Tuesday Night Titans
Date: November 13, 1984
Location: Video One Studios, Owings Mills, Maryland
Hosts: Vince McMahon, Lord Alfred Hayes

Another request here, partially so I can say I’ve done an episode of this show. This is a bit of a different show as it’s mainly a talk show with wrestling guests. There would be matches included, though this isn’t exactly the best time period from a quality standpoint. I’m not entirely sure what to expect here but that’s the kind of show Tuesday Night Titans was. Let’s get to it.

I’m going to do my best on the dates/locations of the matches but it’s one of those shows that throws them them together from other TV tapings.

I can barely hear Hayes’ introduction over the REALLY loud intro music.

Vince and Hayes are on the talk show set to intro the show. We talk about Thanksgiving (this is being written two days before his year’s holiday so it’s kind of appropriate) with Vince promising to deliver a turkey in the form of first guest in Captain Lou Albano. Lou immediately lists off all of his accomplishments as a manager, which has to be some kind of a record (fourteen Tag Team Champions is pretty crazy).

He goes on a rant about how amazing athletes wrestlers are, even talking about Vince’s amateur wrestling credentials. Albano brags about his IQ of 901.73 back in his medulla ob-long-gata which makes him a linguist and a bi-linguist. Vince FINALLY cuts off this rather hilarious speech and throws us to a match.

From Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – October 29/30, 1984

Nick DeCarlo vs. The Spoiler

Spoiler, a big masked guy (I won’t say who he is in case you haven’t seen him before) has Albano in his corner. Before we get going, here’s Intercontinental Champion Greg Valentine (also Albano’s client) to say he doesn’t have any competition. Albano goes into a rant about how awesome Valentine is as the match starts. Valentine goes over to commentary to talk about how he wants respect as Spoiler throws DeCarlo into the corner. DeCarlo gets knocked outside, followed by a top rope clothesline back inside. A knee lift sets up the Claw to put DeCarlo away in a hurry.

Back in the studio, Albano apologizes to Hayes for not being a gentleman. Then he goes into a rant about Spoiler squeezing a ball in his hand until he got strong enough to break a pair of pliers. Now he can squash any wrestler’s skull. Vince: “Some skulls are softer than others.” As for Valentine, they might just retire the title. For now though, he’ll face any contender around.

Back from a break with Albano laid out on the couch with his shirt open as we get to our second guest: Barry Windham. Barry is a standard face but Albano laughs at him and talks about his own training style. Albano’s various stomach issues take us to the next match.

From Salisbury, Maryland – November 7, 1984.

Barry Windham vs. Charlie Fulton

An unnamed hillbilly is in the crowd. We’ll call him Jim and move on. Barry takes him down with a top wristlock before grabbing an armdrag into an armbar. That’s enough wrestling as Barry forearms him down and drops a knee for two. More right hands drop Fulton and a bulldog is good for the pin.

Rating: D. Nothing to see here as Windham never felt right in the WWF. It was clear that he wasn’t exactly happy there as he would eventually self destruct, though at least he did have a nice run in the US Express. Fulton was a jobber to the stars around this point and that’s exactly what he was doing here.

Back in the studio, Albano makes more fun of Windham and eventually gives him some dieting advice. Oh and watch any match you’re not involved in. Windham calls him a slob so Albano calls him dehydrated and says if you put Windham’s brain in a parakeet, it would fly backwards.

We take a break and come back with Mike Rotundo as the third guest. Albano: “Take your hat off! You’re not in the barn!” Vince talks about Rotundo’s athletic accomplishments and again, Albano talks over him in a rather heelish way.

From the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – October 29, 1984.

Barry Windham/Mike Rotundo vs. Mohammad Saad/Bobby Bass

Not quite the US Express just yet. Windham knocks Saad out to the floor to start as we hear about Windham and Rotundo’s background. Rotundo comes in for an armbar and Bass gets forearmed into the corner for his cheating efforts. The good guys start their fast tagging and work over Saad’s arm until a bulldog is good for the pin. Total squash.

Back in the studio, Rotundo threatens to shut Albano up. Windham and Rotundo talk about the various regional Tag Team Titles they’ve won, which you don’t hear about very often. Albano has been advising the current World Tag Team Champions (Dick Murdoch/Adrian Adonis) but Rotundo doesn’t think they need a manager at this point. Albano rants us to a break.

I’m not sure where the next match takes place. Vince says it’s from the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey but I can’t find any record of these two ever having a match there. I can however find one from around this time in Toronto, which would make a lot more sense.

Nikolai Volkoff vs. Rocky Johnson

Joined in progress with the announcers saying it’s in the Toronto area, meaning we’re in the Maple Leaf Gardens on October 21, 1984. Thanks for that, commentators. Johnson punches him in the jaw but doesn’t follow up. Well he’s never been the brightest guy in the world. A nerve hold (I think) takes Johnson down but some gyrating gets him back to his feet. Back up and a double shoulder puts them both down for a breather. Volkoff wins a test of strength and of course cheats as soon as Johnson starts coming back. A kick to the ribs sends Volkoff outside but he’s right back in with a hard forearm to the back. Johnson hits some of his always weird looking (though still fine) dropkicks, only to get dropped throat first across the top rope for the fast pin.

Rating: D+. Not a terrible power vs. speed match here with Johnson being more about charisma than his in-ring abilities. This was also back when Volkoff was looking like a powerhouse rather than the much bigger version that most people remember him as. It was easy to see why they ran Volkoff vs. Hogan so many times as this was during a big time in the Cold War and it was kind of a perfect matchup.

And now, COMEDY! Hayes brings out the world’s oldest wrestling fan, a man who appears to be about 94 years old (or about 40 and in bad makeup and a horrible wig) named Lloyd Lynch. He talks about his hometown of Cut and Shoot, Texas before nodding off for a second. His favorite wrestler was the Swedish Angel, a 300lb guy with a big bearhug that everyone loved. Vince has such an awkward look on his face and Lloyd makes it worse by talking about seeing the Angel in Madison Square Garden and squeezing a man’s hair off. That man turned into Gorgeous George and that’s how he got his start.

After talking a bit about meeting Vince’s grandfather and an award Vince’s father just received, it’s time to talk about women’s wrestling and Lloyd is already laughing. Apparently Lloyd remembers a women’s wrestling match from 1834 with Millie Lang Tree. He also knew some woman from Boston who defeated a 412lb wolf with a Boston crab in the back of a pickup truck at a drive-in movie in San Antonio.

As for Millie though, she used a double toe half nelson, which of course Lynch agrees to demonstrate. He pulls his leg up into the air….and hurts himself in the process. Thankfully that’s it and hopefully we never have to sit through something like this again. It was about as funny as being hit in the head with a box of hammers as they weren’t trying for anything more than redneck hillbilly humor with Lynch apparently being at least 110 years old. Just bad stuff here and something beneath even the WWF’s standards.

Thankfully we move on to the next guest: David Bruno Sammartino, who would later drop the Bruno and then realize that no one cared about Bruno’s really boring son. We hear about Bruno trying to keep David out of wrestling but David knew it was all he wanted to do. The Sammartino name isn’t a burden because it’s like being Rocky Marciano’s son. And now, a match.

