IMG Credit: WWE

United Kingdom Championship Tournament Night One
Date: June 18, 2018
Location: Royal Albert Hall, London, England
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness

While this may be a taped show, it’s certainly something that could be rather interesting. There’s no secret to the fact that WWE wants to expand into the United Kingdom and while they already have a United Kingdom Champion, they need to expand the roster. Therefore, we’ll be seeing a good chunk of a sixteen man tournament with the winner getting a title shot tomorrow night. There are some other matches on the card to fill things out as well. Let’s get to it.

The opening video features NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint in the empty arena, talking about how he’s wrestled here many times before, but that’s in the past. Now it’s about the title, with the winner of the tournament receiving a title shot tomorrow.

We’ll be starting in the second round so here are the original brackets, with the winners in bold.

Zack Gibson

Amir Jordan

Jack Gallagher

Drew Gulak

Flash Morgan Webster

James Drake

Jordan Devlin

Tyson T-Bone

Joe Coffey

Tucker

Dave Mastiff

Kenny Williams

Travis Banks

Ligero

Ashton Smith

Joseph Conners

United Kingdom Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Jack Gallagher vs. Zack Gibson

Gibson, a bald guy with a beard, is loathed by the crowd. They go straight for the wrist battle and Gallagher bounces out of a headscissors. The fans sing a song that I can’t understand and Gallagher turns into a conductor before being taken down by the arm. That goes nowhere so Gallagher spins him down into a rollup for two, much to the fans’ amusement. Gibson gets serious with a hard clothesline as the chants continue.

We hit a cobra clutch for a bit before Gibson goes with right hands to the face instead. A crossface chickenwing keeps Gibson in control until Gallagher fights up and actually wins a slugout against the much bigger Gibson. Gallagher’s suplex and knee shot get two but he gets caught on the ropes, setting up a middle rope Codebreaker for two. Gibson counters the running corner dropkick into a powerbomb but gets pulled into a triangle choke.

That’s broken up with a toss to the floor so Gallagher slingshots back in, landing with a sleeper on Gibson in a sweet sequence. Gibson makes a rope so Gallagher goes with the running corner dropkick for two more. That’s not cool with Gibson, who sends him shoulder first into the post to cut him down again. Gallagher hits another dropkick but a Swan Dive hits the shoulder, setting up a seated armbar (Shankly Gates) to make Gallagher tap at 13:28.

Rating: B. They were starting to roll with Gallagher as the scrappy face (a role he could use again back in 205 Live) against the rather nasty Gibson with all of the submissions. Gibson won clean here too, which is a smart way to put him over as a big threat around here. That’s the point of putting main roster people in there and it worked quite well.

Video on Joe Coffey, a big guy who can wrestle different styles.

Video on Dave Mastiff, a big guy who can wrestle different styles.

United Kingdom Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Joe Coffey vs. Dave Mastiff

They ram shoulders to start with the much bigger Mastiff getting the better of it. That means a trip to the floor with Mastiff running him over without much trouble. Back in and Coffey gets smart by taking Mastiff down off a double leg. Mastiff forearms him out of the air though and gets two off a running backsplash (kind of sick of that move).

More forearms have Coffey in trouble but he’s able to suplex the rather large Mastiff for an impressive power display. A more impressive belly to belly sets up a bridging German suplex for two but Mastiff grabs a deadlift German suplex for two of his own. A double springboard crossbody of all things puts Mastiff down and a discus lariat gives Coffey the pin at 7:43.

Rating: C+. They made the right call here as Mastiff is huge and athletic, but there’s only so much that he can do against most people. Coffey has a bit better resume and can work against different styles, which is the easier path to take. I could see him going pretty far, as the size is a bonus but not enough to keep people from giving him a good match.

Post match Coffey says he’ll win.

Video on Flash Morgan Webster, who is a little odd and marches to the beat of his own drum.

Video on Jordan Devlin, a student of Finn Balor’s who wants to improve on what he did in last year’s tournament.

United Kingdom Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Flash Morgan Webster vs. Jordan Devlin

Webster is a Mod, meaning he’s inspired by northern England music of the 60s, such as the Who. The cocky Devlin slaps him in the corner to start and you can see Morgan getting a little annoyed. A few armdrags slow Devlin down a bit and an imploding flip splash gets a fast two. Devlin kicks him in the chest to take over and we hit another chant that I can’t understand.

Morgan scores with a running knee in the corner and hits three straight dives, each one over a different rope in a unique idea. Back in and Morgan gets crotched on top (Mauro: “He’ll have his eggs scrambled.”), setting up a super Spanish Fly for a well received near fall. Devlin misses a moonsault though and Morgan scores with a running Sliced Bread for the pin at 7:02.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as Devlin is pretty generic. Morgan at least has a good look and gimmick with the music thing so there’s some potential there. The match wasn’t very long and while it wasn’t bad, neither guy really made me want to see them again. I could go for more of Morgan talking though.

Video on New Zealander Travis Banks, who is trained in a variety of combat.

Video on Ashton Smith, who wants to win the title.

United Kingdom Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Ashton Smith vs. Travis Banks

The announcers get in a debate over whether Smith used to be a football player or a soccer player. They run the ropes to start with Ashton showing off some athleticism until Banks avoids a charge in the corner. A running dropkick to the back gets two on Smith but he’s right back with a middle rope seated senton. Banks is sent outside for a running flip dive (well you knew that was coming) and a superkick gets two back inside. Some hard forearms get Banks out of trouble but Smith gets all fired up and demands more punches to his face. Instead it’s a fisherman’s buster for the pin on Smith at 6:06.

Rating: D+. They kept things fast here and Banks looked impressive, which isn’t the most surprising thing given that he’s the Progress Champion. Smith has a nice look and is athletic enough to look good in there and the match wasn’t bad, but there have been quite a few matches between cruiserweight style guys, which doesn’t do them any favors.

Here are the updated brackets:

Zack Gibson

Flash Morgan Webster

Travis Banks

Joe Coffey

Toni Storm vs. Killer Kelly vs. Isla Dawn

The winner gets a shot at NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler tomorrow night. This was actually a four way to start but another wrestler named Jinny was injured during the match, so the whole thing was restarted. Storm made a big run in the Mae Young Classic, Kelly is a little scary and Dawn is a big Goldust fan. Storm gets double teamed to start and a wheelbarrow DDT gives Dawn two.

That’s enough working together so Dawn runs Kelly over with an elbow for two more. Kelly scores with a suplex on the returning Storm and it’s time for a three way slugout. A hard kick rocks Dawn but Storm kicks Kelly right back. Storm Zero (White Noise onto the knee) gives storm the very fast pin on Dawn at 4:14.

Rating: D. Way too short to mean anything but they did get the winner right. Storm was a big deal in the tournament and it makes a lot of sense to push her over two people who aren’t known to the American fans. There was almost nothing to the match but that’s all you’re going to get in a match that would have been short even by TV standards.

Baszler comes out for the staredown.

Here’s HHH for a big announcement. After saying what a cool building this is (he’s right), he talks about last year’s tournament, which meant so much to British wrestling. Since then, talent like Wolfgang, Trent Seven, Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate and Mark Andrews have turned into international names. The first rounds of the tournament have shown HHH that they’re just scratching the surface. There’s going to be more, and here’s General Manager Johnny Saint to announce the NXT UK brand, which will be featuring women’s and tag team divisions. HHH announces some upcoming dates, with the first coming in July. Are you ready?

