Thursday would have been Randy Savage’s Birthday and WWE knew it.  Therefore, I present you with 80s Savage greatness.

This is the kind of talent that no one has anymore, or really ever for that matter. Savage was one of a kind and you just knew it looking at him. All those props he brought in and all the insanity where he just never had an off switch. That’s the kind of guy where you just instantly see a star and that’s what Savage was. Check him out and watch as much as you can of him. He’s one of the few guys that I’ve grown to appreciate SO much more since I started reviewing wrestling because the talent is so off the charts.

So I haven’t been a fan of Mixed Match Challenge this season but this should make it a lot more interesting.https://www.wwe.com/wwe-mmc-winners-to-receive-rumble-opportunity-and-trip-anywhere-in-the-world

The official prize for the winners is getting to be the #30 entrants in both Royal Rumble matches (and a vacation each).  See, now that’s the kind of thing that makes this feel important.  It was cool to have the winners’ charity get money last time, but this is something that is going to have an impact on the big stories.  Of course it also limits the realistic winners, but it’s nice to see something that actually matters come out of this.  I’m pleased, though not as pleased as I’ll be when this thing is finally over.

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: November 8, 2018
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, Arena
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’ve got one more show in England and things have been, shall we say, really pretty dull so far. I’m not sure what we’ll be seeing in the way of highlights but it would be nice to have a few British wrestlers around on the show, just to give things a little bit of flavor. Or they could go with the same stuff we always see around here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tyler Breeze vs. Mojo Rawley

So much for fun. Mojo clotheslines him down at the bell and sends Breeze hard into the corner for a running shoulder to the ribs. Breeze gets sent into the corner again and that means the chinlock goes on. The comeback is cut off by another chinlock but Breeze fights up with a superkick this time.

The middle rope crossbody is rolled through, only to have Breeze slip out of a fall away slam and grab a half crab. That means the dramatic crawl to the ropes so Breeze superkicks him off the apron. Back in and Mojo charges into a raised boot to the face, allowing Breeze to go up. This time the high crossbody is rolled through again but Breeze rolls it over again for the pin at 5:04.

Rating: C. Not too shabby at all here, especially considering how many times these two have probably had the same match. Rawley’s career is as alive as my chances to be Miss Nevada 1974 and while Breeze is still good, it’s clear that WWE doesn’t want him for anything more than this until Breezango can reform, because Heaven forbid they let him be the character or performer that worked so well in NXT. You know, where they developed him.

From Raw.

The roster is on the stage and there are security guards at ringside as Baron Corbin comes out. After some clips of Brock Lesnar winning the Universal Title again (just go with it), Corbin talks about Survivor Series and lists off some of the upcoming matches. In addition to just winning for pride though, Raw has a score to settle because Shane McMahon stole the title of Best in the World from Dolph Ziggler. Don’t worry though, because Stephanie McMahon will be here next week to deal with that (You knew it was coming.).

As for the men’s Survivor Series match, Corbin has named himself as captain, meaning he won’t be in the actual match. Therefore, he has to put together a great team, which will start with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. Another member is Braun Strowman, who might not be happy with Corbin right now. We’ll call Crown Jewel a teaching moment though and Strowman will learn soon enough.

As for the women’s Survivor Series match, the captain will be picking the full team, so here’s Alexa Bliss. She’ll use her leadership as a five time Women’s Champion to pick her team tonight, starting with the Riott Squad vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks/Natalya. Cue Kurt Angle to say he wants to compete again this year, just like last year when he lead Team Raw to victory.

Corbin doesn’t think so because Angle needs to be permanently gone from the show. They reach an agreement: tonight Angle vs. Corbin with the winner getting to be the captain. Angle leaves and Bliss tells the women to get ready but here’s Strowman to storm the ring. Security is dispatched in all of five seconds and Corbin runs off. The roster goes after Strowman as well but he gets through them all while everyone else brawls. In the back, Strowman can’t find Corbin. This ends Exposition Theater, as we fly towards Survivor Series as fast as possible.

From Raw.

Drew McIntyre vs. Kurt Angle

If Angle wins, he’s team captain at Survivor Series. Angle jumps him before the bell but McIntyre blasts him with a headbutt. We hit the armbar, which might actually cause Angle’s arm to come off his body. A neckbreaker sets up a second armbar but Angle pops up with an Angle Slam to put McIntyre on the floor.

Back from a break with McIntyre hitting a suplex and putting on a third armbar. McIntyre picks him up…..and the armbar goes on again. Angle fights out of it (probably due to familiarity) and rolls the German suplexes. The Claymore kicks Angle’s head off….and Drew doesn’t cover. OH MY GOODNESS JUST END THE SHOW ALREADY!!! Angle goes for the leg but Drew pounds him down and glares at him again.

