Big Show. Eddie is stunned, as am I over this somehow taking nearly eighteen minutes.

Post break Show comes in to see Angle and JBL. He wants to know if he has a WWE Championship match tonight, but that’s a big negative. Show yells at both of them and isn’t happy with being their enforcer. If he can’t beat Eddie tonight, he quits.

John Cena vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Non-title and there are a lot of Cena signs in the crowd. We have two champions in the ring so the opening commentary is all about Big Show vs. Eddie Guerrero. Cena doesn’t respond well to being slapped in the face and slaps Chavo even harder as the announcers actually notice a match going on.

A headlock and a clothesline keep Chavo in trouble and it’s off to the second headlock on the mat. Chavo sends him outside and Chavo Sr. gets in a cowboy boot to the back of the head. Back in and we hit a camel clutch (continuing the family tradition) for all of five seconds before Cena powers out. A dropkick gives Chavo two but Cena is right back with the running shoulder. The Throwback, followed by taking Sr. out, sets up the FU for the pin.

Rating: D+. You would kind of expect something a little better from two champions, but I can’t say I’m surprised that the Cruiserweight Champion was beaten clean in such short order. I could have gone for a botched interference from Sr. or something but it’s not like the Cruiserweight Champion is on the US Champion’s level in the first place.

Video on Booker’s initial complaints about being on Smackdown. It looks like we’ll be going over the whole history to set up the main event. All two weeks of it.

Rene Dupree is having a new romantic dinner with Fifi (a different dog this week) and announces his new interview segment starting next week: Cafe de Rene.

Charlie Haas is warming up when Jamie Noble comes in. Jamie tells him to not worry about amateur wrestling when he faces Rico. It might as well be an intergender match. Charlie isn’t worried so Jamie talks about all the things Rico might do. The final advice: don’t let Rico get you from behind. Nunzio comes in and wishes Haas good luck too.

Rico vs. Charlie Haas

Jobber entrance for Charlie. Rico and Jackie Gayda pose on a mini stage on the way to the ring. We start with some prancing and Charlie is disgusted by an early lockup. Charlie takes him down and shouts about Rico being sick so Rico reverses and starts groping. Rico gets behind him and Charlie bails to the ropes as this is firmly in bad comedy territory.

A sunset flip lets Rico pull the trunks down, meaning more humor. Charlie forearms him in the face and chokes away as the announcers find this hilarious. Rico slips out of a suplex and kisses Haas, who bails to the floor. That’s enough to send Haas bailing to the floor for some water, but Rico pulls up his thong to scare Haas off for the countout.

Rating: F. Hey, did you know that wrestlers who may be gay are “sick” and apparently disgusting? They also seem to be completely incapable of not molesting their opponents, which seems to be the case with every WWE wrestler using the same gimmick. This is always so dumb and I have a feeling it’s only going to get worse.

Post match Haas vomits. Fair enough.

JBL promises Show a pizza if he wins but Show says he’s doing this for himself.

A man in a white beard is surrounded by candles and reads a bunch of Bible verses. His name is Mordecai and he’s here to be the right hand of the destroyer. Oh dear indeed. Cool vignette though.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Big Show

Non-title with Show’s career on the line. Show wastes no time in hammering away and a headbutt puts Eddie down. Some tosses send Eddie from corner to corner and there’s a choke for good measure. Eddie gets smart by stomping on the foot but another headbutt keeps him in trouble. Show makes it even worse with the loud chops but a low bridge takes him to the floor.

Eddie dropkicks him down again and we take a break. Back with Show choking on the mat before starting in on the arm. He even gets smart by wrapping Eddie’s arm around the rope. That doesn’t suit Show very well so let’s try a bearhug instead, followed by a big boot. It’s right back to the arm, which really doesn’t seem right coming from Show. Eddie’s comeback is cut off by a clothesline and Show walks around the ring a bit. Now that suits him very well.

Eddie gets knocked outside and finds a wrench under the ring, which he loads into the back of Show’s boot. The referee catches Show pulling it out and the distraction lets Eddie hammer away. Is there a reason why he didn’t distract the referee and hit Show with the wrench? A middle rope tornado DDT puts Show down but the kickout sends Eddie into the referee. With no one looking, Eddie gets in a low blow and another DDT, setting up the frog splash for the pin.

Rating: D. Well this didn’t need to be fifteen minutes long to put it mildly. To be fair though, Show was in need of knee surgery (hence him leaving) so he probably wasn’t moving nearly as well as he would have otherwise. Eddie won just as he should have and he did what he could, but there’s a limit to what a hampered Show can pull off.

Post match Eddie leads the fans in an extended Goodbye Song, which seems to hurt Show’s feelings.

Clip of Van Dam winning his first match on Smackdown and Booker being miserable.

Show is leaving and runs into Torrie laughing with the makeup lady. That must be about him so Show gets in her face and leaves. Torrie is terrified and leaves because she doesn’t have a match tonight.

Teddy Long introduces Mark Jindrak, who has the perfect body and the looks of Adonis. Mark looks at himself in a mirror and Teddy calls him the Reflection of Perfection over and over.

Mark Jindrak vs. Spike Dudley

Jindrak throws him into the corner to start and starts talking trash, followed by a pretty impressive dropkick to knock Spike off the top. A delayed one arm vertical suplex keeps Spike down and the belly to back suplex into a side slam finishes him in a hurry. Total squash.

Video of Booker walking out on Van Dam tonight. Do they really need to stretch out a show this much?

Raw ReBound looks at just about everything on the show.

Torrie goes to leave but Show comes up (from the direction that Torrie was looking, though she’s still surprised) and yells at her for laughing. He kicks in the windows of her car as Torrie begs him to calm down. Show breaks more windows and then turns the car over. Torrie runs away screaming and Show very slowly walks after her. Somehow this took nearly five minutes.

In case we didn’t spend enough time on it already, here are two replays of the car being flipped.

Booker T. vs. Rob Van Dam

It’s the rare serious Van Dam this week. Rob stomps him down in the corner to start and gets two off a standing moonsault. They head outside with Booker in even more trouble, this time off some kicks to the ribs. The spinning kick to the back knocks Booker off the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Booker hot shotting him for what sounds like his first real offense. Booker hits a neckbreaker and Tazz thinks he’s going after the neck. Even Cole mocks him for making such an obvious observation and Booker drops a knee for two. We hit the chinlock for a few seconds before Van Dam is back up, only to be kicked right back down.

The Book End is blocked and Van Dam hits his step over spinning kick to the face. Rob’s springboard kick to the face gets two and the split legged moonsault gets the same. Booker rolls away from the Five Star though and Booker superkicks him into the ropes with Rob’s arms getting tied up. A bunch of right hands actually get Booker disqualified at the five count. You don’t see that every day.

Rating: C-. It was far from great or even very good but at this point I’ll take anything I can get. The feud isn’t quite as big of a deal as WWE seems to think it is, though there’s a story to it that doesn’t revolve around the idea of Rico kissing someone or a cowboy hat, which puts it ahead of a lot of the stuff on this show.

Post match Booker beats on him a little more and does a Spinarooni.

Show has somehow caught Torrie (who was running while he slowly walked) and has her above a conveniently placed ledge. He threatens to throw her off the ledge until Angle shows up. Angle says he’s the one who gets in trouble if something happens to Torrie and violence is threatened. Torrie is allowed to leave so Angle goes after Show, who chokeslams him off the ledge, setting up a loud THUD. We look down and Kurt is unconscious with blood flowing from the back of his head and his leg bent at a rather nasty angle. So that’s it for Show and Angle seems to be close to dead. I guess that’s at least half of a happy ending?

Overall Rating: D-. Another horrible show, this time with the completely stupid Rico match, Torrie running away like the girl in a slasher movie and Angle being nearly murdered. Eddie and Big Show had a horrible match and now we’re gearing up for JBL vs. Eddie in over a month. If Van Dam vs. Booker is as good of a secondary story as they have, it’s going to be a very, very long year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 11, 2018
Location: Cajundome, Lafayette, Louisiana
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

We’re five days away from Hell In A Cell and for the most part the card is already set. That means a lot of setting up the parts of the card that are already established, which can make for some entertaining television. We also get to find out who will be facing the New Day for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with an eleven bell tribute to the victims of 9/11. Nothing wrong with that.

Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title. Before the match, Hardy talks about being ready to face his demons head on, which is what he’ll be doing on Sunday inside the Cell. Hardy has no fear and on Sunday he’ll unleash his anger to make Randy Orton fade away and classify himself as obsolete. Nakamura bails to the floor at the bell and bites his finger before Hardy knocks him into the barricade. A running dropkick sends Nakamura into the barricade again and we take a break.

Back with Hardy fighting out of a waistlock but getting caught in a cravate. The hard knees put Hardy down and a spinning kick to the head makes things even worse. Hardy scores with a quick Sling Blade but the sitout gordbuster is countered with a knee to the head. The Whisper in the Wind drops Nakamura again but the Swanton is countered with a good crotching.

A running knee to the ribs sends Hardy to the floor and it’s off to another break. Back again with Jeff dropping the legdrop between the legs but getting kicked in the head. Kinshasa misses and Hardy hits the Twisting Stunner. That means the Swanton but here’s Orton for the DQ at 15:24.

Rating: C-. Total mentions of Nakamura’s United States of Nakamura deal from a few weeks ago: zero, which shouldn’t surprise anyone at all. Since we NEED Hardy vs. Orton in the Cell, there’s no room for the US Champion/Royal Rumble winner/Wrestlemania World Title challenger on this show most weeks. The match itself was fine but nothing that we haven’t seen before, especially with the predictable ending.

Post match Orton grabs a chair but Hardy takes it away and lays him out. The Twist of Fate sets up a Swanton to leave Orton laying.

Miz insists that Maryse is introduced first because she’s going to be stealing the spotlight tonight. Daniel Bryan took three years to come back from his injury while Maryse is back five months after having a baby. Miz calls Bryan and Brie Bella’s marriage one of convenience because they can’t do any better. Now that Bryan has to protect the environment, Brie has to wrestle to pay the bills. Nice shot there, though Brie in the ring makes me cringe.