United Kingdom Championship Tournament Semifinals: Flash Morgan Webster vs. Zack Gibson

Webster knees him in the face at the bell and slugs away in the corner, followed by a kick to the face. Gibson bails to the face so Webster swings around a post into a headscissors. A missile dropkick gets two back inside, all in the first minute. Gibson gets in an elbow though and stomps Webster in the corner, again much to the fans’ dismay. We hit the cobra clutch as the fans start a “IF YOU HATE GIBSON STAND UP” chant, which draws a rather loud audience to their feet.

Webster slips out of the Shankly Gates and hits something close to a Whisper in the Wind for two. Gibson heads outside again so Webster tries the three dives but the second is countered into Helter Skelter (a spinning suplex) on the floor for a big crash. Fans: “MAMA MIA!” Webster slides back in and gets caught in the Shankly Gates for the tap at 4:19.

Rating: B-. That was a heck of a match for about four and a half minutes. They’re turning Shankly Gates into something, which is rather impressive in just two matches. Webster was impressive looking too, as he showed a bunch of fire to go with the look and character. Gibson is already looking like a star though and that’s the point of something like this.

Aleister Black and Ricochet are here. There are a good amount of empty seats visible during the shot.

United Kingdom Championship Tournament Semifinals: Joe Coffey vs. Travis Banks

Coffey powers him down with a wristlock to start and chops away in the corner. A hard shoulder puts Banks in the corner again and a double underhook giant swing into a butterfly suplex gets two. Coffey puts on a kneeling half crab before switching over to a cross arm choke with some knees to the back.

Banks fights up and fires off some right hands in the corner, only to have Coffey hit a running headbutt to the ribs to cut him off again. A pop up powerslam gives Coffey two but Banks slips out of a suplex and scores with a hard corner dropkick for a near fall of his own. There’s a high crossbody and a quick rolling cradle gives Banks the pin at 9:22.

Rating: C. Banks is playing a good face here but he comes off as a natural heel for some reason. That being said, you have to go against a monster like Coffey as a face, just for how nasty Coffey can come across. I could go for more of Banks and that’s the kind of reaction they seem to be hoping for here.

Post match Coffey beats Banks down and sends him shoulder first into the post.

Undisputed Era vs. British Strong Style

Adam Cole/Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Tyler Bate/Pete Dunne/Trent Seven. Good reaction for Bate and Seven, great reactions for Dunne. Bate and O’Reilly get things going with Bate slipping out of the cross armbreaker and taking him down with some armdrags. It’s off to Dunne, who threatens to snap Strong’s fingers. Everyone comes in and the Brits hit stereo left hands to the jaw (Nigel: “TRIPLE BOP!”) to take over.

Seven gets pulled into the corner for some triple stomping though and even the British fans love doing the ADAM COLE BAY BAY! The Era takes turns hammering away in the corner on Seven with Strong drawing in Bate and Dunne to keep Seven in trouble. Seven finally knocks Strong away and brings in Dunne off the hot tag to clean house. An X Plex drops Cole onto Strong for two and it’s back to Bate, who suplexes Strong into Cole in the corner.

In one of the most impressive power displays I’ve seen in a very long time, Bate gives Cole the airplane spin and giant swings Strong AT THE SAME TIME. That was nuts. Dunne goes up but dives into a dropkick and O’Reilly tries a triangle choke. That’s broken up as well but the Bitter End is reversed into a guillotine choke (SWEET) but Dunne walks over for a tag to Bate.

Everything breaks down and Bate powerbombs his way out of an armbreaker to put everyone down. The Seven Stars (and this isn’t even in Japan) Lariat gets two on Strong and Dunne dives onto Strong and Cole. Another Seven Star Lariat sets up a dragon suplex/clothesline combination ends O’Reilly at 12:33.

Rating: B+. This was a lot of fun but I’m still trying to get over that airplane spin/giant swing spot. Bate looks like he should still be in high school and is one of the most entertaining wrestlers in the world at the moment. Dunne is on another planet of popularity though and that’s the case both here and in America, which makes him a very valuable asset. It takes a lot to get someone cheered over the Era but the Brits pulled it off here.

Here’s Shawn Michaels, who still looks very weird with short hair, to introduce the finals. After the fans sing his song and beg for one more match (Shawn: “You guys have got to stop that!”), Shawn puts over NXT UK and says he’s scared to come out here and try to follow what we’ve seen. Without much to say, we’re ready for the finals.

United Kingdom Championship Tournament Finals: Zack Gibson vs. Adam Banks

Banks has a taped up shoulder coming in. After some Big Match Intros, they stare each other down to start and Gibson goes straight for the arm. Banks takes him to the mat and they head outside with Gibson working on the arm even more. A whip into the steps bangs up the arm even more and Gibson gets two off a wind up clothesline back inside.

With the regular stuff not working, Gibson stomps on the arm and the referee is asking if Banks wants to continue. A dropkick to the knee cuts a charging Gibson off and there’s a running dropkick to the back of the head. Banks’ running knee gets two (with one arm only on the cover) but Gibson kicks him in the arm. The Ticket to Ride (Tombstone into a pair of knees to the chest) sends Banks outside but he’s able to hit the Slice of Heaven (Disaster Kick) off the barricade.

Back in and Gibson wins a slugout with a hard slap but Banks kicks him in the chest and stomps away. Gibson’s headbutt sets up Shankly Gates, sending the fans into a frenzy until Banks dives for a rope and the break. Gibson heads outside again so Banks hits a running double stomp from the apron. Another Slice of Heaven gets a close two back inside, followed by the fisherman’s buster for an even closer near fall. Gibson is right back up though and the Shankly Gates out of nowhere makes Banks tap at 16:59.

Rating: B+. Heck of a way to close out the night with Banks fighting from behind in a very similar story to the original tournament where Bate fought through the bad shoulder in the finals. Gibson is a fine choice for the win and came off looking like a star from the first match, though I’m not sure they would put him over Dunne for the title.

Post match Gibson offers a handshake but pulls it back. HHH, Shawn and Saint come out, shake Banks’ hand, and pose with Gibson, who is ready to brag but here’s Dunne to stare him down to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. It’s a great show, but that’s the case with most British wrestling these days. You can tell WWE is putting some effort into the promotion and I hope it becomes something special. I could use some actual stories though and the character development will mean a lot, but at least they have some names out there. Tomorrow will be another good showcase and this worked quite well, especially with so many unknowns. Very solid performance though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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: June 21, 2018
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

We’re FINALLY at a fresh set of stories as Money in the Bank is done, which is one of the best things in the world that could have happened. Things hit the ground running this week as we only have four weeks to go before Extreme Rules. This was a big week of television and there’s a lot to cover so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Nese vs. Gran Metalik

Nese throws a right hand and poses so Metalik hits him right back, sending Nese into the corner. That earns Metalik a legsweep but he avoids a Lionsault. Nese bails to the floor and pulls him face first into the apron though as they’re not exactly doing anything major at the moment. Back in and a bodyscissors keeps Metalik in trouble but he’s right back up with a high crossbody to rock Nese. Metalik goes up again but has to crotch Nese to avoid some pain. The Metalik Driver is broken up and Nese’s running knee in the corner is good for the pin at 5:01.

Rating: D+. Again, I have no idea what I’m supposed to get out of seeing the same cruiserweights fight every week. We know they’re there and they’re on 205 Live every week, so it’s just two shows where I don’t have to pay much attention to either person. It’s not a bad match, but I’ve already forgotten a good chunk of what happened. There’s nothing that makes them stand out, and this is no different.

We look at Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey from Sunday.

From Raw.

Kurt Angle is in the ring to introduce Bliss, whose title is sitting on a table. He hands her the title and announces that Nia is cashing in her rematch at Extreme Rules. Bliss thanks the fans for giving her the opportunity to rub it in our faces, which draws a WE WANT RONDA chant. It’s all about Bliss now so cue a ticked off Ronda but Angle gets in her way. Alexa laughs all of this off because everything she did was perfectly legal.

