Survivor Series 2018
Date: November 18, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 16,325
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the second redo of the year and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. I remember this one a little bit better than some of the more recent shows for some reason and I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not. It’s hard to say how well these things hold up but that’s kind of what I’m going for here. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Smackdown Tag Teams vs. Raw Tag Teams

Smackdown: Usos, New Day, Sanity, Anderson And Gallows, Colons

Raw: Bobby Roode/Chad Gable, Revival, B-Team, Lucha House Party, Ascension

Kofi Kingston, Alexander Wolfe and Gran Metalik are the odd members out here. New Day, with blue pancakes this time, handles the Smackdown introductions to stretch things out a bit more. Kalisto and Epico start things off with Kalisto kicking at the legs and trying his handstand hurricanrana…which he leaves short so Epico has to kick him in the ribs instead.

A suplex gives Epico two as the apron looks ridiculous with so many people up there. Hold on though as Kalisto injures his knee so it’s off to Dorado for a quick splash. Kalisto comes back in almost immediately and gets suplexed down, allowing Primo to come in and hit a basement dropkick. Primo is sent into Epico and knocks him off the apron by mistake. Dawson makes a blind tag through and it’s a quick Shatter Machine to get rid of the Colons at 3:10.

Anderson comes in to clothesline Wilder and hits the Rocket Kick in the corner. Axel comes in to stomp on Anderson…and Metalik has taken Kalisto’s place, which we’re just allowing to happen because no one listened to Monsoon and Ventura explain the rules. Stomping in the corner ensues but Axel spends a bit too much time fist pumping, allowing Anderson to roll Dallas up for the elimination at 5:02.

It’s off to Dain vs. Gable after we nearly got Gable vs. Big E. in the match I didn’t know I needed to see. Dain hits a quick Divide for two so it’s Young coming in for two of his own off a neckbreaker. Roode makes the save and it’s a neckbreaker/moonsault combination to finish Young at 6:32. Konnor comes in to kick Big E. in the face but gets pulled into the spanking abdominal stretch. It’s off to Woods, who gets tossed with a fall away slam in short order. Viktor grabs a chinlock but Woods fights up for a discus forearm. Just to show off, Woods lifts Big E. onto his shoulders for a splash to finish Viktor at 8:48.

The Luchas try to go after Gallows and it goes as well as you would expect. Dorado has to slip out of the Magic Killer and it’s a Stunner to Gallows. Anderson gets hurricanranaed into the ropes and it’s the Luchas hitting stereo Asai moonsaults onto Anderson and Gallows. Back in and a rope walk Swanton gets rid of Anderson at 10:40 as the apron is finally clearing out a bit.

We’re down to the Usos/New Day vs. Roode/Gable/Revival/Lucha House Party so Jimmy comes in for the first time. Dorado chops him into a rollup for two and a Lionsault gets the same. Jey comes in off a blind tag and comes pretty close to catching Dorado in a Samoa drop for the pin at 11:57.

It’s Dawson coming in to grab Woods and a Wilder distraction lets him get in a cheap shot to really take over. Dawson misses a charge though and Woods hits a dropkick, allowing the double tag to Big E. and Wilder. Big E. clotheslines Dawson outside but gets rolled up for two, allowing Gable to come in for a suplex. Rolling Chaos Theory into a neckbreaker gets two on Big E. and everything breaks down with Wilder hitting a tornado DDT on Woods on the floor.

That means the dive from Big E., leaving Roode and Gable alone in the ring. Roode backdrops him onto everyone else but Jey superkicks Roode down. Jey does the GLORIOUS pose and dives onto the pile rather than, you know, covering the knocked silly Roode. Just to get nuts, Gable German superplexes Jimmy onto everyone else for the big crash. Back in and Woods hits Roode with the Honor Roll, leaving Big E. to catch Gable’s moonsault. That means UpUpDownDown to finish Gable at 18:33 but Dawson sends Big E. outside.

Woods goes up for the rope walk….undetermined move that is countered into the Shatter Machine to tie us up at 19:31. It’s the Usos vs. Revival and a slugout goes to the non-brothers. A reverse powerbomb/top rope clothesline (felt like a Steiner Bulldog with some miscommunication) gets two on Jey so Jimmy enziguris Dawson. Wilder is back up though and we go old school with a PowerPlex for two as Jey has to make a diving save. The Shatter Machine is broken up and it’s a bunch of superkicks to set up the Superfly Splash (with a Roman Reigns fist pump on the way down) for the pin at 23:15.

Rating: C. It was fun once they got down to the last bit but sweet goodness there was too much going on here. There is only so much you can do with enough people for a nice battle royal at first, plus seconds on the floor. It’s an idea that makes sense but when so many of these teams are looked at as jokes, they would have been better off cutting this in half and doing individual eliminations. Still though, perfectly watchable, especially once they got rid of the dead weight.

The opening video focuses entirely on the battle for Brand Supremacy because that’s all this show is about anymore. Even the huge champion vs. champion matches are just part of Raw vs. Smackdown.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women

Raw: Mickie James, Nia Jax, Tamina, Bayley, Sasha Banks

Smackdown: Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Asuka

The injured Alexa Bliss and Naomi are the captains, which is Naomi comes out second for her team. This is fallout from the moment of the year with Becky Lynch and Smackdown invading Raw, setting up Nia Jax punching Becky in the face and putting her on the shelf, setting up the main event of Wrestlemania and changing their careers forever. It’s funny how that works somehow no?

Naomi and Tamina start things off as the fans want Becky. A dropkick sends Tamina into the ropes and everything breaks down in a hurry. Naomi’s Disaster Kick puts Nia on the floor but Tamina hits a superkick to get rid of Naomi at 1:21. Carmella is right back in to roll Tamina up and get us down to 4-4 at 1:32. The fall leaves Carmella alone in the ring so DANCE BREAK.

Nia comes in behind her and Carmella’s rollup has no effect, as expected. Therefore it’s off to Mandy, who gets taken down with a single knee. That means it’s Mickie coming in for two off a neckbreaker but Mandy is right back up with an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up in a hurry though and it’s off to a quickly escaped Muta Lock. Asuka comes in to face Mickie, which Cole says is a match everyone would want to see. Then watch it from Takeover: Toronto on the Network!

Asuka starts with the hip attack into the dance, setting up the Octopus Hold. Sonya comes in to charge into Mickie’s boot and a snapmare takes her down. Bayley tags herself in and Mickie is rather annoyed, even as Banks comes in for the double knees in the corner. Now it’s Mickie tagging herself back in for the super Thesz press but Sonya knees her in the face. That should finish but Mandy tags herself in and steals the elimination at 7:38.

Sonya doesn’t know what to think, even as Bayley runs in for two off a rollup. The Moon Walk DDT lets Carmella mock Banks but she walks into the Bayley to Belly for the elimination at 9:12. Mandy comes in and stomps away at Bayley as the announcers get into their usual bickering session that has nothing to do with the match. Bayley kicks her away and brings in Banks to take over in a hurry, including the Bank Statement for the tap at 10:49.

Asuka comes in and takes over on Banks, allowing Sonya to grab a bodyscissors and shout a lot. That doesn’t last long either as it’s Banks getting up and bringing in Bayley for the waving running knee in the corner. A spinebuster gives Sonya two with Jax making the save and earning some of the loudest booing of her career.

Jax goes shoulder first into the post and Asuka kicks her to the floor, only to get caught by the Meteora from Banks. Bayley and Sonya tackle each other to the floor and it’s a Bayley to Belly….but neither can beat the count at 15:18. That leaves us with Nia/Sasha vs. Asuka with Banks coming in for the team. Asuka knocks her down and shows off the Smackdown top before hitting a knee to the face. A heck of a German suplex puts Banks down and a hip attack knocks Jax off the apron.

Banks trips her up to send Asuka into the apron but she’s right back with a missile dropkick for two. The Asuka Lock is broken up and the running knees in the corner crush Asuka again. Banks goes up but Nia shoves her off the top for some reason, meaning it’s the Asuka Lock for the tap at 19:36. Nia comes in and drops a bunch of legs before finishing with the Samoan drop at 20:15.

Rating: C. You have to remember that Nia was public enemy #1 at this point and pushing her as the monster like this made sense. Normally I would complain about pushing someone who has a history of injuring people and who is hardly interesting in the first place, but WWE has shown their love for Jax for a long time and no amount of complaining is going to change a thing.

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 0

Stephanie McMahon, in that instantly irritating way of speaking, tells Acting General Manager Baron Corbin that he better win the rest of the matches if he wants to have the job permanently. Shane McMahon and General Manager Paige come in and suggest Raw will be feeling blue. More trash talk ensues with Shane looking forward to Corbin being fired. This kind of banter is just horrible and feels so forced, which is why it almost never goes away in WWE.

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Raw (Intercontinental) vs. Smackdown (United States) champion vs. champion here. Yes Nakamura is wrestling in the blue shirt over his jumpsuit, because A BIG BLUE JUMPSUIT doesn’t tell you which brand he is on. Rollins goes after the arm to start but Nakamura slips out and invites Rollins to COME ON. The wristlocking is back on as they seem to have a lot of time here.

A way too early missed Kinshasa attempt lets Rollins do his own COME ON. The threat of a ripcord knee sends Nakamura to the apron and Rollins onto the top for some lounging. Nakamura sends him to the apron though and it’s the slingshot Fameasser over the ropes to put Nakamura on the floor. That means the suicide dive, but since that is the most obvious move ever, it gets cut off with a kick to the face instead.

Back in and Nakamura works on a double chickenwing, plus a front facelock to mix it up a bit. Rollins fights up and sends him into the corner, setting up the Sling Blade for a breather. Nakamura gets thrown outside for the back to back suicide dives but two is a nasty number in wrestling so there’s a third. The springboard clothesline gets two back inside and things slow down a bit. Rollins’ suplex is escaped and Nakamura kicks him in the face, followed by the running knee to the ribs in the corner.

A Backstabber….doesn’t do much for Nakamura as Rollins is right back up with a superkick for two. Rollins slugs away but his clothesline is countered into a triangle. Since it’s Rollins, the traditional powerbomb counter is swapped for a Buckle Bomb instead, which at least gives us some variety. The ripcord knee is broken up again and Nakamura’s Landslide gets two. In a bit of a rare move, Nakamura goes up top, earning himself the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for a nice near fall.

They slug it out with Nakamura daring him to swing harder so it’s a reverse exploder to drop Rollins. Kinshasa misses though and it’s the ripcord knee for a close two. The frog splash misses though and Nakamura’s running knee to the back of the head gives him his own two. Nakamura still can’t hit Kinshasa so Rollins superkicks him, only to miss the Stomp. Kinshasa misses again though and it’s the Stomp to give Rollins the pin at 21:27.

Rating: B. It was very good though I was left wanting and expecting more. These two can be great against each other, though it is another case of Nakamura never rising up to that next level. He is still very entertaining and someone worth watching almost every time, but his big matches always feel a bit disappointing. Still though, rather hard hitting back and forth match, which is exactly why these two were out there. It’s rather good, just not great.

Raw – 2

Smackdown – 0

Braun Strowman doesn’t like his partners on the Raw men’s team and he doesn’t even know who Bobby Lashley is. If they don’t help him win tonight, they’re getting these hands. Drew McIntyre says he’s in charge and violence is about to ensue so here’s Corbin to remind Strowman that he can’t touch him. Instead, Strowman throws Lio Rush at Corbin to let off some steam. Cue R-Truth for the pep talk, until he is reminded that he’s not on the team. Confused R-Truth may be one of my all time favorite gags.

The Bar vs. AOP

Smackdown vs. Raw in a battle of the Tag Team Champions with Big Show and Drake Maverick as the thirds. Rezar throws Sheamus into the corner to start as Byron accuses Drake of drinking….cuckoo juice? The Bar gets in some double teaming on Akam and, after the catchphrase, the Swing has to be broken up. Akam takes the Swing instead, only to have Rezar come back in for the backbreaker/middle rope stomp combination to take over.

The chinlock goes on before Akam just powers Cesaro down and hammers away. Rezar knees Cesaro in the face for two so Sheamus tries to come in, allowing Cesaro to grab a rollup for….well nothing actually as the referee is with Sheamus. Not the best plan there man. Cesaro’s uppercuts don’t do much good as Rezar takes him right back down and grabs a chinlock.

That’s broken up as well and it’s the springboard uppercut to allow the tag to Sheamus. House is cleaned in a hurry, including the Brogue Kick to Rezar with Maverick putting the foot on the rope. The chase is on until Cesaro knocks Maverick down, allowing Show to grab him. Maverick is so scared that he, ahem, relieves himself in fear. Back in and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Sheamus at 9:04.

Rating: D+. This was a pretty boring power match with both teams only going in spurts until the big joke of an ending. There is only so far you can go with that as the big joke and you can imagine where things are going to go as a result. I mean, the fact that this show is now a year old makes it easier to figure out, but that doesn’t make it better.

Raw – 3

Smackdown – 0

The Miz has Shane McMahon fire up Team Smackdown. R-Truth is here as well to talk about getting on the Smackdown roster. He already is, which is a relief as Raw is a mess.

We recap Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy for the Cruiserweight Title. Ali won a match to become #1 contender and now we have the title match. The idea here is the champ vs. the never will be champ as Ali tries to grab the brass ring again. Sometimes it really can be that simple.

Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali is challenging. They start fast with Murphy’s power not exactly working as he drives Ali into the corner, only to have him flip over the champ. That means a dropkick to the floor into the big flip dive but Ali’s back is banged up. The second dive is blocked with a shove off the top into the barricade, followed by some rams into the apron. A heck of a backdrop sets up the chinlock with a knee in the back until Ali jawbreaks his way out of trouble.

The rolling X Factor is countered with a show to the floor though and Murphy hits his own running flip dive. Back in and Ali scores with a superkick into a tornado hanging DDT (awesome) for his own two. The 054 (I miss that) is broken up with a shove to the floor and this time it’s Ali’s face hitting the apron on the way down.

Murphy loads up the announcers’ table but Ali hits a Spanish Fly down to the floor again because he’s crazy and can do stuff like that. Back in and Murphy is fine enough to hit a superkick into a pair of powerbombs for two before kneeing him out of the air. Murphy’s Law retains the title at 12:20.

Rating: B-. It was entertaining, it was hard hitting, and almost no one cared because there is little reason to be interested in 205 Live. The wrestling can be very entertaining and some of the matches are great, but the show is as important as a bicycle to a fish. That has been a problem since the show debuted and it isn’t going to get better in the future.

When asked about his recent heel turn, Daniel Bryan….just smiles.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Raw: Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler

Smackdown: Shane McMahon, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy

Corbin (at ringside but not on the team) and M are the captains. Strowman and McIntyre nearly get in a fight before the bell but Strowman gets to start….until McIntyre tags himself in after about three seconds. The Koquina Clutch has Drew in early trouble but he backflips out and Claymores Joe for the pin at 37 seconds. I’m going to assume Joe was hurt (again), or we need Shane to get more ring time.

After a quick meeting, Hardy comes in second with the fans going to the DELETE chants in a hurry. Jeff tries running around a bit, earning himself a hard clothesline so Ziggler can come in. Shane tags himself in for a rematch of Crown Jewel, because that nightmare needs to be touched on again. A dropkick rocks Shane, who is right back with some armdrags. The Fameasser gets two but Shane scores with a spinning elbow. The jumping elbow is countered into the Zig Zag but Miz makes his own save.

Strowman comes in but McIntyre tags himself in again, meaning it’s on in a hurry. For some reason Smackdown breaks it up so they can gang up on Strowman, who isn’t having it. Rey manages a 619 though and they head outside with Strowman getting knocked onto the announcers’ table. The big Shane elbow knocks them both out, because WE NEED TO GET THAT IN. Back in and Miz kicks Drew down for one as we see Paige and Stephanie watching backstage. As long as they don’t talk, I’m good.

