Makes me think of some more fantasy booking.And again, this isn’t anything revolutionary and isn’t meant to be.
So the story is that the Divas on the main roster aren’t willing to help Paige out against the Bellas. Therefore, Paige is in need of someone to help her out. Maybe she goes back to her roots. Back to where she started. Back down to NXT. Not for a fresh start or anything, but for reinforcements. Like……Sasha Banks, Bayley, Charlotte and Becky Lynch.
I know you hear about these invasion storylines all the time, but in this case I dig the idea. Why not use this opportunity to bring some of them up and breathe some much needed life into that division? Is anyone going to miss Layla or Tamina or Eva Marie or even Natalya? Bring in some fresh blood and cut some of these girls that never do anything.
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It’s the reverse ladder match with qualifying pins and a penalty box because TNA isn’t confusing enough as it is. This is their big replacement for the World Title match being on Impact in July, because somehow TNA couldn’t figure out that this was going to happen and have to announce this match, with no participants or prize announced yet, eleven days in advance.
Monday Night Raw – June 15, 2015: Exit F5
Monday Night Raw Date: June 15, 2015
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton
It’s time to start the build towards Summerslam as a lot of stuff was wrapped up last night. Rollins successfully defended his World Title against Dean Ambrose in a very close ladder match and John Cena evened the score against Kevin Owens, only to be powerbombed on the apron after the match. With Sheamus as Mr. Money in the Bank, it’s going to be interesting to see where things go from here. Let’s get to it.
We open with the ceremony from last night in Dusty’s memory, followed by the video tribute.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Seth Rollins with something to say. After a break, he thanks us all for coming out here tonight to Monday Night Rollins. He gets right to it and talks about Dean Ambrose coming so close to winning the title last night but coming up just a bit short. Ambrose’s A game is very good, but it’s not as good as Seth’s. Last night he took back what was his but it took a great team to get him where he needed to be.
Rollins has a list of people to thank, starting with Seth Rollins, followed by Seth Rollins and Seth Rollins. Oh wait and just so he doesn’t leave them off: Seth Rollins, Seth Rollins and Seth Rollins. He didn’t need Dumb and Dumber or the devil’s favorite dinosaur or HHH and Stephanie, because that’s how good he is. After last night, he’s a lock for the Hall of Fame and parents all over the world are going to be naming their children after him.
He holds up the title and says Johnny idiot face over there (Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel in the front row) isn’t bringing this city a title and neither is LeBron James. He didn’t even acknowledge the Indians, and as a big Indians fan……I can’t say I blame him. Cue Ambrose for a brawl in the aisle but Dean is limping badly. Seth goes for the knee but winds up leaving when Dean won’t go down. Dean gets a chair and the mic and says he isn’t leaving until Rollins gets back out here to fight him like a man.
We come back with Dean still sitting in the ring and Rollins talking to the Authority in the back. Rollins asks if they’re just going to let Ambrose sit out there all night but Stephanie doesn’t like that Rollins seems to think he’s still in the loop. HHH says that the next challenger for the title will be determined by the end of the night and it very well could be Ambrose.
Back in the arena with Sheamus coming out to talk to Ambrose. Both of them made bold predictions last night and Sheamus actually lived up to his promises. That’s enough to make Dean throw the chair away and it’s time for a match.
Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose
Dean is ready to fight but gets taken into the corner where Sheamus wisely goes for the knee to start. The knee is slammed into the apron to put Dean in even more trouble but he just dives at Sheamus and hammers away, only to be knocked back to the floor as we take a break. Back with Sheamus holding a Brock Lock to stay on the knee but Ambrose fights up with chops and punches against the ropes. There’s no way he can run the ropes though and Sheamus chop blocks him down.
Back up and Dean’s bulldog out of the corner gets him a breather and it’s time to go up top. Again it takes too long and Sheamus slams him down, setting up the Cloverleaf. Dean gets a rope to annoy Sheamus but he takes too long on the ropes, allowing Dean to hit some forearms to the chest of his own. Now the top rope elbow drop connects for two but Dirty Deeds sends Sheamus running to the floor. Cue Orton for a distraction, allowing Ambrose to grab a rollup for the pin at 10:50.
Rating: C. Logical match but my goodness I don’t want to see Sheamus vs. Orton again. Having a match twice isn’t a good way to make me want to see it at third time, at least not when the first two matches weren’t very good. Also, who thought it was a good idea to have Mr. Money in the Bank get pinned in his first match with the briefcase?
Orton beats Sheamus up but can’t hit the RKO.
Rollins brags to the Stooges about the win last night but asks if they know who the Authority is picking for him. Noble says they haven’t heard but wouldn’t say anything if they did. He thinks it should be Joey Mercury though, which Rollins laughs off. Mercury thinks Seth is afraid of him because Rollins is all alone.
Video of Dusty pinning Harley Race to win the NWA World Title in 1979.
R-Truth vs. King Barrett
Truth comes out in a homemade king outfit, consisting of a paper crown, a bed sheet and a plunger. He sits in on commentary but JBL tells him that he has a match to get to. Truth: “What you talking about Willis?” Barrett slugs him down and gets rolled up for a pin in 21 seconds.
Barrett lays Truth out and says this is serious. All hail King Barrett.
The Divas and some low level guys talk to Machine Gun Kelly before his performance later.
Here’s Kevin Owens to brag about John Cena not being here tonight. The only man to blame for that is John Cena himself because Cena forced him to do what he did last night. When Cena offered him a handshake last night, Cena said Owens belonged in this ring. How dare Cena tell him something he already knows and talk down to him like that. Cena was a bad winner last night because Cena always has to be the big man. Owens deserves one more match, but this time he wants the US Title. As for tonight though, how about an open challenge?
