IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: September 3, 2020
Host: Andy Shepard

We are two weeks away from everything being back to normal around here and that is a good thing, assuming you haven’t been liking all of the different material this show has had. That means it is time to start setting up what is planned in the future, meaning today we are looking at Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov. Let’s get to it.

Andy welcomes us to the show and sends us to March 7, 2020, for a match from the most recent NXT UK TV tapings.

Walter vs. Ridge Holland

Non-title. They trade shots to the chest and running shoulders to start with no one going anywhere. Ridge slams him to the floor though and Walter looks shaken up. Back in and Walter grabs a top wristlock to take him down before stomping on the neck to keep Holland on the mat. A twist of the neck has him in more trouble and Walter gets in his own slam, setting up the pose.

Walter goes back to the arm and throws in some chops but Holland gets in a clothesline to put Walter down for a change. The sleeper goes on again but Holland muscles him up into a torture rack (dang), only to have the arm give out. There’s an overhead belly to belly for two but Walter slips out of Northern Grit twice in a row.

A powerbomb out of the corner gives Holland two and Northern Grit (with commentary not even calling it) gets the same. Walter grabs a swinging Rock Bottom for two and it’s time for some forearms to the chest. Holland reverses into some of his own but here is Alexander Wolfe for the distraction. That’s enough for Walter to get in a kick and the big clothesline for the pin at 9:02.

Rating: B-. Now that’s more like it as Holland looked like a threat out there. Walter gave him A LOT too and sold hard to make Holland look a lot better than he would have otherwise. Holland has a long way to go but this was far better than he looked over in regular NXT. As usual, Walter can do some amazing stuff in the ring.

Commentary talks about how Walter needed help to win. Nice job of building Holland up there too. Now if that had been the kind of debut he had in NXT, it would have worked far better.

Various people talk about how much of an impression Walter makes, plus how hard those chops are. Drew McIntyre doesn’t know who can stop Walter.

Video on the tag team division, including some looks at several of the teams on the roster. Mentioning where they are from is a nice touch.

Video on Ilja Dragunov. He and his family moved from Russia to Germany when he was five years old and his mother’s Russian teaching degree didn’t mean anything in Germany. His mother worked hard and went to school to become a teacher all over again while working to feed his family. That makes her his biggest role model because no one has worked that hard.

They were very poor growing up and didn’t have anything but he found some Pringles in a trashcan and it was the first taste of a better life. When he was ten, a bunch of teenagers beat him up for speaking Russian and told him to get out of their country or his family would be next. He had never felt so weak and promised to never feel like that again. Over the years he wanted to find a way to express himself and finally found that in wrestling. All of the uniqueness came out in the ring and it is real madness. His success is a celebration of everyone who doesn’t fit into the system.

This was GREAT and sold me on Dragunov in a way that I haven’t been with someone in a good while. NXT/NXT UK know how to do these things better than anyone right now and I have no idea why such a thing is never used on the main shows. They would do wonders for a lot of the wrestlers up there because, as it always has been, wrestling works better when you have a connection to the people you are watching.

Next week: a huge announcement and a look at the Women’s Title.

Walter knows that Dragunov has the same passion that he has for this sport. It will be the greatest fight of Dragunov’s career and Walter will destroy him.

From April 2.

Battle Royal

Ashton Smith, Ridge Holland, Kassius Ohno, Alexander Wolfe, Dave Mastiff, Oliver Carter, Travis Banks, Ligero, Saxton Huxley, Joe Coffey, Jordan Devlin, Ilja Dragunov, Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Noam Dar, Kenny Williams, Tyson T-Bone, A-Kid, Amir Jordan, Flash Morgan Webster

The winner gets a UK Title shot at some point in the future. Ohno backs away from Holland and Mastiff to start and is promptly ganged for the early elimination. Huxley throws out Williams and it’s Webster and Kid throwing each other to the apron for no avail. Coffey gets rid of Webster and Jordan headscissors Huxley out. Kid is thrown onto Huxley’s back but chokes him out and climbs back in for a clever save.

T-Bone is out next and Coffey seems to be favoring his leg. A chokebomb plants Banks and Mastiff gets rid of him, meaning it’s time for everyone to fight near the ropes. Mastiff gets rid of Jordan (Nigel: “Jordan with a mere ten minutes in the match!”), followed by Holland powering out Carter (with a huge overhead belly to belly) and Smith back to back. Ligero is thrown onto the two of them, leaving Mastiff vs. Holland. As usual, Dar messes things up by interrupting the showdown but here’s Joseph Conners to distract Holland so Coffey and Dragunov can get rid of him as well.

Coffey and Dragunov have the big slugout for a double knockdown, leaving Moustache Mountain to hit stereo airplane spins on Dar and Kid. Seven drops Bate (with love of course) but Coffey tosses Seven from behind. Bate manages to get Mastiff on his shoulders but can’t keep him up so it’s time for everyone to pair off. Kid hits a springboard clothesline on Coffey but gets headbutted out by Devlin. A Rock Bottom puts Dragunov onto Coffey and Devlin moonsaults onto both of them, only to have Dar throw Devlin out.

Mastiff is waiting on Dar though and it’s a big backsplash to crush him hard. Everyone gets together to get rid of Mastiff though and we’re down to Coffey, Dar, Bate, Dragunov and Wolfe. Bate gets rid of Dar (the fans sound VERY pleased) and everyone takes a corner. Coffey swings Dragunov for a long time before crushing Bate in the corner. A running tackle crushes Bate and Dragunov at the same time but Wolfe sends him to the apron. Wolfe kicks Coffey out and we’re down to three.

Bate and Dragunov double team Wolfe but some heel miscommunication lets him take them both down, including a heck of a German suplex to drop Bate on his head. Bate staggers Wolfe though and Dragunov clotheslines him out, leaving Bate vs. Dragunov. They tease some eliminations until Bop and Bang drops Dragunov in a heap. A suplex plants Dragunov again but Bate walks into a hard clothesline.

The 6 1 Line plants Bate again and they’re both down for a bit. Bate unloads with rights and lefts until an enziguri takes him down again. They both go over the top and out to the apron so Bate loads up a rather illogical superplex. Dragunov throws him back in and hits a top rope backsplash but can’t hit Torpedo Moscow. Bate gets sent over the top but holds on with one hand, allowing Dragunov to hit Torpedo Moscow for the win at 28:40.

Rating: C+. The length was a bit of a problem but they kept things energized for a good chunk of the time. The ending was the best part and Dragunov is the best choice for the title shot. Odds are that was set for Dublin and they can go back to it whenever things are back to normal. A lot of people looked good in this though and that’s what matters in a match like this.

Overall Rating: B. This show did an excellent job of making me care not only about the title match but about Dragunov in particular. Ignoring the big layoff, there has not been a reason to care about him yet other than he has the crazy eyes. They let him tell his story and that made me want to see him in the ring, which is all you can ask for. Very well done here and the Holland match was a nice bonus.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

He has been on the main roster for about a week and a half and it has been good, bad and in the middle.  But mainly good.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-lees-limit/

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: September 2, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s the go home show for All out and the show is mostly set. That being said, AEW knows how to add some matches to the card at the last minute. I’m not going to argue with how they build their pay per views in a hurry as they certainly know what they’re doing so far. Hopefully that is the case again this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Santana and Ortiz vs. Best Friends

The Best Friends jump them during the entrances with the fight being on outside. Chuck avoids a double suplex on the floor and Trent hits a big dive off the platform. Santana has to save Ortiz from a suplex onto the steps so the Best Friends send him over the barricade. Trent spears Ortiz down as Chuck sets up a big pile of chairs near the platform. That takes too long though and Santana is back up to send him through the whole thing.

Now the bell rings and it’s Trent hitting running double knees to Santana but a double suplex takes Trent down for two. A tornado DDT gets Trent out of trouble and the hot tag brings in Chuck to clean house. The big running flip dive lets Chuck mug for the camera and it’s Soul Food for Santana back inside. A Falcon Arrow gets two with Ortiz making the save.

Santana charges into a knee to the face in the corner and the hot tag brings in Trent. That just earns him a trip to the floor and a powerbomb onto the steps. Back in and Trent slips out of the Street Sweeper and grabs the belly to back piledriver on Ortiz. Santana puts Ortiz’s hand on the ropes just after three and then throws Chuck over the barricade. The metal baton to the back sets up the Street Sweeper to finish Trent at 6:54.

Rating: C+. Well at least they didn’t stop to hug. The match itself wasn’t all that long but there was an extra five minutes of brawling before the bell to make up for it a little bit. If you cut out a lot of the goofy stuff that the Best Friends do and have Trent be the focal point of the team, it’s a lot easier to put up with them. That and having Santana and Ortiz get the win.

MJF’s lawyer has locked himself in his locker room so Wardlow kicks the door in and drags him out. MJF gets in the lawyer’s face and says he has done everything he can to become a World Champion. It is all he has ever wanted and he isn’t having someone lose his chance for him. So either go out there, or be sent into a f****** woodchipper. Which monster do you want to face?

SCU/Private Party vs. Young Bucks/Jurassic Express

The winning team has a regular tag match at All Out. Kazarian and Jungle Boy go with the technical exchange to start before it’s off to Marq Quen to take Matt down. Isaiah Kassidy hits a springboard hurricanrana to put Matt on the floor, where a fan is holding a “HANGMAN DRINK MY BEER” sign. Matt doesn’t care for that and pours the beer out, though he might want to be more concerned about the fan next to him reading a book.

Back in and the Bucks take over on Daniels until he sends them into each other. A belly to back suplex allows the double tag to Kazarian and Boy as everything breaks down. Daniels moonsaults onto the Bucks on the floor as Boy takes Kazarian into the corner. Back in and Daniels comes in to send Boy face first into Kazarian’s raised boot as we take a break. Back with Boy hitting an Angle Slam neckbreaker to Kassidy and bringing in Luchasaurus to clean house.

Private Party dropkick him down so Luchasaurus does the Undertaker situp and kicks them in the face. The moonsault takes SCU down on the floor but Matt tags himself in. We get a double frog splash/standing moonsaults onto Private Party but SCU comes back in for their powerbomb/neckbreaker combination for two on Boy. Matt superkicks Boy by mistake and the BME hits Boy, followed by Quen’s shooting star press. Luchasaurus makes his own save and tosses Quen into a spinebuster from Boy. Matt tags himself back in and the BTE Trigger finishes at 14:13.

Rating: C. This was a bit longer than it needed to be and was your usual insane spot fest, which can start to run together when they do them week after week. That has been the case with most Bucks matches and it didn’t help that you knew the Bucks weren’t being left off of a pay per view. It was entertaining, but it makes the FTR vs. Private Party match from a few weeks ago stand out even more because it was different, unlike this one.

Jake Hager comes in to see Orange Cassidy because Chris Jericho wants Cassidy at ringside for his match tonight. Violence is implied.

Tully Blanchard tells FTR that they accomplished half of their goals and now it is time to go complete everything by winning the Tag Team Titles. They can be sore on Sunday and on Saturday they are fearing the revelation.

Here’s Kenny Omega for a chat, sans Hangman Page. Tony Schiavone recaps Page being thrown out of the Elite, which Omega describes as a mistake that Page has made. Omega says FTR fooled Page but Omega and Page will defend FTR again because they will be bringing their A game. Cue Tully Blanchard and FTR with the cooler with the team saying they’re looking forward to having a great tag team match.