McIntyre gets away to go over for the tag….but he won’t do it, even as Balor yells at him to make the tag. Instead McIntyre smacks Miz in the face, allowing Balor to tag himself in. Balor kicks McIntyre down before kicking Miz in the head, followed by the baseball slide. Back in and the Sling Blade rocks Rey and a dropkick puts him in the corner. The Coup de Grace misses though and it’s a 619 into the springboard splash to tie it up at 12:04.

McIntyre is right there to deck the eliminated Balor so Lashley tags himself in to throw Rey into the corner. The delayed vertical suplex is delayed too long though as Rey rolls out and hits an enziguri. It’s Ziggler’s turn to tag himself in so Rey faceplants him and brings in Hardy. Everything breaks down and Hardy tornado DDTs McIntyre on the floor, allowing Ziggler to grab the running DDT for two on Jeff. The rapid pace comeback is on for Jeff, but the Swanton hits raised knees.

For some reason this hurts the knees this time so Mysterio is able to bring Miz in. The beating is on in the corner and it’s Shane coming back in for Coast to Coast to eliminate Ziggler and cement Shane as Best in the World (remember he beat Ziggler in the finals) to make it 4-3 at 18:10.

Lashley is back in to suplex Shane right over to Miz, who gets beaten up this time around. Miz gets in a few shots of his own to set up the running clothesline. It’s back to Shane for ANOTHER Coast to Coast, though thankfully Strowman chops him out of the air. Strowman comes in and wastes no time with the powerslam to eliminate Hardy at 20:45. That leaves Strowman/McIntyre/Lashley vs. Mysterio/Miz/McMahon, and the powerslam takes Mysterio out at 21:26.

Miz starts to panic (Graves: “Does this mean there won’t be a Marine 7”) and it’s another powerslam for the pin at 22:27. Shane is alone against the monsters and you can feel the fans panicking from here. Shane pulls himself up to face Strowman and says bring it on, so Strowman dropkicks him into the corner (Graves: “A T-REX DROPKICK!”) and hits the third powerslam for the pin at 24:01.

Rating: D+. This doesn’t hold up as it’s another Shane showcase, with one big spot after another and Shane getting to go out there and look like the toughest man in the company. Raw winning was more confusing than anything else as it already guarantees them the night, but they did have me believing that they might have had Shane pull the miracle. Consider that great selling or really sad.

Raw – 4

Smackdown – 0

Post match Corbin jumps Strowman and poses with McIntyre and Lashley.

Here’s how to help victims of the California wildfires. Nothing wrong with that.

Seth Rollins has been focused on Dean Ambrose as of late but for tonight, he’s due for an ice bath and some cold ones. Charly tells him that he has to defend the Intercontinental Title against Ambrose at TLC. Rollins likes the idea because Ambrose will have nothing left to hide behind.

We recap Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey. This was supposed to be Becky Lynch vs. Rousey but then destiny happened in the form of the mega brawl on Raw and Becky’s face being broken. Becky picked Charlotte to take her place, which was out of left field but they didn’t have another option.

Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte

Raw vs. Smackdown Women’s Champion so we get the Big Match Intros. Rousey (with the ridiculous eye makeup) starts swinging early so Charlotte grabs her by the ropes and throws her down. The armbar is blocked and Charlotte has to flip out of Piper’s Pit to get us to a standoff. Charlotte grabs a headlock and sends her face first into the bottom buckle to really take over for the first time. It’s time to start on the leg as Rousey is bleeding from the mouth.

She’s fine enough for an enziguri to get a breather and what looked like a triangle over the top has Charlotte in trouble for a change. Charlotte crotches her on top but Rousey is right back with a triangle. That’s reversed into a Boston crab but Natural Selection is blocked. The armbar is blocked again so Charlotte goes up, only to have the moonsault hit raised boots. Rousey spends too much time yelling though and gets speared in half for two.

The Figure Four goes on until Rousey turns it over, with Rousey managing to talk trash while screaming at the same time. They roll to the floor and Rousey is all fired up, meaning it’s time to start striking away. Some chops knock Rousey into the corner and Rousey looks shaken for the first time.

Another chop is blocked so Charlotte gets two off a big boot. Rousey is right back with a hurricanrana and Piper’s Pit but Charlotte gets away from the armbar again. It’s time for a breather on the floor and Charlotte is smart enough to break the count for an extra break. Rousey isn’t waiting so she goes out after her, only to walk into a kendo stick shot from Charlotte for the DQ at 14:10.

Rating: A-. This felt like the main event level match that they were hoping for, which is all the more impressive given Rousey’s complete lack of experience. She knows how to feel like a big deal and Charlotte having to use her natural abilities to counter all of the submissions was a great story. Charlotte snapping and admitting that she can’t beat Rousey worked perfectly too and I had a great time with this all around.

Raw – 5

Smackdown – 0

Post match the beating is on with the referee having to take the chair away from Charlotte. She isn’t done though and it’s Natural Selection onto the chair to knock Ronda silly. Charlotte beats up the referees trying to make the save and wraps the chair around Rousey’s neck. Pillmanizing ensues and Charlotte’s eyes are bugging out. Fans: “THANK YOU CHARLOTTE!” Rousey takes a long time to get up but does it on her own, because PILLMANIZING SOMEONE’S NECK IS A FIVE MINUTE ANNOYANCE!

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan, which is a rapid fire change as Bryan only turned heel and won the title five days before this show. Therefore, the entire video is about Bryan’s turn, setting up the match here. It was annoying, but since WWE didn’t want AJ losing to Brock, they had him lose to Bryan instead. That is the kind of logic only WWE can go with and no, it still doesn’t sound like an intelligent idea.

Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

Battle of the World Champions with Brock trying to complete the Raw sweep. Bryan mocks Lesnar during his entrance and smiles a lot. A running dropkick to Lesnar’s knee starts things off as the mind games are on. Bryan heads outside for a run around the ring so Lesnar follows him, only to have Bryan run back inside and mocks Brock’s bounce. Brock comes back in and hits Bryan in the face as things change in a hurry.

The first German suplex has Bryan nearly done on the apron so Brock starts a SUPLEX CITY chant in a great heel move. The second German suplex has Heyman worried and the third has Bryan rocked again. An overhead belly to belly puts Bryan on the floor and Lesnar even gets to pose with the title. Brock throws him hard into the barricade and we hit the bearhug with Cole saying this isn’t about brand supremacy anymore. Then what the heck is it about now Cole? And what has the last hour and a half been about?

More suplexes ensue and the fans are not happy with the repetitive Lesnar offense. The second bearhug makes it even worse and Brock throws another overhead belly to belly. The F5 connects (Brock: “Goodnight everybody!”) but Brock pulls him up at two. Bryan kicks him in the face twice and, after a ref bump, gets in a low blow. The running knee connects for two (how Bryan won the title) so Bryan kicks away to put Brock down in the corner.

A bunch of stomps to the face have Brock stunned and Bryan low bridges him to the floor. The slingshot dive is pulled out of the air but Bryan slips out and posts him. Bryan tries the suicide dive though and gets posted hard to cut off the big rally. The steps are picked up but only hit the post, allowing Bryan to hit another knee. Back in and another running knee gives Bryan another two as Heyman is losing his mind.

Bryan switches gears by going after the knee with a chop block and a wrap around the post. Lesnar is sent into the corner for the running dropkicks (or a running knee and a running attack from Cole) but he pulls Bryan into the F5….as the knee gives out. The YES Lock goes on but Bryan makes the mistake of switching to a triangle, which is reversed into the F5 for the pin at 18:43.

Rating: B+. It’s nearly a copy of the same match that Brock had with AJ last year but it was still a heck of a fight with Bryan coming close to picking up the upset. That being said, it’s still the brand new WWE Champion losing clean five days after he won the title. I know WWE MUST DO THE BRAND SUPREMACY deal but was there really no better option for something like this? Like AJ vs. Brock II with a countout or something? Annoying, but at least it came after an awesome match.

Raw – 6

Smackdown – 0

Bryan smiles at Lesnar to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well they threw the Brand Supremacy stuff out the window at about the halfway point, leaving the wrestling to carry the rest. As luck would have it, the last two matches were awesome and left me wanting more so well done all around there. Some of the matches aren’t that great with no particularly good Survivor Series matches, but what we got for the rest of the show was quite entertaining, even if the core concept was lost.

Ratings Comparison

Raw Tag Teams vs. Smackdown Tag Teams

Original: D+

2019 Redo: C

Smackdown Women vs. Raw Women

Original: C

2019 Redo: C

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

AOP vs. The Bar

Original: C-

2019 Redo: D+

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Original: C+

2019 Redo: D+

Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey

Original: B

2019 Redo: A-

Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: A-

2019 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+

2019 Redo: B

The two main events almost swapping is interesting but, other than the men’s Survivor Series match, this is all in the same ballpark or identical.

Here is the original review if you are interested:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/18/survivor-series-2018-layeth-the-smackdown-down/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Survivor Series 2017
Date: November 19, 2017
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 14,478
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T., Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

I barely remember this show other than it was a bunch of Raw vs. Smackdown stuff, including AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar. As usual, the modern stuff has no impact on me because so much of it feels like it’s going to be similar to whatever we’re likely to get this year. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Matt Hardy vs. Elias

This is a bonus match, because a four hour show needs more content. Before the match, Elias asks if anyone wants to go for a walk. You can wear red or you can wear blue, but at the end of the day, what would Elias do? The song gets cut off by the booing but he gets it going to talk about how much he hates Houston. Hardy’s music cuts him off again and we’re ready to go. Since it’s a major pay per view and WWE has a really weird way of doing their pre-shows, the are far more empty seats than filled ones opposite the hard camera.

Hardy headlocks him down to start as the announcers start talking about other matches on the show. The Russian legsweep sets up the middle rope elbow to the back of Elias’s head as we take a break. Back with Matt dropping a fist for two but getting his throat snapped across the top rope. Elias switches over to the arm and cranks on an armbar for good measure. The arm goes into the post as Corey talks about getting to see matches we’ve never seen before, such as HHH vs. Shane McMahon. I’d recommend studying your WWE Network before.

The armbar goes on, followed by a double underhook shoulderbreaker for two. Matt gets sent to the apron and Elias follows for some reason, allowing Matt to hit a Side Effect and take over. Back in and Elias gets sent into all three buckles, followed by the bulldog for no cover. Another Side Effect gets two and the middle rope elbow is good for the same. Elias is smart enough to hit him in the arm though and sends it into the post. Drift Away puts Hardy away at 9:16.

Rating: D+. I can never get around the empty seats during these first matches. What in the world is the point of having a match when it’s something that means as little as this and isn’t even any good in the first place? The arm work was fine and it played into the finish, but it was nothing that wouldn’t bore you in the third hour of Raw.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Kalisto vs. Enzo Amore

Amore is defending and was sent into a cake on 205 Live to really make this personal. Before the match, Enzo goes into a rant about Kalisto sending him into a cake that Enzo paid for. Tonight, Enzo is going to make beef stew out of chicken. Enzo is extra aggressive to start but Kalisto kicks him away without much effort. The chase to the floor is on and Kalisto follows him back in with a slingshot Code Red for two. Kalisto goes to the ropes once too often though and gets his throat snapped as we take a break.

Back with Enzo getting two off a clothesline and pulling him out of the corner into a side slam for the same (cool move). The chinlock goes on for a bit until a running forearm in the corner gets two more. That means a second chinlock with a Stunner not quite breaking the hold. It’s too early for the Salida Del Sol so Enzo puts him in the Tree of Woe, only to miss a charge and hit the buckle.

Kalisto hits a top rope moonsault but his ribs won’t let him get a cover. He’s fine enough to hit the hurricanrana driver but the Salida is broken up again. They slug it out on the apron and Enzo pulls him head first into the rob that connects the buckle to the post. The Jordunzo finishes Kalisto at 8:13.

Rating: D+. That’s one of the better matches I remember from Enzo, which probably had a lot to do with Kalisto being in there to do most of the hard work for him. There was little chance that Enzo was dropping the title here so at least they kept it short, even with a commercial included. Not a good match, but it could have been worse.

Kickoff Show: Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Breezango

Sami is freshly heel here and doesn’t like being stuck having to face losers like Breezango. They should be on Team Smackdown tonight but Shane McMahon is holding them back. It’s all part of the McMahon sibling rivalry but here’s Breezango to cut them off. They got a tip of some fashion violators and all that ungroomed facial hair proves they’re right. That’s bad enough for some violations so Fandango dropkicks Owens down. Owens and Zayn are sent outside where they have fashioned tickets rained down on them as we take a break.

Back with Sami getting sent outside again but Owens gets in a cheap shot this time to put Breeze in trouble. Owens comes in for his usual pummeling but it’s already back to Sami for the chinlock. A kick to the face isn’t enough to get Breeze out of trouble as Owens comes back in for a chinlock of his own. That’s not good enough, so we hit the fourth chinlock in about two minutes.

Owens mixes it up with a backsplash but hits knees, suggesting that he should have stuck with the chinlocks. The hot tag brings in Fandango for the snap jabs and a middle rope dropkick. A tornado DDT gets two with Owens making the save but Fandango misses the Last Dance. The Pop Up Powerbomb finishes Fandango at 8:32.

Rating: D+. Well this concludes the worst Kickoff Show I can remember in a long time. It didn’t seem like Owens and Zayn cared at all here and really, can you blame them? The previous month they were headlining a pay per view and now they’re on the Kickoff Show? That’s the best you can have for these guys? Fair point as that’s the idea of the story. Other than that, I still feel bad for what happened to Breezango as they got themselves over and then were just dropped for….whoever the Smackdown Tag Team Champions were at this point. Does it really matter if they’re that forgettable?

The opening video focuses on the war between Raw and Smackdown, featuring the UNDER SIEGE deal, which was mainly all about Stephanie vs. Shane. I still don’t get how they didn’t have the Usos with the Uso Penitentiary deal leading that charge. The rest of the Raw vs. Smackdown matches get a quick look of their own.

We have a FIVE MAN commentary booth. As usual, quantity equals quality in WWE’s eyes.

New Day vs. Shield

This didn’t get the attention that it deserved because it’s a genuine dream match. Before the match, Woods says that while this is great fuel for the fan fiction writers, it’s also time for them to show that they’re the most dominant trio in WWE history. Kofi brings up the Raw roster invading three weeks after Smackdown did and not even doing it as well. They’re about to go Bob Barker on the Hounds of Justice (How did no one get that line in before?) and when Wrestlemania time comes up, the Shield will bite each other (true actually, at least before Dean got hurt).

They’re the true brotherhood around here and it’s time to prove it. And now, before the match, here’s another video of Smackdown invading Raw and vice versa, in case you didn’t get the point six minutes ago. The only new material here is New Day costing the Shield the Tag Team Titles. Big pop for Shield, as you had to expect. Seth and Dean have the half Raw half Shield shirts but Reigns is too cool to go that route.

Ambrose and Kofi start things off as the fans are split here, apparently not able to pick which wristlock they like best. Booker’s preview for the night: “There’s not gonna be a whole lot of entertainment.” This man gets paid to do this people. Rollins and Woods come in with Woods quickly realizing that he’s in way over his head. As the announcers discuss titles, Big E. comes in to face Rollins. Now you NXT fans should get where commentary should be going, but of course nothing is mentioned.

It’s off to Reigns instead and this isn’t quite the showdown that WWE thinks it is. Big E. breaks up a waistlock attempt and runs Reigns over with a shoulder, only to have an elbow do the same to him. A good looking Samoan drop gives Reigns two….and the fans are there with the SWEET because we’re that lucky. Everything breaks down and a triple clothesline takes Big E. and Kofi to the floor, leaving Woods to get stomped down in the corner. Rollins comes off the top with a right hands to the ribs as the Shield starts their rhythm.

Ambrose gives up the tag to Kofi though and things pick up in a hurry. The Boom Drop hits Ambrose but he kicks Kofi out of the air. It’s too early for Dirty Deeds though and the Unicorn Stampede is on. New Day does it again for good measure and the fans aren’t thrilled this time around. That’s enough for Rollins and Reigns and everything breaks down. Big E. spears Ambrose through the ropes, thankfully not coming that close to death. That’s only good for two and things settle down again with Ambrose’s shirt being ripped off. It’s an improvement, as Ambrose looks more normal in all black.