To really show off, Drew sticks his leg out so Angle lunches again, earning himself another beatdown. Drew calls Angle an embarrassment and now the ankle lock goes on. The hold is kicked off and Drew gives him an Angle Slam before sitting in the middle of the ring instead of covering. Drew puts him in an ankle lock with the grapevine and Kurt taps at 14:36.

Rating: D. They had an idea here with McIntyre wanting to humiliate Angle but egads how many times can we see Old Man Angle get beaten down like this? It wasn’t really interesting the first time and this was a long match to end an already awful show. This was much more about the storytelling than the wrestling and Drew played the heel well, but it was the wrong place and the wrong time.

From Smackdown.

Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe

The winner is on the team and Miz and Bryan are on commentary. Joe goes straight at Hardy in the corner to start and even shouts trash talk at Bryan. Jeff is right back up and tries the Twist of Fate but Joe bails to the floor. Back in and Joe runs him over with an elbow and we take a break. We come back with Joe peppering him with right hands in the corner and the enziguri getting two.

The neck crank keeps Jeff in trouble until Joe takes him outside for a whip into the barricade. This serves as a backdrop for Bryan and Miz’s latest argument, meaning they ignore Jeff walking the barricade for the clothesline. Back in and the basement dropkick gets two on Joe, followed by the Twisting Stunner. The Swanton hits knees (in a great looking crash) and Hardy taps to the Clutch at 9:27.

Rating: C-. This was just going through the motions until the ending and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially given the story here. Joe is the better choice for the spot here, though that landing on the Swanton alone should give Jeff something. Maybe a nice back brace or a full body cast at this point.

Post match Joe talks more trash to Bryan and the fight is on. Miz breaks it up so Bryan beats him up as well, only to have Shane come in for the save. Bryan flips him over, not realizing who it was. Shane is incensed as Bryan walks off to end the show.

Recap of the old man tag match at Crown Jewel. Why did you have to bring that up again?

Revival vs. Chad Gable/Bobby Roode

In case you didn’t get enough of these two on Raw. I’ll let you figure out who I mean. Dawson headlocks Gable to start and gets headscissored down in one of the moves Gable always nails to near perfection. Roode comes in to drop a knee on a monkey flipped Dawson but Wilder trips him up from the floor. That means a double headbutt to Roode and the drop toehold sets up a running legdrop to the back of the head.

Roode gets chinlocked but is fine enough to send Dawson into the corner. There’s the hot tag off to Gable so things can pick up, including a rolling Liger kick to Dawson. Everything breaks down and a double clothesline puts the Revival on the floor as we take a break. Back with Gable in trouble in the corner as the Revival stomp away, followed by a Gory Stretch from Wilder.

Gable slips out but Dawson runs in for the save, meaning a slingshot suplex for two. Wilder adds some long form chinlockery until Gable can send him outside. Now the hot tag brings in Roode and it’s time for clotheslines and a spinebuster. The Blockbuster to Dawson sets up a moonsault for two with Wilder having to make a save. Roode gets sent outside, leaving Gable to try Rolling Chaos Theory on Dawson. Wilder makes a blind tag though and it’s the Shatter Machine for the pin at 11:26.

Rating: B-. That’s the best Main Event match in what feels like years with both teams looking great and a hot finish. Every now and then you’ll see some people go out there and work hard and that’s what happened here. I had a really good time with this one and never would have guessed that coming in. I’ll always take a surprise like this and I’m almost stunned at how good it was.

And one more time from Raw.

Here’s Seth Rollins, with both Tag Team Titles, for a chat. He knows the three titles look a little weird but it was supposed to be three titles and a big trophy. That brings him to Lesnar, who is slapping everyone in the face by holding Roman Reigns’ title. He would tell Lesnar that to his face, but Lesnar isn’t here tonight. Seth: “Shocker, I know.”

Dean Ambrose is here tonight though and Seth wants him right here in his face. Ambrose isn’t here though and that means Rollins can’t defend the Tag Team Titles by himself. Corbin pops up on screen and, after telling his guys to barricade the door, makes a title match for right now.

Tag Team Titles: AOP vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins is defending and starts with Akam, who drives him into the wrong corner. Rezar comes in and blasts Rollins with a clothesline as the numbers are already becoming a problem. Back from a break with Rollins fighting out of a chinlock but getting taken down and pummeled without much effort. The Last Chapter is broken up and Rezar is clotheslined to the floor for a suicide dive.