Earlier today, AJ Styles was in the empty arena to talk about how Samoa Joe knows how to get under his skin. He knows AJ has a temper but after being friends for twenty years, AJ knows how to get under Joe’s skin too. Joe’s strength is intimidation but AJ knows he’s a piece of garbage. When the bell rings, the intimidation ends because this is the house that AJ Styles built and it isn’t for sale.

We look back at last week’s argument between Becky Lynch and Charlotte with Becky being edgy because they don’t want to just go with what the fans want.

Charlotte requested to face Sonya Deville tonight because she wants competition. On Sunday, she’s betting on herself.

Raw Rebound.

Charlotte vs. Sonya Deville

Non-title and Mandy Rose is in Sonya’s corner. Charlotte is fine with taking it to the mat to start and grabs a headlock. She can’t pull off the bridge into the backslide though and Sonya kicks away in the corner. Charlotte is right back with a knee to the neck and a kick to the chest as we take a break.

Back with Charlotte fighting out of an abdominal stretch and hitting a belly to back suplex. A backbreaker keeps Sonya in trouble but the moonsault hits knees. Sonya gets two off a spinebuster but Charlotte is right back with a slingshot sitout powerbomb (that could be a finisher for someone), followed by the Figure Eight for the tap at 9:48.

Rating: C-. That’s the kind of match that a big star can benefit from: being made to sweat by someone who is a step beneath her. Sonya gets to look good with some of her big offense while Charlotte has to actually work a bit before getting the not exactly in doubt win. It’s a good idea and something that could benefit others on the roster.

Post match Charlotte takes a picture with a fan but Becky Lynch is disguised in the crowd and jumps the champ. Always works.

Samoa Joe reads a bedtime story (complete with book) about AJ Styles, who built a house but then forgot his friends who helped get him there. One of his friends promised to make things better by beating Styles up, which leads them to Sunday where AJ will get to go back to his family. After he wakes up of course. The last shot of the book is Joe as champion with Styles’ family for a rather evil visual.

The rhyming here was a good idea as they’ve done some solid work with the promos leading up to the match. It’s amazing how much you get out of switching up a few things like this. The best part is they can back it up in the ring, which is the part that lacks in so many of these well built feuds.

Becky has nothing to say.

Earlier today, Kofi Kingston, in his interviewer attire, followed the Bar but didn’t actually talk to them.

The Bar vs. Rusev Day

The winners get to face New Day on Sunday so New Day is on commentary. Joined in progress with Sheamus clotheslining Rusev for two before handing it off to Cesaro for the chinlock. That sets up the required comeback and it’s off to English for a clothesline to the floor and a dive onto Rusev. A DDT gets two on Sheamus but a Cesaro distraction lets Sheamus knee English in the head. The double teaming begins and it’s Cesaro chinlocking English as we take a break.

Back with Sheamus going shoulder first into the post so Rusev can come in and clean house. The Accolade has Cesaro in trouble so Sheamus makes a save. A double DDT gets two on Rusev and Sheamus powerslams him for the same. Sheamus loads up the Brogue Kick but English takes it for Rusev, setting up the jumping superkick to finish Sheamus at 13:24.

Rating: C. I’m glad they went with the bit of a surprise finish here as you could have penciled in the Bar to win here from the beginning. Every now and then you have to switch in a little change of pace and Rusev Day is a better, more interesting option than the Bar anyway. Not a great match, but it was fine for what it was.

Rusev Day yells at New Day.

Video on Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss. Thank goodness they’re doing these on their own and not as inset videos during other matches.

R-Truth vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Carmella is here with Truth and it turns out she’s rather suited to be the good looking dancer who shouts a lot. They slug it out to start with Almas getting the better of it but having his suplex reversed into a gordbuster. Truth can’t hit the ax kick so Almas poses in the ropes. Carmella goes after Zelina Vega and the distraction lets Almas roll him up for the pin at 2:42. Just a quick match and Almas gets a win. If nothing else, Truth and Carmella are great together.

Naomi and Asuka don’t like the IIconics. Asuka seems to like the idea of the Glow.

Brie Bella vs. Maryse

Brie now has the Seattle Seahawks colors too. Maryse bails to the floor at the bell and Miz gives her a good luck kiss. Back in and Maryse hides in the ropes before heading outside again. Brie grabs the mic and calls Maryse a coward. Feel the burn I guess. Miz doesn’t like this and talks about how Maryse gave birth just five months ago. This city doesn’t deserve this match so Miz and Maryse are out. Brie chases Maryse down and sends her into the apron but Bryan going after Miz lets Maryse get in a kick to the head for two. The YES Lock has Maryse in trouble but Miz pulls Brie out for the DQ at 4:40.

Rating: N/A. I don’t use that very often but this wasn’t a match. They “wrestled” for about twenty seconds near the end of their angle and that’s about it. I know WWE might be a little worried about the two of them wrestling, but if that’s the case they shouldn’t be in the main event of this show. Now we’re going to have to hear even more about how much of a legend Brie is, but at last Nikki’s match last night was a match as opposed to this angle that they tried to call a match.

Post match the brawl is on with Bryan running Brie over by mistake. Maryse sends Brie into the apron a few times but Brie comes back with her terrible punches. Bryan gets back in and takes Miz down with Brie punching him into a clothesline to the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. While not great, this week’s show had one major thing that Raw was lacking: a clear goal. Other than the occasional one off line, there was no mention of Evolution or Super Show-Down because they were focused on building up Sunday’s show. I don’t need to hear about a bunch of stuff taking place next month when there’s a pay per view in five days. The promos were rather good as well and I’m wanting to see some of the matches on Sunday. That’s what a go home should do and they did it here, without spending all that time on stuff that we can get to later on.

Results

Jeff Hardy b. Shinsuke Nakamura via DQ when Randy Orton interfered

Charlotte b. Sonya Deville – Figure Eight

Rusev Day b. The Bar – Jumping superkick to Sheamus

Andrade Cien Almas b. R-Truth – Rollup

Brie Bella b. Maryse via DQ when The Miz interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: April 8, 2004
Location: SBC Center, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 5,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

Just realizing that this is going to be heavy on the JBL makes me feel deflated. Eddie Guerrero is trying but they’re fighting over a hat and JBL’s stock portfolio. Who in the world is this supposed to appeal to? Those hardcore capitalist wrestling fans? Or the people who are cowboy hat enthusiasts? It’s certainly not likely to appeal to the more hardcore fans. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Great American Award and JBL being added to the mix because reasons. Eddie ruining JBL’s hat is thrown in as a bonus.

Opening sequence.

Here’s JBL to open things up, complete with Cole ripping on the horned limo which sounds like something that’s going to become a trend. JBL talks about being glad he left this state to go to New York City. Tonight he’s going to win the Great American Award and represent the country as only he can. He talks about the hat desecration and even though the money doesn’t bother him, it’s all about the principle.

JBL pulls out his money clip and offers $1000 to anyone who can do something. The fans are excited so we get a quick jab at welfare (“Now you’re cheering me because I’m giving out money.”) as a fan gets chosen. It’s a guy in a Latino Heat shirt coming across the barricade, which JBL equates to him crossing a river. His name is Enrique (“Piece of advice: go by the name Ricky.”) and if he can wax the hood of the limo in less than one minute, he’ll get $1000. With thirteen seconds left, JBL pours most of the bottle of wax out and that’s too much. No money, as people like Enrique can’t depend on the rich for a handout.

Well he’s no Ted DiBiase. I know DiBiase did the same kind of thing back in the day, but it’s not quite the same thing. First of all, a character like that fit in well in the 1980s, especially one as over the top with it like DiBiase. You could buy him as this rich guy who flaunted his money, especially with the over the top laugh. DiBiase was the kind of character that felt like he belonged in a bad movie, which fit in with the late 1980s WWF. JBL actually is a financial analyst and has all this money, which makes it feel too real. When you take away the over the top nature, the entertaining part of the character goes away.

The bigger thing though is the same problem it’s always been: it’s Bradshaw. We’ve seen the guy for over eight years now and he’s never been more than a brawler in a tag team. Who is going to buy him as suddenly being a World Champion caliber wrestler? It’s one of the reasons people compare him to Jinder Mahal: you can’t go from being a low level guy to the top of the promotion overnight. It’s too much of a jump and the fans aren’t going to buy it.

We go over the nominees.

Dudley Boyz vs. Scotty 2 Hotty/Rikishi

Non-title. D-Von and Rikishi open things up and we get a clean break in the corner. Some right hands from D-Von (he’s pretty good at those) don’t have much effect so it’s off to Scotty to pick up the pace. Bubba comes in to elbow him in the back and then hit him between the eyes with a right hand. Scotty gets in a shot of his own though and the hot tag brings in Rikishi. D-Von is sent outside and Rikishi flattens Bubba in the corner. A blind tag brings Scotty back in and Rikishi clotheslines both Dudleys. Everything breaks down and Rikishi gets posted, allowing D-Von to break up the Worm. The 3D finishes Scotty.

Rating: D. The ending picked things up a bit but the Tag Team Champions shouldn’t be losing clean in less than five minutes. They’re not a great team in the first place but protect the titles at least a little bit. Or just give them to the Dudleys already, who may be stale but they’ve got way more credibility than what we’re getting at the moment.

Charlie Haas tells Angle that he can be better than Shelton Benjamin on Raw, but then freaks out at the notion that he might not be able to do it. Big Show, Haas’ partner tonight, comes in and says the award is his.

Rico and Miss Jackie are here next week.

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Jamie Noble

Chavo is defending and has his dad with him but Noble counters with….regular tights instead of the cutoff jeans. A flying mare takes Noble down but he’s right back up with a backdrop to the floor. That means a suicide dive to drop the champ, only to have Chavo Sr. offer a distraction so the son can take over again. A Vertebreaker is broken up and Noble grabs a neckbreaker. Noble gets two off a middle rope legdrop but Chavo rolls him up and grabs the rope to retain.

Rating: C-. The time hurt it (again) but this was a good example of two talented guys getting to show off. Chavo grabbing the ropes is a perfectly fine way to get him out of the match and make him look like a heel so what else can you ask them to do? Well giving Chavo some more credible challengers might help. Still though, not a bad match while it lasted.

