IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: December 4, 2018
Location: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Vic Joseph

We have two shows left around here and that’s best for everyone involved. Tonight we have the Smackdown semifinals with the one loser team against the three good teams, meaning we might be in for another lame show but maybe one of the matches can be pretty good. That was the case last week and hopefully the blue people can do it just as well. Let’s get to it.

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

AJ Styles is carried out.

Smackdown Division Semifinals: R-Truth/Carmella vs. Charlotte/Jeff Hardy

The men start things off and, after some headlocks, a quick dance off breaks out. This is completely different than the dance break that is coming in the next few moments of course. The women come in and Carmella’s kick to the ribs is blocked, meaning it’s time for the hard chops. Carmella dances away and thankfully gets taken down by the leg. Everything breaks down and Charlotte/Hardy are sent outside, meaning DANCE BREAK.

It’s a short form one and as they’re annoyed at the lack of dancing, Hardy and Charlotte come back in to jump them both. Charlotte’s Figure Four neck rolls look to set up the moonsault but Carmella pulls her off the top. It’s back to the men with a double tag, even though that’s twice as much as necessary. The women fight to the floor, leaving Jeff to set up the Swanton. Carmella dives back in to protect Truth until Charlotte pulls her outside. That’s enough for Jeff to miss the Swanton and Truth gets the rollup pin at 6:41.

Rating: D. This was a nothing match with the big story being WHEN WILL THEY DANCE. I get why they put Carmella and Truth through here as Charlotte is already booked for TLC and Hardy will likely have a match with Joe so there’s no reason to pretend that they’re going to win in next week’s finals. Truth and Carmella are popular enough at the moment, but…..wait…..dang it. We’ll come back to this in a minute.

Alicia Fox and Jinder Mahal promise to win next week.

Finn Balor and Bayley promise to win next week.

R-Truth and Carmella are proud of their win and Truth wants to go to Memphis, Egypt on their vacation.

Smackdown Division Semifinals: Jimmy Uso/Naomi vs. The Miz/Asuka

The women start things off and a hip thrust knocks Asuka away for a bit. Naomi’s kick to the head is countered into a quickly broken ankle lock so it’s off to Miz vs. Jimmy. Some armdrags have Miz in trouble but he’s right back with a running dropkick in the corner. Jimmy doesn’t seem to mind and dances a bit before hitting an uppercut. The Samoan drop has Miz in trouble and the running hip attack makes things even worse.

Miz crotches him on top though and we hit the chinlock. The short DDT gives Miz two and it’s off to a front facelock but Miz yells at Asuka for costing them the last match. Well that’s rather mean. Jimmy shoves him away and makes the hot tag to Naomi so the pace can pick up. A springboard kick to the face gives Naomi two and the guys fight to the floor. Naomi hits the Rear view for two but gets pulled into the Asuka Lock for the tap at 8:52.

Rating: C-. This was one of the better matches of the season, but it also gives away the ending of next week’s Smackdown match, which was what I was dreading earlier. We’re going to get Truth and Carmella knocking off Miz and Asuka because Asuka is busy in what should be the main event of TLC. But hey, at least we get a pay per view dance break now.

Overall Rating: D+. I can’t wait for next week’s final because even at half an hour a week, this show has become a complete chore. I’m not completely sure how the ending goes at TLC, but given who is likely to be in the match I can’t imagine it’s going to be interesting in the first place. The idea of having the finals at TLC in the first place was good, but potentially having the lamest teams involved is defeating the purpose. Another bad show this week, but at least it’s almost done.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

That’s one of the ones you knew was coming but it still makes you sad.  Kid was one of the most influential wrestlers ever, with Chris Benoit basically being a tribute wrestler for a lot of his career.  He was WAY ahead of his time, wrestling the style that would become the norm for a lot of the lighter wrestlers today back in the 1980s.  Kid really was a big deal and you should check out some of the stuff he did before the British Bulldogs years when his body had completely broken down as he was awesome before then.  Oddly enough, he turned 60 years old the day he passed away.

I was reading a rather scathing review of Raw and got to thinking.

So this week’s Monday Night Raw was a disaster. I don’t think that’s exactly a secret, but there were several bad parts to the whole thing. In addition to the horrible Drake Maverick segment, there’s one thing that stands out as a problem, but not for the same reason you might be thinking. That would be Baron Corbin.

This week, Corbin was all over the show. He was in the opening segment, he did a bunch of stuff throughout the show, and then he was in the main event. That’s a lot of screen time for someone who isn’t exactly thrilling. He’s just the latest middle management villain, and that’s not a good role for him. Corbin is about 6’6 with a good look and a power offense. Why is his biggest weapon the threat of a phone call to Stephanie McMahon? A middle management lackey isn’t the place for someone like Corbin. That’s the kind of role someone like Curt Hawkins or Aiden English or someone not exactly intimidating.

Now, for the bigger thing though, and this is where a lot of people forget the problem: Corbin is still pretty new at this. Corbin made his debut back in October 2012. That’s about six years ago, and now he’s arguably the top heel on Raw. Keep in mind that’s not six yeas into his WWE career. That’s six years after he started training, a lot of which was spent down in NXT. To go from the very small atmosphere of NXT to the biggest wrestling TV show in the world is more than a jump. It’s a flying leap and Corbin hasn’t established himself as that kind of a star yet.

In other words, Corbin (and SO many others from NXT) need more time before they start getting this kind of a push. That’s not a knock on the talent in the slightest. These people (including Corbin) go from basically wrestling school and some very low level indies to NXT and then the main roster in the span of about three years (Corbin’s main roster debut was in April of 2016, less than four years after he debuted).

Six years into his career, Steve Austin was just debuting as the Ringmaster. Six years into his career, Shawn Michaels was part of the Rockers. Six years into his career, the Undertaker was Mean Mark Callous. Do any of these people sound like they were ready to be the focal point of the show and headlining a pay per view just yet? Of course not, because that takes a VERY special kind of wrestler and there aren’t many who are ready for that spot.

Corbin, and a lot of other people, have the physical skills to be in these spots. However, there’s a big, big difference between knowing what to do and knowing how to do it. Corbin has very little seasoning and experience at or even near this level. He’s learning on the job and that can make for a rough patch. It doesn’t help that he’s completely miscast in his role and is doing the best he can with some horrible booking choices.

In short: WWE is trying to build a house on a foundation where the cement isn’t dry yet and it’s collapsing (Note that I completely lifted that line from Tazz, who had an incredible rant about this week’s Raw which got me thinking about this. Check that out here.).