Back in and Akam is sent outside for a double suicide dive in a rather nice hope spot. A Sling Blade hits Rezar back inside and it’s time to stomp the foot. Drake Maverick offers a distraction but the side slam/middle rope stomp is broken up. Rollins knees Rezar in the face and hits the frog splash for two but the stomp is countered into a heck of a powerbomb. The powerbomb/neckbreaker gives us new champions at 9:47.

Rating: C. They had to do something with the titles and putting the titles on these monsters is as good of an idea as they had. Rollins made a go of it though and that was far more entertaining than I was expecting. AOP will be fine and can run through some teams until someone finally derails them. Not a bad match here, with Rollins trying as hard as he could.

Post match here’s Ambrose to say Rollins wants to know why. Rollins asks why and gets hit with Dirty Deeds.

Overall Rating: C+. Who would have thought that Gable and Roode would have been able to power a show this far? The stuff from earlier in the week wasn’t great but some of the more eventful stuff was at least interesting enough to make most of it work. There actually is a way to make this show work and they pulled off a pretty good one here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown 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

They had a nice little sense of humor here and you don’t get that often enough.  Though some of the lines in here are so WWE-ized it’s amazing.

And of course it’s WWE Champion.  I’d get too bored sitting around otherwise.  And I hate red.

IMG Credit: WWE

Saturday Night’s Main Event #10
Date: March 14, 1987
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 21,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura

This show is all about Hogan vs. Andre and everything else is just kind of going on in the background. The company is rolling right now though and it’s all going to pay off in the Silverdome soon after this. It’s very interesting that they’re running this show basically in the same city as Wrestlemania just about a month before the big show. Let’s get to it.

Hogan has no friends in the battle royal but knows he’s in there himself. All he wants to do is get even with Andre the Giant and that’s the only reason he’s in this match. It’s going to be just the two of them and Hogan will get what he wants.

Heenan says Andre is the best.

Elizabeth explains the stipulations for Savage vs. Steele: the winner gets the title and her.

The Hart Foundation say it’s their first defense on this show but it’s going to be Santana and Spivey’s last time period.

Jake Roberts and Damien will be feasting on 400lbs of King Kong Bundy.

Opening sequence.

Jesse says Vince looks like the Penguin from Batman.

Hogan says he lives in the danger zone and he’ll face Andre anyplace anytime. It doesn’t matter if every member of the Heenan Family comes after him at once, he’s getting his hands on Andre.

We recap Savage vs. Steele, which we covered last time. Steele loves Elizabeth but it’s really just a background story for Savage vs. Steamboat. Of note here, the wrestlers now have customized graphics, such as Savage’s saying Macho Man underneath a picture of his signature sunglasses.

Elizabeth says she’s scared but Savage says he’ll win. Okerlund says Elizabeth has to go out last due to some rules. Savage: “Well rules are made to be broken. LIKE YOUR NECK!”

After Savage’s entrance, Steele comes up to Elizabeth and says “George! Manager! BYE BYE!”

Intercontinental Title: George Steele vs. Randy Savage

Winner take all. Before we get the bell, we get our fourth separate segment with Elizabeth in the first ten minutes, with Gene wishing her luck. Elizabeth is sitting in a chair at ringside like a lifeguard. George goes over to her but Savage jumps him from behind to get things going. He immediately tries to take Elizabeth to the back but Steamboat is waiting on him.

The distraction lets George get in a shot from behind as the match really gets going. Savage goes face first into the buckle and takes a blind swing at the referee. Naturally Steele stops to eat a turnbuckle. The champ uses the distraction to knee Steele in the back and nail the top rope ax handle. Steele just bites the arm and chokes Savage in the air but again goes for a turnbuckle. This time he shoves the stuffing in Randy’s face, only to go outside and look at Elizabeth. Savage sends him into the barricade and knocks Elizabeth’s chair onto the Animal for the countout win.

Rating: D. I’m sick of these two fighting as they had a ridiculous three matches on the first ten episodes of this series. Thankfully this would be it for these two as Savage would go after Steamboat full time after this. Steele would have been easier to sit through if he mixed things up every now and then but it was always the same thing.

Steele takes the title belt and finds a poster of Elizabeth as a consolation prize.

Hogan is warming up and keeps saying the name of someone in the battle royal with every other name being Andre.

Heenan and Andre say the Giant will win.

Battle Royal

Hillbilly Jim, Ron Bass, Sika, Haku, Tama, Lanny Poffo, Hercules, Butch Reed, Paul Orndorff, Billy Jack Haynes, Koko B. Ware, Nikolai Volkoff, Blackjack Mulligan, Ax, Smash, Honky Tonk Man, Jim Brunzell, B. Brian Blair, Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan

You should know most of these people. Sika’s sons are Rosey and Roman Reigns. Haku and Tama, collectively known as the Islanders, are actually faces here. Reed is a power guy who was around for a few years but never really did much. Billy Jack Hayes was around even less time and accomplished even less. Demolition and Honky Tonk Man are both newcomers. The announcers make no secret of the fact that this is all about Hogan vs. Andre.