Theodore Long offers his services to Orlando Jordan and Shannon Moore. Not so much to Spike Dudley, so Spike wants to fight Long tonight. That’s a no, even if Long is taller than him. Long actually agrees to “play whitey’s game” and the match is on.

Rob Van Dam offers to reform the team with Booker T. but Booker isn’t up for it. They treat people different around here and Booker will cheat however he has to. Rob has his back around here if Booker needs it. That’s enough for Booker actually and they’ll go after the Tag Team Titles.

John Cena vs. Danny Basham

Non-title and a jobber entrance for Basham. Before the match, Cena plays to the crowd a bit and they seem VERY happy to see him. Cena is ready to win tonight and had fun messing with Rene Dupree’s dog last week. After making a George Gervin reference (look him up), we’re ready to go. Feeling out process to start until Cena hits him in the face for two. A poke to the eye allows some Twin Magic but Cena shrugs it off. Basham’s sunset flip is blocked and it’s the Throwback, the Shuffle and the FU for the easy pin. Pretty much a squash as Cena has figured out the formula.

Booker T./Rob Van Dam vs. Charlie Haas/Big Show

Rob and Charlie start things off as the mini feud continues. Charlie gets the better of it to start but makes the mistake of going after Booker, allowing Rob to kick him down. A clothesline drops Van Dam and it’s off to Show for the big beating in the corner, including the loud chop. Van Dam gets away from Charlie and goes over for a tag but Booker is on the floor yelling at Big Show. That means it’s a gorilla press to Van Dam and it’s back to Haas, who gets kicked down.

Rob goes for the tag but that’s not cool with Booker, who walks away. Booker says he didn’t want to do this and Haas puts on a bearhug. Some more kicks get Rob out of trouble and a monkey flip sends Charlie down. Van Dam makes the mistake of kicking Show down though, meaning the Five Star to Haas doesn’t even get a count as Show comes in with the chokeslam. Haas gets the easy pin.

Rating: D+. That was all about the angle instead of the match so there was only so much they could do. The Booker heel turn is fine and should set up a match with Van Dam at Judgment Day, which isn’t the most thrilling thing in the world but Booker doesn’t have an expensive hat. I’ll give them points for pushing Haas as a midcard act though, as it’s not the worst idea in the world.

Post break Van Dam glares at Angle and gets Booker next week as a result. So much for the pay per view match (more than likely).

Orlando Jordan vs. Rene Dupree

Dupree gets aggressive to start and pounds Jordan out to the floor. More forearms follow but Jordan gets two off a rollup. A spinebuster sets up the French Tickler (with Tazz singing) and the Michinoku Driver finishes Jordan in very short order.

Theodore Long is warming up and is actually in great shape.

Angle wants Eddie Guerrero in his office immediately.

John Cena has run away with the Great American votes, with over 280,000 out of 420,000 cast. Booker was in second with less than 70,000.

Raw Rebound.

Eddie come in to see Angle and talks about how cool the trophy is. The trophy is taken to the ring and Angle gets serious. Eddie isn’t going to be in front of the people tonight so he has the night off.

Theodore R. Long vs. Spike Dudley

Actually hang on as Long thinks Spike needs a warmup.

Johnny The Bull vs. Spike Dudley

Johnny wastes no time in picking Spike up for one heck of a launch into the air for an even bigger crash. The bearhug goes on but Spike slips out and avoids a charge in the corner. The Dudley Dog finishes Johnny in a hurry.

Post match Teddy gets in the ring but here’s Mark Jindrak to beat Spike down as Teddy’s new client.

Here’s Angle for the Great American Award presentation. The nominees (Cena, Haas, Booker, Big Show and JBL) are all brought out and we take a break. Back with Angle trying to talk over the CENA chants. We see the votes and Angle is ready to announce Cena as the winner but JBL says hang on a second. He’s the most American of all of us and he has proof.

We go to a video of….oh dear….JBL at the Mexican border, where he goes on a whispered rant about how these people come to our country and steal everything we have. People who made their own money like JBL aren’t supposed to pay for all these illegal immigrants. JBL sees someone sneaking across the border (his words) and chases them down, going into a loud rant about how they need to go back to Mexico because he’ll be waiting on this side. I’m not going near that one so let’s go back to the arena as fast as possible.

That’s enough for Angle, who wins the trophy and the title shot. The trophy is unveiled….and it’s been replaced by a picture of Eddie. Cue Eddie, with the trophy attached to the hood of the low rider. Eddie says he found it in the parking lot and brings it inside to JBL. Before he hands it over though, Eddie leans on the eagle’s wing and breaks it off. A trophy shot to the ribs has JBL bailing and Angle follows. Despite Angle’s threats, Eddie smashes the trophy with a chair to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. The biggest problem here is there’s only one story that really matters. Other than JBL and the World Title, the biggest story here seems to be Booker turning heel. Aside from that, what in the world is there to talk about? The Dudleys wanting the Tag Team Titles? Mark Jindrak joining Theodore Long? I need a lot more support for the rather dull main event stuff and that’s just not happening right now. A good match might help too.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 4, 2018
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

With the Cell less than two weeks away, it’s time to start filling out the rest of the card. One such match would be the Smackdown Tag Team Title match. While we won’t find that out this week, we’ll know one more option for the shot at the Usos as we have another triple threat match in the latest tournament. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella for a chat with Renee Young to open things up. As I wait for an explanation for why Brie is allowed on both shows when no one else can do so, we see a clip from last week’s show where Andrade Cien Almas, Zelina Vega, Miz and Maryse beat the two of them down.

Bryan thanks Renee for making the fans upset but there’s another clip from earlier of Miz and Maryse calling out Bryan and Brie when the arena was still empty. Back in the arena, Bryan and Brie call them out for a fight right now but Miz and Maryse have already left. Instead here are Vega and Almas to talk about how much fun last week was and how they’d love to do it again. Sure why not?

Andrade Cien Almas vs. Daniel Bryan

Might be better than letting Brie kill herself on another suicide dive. Bryan wastes no time in going for the YES Lock but Almas gets to the rope and shoulders Bryan down. The armbreaker over the ropes has Bryan in trouble and another shoulder sends him into the barricade. Back in and Almas misses a running knee, sending him outside in a heap as well. Bryan’s running knee off the apron gets dropkicked out of the air but he’s right back up with a suicide dive to send Almas into the barricade and us to a break.

Back with Almas getting crotched on the top but Almas knocks Bryan backwards, setting up the moonsault into the standing moonsault. Bryan kicks away and rocks Almas again but the big kick is reversed into a rollup to send Bryan head first into the corner. The double knees in the corner have Bryan in more trouble until Almas misses an elbow. The running knee finishes Almas at 11:38.

Rating: B-. Almas isn’t winning these big matches but he’s being competitive and that’s a good sign for his future. Now that being said, he still needs to actually beat someone at some point because you can only get so far on getting close. This was a rather nice opener, though you can tell Bryan isn’t quite back to full speed yet. To be fair though, that’s a heck of a layoff and it’s not as simple as “I’m wrestling again”. Shawn Michaels took well over a year to be back to full speed after his comeback so it’s pretty unfair to ask Bryan to be back at peak level five months after his return.

Post match Vega goes after Brie and gets kneed in the face for her efforts. Miz and Maryse pop up on screen to say they’re enjoying a nice meal at an Italian restaurant, but they were smart enough to shut the place down so they don’t have to dine with anyone from Detroit. They’ll see Bryan and Brie at the pay per view. Arrivederci.

Post break, Bryan and Brie, still in their gear, say they feel like Italian. Bryan: “I hope they don’t have a dress code.”

We recap Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch.

Charlotte and Becky are in separate locations for an interview. As the fans chant for Becky, Charlotte talks about winning the title in a fair match and wondering what Becky thinks she should have done. Becky asks if Charlotte is done taking the spotlight but Charlotte cuts her off, saying she knows what it’s like to be in someone’s shadow. All Becky had to do was ask for a title match. Becky: “Screw you.”

Becky is done playing and doesn’t care how it affects Charlotte because it was a full time job being her friend. Charlotte says when they fight, she’s not going to see her friend because Becky is always second best. Becky tells her to shine the title up real nice for her but Charlotte wants to know what the excuse is going to be next time. The intensity was good here, though Becky continues to come off like the face with Charlotte sounding like a villain in the whole thing.

Naomi vs. Peyton Royce

The IIconics argue over who has more fun beating up Naomi, which turns into a “no, me” argument in their usual annoying way. Naomi goes straight at her in the corner to start but Royce’s slap takes it to the mat. The trash talk doesn’t work very well and Naomi baseball slides Billie Kay. A sunset flip finishes Royce at 1:23.

Post match Naomi gets double teamed but Asuka runs in for the save. It’s about time she had something to do.

Video on Jeff Hardy defying death for years, but now he gets the chance to do it inside the Cell. The Cell won’t contain him because he will rise to the top and Randy Orton’s obsession will be his destruction.

Miz and Maryse are back at the arena because the food from a Detroit restaurant is disgusting. They’re back to call out Brie and Bryan one more time but Paige tells them about the two of them leaving. Paige says Miz isn’t done yet and gets to face anyone who wants to fight him. Miz isn’t happy but Paige says if he doesn’t fight, they’re done around here.

R-Truth is looking for Carmella but finds Maryse instead. Maryse doesn’t like being confused with Carmella, who she calls Staten Island trash. Miz doesn’t like this so Truth thinks Miz is married to Carmella. Miz asks when they teamed together last, because it was the last time Truth was relevant. Truth doesn’t know what Carmella sees in Miz. Confusion reigns.

Here’s Samoa Joe to say he didn’t see AJ Styles here tonight. Last week he promised to show up at AJ Styles’ house so he’s sure that AJ is locked up tight with his family, probably cradling a baseball bat. AJ’s wife Wendy is probably cradling their daughter Annie, telling them that Uncle Joe is a bad guy. See, Joe isn’t a monster though because he’s managed to make AJ be home on a Tuesday for once.