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: November 29, 2018
Location: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

I’m not going to bother wasting your time with blind hope this time. Raw was terrible this week and Smackdown was a little bit better. Hopefully they flood this show with Smackdown highlights because otherwise they’ll manage to make it even worse than it was on Monday. Ok maybe not that bad but still terrible. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Titus O’Neil vs. Mojo Rawley

They fight over a lockup to start with neither being able to get very far. A shoulder drops Rawley and Titus hits some chops in the corner to keep him in trouble. Rawley is right back with shoulders of his own and it’s off to the chinlock. Some chops set up some posing which sets up another chinlock, because two of them are needed in a short match. Titus fights up and hits some clotheslines, followed by a big boot for two. The Clash of the Titus puts Rawley away at 4:11.

Rating: D. Dude you’re jobbing to Titus O’Neil. What exactly does that say for your future career prospects? I still like Rawley but it’s clear that WWE doesn’t think too much of him. The heel turn looked to be a good sign for him but at this point, what exactly is there left for him to do? Lost to Jinder Mahal?

From Raw.

We open with Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Lio Rush and Drew McIntyre in the ring. They talk about how great their Thanksgiving was, though they didn’t indulge themselves like these common people. They’re all thankful for everything they do, including what they did to Braun Strowman last week.

We see last week’s attack that put Strowman on the shelf and then go to Birmingham, Alabama where Strowman says he’ll be on the shelf for a while. His surgeon has never seen an injury like this before nor worked on an arm this size. He’ll be back though and what happened last week will look like a paper cut compared to what he’s doing to the three of them.

From Raw again.

Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin

Balor goes straight at him but gets hit in the jaw. Just to get the self parody going. Corbin has a chinlock on less than thirty seconds in. Corbin gets sent outside for a kick to the chest and we take a break. Back with Corbin holding another chinlock and sending Balor into the corner. That means ANOTHER chinlock, followed by a clothesline, followed by the fourth chinlock in less than ten minutes. This isn’t the kind of thing you want in a featured match.

Deep Six looks to set up the End of Days but Balor is right back with the shotgun dropkick. The Coup de Grace misses though and Corbin grabs a mic, making it a 2-1 handicap match with Drew McIntyre joining him. Balor flip dives onto McIntyre and dropkicks Corbin into the timekeeper’s area but McIntyre jumps him from behind. The Claymore is good for the pin on Balor at 13:25.

Rating: D-. Corbin is just so bad in the ring and this was more of the same heel abuse of power stuff that we’ve seen for the better part of forever. Balor was just cannon fodder here and the match was bad because they let Corbin run things instead of doing anything exciting. Terrible main event.

Post match Lashley comes out for the triple beatdown to end the show. At least McIntyre seems to be away from Ziggler now and that’s some of the only good news on this show.

From Smackdown.

Here’s AJ Styles for his first comments since losing the title. The 14 days since he lost the title have felt like a lot more than the 371 days he held it. He hates losing, but it was the way he lost. After a clip of the loss, AJ talks about the aftermath being what bothered him. We see a clip of Bryan’s speech about being a new man last week and AJ talks about how Bryan has been nowhere to be seen over the last week. Bryan better come out of his little chamber and show up at TLC. Make sure to bring the title though, because it belongs to AJ. Good fire from Styles here and the match should be great.

Tyler Breeze/Ascension vs. Zack Ryder/B-Team

Now a clever story here would be to say that Breeze doesn’t like what the Ascension is doing but is working with his former friends. That’s not what they’re doing here, but it would make more sense than having him do a random match as a heel. Viktor and Dallas start things off with Bo’s headlock going nowhere but everything breaks down in a hurry. The good guys clean house and Konor has to save Viktor from the Broski Boot. The distraction lets Viktor hit the jumping knee to the face and we take a break.

Back with Viktor throwing Breeze into Ryder in the corner. Konor comes back in for some elbows and a chinlock, followed by dropping Breeze on top for two. Viktor adds his own stomping and a chinlock, because of course he does. I don’t remember the last time there were this many chinlocks in a company but it’s getting really old. The Woo Awakening gets Ryder out of trouble and it’s off to Axel to clean house. The Axhole gets two and it’s off to Breeze, who gets caught in a neckbreaker from a blindly tagged in Dallas for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: D+. Perfectly watchable six man as I question the logic of having Breeze take the pin when he’s teaming with THE ASCENSION, as in the team that exists solely to take falls and put people over. This is a fine role for the B-Team as well as they’re entertaining and a fun act, especially as a warm up act like they were here.

From Raw.

Here are Nia Jax and Tamina for a chat. Nia says she has a lot to be thankful for this year, mainly being breaking Becky Lynch’s face. That brings her to Ronda Rousey, so we see Jax beating Rousey up at Money in the Bank. Then it was Charlotte beating her up at Survivor Series, leaving Ronda to talk about how hard a champion has to fight. Nia is now on top of the mountain but here’s Rousey to interrupt.

Rousey yells at her about how Nia is from a warrior culture who likes to hit people in the face. She could fight the champ right now, but Jax just got done washing Becky’s crusted blood off her hand. The double teaming seems imminent but Natalya runs in….and gets jumped by the Riott Squad. Rousey makes the save.

And from Raw again.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Open challenge and I actually collapsed a bit when I heard the record scratch. Ziggler says he’s going to get back to being the best in the world by becoming champion again. They hit the mat to start and Ziggler can’t quite keep up. Instead Rollins sends him outside and we take a break.

Back with Rollins in trouble and Ziggler ripping at his face. The chinlock goes on, Ziggler chokes on the ropes, and the chinlock goes on again. Ziggler puts on a third chinlock before throwing him outside for a second break. Back again with Rollins making a comeback and hitting the Sling Blade. An enziguri rocks Ziggler and Rollins heads up, only to get crotched back down. He shoves Ziggler down but misses the frog splash, setting up the Fameasser to give Ziggler two.

Ziggler’s jumping DDT is blocked so he settles for two off a small package instead. The sleeper goes on but Rollins drops him back and hits the low superkick for two. Rollins misses the Stomp and walks into the Zig Zag for another near fall. After looking at some fans being excited, Ziggler heads up top but Rollins catches him with the superplex into the Falcon Arrow to retain at 22:45.

Rating: B. It was a good match and I’ll give them some big points for the non-finisher ending, but egads I never need to see these two fight again. The match took a long time to get going but things picked up a lot after the break. I was starting to get into it at the end and that’s the best thing I can say about something on this show. As usual, Rollins is one of the more entertaining people, even if he was out there with Ziggler.