Everyone gangs up on Hogan to start but some guys go after Andre instead. Hogan fights back and dumps Honky Tonk Man before Andre does the same to Sika. Andre dumps Sika before hitting a massive headbutt on Poffo to bust him open, followed by a quick elimination. Hogan fights back as Poffo is taken out on a stretcher with pools of blood underneath him. Things settle down a bit as the ring has cleared out a little. Bass gets eliminated by Hogan and Andre does the same to Mulligan.

Hogan dumps Volkoff as we’re just waiting for the clash of the titans. Andre gets rid of Blair before stepping on Koko’s face. Orndorff and Hercules (now minus the Hernandez) whip Hogan across the ring and HERE WE GO. Hogan runs right into Andre and the fight is on. A few right hands stagger Andre but Orndorff and Demolition come over to break it up. Hogan dumps Orndorff but a single headbutt from Andre is enough to knock Hogan out and stun the crowd. We stop for a slow motion replay with a focus on Andre’s sneer at Hogan on the floor.

After a break we come back with Hogan still leaving. Andre tells him to come back for more and literally swats Koko away without even looking at him. Brunzell quickly gets tossed but everyone left gets together and dumps Andre. Hercules dumps Tama and Ax is gone a second later. Smash tosses Jim out and we’re down to Smash, Hercules, Koko, Reed and Haynes. Koko dropkicks Reed out, setting up their Wrestlemania III match.

Haynes goes after Smash and Hercules stomps Ware down in the corner. Pure power dumps Koko and we’re down to three. A double clothesline puts Haynes down but he nails a clothesline of his own to eliminate Smash. Heenan gets on the apron for a distraction and Hercules puts Billy Jack out for the win.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much good here but it’s rare to hear a crowd come to life like they did when Hogan and Andre went at it. It was clear that that match was going to be huge but I don’t think anyone realized just how big. Hercules winning is more of a footnote than anything else as the interest just died after the two big names were gone. To be fair though they wrapped it up in a hurry after Andre was eliminated.

Andre says it took eight men to eliminate him but it took one giant to get rid of Hogan. Heenan comes in and brags about Andre’s success before declaring him the next Heavyweight Champion of the World. Bobby never mentioned Hercules whatsoever.

Jake says he and Damien will always be at the top of the food chain.

Jake Roberts vs. King Kong Bundy

Roberts tries to work on the arm to start and Bundy runs from the snake bag. Things settle back down with Bundy going to a standing armbar but Jake kicks the knee out to escape. Bundy goes to a test of strength and easily takes the Snake down for some near falls, only to have Jake go right back to the knee to get out again. A front facelock has a more lasting effect on Roberts but Jake slithers out and drills Bundy with a knee lift.

Jake goes for the bag, only to have Bundy drag him back to the middle of the ring and Heenan steals the bag. We take a break and come back with Roberts walking down the aisle with the snake bag, making Heenan’s actions fairly pointless. Jake sidesteps a big charge and Bundy hits the buckle hard. Some right hands and clotheslines put Bundy down but the referee stops Jake from going for the bag, earning a knee to the ribs for the DQ.

Rating: C. This was much better than I was expecting until the fairly lame ending. Jake was so smart in the ring and even acted like a snake, right down to the slithering around. I was surprised by how good the chemistry was here, especially when the match was looking like a filler.

Jake plants Bundy with the DDT and tries to get the snake, only to be tackled by the referee. Vince: “Put the snake on the referee!” That’s exactly what Jake does because he listens to his boss.

We see crooked referee Danny Davis costing the British Bulldogs the Tag Team Titles back in January.

The Hart Foundation introduces Danny Davis as their official ringside observer, whatever that means.

Tag Team Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Dan Spivey/Tito Santana

The Harts are defending and Davis cost Santana his Intercontinental Title over a year ago in another questionable decision. Spivey is a tall guy who looks a lot like Barry Windham (so much that he replaced Windham when he left the US Express). He takes Neidhart down with a headlock to start but a big clothesline drops Spivey right back. Off to Bret vs. Santana, which should be awesome.

Unfortunately it only lasts a few seconds before Spivey comes back in for a shoulder. The Harts take over on Dan though with Neidhart dropping him throat first across the top rope. Bret chokes against the rope and gets two off a middle rope elbow. Off to a front facelock from Bret, of course drawing in Neidhart so the referee misses Spivey’s tag to Santana.