Annie can enjoy being tucked in tonight and she can get used to it, because after Joe gets done with AJ, he’ll be there every Tuesday night. AJ pops up on screen to say it’s time to stop talking. Cue AJ for the fight with Joe grabbing a chair. AJ takes it away but misses a big swing against the post. Referees break it up so AJ springboards onto Joe, taking out one of the referees in the process. Paige finally gets AJ to leave.

R-Truth and Tye Dillinger go Carmella hunting and Truth finally finds her. Truth to Carmella: “Hey! Have you seen Carmella?” He wants her to accompany him to the ring to face Miz because Miz will have the other Carmella in his corner. Tye: “That’s Maryse.” Truth: “No Maryse is my cousin from Detroit.” Truth mentions what Maryse said about Carmella and that’s enough to get Carmella in his corner. Tye: “For the love of Kid Rock, what are you doing?” Truth is trying to teach Tye something. Tye wants to know what that could be. Truth: “How to get into the main event of Smackdown Live!” Tye has nothing.

Video on what Orton will do in the Cell. It’s going to change people and destroy their sense of morality. He’s going to do things to Hardy that will keep you up at night but they’ll make Orton smile.

Usos vs. Sanity vs. Rusev Day

Young and Dain for Sanity. The winners face the Bar in a #1 contenders match. Joined in progress with the Usos taking English into the corner but Dain tags himself in and pulls Jey to the floor to take over. The beatdown begins with Dain tossing him hard into the corner and grabbing a neck crank. A running dropkick sends Jey to the floor and Young drops an elbow from the apron for good measure.

Back from a break with Jimmy coming in to clean house but Rusev tags himself in to superkick Young. A spinwheel kick drops Eric again but another blind tag lets Jey hit a Superfly Splash on Young with English making a save. Dain runs English over but gets superkicked to the floor. Jey dives onto Dain and breaks up Rusev’s dive. Young’s rollup gets two on Rusev but the Machka Kick finishes Young at 11:15.

Rating: C+. This got a lot better after the break and that works just fine. I’m glad it’s at least something different than the Usos vs. the Bar again, though you can probably pencil the Bar in for the title shot. Rusev Day is a popular team, though I can see why you wouldn’t want to put them against New Day and risk a weird reaction from the crowd.

Post match the Bar comes out to laugh at Rusev Day.

Quick look at the return of Mixed Match Challenge.

The Miz vs. R-Truth

Maryse has changed clothes since earlier and Carmella is with Truth. Before the match, Miz tells Kerwin to roll the footage from last week again. Miz is tired of having Bryan and Brie running around all night because they can drop the two of them faster than a defense drops Matt Stafford. They throw out one more challenge but Truth and Carmella cut them off instead.

Joined in progress again with Carmella on the apron as Truth does his dancing legdrop. A spinebuster and some right hands have Miz in more trouble but he knees Truth in the ribs to take over. We hit the chinlock with a knee in the back, followed by the YES Kicks. Miz misses the ax handle off the top and gets caught with a Stinger Splash but hits the short DDT.

Graves: “Truth has been asking what’s up for twenty years and has never gotten an answer.” The running knee is countered with a jumping kick to the face but Miz kicks him in the face. It’s time for the Skull Crushing Finale but here are Bryan and Brie for a distraction, allowing Truth to grab a rollup for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C+. Truth was feeling it here and had one of his better matches in a long time. The guy is hilarious and can still go in a match like this if you give him the chance. I can’t imagine he does it all the time but once in awhile is a nice surprise. The ending wasn’t great though as the distraction finish is so overdone that it made me roll my eyes.

Post match Miz gets the YES Lock on Miz as Brie goes after Maryse but Almas and Vega make the save. Miz and Maryse leave so Bryan and Brie grab stereo YES Locks on Almas and Vega. With the two of them tapping, Miz runs back to the ring but puts the brakes on as Bryan is waiting on him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Maybe it was just how bad last night’s Raw was but I had a really good time with this show. The wrestling was better than usual, the promos ranged from funny to intense and nothing was really bad. It’s amazing how much better this show is over Raw most weeks and it’s more than just the missing hour. There’s a goal here and they’re moving the stories forward week to week. That adds so much and it gives you a fun show a lot of the time. Good stuff here, again, which I’m sure has nothing to do with the lack of Evolution and Super Show-Down hype taking over the show.

Results

Daniel Bryan b. Andrade Cien Almas – Running knee

Naomi b. Peyton Royce – Sunset flip

Rusev Day b. Usos and Sanity – Machka Kick to Young

R-Truth b. Miz – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: April 1, 2004
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re officially in the JBL Era here and that’s going to go on for a long time. Last week we saw the debut of the new character, followed by him interfering in an Eddie Guerrero vs. Booker T. World Title match. I was hoping that it was just a bad dream but now it seems that we’re going to be in for the long haul. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence, which STILL includes Rock.

Here’s General Manager Kurt Angle to open things up. There’s something behind him underneath a black blanket, which Cole thinks might be a surprise. Angle talks about sacrificing his in-ring career for the good of both the fans and Smackdown. He can’t do it alone though and needs someone to step up and help him.

Tonight, someone needs to show that they’ve earned what is underneath the blanket: a trophy, which is the Kurt Angle Great American Award. Eddie Guerrero isn’t eligible, mainly because the winner gets the next shot at Eddie’s title. Tonight there will be a series of matches with the winners being the official nominees, with the first match beginning right now.

Great American Award Nominee Match: Big Show vs. Rikishi

Rikishi slugs away to start but gets knocked down with next to no effort. The slow beating begins, including the boot choke in the corner. One heck of an overhand chop puts Rikishi down but he superkicks Show in the corner. The Stinkface is broken up though and the chokeslam gives Show the pin. They kept it short, as they should have.

Earlier today, JBL with the horned limo arrived, complete with him yelling at the Latino driver, especially for not speaking English. Cole hypes up JBL’s portfolio beating the stock market SEVEN YEARS IN A ROW, which is now the way you push a top heel.

Rey Mysterio/Spike Dudley vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr./Chavo Guerrero Sr.

Chavo has new music. Rey and Jr. start things off with Mysterio’s standing Lionsault getting caught, only to have him armdrag Jr. down. Everything breaks down and it’s a Bronco Buster to Jr. and Spike’s running corner stomping on Sr. Rey gets crotched on top though and Sr. comes in for a butterfly suplex.

The fans think Chavo sucks and Tazz wants to know which one. My money is on Jr., who comes in with a camel clutch to Rey. That doesn’t last long and Rey sends Jr. into a right hand from Spike, who comes in for more offense than you’re usually going to see from him. Jr. saves his dad from a 619 so Spike Dudley Dogs Jr. while kicking Sr. to the floor for the pin.

Rating: C-. It’s a bad night for the champions so far and the match just wasn’t working very well. I can certainly go for having Spike as a cruiserweight more than as the plucky underdog though and at least he’s getting some more time. That being said, if you’re going to use this to likely set up a title match, maybe you shouldn’t have had Spike lose to Jr. last week.

Post match JBL comes in to beat up Rey and Spike, because cruiserweights mean nothing around here.

Great American Award Nominee Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Charlie Haas

Rematch from last week, though Haas now has new trunks. Haas tries to take it to the mat but has to avoid a kick to the face. Another attempt gets Rob on the mat, though jumping him from behind works. Unfortunately for Haas, the second attempt at kicking him in the face works as well but Haas is smart enough to start in on the leg. A headscissors sends Haas to the floor and he picks up a chair. Cole: “Great Americans don’t run around hitting people in the head with steel chairs.”

Back in and more shots to the leg have Rob in trouble and Haas wraps it around the post a few times. Charlie pulls him down by the leg again and puts on a half crab, which works a bit better than last week. Van Dam still gets out in a hurry, but this time Haas doesn’t get kicked in the face. A trip up top takes too long though and now Haas gets kicked in the head. Rolling Thunder (What leg injury?) gets two but the Five Star misses. Haas rolls to the floor and grabs the chair to knock the suicide dive out of the way, setting up the double countout.

Rating: C-. Not bad, Van Dam’s selling issues aside. I can appreciate the idea of building Haas up though as you can always have a good technical guy on the roster to get a good match out there. Haas isn’t likely to go anywhere and going 0-1-1 in two matches isn’t the best start, but the talent is clear and with a few wins, he could be a fine midcarder.

Actually hang on as Angle comes out and says Haas wins because he was ahead on points. Well yeah, he certainly was. Cole, obviously lacking an eye for talent, freaks out.

Video on JBL’s big promo and interference from last week. They’re certainly going full speed ahead with this guy.

We look back at JBL getting out of the limo earlier and then beating up Mysterio and Spike.

Booker wants in on the Great American Award and gets a Nominee match with Hardcore Holly. So Booker is slumming it with Holly while freaking BRADSHAW is pushed as one of the top heels. Who writes this nonsense?

Video on the WWE getting an award from the USO.

Great American Award Nominee Match: Booker T. vs. Hardcore Holly

They trade shots in the corner to start as Cole talks about earning respect on Smackdown. You know, like Holly has done for all those years. Holly knocks him to the floor for a seven count so Booker comes back in with the hook kick to the face. A delayed vertical suplex gives Holly two and it’s off to the armbar.

Booker fights up and gets two off a side slam before dropping a knee. An elbow gives Holly two and it’s back to the armbar. Back up and Booker’s Cactus Clothesline puts them on the floor as we take a break. We come back with the side kick putting Holly on the floor but not being able to suplex him onto the steps.

Instead Holly suplexes him onto the floor and throws Booker back inside, only to have Booker get two off his twisting sunset flip out of the corner. Holly makes the fired up comeback and gets two of his own off a powerslam. The dropkick gets two but Booker Book Ends him for the same. With nothing else working, Booker grabs a rollup with trunks for the pin.

Rating: D+. The post break half was way better than the first but my goodness why is Hardcore Holly going move for move with Booker T. for more than fifteen minutes? I don’t know who in the world thinks JBL is a better top heel than Booker (at least given their statuses at the moment) but we really are getting Booker as the midcard act who has trouble beating Holly while JBL gets to run people over.