The chinlock goes on for a few moments before Dean breaks up a superplex attempt. Big E. can’t get one either and Dean missile dropkicks him down instead. The hot tag brings in Rollins, albeit with an unnecessary jump from Dean. Seth springboards in with the clothesline and starts in with his usual fast paced offense. The announcers are already getting really annoying with this Raw vs. Smackdown stuff and Graves being in the middle is all that’s holding it together.

Reigns comes in for a jumping clothesline to Woods and the Superman Punch knocks him even sillier. Big E. breaks up the spear but Rollins saves Dean from the Midnight Hour. The jumping knee into Dirty Deeds gets two on Kofi with Woods making a save of his own. A fired up Woods comes in so Rollins kicks him in the face to calm things down. Now it’s Big E.’s turn to break up the TripleBomb and there’s Trouble in Paradise to Rollins. Reigns is laid out on the floor so Woods puts Big E. on his shoulders so Kofi can jump over them for a splash onto Dean.

Woods drops Big E. onto him as well but there’s no cover. Instead Big E. picks up Ambrose and Rollins for a double Midnight Hour, leaving Reigns to spear Big E. onto the covers for a save. Both teams pull each other up for a cool visual and the fight is on again. Dirty Deeds plants Big E. on the floor and the spear cuts Kofi in half. Shield isn’t done though and it’s a super TripleBomb to completely finish Kofi at 21:32.

Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but once they turned it into the big fight feel, it became what it should have been. These teams are both great in different ways and while New Day has had more success as a trio, it’s hard to argue with them beating three former World Champions. Shield winning is the right choice, but at the same time it means that we have to hear about Raw being up 1-0 on Smackdown for far too long now.

Cole: “Raw is up 1-0!”

In the back, Stephanie McMahon: “Raw is up 1-0!” She gives the Raw women’s team a pep talk and it’s about as over the top as you would guess.

There’s a scoreboard to show Raw is in fact up 1-0.

Raw Women’s Team vs. Smackdown Women’s Team

Raw: Sasha Banks, Bayley, Alicia Fox, Asuka, Nia Jax

Smackdown: Carmella, Natalya, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Tamina

Lana is in Smackdown’s corner and Fox and Lynch are the captains. During the entrances (which are going to take their sweet time), Phillips reminds us that Raw is in fact up 1-0. Does WWE really think we have the attention spans of drunken squirrels? We also get to see the Raw women invading the Smackdown locker room so we can hear about UNDER SIEGE for the fifteenth time in the show’s first forty five minutes.

Fox and Lynch start things off with Fox actually getting the better of it off some forearms. Becky gets in a neck snap across the top though and drops a top rope legdrop for two. The threat of the Disarm-Her sends Fox to the ropes so Bayley tags herself in and grabs a rollup to get rid of Lynch at 2:02.

Natalya comes in next to stomp Bayley in the corner as Booker can’t figure out who is on which show. Tamina misses a splash in the corner and gets forearmed in the head before it’s off to Asuka to a big reaction. That’s just a preview though as a few kicks to the legs are enough before Asuka hands it back to Fox. Since it’s Fox and she’s not very good, it’s already back to Bayley, who gets beaten up in the corner. Carmella hits a superkick and Tamina’s Superfly Splash gets rid of Bayley at 5:27.

That’s what you get for cheering her when you’re not supposed to people. Nia comes in to face Tamina, and it’s not interesting a year earlier either. A shot knocks Naomi off the apron and Tamina does the same to Asuka before neither can hurt the other. Nia’s headbutt hurts both of them but Nia splashing her in the corner only hates Tamina. Lana gets on the apron for some reason so Nia knocks her off, allowing Tamina to superkick her to the floor. A dive from Naomi and another superkick set up the crossbody off the apron to get Nia counted out at 9:01.

Fox comes in and yells at Nia as she leaves and gets knocked down by Naomi. In one of those moments of brilliance you only see in wrestling, Naomi looks over her shoulder, sees Fox moving, and then starts jumping up for the split legged moonsault. Naomi is fine enough to get a sunset flip that she lets up at two…but Fox doesn’t get her shoulders up and the referee counts the pin anyway at 10:31. Banks is right back in to make Naomi tap to the Bank Statement at 10:47 so we’re down to Banks/Asuka vs. Carmella/Tamina/Natalya.

Asuka comes in to unload with kicks to Carmella and the hip attack gets two. Carmella pulls her down by the hair and hits a quick Bronco Buster before pausing to mock Sasha’s dance. For reasons of general stupidity, Carmella slaps Asuka in the face and it’s a knee to the head, followed by a heck of a kick to get rid of Carmella at 12:59. Banks and Natalya come in and hit each other a few times until Natalya gets the better of it for two. Sasha gets sent face first into the middle buckle and the Sharpshooter makes her tap at 15:22, leaving Asuka vs. Natalya and Tamina in the Ultimate Warrior at Survivor Series 1988 mold.

Natalya gets in a few kicks and hands it off to Tamina for a slam. The Superfly Splash that wouldn’t have hit even if Asuka hadn’t moved misses when Asuka moves and it’s a cross armbreaker to get rid of Tamina at 17:32. Natalya can’t get the Sharpshooter as Asuka pulls her into a kneebar, followed by a kick to the face. The Asuka Lock finishes Natalya at 18:27.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t great to start but the ending was exactly the right call with Asuka getting the star treatment at the end. The rest of the match wasn’t all that great as the focus was on Tamina (who still isn’t interesting, mainly because Nia is better at every single thing Tamina is around to do) or Alicia being wacky, making it an exercise in waiting around on Asuka. To their credit though, they got that part right and that’s what mattered most.

Here’s what coming on WWE Network. Don’t worry though, because they’ll air almost nothing but NXT, 205 Live and whatever tournament they have going on at the moment.

Stephanie (erg) brags to Daniel Bryan about Raw being up 2-0. She accuses Bryan of getting John Cena on the Smackdown men’s team by practically being family. Bryan: “Didn’t you put your husband on the Raw team?” It turns into a discussion of Wrestlemania XXX as this goes on way too long as we AGAIN recap the invasions. Sweet goodness WE WATCH THE TV SHOWS AND DON’T NEED TO HEAR THIS STUFF OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I haven’t watched the TV shows since last year and I can tell you what happens week by week just because of all these recaps.

Baron Corbin vs. The Miz

Smackdown vs. Raw and US Champion vs. Intercontinental Champion, though it’s non-title, like every match tonight. Miz has Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel with him and Corbin has been talking trash about Maryse and Miz’s unborn child. The threat of an early clothesline sends Miz bailing to the floor and it’s time for some consultation. A Dallas distraction lets Miz hit a baseball slide, followed by a clothesline to put Corbin right back on the floor. Corbin kicks him off the apron though as they’re going back and forth pretty fast so far.

The fans try to start some dueling chants but the LET’S GO MIZ chants are pretty clearly louder. Corbin misses a running crotch attack to the back but easily avoids a baseball slide. With Miz in trouble, Dallas hits Corbin in the knee to give Miz his first actual advantage. The Figure Four is easily blocked but a chop block cuts Corbin down again. Now the Figure Four goes on but that’s broken up in short order, allowing Corbin to hit Deep Six on one leg.

Dallas is right there again with a shot to the knee though and Miz adds a big boot. Corbin’s knee is fine enough to slide underneath the ropes and beat up the Miztourage but the End of Days is countered into a DDT for two. Some rather weak looking YES Kicks don’t have much effect so Miz hits the running corner dropkicks. Corbin shrugs them off though and End of Days is good for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: D+. Commentary really hurt this one as the put on Raw vs. Smackdown stuff continues. The leg work was fine but when Corbin is fine enough to do all of his usual stuff and then hit his finisher to win, it doesn’t mean that much. You had to give Smackdown something in this whole thing and given how bad the midcard titles are presented in the first place, this was the least painful loss for a champion.

Post match Corbin says he just shut everyone’s mouth.

Paul Heyman says everything about tonight is phenomenal, including AJ Styles. Then the bell will ring and the conqueror is going to rip AJ Styles apart.

Usos vs. Cesaro/Sheamus

Before the match, the Usos mock the Bar’s catchphrase and says they’ll be bartenders tonight. Or maybe they’re pole vaulters. Sheamus drives Jimmy into the corner to start and Jimmy isn’t sure what to do here. Instead it’s off to Jey who does the same to Sheamus, though he’s smart enough to stomp away and take over. As the announcers discuss Corey’s lack of success (as Booker hadn’t heard about it), Cesaro comes in and gets hiptossed down.

A quick double team puts Jimmy down though and it’s off to a headlock, because a chinlock isn’t sophisticated enough. Jimmy knocks Sheamus to the floor but a dive gets cut off by a Cesaro uppercut. Back in and Cesaro puts on a Crossface without the arm trap as Booker wants the Bar to be called the A-Team. Graves: “Why would you do that? They’re called the Bar Booker.” Sheamus drops a knee and puts on a chinlock with Cesaro running in to kick Jey off the apron.

The pop up uppercut gets two but Sheamus takes too long setting up the ten forearms to the chest. Booker: “Think about the brand!” Jimmy gets in a Whisper in the Wind and that’s enough for the hot tag to pick up the pace. He also picks up Cesaro with a backdrop into the corner for two, leaving Sheamus to argue with the referee. Jey gets in a superkick but Sheamus adds a forearm to the back, allowing Cesaro to Swing Jimmy into the Sharpshooter. The longest crawl to a rope I can remember gets Jey out of trouble, assuming you bought the Sharpshooter as a potential finish either (you shouldn’t have).

The spike White Noise is broken up and Sheamus is sent into the post. He’s fine enough to hold Jey up for White Noise with Cesaro adding a springboard spike. Jimmy makes a great looking last second save so Cesaro throws him out and loads up Jey in a powerbomb. Sheamus goes up top but gets punched in the face, allowing Jimmy to Samoan drop him down with Cesaro adding the powerbomb. Cesaro dives in the way of a double superkick, leaving Sheamus to take the same thing. Jimmy does the eternally cool tag while diving over the top to take out Cesaro. The Superfly Splash finishes Sheamus at 15:56.

Rating: B-. Yeah of course this was good with two very talented teams. Granted a year later the Usos haven’t had a meaningful match in forever and the Bar are now the Smackdown Tag Team Champions, but at least this was entertaining. If nothing else though, this is a great showcase of what happens when you just let people go and have a fun match, which is always going to help things out.

Jason Jordan, who was recently (and thankfully) replaced on the Raw team by HHH, wants to see HHH get eliminated before Team Raw wins.

We recap Charlotte winning the Smackdown Women’s Title on Tuesday to take Natalya’s spot tonight. If nothing else it was awesome to see Ric Flair come out after his health scares.

Charlotte vs. Alexa Bliss

Non-….you get the idea. Charlotte knocks her outside early on and is polite enough to hold the ropes open to invite Bliss back in. Booker of course talks about baseball. Back in and Bliss hides in the ropes before slapping her in the face. That earns Bliss a hard right hand so they head to the apron with Bliss snapping the arm to the floor. A dropkick into the steps has Charlotte in more trouble and it’s off to an abdominal stretch, though Charlotte has to kneel because Bliss isn’t that tall.

Some kicks to the ribs keep Charlotte in trouble and she gets sent face first into the middle buckle to make things even worse. Bliss tries to go aerial but a tornado DDT is countered into a t-bone suplex into the corner (with Bliss bouncing around as only she can). Charlotte gets crotched on top but rolls away before Twisted Bliss. That’s even worse for her though as she gets caught with middle rope double knees to the back (I still don’t get how that doesn’t cause a severe injury.).

Code Red gives Bliss two and she hammers away with even more fire than she usually shows. A guillotine choke has Charlotte in trouble (it worked for Bayley against Nia Jax) but a sitout powerbomb (looked great) breaks that up. The fans are split (as they should be) and Bliss breaks up the Figure Eight with a right hand that has the referee checking on Charlotte.

Natural Selection gets two but the moonsault misses (as always). Bliss grabs her DDT for two of her own so she chokes and screams a lot. Amazingly enough, Charlotte can pretty easily overpower Bliss and hits a spear to cut her in half. Back up and more kicks to the ribs have Charlotte in trouble but Twisted Bliss hits raised knees. A big boot sets up the Figure Eight to make Bliss tap at 15:46 and put Smackdown up 3-2.

Rating: B. Heck of a match here with Bliss looking like she could more than hang with someone on Charlotte’s level. You don’t see someone go move for move with Charlotte like this and it’s a great sign for Bliss’ future. The ribs story was perfectly fine, even if it meant that another champion had to lose. You know, because of bragging rights.

Post match, Charlotte nods in approval.

We recap AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar in another champion vs. champion match. Lesnar is the monster and AJ is the new underdog champion (sounds oxymoronish), thankfully saving us from Lesnar vs. Jinder Mahal.

Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles

Heyman handles Lesnar’s introductions, saying he’s fighting (Heyman: “Fighting. You hear that Mr. Performer?”) and the fans are split to start. Brock goes straight to the shoulders in the corner and throws AJ across the ring a few times. Forearms to the back keep AJ in trouble as the dominance is on early. One heck of an overhead belly to belly has Styles in more trouble and there’s the first German suplex. Lesnar sends him outside for a toss into the barricade as Cole is almost giddy.

Back in and another German suplex has AJ rocked but he tries to get up anyway. With Heyman cradling the Universal Title like a newborn, Brock hits a running knee in the corner. Lesnar wants him to fight and then clotheslines AJ right back down. Some right hands have little effect for Styles as Brock puts him down again. The F5 doesn’t work and Lesnar’s second running knee hits the buckle.

A DDT actually puts Lesnar down and it’s time to cheer for AJ as he kicks at the leg. Lesnar throws him off a tornado DDT attempt and they’re both down. AJ tries a springboard but gets caught in a German suplex that flips him over his head. Well of course it does. This time AJ ducks the big right hand and Lesnar falls to the floor, setting up the slingshot forearm. Brock goes knee first into the steps and there’s another forearm off said steps.

An enziguri makes things even worse back inside and the springboard 450 gets the first two as Heyman is panicking. The Styles Clash is countered into an F5 attempt which is countered into the Calf Crusher. You can hear the fans actually going nuts…until Lesnar grabs AJ’s head and rams it into the mat to break it up. Another F5 is broken up and the Phenomenal Forearm connects for a very close two. Brock is right back up with the F5 for the pin at 15:19.

Rating: A-. Oh yeah this worked. I was getting into these near falls all over again as they were nailing the Rocky story. Lesnar knows how to play the monster but AJ is even better at being the fighting from underneath high flier. This was great stuff and I’d love to see it again, even if a year later they’re somehow right where they were here. Anyway, great performance from both guys as Lesnar shows he can still do it.

We recap the Raw vs. Smackdown men’s match. Allow me:

UNDER SIEGE

Invasion

Invasion

Stephanie is really, really annoying

Roster changes because they knew the original lineups were awful

Invasion

Got all that?

Raw Men’s Team vs. Smackdown Men’s Team

Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, HHH

Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, John Cena

What are the odds that the whole competition comes down to this? Shane jumps at Strowman to start because Shane is the most awesome person ever. That’s shrugged off so we’ll try Joe vs. Orton instead. Joe headlocks him into the corner without much effort so let’s go with Nakamura vs. Balor instead. That certainly gets the fans into it, though Cole ruins it a bit by calling him Shin. The feeling out process begins as the NXT chants start up.

Nakamura takes him to the ropes for the swinging arms, only to be reversed into a TOO SWEET to the head. HHH comes in for a kind of weird showdown and takes Nakamura into the corner for the right hands. Nakamura gets in the first kick to the chest but the facebuster sends him into the corner for the tag to Roode. This one isn’t so much weird as much as it is….nothing. Since Roode’s pose takes forever, HHH punches him in the face. Fair enough actually.