Bret misses a charge into Neidhart, allowing Tito to come in off the real hot tag. Santana cleans house with his flying forearm to both Harts before putting Bret in the Figure Four. The other two are still fighting though, allowing Davis to nail Santana with the megaphone to give Bret the pin.

Rating: D+. This was decent while it lasted but there was no way we were getting new champions here. Spivey wasn’t much of a partner as he couldn’t even neutralize the likes of Danny Davis. The tag division was about to take off and once the Harts started getting some better competition, they never looked back.

Ricky Steamboat says his fire is getting hotter and hotter, even if people go after his injured throat.

Iron Sheik vs. Ricky Steamboat

Savage comes out to yell at Steamboat before sitting in on commentary. Sheik uses the distraction to hammer Ricky down but the Dragon skins the cat and suplexes Sheik down. As Ricky slaps on a front facelock, Savage stays on a rant about how none of this would work on him because he’s the best in the world. A suplex puts Ricky down and Savage swears he would have gotten a pin right there. Sheik puts on an abdominal stretch but Steamboat hiptosses out and nails a top rope chop for the pin.

Rating: D+. The match didn’t have a ton of time but Savage’s commentary carried the whole thing. They’ve done a great job of keeping these two apart before they finally get to destroy each other in about two weeks. Savage’s commentary was great here as he can say all these things but we know he’s capable of backing them up. Fun match but not very good if that makes sense.

Savage and Steamboat yell at each other.

Hogan is distraught about the loss and says Andre cheated. He doesn’t actually say how but he swears it happened. Hogan thinks Andre must have cheated in every win of fifteen years, apparently because Hogan has never watched an Andre match. He has the big man upstairs in his corner and there’s no way Andre can beat him at Wrestlemania III.

Roddy Piper is retiring after Wrestlemania III and is humbled by having a tribute video made for him. Wrestling kept him out of jail when he was a kid, but he’s going to Hollywood to give it all he’s got. We see the tribute video, set to Frank Sinatra’s My Way, which really is an appropriate song.

The standard recap ends the show.

Overall Rating: D. This was one of the weaker shows in the series, but it’s only there to set up Wrestlemania III, which was already set in stone by this point. Piper’s tribute is good stuff, even though at least half the clips were from the previous Saturday Night’s Main Events. The company is about to explode even more than it already has and the next few months and years will be outstanding stuff.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown 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

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: November 6, 2018
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Renee Young

The series that never ends continues with the British edition. This show is really is really starting to feel the weight of its fourteen week schedule and that’s becoming a major problem. The issue is the lack of any real drama to most of the matches, plus the formula the show has settle into using every single week. I would say I have hope but that’s just not the case. Let’s get to it.

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

Raw Division: Mickie James/Bobby Lashley (2-0) vs. Finn Balor/Bayley (2-1)

There is something to be said about how straight to the point this show is. The women start and the British fans are all over singing to Bayley. Finn pays cheerleader as Bayley fights off a wristlock and gets two off a rollup. It’s off to the guys because we haven’t seen these two fight enough. Lashley poses a lot and Balor goes to do the same (to be fair, he could give Lashley some competition) but gets pulled off the ropes.

After a look at Naomi and Jimmy Uso in the back, we come back to Lashley holding a nerve hold. Balor fights up and sends him chest first into the buckle and the tag brings the women back in. Mickie cuts off a charging Bayley with a superkick as everything breaks down. The Sling Blade drops Lashley but Balor makes the mistake of going after Rush, allowing Lashley to shove him off the top. The MickDT finishes Bayley at 8:43.

Rating: D+. Not terrible here with the expected ending, though it’s a nice treat anytime you can have Mickie out there showing off. It’s better to have Bayley take the fall here as she doesn’t have anything important going on and Balor already lost to Lashley once this week. It was nice to have them play one of these straight for once too, which you don’t get around here very often.

In the back, Lashley and Mickie aren’t worried about the battle of the undefeateds with Ember Moon and Braun Strowman next week.

Smackdown Division: Jimmy Uso/Naomi (1-2) vs. R-Truth/Carmella (0-2)

The guys start and that means dancing. A lockup goes nowhere so the women come in to dance some more. That’s enough of that though so let’s have a rap battle instead. Truth is of course very good at it and Naomi isn’t half bad either. Jimmy says a little bit as well and then, you guessed it, DANCE BREAK! Carmella uses said break to superkick Naomi down and grab a chinlock, followed by one heck of a spinning headscissors. Naomi hits a quick kick to the head for the pin at 5:01. It’s as sudden as it sounds.

Rating: N/A. Yeah I know it’s long enough but come on. The rapping/dancing was more than half of what was already a short match and that’s not something I’m going to rate. This was the same thing we’ve seen time after time around here, because if there’s one thing WWE knows how to do, it’s take something fun like Truth and Carmella and beat it into the ground.