They offer a toast and even have a chocolate milk for Omega. That’s fine with Omega, but he isn’t going to drink with a double of censoreds like them. If they want to do it right now, Omega is fine with 3-1 because he can get in a few good shots. Just do him a favor first: keep the old man away from him because he can smell him from here. Cue Hangman Page with FTR talking about how Page got inside his own head.

They didn’t do a thing because Page wanted to do this all along. Page has to be held back with Omega telling him that they’re just trying to get in his head. FTR grab the titles and then drop them in front of Page. That’s enough for FTR so Page holds out the title to Omega, who is already on the floor and staring back in. This worked well enough, and it’s nice to see them doing something with the story after a good while. Now they need to change the titles though.

Chris Jericho asks Alex Marvez when he last experienced something for the first time. Like kissing a woman for example. That’s how fans are feeling about the Mimosa Mayhem match because he is happy to have turned Orange Cassidy into a main event star. On Saturday, there is going to be a little bit of the bubbly and a lot of Le Champion.

Chris Jericho vs. Joey Janela

Jake Hager is here with Jericho and Orange Cassidy comes to the ring, carrying a backpack. Jericho, in a white Orange Cassidy shirt (get the liquids ready), jumps Janela, with his hand in pigtails, to start and then hits a running clothesline in the corner. More shots to the face put Janela down again and Jericho stands on his hair. Janela gets in a few shots for his comeback but springboards into a Codebreaker. The Walls finishes Janela at 3:14.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here to show that Jericho is serious going into the match with Cassidy on Saturday. That’s a nice idea, but you can only get so far when you have a match built up around throwing someone into a big vat of orange juice. Granted there is something to be said about watching Janela being beaten up so it could have been worse.

Post match Jericho takes off a turnbuckle pad and sends Janela face first into the steel to bust him open. The blood goes on the Cassidy shirt and Cassidy finally comes in for the brawl. Hager comes in for the save but Sonny Kiss runs in for the save. Cassidy pulls out A Little Bit Of The Bubbly from the backpack and pours it out (second time tonight they’ve done the pour out a drink deal, not counting the time where FTR’s cooler was thrown down).

Video on Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy.

Back from a break with Matt near the top of the building shouting down at Sammy Guevara as they engage in a battle of signs.

Here is Team Taz for a chat. Taz promises that either Ricky Starks or Cage will win, whether Darby Allin, Jake Roberts or Lance Archer like it or not. Cue Roberts and Archer, with the former promising that no one is busting a nut around here. Jake sees a great pair of blue jeans in the ring but here are Eddie Kingston and company to talk about how none of them are winning. Jake: “You’ve been drinking. You must have been drinking.”

Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard come out to watch as well and the fight is on, with the Gunn Club and Darby Allin running in as well. Some wrestlers jump the barricade and are cleaned out in a hurry. Cue the Inner Circle and the Best Friends to get in on this as well. The brawling takes us to a break and we come back with the big brawl continuing…and now it’s a vignette on the Dark Order.

Video on the Dark Order’s success as of late, including Brodie Lee squashing Cody to win the TNT Title. They will meet Scorpio Sky/Matt Cardona/Dustin Rhodes/QT Marshall at All Out.

Serena Deeb vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa’s NWA Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Deeb takes her to the mat to start but a shot to the face just makes Rosa mad. Rosa comes back with her own shot to the face and a dropkick but Deep grabs a neckbreaker. With Rosa’s arm trapped, Deeb slams the knee into the mat and grabs a half crab. That doesn’t last long and we take a break.

Back with Rosa grabbing a waistlock and then putting on a cross arm choke. Deeb reverses into a Backstabber and they’re both down. A quick rollup gives Deeb two but Rosa hits some running knees in the corner. The running dropkick against the ropes gets two and a Death Valley Driver is good for the same. Rosa hits a running knee to the face for two and then the Thunder Driver is good for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C+. Well they certainly had some time. I’m not sure who in the world thought someone they are treating as a big deal needed to go about ten minutes before heading into her title match was a good idea, but at least Rosa won. Granted it was after some near falls and after Deeb kicked out of some big stuff, but at least Rosa won.

Jon Moxley is ready to hurt MJF on Saturday.

Big Swole talks about being ready to beat some revenge into Britt Baker during Saturday’s Buy In. Cue a woman with a pizza for Swole, but she isn’t quite buying it (or paying for it). Swole jumps her but here is Baker from behind to hit her with a pole. Baker shoves the pizza in Swole’s face and puts on the Lockjaw.

Here’s what’s coming up this weekend, including a Friday Dark and the All Out card.

Mark Sterling vs. Jon Moxley

Non-title and Wardlow is here with the lawyer as JR promises it is going to be bowling shoe ugly. Sterling’s name graphic says he is MJF’s inattentive lawyer, but he was attentive to his color scheme as he is covered in red white and blue and has an MJF campaign sign on his back. Moxley offers Sterling a free shot and has to show him how to make a fist. The punch misses and Moxley knocks him down with a slap. A breath sends Sterling outside, where he shows some great bumping abilities for someone who found out he was debuting a week ago.

Back in and Sterling’s next free shot misses and he goes sailing outside again. Sterling pokes him in the eye back inside (Excalibur: “Maybe Mark is a smart mark after all.”) but Moxley clotheslines him back to the floor. Sterling is covered by barricades and chairs before Moxley steals his shoe to beat him up even more. Back in again and Moxley has a seat in a chair before getting up and offering a handshake. That doesn’t work so it’s the Paradigm Shift for the pin at 5:03.

Rating: D+. What is there to say here? The point was to have Moxley beat up the lawyer and he did that for a good while. I’m really not sure if this was the right way to go for the go home angle before a pay per view title match, but at least they got through this point. The match has been well built, but it felt a little weird to go here for the big final push.

Post match Wardlow comes in to beat on Moxley and here’s MJF on his walker. The neck brace comes off and MJF beats him down. MJF loads up the diamond ring and knocks Moxley cold, including busting him open. A bite of the cut makes it even worse and MJF holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a bit of a weird show as the main stuff on the card was set up and there wasn’t a lot on here that enhanced Saturday’s matches. It was a fine enough show, but they didn’t do the best job of getting in a final push towards All Out. What we got here was good enough but it’s an AEW pay per view: they have built up more than enough of a good reputation to make me give them the benefit of the doubt.

Results

Santana and Ortiz b. Best Friends – Street Sweeper to Trent

Young Bucks/Jurassic Express b. Private Party/SCU – BTE Trigger to Quen

Chris Jericho b. Joey Janela – Walls of Jericho

Thunder Rosa b. Serena Deeb – Thunder Driver

Jon Moxley b. Mark Sterling – Paradigm Shift

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 3, 2006
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 14,300
Commentators: Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman

It’s the night after Wrestlemania so it’s time for the biggest show of the year. You can see a lot of different things happening on this show, including some debuts or returns, plus the beginning of the build to Backlash. That’s a very special show for me and I’m really curious to see how the build goes. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wrestlemania if you need a recap.

Edge is still perfect at Wrestlemania, but HHH asks how many of those matches were in the main event. That seems to touch a nerve with Edge, so HHH tells him to go to the back with the other curtain jerkers. Edge says at least he beat Cena and won the title, though HHH said he missed Edge’s title reign because he was taking a nap. Edge could have taken a nap last night after he stole the show but he stayed awake to see HHH tap out. Cena: “It seems that He-Man and Skeletor have some issues.”

That doesn’t sit well with the two of them so Cena has an idea: the two of them in a #1 contenders match. Edge suggests a handicap match so they can beat up his “bling bling a**.” Cena: “You lost me at the end there. Did you just say bling bling? I should kick your a** just for saying that.” HHH: “Yeah, yeah you should.” HHH thinks the handicap match sounds like a good idea so Cena is in. HHH and Edge were having a really good exchange there and I could go for more of them.

Tag Team Titles: Kane/Big Show vs. Spirit Squad

Kenny and Mikey are challenging for the Squad with the rest of the team at ringside. Mikey cartwheels out of a whip into the ropes and then gets thrown at Johnny. Kane hits a side slam into the top rope clothesline but Mikey gets pulled to the floor, sending Kane shoulder first into the post. The Squad starts working on the arm but Mikey’s hammerlock is countered into a Samoan drop. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Show but the referee gets distracted, allowing the group beatdown. The team gets together and lifts Show up for the big slam. Kenny drops the top rope leg for the pin and the titles in a big upset.

Rating: D. There’s your big surprise title change with the monsters finally losing the titles. I’m surprised that it wasn’t a more screwy finish but there is something to be said about having the Squad manage to slay the giants after no one else has been able to come close. Show and Kane were long since done with the titles so points for a surprise title change and the lack of some ridiculous way to get the titles off of them.

Post break, the very excited Spirit Squad chants about winning the titles.

Video on Money in the Bank with Rob Van Dam winning the briefcase.

Here’s Van Dam for a chat. He has had a lot of nicknames over his career and now he is Mr. Money in the Bank. There have been a lot of congratulations over the last 24 hours and a lot of people asking when he is cashing in. He isn’t waiting as long as Edge did, because good timing isn’t just important. It’s EXTREME.

Chris Masters vs. ???

Masters is ticked off and the Masterlock finishes in less than a minute.

Post match here’s Carlito, who loads up the apple but swallows it to raise Masters’ hand. Masters is pleased but gets the Backstabber, followed by the apple spit. The fans really approve of that one.

Here’s Shawn Michaels for a chat. Last night, his match with Vince McMahon was everything he expected, including being downright ugly. Yes he could have won the match a lot earlier with one Sweet Chin Music, but last night wasn’t about a wrestling match. The point was to put Vince through some punishment and now Shawn has been given a great relief. Now he doesn’t have to see Vince’s orange body or listen to weird Oscar speeches. Since the cool thing to do around here is want to beat up John Cena, maybe Shawn can do it too, perhaps for the WWE Title.

Cue Shane McMahon but before he can say anything, Shawn welcomes him as the newest member of Vince’s special club. Shane ignores that by introducing Vince, who is in a neck brace with a rather large bandage on his forehead. Vince talks about Linda and Stephanie being backstage last night and seeing what happened to him. That’s nothing compared to Shane’s trauma when he was shoved face first into Vince’s rectal cavity. Shane is now emotionally scarred for life but now Shawn wants a title shot.

Vince has two words for him too: divine intervention. Last night wasn’t fair because it was Vince vs. Shawn/God in a handicap match. Shawn thinks Vince has finally gone completely insane and asks for Vince’s point. Well maybe he could have gotten to it if you hadn’t cut him off. Vince says Shawn can’t win the war against the McMahons because they’re not done. At Backlash, it’s Vince/Shane vs. Shawn/God. Shawn is stunned, because that was actually just announced.

Great story about this. The idea of the match was put together when Vince and company, including Michael Hayes, were on the way back from Europe. Vince pitched the idea and said he was going to do it. Hayes, paraphrased: “COULD YOU WAIT UNTIL WE’RE NOT 20,000 FEET OVER THE OCEAN TO SAY THAT???”

We look back at the Tag Team Title change.

We look back at Carlito turning on Masters.

Trish Stratus/Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle/Mickie James

Mickie is now in full Trish gear, including with her hair done in the same way. Trish is STUNNED, despite this not being the first time Mickie has done this. Candice certainly seems to approve of Mickie as Trish before getting headlocked by the real Trish to start. The Matrix into the headscissors takes Candice down as Mickie is too busy hanging the title on the ropes. Mickie comes in and slaps Torrie in the back of the head before kicking Trish off the apron. The Mick Kick finishes Torrie in a hurry.