NXT Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens
Ziggler gets a kiss from Lana to motivate him before we get going. Before the match, Dolph says he’s going to be the one to give Cleveland a championship right here and right now. We get the big match intros but Owens cuts Lillian off and says he never made this a title match. Ziggler goes right for him to start and gets thrown to the floor as we take a break.
Back with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock but getting draped ribs first over the top rope. Owens talks some trash until Ziggler comes back with a Cactus Clothesline (popular move recently) and they slug it out on the floor. Dolph is thrown over the barricade (with a very nice jump) but crawls over everyone to dive back in at nine. Back in and the backsplash misses, setting up the running DDT to send Owens outside and us to a second break.
Just like last time we come back with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock and nailing a superkick for two (with Dolph laying on the legs for a cover). The Pop Up Powerbomb is countered and the Fameasser gets two. A wicked release German gets two for the champ but Ziggler escapes another Pop Up Powerbomb and hits the Zig Zag. He can’t cover immediately though, allowing Owens to finally hit the powerbomb for the pin at 15:35.
Rating: C+. Dolph has to change. There is nothing here that we haven’t seen a dozen times before and it stopped being interesting a long time ago. I have no idea why Lana being with him is supposed to help him, but Ziggler needs to change something up or there’s little need to have him around.
Paige tries to rally the Divas against the Bellas but they can’t trust her. She has a handicap match against the Bellas tonight but no one will team with her. The twins come up and Nikki implies she’s champ because she’s friends with Stephanie. None of these other Divas would want to fight against the Authority would they? Everyone leaves and Paige is all by herself.
Randy Orton vs. Kane
Kane takes Randy down to start and slaps on an early chinlock, followed by the side slam for two. Back up and Orton nails a clothesline but here’s Sheamus before the elevated DDT can connect. Kane grabs a mic and makes it no holds barred. Sheamus comes in to make it 2-1, allowing a Brogue Kick to give Kane the pin at 4:19.
Rating: D. Given that the match was just four minutes long and a good chunk of that was spent on Sheamus coming out and Kane’s announcement. At least they kept it quick instead of letting this drag out when it was almost a guarantee that Sheamus was going to come out there. Oh and now we get a feud between two losers. Nice job guys.
In the back, Rollins flags Kane down and brags about winning last night but Kane reminds him that he has to win night after night after night, all on his own. If Rollins doesn’t understand that, he isn’t an architect but rather an idiot. Rollins says Kane has always had someone holding his hand, but a mention of Paul Bearer and Undertaker gets Kane all fired up. Rollins wants Kane to be the next opponent.
Clip of the Dust Brothers inducting Dusty into the Hall of Fame.
Big Show vs. The Miz
Ryback is on commentary. The sunglasses removal is broken up by a charging Big Show but Miz gets in a boot as they get back in. That sends Miz running away again as there isn’t much to do against a guy that big. Back in and Show is limping, but it’s all a ruse so he can chop Miz’s chest in half. Show charges into a boot in the corner, only to casually throw Miz outside again for another loud chop. He throws Miz at Ryback and the staredown allows Miz to beat the count back in for the countout win at 2:55.
Big Show runs from a Meat Hook post match.
Here’s Roman Reigns to find out what happened last night. He wants to fight Wyatt right now but gets Bray on screen instead. Bray talks about one star telling the truth and the other telling lies. Roman: “Shut your mouth and get out here right now.” Bray says the briefcase should have been his so he could be the beacon of hope that the world needed but Reigns took it away from it. It’s Reigns’ ego that makes him so dangerous and it reminds Bray of someone he knew. It was someone who believed he would be the chosen one to lead his people.
That man had been chosen but the other was cast aside, and it was clear that the people were wrong. Just look outside and you’ll see that they made the wrong choice. The two of them are opposites who balance everything out. They need each other and last night Bray was the justice that Reigns always promised to be. Bray will ultimately destroy Reigns, but not tonight. What sort of an example would that be with Father’s Day right around the corner? Bray holds up a picture of Roman playing with his daughter, saying their fun is just getting started. Run.
Bella Twins vs. Paige
Handicap match. Nikki does the jumping jacks but gets punched in the face. Some knees to the chest on the ropes have Nikki in trouble until Brie trips Paige up to take over. It’s off to Brie for a chinlock followed by the BRIE MODE knee for two. Back to Nikki for a kick to the back and figure four headscissors, complete with pushups to put Paige face first into the mat.
Paige sends the Bellas into each other and does her clotheslines spot to Brie before kicking her in the head in the corner. Brie is sent into her sister again and the Rampaige gets two with Nikki diving in for the save. The big forearm and the Rack Attack finally put Paige away at 5:33.
Rating: D+. As JBL put it: the Bellas win again. This is almost all we see these days and I have no idea why I’m supposed to care anymore. We know that they’re going to hang on for a few more months to make Nikki the greatest Diva of all time so they can have another storyline on Total Divas, so just get us there already.
Machine Gun Kelly performs for a long, long time. Kevin Owens comes out to congratulate him but Kelly’s offer of a handshake earns him a powerbomb off the stage. Like two feet off the stage but still. The fans don’t seem that upset.
Here’s a clip from Terminator: Genisys.
New Day vs. Neville/Prime Time Players
The New Day is positive that they’ll get the titles back because, after all, today is a new day. Woods and Young get things going by running the ropes until Darren just hits him in the face. A neckbreaker gets two and it’s off to Kofi, who has some very taped ribs. A single kick to the bandages sends Kofi over for a tag to Woods, who is knocked down just as quickly. Titus comes in and suplexes Darren onto Woods before a big backbreaker plants Kofi. Neville adds a big flip dive to take New Day out and we go to a break.