Charlotte and AJ Styles are ready for their battle of the undefeateds with Miz and Asuka.

Miz and Asuka say the same thing.

Everyone dances, because wins and losses mean nothing on this show.

Overall Rating: F. I’m so sick of this stupid show. Next week sounds a little more promising with the four undefeated teams fighting, but there are still five more weeks of this mess to go. I didn’t think it was possible but they’ve managed to ruin what should be the easiest, most entertaining shows of the week. That takes talent and WWE pulled it off. Another waste of time this week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown 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

205 Live
Date: November 7, 2018
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re across the pond this week with another show as we now have a new #1 contender for the Cruiserweight Title. Speaking of champion Buddy Murphy, he’ll be facing Mark Andrews tonight as a little bit of an international showdown. Other than that, it’s hard to say what we might be seeing around here but lately, that’s not the worst thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Drake Maverick praises Mustafa Ali for becoming #1 contender and previews tonight’s show.

Opening sequence.

TJP/Mike Kanellis vs. Lucha House Party

Kalisto and Dorado for the House Party here. Dorado and TJP lock up to start with TJP going straight for the mask. Instead it’s off to Kalisto for some dancing and an armdrag. The fast pace continues with Dorado coming in for a splash and it’s off to Kanellis. The villains are sent outside and we get some double bicep poses from the masked guys. Back in and Dorado dropkicks Kanellis into an armdrag but it’s a cheap shot from TJP to take over.

Some running corner clotheslines keep Kanellis in control until TJP comes in and misses a running knee in the corner. The diving tag brings in Kalisto and it’s time to speed things up in a hurry. Kanellis comes in off a blind tag though and pulls Kalisto to the floor for a Russian legsweep into the barricade (with what has to be his third heard spot call of the match). Back in and the rib work continues but Kalisto reverses a waistlock into a DDT to bring in Dorado.

House is cleaned and a moonsault gets two on TJP. A double Golden Rewind cuts off the villains and it’s the stereo moonsaults to the floor for the big crash. TJP is fine enough to grab the very fast kneebar with Kalisto having to make the save. With Kalisto back outside, TJP pulls off the mask and celebrates, even though Dorado’s second mask is visible the second the first one comes off. A little dancing and a hurricanrana finish TJP at 10:07.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and it’s a good sign that TJP took the fall. Kanellis is still new around here and there’s no need to have him take a loss this early with TJP around. If nothing else it gives the House Party a win back after all the losses as the feud with TJP continues. The luchadors are still the right choice to open this show and that’s not the biggest surprise in the world. It’s a good act and the fans have fun with them so they’ll likely be around for awhile.

Post match TJP and Kanellis are ready to keep going but Maria says she’s got this.

Cedric Alexander was training at the Performance Center (with Steve Corino) when Lio Rush came in to mock Alexander for his losing streak. A match is made for next week.

Lio Rush vs. Josh Morrell

Morrell tells him to bring it and scores with an early enziguri. He heads up top so Rush shows him how to really hit one of those things, knocking Morrell out to the floor. A pretty hard Cannonball sets up the Final Hour for the pin on Morrell at 2:04. Rush getting ticked off because someone got in a shot on him is a good way to go and shows you how well he can do when the cockiness is knocked away.

Post match Rush talks about Alexander going back to the Performance Center and how hard he’s been working. That’s fine, but no one works harder than Rush. Next week, the Age of Alexander meets its final hour. Nice promo from Rush here as he was more serious than usual.

Video on Mark Andrews.

Mustafa Ali says he used to be called a baby but now he’s called the heart and soul of 205 Live. At Wrestlemania, he had a chance to be called champion and since then, he’s been fighting to get another chance. That’s the chance he has now and he’ll be called champion. I want to see him win and that’s not a feeling I often have.

Buddy Murphy vs. Mark Andrews

Non-title. The much bigger Murphy powers him into the corner so Andrews gets smart by slipping out and armdragging him down. The standing moonsault misses and that’s an early standoff. A quick run around the ring lets Andrews get two off a sunset flip back inside and Murphy gets kicked to the floor. Andrews hits a flip dive into a hurricanrana but gets lawn darted into the middle buckle back inside. A backbreaker makes things even worse for Andrews and the armbar goes on.

Andrews jawbreaks his way to freedom and hits a sick looking reverse hurricanrana (Murphy landed on top of his head) to send the champ outside. That means another shot to knock him over the announcers’ table and a diving forearm over the table keeps Murphy in trouble. Andres nails a flip dive off the steps and a standing corkscrew moonsault gets two. A moonsault into a tornado DDT is countered into a sitout powerbomb and Murphy is looking much better. Stundog Millionaire makes things a little worse but the shooting star hits raised knees. Murphy’s Law gives Murphy the pin at 10:58.