The spinebuster takes Roode down again but Roode counters the Pedigree and hits a spinebuster of his own. That means we get the GLORIOUS pose but the Glorious DDT is broken up. Instead HHH drives him into the corner for the tag off to Angle for the rolling German suplexes.

A double clothesline puts them both down so the Raw guys switch places on the apron. It’s off to Nakamura for the running knees so Joe comes in to make the save. Everything breaks down and Nakamura hits Kinshasa on HHH, only to run into the now legal Strowman. The middle rope knee staggers the monster but the running powerslam gets rid of Nakamura at 11:31.

Roode comes in and kicks at Strowman’s legs, followed by the Blockbuster. That’s not even good for one so Roode tries it again, earning himself another running powerslam for the pin at 12:22. For some reason Joe and Strowman get in an argument, as do HHH and Angle. Smackdown is smart enough to let them fight until Orton and Shane come in like idiots. Orton powerslams Joe and Cena is all fired up, only to have Strowman come in for a heck of a 2-1 showdown. The AA and RKO are both broken up and Strowman knocks them both to the floor.

Orton and Cena get together and the rest of Team Smackdown (including the eliminated members) get together to suplex Strowman through a table. Naturally Shane gets to talk the trash but Joe breaks up an elbow to the floor with a belly to belly superplex. Cena comes in to hammer on Joe but gets booted in the face. The Rock Bottom out of the corner looks to set up the Coup de Grace, only to have Joe and Balor get in an argument. An AA to Joe, an AA to Balor and another to Joe is good for an elimination at 18:05.

Angle comes in for the showdown with some history behind it and Cena gets taken down without much effort. Back up and Cena elbows him in the face, followed by initiating the finishing sequence. The Shuffle is reversed into the ankle lock but Cena slips out without much damage. The Angle Slam does a little more damage, to the point where Shane has to make a save. Balor drops the Coup de Grace and another Slam gets rid of Cena at 21:45.

We’re down to Orton/Shane vs. Balor/HHH/Angle/Strowman so Orton comes in, only to get forearmed by Balor. A trip to the floor lets Balor shotgun dropkick Shane into the barricade. Back in and the Coup de Grace misses again, setting up an RKO to get rid of Balor at 23:46. HHH is right there to jump Orton from behind but the backbreaker gets him out of trouble.

Cue Sami and Owens to beat Shane up but he fights them off with a chair, because OF COURSE HE CAN DO THAT. An RKO drops Owens….and Strowman is back up to come in again. The running powerslam is good for the elimination at 26:32 and Shane is worried, mainly because he’s alone against HHH, Strowman and Angle. Shane stands around forever before going in to face Strowman until HHH tags himself in. Angle tags himself in as well and gets taken down by a Russian legsweep.

The jumping back elbow to the jaw and la majistral get two each. Shane hammers away in the corner but the Angle Slam puts him down. There’s the ankle lock for nearly a minute…until HHH comes in and Pedigrees Angle to give Shane the pin at 32:00. HHH stares at Strowman, helps Shane up, and Pedigrees him as well for the pin at 33:20.

Rating: D+. Yeah this still didn’t work a year later either. The first third is spent on showdowns that don’t mean anything and the rest is getting rid of the people who don’t matter so we can get down to the big stuff with Shane, HHH and Angle. You know, the older guys. The wrestling wasn’t the worst but it was long, didn’t feel important and came off more as a way to get to the ending instead of something worth seeing along the way.

Post match HHH is all smiley as Strowman stares him down. Strowman grabs him by the throat and says never do this again so HHH tries a Pedigree but gets powerslammed twice to end the show. This of course lead nowhere.

Overall Rating: B-. Much like last year, the show just felt long and brought down the good things they had going on. Now that being said, the good matches on the show were more than good enough to make up for the bad and the show is definitely worth seeing. AJ vs. Brock is more than good and the opener isn’t far behind. In other words, this Survivor Series is great if you take out the Survivor Series matches.

If nothing else, they’ve made me dislike Survivor Series, which used to be my favorite pay per view. This Raw vs. Smackdown story was pure annoyance with the announcers all suddenly being cheerleaders about a story that would disappear in a few days. It feels so manufactured and, because it’s WWE, they beat you over the head with it so hard that you’re waiting on the whole thing to finally end so you don’t have to hear about it anymore. Thanks for sucking the fun out of one of my favorite shows guys. It only took thirty years.

Ratings Comparison

Elias vs. Matt Hardy

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Kalisto vs. Enzo Amore

Original: D

Redo: D+

Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. Breezango

Original: D+

Redo: D+

New Day vs. Shield

Original: B

Redo: B+

Team Raw Women vs. Team Smackdown Women

Original: D

Redo: C-

The Miz vs. Baron Corbin

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Usos vs. Cesaro/Sheamus

Original: B

Redo: B-

Charlotte vs. Alexa Bliss

Original: B+

Redo: B

AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: B+

Redo: A-

Team Raw Men vs. Team Smackdown Men

Original: D

Redo: D+

Overall Rating

Original: B-

Redo: B

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/19/survivor-series-2017-never-mind-the-talent-here-are-the-old-guys/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Survivor Series 2016
Date: November 20, 2016
Location: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 17,143
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole, David Otunga

I say this every year but it’s always hard to believe that it’s been a full year since this show. This was the first time that a Survivor Series was expanded to four hours but thankfully there’s a good chance that they could make it work, mainly due to the elimination matches. The main event though is Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg, which I’m sure will be completely uneventful. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Drew Gulak/Ariya Daivari/Tony Nese vs. Noam Dar/TJ Perkins/Rich Swann

This is a preview match for something called 205 Live, which debuts next week. I know it hasn’t gone great but the division really has evolved into a better place than when it started. Swann gets a nice reaction and then starts with Nese, who gets chopped in the corner. They do their regular flips with Swann’s jump over Nese’s feet getting a good pop (as always) before it’s off to Perkins.

Some suplexes set up an Octopus Hold but Nese reverses into a kind of gutwrench suplex. Gulak comes in and gets caught in the wrong corner with everyone working him over. We actually get a TJ PERKINS chant as he slaps on the kneebar to keep Gulak in trouble. Everything breaks down and we take a break.

Back with Daivari in trouble this time as Dar gets two off a running kick to the face. Nese offers a distraction though and a spinebuster takes Dar down. A superkick gives Daivari two and it’s back to Gulak to crank on the leg. If this sounds rather uninteresting, it’s only because that’s what it is.

Dar dropkicks his way to freedom and the hot tag brings in Swann to very little reaction. A good looking jumping hurricanrana takes Daivari off the middle rope as everything breaks down again. That means we hit the dives but the referee CUTS PERKINS OFF. Now you know that’s not working so Perkins dives over the referee to take out some villains. Back in and Swann’s standing 450 ends Daivari at 11:48.

Rating: C-. I forgot how uninteresting these earlier cruiserweight matches were. The guys barely have characters and the entire story here was “three faces vs. three heels”. It didn’t get much better for a long time but, as usual, the problem comes down to one simple thing: if the smaller guys on the main roster can be big stars and do all these dives, why should I be impressed when cruiserweights can do them too?

Kickoff Show: Luke Harper vs. Kane

Harper is part of the NEW Wyatt Family, which screwed Kane over, meaning we need a match here. Kane grabs a full nelson of all things and we’re in a chinlock fifteen seconds in. That goes nowhere so Harper grabs a headlock as the fans are oddly split here. Kane starts in on the shoulder by sending it into the buckle. Harper sends him outside though and hits that suicide shove of his (Who needs cruiserweights?).

A slingshot flip splash gives Luke two and we take a break. Back with Kane in a chinlock (well duh) but managing to superplex Harper down for a crash. The sidewalk slam gets two but Harper scores with a superkick for the same. Kane’s running DDT and Harper’s Boss Man Slam are good for two more each but it’s the chokeslam to put Harper away at 9:10.

Rating: D+. Well what were you expecting here? This was exactly the match you would have planned out for them and Kane won with his finisher. It’s about as paint by numbers of a power match as you can get and while it wasn’t terrible, it’s also a match I really didn’t need to see.

The opening video looks at Goldberg vs. Lesnar and then all the Raw vs. Smackdown matches. Well at least they got some time. I’m sure Stephanie’s voiceovers had nothing to do with it.

Raw Women’s Team vs. Smackdown Women’s Team

Raw: Bayley, Alicia Fox, Charlotte, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks

Smackdown: Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Naomi, Nikki Bella

Entrances alone take forever of course, which will be a theme tonight. Charlotte is Raw Women’s Champion and has Dana Brooke in her corner. Becky is Smackdown Women’s Champion but Nikki is captain. You know, because of course. Bliss gets a heck of a reaction (gee I wonder why). Actually hang on a second as there’s no Nikki. We cut to the back where she’s down after being attacked. Not to worry though, as Smackdown coach Natalya is more than willing to take the spot.

Carmella and Alicia get things going and it’s an early northern lights suplex to give Fox two. That just earns her a trip into the corner for the Staten Island Shuffle…and let’s look at Team Raw while Fox gets in a kick to the face. That felt like a hard edit to make sure we didn’t see something. Becky comes in and wants Bayley but Charlotte tags herself in instead. Banks does the same though and everything breaks down as Team Raw is about to implode. As usual, I would ask why Team Smackdown didn’t just let them. Nia will have none of this though and easily clears the ring to settle things down.

We settle down to Becky and Banks trading rollups before it’s off to Charlotte for more of the same. Becky can’t get the Disarm-Her and it’s off to Nia as things get a lot more difficult. Carmella and Bliss come in for the expected results and Naomi’s high crossbody is pulled out of the air. Natalya actually gets a reaction but Nia clotheslines her head off for her efforts. It’s off to Fox vs. Carmella with Alicia avoiding a Bronco Buster, setting up what looked to be a mostly missed ax kick for the elimination at 6:35. Bliss comes right in, sends Fox into the buckle and adds Twisted Bliss to tie it up at 6:48.

Charlotte and Naomi come in with the latter cleaning house, including knocking Nia outside and hitting a high crossbody to the floor. Nia posts her though and that’s a countout at 8:23. We pause for the Tye Dillinger TEN chant until Bliss takes Banks down and grinds her face into the mat. Banks sends Bliss and Natalya into each other, followed by the double knees in the corner to Alexa. Back up and Bliss saves Natalya from the Bank Statement, allowing Natalya to roll Banks up for the elimination at 10:20.

Charlotte comes in and gets suplexed, meaning we hit the SUPLEX CITY chants. You would think fans would know more chants than that. Charlotte goes up for the moonsault but, as always, Natalya powerbombs her down for two in the near fall that never ends Charlotte. The required Sharpshooter sends Charlotte crawling for the ropes but a big boot ends Natalya at 12:01.

Becky and Bliss get in an argument over who should come in, allowing Jax to suplex them both at the same time. Of course that gets a MAMA MIA from Mauro, which I miss hearing so often. Bliss gets caught in a slam but Becky makes a blind tag and missile dropkicks Bliss in the back to knock her onto Jax. The Disarm-Her actually makes Jax tap at 13:35 and it’s 2-2 with Becky/Bliss vs Charlotte/Bayley.

Jax mauls Becky, leaving Bliss to get big booted down for the elimination at 14:03. Becky fights back as fast as she can with the series of clotheslines into the leg lariat, followed by Bexplex. Bayley has to dive in for a save after a top rope legdrop before coming in for the slugout. Another Bexplex gets two but Bayley’s elbow to the back gets the same. You can tell Becky is getting tired out there so Bayley blocks the Disarm-Her and grabs the Bayley to Belly for the final pin at 17:53.

Rating: C+. The quick eliminations didn’t help things here but the ending was the right call. There was way too much talent on the Raw side to lose and I’m VERY glad it was Natalya, who can wrestle this style without having to dumb things down too much. Becky was pretty much all the blue team had for a lot of the match and she put up a valiant effort, only to be outgunned. That makes her look strong and Bayley getting a win like this is a good thing for her at this stage in her main roster career.

Charlotte takes Bayley out post match and beats her around ringside.

Smackdown mascot James Ellsworth runs into Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, who weren’t funny in 2016 either. They make some bad chin puns but Raw GM Mick Foley comes in to run them off. Ellsworth talks about all the great memories he has of Foley, most of which involve him being in extreme pain. Foley thanks him anyway and suggests Ellsworth move to Raw. He appreciates the offer but politely turns it down because he’s true blue. Foley leaves and Ellsworth runs into Braun Strowman, who asks if he knows Ellsworth. James runs in a smart move.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Sami Zayn

Miz is defending and Sami is trying to take the title to Raw. We get the Big Match Intros and Sami gets quite the reaction for being Canadian. Sami spins out of a wristlock to start and Miz looks annoyed in the corner. Miz gets sent outside but Sami has to bail out of the flip dive. The moonsault off the barricade works though, drawing over Maryse for a distraction. Well she can be quite distracting.

This one works well with Miz taking out the knee to get his first advantage. Some hard stomps to the knees have Sami in trouble but he’s still able to clothesline Miz to the floor. A flip dive works as well, followed by a Michinoku Driver for two. Miz’s short DDT gets the same and it’s time for a double breather. The running corner dropkick/clothesline look to set up the ax handle but Sami reverses into the Blue Thunder Bomb.

The Helluva Kick only hits corner though and that means the Figure Four. This one stays on for a good while until Sami makes the ropes, earning himself some YES Kicks. Sami reverses one into a Figure Four of his own but Maryse rings the bell. Since Sami isn’t all that bright, he of course falls for it, only to have Miz roll him up to retain at 14:06.

Rating: C-. Kind of a dull match as you knew a lot of Sami’s near falls weren’t going anywhere. I can go for Miz and Maryse teaming up to steal wins though and it’s a big reason why he’s been an awesome Intercontinental Champion. This would also help play into Sami’s heel turn nearly a year later as he would get tired of losing while playing by the rules. Makes sense, especially in a long term form.

Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles are bickering over being teammates tonight when Shane McMahon comes in and tells them to cool it so Smackdown doesn’t lose again.

Raw Tag Teams vs. Smackdown Tag Teams

Raw: Enzo Amore/Big Cass, Cesaro/Sheamus, Gallows and Anderson, New Day, Shining Stars

Smackdown: American Alpha, Breezango, Heath Slater/Rhyno, Hype Bros, Usos

A fall eliminates both members of a team. Enzo and Cass suck up to the live crowd, as you might expect. New Day and Slater/Rhyno are the respective champions. Fandango tries to give everyone a fashion ticket to start, earning himself a Midnight Hour for the elimination at 44 seconds. New Day spends too much time celebrating though and it’s a superkick from Jimmy to pin Big E. at 1:08.

Gallows comes in to punch Jimmy in the face before handing it off to Cass for the tall power. The fast tags continue as it’s off to Epico vs. Ryder (who is rocking some old school Survivor Series logo trunks) with Mojo coming in for a clap around the ears. Rawley gets taken down into the corner for the huge group beating though as we keep trying to get everyone in. It’s back to Ryder (not Slater like the fans want) but Gallows saves Anderson from the Broski Boot. Instead it’s the Magic Killer to pin Ryder at 5:08.

Gable comes in as Graves talks about how scared he is of American Alpha. It doesn’t seem to be the most valid fear to start though as Epico takes Gable down into a chinlock. Some rolling suplexes have Gable in more trouble and Primo comes in with a springboard ax handle to the ribs. He misses a charge in the corner though and it’s off to Jordan for a quick Steiner Bulldog to get rid of the Stars at 8:08.

The six remaining teams (Enzo/Big Cass, Cesaro/Sheamus, Gallows and Anderson vs. American Alpha, Heath Slater/Rhyno, Usos) come in at once as everything breaks down. That means Enzo gets tossed over the top onto a big pile….which was mainly Raw guys but whatever. Rhyno gets thrown over the top as well, only to have Slater add an even bigger dive. Back in and Cesaro swings Jordan but Gable makes the save with a Rolling Chaos Theory.