Back with Woods holding Young in a cobra clutch before it’s off to Big E. as New Day keeps cutting off the ring. Darren pops up and dives over for the tag off to Neville, who turns on the jets and kicks away at Woods. Xavier escapes the German but charges into a boot to the face. The Red Arrow is loaded up but Neville dives at Kofi instead, allowing Titus to plant Big E. with a spinebuster. Kofi offers a distraction and Woods hits a Downward Spiral on Neville with Darren making the save. Kofi’s reverse suplex is countered and Young hits the double knee gutbuster, setting up the Red Arrow for the pin at 9:39.
Rating: C. This was fine and I love that the champions didn’t just lose immediately after getting the belts. Also, nice touch on having Young’s finisher play into the rib injuries. New Day can be back with a simple promo and cheating to win so there’s little lost here. It’s also nice to see Neville continuing to be pushed as something special, even though he’s probably going to slip into the midcard where he belongs.
We look at Owen’s actions over the last 24 hours.
Ambrose is throwing darts at a picture of Rollins when Kane comes in. Dean laughs at the idea of Kane being the #1 contender and brings up Kane’s days as the monster. It’s just a job for Kane but this is Ambrose’s life. Dean says he needs the title and walks away.
One last batch of Dusty clips.
Here’s the Authority to say that Owens will be disciplined because it’s best for business. It’s time for the #1 contender though, and it’s not going to be Noble, Mercury, Kane or Ambrose. Rollins comes out to say there’s no one on the roster that can beat him. HHH agrees that Seth has beaten everyone put in front of him. Stephanie thinks Rollins has something left to prove because Seth has pushed them a bit too far.
They’ve invested a lot in the future and now they need to take a step back and look at the investment they’ve made. Is the investment worth it, or is it just another cost? The real test is to see if a lump of coal turns into a diamond when you put it under pressure. I believe that’s what HHH said to Orton back in the Evolution days. The pressure is on……and HERE’S BROCK, complete with a Suplex City (Cleveland, Ohio, Exit F5) license plate shirt.
Heyman shakes hands with the Authority and everyone leaves. Rollins looks as terrified as you would expect and Brock very slowly backs him up against the ropes. The champ wisely leaves and walks away to end the show. Maybe he’s off to try to figure out why Cole has completely forgotten that he was suing Lesnar for breaking his neck or whatever it was.
Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show for the most part but again they really need to cut this down to two hours. It’s cool to see Owens hurting lame rappers but do we really need to sit through a five minute performance to get there? They’re firmly into the summer season though and it should be cool to see how we get from here to Summerslam. Lesnar being back immediately picks things up though and we should be solid going forward. Good show but man alive it needed to be trimmed down.
Results
Dean Ambrose b. Sheamus – Rollup
R-Truth b. King Barrett – Rollup
Kevin Owens b. Dolph Ziggler – Pop Up Powerbomb
Kane b. Randy Orton – Pin after a Brogue Kick from Sheamus
Miz b. Big Show via countout
Bella Twins b. Paige – Rack Attack
Prime Time Players/Neville b. New Day – Red Arrow to Kingston
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Reviewing the Review – Monday Night Raw: June 8, 2015
It’s the final show before Money in the Bank and the big story is WWE HIT HALF A BILLION SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS!!! Ignore the fact that a lot of them are probably the same people on a bunch of different platforms but WE CAN TOTALLY PUT THIS ON PRESS RELEASES AND BRAG ABOUT HOW AWESOME WE ARE BECAUSE PEOPLE TALK ABOUT US ONLINE EVEN THOUGH THEY DON’T WATCH THE TV SHOWS!!! Yeah let’s get to it.
The opening segment this week was Cena coming out and issuing another open challenge, which was answered by Kevin Owens. However, instead of challenging for the title, Owens thought someone might want to challenge for a REAL championship, such as his NXT Title. That’s such a great heel move and makes Owens come off as the most stuck on himself wrestler in the world, but that’s exactly the point because he already beat Cena.
Anyway, Cena tried to accept the challenge but Owens said Cena couldn’t accept because. Just because. The solution was to have someone come out and challenge for either title. This brought out Neville, who would love to challenge for the US Title at some point, but he knew what it felt like to hold Owens’ prize.
As you would expect, Neville vs. Owens was a great fourteen minute match with both guys hitting all their big stuff and throwing in some drama despite the ending being pretty obvious. That’s a sign of a good match and it worked really well here. This was another example of the NXT guys being allowed to be NXT guys instead of just any other guys and that’s the best thing that could happen to them in their early appearances on Raw.
After this, it was time to start bragging about the social media milestone, which would of course happen ALL NIGHT LONG. We’ll come back to this later, but we’ll start off by saying Michael Cole would later say “we’d like to congratulate WWE on this accomplishment”. Meaning WWE is congratulating itself. It’s nice to see them just admitting that’s what they’re doing.
Nikki Bella suggests that Paige has created her own problems and is all serious because she’s a totally serious character and not goofy whatsoever. Nikki then beat Summer Rae in a quick match.
In your standard hype segment, Kane tried to talk about Money in the Bank but everyone came out to interrupt him. This included R-Truth, who talked about being in the match, was told that he wasn’t, and left. That’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen in WWE in a long time, because again, they’re using people who are actually funny instead of just having people do things that are considered funny.
Sheamus beat Orton via DQ in a repeat of their match last week. I have no desire to see these two fight ever again, which is why I’d assume we see them at Battleground.
Rollins ran his mouth to the Stooges and is going to fight them later tonight as a result. This goes along with Rollins’ lines about how he doesn’t need anyone.