From (I believe) the East Rutherford, New Jersey – October 14, 1984.

David Sammartino vs. Mr. Fuji

Joined in progress with David working on an armbar in front of a silent crowd. Gorilla calls a shoulder block beautiful and it’s right back to the armbar. Fuji comes back with a falling headbutt to the ribs and the slow motion continues with the fans still not caring. A stomach claw continues to be one of the dumbest moves of all time until Sammartino grabs the leg to escape. Fuji’s slow motion offense continues but David slugs away like his dad to the only reaction of the match. A kick to the ribs and a knee drop give David two and a small package puts Fuji away.

Rating: D-. The match was bad but I always feel bad for Sammartino. He always looked like he was trying but there’s just nothing there. Other than being Bruno’s son, there’s nothing about him that stands out. It’s not really surprising that he never went anywhere in wrestling and a lot of it probably comes from the pressure of being Bruno’s son. Really boring match here, which was common for David.

Back in the studio and thankfully Albano is back to talk about David’s physique. He likes what he sees in Sammartino and suggests that he eat lots of protein, including unborn virgin goat’s milk. Oh and change your name. Not bad advice actually.

We come back with our next guest: the huge Blackjack Mulligan, who brought the house band with him. He’s here to stand up for AMERICA and doesn’t want to hear about people like the Iron Sheik who doesn’t stand for AMERICA. Then you have people like Big John Studd, who just isn’t nice in general. After listing off a few more villains, it’s off to a match.

From Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – October 29, 1984.

Blackjack Mulligan vs. Ted Grizzly

Grizzly is billed from Morgan’s Corner, Arkansas, which was the hometown of Haystacks Calhoun. Mulligan shoves him down with almost no effort and forearms him in the chest. A drop toehold has Grizzly tapping but that wouldn’t mean anything for a good ten years. Grizzly’s right hands have no effect and a jumping back elbow to the jaw puts Grizzly away with almost no effort. The fans stand up and look at something in the aisle but we don’t get to see what it is. That might be a bit too interesting you see.

Back in the studio, Mulligan says he’s ready to face anyone, anytime. For tonight though, let’s bring out some square dancers! Seriously they come out and dance and time is devoured. Vince FINALLY throws it to commercial….but first we see a mechanical bull. Oh jeez here we go.

Back with Vince, Hayes and Mulligan standing next to the mechanical bull called Mr. Black. Mulligan doesn’t think much of Roddy Piper, who can’t shut up long enough to have a real talk. Blackjack doesn’t quite get how this wrestling thing works does he? Anyway he’ll be having his own talk show called Blackjack’s Barbecue where we can ask the real questions.

We go to Piper’s Pit where Piper mocks a rather muscular wrestler until Mulligan shows up and gets in Piper’s face. Mulligan calls him a pole cat (skunk for you city folk) and says he’s proud of his heritage….and that’s it.

Back in the studio, Mulligan talks about the use for mechanical bulls, which Hayes says he’s heard of being inside medieval dungeons. Vince is talked into getting on the thing and lasts a few seconds before falling off. And now, more from the band as this segment just keeps going for no logical reason. Hayes is put on the thing….and doesn’t ride because we go to a break.

After another break, Albano is going to answer some letters to give fans advice. First up, a woman whose husband won’t use modern hygiene products. Albano lists off a few ingredients to mix together, including olive oil and witch hazel, to put on him instead. It turns out that Albano doesn’t use such products either and Vince is disturbed.

The second question is from a woman with an obese husband who has heard of a book called the Fat Person’s Guide to Ecstasy. Albano has never heard of such a book and says the husband should lose weight. Then he lists off the book’s authors and thinks the husband should be on a low carbohydrate diet. There are fat people who are ok though, including the fat mamas who love him. You can eat anything you want, but only swallow half.

Third up is a wife with a husband who never takes off his cowboy boots. Albano thinks the husband has a bad smell and needs to lose weight. Maybe he should fill a bathtub with alcohol and walk into the thing. Albano is worried about what will happen when the guy dies and they have to take the boots off. That’s enough for Vince and we’re finally done. Another unfunny segment, though Albano’s insane charisma carried it as far as it could.

Back from a break with Vince and Hayes talking about the awesomeness that is Paul Orndorff. We get a highlight package on Orndorff’s career (despite him not being in the WWF for very long at this point), meaning some long clips of matches showcasing Orndorff’s strength. I was never a big Orndorff fan but he did have a great piledriver.

After a final break (thank goodness), it’s time for more Mulligan for more music and dancing, this time with Vince, Mulligan, and the rest of the guests joining in. Rotundo looks so out of place out there and it’s kind of funny.

Overall Rating: D-. Oh just no. I get the idea they were going for here but sweet goodness it wasn’t entertaining. The wrestling was a bunch of lame squashes and the “comedy” was somewhere between torture and just not funny. It’s a weird time for the company and while there was talent around, most of it wasn’t on display here. Albano was funny due to sheer willpower but you can only do the same jokes so many times.  This was horribly unentertaining and I’m kind of shocked this show got to 100 episodes.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

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

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Main Event
Date: November 16, 2017
Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for Survivor Series and I’m not sure if that’s going to mean anything around here. The best hope I have here though is last week’s episode containing a clip from Smackdown, which you never see around here. It would make sense again this week and would help set up Survivor Series. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Heath Slater vs. Curt Hawkins

Slater pauses to start and throws Curt the I’VE GOT KIDS shirt. That’s fine with Curt, who sends him shoulder first into the post. Some stomping sets up a chinlock before a quick leg trip keeps Heath down. Back up and Slater avoids a charge into the corner, setting up Sweetness for two. Hawkins can’t hit a superplex so Slater grabs a top rope sunset flip for the pin at 4:49.

Rating: D+. Just a match that you would expect these two to have, though the switched up finish worked as a nice change of pace. Slater is a perfect choice to open something up as you’re going to get an entertaining little match and the fans are always going to cheer for him. Nothing to see of course but at least the reaction worked.

We look at Jason Jordan defeating Bray Wyatt on Raw but getting beaten up soon after.

From Raw.

Here’s Angle to announce that Jordan is off the team due to injury. Before he can name it though, Jordan comes out and begs Angle to let him do it. He’ll be fine by Sunday and he’s seen Angle fight injured so many times. Jordan says Angle picked him because he was the best option and it wasn’t favoritism. He won’t get another chance like this because he’s worked his whole life to get here and wants to represent Raw. Stephanie comes out and tells Kurt to make the decision but HHH comes out as well. HHH gets right to the chase: Jordan is out and he’s in instead. A Pedigree plants Jordan and that’s that.

From Raw again.

Kane vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman jumps Kane and I don’t think we had an opening bell. They head outside with Strowman driving him face first into the barricade but getting whipped into the steps. Kane pulls out a table as the referee isn’t even trying to tell them to get in the ring. Smart move actually. Some chair shots to the back just annoy Strowman, who takes the chair away and lights Kane up with it instead.