Dudley Boyz vs. Akio/Sakoda

Bubba headlocks Sakoda to start and shoulders him down, only to have Akio kick Bubba in the back of the head to take over. The stomping begins, which makes sense given that Akio and Sakoda are just generic villains now that Tajiri is gone. Sakoda cranks on the neck but Bubba just blasts him with an overhand chop. It’s off to Akio so Bubba hits a pretty good looking spear to cut him down as well. The diving tag brings in D-Von to clean house and the villains are sent into each other. A 3D finishes Akio in short order.

Rating: D. Just a short match here as the Dudleys are still getting settled in around here. That being said, the Dudleys vs. Scotty/Rikishi isn’t exactly a big time match so I’d assume a title change before we get to the title showdown. Akio and Sakoda aren’t bad by any stretch, but they’re not going anywhere without a few tweaks.

We look at the nominees for the Great American Award.

The Dudleys check on Spike when Teddy Long comes in to offer his services. Well for Bubba and D-Von at least.

Raw Rebound looks at Chris Jericho ripping Trish Stratus apart and Shelton Benjamin upsetting HHH.

Eddie arrives and talks to the limo driver. Plans seem to be forming.

Rene Young and Fifi come out for commentary with Tazz interviewing the dog.

Great American Award Nominee Match: John Cena vs. Nunzio/Johnny Stamboli

Cena gets a heck of a reception as the star power is growing at a remarkable rate. He doesn’t think much of the other nominees because that award is his. Cena also throws in an insult to Dupree and Fifi, suggesting that Cole is in love with him. I’ll let you figure out who Cena is talking about. Cena easily pounds Stamboli down and knocks Nunzio off the apron before catapulting Stamboli into his partner. The Throwback and Shuffle set up the FU to put Stamboli away. I don’t think Cena is even sweating.

Post match Cena gets in Dupree’s face.

Angle recaps the Great American Award process and wants Eddie in the ring next.

Here’s Angle with the trophy for an announcement. He’s proud of the locker room because they’ve shown that HHH wouldn’t have lasted five minutes here. The award will be given out next week because the fans can vote for the winner. Make your choice careful too, as the winner will be the new #1 contender to Eddie’s title. This brings out Eddie, who cuts Angle off a few times to annoy the boss.

Eddie is ready to fight right now but Angle isn’t going to do that because he’s the General Manager. Instead, he wants someone skilled to take the title from Eddie. Someone who is as adept at the stock market as Eddie is at stealing cars. That would of course be JBL, who is now the fifth nominee for the Award. JBL comes out in the limo and climbs on top to thank Angle for the nomination. He can’t wait to get out of here and get back to New York City to his Central Park home.

We hear about all of his TV and radio show appearances, plus hear a plug for his TALK RADIO SHOW! As for Eddie, last week was just business and now he wants the WWE Championship. Eddie wants to make it personal and climbs onto the limo where he steals the hat as JBL goes back in through the moon roof. With JBL saying that the hat costs $1000, Eddie passes it around the arena, telling fans to put whatever they want into it. Angry Texas ranting ends the show. I don’t know about you, but I could really go for more from the #1 contender than “I wear expensive hats and talk about the stock market”.

Overall Rating: D-. So, much like last week, we got to see the new names showing up and having matches that meant absolutely nothing because it’s clear that JBL is getting the shot and didn’t have to wrestle a match to get there. The wrestling ranged from pretty meh to bad and then you have the entire change of pace at the end of the show. Just a worthless show as you can see the cliff coming from here and that makes it really hard to watch.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: August 28, 2018
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

Things continue to chug along around here as we have the continuing stories of AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe and The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan, plus a title match between new Women’s Champion Charlotte and Carmella. The latter could be the most interesting as it seems WWE has already pulled the plug on Becky Lynch’s heel turn and might be giving the spot to Charlotte instead. Let’s get to it.

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

They are now Lord Xavier the Wise, Sir Kofi the Brave and Big E. Hang on though as Big E. wants a cool name too. Booker says he already has it though. Big E.: “You just went FULL SAXTON ON ME!” Booker: “Tell me you didn’t just say that.” Booker officially welcomes them to the Five Time Champions Club and the celebration is on, including the Spinarooni. Woods and Kofi do one of their own (Woods’ was better) and Big E. does one, albeit with some help from his partners. The Booker cameo was fun and this was all it needed to be without going long.

The Bar vs. The Colons vs. Good Brothers

The winners face the winners of another triple threat for the right to face New Day at the pay per view. New Day has their own commentary table again as Anderson and Sheamus hit the mat to start. Sheamus can’t do much with him so it’s off to Cesaro, who gets taken into the wrong corner for some double teaming. Primo tags himself in so Anderson sunset flips him, only to have Epico come in for the save.

New Day is busy trading pancakes as the regular announcers talk about World Records. Anderson hits a running kick to the head in the corner but Epico shoves him to the floor. Back from a break with Anderson fighting out of an over the shoulder backbreaker and finally bringing Gallows back in. A pumphandle slam and running splash get two on Cesaro. Everything breaks down and it’s a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to drop Cesaro. Epico saves Primo from the Magic Killer and it’s a double Backstabber to Gallows. Cesaro breaks up the cover though and steals the pin at 10:04.

Rating: C-. New Day didn’t add a thing here as their commentary was only played for about ten seconds combined. We’re likely looking at New Day vs. the Bar at the pay per view and while that’s a good match, it’s not something that I need to ever see again. Get some fresh blood in there already.

In the back, Rusev Day comes in to see Paige, who says they’ll be in the other triple threat match along with Sanity and the Usos. Rusev thanks Lana for getting the opportunity but it was actually Aiden English.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte, with Becky’s edited promo which makes her sound like she’s been ripped off instead of snapping.

Here’s Jeff Hardy, with RKO painted on his face, to talk about Randy Orton getting inside his head. Orton has messed with his mind and made him believe that he can fly. We see a clip of last week with Hardy Swanton Bombing Orton through a table. That made Jeff feel rebroken by fate so Orton needs to get out here and finish what he started.

Orton is glad to see Hardy being back to what he truly is but he’s not finished working on Jeff yet. This version is the one that Orton is going to take away. You can call him whatever you want, but all that matters is RK….Jeff: “NO!”. They’re going to be inside the Cell. Egads Jeff is going to die. Orton doesn’t say yes but that seemed official.

Carmella laughs about how she’s beaten Charlotte twice and tonight she completes the trifecta because Charlotte didn’t beat her at Summerslam. She leaves and R-Truth comes in asking which way she went. Tye Dillinger comes in to try and talk him down but Truth thinks that’s good planning. Tye is rather confused and says this is his life.

Naomi vs. Billie Kay

Before the match, Billie says she’s clairvoyant and sees Naomi losing again, just like she lost to Peyton Royce last week. Naomi knocks her down and stands on the hair while dragging Billie around. That seems to annoy Billie more than anything else and she yells a lot, only to get kicked in the head. Naomi bulldogs her into the corner and gets two off a rollup. The kickout sends Naomi’s head through the ropes, where she waits on Peyton to hit her spot and kick her in the head, allowing Billie to get a rollup pin at 1:53.

Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella look at Brie punching the Miz last week and seem rather proud.

Here are Bryan and Brie for a chat. Bryan is tired of Miz acting like he’s not a coward and bragging about his punching. That’s why it was so nice to see Brie come in last week and punch him in the face. Brie talks about how great it was and Bryan says it was also really hot. He can’t wait to see her in the mixed tag but here are Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega to interrupt.

Vega brags about Almas and thinks that since Miz has already outsmarted Bryan, it’s time for Almas to outwrestle him. Almas says he’s the only star in this ring so let’s do this right now. Bryan can’t do that, but does ask for someone to come make it for them. Paige eventually does come out and, after catching her breath, makes the match.

Andrade Cien Almas vs. Daniel Bryan

Feeling out process to start with Bryan sending him into the ropes, allowing Almas to hit the tranquilo pose. With Miz and Maryse, in matching AWESOME jerseys, watching in the back, Almas grabs an inverted Gory Stretch before hitting one of the loudest chops I can remember in a long time. Bryan avoids the running knee in the corner though and Almas falls to the floor. The running knee from the apron doesn’t miss and Miz and Maryse walk away from the monitor as we take a break.

Back with Almas holding Bryan in a triangle choke over the ropes because Smackdown knows how to do something other than a chinlock. Bryan catches him on top but here’s Miz (no Maryse) for a distraction. A suicide dive takes him out but the distraction lets Almas hit a springboard corkscrew dive. Almas hits an inverted tornado DDT for a close two but the moonsault hits raised boots. The YES Lock has Almas in trouble but Brie has to deal with Vega. Maryse runs in and posts Brie so the hold is broken, allowing Miz to run in for the DQ at 9:25.

Rating: C+. We’ll call the ending a pleasant surprise as I was fully expecting Almas to tap there. Almas doesn’t need to be losing big matches like that over and over again so protecting him is a good sign. Now just give him a win or two and maybe we’ll see someone get elevated towards the top of the card.

Post match Almas hits the Hammerlock DDT and Miz Crossfaces Bryan. With Bryan helpless, Brie takes the running knees from Vega and a DDT from Maryse. The Skull Crushing Finale plants Bryan and Miz kisses Maryse.

Charlotte is sick of being blamed for Becky not being able to win the big one. She’s worked hard to get here and Becky can have the spotlight, after Charlotte takes care of Carmella.

Here’s AJ Styles to discuss Samoa Joe attacking him again last week. The rematch is official for Hell in a Cell (not announced as being inside the Cell) and AJ admits that Joe is great with the mind games. Why can’t Joe just come face him like a man though? It’s because Joe isn’t a man and the mind games are going to end right here, right now. AJ doesn’t have to wait for their match so Joe can get out here right now.

Joe pops up on the screen and is standing in the parking lot. He calls AJ’s wife and asks how “our” little Annie (AJ’s daughter) is. He knows why Wendy is angry and says he’ll keep the promise that AJ never kept. Make sure to save him a plate at the back to school barbecue next Sunday and maybe he’ll stop by next Tuesday. More good stuff here, as you had to expect.

Hardy vs. Orton is confirmed in the Cell.