Overall Rating: D+. You know, it’s kind of amazing how much better Raw seemed without the stupid Drake Maverick thing. That absolutely killed the show and is one of the dumbest things they’ve done in a long time. Now that being said, the rest of Raw was mostly garbage but they got the best part in here with the Rollins vs. Ziggler match. It’s not worth watching of course, but this could have been a lot worse.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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

205 Live
Date: November 28, 2018
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

Things are in a bit of a holding pattern around here at the moment as Buddy Murphy doesn’t have a challenger but is involved in a tag match tonight, teaming with Tony Nese against Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander. Other than that I’m sure we’ll be in for the normal midcard shenanigans, which can be hit or miss. Let’s get to it.

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

Drake Maverick previews the show and yes we are supposed to take him seriously after what happened on Raw. I love how WWE thinks that’s how it works, like they’re different continuities or something.

Opening sequence.

Mike Kanellis vs. Noam Dar

Fallout from Kanellis costing Dar a match recently. Kanellis slaps at Dar’s hands in the corner to start as Maria sits in on commentary. Dar gets in a kick to the leg and waves at Maria to a reaction quieter than a golf clap. For some reason Dar goes outside (presumably to look at Maria) and gets jumped from behind, with Mike hitting a suplex. Back in and we hit the chinlock as Maria tries to explain the power of love.

The hold doesn’t last long as Dar pops up with a running dropkick to the head as the arena is just quiet. A spinebuster gets Kanellis out of trouble and here’s the Lucha House Party for a distraction. With Dorado and Metalik on the stage, Kalisto kicks Mike in the head, setting up the Nova Roller to give Dar the pin at 3:52.

Rating: D. Is anyone else really getting sick of the Lucha House Party? I know they’re there for some fun and can get the fans a little more energetic than most things (like this match for example) but they’re getting more annoying every week. Dar isn’t much better and I’m not sure about having him beat Mike. While Mike isn’t great, Maria is a gem with some presence to her and it shows off on commentary. Too short to mean much, but not exactly good.

Brian Kendrick and Akira Tozawa are warming up with Tozawa getting on Kendrick’s nerves just enough to bring out the aggression. Tozawa’s hands hurt after Kendrick pounds the gloves so hard.

Drew Gulak and Jack Gallagher talk about how Kendrick used to be their friend but then he changed. Gulak uses some word that he doesn’t understand so Gallagher helps him out a bit in a funny moment. Next week: Gulak vs. Kendrick.

Hideo Itami vs. Levy Cruise

Itami isn’t playing around tonight and blasts Cruise in the face to start. The kick to the back lets Itami shout RESPECT ME and believe it or not, the reactions are getting even quieter. Cruise is draped over the top rope for the jumping knee to the back and there’s the hesitation dropkick in the corner. The spinning knee to the head finishes Cruise at 1:27.

Post match the beatdown continues but Ariya Daivari of all people comes out to interrupt. Dude you still work here? And never mind as he helps beat on Cruise before saying he respects Itami. Egads man, how much more boring can they get with these two?

TJP asks Drake Maverick why he can’t be #1 contender but Maverick says no because Gran Metalik beat him last week. That means another mention of the Cruiserweight Classic, which doesn’t quite work. TJP finally brings up Maverick’s stuff from Raw but the Kanellises come in to say they want the Lucha House Party. Maria doesn’t want to hear from TJP, but does want a tornado tag match is made for next week. Maverick agrees and tosses them.

Mustafa Ali/Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy/Tony Nese

Alexander and Nese start things off with the traditional exchange of wristlocks. Nese avoids a moonsault and nips up to duck a clothesline. That’s fine with Alexander, who snaps off a dropkick for two, complete with a glare at Murphy. It’s off to Ali for a quick dropkick to the side of the head so Murphy comes in and gets dropkicked as well. The tag brings Alexander back in and Murphy immediately bails for the tag back to Nese.

A quick distraction lets Murphy hit a running knee to the face though and now he’s willing to take over on Alexander. Some knees to the ribs set up a bodyscissors from Nese but Alexander is up in a hurry. The hot tag brings in Ali to pick up the pace with a shot to the face and the Batista Bomb for two. Murphy blocks the tornado DDT through raw power though and Nese gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Nese comes in legally and steps on Ali’s hair (Nigel: “Could be an accident, you never know.”) before it’s back to Murphy for a hard clothesline.

Ali gets in a double clothesline to put both villains on the floor but Murphy pulls Alexander off the apron to break up the hot tag attempt. A spinning kick to Murphy’s face is finally enough for the hot tag and Alexander comes in with the springboard Flatliner for two on Nese. Alexander shoves Nese into the corner to crotch Murphy and it’s back to Ali, who goes up top with Alexander to get Murphy.

Since that’s a bit crowded up top (not to mention with Nese beneath the three of them), Murphy and Ali both fall down to the floor in some scary looking crashes. Alexander nails Nese with a dive and throws Murphy back in for a tornado DDT from Ali. The Lumbar Check finishes Murphy at 13:31.

Rating: B. Even with someone like Nese (who shockingly didn’t take the pin) in there, this felt like a big time tag match and a good main event. Alexander getting his rematch makes sense after how long he held the title so it’s hard to argue with the result. Ali will almost certainly be a factor going forward and that’s the best for almost everyone involved.

Overall Rating: C. The main event is all that matters here but there’s only so much you can get out of a third of the show when the rest of it isn’t exactly thrilling stuff. Murphy is turning into a much more interesting champion than I was expecting and his match with Alexander or another match with Ali could be entertaining. Other than that there isn’t much here, but that can change week to week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 28, 2004
Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

With less than two weeks to go, it’s time to get focused on Vengeance. As it turns out, last week’s main event had no bearing on the pay per view as HHH is getting his World Title shot (I’m stunned too.) despite not beating Eugene. Other than that we have the continuing issues of Kane fathering Lita’s baby, which isn’t likely to get much attention tonight because Kane is getting a World Title shot against Chris Benoit. Let’s get to it.

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

Last week, WWE won some awards. Good for them.

We open with a recap of HHH vs. Eugene, featuring HHH snapping and beating him down, drawing in Benoit for the save. Benoit accidentally chaired Eugene though and got laid out by HHH to end the show. That’ll show Eugene for getting over without being named HHH.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Evolution to get things going. HHH says tonight’s main event doesn’t matter because he’s facing the winner at Vengeance no matter what. For tonight though, he’d like Eugene to come out here because they’re still friends. A nervous Eugene comes out, complete with a bandage with a drawn on smiley face. HHH talks about how there are mean people around here, like Chris Benoit. All HHH was doing was trying to prepare him last week because if HHH really wanted to hurt him, Eugene wouldn’t be here.