With the table set up at ringside, Strowman loads up a superplex, only to have Kane punch his way out to avoid a bad case of death. Kane gets knocked inside but can’t chokeslam him down. Instead it’s a middle rope ax handle and the running powerslam through the ring (that made me jump). The bell never rang so no match but that was quite the finish.

Very quick clip of Paul Heyman’s promo on Raw.

Tony Nese vs. Gran Metalik

Nese poses to start and runs Metalik over with a clothesline for an early two. Tony misses a charge though and gets caught with a dive as we take a break. Back with Nese getting caught on top, allowing Nese to get two off a gutbuster. A superkick cuts Nese off though and it’s the Metalik Driver for the pin at 6:15. Not enough shown to rate but it was exactly what you would expect.

Pay per view rundown.

Clip of AJ Styles’ promo from Tuesday.

And again, from Smackdown to close the show. New Day vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens ended when Shield came down and then everything went nuts.

Sami and Owens bail to the floor, leaving New Day to get beaten down. The Usos come in but the Bar cuts them off. We see the Raw women’s team invading the Smackdown women’s locker room for the big brawl with Charlotte taking the big beating. Back in the arena, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor run in along with others, only to have Shane lead some reinforcements. Shinsuke Nakamura starts striking away but Kurt Angle shows up to bring out Braun Strowman for the real house cleaning.

Everyone brawls to the floor where Shield surrounds Shane McMahon. Shane has to watch as Smackdown is decimated on the floor, including Samoa Joe breaking the trombone over Big E.’s back. Angle gets in the ring and asks Shane how this feels before a TripleBomb plants the boss. Angle takes off his jacket and gives Shane an Angle Slam. Strowman watches as it’s a second TripleBomb to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The ending helps this one (again) and the HHH stuff helped a lot too. They were smart to go with the Smackdown stuff here again as that’s far more interesting than most of the stuff on Raw. I’ll be glad when the Raw vs. Smackdown stuff is done but at least it’s been entertaining while it’s lasted.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

205 Live
Date: November 14, 2017
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

We’re back stateside now and as luck would have it, today is Kalisto’s birthday. I’m thinking that means cake and of course you know what that means. In this case it’s also the go home show for Survivor Series, meaning we’ll be getting what is hopefully the final build between Kalisto and Enzo Amore. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Kalisto says he’s going to celebrate his birthday by beating down Drew Gulak before he wins the Cruiserweight Title back on Sunday.

Gulak and Amore are next to a massive birthday cake with Enzo talking about the Zo Train ending if he loses the title. Tonight, he needs Drew to make this a better 205 Live.

The announcers preview the show as the opening stall continues.

Jack Gallagher/Brian Kendrick vs. Rich Swann/Cedric Alexander

Tornado rules with Cedric as the hometown boy, meaning there’s quite the chant to start things off. It’s a brawl to start before all four head outside with Swann being sent into the barricade. That’s fine with Cedric who pops Kendrick in the jaw to take over again. Gallagher hits a heck of a dropkick to knock Cedric over the announcers’ table leaving Swann to get beaten down in the ring.

The villains take turns knocking them off the apron until Alexander finally gets in a dropkick on Kendrick. One heck of an elbow to the jaw staggers Gallagher for a great visual and a Spanish Fly gives Cedric two. Kendrick comes back in to take Cedric down and the Captain’s Hook goes on. Swann’s save attempt is countered into a Fujiwara armbar but he’s still able to catch Cedric’s tap attempt.

Cedric has to break up a double submission on Swann, basically guaranteeing the end of the match. Sliced Bread #2 gets two on Cedric but it’s Swann coming back in with some superkicks. Kendrick crotches him on top though and a double super hiptoss drops Rich for a rather close two. It’s Cedric right back in with the springboard clothesline but Gallagher breaks up the Lumbar Check by dropkicking the knee out. Swann superkicks the heck out of Gallagher and hits a diving tornado DDT onto the floor. Back in and the Lumbar Check puts Kendrick away at 10:55.

Rating: B. These guys had a heck of a match here and that’s exactly what it needed to be, especially in what should blow off the feud. They’ve been feuding for way too long now and needed a gimmick match to really wrap things up. It’s a good match though and one of the better things this show has had in a long time.

Ariya Daivari comes out and says this might be the last episode of the Zo Show. The show isn’t being canceled or anything (Are we sure about that?) but it might as well be if Kalisto wins the title on Sunday. Mustafa Ali comes out and doesn’t think much of Daivari sucking up to Enzo so much, but maybe it has to do with all the cake. On top of that though, Daivari looks stupid.

Ariya Daivari vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali starts fast with a superkick and steals Daivari’s jacket before hitting a high crossbody for two. The springboard is broken up though and Ali crashes out to the floor. Back in and Daivari gets two off a clothesline, followed by a chinlock. I’ll take this time to do anything else as my interest is rapidly draining.

Since it’s just a chinlock, it’s a spinebuster for two on Ali as we’re firmly in the lack of charisma period that Daivari constantly has going on. Ali fights back up and scores with a dropkick, only to get caught in a reverse DDT. The frog splash gets two but Ali is right back up with a super hurricanrana. Since this is an Ali match, that sets up the 054 for the pin at 7:13.

Rating: D+. The wrestling was fine but egads how many times can we watch these two have the same match? Ali is better in the ring but if you’ve seen one of his matches, you’ve seen all of them. Daivari on the other hand is a charisma vacuum who drives any interest he could possibly have out of the matches. Watchable match but better suited for the insomnia cure than anything else.

Akira Tozawa comes in to wish Kalisto a happy birthday and good luck.

Kalisto vs. Drew Gulak

There are balloons and cake at ringside so you know the ending from here. Before the match, Enzo says Kalisto is going to get a beating for a birthday gift. Since it’s Enzo, that takes a few minutes to actually say. Gulak slams Kalisto down to start but gets caught in a quick headscissors. They head outside with Enzo running his mouth (shocking) to allow Gulak some cheap shots.

Back in and we hit the neck crank, meaning it’s time for the fans to sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY. A slam sends Kalisto into the ropes and we’ve got a bad knee. They tease going into the cake before Drew wisely goes back to the knees with a surfboard. Kalisto rolls away into the hurricanrana driver, followed by a suicide dive. Enzo kicks the knee out though and Drew belts out some Happy Birthday. The dragon sleeper takes too long though and it’s the Salida Del Sol to give Kalisto the pin at 7:52.

Rating: C. This was all you could have expected it to be and Kalisto winning was the only possible ending. Gulak is fine as a lackey for Enzo, though I’m not sure how much longer we can keep going with this stuff. The match was acceptable enough and Kalisto getting a win hopefully means he wins the title on Sunday (though it won’t).

Post match Enzo goes after Kalisto but has to kick Gulak in the head. Enzo bails but Kalisto chases him down and sends him into the cake (the one in the back, as opposed to the one in the arena) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Aside from the opener, this was a completely run of the mill show here as we’re getting ready to finally wrap up Enzo vs. Kalisto, meaning it’s finally time to get someone fresh challenging for the title. The show is still watchable but there’s nothing here that you haven’t seen before. The cake stuff was fine, though completely standard stuff for a not very interesting title match on Sunday.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

I just finished watching the ESPN 30 For 30 documentary on Ric Flair and….I have no idea where to start. The more I think about it, the more appropriate that seems. If there a one line that sums up the entire film, it’s Ric Flair doesn’t know who Ric Fliehr is. The crux of the film is about Flair’s Nature Boy persona, but the underlying theme throughout is Flair not knowing who he was because he spent so much time living his gimmick. There’s a lot to get through though.