Gable isn’t done though as Jordan throws him over the top for a HUGE flip dive onto everyone. Sweet goodness those two were awesome together. I mean, not as awesome as Jordan on his own with Kurt Angle kind of around but still. Back in and it’s a quick Magic Killer to get rid of Jordan at 10:39 as the eliminations are still flying. A spinebuster plants Slater and he’s caught in the wrong corner.

Sheamus won’t tag Cesaro (this was before their ridiculous matching outfits) and an argument breaks out, allowing the hot tag off to Rhyno as everyone bickers. Rhyno comes in and Gores Gallows for an elimination at 12:28. Cass wastes no time with a big boot to Rhyno, followed by the Bada Boom Shaka Lacka for the pin at 12:45.

That leaves us with the Usos….who superkick Enzo down to set up the Superfly Splash and an elimination at 13:26 before I can type the Raw teams. So now we’re down to the Usos vs. Cesaro/Sheamus with the latter hitting the ten forearms (you know the chant) on Jimmy. Cesaro comes in and eats a double superkick but Sheamus Brogue kicks Jimmy with Jey making a diving save.

Super White Noise plants Jimmy again but Jey is right back with a Superfly Splash for two with Cesaro making a save of his own. The hot tag brings in Cesaro for the Uppercut Train and a 619 as the fans lose their minds over Cesaro again. A high crossbody gets two on Jey and it’s time for the Swing. Jimmy breaks up the Sharpshooter and Jey gets the Tequila Sunrise. That’s reversed right back into the Sharpshooter with Sheamus remembering he’s in the match to cut off Jimmy, leaving Jey to tap at 18:55.

Rating: B. This was during the time that I couldn’t stand Sheamus and Cesaro (not a lot has changed in a year) but they did a lot of stuff in this match, despite the crunched timeline. Getting nine eliminations in less than nineteen minutes is a lot but you have to clear the ring out at the beginning. It’s entertaining, but hits a hard ceiling that it’s not getting past.

Stephanie and Foley decide that Sheamus and Cesaro should get a Tag Team Title shot tomorrow night. They recap the rest of the show with Stephanie getting way too serious, as usual.

Preview for TLC with Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles in a TLC match for the title.

Cruiserweight Champion Brian Kendrick does his best Sean O’Haire impression and is ready for Kalisto. If Kalisto wins, he brings the division to Smackdown. It’s fine for a one off match but it was really hard to buy Kendrick as the best cruiserweight in the company in 2016.

Cruiserweight Title: Kalisto vs. Brian Kendrick

Kendrick is defending and charges straight into a knee to the face. Kalisto is right back with a suicide dive, followed by a springboard corkscrew crossbody for two. Some rollups give Kalisto more near falls and a shotgun dropkick has Kendrick in even more trouble. A rollup into the corner finally gives Kendrick a breather and he crushes Kalisto between the steps and the apron for good measure.

Back in and we hit the cravate to slow things back down. Kalisto manages to fight up and get to the apron where he grabs a C4 out to the floor in the big crash of the match. A good looking suicide dive takes Kendrick down again but he reverses a super Salida Del Sol into the Captain’s Hook. Kalisto finally grabs the ropes and fires off some kicks, followed by the hurricanrana driver. The Salida Del Sol gets two with Kendrick getting to the ropes. Kalisto heads up top….and here’s Baron Corbin for the DQ at 12:21.

Rating: C-. The match was good at times but Kendrick really isn’t the kind of guy you want as a long term champion. It also didn’t help that you knew they weren’t changing up the cruiserweight division so close to 205 Live’s launch. Corbin interfering was fine enough, but it really does make the title match feel like a big waste of time.

The Kickoff Show panel recaps the show so far.

Daniel Bryan yells at Corbin, who doesn’t want little pests running around on Smackdown.

We recap the men’s Survivor Series match, which started in July at the second Brand Split. Naturally this is about the McMahons as Shane and Stephanie are the Commissioners and therefore they have to be fighting. We look at all the entrants as this is treated like the major match is should be treated as. Then Shane is added to the match and that notion kind of falls apart.

Raw Men’s Team vs. Smackdown Men’s Team

Raw: Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns

Seth Rollins

Smackdown: AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, Shane McMahon

AJ and Owens are the World Champions, Reigns is US Champion and Ellsworth is here as the mascot. This is also during the period where Orton is part of the Wyatt Family because we needed that story to get to Orton as World Champion again. Rollins gets a nice reaction and it’s far better without BURN IT DOWN or whatever the line is. AJ and Owens start things off with Styles wasting no time in hitting the drop down into the dropkick.

That’s enough of that though as it’s and they slug it out with AJ getting the better of it. The STUPID IDIOT chants mean it’s time for Jericho, who throws his shirt at AJ and hammers away. Styles dropkicks him down again as the announcers discuss Jericho insulting Undertaker on Twitter. It’s off to Ambrose vs. Rollins, which turns into far more of a wrestling match than it should.

Rollins can’t get a Pedigree so let’s go back to Jericho. Chris yells at Dean for the $15,000 jacket issue, earning himself some really bad armdrags. An enziguri cuts Dean down for two but Ambrose is right back with a bunch of right hands to the head. Shane comes in for the first time and my interest goes down. I’m still not a fan of middle aged Shane and this isn’t likely to change things.

Shane’s bad punches and an armdrag (better than Dean’s) take Jericho down until a dropkick cuts him off. The announcers debate the TV ratings as Reigns comes in and gets booed out of the building. Roman hammers him down in the corner and Seth comes in for a chinlock. That’s broken up so let’s go with Dean vs. Kevin. Owens hits a superkick but gets caught in a hurricanrana, only to have Jericho break up Dirty Deeds.

Everything breaks down and Strowman tags himself in, leaving the fans to chant for Ellsworth. The fight heads outside with Dean being left alone in the ring until Strowman catches his slingshot dive. Strowman walks him around the ring until AJ’s slingshot forearm to the floor breaks it up. Owens dives onto everyone and Strowman tosses Shane across the ring in a pretty good power display.

Some double teaming doesn’t do much to stop Strowman but they manage to knock him outside. That’s enough of Dean and Ambrose working together so they get in a fight, allowing Strowman to hit the running powerslam for the pin on Dean at 15:57. AJ was looking right at the cover and didn’t move. Shane gets to beat on Strowman for a bit but thankfully he gets hammered down as well.

The Phenomenal Forearm is pulled out of the air with AJ being tossed outside in a nasty heap. Orton gets thrown aside too but a stare from Bray stops Strowman in his tracks. Strowman grabs Jericho by the throat but decides to run Bray over instead, followed by a dropkick to put him on the floor. Braun goes outside as well but runs into an RKO onto the announcers’ table. After we pause to see what a random eight year old fan thought of it (he was applauding), Shane drops the top rope elbow to put Strowman through said table. That and Ellsworth grabbing Braun’s foot get Strowman counted out at 21:18.

Strowman catches Ellsworth running up the ramp though (How slow is this guy?) and throws him off the stage through some tables. Everyone else is mostly dead until Jericho covers Shane for two. Owens is fresh enough to drop the backsplash on Shane for two (but only after mocking the dance). There’s the Lionsault but Shane gets two of his own off a small package.

Shane takes a Codebreaker but Orton comes in before the cover, meaning Shane survives another finisher. He avoids a top rope splash though and it’s off to AJ to work on Jericho. With Owens getting in an insult to AJ’s hair (too far man), Jericho counters the Styles Clash into a failed Walls attempt. The Phenomenal Blitz rocks Jericho but Owens comes in with the List of Jericho to blast AJ. That’s a DQ at 29:23, but not before he gives AJ a Pop Up Powerbomb.

Orton gets the tag and comes in with the RKO to get rid of Jericho at 30:19. Notice Reigns blankly staring up at the ramp and not hearing the RKO RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. So it’s down to Shane/AJ/Orton/Wyatt vs. Reigns/Rollins with Orton hammering on Rollins to start. Wyatt and Orton take turns on Seth as Shane is still laid on the apron after his long time in the ring. The superplex takes Rollins down (looks great too) but it allows the hot tag to Reigns. AJ comes in as well and MY GOODNESS the fans do not like Reigns.

House is cleaned with a series of Samoan drops, followed by a great looking Razor’s Edge powerbomb for two on AJ. Seriously that was good enough to cut off the booing. A Pele cuts off a Superman Punch and it’s back to Shane for no logical reason. Shane gets in a tornado DDT to drop Reigns and a clothesline takes Rollins down. Reigns tries a spear but gets awkwardly countered into the post.

In probably the spot of the match, Shane loads up Coast to Coast but gets speared out of the air for a SICK landing. Shane actually kicks out at two but you can see that he is completely gone. Like Lesnar after the botched shooting star gone. The referee says Shane is eliminated at 37:07, presumably due to his brains looking like a pie that has been run over by a bus driven by raccoons.

We pause for a bit as doctors get Shane out of the ring until Roman blasts Bray with a clothesline. Rollins and AJ get stereo hot tags with Seth’s Blockbuster putting Styles down. There’s the slingshot knee to AJ and a suicide dive to Wyatt. With Reigns down on the floor, let’s hit that ROMAN’S SLEEPING chant! Still one of my favorites because the fans just will not give him a break no matter what. An enziguri staggers AJ on top and now it’s WAKE UP ROMAN. Reigns does in fact wake up and saves Rollins from a hanging DDT on the floor.

With Orton down, it seems as good a time as any for a DoubleBomb. Styles makes a save before it can be loaded up but here’s Ambrose to jump Styles again. The fans call Dean a STUPID IDIOT as the former Shield beats up security. NOW the TripleBomb puts AJ through the table, allowing Rollins to get the pin at 47:00. It’s down to two on two with the Wyatts vs. the Shield (not the worst idea in the world)….and here’s Luke Harper for a distraction so the Wyatts can take over.

Reigns posts Orton but Harper superkicks him down, only to have Rollins score with a flip dive to the floor. Back in and the low superkick hits Wyatt but he dives into an RKO, giving Bray the pin at 49:25. Reigns, all alone, sends both of them outside and takes Harper out as a bonus. Back in and Orton eats a spear to save Wyatt, leaving Bray to grab Sister Abigail for the pin at 52:50.

Rating: A. This is a great example of a match that benefits from all of the time it had. What I loved about this was how long it took to take someone out. Most of the people in here were former World Champions and it doesn’t make sense to have them losing in a minute or two like in the other matches. They let the match build up for a change and that’s what makes this feel important.

Above all else though, this felt like someone surviving instead of whoever was left last. Look at the women’s match. Bayley barely looked like she had been through anything at the end. Orton and Wyatt looked banged up, which is how they should after a match like this. It’s a well put together match that got the kind of time it needed, which is exactly how something like this should be. Really strong stuff here with Bray, who actually needed it, getting the win.

We recap Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar. Goldberg was being interviewed about being in WWE2K16 and said he didn’t owe Lesnar a rematch. Lesnar challenged him though and Goldberg wanted his son to see him wrestle. The match was on and it does indeed feel like a battle of two people who could kill each other.

Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg

We get the full Goldberg entrance, complete with someone knocking on his door. Lesnar drives him into the corner to start but Goldberg shoves him right back down, scaring the heck out of Lesnar in the process. Back up and the spear connects to drop Lesnar again. There’s a second spear, followed by a Jackhammer to give Goldberg the huge upset at 1:25.

Yeah I still don’t like it. Sure it was shocking and a huge moment, but what did this set up? Goldberg eliminating Lesnar from the Rumble, Goldberg getting the most unnecessary Universal Title reign ever, and then a good sub five minute match at Wrestlemania. One of WWE’s biggest issues is giving fans something to cheer for and they give this spot to Goldberg, who they didn’t even create, for the sake of a video game (might not have been their call) and a story that could have made someone’s career. After this, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman both fell to Lesnar, but Goldberg doesn’t. I don’t buy it, nor to I like it.

Goldberg celebrates with his family to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. One of the major perks about a match running nearly an hour on a three and a half hour show is that it can REALLY bring an overall rating up. Throw in a good women’s match and nothing really bad, this is actually a strong show. It’s far from perfect (main event aside, though that was the only thing that could have closed the show) but it’s a heck of a card, which I can always go for of course. The main issue is they could have gotten this one under three hours so it’s a bit long but nothing too bad. Really solid show though and most of that is due to the mega long match.

Ratings Comparison

Rich Swann/Noam Dar/TJ Perkins vs. Ariya Daivari/Tony Nese/Drew Gulak

Original: C

Redo: C-

Kane vs. Luke Harper

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Women’s Survivor Series Match

Original: C

Redo: C+

Miz vs. Sami Zayn

Original: C+

Redo: C-

Tag Team Survivor Series Match

Original: D+

Redo: B

Kalisto vs. Brian Kendrick

Original: C

Redo: C-

Men’s Survivor Series Match

Original: A-

Redo: A

Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

Overall Rating

Original: C-

Redo: B+

My eyebrows went up when I saw the original overall rating. The year of mellowing on the ending have helped a lot as there’s no way this is a B-. Also I really couldn’t stand Sheamus and Cesaro back then.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2016/11/20/survivor-series-2016-there-are-no-words/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

I’m not sure if it’s due to Blood & Guts last week or something with the build itself, but it’s been a bit difficult to get up for this show. Part of it comes down to a lack of a hot main event. I’m assuming the main event is the cage match, but there is only so much you can get when Page already beat Joe last month. Hopefully the action is able to carry things over the finish line so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Big Boom AJ/QT Marshall vs. RPG Vice

So the Costco Guys are back and that means it’s time to act like they’re really interesting all over again. While AJ is far from terrible or even bad, it’s still hard to get interested in whatever the story is with himself and Marshall, which has been going on for way too long now. At least it’s in this spot and it’s not like Vice is going to lose much when they get beaten here.

In case that’s quite the spoiler, go back in time and insert your own warning. Of course there’s no reason to believe that the celebrity team is going to lose here. AJ is one of the bigger names that AEW can get at the moment so he’ll need to win here to keep his star power. It does help quite a bit that this is about as low level on the ladder as you can get, which at least keeps this from taking up more important time.

Kickoff Show: Hook/Eddie Kingston vs. Workhorsemen

In addition to the World Title match, here we have what is basically another rematch, or at least a repeat of the same setup. In this case, we have Kingston and Hook teaming up in an open challenge, only with the Workhorsemen accepting rather than the Frat House. I get the idea of wanting to get Kingston and Hook on the show, but maybe come up with something a bit more interesting?

As uninspired as this feels, there’s pretty much no doubt about the winner here, as this is all about trying to get Kingston and Hook to mean something. I’m not sure which one one is seen as the bigger star at the moment, but neither of them are exactly on fire right now. Maybe they can find something to spark them up a bit, but it’s hard to believe that them winning here will change much.

Kickoff Show: Max Caster/Anthony Bowens vs. Bang Bang Gang vs. Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. Outrunners

It’s another match for a bunch of money which is code for “we have nothing else for these people to do but here they are anyway”. Caster and Bowens are by far the most important team at the moment, even if they’re not really a team. I could go for seeing the two of them together more often as the singles stuff was only so good, but either have them get back together or not.

That being said, I’ll take the Gang to win, partially due to how fun it could be to see Juice Robinson doing his stuff about the money, as you saw earlier this week. It sounds better than Caster and Bowens’ will they/won’t they deal, though that is the more likely pick. Maybe it’s due to me not caring much about Caster and Bowens, but hopefully the Gang wins here.

Kickoff Show: CMLL Trios Titles: El Sky Team(c) vs. The Don Callis Family

This is a bit of a confusing one as the names involved would make it feel like it belonged on the main card. While the titles might be in jeopardy, this feels like it’s much more about Konosuke Takeshita’s and Kazuchika Okada’s issues, which very well may spill over here. That has been teased for a good while now and it can only be stretched out so much longer. At the same time, getting the titles is something certainly in the realm of possibility.