Post match Trish hands Mickie the title, sending Mickie into a lot of screaming.

Video on the Hall of Fame inductions.

Here’s Chavo Guerrero to, after soaking in the EDDIE chants, introduce himself. Last night was a great honor to him to see Rey Mysterio win the World Heavyweight Championship. He wanted to have his own title shot last night but tonight is his Wrestlemania.

Intercontinental Title: Shelton Benjamin vs. Chavo Guerrero

Guerrero is challenging and takes Shelton down for a very quick two. Back up and Shelton takes him into the corner but Chavo shoves him out, only to miss a dropkick. Shelton knees him to the floor and takes it back inside for a chinlock. Chavo uses the power of blood relatives to fight up and now the dropkick connects. Another dropkick gets two and there’s a headscissors to put Shelton down to quite the reaction. Three Amigos set up the frog splash but Shelton moves, setting up the exploder to retain.

Rating: C. This didn’t last long but the crowd reaction was quite the nice surprise. The Eddie stuff can be annoying at times but given the way the fans are reacting to the whole thing, I can’t blame WWE for at least trying it. The problem is they are more wading in it than dabbling in it, which is where it becomes exploiting rather than honoring. That seems like it might be continuing with Chavo.

Post match, Chavo seems disgusted with himself as he leaves.

During the break, Chavo quit.

Here’s Ric Flair for a chat. He talks about having some unbelievable moments in Chicago and some of them have even been in his career. Last night he did not win but he still has one more World Title run in him. Cue a man in sunglasses and a hat speaking Spanish, demanding that everyone listen to him. His name is Armando Alejandro Estrada to say that Flair’s time is over. America needs a new hero, but Flair cuts him off.

Estrada cuts him off as well, saying he grew up watching Flair on his broken down TV in Cuba. Now Estrada is a businessman who enjoys the finer things in life. He enjoys the clothes, the women and the money, so he has the man who is going to change WWE. Flair says let’s meet him, so here is Umaga. Flair tries to jump him on the way in and is promptly destroyed, including the running hip attack in the corner. Some headbutts into a torture rack slam leave Flair laying. Well that worked, partially because of that fairly cool torture rack slam.

Edge/HHH vs. John Cena

Non-title, Lita is in the villains’ corner and they don’t have to tag. HHH chills on the top as Cena sends Edge hard into the corner. Lita grabs the foot though and Edge gets in a cheap shot to take over. The fans are rather against Cena, with commentary calling them traditionalists. Yeah like back in the day when you booed the good guy out of the building every chance you could.

Edge gets sent outside to set up the HHH showdown but gets back in for a cheap shot to put Cena down again. That brings HHH down off the ropes but Edge spears him by mistake. Edge shrugs so it’s Cena unloading on him, only to have HHH get up and hammer on Edge in the corner. Cena loads up the Shuffle but runs into the Pedigree for the pin.

Rating: C-. You can see the triple threat from here and that’s a little bit better than another HHH singles match for the title. HHH attacking Edge was a cool moment and I could go for seeing something else between them. It would certainly be a fresh feud but at the moment, it makes more sense for both of them to go after Cena because they’re both much more about the title than anything else.

Overall Rating: C. They did some good stuff here but there was also a bunch of stuff that just came and went without being all that interesting. This wasn’t the big over the top insanity that the show would become in the later years but we did get the Tag Team Title change, Umaga debuting, Masters and Carlito imploding and some stuff being set up for Backlash. They moved things forward, but it still wasn’t the best show. It felt big though and you can feel the Wrestlemania energy still hanging on.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: September 1, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

Great, Excalibur is back. I didn’t know what I would do without the weird emphasis on combiNATIONS or hearing the exact and undisputed proper Japanese and Spanish names for moves while he also gets in his jokes from PWG. Would it be too much to ask Taz to choke him out? Let’s get to it.

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

Taz and Excalibur welcome us to the show so I have to look at Excalibur’s stupid…well chin in this case.

Eddie Torres vs. Shawn Spears

They go with the grappling to start with Spears taking him down and then putting a knee into Torres’ arm. Back up and they lock up against the ropes until Spears takes him outside for rams into various objects. They get back in with Torres hitting a running dropkick, only to get hit in the face. The Death Valley Driver finishes Torres at 3:49.

Rating: D+. Another nothing match here for Spears who gets to win match after match and never goes anywhere but that’s the case for a lot of Dark regulars. It isn’t a terrible match, but Spears has been around this show for a long time and wasn’t all that great when he was a regular on Dynamite. That’s a weird place to be, but it might be time to try him out on Dynamite again. It’s not like this is anything interesting and it would make sense to give someone else a shot.

Post match Spears gets in a shot with the loaded glove.

Santana and Ortiz vs. Rysin/Faboo Andre

Santana headlocks Rysin to start as Taz suggests that Trent’s mom’s van was almost going to a chop shop. Rysin elbows Santana in the face but gets kicked down into Three Amigos. Andre comes in to dropkick Ortiz and a middle rope spinning crossbody gets two. Everything breaks down though and a pop up sitout powerbomb plants Andre. Ortiz kicks Andre in the face for the pin at 3:29.

Rating: C-. This was slightly more entertaining than the opener as it was more of a squash and had a guy named Faboo Andre, which makes everything a little bit better. Santana and Ortiz are another team who could be a big deal around here but haven’t had a chance near the top of the division. It doesn’t help that they’re feuding with the Best Friends over a mom’s van but I’m sure that’ll go somewhere good in the end.

Post match Santana and Ortiz are impressed by the Best Friends finally showing some fortitude. One thing though: Trent’s mom needs to stop calling Ortiz’s phone because it’s not going to happen.

Cassandra Golden vs. Allie

QT Marshall is here with Allie. They lock up to start for a standoff, which Excalibur says is Golden giving Allie fits, because Excalibur doesn’t know what fits mean. Allie elbows her in the face and grabs a swinging neckbreaker, followed by the sliding elbow. That’s enough to send Golden outside so Allie throws her back in, with Marshall putting Allie back on the apron. Back in and a running hip attack gives Golden one in the corner and we hit the chinlock. Allie fights up with some knees to the ribs and the running bulldog, followed by the Eye of the Hurricane (Down the Rabbit Hole) for the pin on Golden at 4:14.

Rating: D+. Allie continues to turn into a wrestler around here, which has taken some time but she is already a few steps ahead of a lot of the people in the division. It wasn’t much of a match but Golden got in a little offense, which is better than some people get around here. Allie was the point here though and that worked out well enough.

The Best Friends brawl with Santana and Ortiz in the back.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Angelico

This could be good. They fight over a wristlock to start with Kazarian taking him down but Angelico flips out. A front facelock has Kazarian in trouble but they get up for a standoff. An exchange of legsweeps set up one each until Angelico takes him down by the leg into a leglock. Kazarian gets two off an Oklahoma roll but Angelico gets in a right hand to the face.

Something like an Octopus hold on the mat is switched into a leglock to keep Kazarian in trouble. Back up and Kazarian walks into an elbow to the face and it’s right back to the leg cranking. Angelico pulls him out of the corner and hammers away with right hands, setting up the springboard spinning legdrop for two. Angelico is back up but the Fall of the Angels is broken up, allowing Kazarian to hit a reverse DDT for the pin at 7:50.

Rating: C+. Believe it or not, two of the better people on the show have the best match on the show in a good while. I can’t say I’m surprised whatsoever and I’m also not complaining whatsoever. This was a rather nice match between two people who were able to have a little time and get something going, which is what I want to see out of Dark a lot more often.

Brandi Rhodes comes to the stage for a chat with Tony Schiavone. Tony brings up the Nightmare Sisters losing in the Women’s Tag Team Tournament so Brandi calls him Anthony. She knows what it means to be pretty and Anna Jay only got the win because she’s part of Daddy Brody’s special team. You can be pretty but you need to be smart too, so come to her face to face. Brandi trying to sound tough is one of the funniest things this show has ever done.

Donnie Primetime/Ryan Rembrandt vs. Gunn Club

Billy headlocks Rembrandt over to start and it’s off to Austin as commentary laughs about the Gunn Club. It’s back to Billy, who catapults Rembrandt into Austin’s middle rope clothesline. Primetime comes in and commentary talks about how similar he is to Joey Janela. With that horrible thought out of the way, Billy comes in and cleans house before handing it back to Austin for the Quick Draw (which Excalibur doesn’t know, because he isn’t that great of a commentator) and the pin at 3:47.

Rating: D+. Of all the matches that Gunn Club has had around here, this was the most recent. They beat up more jobbers because that’s all they do around here, but since their entire deal deal is Billy Gunn and Son, there isn’t exactly much room for them to grow. Much like Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss, just throw them up onto Dynamite so a big team can beat them and then they can come back down here.

Abadon vs. Dani Jordyn

Jordyn is a little freaked out by Abadon, as she should be. Abadon yells a lot so Dani slugs away and slaps her in the face, which goes as well as you would expect. That earns Jordyn a running clothesline and Abadon starts going after the leg. The knee is crushed into the mat and Abadon does it again for a bonus. A DDT to the leg keeps Jordyn down and Abadon sends her to the apron to sweep the leg again. Back in and Abadon leg laces her with some right hands to the leg making Jordyn tap at 5:00.

Rating: C. This is the kind of match that can do someone some good on this show. Abadon is someone who is climbing the ladder around here and it is a good idea to have her get wins like this. Granted it might not mean as much without having her win a few matches on the other show, but for now, this was an effective way to push Abadon, which is one of the points of something like this.

Tony Donati vs. Ricky Starks

Taz is in a much better mood. After playing some air guitar during his entrance, Starks drives him into the corner to start but Donati grabs a rollup for two. Starks sends him outside with ease and takes it right back inside for a belly to back suplex. There’s a dropkick to Donati and Starks gets in a little dancing. Donati gets in another rollup for another two so Starks gets serious and Roshambos him for the pin at 3:28.

Rating: D+. Not too bad here as Starks continues to look good. The better point for him though is the fact that Starks gets to do something on Dynamite and probably All Out. You’re only going to get so much out of exclusively squashing jobbers so having Starks down here for some target practice is a nice change of pace over what a lot of the Dark regulars get to do.

Jurassic Express vs. Jon Cruz/David Ali

Marko Stunt is here on crutches with the two who don’t look ridiculous in the ring (and yes, one of those is a walking dinosaur who says he is 65 million years old). This is Cruz and Ali’s debut as a team so they don’t have the fist bump timing down just yet. Cruz tries a sleeper on Luchasaurus to start and is quickly thrown off. Ali comes in and gets chopped in the corner as the squash is on early.

It’s off to Boy for some hurricanranas before he holds Ali up for the Tail Whip from Luchasaurus. Ali slips out of the chokeslam attempt and hands it back to Cruz for a jumping enziguri. Luchasaurus kicks Ali in the head anyway and does the same to Cruz for a bonus. Boy adds a sliding elbow to the back of Ali’s head and the Extinction Level Event finishes Cruz at 4:58.

Rating: D+. I’ve given up on the hope of having Jurassic Express being a serious team but this involved Stunt having to stand around instead of interfering or doing that horrible dance so this could have been a lot worse. Cruz and Ali were just target practice for the Express which is hardly a surprise, but it wasn’t exactly thrilling.