The film goes through the life and career of Flair, looking at everything from his childhood to his training to the NWA to the WWF to WCW to TNA and most points in between. The thing is, it doesn’t really go into depth about a lot of what was going on. It’s understandable when he was an active or semi-active wrestler for forty years, but it always seems like he’s getting interested in talking about something and then cuts it off because we need to move on to something else.

Unfortunately this leaves you wanting more, which is one of the flaws of the movie: I wanted to see more. This easily could have gone on for another hour or more and it wouldn’t have gotten dull. If nothing else just more stories of Flair’s life and career with all of the insanity that came with it. That’s what a lot of the focus is on though, and it’s not always in the best way.

The main word for the film is excess. As you probably know, Flair lives every day of his life to the hardest degree and didn’t seem to look back a single day. While Flair talked about his life though, it seemed that he knew he missed a lot of things and it bothered him. However, that was just another day of drinking and partying to make his troubles go away. Flair talks about the worst days of his drinking, which saw him drink ten beers and five mixed drinks a day, every day, for SEVENTEEN YEARS. While that’s probably an exaggeration, you kind of have to wonder how much of one it really is.

Over the course of an hour and a half, we see that there are clearly two sides to Flair: the Nature Boy and the man himself. While Flair is an incredible performer and one of the biggest stars in wrestling history. However, at the same time, his personal life is often in shambles, including the gut wrenching story of the death of his son Reid. It’s a story that can’t be done justice but some of the details will make your head spin.

On a brighter front, the film also has interviews from a ton of people who have played a part in or been along for the ride for Flair’s career (though unless I missed him, there was no Vince McMahon for reasons unclear. Of all people, Hulk Hogan had some of the greatest praise for Flair, which is one of the last things you would have expected given some of their previous issues. As a bonus, you even get an ultra rare out of character interview from Undertaker, who seems to be a big fan as well. It’s worth seeing the whole thing just for the sake of hearing so many takes on Flair.

Overall, the film is definitely worth checking out. It might not offer anything hardcore fans haven’t heard before but it’s incredibly well put together (with some animations of a lot of Flair’s stories) with Flair front and center the whole time. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from Flair’s often tragic stories, but at the same time there is so much to celebrate about him that it almost makes you forget about a lot of the things he’s gone through (often brought onto himself). That’s what the whole thing comes down to in the end: there are two parts of Flair’s life. One of them is a lot of fun, but the other is a very dark and scary place.

Main Event
Date: November 9, 2017
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the British version this time around and, as usual, that means it depends on how you liked Raw this week. You can almost never guess what you’re going to get on here, especially now that the Dash Wilder vs. Heath Slater/Rhyno epic is over. This week’s show could be a lot of things so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Matt Hardy vs. Curt Hawkins

Hawkins gets in a shot to the back and immediately bails to the ropes. A neckbreaker takedown gives Matt two but Hawkins sends him outside as we talk about the losing streak. Hawkins’ side suplex gets two and we hit the chinlock. Matt pops up and sends him into each of the buckles in the corner, followed by a bulldog. The Side Effect into the Twist of Fate puts Hawkins away at 4:52.

Rating: D+. Just Hardy beating a jobber to the stars here as I keep wondering where the losing streak is going. I mean, odds are it’s nowhere but at least they’re having some fun with it in the process. Hawkins’ entrance alone is entertaining and I’m more than glad that he’s still around. You can keep the number going higher and higher and if you need to do something with it, cool. If not, at least it’s entertaining while it lasts.

We recap Braun Strowman returning and stalking the Miz and Miztourage.

We look at Kurt Angle adding Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and Jason Jordan to the Survivor Series team.

From Raw.

The Miz vs. Braun Strowman

Non-title because why would Strowman want something like a belt? Miz bails to the floor to start and has a huddle with the Miztourage. They get inside and the beating is on in a hurry with Strowman throwing him around like the tiny man that he is. The spinning Big Ending plants Miz again and Dallas looks scared on the floor. That is only made worse as Strowman goes outside and hits an incredibly loud right hand to Dallas’ jaw. Miz gets thrown onto the Miztourage but here’s Kane for the showdown and a DQ at 5:05.

Rating: D+. This was much more of an angle than a match and that’s fine. Miz getting destroyed is fine as long as he doesn’t get pinned, which is what would have happened in other times around here. At least Strowman got to look awesome all over again, which is exactly what should be happening to him.

Post match Kane can’t chokeslam Strowman, who hits the running powerslam. Kane pops up and gets clotheslined to the floor, where he lands on his feet. The Miztourage tries to jump Braun and gets beaten up again.

And again from Raw.

Tag Team Titles: The Bar vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose

Rollins and Ambrose are defending. Ambrose jumps Cesaro to start and it’s a Hart Attack with Rollins hitting a Sling Blade instead of a clothesline for two on Sheamus. The champs hit dives to the floor and knock them outside again as we take a break. Back with Ambrose in trouble and things getting worse as the Bar hits double superkicks to the ribs.

Cesaro kicks Rollins off the apron to break up a tag attempt but can’t get the top rope superplex on Ambrose. A middle rope clothesline is enough to bring in Rollins so house can be cleaned in a hurry. Rollins hits a suicide dive on Sheamus and a Falcon Arrow gets two on Cesaro. Swiss Death cuts Rollins off but can’t put him away just yet. Everything breaks down and the champs’ double dives are broken up.

Dean is sent back first into the barricade and a top rope clothesline/powerbomb combo gets two on Rollins. Back in and Dirty Deeds takes Sheamus down for the frog splash but Cesaro knocks Dean into the cover for the save. Cue the New Day of all people in the crowd for a distraction though, with Woods congratulating the fans on staying awake. As New Day talks, Angle rallies the troops in the back.

New Day says it’s Under Siege 2 (that’s getting into some dark territory) as the Raw roster surrounds the ring. They go after New Day, leaving Sheamus to Brogue Kick Rollins for the pin and the titles at 18:55. That’s actually a finish lifted from WCW where Harlem Heat took the Tag Team Titles from Sting and Lex Luger while the NWO came into the arena.

Rating: B. These four are just incapable of having a bad match and that’s always a good problem to have. I like the booking a lot as Rollins and Ambrose can do other stuff while Sheamus and Cesaro pretty much had this or nothing else. The ending was a nice touch too which protects both teams and advances the story. Well done all around.

Anderson and Gallows vs. Heath Slater/Rhyno

This could almost be a Raw match. Slater and Anderson start things off with Karl not letting him give his shirt to a fan. Now that’s some heel work. Rhyno comes in for a double elbow but it’s off to Gallows to give Rhyno a beating in the corner. Anderson and Gallows are sent outside and we take a break. Back with Slater fighting out of a chinlock but getting forearmed right back into it. A faceplant is enough for the double hot tag and Rhyno grabs a superplex for two on Anderson. Gallows breaks up the Gore though and, after taking out Slater, the Magic Killer ends Rhyno at 8:20.