Rating: C+. Pretty good match here with Andrews getting to showcase himself a lot. There’s nothing wrong with losing to the champ, who gets a nice win here as well. They’re setting Murphy up for the big showdown with Ali and it’s a good idea to remind people that he really is good at what he does.

Overall Rating: C+. England suits this show well with a good night of action for the most part. This was a more story advancing show and that’s all well and good with the title match at Survivor Series and a big match set for next week as well. Above all else though I want to see Ali win the title and that’s a good way to get you invested in the next few shows. Nice stuff tonight, which isn’t much of a surprise.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown 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

So a few months ago, I did a few columns where I answered a bunch of questions every week.  It turns out that writing a ten page column in addition to everything else I did was a little insane and I dropped the whole thing.  However, I can always find the time to answer a question or two so I might as well take a shot at it.  This is going to be COMPLETELY informal and I have no idea how often I’ll do it, but if someone asks me a question over on Steel Cage Forums (steelcageforums.com.  Check it out if you haven’t yet as it’s quite good.) or in the comments here that isn’t something that can be answered in a sentence or less, I might do something like this.  So here’s one from the forum:

If The Rock hadn’t left for Hollywood what would the WWE landscape have looked like? Would we have gotten Cena, Batista, Orton etc?

For the sake of simplicity, we’ll assume Rock stays on Smackdown, where he was when he left.

Oh dear this is a big one. In short, yes we would have but at the same time, things would have been a little different. For the sake of sanity, we’ll assume that most things didn’t change for the most part, as it’s almost impossible to guess how things go otherwise. Therefore, the Brand Split would have kept Orton and Batista over on Raw, where they could grow into superstars on their own.

That leaves Cena, who is easily the most interesting case out of everyone here. I’m a pretty strong believe in the concept of the talent rising to the top and Cena would have found something in there eventually. Rock would have been the top star on one of the shows, but Cena was going to sneak in there eventually and become the next big thing in wrestling, but there would have been a delay.

When Cena and Batista won their first World Titles at Wrestlemania XXI, Batista was the bigger star. He might not have had the same longevity, but he was the bigger deal at the time. Assuming he rises to the top of Raw in the same way, that leaves Cena to….I’m not really sure. You can almost guarantee that there’s no JBL title run because no one is buying JBL laying a finger on Rock. As long as Rock doesn’t mock Cena’s rapping and eviscerate him on the mic, Cena could have risen up and become the new anti-authority character, but it would have taken longer.

The other thing to remember about Rock is the same problem that would happen to anyone: eventually he would have cooled off. Rock was a six time WWF Champion by the time he was 29. With Austin gone and HHH boring the life out of everyone, there was no one in Rock’s universe and that can only last so long. It happened to Hogan, it happened to Austin, and it would have happened to Rock too.

At some point he would need someone fresh to face and maybe that’s Cena. I’m not sure how well a passing of the torch match would have gone (because they almost never work) but Rock would have had to do something. You can only dominate people for so long before you start losing momentum. Maybe Batista becomes a rival for Rock later on and one of them moves, leaving Cena to stay off on his own. There are a million ways to go, but Rock would have needed someone fresh to face and that’s really hard to do when Rock was that much ahead of everyone else.

So yeah, the talent would have risen to the top, but Cena would have taken a little longer because it took him a lot longer to become the top star. It would have happened though.

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: November 1, 2018
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s the final show before Crown Jewel, meaning it’s going to be a lot of focus on that show, again without saying where it actually takes place. In addition to all that though, it would be nice if we could have something fresh for the original content, which has been the case around here lately. That’s a nice way to help the show going forward and hopefully it happens again here. 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 go straight to the power lockup to start with neither being able to get anywhere. Some right hands sends Mojo bailing to the floor and a dog bark fills in the time. Back in and Mojo gets in a shot out of the corner, followed by a hard clothesline. The chinlock goes on, and then the chinlock goes on again to keep things fresh. Titus fights up and drives him into the corner for a splash. Mojo is right back with the clothesline to the floor but Titus calmly comes back in and hits the Clash of the Titus for the pin at 5:04.

Rating: D. I know Mojo isn’t the best guy in the world but egads man, this is how far he’s fallen? You really don’t have anything better for him than losing to Titus on Main Event? Just a few months ago he was on Raw and feuding with a former US Champion. It’s not like he’s that bad and the energy alone should get him some more respect than this.

From Raw.