Kane beat Dolph Ziggler thanks to Rusev scaring Lana (with the shiniest legs I’ve seen this side of Stacy Keibler). I’m so over this Rusev is broken story and wish they would just let him go off and heal instead of having him look like a sad puppy because Lana has left him. On another note, is Lana doing anything for Ziggler or vice versa?
Both of them are in a story but nothing is happening in it other than Rusev. You could have Lana just walking around and do the exact same thing, which shows how worthless this pairing has been. It should be charging Ziggler up a bit but instead we’re in the same place but with a hot Russian blonde around him. The match was as dull as you would expect Kane vs. Ziggler to be, mainly because Dolph is the exact same character he’s been for years now.
MizTV set up Big Show vs. Miz vs. Ryback in a three way feud, which is going to kick off after Sunday’s pay per view. I see no reason to not just start it now and have the triple threat on Sunday, but this is the kind of feud that needs time to breath I guess. Both guys treating Miz like a joke of an afterthought was funny stuff. Big Show took Shell Shock, because why wait for Sunday to do that when you could get another 384 social media followers by doing it on Raw?
The Wyatts squashed Los Matadores with a 3D. Apparently the Dudleys were annoyed because no one is ever allowed to use a move before. And yes, they used the Doomsday Device back in 2000/2001. Harper said the judgment was coming.
Now we get to the big story of the night: INSTAGRAM! Yeah since tonight was a big deal because of social media (and you know Stephanie was right there cheering it on with her business savvy and pumping everyone full of talks about branding and how important it is to get the proper names out there because that’s what wrestling has become.
Anyway, the idea was that Dean Ambrose was making his way through New Orleans towards the arena, and he sent in a bunch of Instagram photos to prove it. Remember the days when you might get a promo from Ambrose about these things so he could hype up the match? Well forget that, because it’s all about using the stories to get more social media followers. Another reason I detest most usage of social media these days.
Big E. beat Titus O’Neal in a quick match to set up the Tag Team Title match on Sunday.
Roman Reigns beat Kofi Kingston in a better match than you would expect. Ambrose arrived after the match to watch the main event.
The Stooges beat Rollins using some interference from Ambrose, which of course sent people into hysterics, because NO WORLD CHAMPION HAS EVER LOST A MATCH. Not HHH to Jim Ross or John Cena to Kevin Federline. Nope, those never happened and Rollins is officially the lamest champion ever because of one loss that no one is going to care about a week later because that’s how wrestling works.
Overall this show did a decent enough job to build towards Sunday, but it does nothing to hide the fact that they care far more about social media and getting in a press release than being a major wrestling promotion. Those days are long gone and it’s very sad to see, but such is life when you have someone who thinks social media is the be all and end all of wrestling, right down to not letting heels be mean to fans because those fans might talk about it on said social media. You know, like they’re supposed to so people want to see the heels get beaten up. Like in wrestling.
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Money in the Bank 2015 Date: June 14, 2015
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole
It’s already time to crown a new Mr. Money in the Bank, just two and a half months after Seth Rollins cashed in during the main event of Wrestlemania XXXI. In addition to the ladder match, the main event is…..another ladder match! Seth Rollins will defend his WWE World Title against Dean Ambrose after saying he doesn’t need the Authority’s help. Let’s get to it.
Pre-Show: King Barrett vs. R-Truth
Before the match, Truth says dressing up is fun and he’s going to become King What’s Up. Barrett comes out with a new silver outfit which he says was tailor made in London. Truth starts fast with a headscissors before sending the King to the floor as we take a quick break. Back with a boot to the face putting Truth down as JBL name drops all the famous British women that have been trying to get together with Barrett.
Cole: “R-Truth has every bit as much right to call himself King as Barrett.” No Cole, he doesn’t. Truth jumps over him in the corner but takes a kick to the ribs for two. Back up and the Winds of Change is countered into a crucifix for the pin at 5:49. Cole treats this as a huge deal because he has the memory of a drunken elephant.
Rating: D+. Just a Raw match here with Barrett losing again. I don’t know if this makes Truth the King, but why not at this point? Barrett needs to get far, far away from WWE because it seems that he tortured and murdered Stephanie’s pet Feline Animal Champion (pick a hashtag for it) who was destined to revolutionize our industry one day with groundbreaking forms of entertainment at a WWE Pay Per View Event which everyone would be talking about on social media, thereby earning WWE a very prestigious award due to Stephanie’s leadership. How else can you explain the way he loses so much?
Truth gets the crown but throws it at Barrett and leaves.
As expected, this show is dedicated to Dusty Rhodes. We also get a ten bell salute with the roster on stage, complete with Dusty’s theme song playing as everyone claps along. Dusty deserves this and so much more.
The opening video focuses on how there can only be one, meaning a briefcase holder and champion. Wouldn’t that be two? Also, I’m sure that theme is in no way connected to last night’s UFC 188 theme of “there can only be one.” There’s actually no sarcasm there. It really is likely just a coincidence.
Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Neville vs. Sheamus vs. Kane vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler
Money in the Bank. Kofi is one third of the Tag Team Champions. Everyone brawls to start and Kofi goes for the ladder but everyone stops to look at him in a funny spot. We get the rapid fire climbs with almost everyone getting a hand on the case until almost everyone is knocked down. Kane stops Sheamus from climbing but eats the running DDT from Ziggler.
It’s Sheamus back up first and cleaning house with ladder shots on the floor but having to run back inside to shove Kofi off a ladder. Neville comes back in but takes Trouble in Paradise, followed by Sheamus taking the same. Kofi’s next climb is broken up by Neville and Reigns takes Kingston down as well. With right hands not working, Reigns blasts Neville in the face with the ladder but has to deal with Kofi.