Rating: C+. Heck of a Main Event match here with teams who actually come off like bigger deals than a lot of the people normally on this show. It’s not a classic or anything close to one but I can always go with seeing something feel like an effort and that’s what you got here. When else do you see a superplex around here?

And, in a real twist, from Smackdown.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal

Mahal is defending. AJ grabs a headlock to start but gets LAUNCHED out to the floor as we take an early break. Back with AJ caught in a headlock on the mat but they’re quickly on the floor with Mahal slamming him onto the announcers’ table. We hit the armbar as Mahal slows things down a bit.

Mahal drops a knee but dives into a pair of raised boots, followed by the Phenomenal Blitz. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives AJ two as you can tell the fans are way into this one. Something like a backdrop into a faceplant gives Mahal two of his own but he gets kicked out of the corner.

The Calf Crusher is quickly broken up and Jinder turns him inside out with a clothesline. That’s fine with AJ who sends him outside for a slingshot forearm. Back in and the springboard 450 connects, only to have the Singh Brothers pull Mahal to the floor. AJ takes out the brothers but jumps into the Khallas.

That’s only good for two though as AJ gets his foot on the ropes and the place goes NUTS at the new hope. Jinder loads up a super Khallas but AJ slips out and snaps his throat across the top, setting up the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin and the title at 16:47 as the fans go coconuts at the pin.

Rating: B. Pretty easily Mahal’s best match ever as champ but I think you can guess where that’s from. I can’t imagine Mahal isn’t champion again by the end of the India tour. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as we don’t have to sit through Mahal vs. Lesnar at Survivor Series. Styles winning was the right call here as he can have the dream match against Lesnar and then do whatever with the title as necessary.

Overall Rating: B+. They clipped a lot of stuff out of the broadcast version of course but they packed the heck out of this show with two very big and important (as well as rather awesome) matches from the week. They were smart to have the Smackdown main event on here as it was the biggest thing to happen in England and really, it’s not a big deal to mix things up a bit. Great show this week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

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

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205 Live
Date: November 7, 2017
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

The show is heading across the ocean this week and that means things are changing up a bit. This week will see the WWE UK wrestlers guest starring, which likely means some show stealing performances and someone jobbing clean to Enzo Amore because that’s how things work anymore. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at Pete Dunne destroying Enzo last night and the UK wrestlers being invited tonight.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Enzo Amore to open things up with his Zo Show talk show. Heaven forbid anyone just get in the ring and talk without having their own set. He’s a ratings draw and money certainly can buy happiness. The fans call Enzo boring but he shrugs it off by saying he’s just a G. The UK is a dump though, mainly because it’s always raining. Oh and the women are bland too.

Last night in Blandchester, Kurt Angle sent out his UK Champ to do what he could and Enzo was bamboozled by the loserweight. If the fans had been chanting for Enzo last night, none of that would have happened. As for tonight though, let’s have the first ever UK Zo Train, which means the UK division. Enzo talks to the six of them, starting with Jordan Devlin who was trained by Finn Balor.

Jordan says that’s the end of his association with Balor because he’s here for the money and the fame. Next up is Tucker, who says neither Enzo nor Devlin are half the man Balor is. Enzo: “Whatever.” The third man is James Drake, also known as Mr. Mayhem. Enzo asks if he wants to be on the Zo Train and Drake says “Choo choo.” Enzo: “WELL COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!”

On to Mark Andrews, who is a high flier but Enzo thinks he’s over the weight limit. Now for the biggest name on the list in Tyler Bate, who has no interest in being on the Zo Train. He just couldn’t stand hearing Enzo’s voice that often. Enzo thinks there’s a spot for him on the Train, if Bate can handle being a butler. That’s FINALLY enough for Bate, who pops Enzo in the jaw. The fans are very pleased but here’s Kalisto for his match to cut off the Bate chants. This was WAY longer than it needed to with over fifteen minutes of Enzo talking. That might work on Raw, but not on a show that isn’t even an hour long.

Video on James Drake, who will be wrestling tonight.

Kalisto vs. Jack Gallagher

Before the match, Gallagher says it’s good to be home. He’s glad to be back because it reminds him of how glad he was to leave behind all the horrible things of England. Gallagher is reminded of the clown that the fans wanted to turn him into, like they’re doing with Cedric Alexander. Now he’s a real man’s man and bigger than Manchester. We get the opening bell a mere twenty two minutes into a fifty five minute show. They hit the mat to start with Gallagher getting the better of it, only to have Kalisto walk the ropes into an armdrag.

Jack heads outside with Kalisto jumping over the top rope, landing on the outside of the middle rope, and flipping down onto him for a rather dangerous looking spot. Back in and Gallagher takes over with a wristlock before driving some knees down into the arm. An armbar keeps Kalisto down for a bit until a hard hurricanrana driver plants Gallagher again. A moonsault is countered into another armbar though and Kalisto is in some trouble. Back up and Kalisto rolls out of the armbar, allowing him to climb the ropes into the Salida Del Sol for the pin at 5:08.

Rating: C. Not a bad match, but this is something we could have seen on almost any given episode of 205 Live. If the show is supposed to be a British special, why in the world would you have something that you could see on any show? Kalisto winning is fine as he’s coming up on a pay per view, but the crowd isn’t exactly thrilled with this show, meaning the win felt unimportant.

Kalisto rants about beating Tyler Bate tonight.

Video on Mark Andrews.

Video on Joseph Conners.

Cedric Alexander/Mark Andrews vs. Joseph Conners/James Drake

Conners and Andrews start things off with Mark hitting a few dropkicks, including a flip out of a sunset flip into the second one. It’s off to Drake to work on Cedric’s arm until Cedric ankle scissors his way to freedom. Mark comes back in for a standing moonsault with Cedric adding a legdrop as a bonus.

Some double teaming puts Andrews in trouble though and a reverse Batista Bomb (always thought that would be a good finisher) gets two. Andrews sends them into each other though, setting up one of the most ice cold hot tags you’ll ever see. The springboard clothesline gets two on Conners and a double Neuralizer drops both heels. That sets up the shooting star to put Conners away at 4:33.

Rating: C. Again, fine, but nothing you can’t see elsewhere. The bigger problem here is the dead crowd, who just does not care about this show. To be fair, they just saw AJ Styles win the World Title about forty minutes ago so it’s a bit hard to care that much about a completely run of the mill TV show.

Video on Bate, including his UK Title win.

Enzo Amore vs. Tyler Bate

Non-title. Bate rolls him down without too much effort to start and Enzo takes a break on the floor. The fans get a MUSTACHE MOUNTAIN chant going while Bate waits on him inside. Back in and Enzo walks into a t-bone suplex, sending him right back to the floor. Tyler follows him this time and gets sent into the barricade to bang up his ribs a bit. Back in and Enzo hammers away before grabbing a chinlock.