The reality is that Benoit can’t stand Eugene and wants to hurt him. HHH doesn’t usually talk like this, but Benoit is nothing but a jerk. HHH: “I said the J word!” Orton looks very confused as HHH tells Eugene that they’re still friends. Tonight, Eugene gets to be an honorary member of Evolution. That means a round of hugs but here’s William Regal to say it’s a trap. HHH brings up Regal to work for Bischoff to get rid of Regal in exchange for his job. HHH: “YOU MAKE ME SICK!” This brings out Bischoff, to make HHH vs. Regal with Eugene as guest referee.

Again, this story is fascinating in a way. The character work and manipulation of Eugene is very entertaining as you can see the character changes throughout and that’s making for some entertaining TV. That being said, there is the issue of why HHH is doing this in the first place. He has the title shot and he has Evolution. Is there really a reason why he doesn’t just have them beat the heck out of Eugene and make them leave? Sure Bischoff is going to be happy to see Eugene get crushed, but this seems to be taking the very long way around when there’s an easier path to get what everyone wants.

Chris Jericho/Edge vs. Randy Orton/Batista

Well it was good last week. Orton tags out instead of fighting Jericho so it’s a right hand to Batista’s face to no avail. Batista takes him down and hammers away with right hands to the head as the fire alarm seems to be going off. Evolution takes turns hammering on Jericho’s head as the alarm keeps going. Someone might want to look into that sooner or later. The alarm is finally cut off, drawing a round of applause from the crowd.

Batista gets two off a big side slam but Jericho dropkicks him into the ropes for a breather. It’s still way too early for the hot tag, which is fine as Edge did more than enough work in the first version. Orton’s dropkick gets two but he walks into the sleeper drop, setting up the hot tag to Edge. That means some house cleaning but you know this one is getting some time so it’s only the preliminary house cleaning. They’re not to full dusting yet you see.

The Edgecator has Orton in trouble until Batista saves, only to get double dropkicked to the floor. Edge hits a baseball slide and Jericho adds a sweet dive to drop Batista as we take a break. Back with Edge taking Orton into the corner but Batista comes in again for a running powerslam. Orton stomps away and drops some legs for two before handing it back to Batista for a seated full nelson.

That’s finally reversed with a ram into the corner but Orton is fine enough to slap on a bodyscissors. Edge finally fights up again and makes the hot tag off to Jericho so the pace can pick up. The bulldog sets up the Lionsault but Batista moves, leaving Jericho to stick the landing. Batista’s spinebuster is countered into a sunset flip with Edge dropkicking him down for the two. Back up and Batista blasts Orton with the clothesline but manages to kick out of the Walls. Edge spears Batista, setting up the Lionsault for the pin.

Rating: B. Are these people capable of having a bad match at this point? You could mix and match these guys for months for good matches, which is exactly what they’ve done to some great results. Jericho vs. Batista and Edge vs. Orton (the latter of which is already set) for Vengeance sound fine for me.

Post match the announcers talk about how impressive was that Jericho overcame a concussion to win here. If he had one, he certainly didn’t act like it.

Video on Kane announcing that Lita’s baby is his, wrecking Matt Hardy’s marriage proposal in the process. That’s such a horrible move and I love it. Lita’s crying line of “but the baby might be yours” makes it even better.

Flair comes up to HHH and asks about Eugene being an honorary member of Evolution. Flair: “It’ll kill our gimmick brother!” HHH explains the whole idea by saying that his deal with Bischoff is simple: get rid of Eugene and get a title shot at Vengeance. Flair brings up the obvious: why not just beat Eugene up right now and be done with it? Apparently HHH is going to use Eugene’s talents to get the title back. Then he’ll give Eugene what he deserves.

Now that’s more like it. The scheme is making things more complicated than they need to be and HHH is looking like a maniacal villain. Imagine that: actually explaining a crazy idea and not leaving your audience scratching your heads and hoping they just don’t ask a bunch of questions that point out all the holes in your story. HHH’s plan is pretty stupid, but it makes sense to him and that’s all that matters.

Divas Search video, this time from New York. Again, almost none of them are named, though Michelle McCool is seen.

A crying Lita can’t get in touch with Matt. Stacy Keibler comes in and asks what’s wrong. My goodness this woman gets dumber every week. Lita was trying to do what was right and explains that Kane was going to keep hurting Matt until Lita did what he wanted. She’s not sure who the father is.

JR is in the ring to interview Kane, though this time the ring is at least surrounded by cops. You know, those guys with such great track records in wrestling. Kane gets right to the point: there’s no one that is going to stop him if he decides to go after JR again. JR shrugs that off and asks about Kane attacking Shawn Michaels last week. Shawn robbed him of the World Title and since Shawn got in his way, it was time to make him suffer.

As for Lita, Kane just wanted something that he never had. He wants an offspring that he can mold to continue his legacy. Kane took every precaution to make sure Lita would get pregnant. This way Kane gets everything that he wants, including the World Title tonight. Oh yeah that’s another thing Kane has going on right now. Then in eight months, he gets to be a father.

JR brings up the chance that Lita’s baby is Matt so violence is imminent, only to have Matt run in for the save. Bischoff has to tell security to break it up. Matt gets dragged away and Bischoff says the main event isn’t being ruined. Since it’s so unfair to Kane, we’ll change the rules a bit. Tonight, Benoit has to win by submission only but Kane can win by pinfall, submission, countout or DQ. Kane has another evil smile.

William Regal vs. HHH

This is Regal’s first match in over a year and Eugene is guest referee. HHH drives him into the corner to start so Regal takes over with a hammerlock. Regal kicks away on the mat like a true villain should but Eugene asking for a clean break allows HHH to get in a right hand. Back up and Regal slugs away with HHH doing a faceplant. An exploder suplex gets two but Flair throws in some brass knuckles. Regal clocks HHH and takes them away but Eugene disqualifies him before he can actually use the knuckles. Eugene: “You weren’t supposed to do that!”

Rating: D. The wrestling wasn’t the point here as it was more about the angle advancement, which is starting to make me wonder. Eugene is already starting to feel like he’s in over his head here and if this all ends with HHH getting a definitive pin over Eugene, it’s going to be a bad idea at the end of the day.

Post match HHH shoves Regal into Eugene, sending him into a rage with a beatdown on Regal. HHH and Flair calm things down and Regal is left laying.

Sgt. Slaughter/Rhyno vs. La Resistance

Non-title. This is the last show before the 4^th of July so it’s as good as we can get. Slaughter is looking very lean here compared to some of his recent appearances. Rhyno is ready to fight early on and shrugs off some Conway chops. A hard shoulder puts Conway down but Grenier gets in a cheap shot from behind.