Reigns powerbombs Kofi onto a ladder bridged over the bottom rope and then powerbombs Neville onto Kingston for a big pileup. Kane is back up to stop Roman but Orton remembers that he’s in this match and pulls Kane down by the business pants, followed by an RKO. The second RKO puts Kingston down but Neville springboards over Randy onto the ladder, only to get pulled down into RKO #3. Sheamus can’t get over Orton to grab the briefcase either and a backbreaker puts him down.
That earns Orton a Brogue Kick but Ziggler (where has he been?) runs up the ladder for a save. Ziggler and Sheamus slug it out on top of the ladder with Sheamus teasing White Noise from way up there, only to have Ziggler counter into a sleeper. That changes into a Zig Zag for a massive crash. The Red Arrow drills Sheamus but Neville comes up holding his hand or wrist. He’s fine enough to knock Ziggler off the top of the ladder but Kane pulls Neville’s leg to break it up.
Kane hits Neville and Ziggler with the ladder and throws everything outside, only to turn around into a Superman Punch. Reigns, ever the genius, dives onto the pile instead of climbing a ladder. Cue Big E. and Xavier Woods because this match needs more people. They get Kofi most of the way up but Reigns makes a save and powerbombs Kofi over the top and onto everyone at once.
Orton comes back in and takes a spear, leaving Reigns all alone. He goes up but we’ve got Wyatt! Bray lays out Reigns with Sister Abigail (remember that Reigns cost Wyatt a match against Ambrose a few weeks back) and leaves, allowing Sheamus to climb up the ladder but Neville is there for the save. Sheamus rips at his face and shoves Neville down to win the briefcase at 20:33.
Rating: B-. This was one of the more entertaining Money in the Banks in a few years, but the standard problems hurt it. At the end of the day, this needs to have five or six people instead of seven. The extra people makes this a rotating triple threat with guys like Orton and Ziggler just laying around for long stretches and some, mainly Ziggler, just being there to fill in a spot instead of really adding anything. Fun stuff, but they need to cut the roster down.
Paige talks about the Bellas dominating the Divas division for years and how they do it all for themselves. Tonight Paige is going to change all that and she’s going to do it for Dusty.
Divas Title: Nikki Bella vs. Paige
Nikki is defending. Paige is ready to go but Nikki wants to do jumping jacks. That’s fine with Paige as she takes it to the floor and slams Nikki down, only to get dropped face first onto the barricade. Nikki takes it back inside for some pushups as the rest of the Divas are watching in the back. Paige comes back with a knee to the jaw for two but eats a slingshot suplex. JBL calls this creative but thankfully credits it to Tully Blanchard.
We hit the bodyscissors and a chinlock on Paige for a bit before she kicks Nikki in the face. Why make things more complicated than they need to be? Something like PTO (minus pulling on Nikki’s arms) has Nikki in trouble but she grabs the ropes. Because no one was pulling on her arms you see. An attempt at the actual PTO is kicked away and Nikki hits her spinning kick out of the corner to the…..side?
The Rack Attack is countered into the Rampaige for two because All Hail The Bellas. They fight to the corner and fall outside for some Twin Magic, but Paige reverses Brie’s small package for the pin. They don’t even bother ringing the bell though as Brie rips the stuffing out of her top, allowing Nikki to come back in with the forearm and Rack Attack for the pin to retain at 11:17. JBL wants to know how that’s not a DQ (fair question) and points out that Paige has alienated all the other Divas so no one wants to help her.
Rating: C+. Annoying Bella finish aside, this was one of the better Divas matches in a long time, and one of the reasons is the time. That was the longest Divas/Women’s Title match on pay per view since 2006 and only the second female singles match to get over ten minutes in that time span. However, I’m beyond tired of Nikki keeping the title as they try everything they can to make us accept the Bellas as top stars on Lita and Trish’s levels. Either that or they’re making us wait until Nikki is the longest reigning Divas Champion ever so we forget about AJ.
We recap Ryback vs. Big Show, but here’s Miz with something to say. He sucks up to his home state fans but reminds them that they don’t count if they live in Los Angeles or New York. His team is working on giving us the Intercontinental Title feud that we deserve, but tonight he’s creating an audio visual masterpiece.
Intercontinental Title: Big Show vs. Ryback
Miz is on commentary and Ryback is defending. Ryback hits a spinebuster and Meathook in the first 20 seconds but Shell Shock is broken up. That’s fine with Ryback who knocks Show over the top rope but stops to beat up Miz. Back inside and Big Show gets in a shot to the ribs to slow things down. Ryback throws on an armbar of all things before nailing a suplex. The Meathook is countered into a chokeslam for two and the KO Punch knocks Ryback to the floor. Show goes to get him but Miz attacks with a microphone for the DQ at 5:30.
Rating: C. Not bad here and now they can go to the triple threat that they clearly wanted to do all along and didn’t do here for reasons I don’t quite understand. Miz interfering and ending the match makes sense and hopefully leads to Miz rising up the card a bit more. I’ve always (well almost always) liked the guy and he’d be great as a shorter form Honky Tonk Man: he gets a title from more deserving people and brags about how awesome he is.
We recap Owens vs. Cena. Owens beat Cena two weeks ago in his WWE in ring debut and talked about how this made him a better wrestler than Cena. John countered by saying he was still a better man because he fights for the right causes. Tonight is the rematch for bragging rights.
Kevin Owens vs. John Cena
Owens’ NXT and Cena’s US Titles aren’t on the line. Cena grabs a headlock to start as they’re trying to make this feel as big as they can. A wristlock earns Cena a right hand to the face but Cena blasts him with the big clothesline. The fans are WAY into this and it’s really helping things out. Owens dropkicks him down and hooks a chinlock before busts out Cena’s finishing sequence, including the Shuffle.