I’ll take the champions to retain, as the Family doesn’t need to do much more at this point. Let them have some issues, possibly with a big showdown coming up in the Continental Classic. The Sky Team is fun to watch and it should make for a good match here, with the Family having some variety to spice it up a bit. The champs retain, but the focus is going to be on the Family, as tends to be the case.

National Title: Casino Gauntlet Match

We’ll start the main show with this one because it’s hard to say what we’re going to be seeing. While we are likely to have about twenty entrants, we only have five coming into the show. That doesn’t give us much in the way of the knowing where this is going as we’ll have to pick from the limited options that we have, which is hardly the best way to go but it’s the problem with a match like this.

Of the five options that we have (Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight and Ricochet), I’ll take Ricochet as the most likely choice. Given that he’s been getting a good bit of screen time and actually needs to win something, this would be a good way to start. I’m not sure who else is going to be in there and there is always the chance that it’s someone out of nowhere, but Ricochet seems like at least a safe bet.

Darby Allin vs. Pac

This is the next match in Allin’s seemingly never ending war with the Death Riders. The idea here is that this is going to be a regular match with no extra shenanigans. I know that’s quite the concept on a wrestling show, but it would be nice to see after all of the insanity that Allin has been doing lately. If nothing else, it’s not Allin vs. Jon Moxley for a change and the breather should be nice.

There’s no reason to think Allin will lose here so we’ll go with him getting the win. In theory Allin is going to be going over the Death Riders in the end, though I have no idea what kind of big closing match they’re going to have. This doesn’t feel like a pay per view match, but at least it’s something different than what we’ve been seeing from Allin for such a long time now.

Kenny Omega/Jurassic Express vs. Young Bucks/Josh Alexander

This is the other money match (a million dollars in this case), as Tony Khan continues to give the evil and annoying Young Bucks a chance to make a huge sum all at once. At the same time, there was something of a tease of an Elite reunion earlier this week, which sums up just how annoying this whole thing has been. The Bucks doing all of their stuff is one thing but my head might implode if I’m supposed to cheer for them again.

Ultimately, this feels like Omega and the Express’ to win, as the Bucks need to fall even further before they can turn it around. Omega probably does not have many big matches left in him as his body is breaking down so quickly, but at least he’s still in the ring for the time being. Alexander feels like he’s there to take the fall, which has been the case for a long time now. Either way, the good guys win here.

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher(c) vs. Mark Briscoe

Title vs. Briscoe joining the Don Callis Family, which makes me think that it’s going one certain way. The Family continues to do pretty much whatever it wants, which doesn’t make for the most thrilling story. On the other hand you have Briscoe, who rarely wins the big one and has been chasing this title for a VERY long time now. One of those things is going to have to give and that is where we are today.

I’ll take Briscoe to win here, as Fletcher has held the title for a very long time now and there isn’t much to gain by having him keep it any longer. On the other hand you have Briscoe, who needs to win the title again before he starts losing his status. Fletcher is at the point where a loss won’t hurt him very much and he seems likely to move up to the main event scene anyway. Briscoe winning here makes more sense.

Babes Of Wrath vs. Sisters Of Sin vs. Timeless Love Bombs vs. Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir

I can’t get my head around this one, as it’s that dumb of an idea. In this case we have the four semifinalists for the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament (which as of this coming Wednesday will be one of three ongoing title tournaments under the Tony Khan banner). The winner of this match gets to pick the stipulation for their semifinal match, which is likely happening this coming week. Yes, this is the best they could come up with for a pay per view.

As this has such little impact on who wins the titles, give me the Bombs to win, just to see whatever wacky idea Storm gives us in the semifinals. I still can’t fathom that this was the best they could do for this show, though I guess it’s due to Blood & Guts taking up a week. It’s almost like AEW tries to do too much and isn’t great at pacing its stuff out, but that must be nonsense of course.

Women’s Title: Kris Statlander(c) vs. Mercedes Mone

So this is Mone’s chance to win her….I believe it’s 14th title? The idea is that Mone has been TBS Champion for about 37 years now and has all kinds of other titles but failed in her one attempt to win the AEW Women’s Title. I’m still not sure what the appeal of the Belt Collector deal is supposed to be yet here we are, with the whole thing somehow still continuing.

I think I’ll go with Statlander retaining here, as Mone needs to lose something here sooner than later. While I’m sure she’ll get the title at some point and that’s fine, Statlander hasn’t had it very long yet and deserves a better run as champion. Hopefully it doesn’t turn into another case of “let’s all praise Mone”, but that is probably what winds up happening in the end.

Tag Team Titles: Bandido/Brody King(c) vs. FTR

This is another case where we’ve seen FTR as champions so many times now that it’s hard to bring myself to care about the possibility of seeing it again. Bandido and King have done really well with the titles thus far and it would be nice to get to see that continue. At the same time though, there is a real chance that the “real” team wins the belts here as Bandido moves on to whatever else.

Give me the champs retaining here, if nothing else for the sake of I’ve enjoyed seeing them more often. What I don’t need to see is FTR winning and then defending against a reunited Copeland/Cage, which is a rather strong possibility. Maybe it’s just me having false hope, but hopefully King and Bandido get to hang onto the titles here, as they’ve earned the right to keep them for awhile.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jon Moxley

This is No DQ and could be another big step in the already rather lengthy downfall of Moxley. The idea is that Moxley keeps giving up in matches after months of talking about how tough he is and it’s not exactly holding up. In theory this leads to the downfall of the entire Death Riders, which has LONG since run its course. On the other hand though…it’s O’Reilly.

As little sense as it might make, I’ll take O’Reilly to win here, as that’s the story that has been built up. Maybe it comes with some shenanigans, but there is no reason to have Moxley win here after losing so many times in recent weeks. The Death Riders desperately need to come to an end already and this is as good of a way to do so as there is right now. It’s hard to imagine O’Reilly as the guy to make it happen, but for now, the pieces are there.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page(c) vs. Samoa Joe

So this is a case where had it been anything other than the World Title and likely the main event, I would have put this way higher as there just isn’t much doubt over the winner. We’ve already seen this last month with Page retaining over Joe clean, which set up the ensuing heel turn. I’m not sure why I would want to see this again here, but someone has to challenge for the title.

Of course I’ll take Page to win here, as there is no reason to believe that Joe is taking the title. This has felt like quite the filler feud for the title, which isn’t exactly much to see. I’m sure the fight will be good enough as these two know how to make it work, but Page really needs to move on to something else, as the two matches with Joe haven’t exactly felt that important. At least this one is different though.

Overall Thoughts

Dang that’s a lot of matches. I know four of them are officially on a separate show, but it’s one big block of AEW without much in the way of a top match. That’s been an issue for a good while now in AEW, as they really don’t seem to have a major story going on. Maybe that changes soon, but it’s not making for the most interesting pay per view, at least on paper. That’s been the case for the last few shows too, and that really needs to change.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: November 21, 2025
Location: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re just over a week away from the Survivor Series and in this case that means it is time to both firm up more of the WarGames matches and set up some other things for the card. That can take a bit of time, but otherwise we also have to move forward in the Last Time Is Now tournament. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the men’s WarGames match, with Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns returning on Raw.

Here is the Vision for a chat. Paul Heyman has a vision for WarGames, which will see five heroes crushed by each member of his team. This includes Logan Paul, who says he has a lot to say but cue the Usos to interrupt. Jey brings up taking out the Vision, with Heyman says just ticked off Paul.

Heyman takes credit for the Bloodline, with the first lesson he taught the Usos being that the numbers game always wins. The Usos say they aren’t here alone so here is…Cody Rhodes’ music. We cut to the back, where Drew McIntyre gets off Rhodes’ bus and Rhodes is seen out cold. The Usos run to the back to check on Rhodes as I try to figure out how the cameraman knew to be there as McIntyre was getting off the bus.

Post break Rhodes is still down on the ground outside, with McIntyre driving away and shouting SEE YOU AT WARGAMES.

US Title: Ilja Dragunov vs. ???

It’s open challenge time and it’s….JD McDonagh challenging. We even get an explanation for why he’s here, with commentary saying that McDonagh is here to support Finn Balor in the Last Time Is Now tournament. They fight into the corner to start until Dragunov hits him in the face to break that up. Back up and McDonagh sends him face first into the middle rope and we take an early break.

We come back with the two of them slapping it out until Dragunov hits a running clothesline. Some rolling German suplexes have McDonagh in more trouble but the Constantine Special is countered into a Spanish Fly. McDonagh suplexes him out to the floor for a double crash and we take another break.

We come back again with McDonagh getting two off a brainbuster but missing a moonsault. That lets McDonagh kick him in the face but Torpedo Moscow is cut off. Now the moonsault can connect to give McDonagh two, only for Dragunov to come back with Torpedo Moscow. The H Bomb retains the title at 15:20.

Rating: B+. This has become a standard on the show in recent months and that’s a good thing. It’s a case of having wrestlers come out there and do a bunch of stuff in the ring. As entertaining as the matches have been, it would be a bit nicer to have an actual story to set these matches up. While they’re kind of getting there with Tommaso Ciampa, they need to have an actual match for it to work. Either way, another pretty awesome match here.

We look at the recent drama of Charlotte and Alexa Bliss/Rhea Ripley, with Charlotte not wanting to team with Ripley but then agreeing to do it anyway.

Charlotte and Bliss are in the back, with Bliss making her talk to Ripley, with Iyo Sky leaving.

Nick Aldis has no update on Cody Rhodes but goes over to yell at the Vision. Drew McIntyre is still suspended, but he didn’t come into the arena so there is no violation of the suspension. Oh and Bronson Reed will win tonight.

Ilja Dragunov runs into Tama Tonga, who says he’s coming for the title. Dragunov also finds Tommaso Ciampa, who says a bit wordier version of the same thing.

Last Time Is Now Tournament First Round: Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed

Paul Heyman is here with Reed. Hayes slugs away to start fast but Reed is back up with a hard chop in the corner. A running knee in the corner has Hayes in trouble and a running elbow puts him down again. Hayes’ DDT has Reed in trouble though and a springboard DDT drops him for a second time.

That’s enough for Reed to bail out to the floor for a meeting with the Vision (with Logan Paul and Bron Breakker showing up) and we take a break. We come back with Hayes being whipped hard into the corner and we hit the chinlock. Reed tries to fight up but Paul interferes to cut him back down. Reed’s backsplash misses so Hayes can roll him up for two, followed by a middle rope clothesline. The Fadeaway sets up the frog splash for two more but the First 48 is countered.

The Tsunami misses and it’s the First 48 to send Reed outside. That means a big dive to take Reed down, followed by a top rope DDT to give Hayes two. Reed hits a heck of a running clothesline to send Hayes outside. Breakker loads up a spear, but cue Jey Uso to cut him off. Reed heads outside after Hayes…and it’s Cody Rhodes to post Reed and give him Cross Rhodes. That’s enough for Hayes to beat the count at 13:31.

Rating: B-. This might not have been the big giant slayer win for Hayes, but it was about the best option that they had available. Hayes needed a win and Reed shouldn’t be getting pinned, so this was the solution. I’ve seen far worse, and Hayes is at least winning to become more of a star than he’s been in recent months.

Post match Rhodes says he doesn’t want to be done with Drew McIntyre and historically, a Steiner is never better than a Rhodes. Logan Paul can go do a flip and Rhodes is the last person to beat Brock Lesnar and he did it TWICE. This was a fired up promo and that’s where Rhodes can shine.

Chelsea Green hides from Giulia and Kiana James, who yell at Alba Fyre instead. With the two of them gone, Green comes out and says she’s the greatest women’s champion of all times. Jade Cargill pops up, with Green realizing she screwed up and running off.

Sami Zayn gives his friends a pep talk about the MFT’s, who are ready to fight next week. The promos from the Motor City Machine Guns, Rey Fenix and Shinsuke Nakamura aren’t much, but we do get an old school Survivor Series graphic to hype up the match.

Fraxiom vs. DIY

Candice LeRae is here with DIY. Ciampa is wearing a shirt that says “DON’T CALL ME A JACKASS”, Gargano’s says “DON’T CALL MY BEST FRIEND A JACKASS” and LeRae’s is “DON’T CALL MY HUSBAND’S BEST FRIEND A JACKASS!” Ok that’s kind of amazing. Anyway, Ciampa and Frazer start things off but it’s off to Axiom off a quick blind tag. Everything breaks down and Fraxiom hits a pair of dives to the floor.

Back in and a pair of frog splashes hit Ciampa for two but Gargano is back up with a superkick. Frazer is sent into the steps for a crash and we take a break. We come back with Frazer coming back in to clean house. That’s quickly cut off with a Shatter Machine for two, followed by a superkick/Fairy Tale Ending combination for two on Axiom. That’s broken up and Axiom is right back on his feet as the Fireflies are out. LeRae steals Axiom’s mask though and Gargano gets a fast pin at 7:44.

Rating: C+. The match didn’t get a ton of time but it was four guys working their usual entertaining style. I could go for Axiom losing less frequently and I could definitely go for less of the stealing the mask deal, but at least the team had an out for the loss. They had a story coming into this with the US Title stuff, so this did have a few bonus points.

We get the sitdown face to face with Rhea Ripley and Charlotte. They have a history and they’re willing to fight again, but first up it’s WarGames. Ripley is willing to go to war with Charlotte at her side and Charlotte says yes. They shake hands and it seems to be ok.

Last Time Is Now Tournament First Round: Finn Balor vs. Penta

Penta jumps him to start and the brawl is on with Balor taking over. That’s quickly cut off and Penta sends him outside for the big running flip dive. We take a break and come back with Penta hitting a superkick to send him into the corner. Balor is right back with some kicks of his own, which is countered into something like a MuscleBuster for two. The Sling Blade drops Penta again but the Coup de Grace misses, allowing Penta to get two more off a rollup. The Penta Driver gets two and the running Canadian Destroyer gives Penta the clean pin at 10:03.

Rating: B-. These guys had a fight for about ten minutes and it was pretty much all action throughout. That made for an entertaining match and it’s encouraging to see Penta get another clean win. I’m not sure if he’s going to make it past the quarterfinals, but at least he’s getting there in the first place.

Sheamus is injured and out of the tournament so we’ll have to see who is replacing him.

Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s are ready to crush Sami Zayn and company.

Here is Team Ripley to name its final member. Ripley praises her current team members and brings out the fifth member: AJ Lee. Cue the other team to jump Ripley and company from behind, with Becky Lynch running in to jump Lee from behind as both teams seem to be complete to end the show. Lee was hardly a surprise and that made Lynch the obvious counterpart, which isn’t a bad thing.

Overall Rating: B. This show was feeling focused again and they covered quite a few things. You had the US Title stuff, the tournament, and the WarGames build. Throw in the hype for next week’s Survivor Series match and I liked the mix we had this week. It’s nice to see them building towards some stuff when things are getting more important. Now just keep it going when we get to the actual important stuff.

Results
Ilja Dragunov b. JD McDonagh – H Bomb
Carmelo Hayes b. Bronson Reed via countout
DIY b. Fraxiom – Rollup to Axiom
Penta b. Finn Balor – Running Canadian Destroyer

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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An absolute hidden gem that deserves more attention.

 

https://411mania.com/wrestling/halls-wwe-no-way-out-2000-review/

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 20, 2025
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re done with Turning Point and that show only meant so much. I’m not sure what that is going to mean but now we’re going to get ready for Final Resolution next month. Hopefully there is something a bit happier than what we got last week, but you never can tell with this place. Let’s get to it.

Here is Turning Point if you need a recap.

In Memory Of George Tahinos, a wrestling photographer.

We open with a recap of last week’s World Title change, plus Turning Point, both of which saw NXT invasions.

Opening sequence.

Here is Mike Santana to get things going. Santana sits in a chair in the ring and says he loves these fans. He fought to get to the top and he shared that victory with his baby girl. Last week, he made it to 1000 days clean and sober (awesome). Then the next day, it was all taken from him and for the first time on his journey, he was scared. Before Turning Point, he went to a safe space and went to a meeting.