Red Velvet vs. Anna Jay

Jay hammers away in the corner to start but gets taken down with a leg lariat. Velvet kicks her down in the corner and hits a bottom rope elbow for two. Some bad right hands and choking have Velvet down and a snap suplex sets up some forearms to the ribs. Back up and Velvet drops into the splits, seemingly for the sole purpose of Jay hitting a Natural Selection.

Back up and Velvet gets the better of a slugout, setting up some clotheslines. Running knees to the back give Velvet two but Jay kicks her in the face. Jay makes sure to look at the camera a few times before knocking Velvet down on the floor. Back in and some curb stomps set up a rear naked choke to finish Velvet at 5:00.

Rating: D-. What in the name of some random reference or term was that? Jay was inducted into the Dark Order last week and seems ready for a feud with the biggest women’s name in the company. Velvet went toe to toe with Jay here and it was rather ridiculous, especially given that Jay is hardly ready for a five minute match based on her past performances. They missed here, and it made Jay look really bad.

Shawn Dean vs. Kip Sabian

Penelope Ford is here too. Sabian uses some signs (ala Sammy Guevara) to promote his Twitch streams and his crop tops. Dean is so intimidating that Sabian doesn’t bother taking off his sunglasses while Taz and Excalibur talk about the gym. Sabian knocks him into the corner and asks why we’re doing this again. A knee to the face and a kick to the chest connects….and the referee says it was wide right. Ok then. Dean uses the distraction to hit a hard German suplex into a floatover DDT for two. A pop up knee stops Dean again though and it’s the Deathly Hallows for the pin at 4:17.

Rating: C-. Sabian is one of those guys I could see working rather well on Dynamite and it isn’t like it’s difficult to boo someone always on Ford’s arm. He feels like a mainstay around Dark though and that’s not exactly a great usage for him. It’s clear that he has some ability and he has been getting better, so let him go and see what he can do. How much more can you really get out of him around here?

Initiative vs. Private Party

Leva Bates is here with the Initiative. The Initiative starts fast and takes Quen down for a double chop into a double splash for two. Avalon knocks Kassidy off the apron but Quen fights out of trouble like he’s beating up a pair of jobbers who happened to get a gimmick. Kassidy comes in with a top rope double stomp to the back into a belly to back suplex for two on Cutler, though only after some staring at the camera. Avalon comes in for a high crossbody on Quen as everything breaks down in a hurry.

A suicide dive drops Quen on the floor, followed by a split legged moonsault for two on Kassidy. The hot tag brings in Quen for a big moonsault onto both of them but Quen has to flip out of an apron hurricanrana from Bates. Back in and Cutler avoids a charge from Quen, with Kassidy tagging himself in. Cutler hits a 450 for no count because Quen isn’t legal, meaning it’s Kassidy with an Oklahoma roll for the pin at 4:21.

Rating: C+. This worked too as they were flying in and out of there as fast as they could. That’s more to Private Party’s tastes, which might be better for them every now and then. They have been doing their thing for a good while now and while I liked them being reined in by FTR on Dynamite, it can be smart to let them go out and do their thing like they did here.

Post match Avalon snaps and beats up Cutler, including a shot to the head with the 20 sided die. They really spent all those weeks and months getting them closer to winning and then finally have them lose here? Really?

Dynamite preview takes us out.

Overall Rating: C-. I kept having to correct myself from calling Dynamite the main roster but in reality, that’s pretty much what it is. In WWE, there are people you know are never making it up to the main roster and that is how it feels with this show compared to Dynamite. A lot of these people are just interchangeable jobbers, which is fine enough, but when you have so many people with nothing to do, maybe it would make sense to drop some of them.

I get the idea of giving indy wrestlers work, but there comes a point where you’re just wasting your contracted talent for the sake of having this show continuing. It was a lot easier with just an hour and thirty four minutes (yeah just), but this could be so much tighter and more effective of a show. They seem to like what they’re doing here, but we are long past the point where you can see the divide between the two levels of the talent. There are some who float back and forth, but if they’re good enough to be on Dynamite full time, they probably shouldn’t be here, in what is effectively a training ground.

Results

Shawn Spears b. Eddie Torres – Death Valley Driver

Santana and Ortiz b. Rysin/Faboo Andre – Kick to Andre’s face

Allie b. Cassandra Golden – Down The Rabbit Hole

Frankie Kazarian b. Angelico – Reverse DDT

Gunn Club b. Donnie Primetime/Ryan Rembrandt – Quick Draw to Primetime

Abadon b. Dani Jordyn – Leg lace

Ricky Starks b. Tony Donati – Roshambo

Jurassic Express b. Jon Cruz/David Ali – Extinction Level Event to Cruz

Anna Jay b. Red Velvet – Rear naked choke

Kip Sabian b. Shawn Dean – Deathly Hallows

Private Party b. Initiative – Oklahoma roll to Cutler

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 1, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentator Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix

It’s Super Tuesday and they have a big time main event this time around. Tonight it’s a four way sixty minute Iron Man match for the vacant NXT Title. Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole and Finn Balor are facing off for the title and that could make for a pretty major moment. Let’s get to it.

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

Long video on the Iron Man match, which is all they need to focus on here.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Breezango/Isaiah Scott

Street fight with weapons around the ring. It’s a huge brawl to start with everyone going after each other and hitting/throwing people into the weapons. A table is set up at ringside and Fandango puts a ladder on his head for the helicopter spot. Beth calls this innovative because it’s been a good while since ECW was around. Scott kicks a trashcan lid into Mendoza’s face and then knees Escobar in the face. Breeze sprays a fire extinguisher to clean house and we take a break.

Back with Scott kicking his way out of trouble but being knocked to the floor for a heck of a suicide dive from Escobar. Breezango tries to get back up but here’s Imperium to jump Breeze for a four on one beatdown. They get back inside but Scott and Fandango are standing on top of a well placed forklift to dive onto all four of them. Breeze is back in to clean house, followed by Breezango diving onto everyone but Escobar on the floor. Scott is alone with Escobar inside and it’s the JML Driver to give Scott the pin at 11:56.

Rating: C+. They got the important part here and the rest is pretty much gravy. Breezango still feel like they are going to be the most transitional champions in a long time but at least they might get another win over Imperium first. The match was entertaining enough with the dives looking good and the right ending so not too bad.

Connor’s Cure video.

Tegan Nox talks about being friends with Candice Michelle for years but since Johnny Gargano started following the Gargano Way, the spark went out of her eyes. Nox isn’t ready to live in a world where they aren’t friends because they’re sisters and sisters fight. These videos aren’t exactly setting up a huge match but they’re telling you everything you need to know about these two and giving you a connection to Nox. That’s more than you get on the main roster 95% of the time and these took about a minute and a half a week.

Candice LeRae vs. Kacy Catanzaro

Kayden Carter is in Catanzaro’s corner. Kacy armdrags her down to start and grabs an anklescissors but LeRae is right back with a hanging neckbreaker. A quick trip to the floor doesn’t hurt Kacy that much as she comes back in with a rollup but gets elbowed in the face. Kacy gets fired up and unloads in the corner but gets taken down to the mat. LeRae ties her legs up and stomps Kacy’s head into the mat for the pin at 2:59.

Post match Candice grabs the mic and says seeing Carter and Catanzaro has made her miss her time with Nox. She would love to talk this out too so Nox should come by the house, because dinner is on Candice.

Rhea Ripley is sick of the Robert Stone Brand and wants Mercedes Martinez in a cage. That makes sense, even after the quick detour last week against Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Bronson Reed

They go with some grappling to start until Reed starts slugging away. Thatcher is smart enough to go for the arm to slow Reed down, though a big clothesline gives Reed two. It’s right back to the arm though with an armbar taking Reed down. Back up and Reed knocks him to the floor with a single shot, setting up a suicide dive to take Thatcher down again. Cue Austin Theory to jump Reed from behind though and Thatcher hooks a cross armbreaker. Reed turns it over but Thatcher switches into a Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 4:48.

Rating: C-. NXT is doing a good job of setting up a midcard again as what has been lacking for a little while now. You have to build some people up for the future and this was a good example, with three people getting some time to set things up. Throw in all of them being a possible challenger for the North American Title and you’re almost in for some good stuff going forward.

Mercedes Martinez is down for a cage match with Rhea Ripley.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa

The title is vacant coming in and it’s a 60 minute Iron Man match, meaning no countouts or disqualifications. It’s a brawl to start with Ciampa clearing the ring off a bunch of knees. Ciampa hits some running knees to Balor and Gargano before getting in a slugout with Cole. Back in and Ciampa beats on Balor a bit more as we’re three minutes in. Cole gets in as well and Ciampa is sent outside, leaving Balor to hit a basement dropkick to put Cole down. Gargano joins them and stomps away on everyone before working on Cole’s arm.

Gargano kicks at the arm and grabs kind of a standing Crossface, or at least the standing Crossface’s weird out of town cousin that it only sees on major holidays. Cole gets out and hits a neckbreaker so Balor takes Gargano’s place. That’s fine with Cole, who takes him down with a chinlock. Balor fights up with a running forearm into a double stomp to Cole. The Eye of the Hurricane gets two on Ciampa and it’s off to another chinlock. We take a break and come back with no falls and Gargano pounding Cole down into the corner and no clock to be seen.

Cole’s fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two on Gargano but the other two get back in. That’s fine with Cole, who kicks them in the head but gets kneed down as we have 43:00 left. Cole goes up so Balor catches him, with Ciampa turning it into a Tower of Doom. Gargano crotches Ciampa against the post though and gets two on each of them. We’re down to about 40:00 to go as Gargano hammers on Balor in the corner.

Balor comes back with a quick 1916 for two so he follows up with a Sling Blade into the shotgun dropkick. The Coup de Grace misses but Ciampa is right there with an Air Raid Crash for two on Balor. We take another break and come back with 36:00 to go and still no score. Ciampa and Gargano get ready for the big showdown but Cole and Balor send them outside. Cole suggests a Too Sweet reunion but Balor sends him outside for the big flip dive. The shotgun dropkick sends Ciampa into the timekeeper’s area and the Coup de Grace gives Balor the first fall on Cole with 34:23 to go.

Balor starts chopping away at Gargano and grabs a chinlock. That’s let go so he can take Ciampa down and then alternates stomps to Ciampa and Gargano. Cole gets knocked off the apron and we take a break. Back again with the same score and Ciampa hitting the Willow’s Bell on Balor. The Fairy Tale Ending connects but Gargano steals the pin to tie things up with 26:38 to go.

Ciampa breaks up One Final beat but Cole hits the Last Shot on Ciampa for a near fall. Another Last Shot (or Last Call as Vic puts it) is cut off by a hard clothesline but Cole is back with a superkick to Ciampa. Balor is back in with the Sling Blade to Cole but Cole superkicks him as well. There’s another superkick to Gargano and the Panama City Sunrise finishes Gargano at 24:40 to go.

That puts everyone but Ciampa at one fall and they’re getting winded. Balor breaks up the Last Shot to Gargano and Ciampa steals a near fall. A double Willow’s Bell hits Gargano and Cole, followed by the Fairy Tale Ending to Cole to tie things up with 22:41 to go. Everyone pulls themselves up on the ropes and the slugout is on again. Gargano and Cole fight to the floor while Balor wins a slugout with Ciampa inside. Another quadruple knockdown gives everyone a breather with about 19:15 to go.