AJ is running through the back to find Joe and nearly knocks out a production guy.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Carmella

Charlotte is defending and they have a lot of time. Carmella gets two off a rollup as the fans are already asking for Becky. A headlock keeps Charlotte in trouble so she suplexes Carmella down, which at least quiets the BECKY chants for now. The moonsault takes too long to set up though and Charlotte gets shoved into the barricade. Carmella hits the suicide dive for two and we take a break.

Back with Carmella hitting a headscissors and shouting a lot, as is her custom. Charlotte gets kicked in the chest but rolls through a high crossbody for one. The champ goes up but gets pulled back down in a pretty good looking super hurricanrana. Carmella slaps her in the back and screams a lot, followed by a pair of not very superkicks for two. Charlotte shrugs it off and hits a spear, followed by Natural Selection. The Figure Eight goes on and Carmella finally taps at 13:02.

Rating: D+. As usual, I have no reason to buy Carmella getting in any kind of offense on Charlotte but that’s what we’re stuck with. Thankfully Carmella lost clean here and we can get away from her for a bit. She’s fine as a short term champion but the four month title reign and seeing her ruin Asuka was WAY too much from here. Now we can move on to the better stuff and I think you know what’s coming.

Post match here’s Becky to jump Charlotte (to some loud cheers) and says she’s getting the title back at Hell in a Cell, “you b****”. Becky leaves and we get a bunch of replays to fill in the show as it feels like they went home way too early. That was more full on heel from Becky (and it went about as well as the other stuff) so I’m not sure what was up with that edited promo last week.

Overall Rating: B. Smackdown is just a fun show and that was the case here. They kept things moving with nothing really dragging and advanced some stories that I want to see. I’m curious about why Joe vs. AJ isn’t worthy of the Cell but Orton vs. Hardy is. They could do a bit better with their pay per view choices but at least the TV is good and they’re setting up stuff that could go in some interesting directions. Nice work this week.

Results

The Bar b. The Colons and Good Brothers – Double Backstabber to Gallows

Billie Kay b. Naomi – Rollup

Daniel Bryan b. Andrade Cien Almas via DQ when Miz interfered

Charlotte b. Carmella – Figure Eight

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: March 25, 2004
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Attendance: 4,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re past the Draft Lottery and the big move saw HHH come over to the blue brand. That opens up several doors and after the end of Raw, there’s a good chance that we’ll be seeing him challenge Eddie Guerrero for the SmackDown World Title again soon. Other than that, the big name would be Rob Van Dam, who could help move some people forward. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a long recap of the Draft picks, with a long look at HHH and Paul Heyman. With Heyman quitting, there is no Smackdown General Manager. I think we have a plot point.

Opening sequence, featuring a lot of Eddie Guerrero.

Here’s HHH….’s music but instead we get Kurt Angle in a suit. He gets straight to the point: Heyman ha quit so we need a new General Manager. Tazz: “It’s gotta be Stephanie McMahon. It’s gotta be.” And it’s Angle, because Tazz isn’t that bright. Angle is putting his wrestling career on hold so he can be in charge. He won’t back down from anyone, including HHH.

Earlier today, HHH demanded a rematch with Eddie Guerrero but got turned down, partially because he’s been traded back to Raw for the Dudley Boyz and Booker T. (along with Miss Jackie and Rico, with A-Train and Chuck Palumbo also going to Raw, though none of those are announced here). Booker comes out to say he’s not happy to be here. He liked wrestling on Raw because the fans over there appreciated him.

Video on the European tour, including John Cena in a kilt.

Rob Van Dam vs. Charlie Haas

After we hit the pose, Van Dam sends him into the ropes but gets carried like a fireman. Some spinning kicks have Haas in trouble and some armdrags set up an armbar. Van Dam tries to go up top but gets shoves off and into the barricade, which tends to happen to him quite often. Back in and Charlie ties the leg up in the rope for some stomping and it’s off to a half crab.

Since Rob is Rob, he uses the free leg to kick his way out of trouble. Another kick to the face has Charlie in trouble and Rolling Thunder gets two. Haas’ rollup in the corner gets the same, though the feet on the ropes help a bit. Charlie unhooks the turnbuckle pad but gets small packaged for the fast pin.

Rating: D. That was certainly a match. Van Dam isn’t exactly the best in the world in this situation and even someone talented like Haas can’t get much out of him. Van Dam needs to either be a big underdog or on a team as he’s not exactly going to get much otherwise. Pretty bad match here but Van Dam is going to be a big star no matter what.

Clip of Rene Dupree being drafted to Smackdown.

Clip of the big brawl that ended this week’s Raw with Steve Austin getting involved.

Billy Kidman vs. Rene Dupree

Rene has Fifi the poodle with him. Kidman can’t get a hiptoss to start but he can get a hurricanrana to bring on the early frustration. Back in and one heck of a whip into the corner allows Dupree to pose and the French Tickler elbow gets two. We hit the bearhug, which isn’t something you would expect from Dupree.

That’s broken up in a hurry and Kidman makes the comeback, including a middle rope elbow. Kidman does his own French Tickler and hits a dropkick but gets crotched while going for the shooting star. An over the shoulder sitout powerslam (which had no snap or force to it and Cole called it a powerbomb) gives Dupree the pin.

Rating: D+. Dupree has charisma and works better as a singles guy than in La Resistance but there’s only so much you’re going to get out of a three and a half minute match with a pretty weak looking finisher. Kidman is very good for a role like this though and is a big reason why he stayed around so long.

Post match here’s John Cena to say Tazz is a thug and Cole is gay. He wants to make sure that Dupree is prepared bro: don’t leave your wallet anywhere near Guerrero. More gay jokes aren’t funny and that’s that. Cena has found his swagger since winning the title and it’s sending him through the roof.

Video on Undertaker beating up Paul Heyman last week.

Teddy Long tries to recruit Scotty 2 Hotty and Rikishi and gives them a card. Josh Matthews looks interested but they’re “playas only cracka”.

Eddie comes in to welcome Rob Van Dam and Spike Dudley to the show but Booker doesn’t have time for this nonsense. He talks down about Smackdown and that’s not cool with Eddie, who won’t stand for someone disrespecting the show. Booker: “Consider yourself insulted.” The fight is quickly broken up and I think we have a main event.

Dudley Boyz vs. Basham Brothers

It’s a fight to start until we settle down to Bubba chopping Danny into the corner. D-Von comes in for some right hands but it’s off to Doug as the punching match continues. A neckbreaker from Bubba mixes things up a bit but it’s right back to the crossface shots. The double flapjack gets no cover and it’s time for some Twin Magic so Danny can come back in and take over. The abdominal stretch goes on for a little while but D-Von powers out and brings Bubba back in. That means more hard shots to the face and a sidewalk slam gets two on Doug. The Flip Flop and Fly into What’s Up sets up the 3D for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was every Dudley Boyz match I’ve seen in years and your mileage may vary on that. There’s no way around the fact that they haven’t changed things up in a long time and that was the case here all over again. They can be a nice addition to the division but they’re not going to be anything special.

Booker comes in to ask what Angle is going to do about Eddie so Angle goes into an explanation of how worn out Eddie is. Therefore, Booker gets a title shot tonight. Why is that not at the next pay per view?

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Spike Dudley

Chavo is defending and the Dudleys are still at ringside. They trade hammerlocks to start and a frustrated Chavo hides in the ropes. The Dudley Dog is broken up with a nasty bump out to the floor but Bubba and D-Von scare Chavo Sr. away. Back in and Chavo puts on a seated abdominal stretch for all of a few seconds. Spike gets free and small packages him for two, followed by the top rope double stomp for the same. The Gory Bomb is reversed into a sunset flip for two more but Spike misses a missile dropkick. Now the Gory Bomb can retain the title.

Rating: C-. Spike was trying here and this was a much better fit for him. You can only have him do the ultra underdog role for so long and putting him against someone like Chavo, who isn’t that much bigger than Spike, worked well. Not much time to do anything, but Chavo needs some fresh challengers.

We look back at the APA splitting last week and Bradshaw talking about being a big time financial analyst.

Here’s Bradshaw in a suit with the white cowboy hat, now under the name John Bradshaw Layfield. Bradshaw says he was horribly misunderstood last week because he and Faarooq have been up and down more roads than almost anyone. He can’t be held responsible for what Ron Simmons did for him though, because Bradshaw has all kinds of things going on. We hear about his portfolio, his book, his upcoming radio show and appearances on FOX News. He can’t give all that up and no one would give up all he has.

There is no right or wrong in society but rather everyone is out to get something for themselves. People like him run industries and governments and he’s never sold anything but stock. He’s succeeded in everything but wrestling, because he thought a friendship was better than success. The impact is coming and business is about to pick up.

And so it begins. This seems like the kind of gimmick that would be a lame midcarder but since WWE has a tendency to go insane with some of its pushes, we could be in for a very long and rough road from here. At the end of the day, Bradshaw hasn’t been more than a Stan Hansen ripoff and now he’s some mixture of Money Inc. That doesn’t exactly instill me with confidence.

Bob Holly speaks for some of the locker room, telling Booker that no one wants him here. After Eddie gets done with him, the Smackdown locker room is waiting for him. Given that names such as Holly, Billy Gunn and Funaki are here, I get why Booker isn’t feeling threatened.

Smackdown World Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Booker T.

Eddie is defending. Feeling out process to start with Eddie taking him down but getting punched in the corner. A snapmare sets up a very early chinlock on Booker until he jawbreaks his way to freedom. Booker gets his own chinlock and has it broken up just as fast. The slingshot hilo gives Eddie two and it’s off to the third chinlock in….well way too little time to have three chinlocks.

Back up and Eddie gets in a very snappy dropkick but walks into a hot shot. We come back from a break with Eddie in another chinlock (two apiece now) before Booker gets creative with a sleeper. A cover gets two and we hit the sleeper again. This time Eddie gets out a little faster and hits a flapjack for a breather. It’s way too early for the frog splash though and Booker hits a superplex for a delayed two.