It’s obvious that Ronda is upset because the stories were all about Bliss last night. Now, Rousey is just irrelevant. That’s enough for Rousey, who runs over Angle and hits Bliss in the back with the briefcase. She beats Angle up with it as well and takes out some referees for good measure. One heck of a powerbomb drops Bliss through a table.

Post replays, Angle suspends Rousey for 30 days.

Post break, Rousey promises to be back in thirty days to take care of Bliss, champion or not.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Carmella to get things going in the arena. Carmella talks about having self esteem issues when she was growing up because she never felt good enough. Then she started writing her own story and she saw something in herself that no one ever saw. Everyone out there needs to look in the mirror and repeat these words: Mella is MONEY! Why would someone like her ever have self confidence? She’s been moon walking and trash talking since she was a baby so everyone needs to just give up. Carmella brags about all of her accomplishments, which she has done completely on her own.

Cue Asuka, or at least James Ellsworth in Asuka gear. Ellsworth says no one was ready for Asuka and offers some praise to Carmella, saying she’s better than several women, including Trish, Lita, Rousey, and Mother Teresa. Now it’s the real Asuka, without robe or mask, coming to the ring to take Ellsworth down. Carmella uses the distraction to deck Asuka and wrap things up. I’m so glad they brought Ellsworth back for this role when there are probably a dozen people on the roster with nothing to do.

From Raw again.

Here’s Seth Rollins to talk about how far Elias took him last night. That’s what Seth wanted though, because it’s what it means to be the Intercontinental Champion. Let’s keep that going right now with an OPEN CHALLENGE.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler is challenging and there goes some of the energy. Rollins knocks him to the floor and we take a very early break. Back with Ziggler throwing him back inside and kicking at the knee. A whip into the corner turns Seth upside down for two and we hit the chinlock. Rollins fights up….and the USA Network goes out. The feed comes back in a commercial so we eventually come back to Ziggler taking the Fameasser.

A superkick gives Rollins two but Ziggler heads up top. Rollins catches him again and rolls through a high crossbody. The buckle bomb connects but Drew McIntyre offers a distraction, allowing Ziggler to roll him up with tights for the pin and the title at 18:26. Too much was missed by the outage but this was the same match you would expect from these two.

Quick look at the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.

Authors of Pain vs. Breezango

Oh yeah the Authors still exist. Akam shoves Breeze around to start but gets kicked in the face to put the big man on the floor. Rezar comes in but the double belly to back is broken up as well and it’s off to Fandango. That’s about all the good things there are to say about Fandango at this point as the middle rope stomp/backbreaker combination has him in trouble. Back from an abrupt break with Breeze Supermodel Kicking Akam, only to walk into the Last Chapter for the pin at 6:05. Not enough shown to rate but it was a squash.

We wrap it up with a very shortened version of the Smackdown gauntlet match, just looking at the eliminations and AJ Styles coming out to stare down Rusev to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. As usual, this show almost completely depends on what you get on Raw and Smackdown, so this week was a pretty easy sit. They were smart to keep things short with the gauntlet match as it could have covered the length of this show. The original content on here was nothing special, but with two short matches it’s hard to get annoyed. Completely fine show, but really just a recap hour.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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: June 19, 2018
Location: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Percy Watson

It’s grudge match night around here as we have a triple threat match between Buddy Murphy, Mustafa Ali and Hideo Itami. Two weeks ago Itami attacked both men during their match and now they want to take him apart. That should make for a fun match and barring anything ridiculous, should set up Itami as the next challenger to Cedric Alexander’s Cruiserweight Title. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video recaps Itami’s attack and how we got to tonight’s triple threat.

Opening sequence.

Drew Gulak vs. Lince Dorado

So I guess we’re not done with this feud. Jack Gallagher is in England for the UK Championship Tournament so it’s just Brian Kendrick in Gulak’s corner. The Gulak pinata is back and it’s now called Penelope. They fight over arm control to start and there are a low of people disguised as empty seats. Gulak takes him to the mat with a test of strength but Dorado fights up into a sunset flip for two. A middle rope anklescissors sets up a moonsault press for another near fall as Gulak can’t get anything going early on.

Frustrated by being flipped around over and over, Gulak hits him in the face to take over but a rollup sends Dorado through the ropes in a crash. Back in and Gulak goes for the mask, yelling at the referee that he wants to see who it is. As usual that’s too far for a luchador so he’s right back up with some dropkicks. The Golden Rewind gets two but Kendrick offers a distraction so the Gulock can get the submission at 8:02.

Rating: C. They’ve done a good job of setting Gulak as a monster around here and that’s one of the best things that can be done. It’s also interesting that the Lucha House Party can win on their own but seemingly has no chance against Gulak. It makes him look that much more impressive, which is all that matters in the entire feud. In other words the team is good but Gulak is better, meaning everyone wins.

Drake Maverick tells the referee to be careful in the main event tonight when Itami comes in. He wants respect but Maverick tells him that it works both ways.

Here’s TJP, with a mic, for a match. He’s not happy with Maverick because he’s not getting to be in the main event every week. Instead, he’s out here with some guy who doesn’t even get to mention his name. After some more insults, the guy punches TJP in the face, earning himself a kneebar for a rather hard sell job. No match of course.

Lio Rush has officially been signed and will debut next week.

Next week: Gulak/Gallagher/Kendrick vs. Lucha House Party in an elimination match.

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy vs. Hideo Itami

They all circle to start until Murphy and Ali glare Itami to the floor. It’s Murphy going out after him so Ali hits a big flip dive onto both of them. Back in and Murphy starts punching them both to take over with raw size and power. Ali is back up to send Murphy outside but Itami cuts off the dive with a knee to the ribs. That’s enough to set up an early chinlock, meaning Itami can demand more RESPECT.

Itami lets it go and kicks Murphy off the apron before kicking Ali in the back so he won’t feel left out. It’s Murphy coming back in though and that means a kick to his back as well. Murphy kicks Itami right back and they trade them again, followed by some head to head growling. Itami gets the better of it and does the RESPECT ME thing again, because that’s half of his character. Ali comes back in and gets his head taken off with a clothesline, followed by a German suplex for two.

Murphy sends Ali into Itami, knocking him off the apron and setting up a sleeper on Ali. In other words, we’re firmly in the two in, one out formula that dominates these matches. With that going nowhere Itami comes in with a sleeper on Murphy, which is broken up in short order. Ali tries the rolling X Factor on Murphy but gets thrown into the air, only to come down with the X Factor on Itami instead (cool spot). A tornado DDT gets two on Murphy and everyone is down due to head trauma/exhaustion.

Ali is up first but the 054 is broken up with a hard crotching. They tease the Tower of Doom but (thankfully) go with Murphy kicking Ali in the face and then loading Itami up for a powerbomb, which is spun down into a DDT for two more. Ali gets up first and superkicks Murphy down but dives into Itami’s kick to the face for another triple knockdown.

Murphy powerbombs Itami but gets kicked down on top of him, setting up a 450 onto both of them at once. Ali can only get two on Itami with Murphy making a save. That’s enough for Murphy and Ali to head outside with Ali hitting a C4 off the announcers’ table for the really painful landing. Back in and a hesitation dropkick gives Itami two on Ali, so it’s time to pull off a turnbuckle pad. Another running dropkick into the exposed buckle is finally enough for Itami to pin Ali at 15:53.

Rating: B+. This was much, much better than I was expecting with all three working very hard to put on a heck of a performance. They played up the idea of Ali as the heart, Murphy as the muscle and Itami as the ruthless one who will hit you so hard that you can’t get up. The match was a lot of fun and had all three looking great. Itami needs to be the next challenger, especially after getting a win like this one.