Bate fights up with some running clotheslines, only to charge into a boot in the corner. Enzo takes him up top but gets punched off without much effort. He’s still able to knock Bate off though, banging up Bate’s knee in the process. Back in and a hard clothesline sets up the Jordunzo to end Bate clean at 8:16.

Rating: D. So yeah, this is a thing that happened. Bate was in the likely Match of the Year and then he gets….this. I get that Amore means something and Bate is just a part timer but was there no other option for this match? Like, Andrews for example? They’ll treat Dunne as a star but Bate gets to lose clean in eight minutes? Really?

Kalisto runs out to chase Enzo off to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. What a great “special”. This was a dull, lifeless mess, which at least partially was due to the fans being completely dead after the Styles title win. Other than that though, the British contingent really didn’t draw much interest. TO be fair though, it’s not like they were treated as anything special either. Pretty much a total waste of a show, which was one of the worst things this could have been.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Main Event
Date: November 2, 2017
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

Hopefully this version is better than the mess we had to sit through on Monday night. If nothing else we won’t have to sit through the full version of Kane destroying three former World Champions in less than ten minutes. We’ll be luckier here as it’ll be the clipped version of the same thing. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Jason Jordan vs. Curt Hawkins

Hawkins says that Jordan’s father may be a gold medalist but tonight, Hawkins is going to beat him like a gold medalist. Jordan takes him down with some amateur stuff to start before charging into a knee in the corner. We hit an early chinlock before a jumping elbow drop gives Hawkins two. A top rope version misses though and Jordan sends him into the corner a few times. The belly to belly suplex sets up a wheelbarrow neckbreaker to give Jordan the pin at 5:00.

Rating: D+. Just a basic match here and it worked perfectly well. Jordan looked good here as he shrugged off the offense and won with his finisher. The push hasn’t been great but they also aren’t pushing him too hard, which makes it easy to watch. Hawkins is able to put anyone over just fine as the entrance alone makes him worth checking out. However, how does someone with 127 consecutive losses keep a job? I’m not sure I get that.

Recap of the champion vs. champion matches at Survivor Series.

We look at Smackdown invading Raw last week.

From Raw.

Kurt Angle is in the ring and the Raw roster is on the stage. Last week was taking friendly competition too far and that was a slap in the face of the people who work here every week. He put them in harm’s way and that will never happen again. Cue the returning Stephanie McMahon to talk about how Monday Night Raw will be celebrating twenty five years on January 22. The show is still going strong and that’s where she and Kurt come in. Angle has lead by example and has even earned her respect.

Stephanie pauses for the YOU STILL GOT IT but blames Angle for last week’s siege. It took twenty seconds to ruin Raw’s history and that’s all because of Angle falling for Shane’s lies. Stephanie goes on a rant about how Angle RUINED, yes RUINED, Raw’s legacy last week in one incompetent moment. Therefore, Angle better hope that he still has it because he’s going to be team captain at Survivor Series. If things don’t go the way she wants, he’s out as General Manager.

From Raw again.

Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James

James is challenging and scores early with a running kick to the chest. The hurricanrana out of the corner has Bliss reeling and a dropkick puts her outside. Back from a break with Bliss working on a neck crank before switching to a chinlock (totally different you see). Something like an STO gets two and Bliss stands on Mickie’s hair for good measure.

That’s enough to fire Mickie up but Bliss slams her off the top to take over again. An enziguri off the top lets Mickie score with the Thesz press for two. Some rollups are good for some two counts but Bliss punches her in the face for the pin to retain at 11:25. Seriously it was just a right hand.

Rating: D. Well that happened. This was a lot of chinlocking and not much else, which doesn’t make for a strong main event. I was hoping for something like Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks here but instead I got little more than a bad women’s match. James isn’t the most interesting challenger and losing to a right hand is about as low as you can go.

Video on Brock Lesnar vs. Jinder Mahal.

Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese

Nese poses to start but Alexander throws him into the corner and counts his own abs. Back up and Alexander flips around a bit before grabbing a headscissors to send Nese flying. Nese catches him on the top though and Cedric is in trouble as we take a break. Back with Cedric hitting his springboard clothesline but getting caught in a release Michinoku Driver. Not that it matters as the Neuralizer sets up the Lumbar Check to end Nese at 8:10.

Rating: C-. Just a match here and that’s about all you can ask for out of the cruiserweights. Almost all of them have fought each other so many times that you can only get so much out of them in repeat showings and that’s what happened here. The match was fine enough, but the good cruiserweight winning is almost a free space on the Main Event Bingo card at this point.

And now, a montage from Raw.

Miz and the Miztourage are ready to celebrate and go into their locker room. They find a bag of trash, which Miz interprets as Braun Strowman coming back. Terror ensues.

Post break Miz runs into Braun and asks him for help with Strowman. Kane says he’s on his own.

Miz and the Miztourage go to leave and, after cutting back to Bliss celebrating, get in the car, where of course there is a camera waiting. They pull off and are immediately stopped by a waiting garbage truck. Braun comes out of the garbage as we keep cutting to Miz and company in the vein of a bad horror movie.

Strowman poses (in clean clothes despite BEING IN A GARBAGE TRUCK FOR EIGHT DAYS) and chases them out of the limo. They head into the arena, where Bliss is still posing, where Strowman throws Dallas onto the stage. The Miztourage save Miz from going through the table so Strowman takes them to the ring for FIVE running powerslams. Axel goes through the announcers’ table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw really didn’t do anything for me and the condensed version didn’t help any of those problems. It wasn’t made any better by having the same basic wrestling matches that we always get around here. As usual, all that matters is whether or not you liked Raw and that wasn’t the case for me this week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

205 Live
Date: October 31, 2017
Location: Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for another night of cruiserweights, which really could go anywhere. We’re also on a rare holiday show, which should mean some Halloween style shenanigans. Of course that’s not how things work in WWE world, where they had the Halloween style match on Monday instead of Tuesday. As in the Tuesday that was HALLOWEEN. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Drew Gulak’s dreams of a Drewtopia being derailed by Akira Tozawa. This didn’t sit well with Drew, who attacked Tozawa, including hitting him in the throat with the NO CHANTS sign. We also look at Gulak defeating Gran Metalik and Tozawa saving Metalik from a knee injury.

Opening sequence.

Drew Gulak comes out for a match and asks where his ghouls are. We’re still not ready though, because Drew has some ideas for a better Halloween in the form of a POWERPOINT PRESENTATION! First up, no candy, as it gives us fat children. Second, no trick or treating because it sounds like chanting, which doesn’t need to exist. Slide #3 gets cut off though and it’s time for a match.

Drew Gulak vs. Akira Tozawa

Tozawa wastes no time in kicking Gulak in the face, followed by another one to the chest for good measure. Some stomps in the corner look to set up a dive to the floor but Gulak moves before Tozawa can jump. Back in and Tozawa headfakes him into a right hand to the face. A charge only hits boot though and Gulak slowly stomps away.

It’s off to something like a camel clutch with a neck crank until some kicks get Tozawa out of trouble. Tozawa loads up the top rope dive but Gulak rolls outside, meaning it’s a suicide dive for two instead. The injured throat flares up though and Tozawa can’t capitalize. A shot to the throat gives Drew a near fall but a kick to the head puts him down again. Now the top rope backsplash gives Tozawa the pin at 6:00.