A side slam stays on Eddie’s back and IT’S ANOTHER CHINLOCK. He’s been working on the back and he can’t do a half crab? Booker chokes on the rope but only manages to fire Eddie up for some right hands. Another backbreaker is countered into a headscissors but the Book End gives Booker two. The side kick gets the same and Booker can’t believe these kickouts. Eddie ducks the ax kick though and the Three Amigos connect. The frog splash looks to finish but we’re edited to Bradshaw coming in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. Once they got past the crazy amount of chinlocks, they settled down and had a pretty good match. The ending isn’t exactly a brilliant idea though as Booker would have been perfectly fine as a one or two off pay per view challenger for the title while Bradshaw established himself a bit more. Instead though, we seem to be sailing straight into the new character getting a mega push right off the bat. We’re so lucky.

Bradshaw Clotheslines Eddie down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Not great wrestling and a pretty horrible new villain to wrap up the show doesn’t exactly instill me with confidence. This was all about a big welcome to all of the new stars and….yeah they’re people who have been around for a long time now and are now just on a blue show instead of the red one. It’s not their worst effort, but it’s another restart without much fire behind the new cast.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: August 21, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the final night in Brooklyn and things have gone rather well so far. Summerslam was a lot of fun and now we can move forward towards Hell in a Cell. It’s pretty clear that AJ Styles will be facing Samoa Joe again and that’s something that I can look forward to. Other than that, we’ll be seeing Miz bragging about beating Daniel Bryan. Let’s get to it.

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

Miz and Maryse open things up with Miz looking rather serious until the Daniel Bryan chants start up. Miz says he was able to close his eyes and feel that in a way he never could before. Two nights ago, something happened at Summerslam and now he has a family to think about. Maryse is hugging Miz as he looks near tears and says that with a heavy heart….hang on as he needs to cry some more. He announces his retirement and there’s a YES chant.

Actually it’s his retirement of ever facing Daniel Bryan again because Sunday was a satisfying conclusion. Miz did exactly what he promised to do when he beat Bryan in front of a sold out Barclays Center. The 100 punches from Bryan didn’t equal one Miz punch because he has the hardest punch in this entire arena. Bryan promised to punch him but when Miz did it, he got the pin. Miz praises Maryse and plugs Miz and Mrs. but here’s Bryan to interrupt.

Bryan calls Miz a coward over and over again as Miz hides behind Maryse. It doesn’t matter what Bryan calls him because the record books will always say that Miz got the win at Summerslam. Bryan asks him to shut up for once because Miz is just hiding behind things, like the makeup he’s wearing right now. On Sunday, Bryan got to do what he wanted: expose Miz as a wannabe Hollywood star cosplaying as a wrestler.

Maryse tells Bryan to change his name to Daniel Bella but here’s Brie to punch Miz in the face. Miz and Maryse bail and Bryan announces a mixed tag for Hell in a Cell. Good thing Maryse chose now to bring Brie into it. I can go with this as A, Brie was always less annoying than Nikki and B, this isn’t the kind of match that should be in the Cell so having it move forward in another way is the right idea.

Post break Miz yells at Paige, calling her a worse GM than Bryan. Paige: “Well you got punched in the face by Brie Bella.” The tag match stays.

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Orton shoves him into the corner but Hardy will have none of that and comes out with right hands of his own. Jeff gets caught on top though as Orton hits him in the back, sending him into the post and then onto the steps for a nasty crash. Back from a break with Jeff getting out of a chinlock and hitting Whisper in the Wind. The legdrop between the legs and a basement dropkick set up the Twisting Stunner but Orton is ready for the Swanton. Jeff gets crotched. It’s the finger through the ear again but Hardy is fine enough to block the hanging DDT. An intentional low blow is enough to disqualify Hardy at 7:11.

Rating: D+. This was about the storyline instead of the action and that’s perfectly fine. The ending (as well as the ads from the arena) would suggest a rematch inside the Cell, because Hardy hasn’t been banged up enough yet. Still though, this can be a good first big win for the new Orton character and if everything goes well, they can beat the heck out of each other in style.

Post match Hardy throws him over the announcers’ table and into the crowd. They fight towards the production area where Hardy blasts him with a few chair shots. A camera to the head knocks Orton silly and there’s the Swanton through Orton through a table in a scene very similar to Kofi Kingston’s big boom drop from about nine years ago.

The Bar challenges the winners of tonight’s title match to a future title shot but here are the Good Brothers (with Gallows in a suit and speaking in a weird accent and Anderson in big glasses) to say they should get a shot. Anderson: “Now back to Karen in the studio.” They’ll meet next week.

Naomi vs. Peyton Royce

Corey says he’s followed Peyton and Billie since NXT and they’ve never looked better. He’s quite the observer. Before the match, Billie insults Brooklyn and Naomi as only she can. Joined in progress with Naomi hitting a splits legdrop for two and baseball sliding Royce down. A Billie distraction lets Peyton kick Naomi down as Corey says some people on social media can’t take a joke and read too much into everything. Back in and the long legged boot choke sets up the chinlock as Naomi is in trouble. That doesn’t last long but Naomi has to go after Billie, allowing Peyton to hit a quick fisherman’s suplex for the pin at 3:32.

Rating: D. This felt like a match to build Peyton back up after a pretty ridiculous week. It’s not like Naomi is doing anything anyway and a win over her still means something. Billie and Peyton can play some nice roles in the division and if they get over with their annoying characters, good for them. Graves was hilarious ripping on Meltzer here too, which you had to know was coming.

Big E. has taped up ribs so he’s eating some fresh ones. Xavier Woods talks about this being the birthplace of Francesca and about how this is where they’ll become five time Tag Team Champions.

Video on Charlotte winning the Women’s Title and getting laid out by Becky Lynch after the fact.

Here’s Becky to say that she should be Women’s Champion but Charlotte stole it. The night was supposed to be about her and no one else. The fans chant for Becky but she talks over them, saying it was her time to get out of Charlotte’s shadow. Sure the people are acting like they’re with her now but where were they all along? There was no Becky hashtag but there was no boycott when Charlotte was added to the match.

Then the people applauded Charlotte when she won the title so they weren’t really that upset. For some reason Becky isn’t considered the best of all time and is now seen as the afterthought. A few nights of praise doesn’t work because this is a generation of all talk and no action. The third count on Sunday was like bringing her out of a trance. It was then that she knew Charlotte was holding her back and now it’s her time. Not because the people say it is but because it’s her time, period.

No one can tell her differently but here’s Charlotte to interrupt. The fight is on with Becky trying to get out through the crowd but Charlotte drags her back. Paige sends in the women’s locker room and they’re finally broken up. That lasts all of a few seconds until they’re dragged apart again, only to have Charlotte dive off the apron to get in a few more shots. Heck of a segment here and Becky sold the heck out of the promo, but it wasn’t going to work in front of this crowd. Their Cell match should rock.

Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega vs. Rusev/Lana

Rematch from the Kickoff Show. The guys start with Rusev hitting a hard clothesline to take over earlier on. A quick armbar over the ropes doesn’t do much good on Rusev as he kicks Almas away and brings in Lana. Another kick puts Vega on the floor and the double scream takes us to a break.

Back with Vega choking Lana on the ropes and putting on a crucifix hold. Lana kicks her away and brings in Rusev….who is quickly taken into the corner for the running knees. The hammerlock DDT is broken up and there’s a clothesline to send Almas outside. Vega goes after Rusev and gets speared down as Aiden English appears to take a chair away from Almas. The Machka Kick sets up the Accolade to make Almas tap at 7:28.

Rating: D+. There’s your 50/50 booking in 48 hours as they trade wins, leaving everyone right back where they started. I wouldn’t have Almas taking a fall at the moment but odds are this leads to him beating Rusev at HIAC. You would think Lana beating Vega would have made more sense but sometimes WWE does these things without the most thought going into them.

Shinsuke Nakamura talks about the poem on the Statue of Liberty and says this is now the United States of Nakamerica.

Video on AJ Style vs. Samoa Joe at Summerslam.

Renee Young brings out AJ for an interview on the platform. AJ isn’t happy with what happened at Summerslam but he wouldn’t change a thing. He has a promise for Joe: the next time Joe mentions his family’s name, he’ll rip Joe’s heart out. Joe trips AJ from behind and pulls him down off the platform for the Koquina Clutch knockout. Joe: “OH WENDY!” AJ can’t come home and tuck in the kids because he’s already gone to sleep.

We recap the opening sequence.

Carmella comes in to see Paige, who says Carmella has lost ten pounds. A rematch is demanded but here’s R-Truth to say she’s been dodging him for weeks. All he has to do is pin her to get a title match. Paige says no (Truth: “You got lucky this time.”) and Carmella gets her rematch next week. Moon walking ensues but Truth picks Carmella up despite Paige’s protests.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Bludgeon Brothers

The Brothers are defending and this is No DQ with no Big E. at ringside due to his rib injury. Rowan certainly has a lot of padding around his arm. The fight is on to start with Woods and Kofi both being taken to the floor. Woods dropkicks Harper over the announcers’ desk but gets a chair thrown at him as we take a break.

Back with Woods sending Harper face first into the announcers’ table and Kofi kicking Rowan in the face. It’s time for a ladder but the delay lets Harper take them both out with a suicide dive. Some chairs are thrown inside and Woods gets whipped hard into the steps. A big boot gets two on Kofi but he kicks the chair back into Harper’s face. Kofi gets a tornado DDT near a chair for two as Rowan pulls him to the floor.

Rowan headbutts Kofi against the post before grabbing the mallet. Harper hits him three times in a row but misses a charge (Why did he need a mallet for a charge?) through the barricade. Back in and a mallet to Harper’s ribs sets up the rope walk elbow through the table to give Woods the pin and the titles at 15:23.

Rating: B. It’s not exactly a surprise given Rowan’s injury but they did it in a good match. Sunday’s ending left this as an option so it’s not like it came out of nowhere. New Day can keep the titles warm until someone can take them away and that’s a perfectly fine place to be. The mallet was a nice callback to the previous match and it made for a good ending with Woods getting the win.

Big E. comes out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. It’s full speed ahead to the Cell and that’s perfectly fine. This show was much more about moving forward with everything and they did a pretty decent job with that. It was no secret that some of the matches would be set up for next month and WWE didn’t hide that. I liked the straightforward storytelling and the good main event helped a lot. Not a great show as the bad wrestling in the first half hurt things, but the angle advancement made up for a lot of it.