Overall Rating: B. As tired as I am of seeing Gulak N Pals vs. Lucha House Party, that main event was great and TJP is getting better and better every week. They’ve got some stuff going on here but it’s becoming more and more clear that Alexander needs to lose the title in a hurry. He’s just not the charismatic star of the show, which leaves him on pretty equal footing with everyone else. That needs to be fixed, and then things might be able to start picking up. I mean, they won’t because it’s 205 Live, but at least it’s a possibility.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

https://wrestlingrumors.net/breaking-wwe-releases-big-cass/

There has to be a big story behind that.  He wasn’t THAT bad and he was in a pay per view match two days ago.  It’s even odder when he was just back from a major injury two and a half months ago.

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: June 14, 2018
Location: Verizon Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the recap show for the final week before Money in the Bank and I’m really not sure what to think of something like that. This wasn’t the strongest week in WWE and that means it could go a few ways. There were more highlights this week than last but that’s not exactly a high bar to clear. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Titus Worldwide vs. Ascension

Titus and Viktor start things off with the loud chop in the corner rocking Viktor. It’s off to Konnor and Apollo with the pace actually picking up a bit. Konnor shoulders him down and we hit the chinlock so let’s talk about Ronda Rousey for some reason. Viktor comes back in for a chinlock of his own but Crews fights up and makes the hot tag off to Titus. Everything breaks down and the Clash of the Titus ends Viktor at 5:37.

Rating: D. So remember when the Ascension was part of the Breezango deal and that was cool for a few weeks? Well WWE certainly doesn’t as neither team has done anything of note for a long time. But hey, we get the B Team and the thrown together Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt team while the teams that did their entertaining stuff for months are forgotten again because….well….oh year we needed more of the Bar and various other teams we’ve done before.

From Raw.

Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya vs. Ember Moon vs. Sasha Banks

Bliss makes another entrance for whatever reason. Moon throws Bliss down with a fall away slam and Bliss backs into Banks. With Bliss sent into the barricade, Moon dropkicks Natalya down but gets rolled up by Banks for two. We get the Natalya vs. Banks showdown but Natalya’s knee is still banged up. Natalya gets taken down again and it’s Moon taking her place, only to be kicked away.

Sasha flips onto Natalya but Moon hits a SCARY suicide dive to drive Banks into the barricade. Bliss steals the near fall and we take a break. Back with Bliss clearing the ring and working on Natalya’s knee until Banks comes back in for some clotheslines. Moon is back in for some knees to the face but Bliss gives her a Code Red for two. The Meteora gives Banks the same and we go split screen for a Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax video. This show really is everything I can’t stand about modern WWE wrapped together.

Back to full screen with Twisted Bliss hitting knees as we take a break. We come back with Natalya breaking up the Bank Statement on Bliss but hurting her knee in the process. She’s fine enough to put Banks in the Sharpshooter until Moon makes the save with a superkick. The Eclipse drops Natalya but Bliss makes another save. Banks comes in and gets knocked out again, leaving Natalya to make Bliss tap to the Sharpshooter at 20:39.

Rating: C+. The match was the same batch of diving saves and near falls that they all are, which means it was at least entertaining. What it wasn’t though was meaningful in any way as this has nothing to do with giving you an advantage in a ladder match. Then again, that’s never stopped WWE before because they came up with this blueprint years ago and haven’t changed it a bit since.

Quick clip of the ten woman tag from Smackdown.

From Raw again.

Finn Balor vs. Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman clears the ring to start and we take an early break. Back with Strowman getting triple teamed and Owens asking who the monster is now. Strowman fights them off again as the announcers make their picks for Sunday. For some reason Owens tries a cheap shot on Strowman and then bails to the floor, which has gone so well for him with Strowman for months now. Strowman shrugs off Balor and Roode so he can chase Owens to the back. The chase doesn’t last long as Strowman throws him back through the entrance and it’s monster time.

Balor joins them on stage and gets sent into the set, leaving Strowman to load up the announcers’ table. Roode is back up with a ladder and some shots to the ribs have Strowman in trouble. They put Strowman on the table and Owens climbs a table for a big frog splash. Back from another break with Owens and Strowman down, leaving us with the not very thrilling Roode vs. Balor match.

Both guys go down so let’s hit that split screen Rousey vs. Jax ad. Balor kicks him out to the floor before hitting the Sling Blade back inside. Owens is back in to break up the Coup de Grace but Balor knocks him off the top. The required Tower of Doom puts everyone down and Strowman is on his feet. Roode and Balor get knocked down so Strowman catches Owens going into the crowd.

Back at ringside, the injured Strowman runs them all over but Balor manages to get some boots up in the corner. A top rope double stomp to back staggers Strowman again so he shoulders Balor down to get a breather. Roode and Owens get back together on Strowman until Owens rolls him Roode up for two. Balor hits the Sling Blade on Strowman and there’s the shotgun dropkick. There’s the Coup de Grace with Roode making the save because this just can’t end.

Roode hits the Glorious DDT on Strowman but Owens makes the save. Another frog splash gets two on Strowman so let’s bring in a ladder. Well if Owens could do this before, why did he wait so long? Strowman absorbs two shots to the ribs and chokeslams Owens (Owens: “I’M SORRY!”). The powerslam onto the ladder ends Owens at 25:57.

Rating: C-. The Balor vs. Roode part really hurt this but the bigger problem is the booking of Strowman. Looking at what happened to him in this match, why in the world would I believe that anyone can beat him in a singles match? Brock beat him clean but unless Lesnar returns from his spring and summer vacation early, there’s nothing for Strowman to do and with no one who could beat him (save for Roman of course), we’re stuck sitting around waiting on something for Strowman to find something to do or for him to cool off. What a great way to use a guy who only gets over like this every few years at best.

Quick clip of Samoa Joe vs. Rusev from Smackdown.

Mojo Rawley vs. Chad Gable

Rawley easily shoves him into the corner but Chad does a lot better with a wrist crank to take Rawley to the mat. An armdrag into an armbar keeps Rawley in trouble and the flying headscissors puts him down again. With the wrestling not working, Rawley plows through Gable to take over for the first time.

A whip into the corner gets two and we hit the chinlock. Gable fights up and dropkicks him to the floor but Rawley catches a high crossbody back inside. The fireman’s carry faceplant gives Rawley two so he flapjacks Gable face first into the buckle. The running right hand to the face in the corner puts Gable away at 6:24.

Rating: D+. Rawley is coming off as the new King of Main Event and that’s….not exactly a great place to be in. He’s getting better in the ring but egads he needs a better finisher than a running right hand in the corner. Gable on the other hand is just kind of floating around at the moment because there’s no place for an Olympic wrestler with talking abilities in WWE.

We’ll wrap it up here.

Here’s Coach to moderate a face to face showdown between Rousey and Jax (the second time since the match was announced). Nia says they’re both elite athletes and she’s purposely pushed Rousey’s buttons over the last few weeks. Rousey has a lot of great things about her but she’s still very new in WWE. Her success came from outside of WWE and there are some different rules around here. Nia lists off some things in MMA that you can’t do around here and promises a demonstration on Sunday. Rousey says she improvises and on Sunday she’ll improvise Nia’s arm off.

Nia points out that Rousey’s one match was against a businesswoman who competes part time (and HHH, who Stephanie has apparently absorbed) and it’s clear that Nia isn’t ready. That’s too much for Rousey, who lists off all the times where she’s been told she wasn’t ready and all the times she’s proven them wrong. Rousey: “I am Ronda Rousey and I was born ready.”