Cena escapes the AA (that’s a weird one to type) and puts on the STF. That goes as far as the first STF is going to go so Cena busts out a reverse suplex for two. A Codebreaker of all things staggers Cena but Owens has to escape an AA of his own and hits a release German suplex, followed by the Cannonball for two more. The big man goes up top for a Swanton (but he’s big! I thought big guys couldn’t wrestle a fast paced style.) but Cena gets the knees up. Again, shouldn’t that hurt his knees?
The AA gets two (why is Cena even surprised at this point?) and Cena spends way too much time arguing with the referee. Cena takes him to the corner for a super AA but gets countered into an electric chair, which Owens spins into a Batista Bomb for a very close two. The Pop Up Powerbomb is countered with a hurricanrana but Owens nails him with a superkick for an even closer near fall, causing Owens to headbutt the mat in frustration. There’s a tornado DDT for two for Cena as frustration is really setting in.
Cena misses the top rope Fameasser and eats the package slam for two. Owens keeps things even by missing the springboard moonsault and another AA gets another two count. They head up top again with Cena’s superplex being countered into the swinging fisherman’s superplex for an even closer fall.
With nothing else working, Cena slaps on the STF but Owens gets the ropes again. In a very unique move, Cena tries a sunset flip but can’t get all the way over, so he pulls up and flips Owens down into a sunset bomb for two more. The Pop Up Powerbomb out of nowhere gets another near fall and both guys are spent. Back up again and the springboard Stunner sets up the third AA for the pin at 19:19.
Rating: A+. Yep. This was one of the best matches they’ve had in a long time and these two were just trading bombs for nearly 20 minutes. Cena respected Owens the entire way and could barely hang in there with him. This is one of those matches where Owens doesn’t lose a thing by getting pinned so everyone comes out looking great.
Post match Cena offers a handshake to a real champion but gets kicked in the ribs and tastes the first apron bomb in WWE. Owens walks off with the US Title but throws it down because “The real champ is here!” and laughs like a villain. He calls for a stretcher which is probably match #3 for them. Cena limps off, not being able to put much weight on the knee.
Ambrose talks about getting ripped off by Rollins and Kane last year at this very event but he knows he’s earned this title. It was about respect last month but now it’s about a payday. Of note here: Ambrose called Rollins an errand boy, which was an old Dusty insult.
We get a video dedication to Dusty Rhodes. This felt like something very special, just as it should have.
Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Prime Time Players
Xavier/Big E. are defending for New Day here and Kofi is off recovering from the ladder match. Woods refers to Kofi not winning as a travesty and Big E. rips on Ohio State for their NCAA sanctions a few years ago. However, Kofi needs some power of positivity right now, so the Clap Nation needs to give him the clap therapy that he needs. Woods tells Columbus that they really suck but Big E. says nothing will deter them. Xavier looked like he was about to explode.
Darren flips out of a Woods wristlock to start but it’s quickly off to Big E. to slam Young down. A double splash gets two on Darren and Big E. puts on an abdominal stretch, complete with New Day Rocks slaps to the ribs. There’s a belly to belly for two before it’s off to Woods for a cobra clutch. Darren’s sunset flip to Woods isn’t quite as good as Cena’s was earlier and it’s a blind tag to bring in Big E. for the save. Big E. comes in but goes into the post, finally allowing for the hot tag to Titus to clean house. Everything breaks down and the Clash of the Titus is enough to pin Woods at 5:48 to give us new champions.
Rating: C-. This was in a very tough spot on the card as they were coming after the Owens vs. Cena classic and the Dusty video, but at least we saw a finish that made sense: New Day was down a man and finally in a fair match and lost the belts as a result. I don’t picture the Players as a long term team on top but it’s cool to see them get a run.
The pre-show panel does their thing.
We recap the ladder match. Reigns vs. Wyatt is already confirmed for Battleground.
We recap the World Title match. Ambrose pinned Rollins at Elimination Chamber but wound up winning by DQ, meaning it’s time for a ladder rematch.
Rollins walks past the Stooges in the back but runs into Kane. The big man says this is what he’s been waiting for since Wrestlemania and tonight the future is history. The Authority comes up and says a loss is all on Seth. HHH gives Rollins a pep talk and wants Rollins to show the fans why he chose Rollins to be the man. Show them all.
WWE World Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
Ladder match. Rollins is defending and comes out all alone. We start with some wrestling as Dean takes him down to the mat and works on the legs in a smart move. A kick to the back has Rollins crawling to the corner but he snaps Dean’s throat across the top. Dean is able to stop Seth from getting to the ladder and drops him with a big clothesline.
They head outside for the first time with Dean taking a slam onto the floor. We get the first ladder brought in (not exactly a dramatic introduction) but Seth springboards onto it and goes inside, only to have the suicide dive hit the steel. Both guys go for a climb but Dean is smart enough to ram Seth into the ladder to take over again. A butterfly suplex sends Rollins into the ladder in the corner and Dean goes up.
We get the spot that we’ve been waiting on all night as Dean does the Flip Flop and Fly before diving into the standing elbow drop. Lawler seemed genuinely happy to see that. Rollins is in trouble but blasts Dean in the knee to stop a climb. Dean’s knee gets crushed in the ladder as we get some rare psychology in one of these things. Seth slaps on the Figure Four around the post and Dean is in even more trouble as Rollins shouts that Dean can’t climb with one leg.
The champ follows it up with a regular Figure Four in the middle of the ring before tying Dean up in the Tree of Woe. You know that’s not all he’s doing as he cracks Dean in the knee with a chair. He adds a double stomp to Dean’s chest but Ambrose is still caught in the Tree of Woe. Somehow Dean is able to shove the ladder over and knock Seth down for a huge crash.