Ciampa and Balor are back up inside with Balor being sent hard into the corner for two. A running knee in the corner rocks Balor but Ciampa knocks Cole off the apron and goes outside. Ciampa sends Gargano into the barricade and tosses Cole into the Plexiglas. That lets Ciampa applaud himself but Cole kicks him in the knee back inside. We take another break and come back again with the same score and 11:45 to go.

Balor cleans house again and Ciampa’s knee gives out to make it even worse. Cole is kicked to the floor and Balor grabs a half crab on the bad leg. That’s broken up as Balor has to go after Cole, followed by another shotgun dropkick to Ciampa. Balor has to knock Gargano off the apron meaning he misses the Coup de Grace. A double superkick from Gargano and Cole drops Balor and Gargano superkicks Cole to the floor for a bonus. There’s the suicide dive to Ciampa and another to Cole, capped off by a third to Balor, who pulls his out of the air. 1916 on the floor is blocked and Gargano hits a tornado DDT instead.

Back from another break with 5:00 left and the same score as Gargano getting the Gargano Escape on Cole. Ciampa pulls it to the floor for the break, putting them all outside. The limping Ciampa sends Balor into the Plexiglas and suplexes Cole on the floor. There’s a ram for Balor as well but Gargano is up to slug away at Ciampa with 3:00 left. Ciampa catapults Gargano throat first into the bottom of the ring but Cole makes the save. Ciampa covers again and this time Balor breaks it up, much to Ciampa’s annoyance. Balor and Cole are sent into parts of the set, with the delay allowing Gargano to get two off a small package.

We have 1:30 to go with Ciampa hitting Gargano in the throat to put him down again. Ciampa puts Gargano on top for a super Air Raid Crash with 30 seconds left. Balor comes in with the Coup de Grace though and goes up 2-1-1-1 with 20 seconds to go. Barrett declares him the new champion but Cole hits a Last Shot on Balor for the pin to even things up as time expires at 58:31 (close enough).

Rating: B+. You could feel the screwy finish coming the second they announced the match and that’s what they gave us here. Hopefully they don’t wait a few weeks for the match as it would be nice to have a champion instead of waiting for whenever the next Takeover is going down. It was a good, action filled match as you knew it would be, but it had the same problem that every Iron Man match (or tournament for that matter) has: you can skip everything until the very end and not miss the part that really matters. It was as good as expected, but dang the ending didn’t sit all that well, as predictable as it might have been.

Post match William Regal comes out to make Cole vs. Balor next week, one fall to a finish. Well at least they’re not waiting.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a one match show and that one match delivered so of course the whole thing works. What matters here is they gave us what was advertised, at least with the match, and I can live with waiting one more week. It might be annoying, but guaranteeing a one on one title match (without the time factor) is as surefire of a way to grab an audience as you can get. The rest of the show was hit and miss, but this was all about the main event and it worked out well.

Results

Breezango/Isaiah Scott b. Legado del Fantasma – JML Driver to Escobar

Candice LeRae b. Kacy Catanzaro – Stomp

Timothy Thatcher b. Bronson Reed – Fujiwara armbar

Adam Cole and Finn Balor b. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano 2-2-1-1

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WCPBTW

WCPBTW Memorial Weekend Professional Wrestling Super Show 2018
Date: May 26, 2018
Location: Pickaway County Fairgrounds, Circleville, Ohio

This is an indy show that a reader asked me to look at, and it turns out to be the same company that Jim Cornette had plugged for a long time. The company is (or at least was) owned by Bobby Fulton of the Fantastics and since they were my NWA tag team of choice, this could be interesting. I’m curious to see how something like this goes so let’s get to it.

I have no idea of any storylines, characters or anything else coming into this so if I miss something of note, please bear with me.

The ring announcer welcomes us to the show and I can barely understand a thing he is saying. Another man gets in the ring with him and the fans don’t seem pleased. Apparently that man is Bobby Fulton, who owns the promotion and says something about 41 years in wrestling. I really wish I could give you more than this but I can’t understand more than a word or two here or there. He either talks about how great the fans are or orders a spicy pasty with a used Honda.

Fulton brings out an older woman and asks for some applause for the armed forces (fair enough over Memorial Day weekend). Now he introduces his pastor for a prayer, followed by the National Anthem (Fan: “PLAY BALL!” Yeah I say it too so I can’t make a joke here). With that, and the presentation of a prayer shawl out of the way, we’re ready to go.

Iron Russian #1 vs. Luis Casanova

And yes the Russian is masked, as all proper Russians should be. Iron Russian #2 is outside as flag waver. The USA chants begin, despite Casanova being billed from the Dominican Republic. That’s one of those things that never works and wrestling fans keep doing it anyway. #1 hits a loud chop in the corner and the fans don’t seem pleased. He does it a second time and tries a third but this time Casanova knocks him outside with a single right hand. Serves the Commie right.

The Russian cheats to win a test of strength but Casanova forearms him down, meaning it’s time to talk to the referee again. Probably trying to get him to give up his voting rights. Casanova gets taken down again and the neck crank goes on, which of course brings him back to his feet like a real American. Or Caribbean. A sunset flip gives Casanova two but Nova is back with the choking.

Casanova is sent outside for some cheap shots from Russian #2 but is fine enough to hit a running clothesline. The Russian kicks him in the face for two more but does the “dive into the raised boot which could only have been done so he could dive into the raised boot” spot so Casanova can starts the comeback. Two clotheslines get two and an AA connects, but the other Russian comes up for a distraction. The first Russian uses a distraction to hit Casanova with a chain for the pin at 9:06.

Rating: C-. Perfectly watchable match here, though Casanova is a disgrace to America and his own country as he tries to milk some American fervor. Jim Duggan would be disgusted by this man. The Russians are as classic of a wrestling villain trope as you are going to get so this worked out fine. Dated, but fine.

Queen of the Ring American Grand Prix Title: Miss Hannah vs. Kacee Carlisle vs. Shawna Reed

Hannah is defending and they need to work on the name of the title. Carlisle has her own title but I’m not sure what it is. The challengers hug to start and go with the chopping and choking on the ropes. Based on that first minute or so, this doesn’t exactly appear to be the most polished women’s division ever. A double clothesline takes her down again and there’s a double back elbow to do the same.

They suplex the champ and now it’s time to argue over the cover because that’ show triple threat matches work. Hannah is sent outside though and Carlisa chokes Reed on the ropes. It works so well that she does it again before knocking Hannah back down and covering for two. A butterfly suplex (you don’t see that much anymore) gets the same on Reed but she gets up and drops Hannah again.

Reed side slams Carlisle for two and chokes in the corner before running the ropes for….a chinlock. Must be a Kevin Owens fan. A swinging neckbreaker connects and they’re both down again, meaning Hannah can come back in. We go old school with a double noggin knocker and some forearms to Reed in the corner. The handspring elbow misses and Reed puts her foot a good six inches in front of Hannah’s face for two. Reed’s cover is rather sloppy though and Hannah crucifixes her to retain at 7:58.

Rating: D+. This was as by the book of a triple threat match as you were going to find and the work wasn’t much better either. That being said, it doesn’t exactly seem like a promotion that focuses on its women’s division very much but this could have been worse. They didn’t go with something about the women’s looks and they got a little time so you can’t really complain all that much. Not great, but it could have been a lot worse.

Eric Fallen vs. Tyler Robinson

Richardson is in an American flag jacket and half of the Ohio State Tag Team Champions. We’re not ready to go yet though as Fallen’s other manager, carrying a cane, yells at Robinson and the fans. Grog promises to have Robinson’s hair shaved and we finally get the bell.

They go nose to nose to start with Fallen shoving him down as the manager with the cane yells at some fans. For some reason that makes Robinson take a bow before grabbing a wristlock. Some clotheslines into a dropkick into some armdrags into a clothesline put Fallen on the floor and Robinson hits a hard suicide dive. Back in and Robinson hits a springboard high crossbody for two but Fallen drops him with a single shot. They fight over arm control with Fallen getting him down with a top wristlock.

Some hard whips into the corner have Robinson in more trouble but he fights up and tries a Boston crab. That’s blocked without much trouble and Fallen throws him outside to yell at more fans. Back in and Robinson throws him hard into the ropes for a crash but Fallen is right back to the arm. Robinson fights up again (he does that a lot) and grabs a fireman’s carry gutbuster for his first near fall.

A jackknife cover gets him a ridiculously slow two so Fallen suplexes him for a pretty fast two of his own. Robinson tries the Boston crab again, drawing Grog up for the distraction. Fallen’s chokeslam hits for two but a second attempt is countered into a crosschin. That’s broken up with straight power and Fallen puts him on top, only to get shoved back down. Grog grabs the foot though and Robinson dives into a really bad chokeslam for two….but the referee remembers that he needs to count to three and comes back for the pin at 11:09.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what was up with the referee (felt like a plot point due to the speeds of the count) here but it was pretty distracting throughout the match. What mattered here though was I got most of the story they were going for and saw how things were supposed to go. If the wrestlers are telling their story properly, then you can figure out the details for yourself, so well done here.

Post match Robinson has to have his head shaved by….someone I don’t know. They take their time here and do the whole thing too and the referee talks trash about it. That would explain a thing or two from the match. Cue a guy in a hat to….I think yell at the referee but I can’t make out a word of what is being said. Robinson’s shave is done so he gets up and drops the referee, setting up a frog splash for the pin, counted by the guy in the hat. While we’re here, we might as well shave the referee’s head too. The guy in the hat fires the referee too. Dang bad night for him.

Iron Russian #2/Mr. Pittsburgh Stealer/Kevin Sullivan vs. Bill Dundee/El Rey Mascaras/Onyx

The Russian is in a Trump shirt for a funny sight gag (he was probably wearing it earlier too but it was a wide shot). Onyx is wearing a title and has an unnamed woman with him, while Dundee is in traditional trunks that he shouldn’t probably be wearing at 75 years old. We get the Big Match Intros and Onyx is the other half of the Ohio State Tag Team Champions.

Sullivan and Dundee lock up to start with Dundee punching him in the face to knock away Sullivan’s spike. Now the bell rings and they throw some pretty horrible looking punches in the corner with Dundee getting the better of things. The Russian comes in for some cheap shots but gets pulled down into a quickly broken armbar. It’s off to Onyx for a hard clothesline into a snap suplex but the Russian runs over Mascaras.

A dropkick puts the Russian down again but it’s off to the Stealer (yes Stealer) to work on Mascaras’ arm. The Stealer gets two off a big boot and an elbow is good for the same. Sullivan comes in to stay on the arm and it’s time to stay on the cheating from the villains. The Stealer grabs a chinlock but Mascaras is up in a hurry. Some running knees connect in the corner and it’s back to Onyx to throw Stealer around. Mascaras is back in with a sunset flip to pin Stealer out of nowhere 6:06.

Rating: D. That was a really weird one and I’m not sure what they were trying to do out there. I know Sullivan and Dundee (with the younger of them at 69 years old) can’t be doing much here with Mascaras being beaten down for a little while but then the good guys come back and win without much effort and out of absolutely nowhere. It was almost to the point where it seemed like the pin wasn’t supposed to take place there, which isn’t impossible.

Post match everyone looks a little confused so yeah maybe that wasn’t the planned finish. Hold on as Sullivan says that doesn’t count for some reason so we ring the bell again. Stealer hammers away on Mascaras but gets sunset flipped again for the pin in about 15 seconds. The villains attack again but this time Onyx cleans house.