Results

Randy Orton b. Jeff Hardy via DQ when Hardy kicked him low

Peyton Royce b. Naomi – Fisherman’s suplex

Rusev/Lana b. Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega – Accolade to Almas

New Day b. Bludgeon Brothers – Rode walk elbow to Harper

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: March 18, 2004
Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the first show after Wrestlemania and, much like this week’s Monday Night Raw, the level of importance of this show might be pretty low. Eddie Guerrero is still Smackdown World Champion, having vanquished Kurt Angle, meaning he now needs a new challenger. There aren’t many options though and that makes things a little more complicated. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Wrestlemania if you need a recap.

Here’s hometown boy and new US Champion John Cena to open things up. Cena is glad to be home and talks about how he used to buy tickets for the old Boston Gardens. Back at Wrestlemania, he put Big Show on an FU diet and Show came out ten pounds lighter. Cena brings championships home like he’s Tom Brady. The FCC is getting on him and they suck just like the Yankees. It’s time for Cena’s first match but here’s Paul Heyman instead.

Heyman confirms that Brock Lesnar is gone from Smackdown and WWE as well, so maybe Cena can be the new face of the show. This Monday though, Cena might be getting sent over the Monday Night Raw. If Heyman was one of the superstars in the locker room, he would be on his knees praying to be drafted to Raw. Everyone left on Smackdown will be suffering Heyman’s wrath and that includes Cena. Heyman slaps him and gets knocked down but here’s Rhyno to start the title match.

US Title: John Cena vs. Rhyno

Cena is defending and takes an early spinebuster for two. He charges into a hard elbow in the corner to make it worse but the fans are still behind him, despite his tendency to charge in too soon. The real comeback (after being on defense for all of a minute) starts with some shoulders and the Shuffle, complete with pumping up the shoes. The FU retains the title in a hurry. Cena has taken about three giant steps forward into stardom since winning the title and you can see that fire in his eyes.

Edge is coming back. Still no date given.

Heyman is upset by what happened but runs into the APA, who laugh at him over what they saw. Therefore, if they don’t win the Tag Team Titles tonight, they’re fired.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Scotty 2 Hotty/Rikishi vs. APA

Rikishi and Scotty are defending. Bradshaw starts with Scotty, who tags out for the showdown with Rikishi. A slugout goes badly as Rikishi takes over with a headbutt and now it’s off to Scotty for some right hands of his own. Scotty’s middle rope crossbody goes as badly as you would expect and Faarooq comes in to slowly punch away. Bradshaw comes back in for a torture rack (still would be a great finisher for someone) and Faarooq puts on the chinlock.

Faarooq starts jumping onto Scotty’s back but eventually lands on raised knees, ala Arn Anderson. A tornado DDT to Bradshaw gets Scotty out of trouble and it’s off to Rikishi for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Faarooq breaks up the Worm with a right hand. Now why did no one else ever think of that? Not that it matters as Rikishi superkicks Bradshaw to retain.

Rating: D. Pretty bad match here and that’s not exactly a surprise. Why would you expect the APA to do anything more than bad at this point? They haven’t had a good match in a long time and it’s way past their expiration date. Scotty and Rikishi aren’t very good champions but with the rest of the available options, they’re about as high a level as we’re reaching right now.

Post break the APA storms into Heyman’s office so he can fire them to their faces. The thing is, they didn’t listen to Heyman because only Faarooq is fired (Heyman did say that if Faarooq and his partner didn’t win “you are fired”) because Bradshaw has too much value. Faarooq says they’re both out of here but Bradshaw stays, turning himself heel in the process. It should be noted that Faarooq was fired earlier in the day so this wasn’t the most shocking result.

We see Vince’s Lottery announcement from Raw.

Dawn Marie has gathered Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Billy Gunn and Rey Mysterio in a locker room. Heyman comes in to talk about the Smackdown locker room being united against him last week so tonight, they’re going to play Divide and Conquer. He can’t control what happens on Monday, but he can control what happens tonight. The four of them are running a gauntlet and the winner gets a WWE Title shot tonight. Haas and Benjamin aren’t interested in fighting each other so Heyman makes them the first part of the gauntlet.

Video on Wrestlemania.

Gauntlet Match

Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin get things going, showing off their blue and gold singlets. To the shock of no one, they go straight to the mat for a fight over arm control. Charlie gets the better of it for all of a few seconds before they get back to their feet where Shelton takes over with a headlock. That takes us to a standoff until they fight over a top wristlock. This time it’s Haas taking him down into a leglock, which is reversed into another headlock.

Shelton tosses him down and taps Charlie on the jaw, meaning it’s time to get serious. After a trip to the floor, they’re right back inside with Shelton hooking a front facelock. Shelton slaps him in the jaw again and Charlie isn’t having any of that. Back in and Haas gets two off a suplex (you would have expected more than that), followed by a bridging German suplex for the same. Shelton jumps over him in the corner though and the Dragon Whip (to the chest) is good for the pin.

Back from a break, Faarooq tries to leave but gets stopped by Bradshaw, who begs him not to leave. Bradshaw is a freaking one man conglomerate and he can’t be fired just because Faarooq said something stupid.

Now back to the match with Billy Gunn in third to face Shelton. Gunn takes too long getting in so Shelton stomps away in the corner. A running clothesline drops Gunn again and they head to the floor. This goes a bit better for Gunn as Shelton is whipped into the barricade for two back inside. Shelton doesn’t seem to mind as he elbows Gunn in the face and knees him hard in the head. Gunn gets out of a reverse chinlock with a jawbreaker and catches a charging Shelton with a raised boot. The good looking tilt-a-whirl powerslam gets two but the Fameasser misses. Shelton grabs a rollup (and the rope) for the upset (Maybe?) pin.

Before we get to the next name, here’s Big Show to say he’s not happy about losing the US Title to a cheater like Cena and is entering the gauntlet as the last man.

Back to the match again with Mysterio as the fourth man. They trade some rollups to start until Shelton snaps off an exploder suplex to take over. A delayed belly to back suplex gets two and some knees in the corner have Rey in even more trouble. Shelton whips him hard into the buckles and it’s off to a cross armbreaker. That switches over to a regular armbar, which Rey reverses into the sitout bulldog. Shelton is right back with a powerslam but Rey slips out of a German suplex. The 619 lets Rey Drop the Dime for the pin in the best section of the gauntlet so far.

Hall of Fame video. Why are they doing all of these breaks in between the matches?

So it’s Mysterio vs. Big Show for the title shot with Rey getting smart early on by rolling to the floor. Back in and Rey dives between Show’s legs but gets backed into the corner, allowing Show to toss him around. Show stands on Rey’s head but Rey snaps him throat first across the top. A springboard missile dropkick rocks Show, who kicks Rey in the face for two as the comeback is cut off in a hurry.

Show standing on Rey’s back has Mysterio bailing outside again, this time with a good bit more pain. Back in and Show gives him a rather impressive gorilla press drop, launching Rey into the air so the crash is even bigger. Cue Cena for a distraction though with Show going outside to get him, allowing Rey to hit a 619. The referee yells at Rey, allowing Cena to get in a belt shot to bounce Show off the post for the countout.

Rating: D-. This was a bunch of lame matches and while the most interesting choice won, it felt like they were doing the least interesting thing they possibly could have, which made this a very long match with almost nothing standing out as good. Mysterio vs. Benjamin was passable, which is probably why it was the shortest section of the whole thing. At least the title match has serious potential though.

Smackdown World Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

Mysterio is challenging and they shake hands to start. An exchange of wristlocks and armdrags give us a standoff with Rey holding his arm. Eddie trips him down and puts on a headlock, only to have Rey snap off a heck of a headscissors to send the champ outside. Rey motions that he wants the title as Eddie looks stunned. Back in and Rey slaps him in the face for some reason so Eddie sends him arm first into the buckle to stop Rey cold. An armbar goes on but Rey realizes he’s next to the rope for a fast break.

Eddie, having a brain, takes him down into another armbar but Rey, being Rey, spins out and monkey flips Eddie down. Mysterio pulls him to the floor for an Asai moonsault and we take a break. Back with Eddie hitting a top rope superplex for two and staying on the back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. To really crank things up, Eddie puts on a cross between a Gory Stretch and a chickenwing (egads that looks painful), making Rey tap twice. Why these taps (with Tazz and Cole saying Rey is tapping, as he’s clearly slapping his shoulder) don’t count isn’t clear but Rey reverses into a small package for two.

Eddie takes him down again and twists the arm even more, followed by some stomping to the arm. Rey fights out of another armbar and tries a springboard moonsault to Eddie’s back, driving him face first into the mat for two. The springboard seated senton gets the same as the pace is picking up. There’s a tornado DDT for two more but Rey is spent. Two rolling verticals connect but Rey reverses the third into a rollup. Eddie finally hits the third and tries the frog splash, which only hits mat. Rey hits the 619 and Rey Drops the Dime but Eddie rolls away. La majistral retains Eddie’s title.

Rating: B+. Oh come on like these two were going to have anything short of a great match. They know each other so well and it was no surprise that they were able to tear it up out there. Mysterio wasn’t likely to win but he’s good enough to make you believe that a miracle could happen to give him the title. That’s a valuable asset and Mysterio can do it as well as almost anyone else ever.

Post match Heyman comes out to say he didn’t know Spanish was the new language around here. He hopes Eddie and Rey’s families get deported because they have no place on his Smackdown. Next week he’s the only person guaranteed to be on Smackdown….and the gong strikes. Heyman decides to get back in the ring with Mysterio and Guerrero as Undertaker takes off the coat and hat (revealing a bandanna for a weird look). Eddie shoves him into a Tombstone to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. It says a lot when a really good Eddie vs. Rey match can’t save your show. This was as much of a punt of a show as you could imagine and unfortunately that’s not the biggest surprise in the world. They could have done something better than this, but I guess Shelton Benjamin vs. Billy Gunn was one of their best available ideas at the moment. Really lame show, but I can kind of understand why it happened.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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