Rating: C. I can’t imagine this is the last match between the two, even though Tozawa won completely clean. Gulak has something with this gimmick but he needs a few more wins to go with the idea. There’s a long list of talent on the show but for some reason they’re not used as jobbers all that often. Try that for a change and maybe you’ll get some results.

We recap Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher telling Cedric Alexander to drop Rich Swann before they drop him for Cedric.

Swann and Cedric are ready for whatever Kendrick and Gallagher have for them. If they want a clown, that’s what Swann will give them. Swann has a clown nose and this can’t end well.

Mustafa Ali talks about Trick or Treating. It’s Halloween you see.

We look at Kalisto easily defeating Gulak last night, only to get beaten down by Enzo Amore.

Kalisto gets another Cruiserweight Title shot at Survivor Series.

Brian Kendrick vs. Rich Swann

And yes, Swann and Alexander are clowns, with Swann having a full on clown suit, the Doink music and a Doink Titantron video. How do I know this is going to be a long match? Swann dances a lot before easily taking Kendrick down and making him slap himself in the back of his head.

We get a big clown wig (to go with the big clown gloves, which are bigger than Swann’s head) but Kendrick knocks it off Swann’s head. A poke to the eye (How did it fit in with gloves that big?) has Kendrick in trouble as the fans don’t seem pleased. Kendrick finally manages to send him outside so Gallagher can get in some cheap shots. Back in and Kendrick gets two off a suplex as the crowd is rapidly dying.

Swann fights back with some clotheslines and a super hurricanrana for two. With the fans chanting what sounds like something about the Joker, Kendrick grabs a reverse suplex for two of his own. A butterfly superplex of all things gives Kendrick two more but the kickout barely gets a murmur from the crowd. That’s enough for Swann who scores with a dive, followed by a spinning kick to the head. The Phoenix Splash ends Kendrick at 9:33.

Rating: C+. The match was good enough but egads the crowd dying like that wasn’t a good sign. To be fair though, can you blame them? When Swann comes out like a clown, thereby completely leaving out the most popular part of his character, how are they supposed to react? Good match, but bad idea in general.

Gran Metalik is ready to win the main event.

Mustafa Ali vs. Gran Metalik vs. Ariya Daivari vs. Tony Nese

One fall to a finish with a bunch of Halloween decorations around the ring, much like Monday’s tag match. Before the match, Daivari sucks up to Enzo (not here) and runs down Norfolk. Ali counters by offering everyone candy, which Metalik raises his mask to eat. Nese slaps the candy out of Ali’s hands (makes sense) and we’re ready to go. Metalik launches Ali into a dropkick to put Nese down so the good guys go at it, making sure to not run over the pumpkins on the apron.

A handspring armdrag is reversed and it’s an early standoff for some applause. The villains return though and it’s time to head to the floor for some weaponry. Back in and Ali chucks a pumpkin at Nese’s face (McGuinness: “It’s complex carbs. He’s ok with that.”) before trying to force a piece of candy into Nese’s mouth. Daivari comes back in with a spinebuster for two on Ali as Metalik makes the save.

With Ali down, Daivari heads outside and throws some candy out of a bowl but finds a Gran Metalik mask. Daivari puts it on and does some flips, earning some slaps from Ali. The villains get together with a candy corn kendo stick and tie Ali in the Tree of Woe. Instead of the situp kicks though, Nese uses pumpkins like medicine balls and throws them at Ali’s ribs. Ok that was pretty clever.

Metalik’s save is knocked out of the air by a stick shot and an angry Daivari pours candy over Ali. The expected heel miscommunication sees both guys go down so it’s Metalik hitting a reverse powerbomb for two on Ali. A quick Tower of Doom puts Ali down, allowing Daivari to hit the frog splash for a very near fall. For some reason Daivari brings in a table, only to be laid on it in short order.

Nese blasts Metalik with the stick and pulls out a black bag. He pours the bag onto the table and finds….candy corn instead of tacks. Funny bit there. Metalik is ready with a sunset bomb through the table but Daivari breaks up the cover. Ali is right back with a pumpkin to Daivari’s face, followed by a guillotine legdrop (with a broom of course) for the pin at 12:56.

Rating: B-. For a completely goofy match, this was perfectly acceptable and even a lot of fun at times. They were working hard and that’s about all you can ask for in this kind of situation. Ali is someone they’ve protected for a few months on here and while he’s not going to get anywhere, he’s getting something out of it, which is more than most people can say.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a throwaway show but it was certainly entertaining. It’s about an hour with three good to quite good matches that don’t really mean anything but at least they made them quite fun. If nothing else it was nice to have a show without Enzo dominating everything, which is the case far more often than not anymore. Good show here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Main Event
Date: October 26, 2017
Location: Resch Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s not a good sign when I can barely remember this week’s Monday Night Raw on Friday night. The big stories were the Smackdown invasion and Brock Lesnar returning to answer Jinder Mahal’s challenge. It’s hard to guess what we might get for original content though as there could be almost any combination of the undercard. Let’s get to it.

We actually change things up a bit by looking at a recap of Sunday’s main event. That’s certainly a new one.

Opening sequence.

Matt Hardy vs. Curt Hawkins

Hawkins takes him into the corner to start but is quickly armdragged down into a headscissors. That’s reversed into a chinlock though as they’re certainly moving here. Curt’s Russian legsweep gets two but Matt comes right back and sends him into the buckle over and over. The middle rope elbow to the back looks to set up the Side Effect but Curt grabs a Michinoku Driver for two. Not that it matters as Matt grabs the Twist of Fate for the pin at 5:09.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but above all else it’s nice to have ANYTHING other than Dash Wilder losing over and over. Hopefully that means the return of the Revival in the near future. Anyway, there’s not much else you can say about Matt Hardy beating Curt Hawkins to give Curt his 120th loss in a row. Pretty much what you would expect.

From Raw for the first time.

Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar to respond to Jinder Mahal. Paul finds it interesting that someone has an issue finding Lesnar as the undisputed champion of WWE. There is someone who thinks that they can match up to Brock and that makes little sense to Heyman. We live in an age of trash talk but Heyman didn’t talk trash about Goldberg, Samoa Joe or Braun Strowman. Instead he praised all of them because they deserved it. Then there’s the joke of a champion like Jinder Mahal.

When we think of a champion, we think of Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, John Cena and BROCK LESNAR. This isn’t about Lesnar wanting to wave the Raw flag. This is about Smackdown thinking that it wasn’t treated fairly in the Superstar Shakeup. Whichever show has Brock Lesnar is the undisputed top show and at Survivor Series, Jinder is going to Suplex City. The challenge is accepted and Brock looks angry.

And again.

Finn Balor vs. Kane

Balor gets chased to the floor to start and comes back in where Kane hammers him down in the corner. A big boot cuts off a comeback attempt but Balor slugs him out to the floor anyway. Back in and the running corner clothesline sets up the side slam for two as this has been mostly Kane. A backbreaker keeps Finn in trouble and it’s another trip to the floor for more punishment. They head back inside where Balor hits a quick Sling Blade, followed by the shotgun dropkick. Balor loads up the Coup de Grace but Kane chokeslams him off the top. Two more chokeslams give Kane the clean pin at 8:50.