Nia stands up and has her punch blocked but a headbutt puts Rousey down. Rousey pulls her down for the armbar attempt and eventually makes her tap…for a bell? Anyway, good of them to confirm that Rousey can put the armbar on Jax after we saw her put it on the bigger and stronger HHH.

Overall Rating: D. So Smackdown, the much better show this week, is relegated to a bunch of clips while the boring Raw gets several featured segments. I’m guessing they’re trying to get in everything they can until the FOX deal makes Smackdown the major show by default but egads at least pretend like Smackdown matters. Or at least pretend that your horrible Raw show wasn’t all that great. You know, because it really wasn’t.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

You need to be watching this show.

WWE puts out a freaking ton of stuff on their YouTube channel and there is nothing that tops Formerly Known As. This show is basically a look back at wrestlers and where they came from with whoever the show is about that week going back to their old stomping grounds. They’ll go to wherever they started wrestling, often talking to their trainer or someone they started with while footage of their early career is shown. These things are great and more than worth checking out.

Here’s the playlist with all of the full shows and some shorter clips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URcuVDVJmXY&list=PLqIVmFaHA8BpqzUCRjguaxzNNaGTUVA8l

Check this out as it’s more than worth your time.

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: June 12, 2018
Location: Fed Ex Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

Things took a sharp turn around here last week with Hideo Itami interrupting Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy. That’s the first time Itami has hinted at going after the Cruiserweight Title, which would be a bit surprising at this point given how uneventful his time in WWE has been so far. At some point he needs to do something with all of his potential and if this is the best they have for him, so be it. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Itami interfering in last week’s main event. If nothing else it’s an excuse to see that awesome DDT right before the finish.

An angry Drake Maverick says Itami is banned from tonight’s show.

Opening sequence.

Lucha House Party vs. Drew Gulak/Jack Gallagher/Brian Kendrick

Lucha House Party has a pinata with Gulak’s face on it. In the back, the villains say they just don’t like high flying so they’ve teamed up to combat it. Kalisto and Gallagher start things off with Gallagher easily taking him to the mat with a waistlock. With a nice wrestling exhibition going on, the announcers debate Watson’s mispronunciation. Dorado and Kendrick come in with the former walking over his back and sticking his tongue out at Kendrick.

Kalisto is back in and climbs onto Dorado’s shoulders for a splash, followed by Metalik’s rope walk splash. A dropkick keeps Kendrick in trouble and it’s one sided in the first few minute. It’s off to Gulak and a hurricanrana sends him to the floor, allowing Dorado to climb onto the ropes and flip dive onto everyone at once. Back in and Gulak just powers Kalisto into the corner so Kendrick can make a blind and pull Kalisto off the ropes for a nasty crash. How dastardly of him.

A suplex sets up a tag to Gulak and it’s time for a cross arm choke. Kalisto fights up but Kendrick distracts the referee, meaning there’s no referee to see the tag. Kendrick comes in legally this time and kicks Kalisto in the face to keep him in trouble. It’s back to Gulak for a half crab Liontamer with an arm trap to show off the submission skills. Kalisto kicks his way to freedom and scores with a middle rope tornado DDT, allowing the hot tag to Metalik.

The middle rope dropkick puts Kendrick down and Dorado comes in again to hurricanrana Gulak, followed by a stepover spinwheel kick to the face ala Rob Van Dam. Everything breaks down and it’s time for a parade of shots to the face. The double Golden Rewind stagger Gulak and Gallagher, leaving Metalik and Kalisto to hit stereo springboard flip dives onto the two of them. That leaves Dorado on his own and Kendrick slaps on the Captain’s Hook but gets rolled up for the pin (with tights, as Gulak had tried earlier) to pin Kendrick at 15:15.

Rating: B. It’s no classic but it feels like the blowoff of the feud and didn’t have Gulak take the fall, which keeps the important one strong. I’m still not sure if the House Party is going to mean anything long term as it’s not like they have anyone to feud with outside of makeshift teams. Still though, they’re fine enough to throw out there in singles and tag matches for some fun high flying.

Itami promises to get his hands on Murphy and Ali.

Speaking of Murphy, he wants Itami but Maverick says no. Ali has asked as well

Ali is ready to get back up against Tony Nese tonight.

Akira Tozawa vs. Steve Irby

Irby has a good look and trunks that say King of the Moonsault. Tozawa smacks away at him but gets kicked in the face to slow him down. That earns him a Shining Wizard and another kick to the face. Some shouting sets up the top rope backsplash for the pin on Irby at 2:26.

Video on the very cocky Lio Rush, who wants to know how you can have two Cruiserweight Title tournaments with out the greatest cruiserweight in the world.

Nese is warming up and says he’s ready to make a statement.

TJP might become a heavyweight and move up to the main roster. Maybe then Maverick will know that he was the big one that got away.

Mustafa Ali vs. Tony Nese

Buddy Murphy is in Nese’s corner. Therefore, here’s Cedric Alexander to even things out. Nese hammers away with left hands in the corner to start but hang on because we need to pose. I mean it’s really all he’s got so he does kind of have to do it. A kick to the head puts Nese on the floor where Murphy offers a distraction, allowing Nese to forearm Ali down.

Looking to keep things simple, Nese picks him up and throws him back first into the post. Back in and the bodyscissors goes on to keep Ali’s ribs in trouble. He avoids the running knee in the corner though and the rolling X Factor gets two. Nese is right back with strikes of his own though and a double clothesline puts them both down.

Back up and Nese hits another clothesline, followed by a pumphandle driver for another near fall. Ali shoves him off the top though and it’s Cedric and Murphy getting in a fight on the floor. They fight up the ramp, leaving Nese to buckle bomb Ali for two more. The running knee misses though and one heck of a tornado DDT plants Nese again. The 054 gives Ali the pin at 10:09.

Rating: C+. I liked the match, but it felt like some of the middle of the match was missing and was turned into the finish. In other words, it felt like the last part went on long but there wasn’t much of the middle part to build us up there. Either way, Ali continues to be a nearly guaranteed good match and that needs to lead somewhere for him somewhere down the line.

Post match Ali says he wants a triple threat next week with himself vs. Murphy vs. Itami. Backstage, Maverick makes the match.

Overall Rating: B. Another solid show here but it really does amaze me how completely inconsequential this show has become. They followed up on Itami’s angle last week but it still wasn’t the biggest thing in the world. They’re doing a logical move story progression though and that’s a fine way to go about things. Just find a way to make this feel even remotely important and it would be that much better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

It’s not like he shouldn’t have another nickname.

So a few years ago, Mick Foley did a stand-up comedy special for the Network where he jokingly said that he was Mr. In Your House. Since a few years had passed, that popped into my head and I started to wonder who that would be. As it turns out, this isn’t really up for debate and, again, it’s another item on someone’s long list of incredible accomplishments.

As you might have guessed, it’s Shawn Michaels, by a pretty wide margin. Think about what he did at that show alone.

In Your House II – Jeff Jarrett. Great match.

In Your House VII – Diesel. One of the best brawls ever in the WWF.

In Your House X – Mankind. Instant classic, still praised today.

In Your House XVII – Undertaker. Incredible brawl that felt like it was a war.

In Your House XVIII – Undertaker. Inside the Cell, absolute masterpiece.

That’s a rather nice DVD on its own and you could add a few more matches to the list. Maybe Foley is up there with him, but for overall match quality it’s pretty easily Shawn’s show, again, which tends to be the case more often than not.

IMG Credit: WWE

Invasion of the Bodyslammers
Hosts: Lord Alfred Hayes, Slick
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Jim Ross, Randy Savage

Oh how I love the WWE Network. Back in the day, I had this on tape and watched it so many times that I can probably tell you the commentary from memory. I’ve always wanted to review it but it’s kind of hard to find. Well either that or I’m too lazy to actually look it up. This is from early 1993 so don’t expect the best action in the world. Let’s get to it.