Slaughter is drawn in so the double teaming can continue, which you would think he would see coming. A neckbreaker gets two on Rhyno and we hit the chinlock. Rhyno fights up and hits a belly to belly, allowing the how tag off to Slaughter for the house cleaning. The Cobra Clutch is broken up but Conway makes the save with a DDT. Rhyno gets shoved off the top and it’s Au Revoir to finish Slaughter.

Rating: D+. All things considered, this was just a step beneath a miracle. Slaughter’s annual appearances are rarely anything to see but this was a watchable match. Having it be non-title helped a bit too as hearing that the titles are on the line makes me roll my eyes and go “this again?” more often than not. This didn’t feel as annoying and the match being a bit better helped too.

HHH tries to calm Eugene down but then brings up Benoit hitting him in the head with a chair last week. Then Regal shoved him down, even though Eugene didn’t do anything wrong. Kane chokeslammed him too. They hurt him, but Evolution will never hurt him. As much as the plan is convoluted, HHH has been nailing the acting part and comes off as totally evil.

Diva Search. Some made it, some didn’t, one was Michelle McCool.

Vengeance rundown. Jericho vs. Batista is confirmed.

Coach and Bischoff are in the office for some exposition. Bischoff will be off next week and therefore we need a boss. Since, you know, WE MUST HAVE A BOSS! Coach won’t be in charge though because Eugene will be running the show. That actually has a lot of potential.

We look back at Benoit having to pin Kane instead of winning with the Crossface.

Smackdown Rebound featuring the Great American Bash. Haven’t we suffered enough?

Raw World Title: Kane vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit is defending and can only win by submission while Kane can win by any means. The referee holds the title upside down, which is a lot more annoying than it should be. Kane loses an early slugout so it’s time to start in on the knee. The Sharpshooter is kicked away of course but Kane misses the big elbow. Benoit can’t get the Crossface so Kane throws him over the top.

Back from a break with Benoit chopping away in the corner but getting hit in the face. They head outside with Kane posting him for a bonus. That gets nine on the floor and two in the ring as I wonder why Kane doesn’t just destroy Benoit with a chair. Benoit can’t win by DQ so Kane can’t get disqualified, so what’s stopping him? Benoit sends Kane face first into the steps and JR LOSES IT on Lawler for asking about Kane’s kid again. I haven’t heard him yell that loudly in a long time.

Back from another break with Kane holding a chinlock before kicking him in the face to cut off a comeback. The chokeslam is countered into the Crossface but Kane gets up and slams him down for the break. A Tombstone attempt is escaped and Benoit rolls the German suplexes. Benoit hits the flying headbutt and covers but the referee reminds him of the rules.

With Kane down, Benoit goes up again but has to counter a chokeslam by snapping the arm across the rope. Kane goes shoulder first into the post and the Crossface goes on again. The roll over doesn’t work as Benoit holds on, even with both of them on their backs. That actually looks even more painful than the regular version and Kane taps to retain Benoit’s title.

Rating: B-. And that’s that for Kane. I’m kind of surprised at the chemistry these two have together and the matches have been a nice showcase for Benoit. The story here was fine and Benoit was in trouble at times, but the Vengeance title match being announced made it rather clear that the title wasn’t changing hands. It’s ok to have a match with a pretty obvious ending at times though and that was the case here.

Post match Kane chokeslams Benoit but here’s a very smiley Lita. She hands the title to Kane and raises his hand before kicking him low. Kane shrugs it off and loads up a chokeslam but lets her go because of the baby. Benoit hits him with the belt and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was solid this week but I keep going back and forth on the HHH/Eugene thing. It goes against what made Eugene work but the bigger problem is it’s turned into a HHH story featuring Eugene than anything else. The performances have been very good though and the positives outweigh the negatives, which is more than you can expect in a lot of stories. It’s good for now, but I’m worried about where it might be going. The rest of the show was mostly good and nothing stood out as horrible, so I can definitely go with this after last night’s pay per view.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: November 27, 2018
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Michael Cole, Renee Young

It’s time for the playoffs, meaning we’re down to four teams left on either side. Tonight we’ll get down to the final two Raw teams and given the options we have, I’m not sure what to expect here. Well other than some bad wrestling and unfunny comedy because this show isn’t something anyone is taken seriously. Let’s get to it.

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

Raw Division Quarterfinals: Ember Moon/Curt Hawkins vs. Alicia Fox/Jinder Mahal

The women start things off with an exchange of rollups until Moon headscissors her into the corner. Mahal comes in and Moon wants to face him, knowing how worthless Hawkins really is. I mean, she’s not wrong. Mahal punches him down and slaps on a headlock takeover but Hawkins scores with a dropkick. A clothesline puts Mahal on the floor but Hawkins stops to go after the Singh Brothers, allowing Mahal to get in a shot to take over.

Back in and we hit the chinlock on Hawkins, because that’s all Mahal knows how to do. Actually I sit corrected as Mahal switches off to a cravate to show some range. And never mind as it’s right back to the chinlock, just to keep things comfortable. Hawkins fights up and sends Mahal outside for the hot tag off to Moon so the pace can pick up.

Rating: D. Well of course we’re getting more Mahal. The guy can’t even win a match on Main Event but he’s one of the final four options for the #30 spot in the Royal Rumble. Oh and make sure to push the heck out of Mahal and Fox, because it’s so wacky to have them advance this far after being a disaster in the regular season. This felt like a way to laugh at the fans and pull the rug out from them, which seems like the goal more often than not.

Asuka and Miz are ready for Naomi and Jimmy Uso next week.

Naomi and Jimmy Uso are ready for Asuka and Miz next week.

Fox and Mahal promise to win next week. Mickie James comes in and says Fox should watch this.

Raw Division Quarterfinals: Bobby Lashley/Mickie James vs. Bayley/Finn Balor

The men start things off but Lashley tags out less than a second in. That means a lot of stalling until a Lio Rush distraction lets Mickie get in a cheap shot to take over. The way too early chinlock goes on, followed by a neckbreaker for two on Bayley. We hit the bodyscissors as they don’t exactly seem interested in going full speed ahead here. Bayley gets up and it’s a double clothesline to set up the double tag.

That’s a bit of overkill as only one is needed but I guess that’s making up for the weaker effort. Balor tries to pick up the pace but gets knocked off the apron and into the announcers’ table. Since that’s only good for two, Lashley sends him outside again and mocks Braun Strowman’s run around the ring, allowing Balor to hit the Sling Blade. Mickie is right there to pull Bayley off the ropes though and there’s no tag.