Big Jim Hines Memorial Battle Royal

Onyx, El Rey Mascaras, Eric Fallen, Iron Russian #1, Iron Russian #2, Luis Casanova, Mecha Mercenary, Tony Crawford

Jim Hines is Bobby Fulton’s real name though since he’s alive, I’m going to assume it’s Bobby’s father or brother. The bell rings and the camera starts circling the arena for a rather weird view. The camera finally settles down to a still but somewhat wide shot as everyone chokes and teases eliminations on the ropes. Fallen is sent over the top but manages to save himself. Russian #1 is clotheslined out and Rey Mascaras is knocked out off camera.

Casanova charges at the rather large Mercenary and gets backdropped out as the eliminations have started in a hurry. Crawford is out at the same time and we’re down to four with Onyx, Mercenary, Russian #2 and Fallen. Make that three as Russian #3 charges at Onyx and is out in a hurry. Fallen charges at Onyx and is taken out as well, leaving us with the two big guys. Mercenary’s clotheslines don’t do much but Onyx’s big clothesline knocks him down. Onyx is knocked into the corner but ducks a charge to put Mercenary out for the win at 5:43.

Rating: D. Yeah this didn’t work, which isn’t exactly surprising. You can’t do much with an eight man battle royal with less than six minutes. If nothing else it doesn’t exactly make it seem all that important if they are going to get in an out of there that fast. Nothing to see here, but a battle royal is going to be a good way to draw some fans into the building.

We now pause for awards to be presented to Fred and Nick Curry (famous wrestler and I’m assuming his grandson, also a wrestler). They don’t actually get in the ring so I’m not sure how big of a deal this is.

Nick is ready for the match, which will be Bobby Fulton’s last match.

And now, here’s Jim Cornette with a plaque. He introduces Bobby Eaton, Fred Curry and James J. Dillon, who are all here to celebrate Bobby Fulton’s final match. Cornette brings out Fulton to give him the plaque, despite all of the horrible things that Fulton has done to him over the years. They have been friends for 37 years though and Fulton has always been a friend of wrestling.

Fulton’s family (I believe sons, including the guy with the hat) comes in with him and Cornette gives Bobby a plaque for forty years in wrestling. Bobby holds up the plaque and gives a speech which is drowned out by the applause. He has someone else get in and it looks a lot like Brian Pillman Jr. (who does live near Ohio and seems to have wrestled for the promotion). They all pose for a picture in a nice moment. There’s nothing wrong with a legends ceremony, especially with people who clearly care about Fulton like Cornette does.

FBI vs. 5 Most Wanted

5 Most Wanted’s Tag Team Titles (might be the Vendetta Pro Wrestling International Tag Team Titles) are not on the line. It’s Tracy Smothers/Tommy Rich for the FBI as ECW continues to live. The 5 Most Wanted are Sean Casey (OVW mainstay back around 2000/2001) and Cody Hawk (who trained Jon Moxley), with Shawna Reed, David J, Jon Murray and Tomi Angel, because the 5 Most Wanted has six people and we need two people named Tommy/Tomi in one match.

The FBI coming out to Stayin Alive is a lot more appropriate now that Smothers (who dances during his entrance) seems to be doing better with his cancer. Casey and Rich start things off and, after over a minute and a half of stalling, they lock up. Rich punches his way out of the corner and clotheslines an invading Hawk. It’s off to Smothers for two off a double back elbow but Hawk gets in a cheap shot from the apron, allowing the rest of the 5 Most Wanted to get in some choking from the floor.

Smothers gets beaten up in the corner but comes back with the karate, only to get knocked into the wrong corner again. Rich gets drawn in to keep up the double teaming but Smothers avoids a shot and brings him in legally. Everything breaks down and some right hands set up a double whip to send the Most Wanted into each other. Stereo rollups give the FBI the double pin at 4:53.

Rating: D. This was another hard one to watch as the FBI wasn’t exactly looking great, though to be fair this was about the nostalgia and fun entrance than anything else. Also, it wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a five minute punch and kick match. It was what I was expecting, but that doesn’t mean it was the easiest thing to watch.

Post match the FBI bails while 5 Most Wanted freaks out and then poses for a photo (seems to be their thing).

Here are Shane Douglas and Robby Starr with Shane talking about ECW and his history with Gary Wolfe. Shane injured Wolfe’s neck in ECW and caused him to be put in a halo for three months. Tonight, the beating will be even worse, even in this horrible town.

Shane Douglas vs. Gary Wolfe

Shane has Robby Starr in his corner and Ronnie Garvin is the guest enforcer on the floor (looking GREAT for 73 years old). This is billed as an ECW Unfinished Business match, making me wonder what the statute of limitations is on unfinished business. They shake hands to start but Wolfe cranks on the hand to send Shane bailing to the floor. Shane is sent into the apron and they fight into the crowd with Wolfe throwing a chair at him.

The camera loses them as they go to the other side of the building but we catch up with Wolfe throwing a trashcan at him and then sending Shane into various things. They get back in the ring for a change with Shane using the rope to get in a low blow and take over. The neck crank goes on Wolfe, followed by a camel clutch to mix things up a bit. Wolfe fights up with some headbutts but Starr grabs him. Shane almost crashes into him but manages to kick out of Wolfe’s rollup. Garvin knocks Starr cold to a big pop, leaving Shane to avoid a charge and grab a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 6:54.

Rating: D+. This was another rough watch but it was FAR easier than watching the guys in their 60s out there. These guys could still move around well enough to not embarrass themselves and I can’t even imagine some of the people on the roster having a match like this. It’s not good, but at least it was better than some of the other things on this show.

Abyss vs. Barbarian

Monster’s Ball and the pairing alone got my attention. Abyss is waiting with a stick but Barbarian throws a chair down because he isn’t scared of a monster. They slug it out to start and then trade shoulders. Barbarian clotheslines him to the floor where Abyss wins a fight and Barbarian gets chopped by a guy with a bowtie. Abyss gets held for some chops from fans but he reverses a whip to send Barbarian through some chairs.

Some golf club shots have Barbarian in trouble but he’s right back with the elbows. The crowd stands up so we can’t see everything going on until they get back inside. Abyss busts out Janice (board with spikes sticking out), which gets caught in the turnbuckle, as always. Barbarian kendo sticks him a few times but walks into a chair shot to the back. Another one to the head sets up a chokeslam onto the chair to give Abyss the pin at 7:47.

Rating: C-. Never let it be said that Barbarian isn’t willing to get in a brawl at his age. This wasn’t exactly revolutionary as has been the case for years with Monster’s Ball, but it is nice to see Barbarian in the ring again. There is something impressive about someone with a basic gimmick who has made it last for that long. You know what you’re getting with Barbarian (it’s right in the name) and it worked out fine enough here.

We have a raffle drawing for something.

Bobby Fulton vs. Nick Curry

Nick has his father (I think) Fred Curry with him while Fulton has a bunch of his family, including (I’m pretty sure) Brian Pillman Jr. This is billed as Fulton’s retirement match, which wouldn’t quite wind up being true but it’s a nice idea. Granted I’ll like anyone who comes out to Gonna Fly Now and then switches to Eye of the Tiger. Curry drops to the mat before getting back up for the lockup. Back up and they go with the grappling until Fulton grabs a headlock, followed by a few shoulders.

Rating: C. All things considered, this wasn’t too bad at all, with Fulton looking like he can still do all the basics. It also helps when the fans treat him like a major star, which is the most important thing you can have in a match like this. If the fans aren’t caring about your main event, you aren’t going to get much else out of the match, so it was nice to see the fans reacting to Fulton so strongly. Curry looked young but you can see how well trained he has been as he seemed perfectly comfortable out there.

Gary Wolfe/Robby Starr vs. Bobby Fulton/Nick Curry

Fulton beats up Starr to start and it’s quickly off to Curry to take him down. A hiptoss into a dropkick gets two on Starr and it’s time to bail to the floor. Fulton goes outside to post Wolfe and Nick slugs away at Starr. It’s back to Fulton but Wolfe gets in a cheap shot from the apron to put him down. A spinwheel kick puts Starr down though and the hot tag brings Nick back in to clean house. Fulton sends Wolfe outside, leaving Nick to crossbody Starr for the pin at 3:49.

Rating: C-. This was a lot better to watch than some of the other matches involving legends as they didn’t stay out there very long and Fulton can still move well enough. It helps that they had some others in there who could do some other things, as Fulton can only do so much on his own. It wasn’t a good match by any stretch, but it was quick and gave the fans what they wanted to see so not too bad.

Post match Fulton seems to have hurt his ankle and has to be checked on by the medics. Fulton gets back up for a THANK YOU BOBBY chant. Bobby thanks the fans and Nick Curry to a big reaction.

Fulton, with a customized title, thanks the fans and says he’s tired of young people disrespecting the business because it has been great to him for 41 years. Take care of the business because it isn’t going to take care of you.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a fine example of a situation where you need to remember what you were watching. This wasn’t WWE, AEW, Ring of Honor or anything close to it. The point here was a (mostly) family friendly wrestling show where you could probably take a family of four out to a 3+ hour show, get Cokes and hot dogs and be out for about $75. That’s not a bad night of entertainment and there was a little something for everyone.

The show had some legends who have probably been friends of Fulton for years and that’s all it needed to be. They weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel here and while the show wasn’t great, it did exactly what it was trying to do. It seemed to work out as well as there was a nice crowd around the show could have been MUCH worse. It’s not a great show or anything, but it was perfectly acceptable for what it was.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: August 28, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Vic Joseph

I’ve run out of ways to figure out what to expect from this show and in a way, that’s rather good around here. There is only so much you can expect with the rather limited roster around here and I’m not sure what to expect from that. We had a Cruiserweight Title match this week on NXT so it might be time for a new opponent. Or maybe a rematch since there was a loaded mask involved. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tehuti comes to the ring for a match but during his entrance, Miles talks about how a rookie like him should be learning from the veterans. He might be rookie of the year though and this show exists because of him. Hopefully a veteran can bring the best out of him. At least he has an opponent.

Tehuti Miles vs. Brian Kendrick

Brian hasn’t been around for awhile. Miles has to spin out of an early armbar and Kendrick drop toeholds his way out of a hammerlock. Some armdrags into an armbar have Kendrick down in an armbar and there’s another into another. Back up and Kendrick kicks him in the face for two and it’s off to an armbar on Miles for a change. Miles fights up and slugs away, followed by a dropkick for two more. The trash talk is on but Kendrick small packages him for the pin at 4:57.

Rating: C-. Kendrick is an interesting case as he keeps coming back and keeps feeling like a star despite not being much of one in a good while. That’s a natural talent that you can showcase very well if given a change. Kendrick looked fine here and Miles is starting to move up a bit by losing to bigger names. That might not sound like much, but they could get somewhere with letting him get a win.

Post match they shake hands and Kendrick says Miles has potential.

Tony Nese vs. Liam Gray

Nese runs him over with an elbow to the face to start and gets annoyed when Gray hits him in the ribs. A German suplex sends Gray into the corner and the Running Nese finishes at 1:40. Just a squash.

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Ever Rise

Lorcan armbars Martel to start but gets taken down into a headlock on the mat. It’s off to Burch to headlock Parker over as frustration sets in. Back up and Burch pulls a leapfrog out of the air (always cool to see) and a middle rope dropkick puts Parker down again. Martel trips Burch down though and drops a few elbows. The armbar goes on again but Burch throws him off and brings Lorcan back in, meaning it’s time for some loud house cleaning.