Hayes and Slick are in a bowling alley where Slick is teaching Kamala how to bowl (As part of teaching Kamala how to be a man. I never said these things were the most interesting in the world.). First up: Slick has bowling shoes for him but Kamala is scared to put them on so let’s go to a match.

From January 25, 1993 in San Jose, California. Note that Jim Ross is doing commentary on all matches, despite most of them taking place before he debuted at Wrestlemania IX.

Yokozuna vs. Earthquake

Yokozuna goes to the sumo pose and we get some Thigh Master jokes. There’s no contact until over a minute and a half in, which is probably the best idea given the cardio issues here. Earthquake gets in some jumping kicks to the ribs but a shoulder exchange goes nowhere. Some clotheslines put Yokozuna down to a knee but he elbows Earthquake down just as easily. The big fat leg crushes Earthquake again and a running splash in the corner sets up the Banzai Drop for the pin at 3:45.

Rating: D. They were right to keep this short and when you take out the staring at each other early on, there’s not much else to do. Yokozuna won the Royal Rumble the day before this was taped so he was well on his way to the top of the company. A win over a former top heel like Earthquake, especially one this big, was the right way to go. The length helped and while they didn’t do much, they did it right.

From December 14, 1992 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Nasty Boys vs. Beverly Brothers

Egads what was wrong with me as a kid? Sags shoves Beau into the corner to start and gets punched in the face. The announcers talk about how this is going to be a fight, just after talking about how the Beverlies are such great wrestlers. JR: “Now Brain which one is Beau and which one is Blake?” Brain: “Well now the guy with the long hair and the tooth missing, that’s one of the Nasties so forget him. Now the one with the long pants and the bowtie is the referee. This guy coming into the ring right now with blond hair is another one of the Nasties. The one in the blue is one of the Beverlies.”

Beau, the one with the mustache for you non-Beverly Brothers experts, gets beaten up by both Nasties for a bit until Knobbs misses a charge in the corner. The World’s Greatest Tag Team jump over your partner onto the opponent’s back (first popularized by the Beverlies) keeps Knobbs in trouble but Beau misses a middle rope headbutt. That’s not enough for the tag though as Blake comes in for a low blow with the announcers wondering how that could be allowed. I’m guessing it’s not the finish to the match. An elbow to the face allows the hot tag to Sags and everything breaks down for the double DQ at 6:48.

Rating: D. Heenan’s commentary helped this one along but it was only going to get so far. The Nasties didn’t fit as faces but they were going to get cheered at this point so it was the only choice the company had. The Beverlies were perfectly fine for a low level heel tag team and they put on some good performances when they were given the chance. Just a bad ending to a bad match here though.

Kamala doesn’t have shoes on yet but Hayes has got him a bowling ball with the same paintings that are on Kamala’s stomach. This works a bit better, but Kamala is still a little scared. Let’s go to a match instead.

From November 24, 1992 in Dayton, Ohio.

Razor Ramon vs. Undertaker

JR makes bowling references and Heenan loses it when he says they bowl in Oklahoma every Saturday night. If that’s not enough, Heenan tells a story about trying to get an Undertaker autograph but signing it himself and selling it to a kid. Ramon bails to the floor to start and the slow chase/walk is on. Back in and Razor hammers away but Undertaker just stares at him. The uppercuts set up New School (with JR selling the heck out of how awesome that is) so Razor clotheslines him to the floor.

That means a Stunner over the rope, which Undertaker has done far longer than I thought he had. Heenan: “What do you call him: an athlete or a monster?” Savage: “An athletic monster.” Heenan: “Thank you very much!” Back in and a side slam drops Undertaker, followed by five elbow drops. That’s not enough though as Razor steals the Urn and knocks Undertaker out. That’s only good for two and Undertaker makes the comeback, including a chokeslam to send Razor bailing for the countout at 5:03.

Rating: C-. I can go for two bigger guys hitting each other hard, even if the ending was lame. Undertaker was rapidly becoming a featured player at this point with the unstoppable monster thing working very well for him. Razor was still a newcomer here so it made sense to not have him lose the match clean here. I liked this more than I should have and that’s all you can ask for here.

From January 5, 1993 in San Antonio, Texas.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Typhoon

Just…why? JR is still on about the bowling thing and even Heenan has given up on the jokes. Typhoon powers out of a waistlock and a shoulder goes badly for Bigelow. For a change of pace, Bigelow tries a crossbody and gets planted with a World’s Strongest Slam to the shock of the announcers. Fair enough actually. Back in and Typhoon gets sent chest first into the buckle and they’re both down.

We hit the front facelock and some ax handles to the back put Typhoon down again. Bigelow scores with a suplex to even things out from earlier and it’s off to a chinlock. A headbutt gives Bigelow two but he can’t hold Typhoon up for a slam. Typhoon loads up the splash but picks him up for no apparent reason instead of even hitting said splash. Now the top rope headbutt is enough to put Typhoon away at 7:28.

Rating: D. The slams were impressive but Typhoon got less and less useful every single day. He’s a big fat guy who can’t do anything other than big fat guy offense, which doesn’t help him much when he pulls Bigelow up instead of even trying his finisher. Bigelow wasn’t much around this time either but at least he had some charisma and could do something a little more interesting.

Slick demonstrates a strike but Kamala is fascinated by his new ball. Therefore, let’s go to the Repo Cam.

We start with Repo Man harassing a family who has bought a new camper but is late on the payment for his camera.

Instead, Repo Man allows him to film the day’s activities to let him keep the camera. First up: a guy behind on the payments for his Cadillac. Repo Man sneaks up on him (in broad daylight and outside the Selland Arena in Fresno, with a WWF production truck in the parking lot) and takes the car, revealing the driver to be Bill Alfonso (not named but that voice is easy to recognize). Thankfully Repo Man is smart enough to remember his cameraman.

Next up: Repo Man steals a kid’s bike for because his dad is late picking him up from school. It’s quite a sight to see Smash riding down the street on a child’s bike, shouting over his shoulder that the kid’s dad owes him big money and for the cameraman to hurry up.

It’s time to move on to something bigger now as Repo Man goes into a video store (full of Coliseum Videos of course) and promises to take it soon. The cashier says she can get out of trouble if she plays the Repo Man’s Greatest Hits.

So now we’re on a tape in a segment, this time with Repo Man kicking a car window in and stealing it too.

Repo Man steals another car. We get the idea!

Back in the video store, he takes the guy’s camera to wrap things up. It went on too long but Repo Man talking to the camera was funny.

From April 29, 1992 in Syracuse, New York.

Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

Bret is defending. Feeling out process to start with Shawn’s armdrag annoying Bret a bit. Savage: “Michaels can wrestle.” Just not against Savage on the big stage after a long rivalry. Shawn takes him down by the hair into an armbar but Bret sends him outside, frustrating Shawn to no end. Back in and Bret tries his own armbar as these two have a long history of mirroring each other.

In what might not be the brightest move in the world, Bret tries to run the ropes and gets cut off by a knee to the ribs, as Shawn is just better when things speed up. Sherri even gets in a forearm from the floor, as is her custom. An elbow sets up the chinlock on Bret as you can hear the fans getting behind Bret.

It works for a few seconds but Bret charges into the superkick (not yet the finisher) for no cover and only a reaction from Savage. A clothesline out of the corner gets Bret out of trouble again and the middle rope elbow gets two. Shawn bails to the floor in a smart move and they slug it out but Shawn knocks him off the apron into the barricade for the countout at 8:52.