Back up and Lashley misses a charge into the post, allowing the hot tag off to Bayley. A flapjack cuts her off in almost no time though and the top rope Thesz press gets two. Bayley fights out of the MickieDT but Rush breaks up her dive. Balor throws Rush outside and hits the flip dive onto both guys, leaving Bayley to grab the Bayley to Belly for the pin on James at 9:20.

Rating: C+. That’s one of the better matches of the entire season so far for the simple reason that it felt like they were trying. Instead of having a dance off or doing something stupid, you had two teams fight each other because they wanted to advance on in the competition. That hasn’t been the case for most of the season and it was very, very nice for a change.

R-Truth and Carmella are ready for Jeff Hardy and Charlotte next week.

Jeff Hardy and Charlotte are ready for R-Truth and Carmella next week.

Balor and Bayley try the Dirty Dancing lift to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The second match was much better than the first and that’s enough to make this a better show than we’ve had in a few weeks. If nothing else it’s great to have the ending in sight, because we’ve sat through this whole thing for so long that there’s no charm left to it. Hopefully the finals are good, because what we’ve gotten so far hasn’t exactly been worth seeing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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

205 Live
Date: November 21, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

We’re into a new area on this show as Buddy Murphy successfully defended the Cruiserweight Title against Mustafa Ali this Sunday at Survivor Series. That means we need a new challenger, but I can’t imagine that takes place tonight. 205 Live likes to set things up at a slightly slower pace and you never know when they’ll have their next title match anyway. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap focuses on the pretty awesome title match with Ali coming up short again. They’ve got a nice Wrestlemania moment there if they can hold out long enough.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Buddy Murphy to get things going. Buddy has a question: did you really think Mustafa Ali was going to beat him? Well it doesn’t matter because the people’s opinion doesn’t matter to him. You can’t stop the unstoppable, but here’s Tony Nese to stop him from saying anything else, albeit in a nice way.

Tony Nese vs. Noam Dar

Before the match, Dar says he’s here to make some noise in the cruiserweight division because he’s been spending so much time in NXT UK. Nese shoulders him down and poses to start, showcasing the wide variety of taunting that he has available. Dar trips him down and gets two off a backslide. A dropkick puts Nese on the floor but Murphy offers a distraction so Nese can score with a gutbuster.

Back in and a running elbow to the face gives Nese two and it’s off to the bodyscissors. Nese misses a charge though and gets kicked off the ropes so Dar can start striking away. The northern lights suplex (Alicia Fox must have taught him that) gives Dar two and it’s off to a guillotine. That’s broken up through raw power but Nese can’t German suplex him into the corner. Instead it’s a big forearm to Dar but he kicks Nese in the head and face. Murphy breaks up the Nova Roller though and Nese hits the German suplex into the corner. The running knee finishes Dar at 8:14.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t one of these better performances as both of them felt like they were going much more slowly than in recent months. Nese and Murphy aren’t the most thrilling combination in the world but I get why the champ needs a lackey. Not terrible, but a pretty forgettable match, which is worse on this show.

Mustafa Ali is hurt but it’s more mentally than physically. He wants to embrace it though, because he wants to use it to get up the next time he’s knocked down. That means he owes Murphy a thank you because now he’s going to work even harder to turn this pain into power. One day he’ll become Cruiserweight Champion. When they finally do that, it’s going to be a great moment.

Drake Maverick tells the referee to be ready for shenanigans (his word) in the main event. The referee leaves when Cedric Alexander comes in so Drake can make Alexander/Ali vs. Murphy/Nese for next week. Fair enough.

Akira Tozawa/Brian Kendrick vs. ???/???

Tozawa and Kendrick share a hesitant handshake as Drew Gulak and Jack Gallagher are watching in the back. Gallagher doesn’t think much of Kendrick aligning himself with a wailing scoundrel like Tozawa. Kendrick grabs a cravate and slaps on an armbar as the jobbers don’t even have names to start.

The backsplash gives Tozawa two and it’s time for the chops. A double big boot gives Kendrick two and it’s off to the other unnamed jobber for a Downward Spiral/kick to the back of the head combination. The first one gets in a clothesline but a spinwheel kick cuts him off. It’s back to Tozawa to clean house with the backsplash and a missile dropkick, followed by Sliced Bread #2. The top rope backsplash gives Tozawa the pin at 3:26.

Rating: C-. Tozawa and Kendrick looked good together though I can’t say I’m thrilled with the idea of seeing the two of them face Gulak and Gallagher. It hasn’t been a thrilling feud and I don’t see that getting any better when they have the tag match. Maybe a stipulation could help, but it’s just not all that interesting.

Murphy and Nese aren’t worried about the tag match as Murphy has beaten both Alexander and Ali by himself.

Hideo Itami is back next week.

Gran Metalik vs. TJP

The pinatas are multiplying. TJP has Mike and Maria Kanellis with him and the guys all have House Party masks. Drake Maverick isn’t having that though and ejects everyone but TJP and Metalik. Metalik wastes no time in hitting a big flip dive to the floor and throws TJP back in, only to have him roll back outside. Back in and a reverse Sling Blade has TJP in trouble until he slaps on something like a half crab Scorpion Deathlock.

Now it’s TJP hitting a big dive of his own but comes up favoring his ankle. The leg is fine enough to hit a belly to back suplex for two and it’s off to the chinlock. That goes nowhere so TJP hits a gutbuster for two instead. The Muta Lock goes on as TJP is going all over on Metalik here. Metalik finally grabs a rope to get out of the leglock so TJP gives it until four before the break. That’s what a smart heel should be doing and he’s rather good at what he does.

TJP heads up but gets kicked in the head, setting up a dropkick to the back for two. The moonsault hits feet though and TJP grabs a Batista Bomb. Metalik is right back with the rope walk dropkick for two of his own and a hurricanrana off the apron in a cool looking spot. Back in and the Metalik Driver sets up the top rope elbow but TJP reverses into the kneebar. Metalik makes the rope so TJP goes after the pinata. You just don’t do that and it’s a sunset flip to finish TJP at 9:26.

Rating: C+. Nice match here with Metalik being on his own offering a good idea. You can only get so far with the three faces having the advantage so it was a smart move to push Metalik on his own for a change. He’s talented enough to have a good match and that’s what we got here. It also helps when TJP can work well with anyone.

Post match Maria comes out, losing it on Maverick, but it’s a distraction so Mike can come in with the chair to the House Party. The beatdown is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a show mainly focused on the midcarders and that’s not the worst thing in the world. You have to give this level some attention every now and then. It makes them mean more later on as otherwise it feels like nothing but filler. It’s an investment in the future and we happened to get a fine show as a result. Nothing wrong with that and the stories were advanced just enough here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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

Main Event
Date: November 22, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

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

Opening sequence.