Rating: D-. Stupid, dumb, idiotic, short sighted, moronic, FREAKING RIDICULOUS and any other adjectives you care to name here. The idea is to build Kane up for a match with Strowman and there’s nothing wrong with that. What there IS something wrong with is using Balor to help build that up when he’s FINN FREAKING BALOR. You have him go over Styles on Sunday and lose to Kane clean on Monday? This is one of the dumbest decisions I’ve seen in a long time and that’s not a good sign going into one of biggest shows of the year.

Apollo Crews/Titus O’Neil vs. Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson

Gallows punches Titus into the corner to start but Titus chops the heck out of both of them. Apollo comes in for some kicks and the ring is cleared as we take a break. Back with Gallows kicking Titus in the face. The Magic Killer is good for the pin on Titus at 6:20. Well over half of that was in the break and it felt like something was clipped when we came back.

In the likely reason for the short second match, here’s the last thing from Raw.

Here’s Angle to announce the Raw men’s team but Shane comes out of the crowd, flanked by almost the entire Smackdown roster. Shane says Raw is under siege and Angle bails to the ramp. The Smackdown roster is told to go get them so they march to the back. First up is Titus Worldwide, who are beaten down in short order. The Raw women run away and it’s time to beat up some jobbers.

They head into the locker room to beat on Jason Jordan and Matt Hardy before heading into another room. More people are beaten up in another room and now it’s the women fighting each other. Rollins and Ambrose come in with chairs but are beaten down without too much effort. Baron Corbin and Rusev capture Angle and make him watch the beating before taking him back into the arena where Shane is waiting. Shane says they’ll finish this at Survivor Series. I liked this a lot more than I thought I would as they made it feel like an invasion for a change and it could go somewhere for a change.

Overall Rating: C-. This one all comes down to how you liked the ending as the wrestling here was nothing to see. The second match didn’t even need to be on the show and felt like filler instead of anything of value. The show wasn’t terrible and summed up everything you needed to know from Raw but that’s all there is to say here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

205 Live
Date: October 24, 2017
Location: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

Things have changed again as we’re back to the Enzo Amore Era. Amore won the title back from Kalisto on Sunday in a match with a grand total of no drama or surprise whatsoever. Now it’s time for a rematch which is required to take place before we can get on to anything fresh for a change. Let’s get to it.

Long recap of Amore getting the title back.

Opening sequence.

Rich Swann/Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar/Tony Nese

Swann and Alexander are coming off a win at TLC. Cedric and Swann start things off and we hit the posing. That just earns him a headscissors down as the announcers talk about Swann and Alexander as a tag team. A perfectly fine idea, but then he says they should stay on 205 Live.

Right there you have the problem with this show being its own thing: is it out of the question that Swann and Alexander could give some heavyweight teams a run for their money? Of course not, as Seth Rollins isn’t much bigger than either of them. But Rollins is billed as a heavyweight and therefore people care about him more. It’s a bad idea, especially when the tag division could use some fresh talent.

Swann comes in and scores with Rolling Thunder before we hit the chinlock. It’s off to Dar but Nese tags himself right back in behind Swann’s back, allowing a charge to take Rich down. The alternating beatings begin with the focus on Swann’s knee. Nese puts him in the Tree of Woe for the crunch kicks but doesn’t approve of Dar laying on the mat for his kicks. Swann hits his spinning kick to the head, only to have Dar trip him from the floor.

Another kick to the head allows the hot tag to Alexander and everything breaks down. The handspring kick to the head (the Neuralizer) gets two on Dar and here are Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher on the stage. Dar grabs a front facelock on Cedric and Nese breaks up the hot tag attempt. Swann makes a save with a superkick though, allowing the Lumbar Check to end Dar at 9:01.

Rating: C. As mentions, Alexander and Swann have the potential to be a very nice tag team and there’s nothing wrong with that. They’re entertaining and work well together, but having them on 205 Live for the majority of the time isn’t going to do them any good. I have no idea why only one or two cruiserweights can be pushed at once but it makes no sense, much like the division as a whole.

Post match Gallagher and Kendrick tell Alexander to join them and live up to their potential. He needs to dump Swann and do everything he’s capable of doing. Gallagher says that he was dancing around for these people just a few weeks ago before he saw the light. He isn’t one to be pressed for time so next week, they’re coming for Swann. Alexander can join them or be destroyed.

Here’s Drew Gulak to vent some frustration over having his PowerPoint presentation taken off the WWE Network. Therefore, before he silences Akira Tozawa one day, we’re having a refresher course on his POWERPOINT PRESENTATION! Drew only gets through one slide (no jumping off the top rope of course) before he’s cut off by an opponent.

Drew Gulak vs. Gran Metalik

Gulak: “YOU STAY ON THE GROUND!” A technical sequence sets up a test of strength with Metalik getting the better of things. Metalik starts spinning around to start and Gulak is livid over all the flips. Gulak is sent outside for a heck of a rope walk moonsault. Back in and Drew grabs a cobra clutch to slow him down.

Metalik gets off of Drew’s knees and grabs a snapmare before walking the ropes for a dropkick. Back up and Metalik walks the ropes again for a splash, followed by a sunset flip for two. A super hurricanrana brings Gulak down for another near fall, only to get pulled down into a dragon sleeper to give Gulak the win at 6:55.

Rating: C-. It’s nice to see Gulak get a win for a change as he’s been nailing the character stuff and then losing almost every match. That dragon sleeper could be a heck of a finisher if they let him beat some people with it, though it’s not going to mean anything if he loses almost all the time.

Post match Drew goes after Metalik’s leg but Tozawa makes the save.

Kalisto says he’s ready to take the title back.

Cruiserweight Title: Kalisto vs. Enzo Amore

Amore is defending and has Ariya Daivari in his corner. Before the match, Enzo still can’t talk so Daivari does it instead. Kalisto dropkicks him to the floor to start and Amore bails towards the ropes. Some stomping has Amore in trouble until he backdrops Kalisto over the top in a heap.

The ankle is banged up and we already have a story for what is likely to be a short match. Back in and they head up top with Kalisto getting crotched but managing a Death Valley Driver on the apron. They barely beat the count back in and it’s an enziguri into a tornado DDT to plant the champ. Not that it matters as Enzo kicks the referee for the DQ at 6:12.

Rating: D. And that’s the problem with Enzo’s matches: everyone has to slow down so he can keep up and it makes for some very boring matches. Kalisto is capable of having an awesome match but instead, let’s have him do his basic stuff because Enzo’s high spot is an Eat Defeat. Bad match here, and I can’t say I’m surprised.

Post match Kalisto lays Enzo out. Enzo declares himself still champion to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s kind of amazing how much this show falls apart when Enzo gets in the ring. He’s a great talker and has a ton of charisma but his in-ring production is nothing short of horrible. The rest of the show was your normal 205 Live fare, but there’s no reason to believe that the show is going to take off anytime soon.

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