Rating: C+. This was a slow motion version of what these two are capable of doing and while it might not be the brightest idea in the world to have Bret defending a title that he hadn’t held in a good eight months by the time this came out, at least they got these two big names in there. These two might get together again a few times in the future.

Post match Shawn takes the title from the referee and shoves him down, only to get hit by the belt from a returning Bret.

Slick bowls another strike but Kamala doesn’t stop looking at the ball. The solution is to give him another ball but it’s easier said than done.

From February 16, 1993 in Dayton, Ohio.

Doink the Clown vs. Kamala

This is still evil Doink with a gift box. Hang on a second as Doink wants to give Kamala the present, which Heenan thinks is a bowling ball. Heenan doesn’t think that’s necessary though: “What you could do is just shave Kamala’s beard, cut off his head, stick a finger in each ear and roll him down the alley. Same thing!” Kamala gets distracted by the box and gets taken down by a double leg. Another takedown has Kamala in trouble as Heenan sings Doink’s praises. A superkick and some chops have Doink out on the floor but he offers Kamala the present. That’s enough for a countout to end Kamala at 3:20.

Rating: D. I suddenly feel like I’m watching a bad episode of Raw. The box thing was an idea where you could probably guess what was coming as soon as Doink brought it to the ring but what else were they supposed to do here? There’s not much you’re going to get out of a three minute match with these two, but it does make me realize how awesome heel Doink could have been with some more time.

And of course there’s nothing in the box. Kamala beats him down to blow off some steam.

From December 14, 1992 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Undertaker vs. Papa Shango

They stare each other down (which Savage LOVES) and Shango grabs him by the throat for a drive into the corner. An uppercut sets up Old School and a slam but since a slam isn’t exactly devastating, Shango knocks him to the floor with a clothesline. For some reason Paul Bearer distracts the referee and Shango uses his voodoo stick to spray sparks in Undertaker’s face. Savage: “We may be about to see the Undertaker’s first defeat!” Savage does remember that Undertaker is a former WWF World Champion right? A chair to the back keeps Undertaker in trouble but three straight slams mean three straight situps. With Shango running out of ideas, he copies Ramon from earlier in the tape with a series of elbows and that’s just not right. Undertaker pops up and hits the chokeslam for a fast pin at 6:30.

Rating: D. Other than the blast of sparks, there wasn’t much else to talk about here. Then again, this isn’t the kind of a tape where you’re supposed to get some big match with big storyline advancement or a major showdown. At the same time, Undertaker vs. Shango is the kind of match that writes itself. I know Undertaker would go on to have a fine career but he was in there with a Hall of Famer. You would expect a slightly better performance, no?

Slick has finally explained the concept of the game to Kamala and even gotten him another ball. Kamala then runs down the alley to knock the pins down, meaning we need another explanation. How bad is it that these are kind of amusing?

From February 1, 1993 in New York City New York.

Battle Royal

Owen Hart, Koko B. Ware, Kamala, Kim Chee, Shawn Michaels, Iron Mike Sharpe, Bob Backlund, Typhoon, Razor Ramon, Damien Demento, Berzerker, Terry Taylor, Skinner, Tito Santana, Tatanka,

From a Raw taping in the Manhattan Center. It’s the usual fighting to start as I’m trying to figure out who the final entrant is. Sharpe is out in short order with Kim Chee running around on the floor. Shawn gets rid of Koko with a heck of a backdrop and it’s back to the brawling as the announcers discuss pillow fluffing. Various people are bent around the corners and Typhoon gets rid of Skinner.

Savage picks Typhoon and JR goes with Kamala while Heenan picks Razor and a few others. Demento is gone with Owen following him a few seconds later. Shawn snaps off some left hands on Santana in the corner and Berzerker is out as well, earning a loud HUSS chant in the process. In a rather dumb move, Chee gets rid of Kamala (his former boss/whatever else you would call Kamala to Kim Chee), who gets back in and beats the heck out of Chee, eliminating him in the process.

Chee runs away into the crowd and the chase is on, eventually heading into the balcony after some more brawling in the ring. Taylor and Backlund were eliminated off camera and Shawn backdrops Typhoon over the corner to get us down to Santana, Michaels, Ramon and Tatanka. Shawn and Tatanka trade lefts and rights in the corner as Santana and Ramon can’t eliminate each other.

The pairs switch off until Michaels gets double teamed to keep him in trouble. A double kick to the ribs gets rid of Michaels so we’re down to three (four if you remember how to count to sixteen) and here’s the Giant Gonzalez, who seems to be the sixteenth entrant. Razor goes underneath the bottom rope and Tatanka and Santana are tossed by the monster. Gonzalez leaves over the top so Ramon can crawl back in to win at 13:18. Heenan: “I WIN AGAIN! I WIN AGAIN!” Savage: “You gotta be ribbin!”

Rating: D-. Aside from Kamala running around the balcony for a funny visual, there’s only so much you can get out of a match like this, especially with such a screwy finish. Ramon was still a relative newcomer at this point so it was a good idea to let him win a match like this. If nothing else, the announcers were hilarious with Heenan changing picks and then claiming the win like only he could do.

From October 26, 1992 in Springfield, Illinois.

Tatanka vs. Repo Man

They start fast with some rope running with Tatanka taking over, even sending him out to the floor. Back in and a top wristlock puts Repo Man down as Heenan explains why it’s a big deal to give Tatanka his first loss. That’s the kind of simple thing that is completely lost on most commentary today and I’d love to see it come back.

Repo Man screams HE’S BREAKING IT during an armbar, with Heenan again explaining that Repo Man might be trying to just get a breather if the referee yells at Tatanka. A legdrop on the arm keeps Repo Man in trouble but he ducks a middle rope crossbody. So he’s repossessing control. Tatanka fights out of a weaker armbar and goes on the war path with the chops. A top rope chop sets up the Papoose To Go for the pin at 7:42.

Rating: D+. Nothing match of course but Heenan’s commentary was actually interesting. Maybe he got bored with the jokes and went with some actual analysis for a change. That stuff was worth listening to and that’s more than you get on most shows. Tatanka was going to become a bigger deal in the upcoming months so this wasn’t really in doubt, but Repo Man’s rantings were amusing.

Back in the alley, Kamala is standing in front of the lane and rocking the ball back and forth….but the ball goes backwards. We’ll go on to the main event for the sake of sanity.

From January 4, 1993 in Beaumont, Texas.

Mr. Perfect vs. Ric Flair

You know Heenan is going to go nuts over this one. They’re a bit slower to start and hopefully they have the time to do something here. Perfect busts out a strut of his own and slaps Flair in the face and there are far too many empty seats in the better seats. A drop toehold sets up another slap and Heenan is losing it. Flair is back up with a ram into the buckle for one of those great Perfect twisting bumps. He’s fine enough to clothesline Flair to the floor as Heenan is trying to convince himself that it’s still early.

Back in and a poke to the eye cuts Perfect off as Savage and Heenan debate Flair vs. Savage from Wrestlemania VIII. As expected though, Flair takes too long to go up top and gets slammed down for two (the classics never die). A shinbreaker sets up the Figure Four (the classics still never die) and Flair grabs the ropes as you would expect him to. The hold is turned over and a rope is grabbed so it’s time for Perfect to slug away on one leg. Right hands in the corner set up the Flair Flip and Flair bails to the floor. Back in and Flair ducks his head for some reason, setting up the PerfectPlex for the pin at 10:50.

Rating: B-. At least the last match on the show is the best, making it a good way to go out. These two always had great chemistry together and their Loser Leaves the WWF match a few days later would be even better. Flair was on his way out of the company at this point but he was still having good matches, which is a lot better than the people who just put it in neutral in their last few matches.