Ember Moon vs. Alicia Fox

Fox flips her down to start but Moon is right back up, much to Fox’s annoyance. A headscissors has Moon in more trouble and there’s a shot to the face for bad measure. Back up and Moon charges into some boots in the corner, followed by a hair pull to the mat. There’s a flipping neckbreaker as Fox is getting in way more offense than I would have expected. The chinlock goes on with Moon being pulled back down by the hair. Moon makes the comeback with some flying forearms but Fox gets two off a big boot. Ember hits Wade Barrett’s spinning suplex out of the corner, followed by the Eclipse for the pin at 5:38.

Rating: C-. Better match than you would have guessed here as Moon sold a lot, even though it was for Fox. The comeback wasn’t exactly in doubt and the Eclipse looked good as always. That’s all you need from a match like this and considering what it probably should have been, we’ll call this a nice surprise.

Highlights of Charlotte snapping on Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series, which wasn’t a heel turn in this modern wrestling world.

From Raw.

Here’s Rousey for a chat. She knows she’s defending the title against Nia Jax at TLC and knows how dangerous Jax is. Just look at what happened to Becky’s face. At TLC, Nia is tapping out and then the next chapter of Rousey is being written. She’s not out here to get sympathy because that’s not what a champion does. A champion is ready to fight at all times or they step aside. The fans chant for Becky but Rousey says this is her worst day. She wants to defend the title right now though because she’s a champion.

And from Smackdown.

Here’s Charlotte to get things going. Charlotte is very proud of what she did on Sunday and some of the fans don’t seem to mind. Rousey is moving around a little more slowly since Sunday because Charlotte was fighting for everyone in the back. She was fighting for Becky Lynch, who wanted Rousey to take the beating of her life. Well mission accomplished, because Rousey bowed down to the queen.

Cue Paige, to remind Charlotte that Rousey is coming for her soon enough. Charlotte shoved a bunch of referees on Sunday so it’s going to be a $100,000 fine. This brings out the IIconics, who know they’re Paige’s favorite. They want the $100,000 (It’s not a bounty.) so Charlotte will fight one of them right now.

Charlotte vs. Billie Kay

Charlotte sends her outside to start but a Peyton Royce distraction lets Billie get in a big boot to take over. Some right hands keep Charlotte in trouble but she’s right back up with a few shots of her own. Natural Selection finishes Kay at 3:14.

Rating: D. Well what else are you supposed to say about that? Charlotte seemingly turned heel on Sunday and now she’s squashing a heel jobber here. I’m sure this is exactly what WWE had planned and makes perfect sense if you squint hard enough, but I’m still trying to get over Charlotte fighting for Becky, who she hated just a few weeks ago.

Post match Charlotte tells Peyton to get in here but she’d rather leave.

Charlotte vs. Peyton Royce

So much for that. Joined in progress with Peyton hitting some knees to the face for two each and we hit the chinlock. Kay offers a distraction but Charlotte cuts Peyton off with a big boot. That’s enough to draw Kay in for the DQ at 1:48.

Post match the IIconics take her to the floor and grab a chair but Charlotte spears both of them down and rams them into the announcers’ table over and over. Charlotte knees them in the head and throws them over the table before posing a bit. I have no idea where we are right now. Is Charlotte a heel when she’s fighting Rousey but a face when she’s back on Smackdown? Am I missing something?

From Smackdown again.

Here’s Daniel Bryan for a chat. Speaking in the third person, Bryan says he gave up on his dreams three years ago and betrayed himself when he retired. The difference between Bryan and the people is he doesn’t give up and accept failure. He decided to fight and went to every doctor he could find and spent three hours inside a hyperbolic chamber every day. The healing worked but it also allowed him to meditate on his mantra of “fight for your dreams and your dreams will fight for you.” And it worked!

How else can you explain the miracle of him being able to return to the ring? He heard the loudest YES chants ever and it was a great moment. For these people though, it was just a moment because they weren’t there for the struggle and the pain. They weren’t there for everyone telling him to move on. The people were the only ones who moved on and you can hear it as these idiots chant for AJ Styles.

Bryan calls them fickle and says last week, Bryan’s dreams took over like they were programmed to do and kicked AJ low. Bryan’s dreams told him that he didn’t need to beat Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series because he won when Brock beat the weakness out of him. There would be a new emergence after that match because the old Bryan, the one that these people loved, is dead. The YES Movement is dead and all that’s left is Daniel Bryan: WWE Champion. All that matters is that you never give up on your dreams. He goes to leave but has the announcer say he is the NEW Daniel Bryan.

It’s going to take some time to see how this sticks, but I think I can go with it for now. The problem of course is the fans cheering Bryan anyway because he’s going to be great in this role, but WWE has pretty clearly given up on the concepts of faces and heels so you can’t exactly expect anything else.

We look at Braun Strowman’s elbow being destroyed on Raw.

Apollo Crews vs. Jinder Mahal

Rematch from Raw, in case you didn’t think Mahal could slide further down the ladder. Mahal shoves him into the corner to start but stops to breathe. Apollo flips up though and does a little breathing of his own. A kick to the gut slows Crews down so he pops up with a back elbow to the jaw.

That means the over the top dive to take Mahal out again and we take a break. Back with Mahal grabbing the chinlock for a long time until Crews fights up. That means a jumping clothesline but Mahal kicks him in the face. Not that it matters as Crews hits the jumping enziguri, followed by the gorilla press and standing moonsault for the pin at 9:33.

Rating: D. There was too much chinlockery in there but it’s not like Mahal has anything else to do. It says a lot when Crews has clearly surpassed you but it seems that reality has finally set in on the whole Mahal mess. Thankfully WWE has finally caught up on what everyone else knew over a year ago, but that doesn’t make up for what we had to deal with last year.

And from Raw to close things out.

Overall Rating: C. This was a step up from the usual Main Event with the right selection of highlights. There was a lot going on over the course of the week and this show covered just about every big thing going on. Couple that with Mahal losing all over again and this show brings a nice smile to my face.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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

Starrcade 2018
Date: November 25, 2018
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

This is something that could range from interesting to head scratching. Last night, WWE held a big house show featuring stars from both shows under the name of Starrcade. The show ran about three and a half hours and tonight we’re seeing a one hour version with some special moments and matches selected. Let’s get to it.

Note that I was in the arena for the show so this will be my second time seeing it. You can check out a full set of results right here.