Here’s Baron Corbin with the Universal Title to say that personally, he wants Reigns to beat leukemia but professionally, he hopes he’s never back on Raw. He likes the feeling of this title on his shoulder…and here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to interrupt. Corbin starts hyping up the title match but Heyman cuts him off for stealing his shtick. This Friday, history will be made when the Universal Title goes back on Lesnar’s shoulder where it belongs. That’s a guarantee instead of a prediction and you don’t get that very often.

You know something big is happening in the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup Finals and the Academy Awards, but this time you know for a fact what’s coming. Cue Braun Strowman to say Lesnar is going to get these hands. Corbin tries to separate them and gets powerslammed. Lesnar and Strowman stare each other down until another powerslam leaves Corbin laying. Brock picks up the title and puts it on his shoulder so Corbin gets powerslammed again. That means an F5 for Strowman and Brock poses. Just a hype segment for the title match and it was fine.

We look at Roman Reigns vacating the Universal Title.

We look at Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins winning the Tag Team Titles, followed by Ambrose turning on Rollins in a great angle.

From Raw.

Here’s Rollins without the Tag Team Title to thank the fans for all the support they’ve given Reigns. Last week was a crazy night that ended with him winning half of the Tag Team Titles. Then his best friend turned on him and maybe it was Seth’s fault. Maybe Ambrose couldn’t forgive Seth for four years ago when Rollins did the same thing to him.

The only person who can answer that is Dean himself but if Ambrose doesn’t want to be found, he’s not going to be found. However, Rollins knew he could find Ambrose here so if he wants the spotlight so badly, come out here and get it. Ambrose’s music plays but no one comes out. Ambrose pops up in the crowd without saying anything so Seth says at least he faced Dean like a man when he turned his back on him.

Dean comes down a few steps but still won’t say anything. Seth yells about Dean spitting on them on the most emotional night in the history of the Shield. Dean made it all about himself and now he has the spotlight, plus all of Seth’s attention from now on. With nothing being said, Seth goes up the aisle after him but Dean gets out having never said a word. They’ve got something here and watching Dean and Seth tear into each other could be amazing.

Stills of Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte at Evolution.

B Team vs. Rhyno/Heath Slater

The B Team is still a thing. Who knew? Axel takes Slater into the corner to start but lets him out with a clean break. Slater sends him right back into the corner and does the West Virginia dancing. That actually seems to impress Axel but he runs Slater down anyway. Axel takes him into the corner for some stomping before it’s off to Dallas vs. Rhyno. Dallas gets chinlocked for a bit, followed by a hard whip into the corner.

It’s back to Slater, who also whips him hard into the corner. Rhyno adds some clotheslines but misses a charge in the corner, allowing the hot (I think?) tag to Axel. House is cleaned and the PerfectPlex gets two on Slater with Rhyno making the save. Dallas knocks Rhyno outside and it’s a sunset flip to finish Slater at 5:57.

Rating: D+. It’s almost weird to see Slater and Rhyno as the de facto heels, though it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to turn them. It’s not like the division really exists at the moment so throw in a fresh heel team just to put some other teams over. The match was actually fine enough and both teams still have some (albeit low) value.

Video on Kurt Angle, who wants to be the Best in the World.

From Raw.

Here are Kane, because running Knoxville is a part time job at best, and Undertaker for the big closing segment. The fans chant for Undertaker, who says it’s not easy to reach the end. But when the reaper calls, no matter how hard you fight, it’s your time to go. I’ll let it sink in that UNDERTAKER is talking about how you have to go when your time is up. Kane says what started as a whisper has now become a deafening cry.

This Friday at Crown Jewel (minor booing), the Brothers will take the battered souls of DX to the firey gates. It will be the end of DX’s error, but that’s on Friday. Tonight, DX is being summoned to the ring right now to have their souls destroyed. Cue HHH (with glow sticks, because WWE can’t decide if this is supposed to be serious or fun) without Shawn so Kane goes up the ramp after him, allowing Shawn to sneak in and superkick Undertaker. DX bails as Undertaker sits up (after going down from something he shouldn’t fall for) to end the show.

Overall Rating: F. Are you kidding me? You have a (great) World Title match on Smackdown and the setup of another World Title match and it can’t even get some stills? Instead we see clips from two weeks ago and the World Cup video from Angle? That’s more important than the oldest title in WWE? This is how WWE presents Smackdown and then wants us to care about a Raw vs. Smackdown pay per view? Come on people.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown 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

There’s now a Kickoff Show match for Crown Jewel with Rusev challenging Shinsuke Nakamura.  Just in case a week with a three and a half hour pay per view on Sunday, three hours of Raw on Monday, two and a half hours on Tuesday, four hours on Wednesday and four more hours on Friday wasn’t enough.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/last-minute-one-title-match-announced-crown-jewel/