Everything breaks down and Parker breaks up a Doomsday Device. Lorcan is fine enough to hit a top rope flip dive to Martel, followed by a running Blockbuster for two more. Parker gets tossed outside so Lorcan tries to suplex him back in. Martel grabs the leg for the Warrior/Heenan/Rude finish but the referee catches him because Ever Rise can’t even cheat to beat someone. The referee yells at Martel and Burch Crossfaces Parker for the tap at 7:54.

Rating: C-. Ever Rise is a team who could do a few things around here and as long as they don’t go much further, they should be fine. Giving them the losing streak and having them complain about it is better than nothing, and since they seem like they’ll be sticking around, it’s better than nothing. Not the worst match either, but that might be due to Burch and Lorcan.

Overall Rating: C. The time makes a big difference here as the show is all of twenty six minutes long and it’s almost impossible to get annoyed at something so short. They didn’t really advance much but Kendrick vs. Miles could go somewhere for one of them. It’s not a good show or anything, but for twenty six minutes, I can think of a lot worse.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 27, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

We’re off to the Thunder Dome for the show and I’m not exactly expecting it to make that much of a difference. It’s also the last show before Payback, meaning we will be building to a show and recovering from another one at the same time. That could mean a few different things around here, though none of them are exactly thrilling. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Mustafa Ali vs. Arturo Ruas

Ali has to duck from an early kick to the head but a knee puts him down. Ruas kicks him in the arm to keep Ali in trouble and the martial arts are on full display. We hit the armbar on the mat but Ali gets in a few rollups for two each. Another shot to the arm cuts Ali off though and it’s off to an armbar to send Ali over to the ropes.

Rating: C. Now THIS is what Main Event could be as Ruas got in a lot and looked good instead of just getting squashed. They had me believing that the upset could be happening and that’s a hard thing to pull off, especially on a show like this. Not too bad, but then again that could just be Ali being his usual awesome self.

We look at Drew McIntyre retaining the Raw World Title against Randy Orton at Summerslam, plus Orton attacking him the following night on Raw.

From Raw.

Here’s Orton for a chat. Orton talks about doing whatever he wants to whomever he wants but that wasn’t the case last night. He promised everyone that he was going to RKO McIntyre and then kick him in the skull to take the title…but he didn’t. Orton is a lot of things and he has proven that he will always be the Legend Killer. He has killed a lot of legends recently and that’s what he was doing earlier when he kicked McIntyre twice in a row. Earlier tonight, Drew came out here and offered him a rematch out of pity. Does McIntyre know who he is?

He is Randy Orton….and here’s Keith Lee. Orton isn’t sure what to think of this so Lee says Orton looks perplexed. Lee: “Greetings and salutations Mr. Orton.” Lee thought Orton might want to take this chance to bask in his glory. Orton has been called a lot of things over the years, as has Lee, but the only thing that is true is that Lee is limitless. The challenge is issued for right now and Orton says….maybe later. I can go for more of Lee and I’ll take this over squashing some jobber.

From Raw.

Randy Orton vs. Keith Lee

Lee shoves him away to start and gets in a leapfrog, followed by a big shove out to the floor. Back in and Orton’s right hand is caught, allowing Lee to hit a standing overhead belly to belly. Orton bails to the floor again and this time Lee follows for a…failed posting attempt as Orton sends him shoulder first in instead. Orton stomps away back inside and covers, with Lee firing him off with the kickout.

The chinlock into a sleeper goes on but Lee drives him into the corner for the quick break. Lee hits the running corner splash and a crossbody takes Orton down again. Orton gets knocked outside again but Lee throws him back inside this time, only to get kicked in the face to set up the hanging DDT. Orton loads up the RKO but here’s McIntyre for the DQ at 4:47.

Rating: C. I’m not sure on this one as Lee got in a good about of impressive stuff and wasn’t beaten when McIntyre interfered, but the match ended with Lee down and Orton loading up his finisher. Lee didn’t need to pin Orton here, but it could have had a little better ending. Like Orton walking out for a countout or something, as the McIntyre match is all but already set.

Later in the night, Orton Punted McIntyre for a third time.

We look at Asuka winning the Raw Women’s Title at Summerslam.

From Raw.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Asuka is defending in a lumberjack match. Banks is sent outside in a hurry and a hip attack knocks her off the apron again. Baszler stares Bayley down for daring to help Banks up and we take a break. Back with Banks kicking Asuka down but getting reversed into the ankle lock. Asuka is kicked out to the floor though and Banks dives at her, only to hit the Riott Squad by mistake.

That lets Asuka get up and hit a sliding shot off the apron to take Banks down again. Asuka goes after Bayley, who throws lumberjacks at her to avoid a bad case of death. Banks gets in a cheap shot from behind and nails the frog splash for two back inside. Bayley tries to throw in a chair but Baszler makes the save, leaving Banks to get Asuka Locked for the tap at 7:41.

Rating: C+. There was too much going on here and it was a far cry from what they did last night. The bigger problem though is having the same people face each other so often. They have a lot of talented people in the division but it is rare to see someone new getting into the title picture. Banks, Bayley and Asuka (and Becky Lynch and Charlotte) have been the divisions for a long time now and they need to do something different. Look around the ring and pick someone. Who isn’t Nia Jax.

Video on the Fiend becoming Universal Champion and Roman Reigns returning at the end of Summerslam.

Ricochet vs. vs. Humberto Carrillo

This could be fun. After a slap of hands, they fight over wristlocks to start with Ricochet taking him down to work on the arm. Back up and a running hurricanrana sends Carrillo to the floor, setting up the backflip into the superhero pose. More respect is shown before Carrillo headscissors him out to the floor and strikes his own pose. That means more respect, which is broken up as Ricochet superkicks him to the floor.

Back from a break with both guys escaping suplexes and Carrillo grabbing a rollup for two. A jumping spinning kick to the head drops Ricochet and a dropkick puts him down again. Carrillo’s missile dropkick gets two but Ricochet rolls to the apron before the moonsault. Ricochet rolls through a high crossbody and a quick Recoil finishes Carrillo at 9:52.

Rating: C+. Let two talented high fliers have a high flying match for a few minutes. It’s an idea that has worked forever so why not do it again here? This worked out rather well and while I would rather Ricochet be doing something on Raw, I’ll take what I can get in the situation. At least it got some time too.

We look at Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins from Summerslam.

From Raw.

Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins/Buddy Murphy

The Mysterios jump them on the floor before the bell and the fight is on in a hurry. Dominik and Murphy start things off with Dominik dropkicking him to the floor and knocking Rollins into the announcers’ table. A backdrop puts Murphy on the floor again and Rey hits a….something that the camera misses to send Rollins into the barricade. Rollins is left alone in the ring and it’s a dropkick into a failed 619 attempt from Rey. Dominik dives onto both of them and we take a break.

Back with Rollins mocking Rey for not being able to make the tag but Rey scores with the sitout bulldog. Murphy cuts off the tag to Dominik but Rey scores with an enziguri, allowing the hot tag. A springboard crossbody gets two on Murphy and Dominik sends him into the corner. The tornado DDT gives Dominik two but he has to slip out of the buckle bomb. Rey comes in off the hot tag and it’s a double 619 to Murphy. Dominik goes up….and it’s Retribution to destroy the Mysterios for the DQ at 10:00.

Rating: C. While I didn’t need to see any combination of these four again, above all else they kept it WAY shorter than last night and that’s a big improvement. Dominik has the skills to hang in there in short bursts but there is only so much that you can do in a match that goes on that long. Retribution showing up suggests that things may be finally moving on, but dang it took some time to get us here.

Post match the beatdown is on with Rollins and Murphy watching from the stage as Retribution (six of them this time) leave the Mysterios laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Not too shabby here with a pair of matches featuring people I like so I can’t complain all that much. There was no point in focusing on Smackdown whatsoever as it came before Summerslam and nothing mattered at that point. There wasn’t much focus on Payback here, but that could be because there was nothing set up for the show when the Main Event stuff was filmed. If that is true (and it might not be), should tell you a lot about the problems with the company at the moment.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 31, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

We’re done with pay per view for a bit but now it is time to start getting ready for Clash of Champions. Already announced for the show is a series of matches to set up a triple threat later in the night for the shot at Drew McIntyre, so at least they’re going quickly. There isn’t a ton of fallout to deal with from last night so the slate might be a bit more open. Let’s get to it.

Here is Payback if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s a ticked off Randy Orton to open things up and talk about how Drew McIntyre deserves to be in pain. McIntyre has been promising to kick Orton’s head off but Orton is doing the kicking around here. Orton talks about all the people he has kicked in the head and laughs at McIntyre thinking he is entitled. He takes out everyone he faces and we see a graphic of all of the legends he has hurt in hospital beds (including Shawn with a bag of ice on his head).

Orton’s laugh is cut off by Keith Lee, who talks about how he beat Orton last night, which makes him wonder why Orton is talking about title shots. Maybe beating a legend killer means Lee should be getting that title shot. Lee considers Drew McIntyre a friend but here’s Dolph Ziggler, his opponent in one of the singles matches tonight, to jump him from behind.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Keith Lee

The first of the three qualifying matches. The bell rings after the break and Lee cranks on the arm, including lifting Ziggler up by the hand. A hard catapult sends Ziggler face first into the buckle and Ziggler needs a breather on the floor. Back in and Ziggler takes him down by the knee and grabs a chinlock. That doesn’t last long as Lee gets up and runs Ziggler over as we take a break.

Back with Lee hitting Grizzly Magnum and throwing Ziggler into the corner. Ziggler hits a quick Fameasser for two and a neckbreaker into the jumping elbow gets the same. Lee gets up again and slugs away, followed by a pop up face plant. Ziggler tries to fight back but walks into the Spirit Bomb for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C. Might have been a bit longer than it needed to be but Lee getting another win is a good sign. If nothing else you can put him in the triple threat later and have someone else take the fall to (probably) send Orton on to Clash. They’ve given Lee two big wins early on so the foundation is being set. Just don’t screw it up from here.

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler bicker about who is responsible for winning the Tag Team Titles last night. Asuka comes in to interrupt and the other champs aren’t cool with that. Shayna is shoved away and a big staredown ensues.

Adam Pearce wants security on extra watch for Retribution.

Here’s Asuka for an in-ring chat. She talks about all of the women she has beaten and now she needs a new challenger. It doesn’t matter who is ready for Asuka because Asuka is ready for anything. Cue Mickie James to say Asuka is awesome but she’s coming for the title. Cue Natalya and Lana, both in gear for a change, to say Mickie isn’t jumping the line like that. Lana talks about being a fashion influencer and if Mickie wants to face Natalya, you have to go through her. Asuka is ready for all three of them so Lana and Natalya jump the two of them but Mickie and Asuka clear the ring in a hurry.

Connor’s Cure video.

We look back at the Hurt Business cleaning house in Raw Underground last week.

The Viking Raiders and Cedric Alexander are ready for a match tonight. Demi from the Bachelor thinks it’s great that Cedric turned down the Hurt Business and kisses Ivar on the cheek. They all leave and Andrade pops up with a rose. Again, WHY IS DEMI HERE???

Lana vs. Mickie James

Natalya is at ringside and Asuka is on commentary but it takes a bit to get her headset working. Lana chokes in the corner and snaps off a suplex for two before the chinlock goes on. Mickie fights back and hammers away with some clotheslines but Lana slips out of the MickDT. Instead it’s the Mick Kick to finish Lana at 2:39.