Slick is disappointed by failing with Kamala’s lack of bowling skills, only to have Kamala bowl a strike behind his back. Celebrating wraps us up.

Overall Rating: D+. So yeah nostalgia ruled the day with this one as it’s really not that good. Now at the same time, it’s really not that bad with mainly a bunch of matches that could have served as dark matches most of the time. Some of them were perfectly fine though and the bowling things were so goofy that they were fun. There are far worse Coliseum Videos out there so I’ll take what I can get in something like this.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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: June 7, 2018
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

I’m actually more interested than usual in this show based on how different this week’s television shows went. Monday Night Raw was such a disaster while Smackdown was a perfectly watchable wrestling show. I’m not sure how they’re going to pull off a highlight show when almost nothing interesting was going on Monday but they’ve pulled off something similar before. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Mike Kanellis

Kanellis is still alive. Who knew? They fight over a lockup to start and Jose scores with a hiptoss. Some forearms in the corner have Jose in trouble and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Kanellis takes way too much time yelling at the conga line and Jose is back up with a clothesline. A superkick gives Kanellis too (with a blown kiss as he’s dedicated to this ridiculous gimmick) but Jose’s pop up right hand is good for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: D. There’s only so much you can do here and while Kanellis isn’t anything special, it’s nice to see some fresh blood on the show. As long as Maria gets back in the next few months (or whenever she’s ready to be back), Kanellis might have a fighting chance. Jose’s presence here makes more sense as he’s almost destined to be a house show opener at best, even if he has some potential to do more than that.

Now we’re often told what’s coming up next, but in this case we’re being told that two different matches are up next. A mystery is afoot and we have some actual drama! I mean, it’s as low level drama as you can possibly have and it’s likely going to be done by the time I’m done typing this but what else am I supposed to talk about on this thing?

From Raw.

Natalya vs. Nia Jax

Non-title with Ronda Rousey on commentary. Nia runs her over and knocks Natalya to the floor as we take a break. Back with Natalya fighting out of a chinlock and scoring with a jawbreaker. A discus clothesline puts Nia down for two but Natalya hurts her knee on the step over into the dropkick. The Samoan drop ends Natalya in short order at 7:22.

Rating: D. I’m still not sure why I’m supposed to be interested in seeing if Ronda can armbar Nia when she’s already armbarred HHH but you can’t expect them to keep continuity for a full two months. Nia’s rather abrupt heel turn and Rousey suddenly being friends with Natalya are both stretches but I’ve seen worse from this company before. Just keep the match at Money in the Bank short and they should survive.

Post match Nia checks on the downed Natalya and Rousey comes in to keep things safe. Natalya is all frustrated as Rousey helps her out. Nia didn’t get physical after the match and looked concerned.

And from Smackdown.

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

The threat of a Disarm-Her sends Charlotte outside so Becky settles for a headlock back inside. That’s escaped as well and it’s a standoff until they both catch kicks to the ribs. A double knockdown sends us to a break. Back with Becky going for the arm again but getting caught in a backbreaker for two instead. Lynch drops her one more time and gets two off a top rope legdrop but gets sent into the corner. The moonsault hits raised knees and the Figure Eight is countered twice in a row. The second counter is pulled into the Disarm-Her for the tap at 8:11.

Rating: C+. I’d love to believe that this is going to lead towards Becky getting into the title picture again as I have no idea why she hasn’t been a long reigning champion already. She has the look, the talking ability, the skill and whatever else might be needed to make a long reign work. Unfortunately since it’s Money in the Bank season, this win isn’t going to move her up the rankings but rather just be a momentum builder, whatever that is supposed to mean.

Lynch helps her up and everything is cool.

From Raw again.

Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens

Owens easily takes him down to start and asks if that was too sweet. A headlock has Balor slowed down and we switch to a chinlock to really mix things up. Balor fights up into an armbar but Owens whips him hard into the corner to cut him off again. Back from a break with Owens holding another chinlock and Balor fighting up in short order. The kick to the head looks to set up the Coup de Grace but Owens rolls outside.

A snap of the arm over the rope puts Balor in more trouble and it’s off to an armbar. Balor fights up with an elbow to the face but gets superkicked back down. The shotgun dropkick knocks Owens into the corner, only to have him pop back up to crotch Balor. Owens stomps away and that’s a DQ at 18:34.

Rating: D-. So yes, after this horrible show, we’re really supposed to be interested in a DQ finish to a long and really boring match. These two are capable of so much more but since it’s Money in the Bank season, it’s time to sit around and do the boring matches for the sake of building momentum or whatever nonsense we’re supposed to care about this week.

Post match Owens hits the frog splash and climbs the really big ladder. He takes forever teasing the big splash off the ladder but Balor gets up and pulls him down. A Coup de Grace off the ladder crushes Owens and Balor pulls down a briefcase to end the show.

Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak

Feeling out process to start before Tozawa hits him in the face a few times. We take an abrupt break and come back with Gulak hitting a backbreaker and cranking on the arm. Gulak mixes it up with a second chinlock before just stomping away. That doesn’t sound like submission based wrestling, meaning I doubt it’s going to go anywhere.

Tozawa fights back so let’s cut to the crowd, then back to the ring, then back to the crowd in about ten seconds. A missile dropkick gives Tozawa two and he grabs something like AJ’s Black Widow. That doesn’t last long (of course) and Tozawa misses a charge into the corner, setting up the Gulock for the tap at 10:13.

Rating: C-. They need to do something with Gulak sooner rather than later as he’s getting this submission stuff over and could be a great foil for a variety of people, mainly the Cruiserweight Champion. I mean, we’ve established that he couldn’t go onto the other shows and do his submission stuff there because he’s just a cruiserweight and that would never work.

We’ll wrap it up on Smackdown.

New Day vs. Miz/Rusev/Samoa Joe

Woods wastes no time in forearming Miz down for an early two and it’s New Day alternating with elbows and splashes for two more. Joe tags himself in to face Big E. and this is already feeling bigger. Big E. suplexes him down and it’s off to Woods to try his luck. That would be bad luck as an enziguri puts him down and we take a break. Back with Woods fighting out of Miz’s chinlock but getting pulled down by the hair.

Joe comes in and gets kneed in the head, allowing the double tags to Miz and Kofi. Everyone else fights to the floor and the Boom Drop has Miz in trouble. Joe breaks up Trouble in Paradise and the DDT gives Miz two. Big E. comes back in and gets whipped into the Rock Bottom out of the corner. Rusev gets low bridged to the floor and Woods hits a big flip dive over the top.

Joe gets sent outside as well and Kofi hits a springboard trust fall to drop him again. Big E. spears Miz to the floor (that’s going to be a bad injury one day) and the Midnight Hour is broken up as Joe pulls Woods into the Koquina Clutch on the floor. Kofi dives into the Machka Kick and Miz posts Big E. The villains come back in….and Miz grabs the pancakes, which he throws at Joe and Rusev by mistake. One Machka Kick and a backsplash later and Miz is left down and alone. Kofi comes back in and the Midnight Hour is good for the pin at 13:19.

Rating: C+. I liked this one though it wasn’t as good as the New Day’s match from a week or so ago. They’ve certainly lost some steam but they’re still one of the best trios around. That Trust Fall alone, which looked like a springboard to Miz, was enough of a cool visual to make this work. The pancakes….not so much but that’s their thing and it’s not going away at the moment.

Overall Rating: D+. Yeah this show didn’t do much good after what we had this week. It’s not interesting TV and that’s been the case for a long time now. If they want to make people more interested, give us something more worthwhile to watch. Mike Kanellis was one of the highlights of this week’s show and that should tell you everything you need to know about what’s going on in WWE right now.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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