We open with Elias playing a little song. He knows it can’t get better than having him here but he’s willing to try with a special guest. That would be Ric Flair, who puts Elias over as a big deal. Elias thinks they need to sing a son off his album and asks people to silence their cell phones, but here are Nia Jax, Mickie James, Tamina and Alicia Fox to cut them off. Nia says they want to walk with him and Flair is rather pleased.

Flair calls them all beautiful and Elias sings some of Elias’ Words. Even Flair gets in a few lines and dances a bit until Nia screeches out a line, much to the fans’ annoyance. Fox starts dancing but Elias calms them down. Elias tells Nia to shut her mouth, but he’s got some friends to do it for him. This was HEAVILY edited as the full version ran nearly twenty minutes as opposed to the ten it got here.

Nia Jax/Tamina/Mickie James/Alicia Fox vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks/Ember Moon/Dana Brooke

Ember and Mickie start things off with both going for the arm until Ember hits the spinning middle rope crossbody for two. Brooke comes in for the handspring elbow and the cartwheel moonsault for a near fall of her own. It’s off to Bayley to a nice reaction, sending Mickie over to Tamina for some hiding. Tamina comes in properly and crushes Bayley in the corner before sending her to the apron. That earns Tamina a Stunner over the middle rope but Nia sneaks in to run Bayley over for two.

The rapid fire tags in the corner allow Fox to grab a chinlock before Jax does the same. Bayley sends Jax into her partners though and that’s enough for the hot tag to Banks. Everything breaks down and Moon hits the Eclipse on Tamina, followed by Brooke’s high crossbody to Mickie’s knees. Jax gets taken down and Bayley drops a top rope elbow to the back, leaving Fox to get caught in the Bank Statement for the tap at 6:53.

Rating: C-. Perfectly fine opener here that didn’t overstay its welcome and played off a fun opening segment. Banks and Bayley were very over with the live crowd and anything that involved Jax taking a beating was getting a strong reaction. Now if only Bayley and Banks were allowed to do anything interesting, or even different, from week to week.

Samoa Joe says the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Some might say Joe has been insane, but others might think AJ has been because AJ has taken beating after beating. The real definition of insanity is walking into a cage with Joe and expecting to walk out at all.

Here’s Miz for MizTV, starting off with a discussion of some great Starrcade matches from years gone by. One such match was for the US Title, which will be on the line tonight. That includes Rey Mysterio, who comes out in a neck brace thanks to Randy Orton on Smackdown and Shinsuke Nakamura, who looks weird in all blue. Miz asks Rey what it means for Rey to be here and we hear some Starrcade legends name dropping.

Rey wants to take a piece of history with him, like the US Title. Nakamura doesn’t quite get the idea of Starrcade but eventually clarifies that he doesn’t care about the show or Rey. He loved watching Orton go evil on Rey and Miz agrees, so Rey tells him to shut up. Rey invites Nakamura to get evil right now but Miz runs his mouth again, this time for a distraction so Nakamura can jump Rey to start us off.

US Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rey Mysterio

Nakamura is defending and rips the neck brace off to start fast with the knees to the neck. Kinshasa is countered into a rollup for two but Nakamura blasts him down again. Rey is put on the corner for the running knee to the ribs but kicks Nakamura down. That sets up a missed dive which takes out Miz instead and I think you know where this is going. The springboard seated senton drops Nakamura, only to have Miz come in for the DQ at 2:11.

Post match the beatdown is on until Rusev makes the save. Lana is out with him and wants a tag match right now.

Rusev/Rey Mysterio vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/The Miz

The villains tease leaving to start but get thrown back in so we can start properly. Nakamura breaks up an early 619 to Miz and cranks on a cravate to Rey’s bad neck. Rey gets sent outside for some cheap shots from Miz and it’s right back to the neck cranking. A kick to the face finally gets Rey out of trouble and an enziguri is enough for the hot tag to Rusev.

Everything breaks down in a hurry and there’s the Machka Kick for two on Miz with Nakamura making the save. Another distraction lets Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale for two but Rey is right back up with a double 619. The jumping superkick is enough to put Miz away at 6:05.

Rating: C. All it was missing was Alfred Hayes and Sean Mooney calling it a Coliseum Video exclusive. This was a rather random tag match that worked just fine, even though it didn’t get a ton of time. There’s nothing wrong with that of course and the wrestling worked perfectly fine for what it was. I don’t need to see either of them team together again, but at least it was fun.

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles

In a cage. Joe goes right at him to start and drives AJ into the corner but some kicks to the leg have Joe in trouble. AJ starts driving him into the corner as well, this time for some shoulders to the ribs. Back up and Joe faceplants him before starting the whips into the cage, which you had to know were coming. A running forearm drives AJ into the cage and a back elbow gets two.

It’s too early for Joe to leave so Joe slams him out of the corner instead. The corner enziguri rocks AJ again for two but Joe misses a charge into the cage to give AJ a shot. AJ’s moonsault out of the corner into the reverse DDT gets two, even with Joe’s foot on the ropes because that doesn’t matter in a cage match. Well not in this one at least as that rule changes depending on how the referee is feeling at the time.

Joe ducks the Phenomenal Forearm and plants AJ again for a double knockdown. It’s time to fight next to the door but Joe misses another charge and gets caught with a tornado DDT. That’s good for two and AJ is sent face first into the cage again, setting up the backsplash for two. AJ charges into a Rock Bottom out of the corner but Joe takes too much time going for the door, allowing AJ to get in a chop block. The Calf Crusher makes Joe tap at 11:54.

Rating: B-. Good match here, but were you expecting anything else from these two? They could have a good match in their sleep so having them do it inside a cage isn’t exactly shocking. AJ winning makes complete sense as it’s not like this match means much in the first place and he’s won almost everything in the whole feud now anyway. As solid as these two are against each other, Joe really needs to move on to someone else, just to avoid losing any more.

Overall Rating: C+. Well it was fun while it lasted, but the whole thing ran three and a half hours as opposed to this one only getting fifty seven minutes. Given that it’s the WWE Network, you would think they could just air the full show, especially since they were already filming the thing anyway. What we got was good, but there was a lot of other rather entertaining stuff that was left out for reasons I still don’t quite get. Anyway, fun little show, but nothing worth going out of your way to see.

Results

Bayley/Sasha Banks/Dana Brooke/Ember Moon b. Tamina/Nia Jax/Alicia Fox/Mickie James – Bank Statement to Fox

Rey Mysterio b. Shinsuke Nakamura via DQ when Miz interfered

Rusev/Rey Mysterio b. Shinsuke Nakamura/The Miz – Jumping superkick to Miz

AJ Styles b. Samoa Joe – Calf Crusher

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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