The people here give TNA their hard earned money to see a show and now Santana wants the World Title that much more. He’s coming for Frankie Kazarian, but first, he is picking off the NXT guys one by one. Consider this their warning. The fans were SILENT when Santana was talking about the personal side of things. That felt like it was because they were with him the entire way and that’s a great sign.

Frankie Kazarian comes in to see Santino Marella and wants a formal apology for having nothing to do with NXT. JDC comes in to mock Kazarian’s style and then asks for a World Title shot. Marella gives JDC a #1 contenders match later tonight.

Myla Grace vs. Rosemary vs. Indi Hartwell vs. Dani Luna

The winner faces the winner of another four way later on for a title shot. They go with the fast rollups to start and Rosemary gets caught in the corner for some running shots to knock her silly. That’s shrugged off and she’s able to fight out of a Hurts Donut attempt. Hartwell beats up Grace in the corner and a side slam gets two.

We take a break and come back with Hartwell caught in the Upside Down. Hartwell is out of that in a hurry and spinebusters Rosemary for two. Grace hits a big dive to take Rosemary out on the floor. Luna and Hartwell clothesline each other as Rosemary loads up a chain. Grace posts Rosemary though and she drops the chain, allowing Luna to use it to knock Hartwell out for the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C+. This was one of those “everyone goes nuts for a bit until someone gets the pin”, with Luna taking out Hartwell to continue their issues. Luna has gotten a lot more interesting since Spitfire split up and I’ll take that, as someone has to move up the ladder at some point. Odds are she doesn’t win the title, but at least she’s getting a chance.

Eric Young blames Santino Marella for all of the problems in this company and the Cleanse is coming.

Santino Marella and Arianna Grace are in the back when the Hardys and Steve Maclin come in. They want a piece of the NXT invaders.

Matt Cardona vs. Mance Warner

Steph de Lander is here with Warner and has to pull him away from an early Reboot attempt. Another distraction lets Warner counter Radio Silence into a sitout powerbomb for two and it’s time to slug it out. Cardona gets in a spinebuster and a flapjack, setting up the Reboot for two.

Warner faceplants him down though and a running knee connects for two. De Lander slips in a chair, which is taken away (not the brightest plan), allowing Cardona to hit Radio Silence. This time de Lander puts Warner’s foot on the rope so Cardona goes after her. That’s enough for de Lander to slip in her purse, which Warner uses for a cheap shot. The Pay Window (implant DDT) finishes Cardona at 5:18.

Rating: C+. If TNA wants Warner to actually be something, he has to win a match every so often. That’s what we got to see here, as Warner and de Lander worked well together to get Warner a win. It helps that de Lander and Cardona have such a history together, as it made the match feel a bit more important.

The NXT invaders talk about how TNA came to their house first but now they’re they’re seen as the bad guys. Robert Stone insists that he is NOT the person behind all of this and Lexis King promises to shatter TNA into a million pieces.

Matt Cardona is sick about Mance Warner and Steph de Lander cheating him out of a win. Now the Death Match King wants Warner in a street fight at Final Resolution.

Myron Reed vs. John Skyler

Reed dropkicks him down to start but Skyler is back with a ram into the buckle. The Russian legsweep gives Skyler two and he knocks Reed down again to grab a waistlock. Reed’s comeback is cut off with a clothesline so Reed switches to a running boot to the face. A slingshot legdrop in the ropes staggers Skyler again and a slingshot belly to back suplex gets two.

The big diving cutter is cut off with a slingshot spear to give Skyler two but Reed is back with Stundog Millionaire. They’re both down and we cut to the back, where Order 4 has taken out the Rascalz. Reed is back up with a cutter to send Skyler outside, setting up a big dive. Back in and Reed tries a sunset flip but cue Jason Hotch to help Skyler get the pin at 6:28.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t wild on the ending but this was a good example of two people who are given the chance to showcase themselves. That’s exactly what they did here and it made for a solid match. Order 4 moving on from the System to the Rascalz is a nice shift, as both of them could use a bit of a change of pace. Good match here, with Reed’s athleticism being quite the treat.

We look at Leon Slater retaining the X-Division Title against Rich Swann at Turning Point.

AJ Francis isn’t pleased with Swann losing but Slater comes in, with Francis calling the title First Class property. Slater vs. Francis seems set.

And now, we get the next step in the search for Mr. Elegance. There are three candidates, the first of which is quickly taken away for some alone time with Ash. The second is sent away for his choice of jacket color. The third practically begs for the chance and is dubbed a loser. As a result, the search continues.

Victoria Crawford vs. Jody Threat vs. Xia Brookside vs. Killer Kelly

The winner faces Dani Luna for a future Knockouts Title shot. Threat clears the ring to start fast and Brookside hits a dive. Back in and Threat blocks a headscissors from Brookside before Crawford takes Threat out. A Russian legsweep gives Brookside two and we take an early break.

We come back with Tessa Blanchard jumping in on commentary but then jumping back off as Threat dropkicks Brookside, who had Crawford in a fireman’s carry. Kelly chokes Brookside and Threat adds in a running dropkick in the corner. A Michinoku Driver gives Threat two and Crawford catches Kelly with a kick to the head on the middle rope. Crawford and Threat brawl to the floor, leaving Brookside to hit the Brooksie Bomb for the pin at 8:51.

Rating: C+. Another fast paced match here, though the rest is only so much you can get out of a match that is just shy of nine minutes with a commercial in the middle. Brookside is another person who could be moved into title contention, even in the short term, and it’s nice to see her getting a chance. If nothing else, that Brookside Bomb is a cool enough finisher to get her somewhere.

We meet Jada Stone, who was trained by Al Snow in OVW and the New Japan Dojo. She wasn’t ready in her first tryout but then she got a contract with TNA. Stone is a big fan of Bayley and it meant a lot to get to meet her, as Stone is ready to prove herself.

Santino Marella runs down the Final Resolution card thus far:

Mike Santana vs. Charlie Dempsey
Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Tyson DuPont/Tyriek Igwe
International Title: Steve Maclin vs. Stacks

Here’s what’s coming in two weeks, as there isn’t a regular show due to Thanksgiving.

We get more of the Final Resolution card:

Knockouts Title: Kelani Jordan vs. Dani Luna or Xia Brookside
X-Division Title: Leon Slater vs. AJ Francis
Street Fight: Matt Cardona vs. Mance Warner

JDC vs. Eric Young

Frankie Kazarian is on commentary and JDC gets a World Title shot if he wins (thankfully Young doesn’t have such a chance). Young jumps him to start but gets knocked outside, with JDC following to keep up the fight. Back in and Young stomps away, only to get punched out to the floor. JDC starts in on the arm but Young sends him into the corner to take over. An armbar suplex doesn’t do much to Young, who is right back with a nerve hold.

That’s broken up and JDC goes up, only to get shoved off the top for a crash. Young’s moonsault misses and the piledriver is countered into a rollup for two. They go up top with Young biting JDC’s head to send him back down. A top rope elbow gives Young two and the referee is nearly crushed in the corner. The low blow into the Death Valley Driver gives Young two and they slug it out. They go up top again, where JDC backdrops him down, followed by Down And Dirty to finish Young at 13:03.

Rating: B-. Going with the soon to retire JDC for one big shot at the World Title is a good way to go and even if there is no reason to believe he’ll win the title, it’s a nice idea. At the same time, I can go for Young losing more often, though I’m scared of whatever this Cleanse could mean. Just please don’t let him be behind the whole NXT invasion. I couldn’t handle Young as the top heel again.

The staredown ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This at least felt like a normal edition of the show, as they were focused on a few things and advanced those forward. Final Resolution might not be the most important show, but they’ve done a nice job of setting it up on short notice. I liked this show well enough and it makes me wonder where some of the things are going. At the same time, I’m scared to know where some of those same things are going. Ok I’m scared of seeing more Eric Young. As always.

Results
Dani Luna b. Myla Grace, Rosemary and Indi Hartwell – Chain to the head to Hartwell
Mance Warner b. Matt Cardona – Pay Window
John Skyler b. Myron Reed – Rollup with assist from Jason Hotch
Xia Brookside b. Jody Threat, Killer Kelly and Victoria Crawford – Brooksie Bomb to Kelly
JDC b. Eric Young – Down And Dirty

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring Of Honor
Date: November 20, 2025
Location: Erie Insurance Arena, Erie, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We now have three shows to go before Final Battle and that means it is time to get the card together. While there are some matches that will be set up in the coming weeks, there are several title matches that still need to be set up. Hopefully they get some of that covered here, just for the sake of having a few weeks of build. Let’s get to it.

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

Billie Starkz is told that she’s “on a roll” in the Pure Rules Title tournament (where she has won one match) but Athena comes in to….not be able to say she’s proud. Athena is worried about her title defense tonight and asks who she is if she can’t beat Harley Cameron. The interviewer, and former Minion, recites her statement and has to cut the segment before she gets hugged.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Women’s Title: Harley Cameron vs. Athena

Athena is defending. Cameron starts in on the arm and cuts off an escape attempt. Athena fights up again and they go outside with Cameron being rammed into the apron. Back in and Athena smiles a lot while beating Cameron down, followed by a cravate. Cameron avoids a backsplash though and snaps off a headscissors but Athena rips at her face. That’s broken up and Cameron knocks her down for two as the fans are getting behind the comeback.

An O’Connor roll gives Athena two but the kickout sends Athena into the ropes, where she hits a springboard splash for two. They head outside with Cameron being sent into the barricade, allowing Athena to remind us that this is her show. Back in and Cameron grabs a superplex and a pumphandle suplex gets two. They both counter That’s Her Finisher so Cameron kicks her in the face, setting up a Backstabber. An STF has Athena in trouble but she bites the hand to escape. Athena pulls her into the Koji Clutch to retain at 12:36.

Rating: B. Cameron continues to feel like a rising star but there was no way she was going to be the one to end Athena’s now legendary reign. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Athena defending the title, though it would make sense to have this one set up for Final Battle, which needs the match. For now though, it did feel like a big match and Cameron brought it in her chance.

Billie Starkz vs. Katie Arquette

Pure Rules. Starkz grabs her to start and Arquette has used her first two rope breaks in about thirty five seconds. Arquette gets a headlock and backs Starkz into the ropes, which apparently counts as Starkz’s first break. Starkz hits her in the face for the official warning and then rams Arquette into the buckle over and over. Arquette takes her into the corner for a running hip attack but Starkz is fine enough for a brainbuster onto the knee. The Swanton finishes for Starkz at 4:22.

Rating: C-. The worst kind of Pure Rules (or any gimmick matches for that matter) are the kinds where you can take the gimmick away entirely and nothing changes. That’s the case here, as there was nothing added on with the Pure Rules deal, which again makes me wonder why we need a title for this non-division. But what else were we going to spend 7+ months on otherwise?

Post match Deonna Purrazzo comes out for her match and gets in a staredown with Starkz.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Viva Van

Another Pure Rules match. Purrazzo takes her down without much trouble to start so they trade forearms. A quick running ax kick gives Van two but Purrazzo is back with a kick to the face. The Fujiwara armbar sends Van over to the rope for her first break before it’s a powerbomb to drop her again. The second Fujiwara armbar finishes for Purrazzo at 3:33.

Rating: C. It’s the second Pure Rules match and we’re just over half an hour into the show. Naturally neither of them was a tournament match, but thank goodness I’ve only got a few more weeks before this title can be basically forgotten for months at a time. Purrazzo is the big favorite to win the whole thing, which has me thinking she loses in a surprise.

Post match Billie Starkz comes in to jump Purrazzo.

Persephone challenges Athena for Final Battle, citing two things. First of all, she beat Athena at Global Wars. Technically true, as her partner did pin Athena…..’s partner (in June). Second, she’s “been running through all the women of Ring Of Honor”. She’s had three matches in Ring Of Honor and is 2-1, most recently in July (a loss). In other words, sounds perfect for a Final Battle title match.

Satnam Singh vs. JP Grayson

Singh chops him in the corner to start and then does it again in a different corner. A gorilla press drop and a chokeslam finish for Singh at 2:13. Exactly what he does.

Jakked Jameson vs. QT Marshall

The Frat House is here with Jameson so Marshall brings out the Costco Guys. Jameson is sent outside to start and Marshall takes him down with a quick dive. One heck of a backdrop sends Marshall outside, where the Frat House gets in some cheap shots. Back in and a spinebuster gives Jameson two but Marshall is up with the clotheslines. The Cookie Cutter finishes for Marshall at 2:34.

Post match the Frat House goes after Big Boom AJ and Marshall, who clear the ring. RPG Vice come in and lay the good guys out. AJ’s hand is crushed with a chair.

Mercedes Mone brags about winning the Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Title. Well kind of, as she uses it as proof that she’s ready to beat Kris Statlander. Note that Mone never specifically mentions what she just won or ROH in general, but that’s about how important the title is for her.

Persephone vs. Valentina Rossi

Persephone runs her over with a shoulder to start but Rossi is back with a quick legdrop for two. They trade rollups for two each until Persephone plants her for the same. Rossi wins a fight over a suplex for two of her own but Persephone knocks her right back down. The running Razor’s Edge finishes Rossi at 3:09.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what the thinking was here, as Persephone is likely a few weeks away from challenging for the Ring Of Honor Women’s Title. While she won and the finish looked good, Rossi got in a lot of offense rather than being squashed. That’s not the best way to make Persephone look good, and I’m not sure what the thinking was here.

Post match Athena comes out for the staredown, which seems to set up the title match. Cue Diamante to jump Persephone from behind and Athena sends her face first into the title.

Infantry vs. Top Flight

SkyFlight is here with Top Flight. The Infantry jumps them at the bell to start, which doesn’t last long as Top Flight clears the ring in a hurry. Back in and Dante gets taken into the corner for the beatdown, setting up the running hip attack for two. An enziguri into a jumping neckbreaker gets two and we hit the chinlock.

The villains switch without making a tag until Dante monkey flips his way to freedom. Darius comes in to clean house, including a cutter to Bravo. A suplex/neckbreaker combination gets two on Dante as everything breaks down again. The referee sees Dean bringing in a belt and the distraction lets Dante grab a sunset flip for the pin at 8:14.

Rating: C+. The match was a fine enough way to set up the pretty obvious Six Man Tag Team Title match for Final Battle. That’s a completely acceptable way to go, with the best aspect being the fact that SkyFlight have been a regular team in recent months. Hopefully they wind up getting the titles, as they have interesting potential as champions.

Post match Shane Taylor runs in for the beatdown but Scorpio Sky makes the save, setting up a Six Man Tag Team Title match at Final Battle to close the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Well, it was the match that set up a bunch of stuff for Final Battle, which was needed, but the Persephone stuff just made me shake my head. Other than that, there was a good bit of stuff that set up Full Gear rather than Final Battle, which continues to show you what this show means. They actually did something here though, and that’s one of the best things that you can say week to week in Ring Of Honor.

Results
Athena b. Harley Cameron – Koji Clutch
Billie Starkz b. Katie Arquette – Swanton
Deonna Purrazzo b. Viva Van – Fujiwara armbar
Satnam Singh b. JP Grayson – Chokeslam
QT Marshall b. Jakked Jameson – Cookie Cutter
Persephone b. Valentina Rossi – Running Razor’s Edge
Top Flight b. Infantry – Sunset flip to Dean

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Collision
Date: November 19, 2025
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s the second half of the latest double taping and in this case that means the final push towards this weekend’s Full Gear. That could go in a few different directions, though hopefully we get some more personal issues this time around. The biggest story is likely Mercedes Mone trying to become the official Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Champion because the interim version just doesn’t mean enough. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with Hangman Page and Katsuyori Shibata in the ring following Page’s victory in Dynamite’s main event. Page glares down at Samoa Joe (who was on commentary) and says that Joe is now alone and that isn’t going to go well when they’re in a cage. Just remember what happened the last time Page was in a cage with another man. We also see Page kicking Shibata low, which apparently took place between shows.