The rebound clothesline is countered with a ladder to the face though and both guys are down. Rollins goes to the top for some reason and gets a chair pelted at his head, followed by a clothesline to knock Seth back down to the mat. A Cactus Clothesline puts both guys on the floor and everyone is down. It’s Rollins back in first and chucking a ladder at Dean, only to eat the rebound clothesline instead.
They fight into the crowd with Dean being knocked into a wall. Rollins heads back to ringside but can’t lift a ladder up, allowing Dean to charge back (while limping) and knock Seth down. The ladder is bridged between the ring and announcers’ table and Seth is quickly backdropped (mostly) through the ladder to leave Dean all alone in the ring. Dean is spent and takes a long time to set up the ladder, plus he only has one good leg. Rollins gets back up and tries a powerbomb, only to be hurricanranaed out to the floor.
They crash over the announcers’ table and Seth tries a Pedigree, only to be countered into Dirty Deeds (THUD). The table doesn’t break so the fans want one more time but Dean can’t get up. Eventually Ambrose does the slow climb but Rollins comes back in with a monitor to crush the knee one more time. The champ climbs but Dean grabs the leg, only to eat a Pedigree, allowing Rollins to…..not quite retain as Dean grabs the leg again. Ambrose pulls him down and sidesteps a charge to send Seth outside one more time.
Rollins pulls Dean out as well and sends him face first into the bridged ladder, following a running powerbomb against the barricade. That’s not enough as he does it again against the other barricade to knock Dean out. Seth still isn’t done as he piles a bunch of chairs onto a ladder for a running sitout powerbomb. Rollins makes sure to bury Dean under a bunch of metal objects but Ambrose gets up AGAIN. Both guys climb on the same side and they pull it down at the same time with Rollins coming up with it to retain at 35:53.
Rating: A-. I really liked the match for the most part but they got a bit ridiculous with Dean getting up over and over so many times. They nailed the drama part though with Rollins never being able to put Dean away until the very end. Very entertaining match here and hopefully the end to the feud.
HHH congratulates Rollins but Jojo comes up for an interview where Seth gets to say he told us so. He declares himself the greatest champion of all time as Dean looks defeated to really end the show after 11pm, which might be a first.
Overall Rating: B+. This followed the Money in the Bank formula with the ladder match headlining things and then two other big matches filling out the card. Unfortunately the supporting matches aren’t as good and held this back from being a great show. That being said, you had six matches and half ranged from good to great so it’s hard to say this wasn’t a very good show. WWE has found the pay per view groove again and haven’t had a bad one in a very, very long time.
Results
Sheamus b. Roman Reigns, Kane, Neville, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton – Sheamus pulled down the briefcase
Nikki Bella b. Paige – Rack Attack
Big Show b. Ryback via DQ when Miz interfered
John Cena b. Kevin Owens – Attitude Adjustment
Prime Time Players b. New Day – Clash of the Titus
Seth Rollins b. Dean Ambrose – Rollins pulled down the title
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Was better than the first. I’m as shocked as you are.
Mr. Money In The Bank Is……
Delayed by a spoiler warning……..Sheamus. Roman Reigns had it won but Bray Wyatt started his next feud by breaking it up. Remember a few weeks back on Smackdown (yes, Smackdown) when Reigns Superman Punched Wyatt to cost him a match against Ambrose? I doubt that’s the reason but it’s actually there.
So GWF Launched This Weekend
And……yeah.The promotion was announced the day after Wrestlemania XXX and I have no idea what they spent all that time setting up. From what I’ve seen (including part of a stream of their first show), it’s really nothing out of the ordinary. It’s not terrible or anything but it looks like a fairly big time indy in a baseball stadium. There are some faces you might remember mixed with some local talent and some bigger names near the main event. Now of course there have just been two house shows, but this really doesn’t look like anything great so far. If nothing else having some champions crowned in a few weeks will help, but it seems pretty meh so far.
Wrestling Wars Podcast Episode 12
NorCal and Ty preview Money in the Bank and look at the NFC West.
Lucha Underground – June 10, 2015: This Show Looks Great In Sunglasses
Lucha Underground Date: June 10, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro
The big story coming out of last week was Vampiro running in to save Sexy Star from Pentagon Jr. being all evil and trying to break her arm. This led to Vampiro going a bit nuts and headbutting a mirror because he’s kind of out there at times. Hopefully some of the bigger names come back this week to break up some of the monotony that we saw last week. Let’s get to it.
The opening video recaps Chavo/the Cuetos/Black Lotus with Chavo selling out Lotus for the sake of protection from Mexico. Not any group of people from Mexico mind you, but all of Mexico in general. We also see Drago turning into smoke or whatever.
Speaking of Drago, he’s on top of the temple, now with wings (Drago, not the temple) and dives off in a rare sunny moment.
Vampiro apologizes for getting in the ring last week because he’s just a broadcaster.
Dario is in the ring and says there will be a major show in eight weeks called Ultima Lucha (Final Fight). This will be a yearly event with the biggest fights and most amazing matches, but tonight we’ll start the process to determine the #1 contender for the Lucha Underground Title match. Dario has invited all of the former #1 contenders here tonight, including Hernandez, King Cuerno, Cage and Fenix….who is gone right now so it’s just a three way.
However, before we get to that, it’s time for the return of a legend: Blue Demon Jr. Cueto knows that Demon likes big events with big paydays like Ultima Lucha, but first he has to prove that he still has it, against this man who is also making his return to the temple here tonight.