Mickie and Asuka stare each other down post match.

We look back at Aleister Black attacking Kevin Owens last week.

Randy Orton leaves Black’s dressing room.

The IIconics are ready for their match against the Riott Squad where the losers have to split up. They have known each other since high school and sacrificed a lot to get here. The Riott Squad isn’t breaking them up and their win will be iconic.

Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton

The second triple threat qualifying match. Hold on though as Black comes out to jump Owens before the bell and even hits Black Mass on the floor. Saxton: “Is this why we saw Randy Orton leaving Aleister Black’s locker room?” Joe: “OF COURSE IT IS BYRON!” Owens gets inside and says ring the bell and it’s an RKO for the pin at 15 seconds.

Rey Mysterio is not cleared to compete tonight but Dominik will be taking his place in the triple threat qualifying match. Dominik knows he is an underdog but he is ready to make his family proud.

Here are MVP and Shelton Benjamin for the VIP Lounge. MVP hypes up the guest and brings out Bobby Lashley for the big celebration. MVP talks about how he has seen a lot of young people getting in trouble over youthful exuberance and Apollo Crews did it too. There are three things you can guarantee in life: death, taxes and Bobby Lashley. Speaking of Lashley, he promises to get some revenge on Crews for jumping him after last night’s match. Shelton promises to do the same to Crews in Raw Underground but MVP is ready for the six man tag they have coming up.

MVP walks to talk about Cedric Alexander but here’s Cedric to interrupt in person. The Hurt Business goes to meet him in the aisle and MVP asks if Cedric has had a change of heart. That’s a no, and he didn’t come alone. Cue the Viking Raiders to start the brawl before their match.

Hurt Business vs. Viking Raiders/Cedric Alexander

Lashley stomps away at Erik in the corner but a forearm to the face cuts that off. A running shoulder in the corner has Erik in trouble again though and it’s off to MVP for the rights and lefts. It’s off to Ivar who knocks Shelton into a knee from Erik and Cedric comes in to hammer away in the corner. Shelton busts Erik’s spine but it’s back to Cedric, who is dropped with a faceplant.

That means Cedric is choked down in the corner and MVP’s running boot to the jaw connects. The armbar goes on but Cedric fights up and tries for the tag but the Vikings are pulled outside. That’s fine with Cedric, who grabs a rollup (and some tights) for the quick pin at 6:20.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here, but Cedric getting a win is a good bonus. The tights on the rollup could go a little somewhere as it’s not like this story has been going anywhere for the time they have put into it so far. The Hurt Business does tend to lose quite a bit, but at least they have the US Title and the champ didn’t take the fall.

MVP seems rather pleased with Cedric and calls off the Hurt Business from destroying him.

Post break, the Hurt Business jumps Cedric in the back. Apollo Crews and Ricochet make the save.

IIconics vs. Riott Squad

The winners get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot and the losers are forced to disband. Kay jumps Riott to start and Peyton bulldogs her onto Kay’s knee. We’re already in the chinlock but Ruby fights up in a hurry and brings in Liv to clean house. A dropkick to the back gets two on Peyton but Billie gets the same off a suplex. Liv gets in a shot to the face and the hot tag brings in Riott as everything breaks down. Peyton and Liv fight to the floor, leaving Riott and Kay to trade rollups until Ruby gets the pin at 3:29.

Rating: C-. The match was the fast paced formula stuff with the right team winning, but I really don’t get the need to split up the IIconics so soon. Unless there is some reason for one of them to lose, I don’t think either of them is ready to hang on their own. A story where they need each other could work out well, but I’m going to need to see how they make this work.

Post match the IIconics freak out and hug each other. Hopefully there is more to this.

Shane McMahon is ready for Raw Underground.

Commentary announces that Rey Mysterio has a torn tricep. Well that’s neither good nor surprising.

Video on Seth Rollins/Murphy vs. the Mysterios.

Here are Rollins and Murphy for Rollins’ match against Dominik, but Rollins isn’t happy. He yells at Murphy for costing them the match last night by kicking him in the head and then getting pinned by DOMINIK MYSTERIO. Rollins has a big chance tonight and can’t have Murphy screwing it up for him. Murphy is sent to the back and out of Rollins’ sight. Rollins does not want to see him until Murphy figures out what he stands for. Murphy slowly leaves and gets jumped by Dominik on the way to the back.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins

The third of three triple threat qualifying matches. Mysterio goes straight at him to start but gets sent to the floor. Back in and Seth stomps away but gets kicked in the face. They head outside with Dominik sending him into the announcers’ table and then diving off of it as we take a break.

Back with Dominik fighting out of an abdominal stretch but getting pulled down into a bodyscissors. That’s switched to a waistlock instead but Dominik fights up and counters a buckle bomb with a hurricanrana into the corner. The tornado DDT out of the corner into a standing moonsault gets two on Rollins and he rolls outside. That means a big dive from Dominik as the rest of the Mysterios are watching in the back. The 619 sets up the frog splash but Rollins rolls away, setting up the Stomp for the pin at 10:03.

Rating: C. Dominik is doing a lot better in the ring than probably would have been expected of him and to be fair they didn’t do something crazy here. I still don’t really care to see him in the ring, but at least they aren’t going completely overboard with someone who looks lost out there. The match was fine enough and the right person won in short enough order so I can’t get that upset. I’m curious about what Rey’s injury means for Dominik though, as there isn’t much else for him to do other than stuff with his dad.

Post match Seth hits another Stomp as the Mysterios are devastated.

We’re off to Raw Underground where Titus O’Neil is beating people up. Riddick Moss comes in and the fight goes off the stage. Someone distracts Titus though and Moss takes him down for the knockout win. More later.

The Street Profits have a scouting report on Zelina Vega and company. Zelina’s details include “poisons people” and “amusement parks” because she’s too short to ride roller coasters.

Earlier today, Akira Tozawa tried to come into the building but his name wasn’t on the list. Tozawa got out of the car, found out that the list was blank, and was rolled up by R-Truth for the 24/7 Title. Of course the security guard was the referee, so Tozawa kidnapped him and chased after Truth. He was in such a rush that one of the Ninjas had to walk all the way into the building.

Street Profits vs. Andrade/Angel Garza

Non-title tornado rules with Zelina Vega and Demi at ringside. The match starts fast as expected with Dawkins turning a double superplex into a Tower of Doom as we take a break (again with no pitch to the break, which has been a trend tonight). Back with Ford on the floor and Dawkins being chopped to the mat. A middle rope dropkick to the side of the head gets a delayed two on Dawkins and the armbar over the ropes makes it even worse. Dawkins fights back to clean house though and a bulldog gets two on Andrade.

Another shot to the head puts Dawkins down again but Ford hits a BIG dive for the save. The pace picks up and a running Blockbuster into an enziguri hits Andrade….and there go the lights. The referee bails and Angel leaves with Demi. Ford covers Andrade but here’s Retribution over the barricade. Commentary bails and even Zelina starts fighting three of the members at ringside. That goes as badly as you would expect and it’s a big beatdown on Andrade and the Profits. We’ll say it’s a no contest at about 9:00.

Rating: C-. This was a weird one even before the ending and that didn’t do it any favors. It doesn’t help that there is no one else to challenge the Profits for the titles at the moment so this is the best we can get. They have held the belts for over six months now and that doesn’t exactly make it easier to keep the division fresh. Retribution being back is a bit of a relief though as they weren’t on either Smackdown or Payback. That doesn’t seem very long, but it is almost enough to make you believe WWE was dropping a story.

Back with commentary sounding perfectly calm and calling the replay, despite the three of them running for their lives five minutes ago. Samoa Joe is not someone who is going to have a bunch of masked guys interfere and chase him off and be fine with it. That’s completely out of character for him and I doubt WWE cares.

Adam Pearce yells at security.

The IIconics are at Raw Underground as Jessamyn Duke destroys Avery Taylor. Another woman gets up and yells at Duke so Marina Shafir, in street clothes, gets up and massacres the other woman in about ten seconds. The IIconics tease getting in but Peyton stays on the floor, leaving Billie to get beaten up.

We look at Cedric Alexander pinning MVP and then getting beaten up by the Hurt Business.

Apollo Crews is ready to fight Shelton Benjamin in Raw Underground and has Cedric Alexander and Ricochet with him.

Post break, the Hurt Business arrives at Raw Underground and it’s Crews vs. Benjamin. Shelton takes him down but Crews gets in a Kimura. That’s broken up and they fight off the stage, meaning the brawl is on with the other four. All six wind up on the platform and the Hurt Business knock/choke them all out in a hurry. Well that was one sided.

Demi is scared of Retribution but Angel Garza has this covered. Retribution charges in and beats up security so Garza runs off. The women of Retribution step forward and Demi runs off. So to recap: WWE showed Garza getting engaged to his longtime girlfriend, then made him a womanizer, then brings in a woman from the Bachelor to play his second on-screen love interest for months. There was NO ONE else in WWE who could have played her role? Or his role for that matter?

Randy Orton vs. Keith Lee vs. Seth Rollins

The winner gets McIntyre at Clash of Champions. Rollins pitches the alliance with Orton, who immediately drops down to the floor. Then Rollins rolls out to yell at him but Orton says he changed his mind. Lee grabs Rollins by the hair (Rollins: “OW!!!”) and pulls him inside where Rollins’ headlock doesn’t work very well. Orton comes back in and gets splashed in the corner but Rollins is back up with ax handles to Lee. They send Lee to the apron so Lee slingshots in with a crossbody to both of them as we take a break.

Back with Lee getting knocked out of the air and sent to the floor for a drop onto the announcers’ table. There’s a whip into the steps to put Lee down even more but they carry him back to the apron in a rather questionable move. Orton turns on Rollins with the hanging DDT for two but Rollins is right back with the Falcon Arrow for the same.

Lee rises up though and throws Rollins into Orton for the big crash. Orton heads outside where Lee Pounces him into the barricade before catching Rollins’ suicide dive and tossing him into the announcers’ table. Back in and Rollins enziguris Lee and kicks him in the head again to knock him down. The Stomp is countered into the Spirit Bomb but Orton comes back in for the RKO to Lee and pins Rollins at 11:05.

Rating: C+. That was about all they could do here and that’s the right call. Lee looked dominant and didn’t get pinned, which is what matters most in this. Orton gets back into the title match as well, which isn’t quite surprising and it’s not like Rollins is going to be hurt by taking a fall. Good enough here, but more importantly it wasn’t stupid and that’s an improvement.

Overall Rating: C. The best thing here was that they didn’t do anything incredibly stupid. I know that might be a pretty low bar to clear, but in WWE’s world, it is at the top of the priorities list. They set up or moved things towards Clash while keeping things moving well enough. I liked what we got here and while nothing is worth seeing, they didn’t ruin Lee (yet) and I could see myself being interested in where some of these things go. Good enough show here, which is quite the upgrade over what they had been doing in recent months.

Results

Keith Lee b. Dolph Ziggler – Spirit Bomb

Mickie James b. Lana – Mick Kick

Randy Orton b. Kevin Owens – RKO

Cedric Alexander/Viking Raiders b. Hurt Business – Rollup with tights to MVP

Riott Squad b. IIconics – Rollup to Kay

Seth Rollins b. Dominik Mysterio – Stomp

Street Profits vs. Andrade/Angel Garza went to a no contest when Retribution interfered

Randy Orton b. Keith Lee and Seth Rollins – Orton pinned Rollins after a Spirit Bomb from Lee

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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