FTR is ready to take out Bandido and Brody King at Full Gear because they want to win the Tag Team Titles again.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Megan Bayne/Marina Sharif vs. Anna Jay/Tay Melo

Penelope Ford is here with the villains. Melo and Shafir trade takedowns to start until Melo hits her in the face a few times. Jay comes in and everyone is quickly on the floor for the double brawls. Jay and Melo hit stereo dives off the barricade but Shafir plants Jay back inside. We take a break and come back with Melo coming in to clean house as everything breaks down.

A bunch of running kicks in the corner have Bayne and Shafir in trouble but stereo guillotines are broken up with suplexes. Bayne gets Downward Spiraled into a running necksnap for two and Jay gets the Queenslayer. Shafir breaks that up and grabs a quick Mother’s Milk to make Jay give up at 8:49.

Rating: C+. Even though Jay and Melo are a regular team, there was no reason to believe they were going to lose to a pair of monsters like these two. That’s the kind of team that should be there to be slayed by the winners of the tournament, assuming Shafir and Bayne don’t win them themselves. Not much here, but the fans like Melo and Jay.

Post match the Timeless Love Bombs pop up on the screen to promise to win the four way at Full Gear. That means they can pick the stipulation for their semifinal match, which could be a chicken coop match, apartment wrestling or a Taipei Death Match.

Video on Kris Statlander.

The Bang Bang Gang is VERY interested in winning $200,000 at Full Gear.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Mascara Dorada

This is a double jeopardy match, meaning the winner gets a future title shot at the other’s title. Okada backs him up against the ropes to start and gives him some applause, which is a bit of a surprise. Dorada starts flipping around and knocks Okada to the floor. That means it’s time to do the “roll inside to break the count a few times” deal, allowing commentary to point out that Okada has the longest title reign in AEW history.

Okada gets back inside and taken down with a springboard armdrag right back to the floor. Naturally that means a dive but Okada is right back in with his dropkick and we take a break. We come back with Dorada falling off the top for a DDT onto the apron (that could have been a lot worse). They get back inside for a springboard hurricanrana to send Okada outside, setting up the big dive. Dorada grabs a running cutter over the barricade and a hurricanrana but the 450 misses back inside.

The top rope elbow connects for Okada but the Rainmaker is cut off. Instead Okada hits the dropkick and goes up, where Dorada catches him for a quick slam. Now the 450 connects for two and they both go up top, with Dorada getting almost no rotation on a super hurricanrana (thankfully not breaking his neck). He’s fine enough to counter the Rainmaker into a small package for two so Okada gives him Takeshita’s Raging Fire. Now the Rainmaker can finish Dorada at 12:09.

Rating: B. I’m not sure what was with Dorada here as he’s usually much more sure footed than that. Hopefully it’s just an off night (happens to everyone) as those botches could have been far worse. This sets up the Family for a CMLL Trios Titles match and that means Okada and Takeshita can argue some more.

Post match Callis is rather pleased to announce that the Trios Titles match will take place at the Full Gear Kickoff Show. And yes, Takeshita will be in the match. And yes, Okada is less than pleased.

The Sisters Of Sin are ready to get creative when they win the four way at Full Gear.

Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Red Velvet

Kris Statlander is on commentary. Mone is the Interim Champion but this is to unify the titles. It’s also Velvet’s first title defense since April and commentary points out that she’s the longest reigning champion in the title’s history. True, though they neglect to point out that she’s the second champion ever. Velvet rolls her up for two to start before they both miss dropkicks.

Mone avoids a charge into the ropes and dropkicks her out to the floor for the big crash. There’s the Meteora off the apron and Mone poses with some titles, only to get kicked into Statlander. Back in and of course it’s an Eddie Guerrero tribute, with Velvet pretending to get hit with a belt and dropping down into a rollup for two as we take a break.

We come back with Velvet grabbing a wheelbarrow bulldog and hitting a running crotch attack on the ropes. Mone pulls her into the Statement Maker, which is reversed into a reverse cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well and Velvet grabs a German suplex into the Black Widow. Mone reverses into a Backstabber but gets caught with a super victory roll for two. They go up again and this time it’s a super Codebreaker to give Mone another title at 12:25.

Rating: B-. Welp, Mone sure did beat that longstanding champion who hadn’t defended the title in about seven months so this had all of the impact that you would think. I get that it’s not the point, but waiting for three hours to see Mone get to celebrate in her hometown isn’t exactly a thrilling way to wrap up a night. I’m not sold on the idea of her beating Statlander and this changed pretty much a grand total of nothing. The one thing it did confirm: interim titles are stupid and one of the concepts that AEW needs to drop.

Post match Mone throws some titles at Statlander and gives her a Meteora off the announcers’ table. Mone grabs a Statement Maker to make Statlander tap until the referees break it up. Statlander then….leaves with Velvet as Mone takes Statlander’s title and dances on the table. What a hero.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked it a bit better than Dynamite, though that might be due to focusing on some more interesting stories. That being said, Full Gear is not feeling like an important show and AEW needs to break out of that rut. Maybe it’s the focus on the Death Riders and Don Callis Family and stuff like “the winner of this four way gets to pick the stipulations for one semifinal” (good grief) and the fact that we’re coming up on the third tournament taking place at the same time starting next week, but dang it’s hard to get interested in a lot of this stuff.

Hopefully they have something new in mind, because they could use the change after the last few months. As usual, the wrestling isn’t the problem but rather doing something that has me wanting to see what happens next. Wondering if the Young Bucks or one of the four teams on the Kickoff Show will get one of the two big cash prizes or if Kenny Omega or Jon Moxley is facing someone with a better ankle lock isn’t exactly thrilling, but it might be a sign that this company is in need of some fresh ideas.

Results
Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne b. Anna Jay/Tay Melo – Mother’s Milk to Jay
Kazuchika Okada b. Mascara Dorada – Rainmaker
Mercedes Mone b. Red Velvet – Super Codebreaker

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Dynamite
Date: November 19, 2025
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s another long form night of AEW, with a two hour Dynamite and an hour long Collision. At the same time, it is the last night before this weekend’s Full Gear. As a result, we have a mixture of prep for the pay per view as well as fallout from last week’s Blood & Guts, which could make for quite the night. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Bobby Lashley vs. Ricochet

For the #1 spot in the Casino Gauntlet at Full Gear and MVP is here with Lashley. The bell rings and Ricochet grabs the mic and says FLY EAGLES FLY. He hates this state and the only good thing to come out of here is his beautiful wife. As for MVP, he’s getting old and might have dementia because he said this was about the International Title rather than the National Title.

It’s the National Title and Ricochet is going to be the inaugural champion. Lashley finally jumps him and throws him over the top, with Ricochet screaming into the mic all the way down in a funny bit. The Gates Of Agony are sent over the announcers’ table but Lashley misses a charge into the corner. Ricochet hits a running shooting star press for two and then hides in the corner, which is enough to avoid the spear. Back up and Lashley hits a spinebuster, followed by the spear for the pin at 5:25.

Rating: C+. More than half of that was on Ricochet’s promo but the whole thing was still rather entertaining. There’s a lot to be said about having someone with as big of a mouth as Ricochet and then getting to see him get shut up. Lashley smashing through people is always worth a look and this went well, even with only so much action.

The Opps are ready to wreck Hangman Page after what he did to Powerhouse Hobbs. Tonight, Page is getting a beating at the hands of Katsuyori Shibata.

Renee Paquette asks the Young Bucks if they’re joining the Don Callis Family. Cue Callis to come in and say that there’s no gotcha journalism tonight. He’ll even do the Bucks’ entrance for them.

Young Bucks/Josh Alexander vs. SkyFlight

Nick and Dante start things off as Don Callis sits in on commentary. Dante gets taken down with a rope walk wristdrag but Nick misses an enziguri. They both miss dropkicks and it’s off to Alexander to whip Darius into the corner. Darius sends him into another corner though and it’s off to Dante for a quick elbow in the corner. Sky comes in and everything breaks down, including the series of dives to the floor. Alexander low bridges Sky to the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Matt accidentally hitting Alexander in the face, allowing Sky to get over for the tag to Darius. House is quickly cleaned, with Alexander getting dropped off a powerbomb/Nose Dive combination, with the Bucks having to make a save. Sky is tossed into a spear, leaving the Bucks to fire off the superkicks. Dante is up with the big flip dive over the top onto the Bucks but Alexander cuts off a dive. Back in and Alexander shoves Dante into the Meltzer Driver, with Alexander adding in the ankle lock for the tap at 10:38.

Rating: B. Good, fast paced match here, even if it’s beyond tiring to see SkyFlight (especially Top Flight) losing so often. The Bucks and Alexander get their momentum before their match for a million dollars at Full Gear. I’m still not sure why that’s supposed to be interesting, but it’s what we get over and over.

Post match Callis gets in the ring and again tries to convince the Bucks to join the Family. They aren’t wild on that so Callis starts making with the threats. He even brings up what happened to Kenny Omega, who comes out with a pipe, only to get dropped by Alexander. Callis wants a BTE Trigger but before they can do it, here is the Jurassic Express (with a shovel and a vacuum cleaner) for the save.

The Babes Of Wrath are ready for the Sisters Of Sin and are rather enthusiastic about it.

We get a tribute to Bob Caudle, a former NWA announcer who passed away earlier this week at the age of 95. That’s a nice touch.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Mike Bailey

For the #2 spot in the Casino Gauntlet match at Full Gear and MVP is here with Benjamin and Kevin Knight is here with Bailey. We do get a handshake to start and Benjamin shrugs off a chop in the corner. They go outside with Benjamin’s arm being sent into the post. An armbar doesn’t work well for Bailey as he gets sent into the barricade, only for Bailey to grab some rollups for two back inside.

Another armbar is reversed into a quickly reversed ankle lock and they’re right back on the floor. Benjamin slams him down out there and we take an early break. We come back with Benjamin grabbing a chinlock, with MVP telling him to stop playing with their food so they can go eat. Bailey fights up and kicks away but still can’t get very far with the cross armbreaker.

Benjamin gets sent outside for a knockdown but manages to beat the count. Back in and a superkick sets up a shooting star press for two on Benjamin, with the moonsault knees getting the same. Benjamin powers his way out of trouble with a rather impressive toss, followed by a nasty superkick for two. A running knee in the corner sets up another superkick to pin Bailey at 12:08.

Rating: B-. That superkick looked great and I’m not sure why it wasn’t the finish here. Anyway, Benjamin vs. Lashley to start the Casino Gauntlet should be fun, though it’s still hard to get interested in another big match for yet another title. At least they’re trying something new, even if it’s just the start of a much bigger match.

Death Riders vs. Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong

Cassidy and Moxley brawl to the floor to start with Strong dropkicking Castagnoli inside. Moxley comes back in to chop block Strong but Cassidy is back in with a high crossbody. Castagnoli rolls through though and takes Cassidy outside for a toss into the barricade. The Riders are sent over the barricade and Cassidy hits a dive to take them both out as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy not being able to get his hands in his pockets as Castagnoli sends him into the corner instead.

Cassidy’s diving DDT gets him out of trouble and the much needed tag brings in Strong to clean house. The alternating running forearms hit Moxley in the ropes but he’s back with a Paradigm Shift. Everything breaks down and Strong hits a top rope superplex on Moxley. Cassidy has to chase after an interfering Wheeler Yuta though, allowing Castagnoli to hit Swiss Death. Moxley’s bulldog choke finishes Cassidy at 12:21.

Rating: B-. This was the rebound win that the Riders, and Moxley in particular, needed after last week’s loss. I’m assuming it’s going to be a brief bump on the road of Moxley’s collapse. I’m not sure of where this is going, but it’s not likely going to end well for him one way or another. Either way, that might be a good thing for him, as it could mean some time away from AEW TV, which could be just what he needs.

Post match Moxley stays on Cassidy so here is Kyle O’Reilly to ankle lock Moxley, who taps again. The Death Riders finally make the save, even with Cassidy and Strong back up in the fight. O’Reilly issues the challenge to Moxley and we’ll make it No Holds Barred.

Brody King and Bandido are ready for FTR at Full Gear.

Kenny Omega, with the Jurassic Express, is ready for Full Gear and no money can save the Bucks and Josh Alexander. As usual, Omega is a lot better when he’s playing it serious.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Timeless Love Bombs vs. Riho/Alex Windsor

Shirakawa backs Riho up against the ropes to start and gives her a running shoulder, followed by a quick Shirakawa dance. They trade legsweeps and it’s a standoff, meaning a double tag to Storm and Windsor. A quick dance off sets up a test of strength, followed by an exchange of armdrags. Windsor takes over by bringing her into the corner for something like Poetry In Motion.

Storm comes out with a backbreaker, allowing Shirakawa to come back in with a slingshot dive. Windsor is right back in to send her throat first into the top rope, setting up Riho’s big dive out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Shirakawa DDTing her way out of trouble so Storm can clean house. A quick DDT gives Storm two, followed by an assisted splash for two on Windsor.

Back up and Windsor knocks Storm off the apron for a cannonball but Riho misses a top rope splash. Shirakawa backfists Riho down and grabs a Figure Four. That’s turned over, leaving Storm and Windsor to headbutt each other and fall on top for the break. Everything breaks down and the Bombs hit stereo running hip attacks in the corner. Storm Zero finishes Windsor at 12:53.

Rating: C+. Well they weren’t going to have one of the few close to regular teams in the tournament losing to a thrown together pairing. Storm and Shirakawa have gone from friends to what feels like the latest Storm performance art thing and that’s not a bad idea. Storm and Shirakawa have great chemistry together so pushing them towards the titles could go a long way.

We get a new Full Gear announcement: there will be a four way between the semifinalists at Full Gear with the winners getting to pick the stipulations for their semifinal match. Sweet goodness that is about as overbooked as you can get.

Mark Briscoe and Kyle Fletcher are in the back, with Briscoe talking about how failure is not an option because it’s No DQ and he’s going to make his family proud. Then the Don Callis Family jumps him, with Fletcher promising to make Briscoe’s sons orphans. Kazuchika Okada says he did this because Konosuke Takeshita couldn’t.

Pac is ready for Darby Allin at Full Gear but wants it as a straight match because with everything taken away, Allin can’t contend with him.

Hangman Page vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Non-title with Samoa Joe on commentary. Page jumps him from behind in the aisle to start fast but Shibata gets in a running boot to knock Page off the apron. The bell rings and Shibata sends the taped up Page into the barricade a few times, only for Page to fight out of trouble. They get inside with Page stomping away, followed by a backbreaker into a clothesline for two. Joe’s distraction lets Shibata get in a shot from behind into a suplex on the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Page hitting a springboard clothesline out to the floor, meaning it’s another stare at Joe. Back in and an STO drops Page, who catches the PK. Instead Shibata takes him into the corner for a running kick to the, ahem, thigh. Page misses a clothesline and gets hit low, allowing Shibata to get the cross armbreaker. That’s broken up so Shibata shifts over to the ankle lock. Page loses his boot on the escape but knocks Shibata down again. The boot is replaced and the Buckshot Lariat finishes for Page at 10:49.

Rating: B-. Nice stuff here, with Page getting by one of Joe’s friends before they face off again at the pay per view. Page fought through the odds again and won, which is a great way to present a top star in the company. They didn’t make this more complicated than it needed to be and it went well enough.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked the show well enough, but the focus being on more titles being introduced and a match coming up for a bunch of money (one of two) isn’t making the most thrilling Full Gear. Unfortunately it doesn’t make for the best build towards a pay per view. That absolutely does not mean that things are going to go badly on Saturday, but it’s not doing the best job of making me want to see the show.

Results
Bobby Lashley b. Ricochet – Spear
Young Bucks/Josh Alexander b. SkyFlight – Ankle lock to Dante
Shelton Benjamin b. Mike Bailey – Superkick
Death Riders b. Roderick Strong/Orange Cassidy – Bulldog choke to Cassidy
Timeless Love Bombs b. Alex Windsor/Riho – Storm Zero to Windsor
Hangman Page b. Katsuyori Shibata – Buckshot Lariat

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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