Blue Demon Jr. vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Chavo has the Crew as his protection and Demon is in street clothes. Oh and anything goes. Chavo knocks him into the ropes to start but Demon backdrops him out to the floor. The Crew takes some forearms of their own but they beat him down, allowing Chavo to hit a LOUD chop to the exposed chest. All four get inside now and it’s kendo stick time. A bunch of kendo stick shots to the back and a DDT with a double stomp from the top set up the frog splash to give Chavo the easy win.
Rating: N/A. This was barely long enough to rate and was an angle instead of a match so I’m not even going to bother rating it. Demon is one of those names that makes this show big in Mexico but really doesn’t do much here in America. I get that his dad is very famous and that he’s had a good career of his own, but he’s still old and slow and in this spot for no reason other than his name. Also, Chavo is really happy with the two members of the Crew who didn’t get killed as his security? Were the Desperadoes unavailable because they were still looking for Stan Hansen?
Drago is inside the temple.
Black Lotus is in the cage when Chavo comes in. Mexico (again, the entire country) will come after him for his betrayal. Chavo leaves, telling her to enjoy the view of Matanza in the next cage.
Drago grabs Cueto and wants to be in the #1 contenders match tonight. Apparently Drago has found a loophole and can be in the match tonight, but Cueto says it’s either win or lose his mask. The deal is on.
Bengala/Mascarita Sagrada/Pimpinela Escarlata vs. Disciples of Death
These would be the three guys that back up Muertes, because he needs heavies of course. Catrina is here with the monsters. Pimpinela starts things off and chops the one with a shirt in the chest. They head outside with Pimpinela being sent into the crowd because this is a comedy match so far. Off to Bengala for some cat jokes but the two shirtless Disciples pound him down with ease. Sagrada trips them up though because he’s small enough to sneak around like that. Not that it’s smart to have a mini take out two guys called the DISCIPLES OF DEATH but at least they’re trying.
Bengala takes out the shirted one with a big corkscrew dive to the floor and Sagrada comes in legally. Thankfully he’s quickly stomped down as Escarlata gets beaten down on the floor. A triple kick puts Mascarita down again and this time it’s Bengala taking the beating. Mascarita gets two off a victory roll as everything breaks down. The Hardys’ old Spin Cycle move connects with the third man adding a springboard missile dropkick to put Bengala down even harder. Escarlta gets kicked in the face and Catrina adds a lick to the face (Vampiro: “That was like, weird.”), setting up a triple Dominator for the pin.
Rating: D-. Oh man did they miss the point here. The team is obviously supposed to be something big and bad, but they’re having issues with two comedy characters and a low level act like Bengala? This would be Heath Slater making Roman Reigns sweat and that’s not the idea in a team’s first TV match.
Johnny Mundo wants to know why he isn’t in the #1 contenders match tonight. Cueto chuckles and says he wants Mundo to be champion at Ultima Lucha. They’re supposed to have a fresh start and Cueto isn’t holding a grudge. “You gave me a black eye. So what? I look great in sunglasses.” And that is why Cueto is the best heel in probably fifteen years. It was the attack on Alberto that showed Cueto who the real Johnny was, so he wants to see Mundo destroy the Prince Puma next week in a show long Iron Man match. Johnny thinks Cueto might be the best boss he’s ever had.
Drago vs. King Cuerno vs. Cage vs. Hernandez
If Drago doesn’t win, he’s banished and must unmask. This is considered shocking even though it was mentioned earlier in the night. Hernandez and Cage knock the other two outside in a few seconds and the brawl is on. That lasts another ten seconds so it’s off to Cuerno vs. Drago. Cuerno gets kneed in the face and Hernandez adds a slingshot shoulder, followed by a Warrior gorilla press drop.
Cage breaks up the Border Toss and plays D-Von in a 3D, only to end in a knee to the face instead of a cutter. Cuerno and Cage kick Drago outside before squaring off in one of the few combinations left. That goes nowhere as a double suplex drops Hernandez but Drago comes in for the save.
Drago’s double clothesline to Cuerno and Cage sends him down to the mat instead, so Drago goes up top. That doesn’t work either as Cage just catches him in mid air and throws him down. Hernandez runs Cuerno over and we’re down to Hernandez vs. Drago. A huge top rope splash gets two on Hernandez and Killshot is shown watching from the balcony. They switch off again for Cuerno vs. Cage but Drago gets involved and takes another beating. Cage throws in a standing moonsault (that’s impressive) and one ups that with a moonsault press to take Hernandez down again.
Cuerno goes to the floor so Drago can hit a big corkscrew dive but Hernandez dives on both of them. Cage hits his third moonsault of the match to take out Drago and Hernandez. Cuerno points the arrow at Killshot and dives at Drago and Cage, with the latter coming up holding his knee. Back in and Drago blows mist in Cuerno’s eyes and does his freaky rollup for the surprise pin and the title shot.
Rating: B-. It was fun but it was another match that was going so fast that it was almost impossible to keep track of it all. Cage’s moonsaults looked good, but when you do the same move (in different variations) three times in three minutes, they start to lose some of their effect. Still though, not bad.
Puma comes in for the staredown.
Cueto is watching when someone taps him on the shoulder. There’s no one there at first but then it’s Catrina. She says Muertes should have been in that match and chokes Cueto with his key. Cueto gives Muertes a match against Drago in two weeks for the title shot, which appeases Catrina. She goes to leave, but warns Cueto that even Matanza isn’t a match for Muertes.
Overall Rating: C+. This was a rare moving day episode of Lucha Underground as they set forward towards their first major show and set up a bunch of stuff going forward. Above all else, the idea of Muertes getting into the title hunt means Puma’s days are numbered. There is zero reason to not have Muertes as champion so someone can take the belt off him next season, so now the question is how do we get there. Not a great show on its own, but it has me wanting to see where things go and that was the point here.
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