IMG Credit: WWE

Royal Rumble 2018
Date: January 28, 2018
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Booker T.

The big night is finally here and for the first time ever we have two Royal Rumbles in one night. This time around we have a women’s version to go with the standard men’s version and that opens up the doors for a lot more surprise entrants. Of course it also opens the door for a lot more boring action if the last few Rumbles are any indication. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Drew Gulak/TJP/Jack Gallagher vs. Kalisto/Gran Metalik/Lince Dorado

Drew takes Kalisto down by the arm to start as the announcers talk about the upcoming 205 Live General Manager. That just earns a few chants from the crowd, which Gulak of course can’t stand. It’s off to Gallagher vs. Metalik with Gran working on the knee until Lince and TJP come in to complete each trio’s ring time.

The announcers discuss dabbing until the villains are all sent outside. The three masked men hit stereo moonsaults from the same turnbuckle (very cool) to the floor as we take a break. Back with TJP kicking Lince in the ribs and handing it off to Gulak, who drops Dorado’s partners off the apron. Now the announcers speculate on the next General Manager, which is much more focused than you would expect from these guys.

Jack cranks on Dorado’s leg as about half of the HUGE group of empty seats opposite the hard camera is filled in. But hey, at least we have a meaningless match going on an hour and a half before the rest show starts. Gallagher goes to the middle rope, pauses to listen to Gulak telling him not to jump, and then misses a dive anyway. The hot tag brings in Metalik for the rope walk into the dropkick to put Gulak down. The rope walk elbow works just as well for two as everything breaks down. Stereo dives take Gallagher and Gulak down, leaving the Salida Del Sol to finish TJP at 13:13.

Rating: C. Take any match between some combination of these guys that you might have seen on 205 Live and add five minutes to get this match. I’m not sure how that’s supposed to entice me to watch a pay per view but I’m sure WWE is smarter than I am on that front. Nothing special here, outside of that triple moonsault that is. This would have been fine as the only dark match but with two more, it could have been cut.

Kickoff Show: Revival vs. Anderson and Gallows

Rematch from Monday where Anderson and Gallows won, followed by the Revival getting destroyed by DX and Scott Hall. The Brian Pillman style trunks don’t really suit Revival but anything is better than Monday. Dawson gets sent outside to start for a breather before it’s Gallows tossing both of them around. Back from a break with Dawson working on Anderson’s knee with a string of elbow drops.

Wilder comes in to crank the knee even more but Anderson keeps kicking him away. Therefore, in a good tag team idea, Revival double teams him to keep the advantage. Now why is that so hard to figure out? Of course the hot tag goes through a few seconds later but at least they were trying. Everything breaks down and Gallows scores with a splash for two. Everything breaks down and the Magic Killer is broken up. Dawson sidesteps a charge to post Gallows and Dash’s chop block is good for the pin on Anderson at 9:11.

Rating: C. Well, it was better than Monday. I’m glad Revival won and now of course we’re likely to have the rubber match tomorrow night because WWE loves their trilogies. The leg stuff was fine here but the break in the middle didn’t do it many favors. At least the right team won though and that helps a lot.

Kickoff Show: Bobby Roode vs. ???

Roode is defending in an Open Challenge answered by….Mojo Rawley. The fans think Mojo sucks as he sends Roode into the corner and actually hammers him down as we take a break. Back with Mojo driving knees in the corner and grabbing a chinlock. Roode fights up and hits a running forearm, followed by a neckbreaker for two. There’s the Blockbuster but the Glorious DDT is countered into a spinebuster. Back up and another Glorious DDT is countered into a backdrop but the running punch is blocked. Instead it’s a regular DDT to retain the title at 7:37.

Rating: D. This could have been on any house show and that’s not good as the Kickoff Show main event. Roode doesn’t have a ton of challengers and a lot of that is due to how so few people were treated as important for the sake of Jinder Mahal. They need some kind of a feud going here and Rawley isn’t the kind of person to do that.

The opening video doesn’t say much out of the ordinary but it does a very good job of setting up the big matches while treating the Rumble win as a big deal. It’s very nice that they gave the match some shine for once because they haven’t exactly treated it like it matters up to this point.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

AJ is defending in a handicap match. The challengers do have to tag and it’s Sami starting for the team. No contact and it’s off to Owens, who hangs on the ropes instead of going after the champ. Sami is already back in as there’s almost no contact in the first minute and a half. AJ wrestles Sami down but it’s already back to Owens, who takes AJ down, runs to the floor and tags Sami back in.

That means a drop down into a dropkick for Zayn as Byron and Graves have ANOTHER stupid argument that completely ignores the match. There’s a backdrop for two on AJ as the fans aren’t sure who to cheer for. Owens comes back in and unloads with right hands before sending AJ into the barricade. Almost all challengers so far. Owens gets in a double stomp and brings AJ into the corner for more right hands. An electric chair faceplant is good for two more and it’s off to the chinlock.

AJ fights up again and gets in a shot to Owens’ ankle, which was banged up on Smackdown in the first place. The Pele is enough to bring Sami back in but the Helluva Kick is blocked with a raised boot. Everything breaks down and Owens monkey flips Styles, who hurricanranas Zayn to the floor instead of crashing to the mat. The Calf Crusher has Owens ready to tap until Sami dives back in for the save.

Owens kicks AJ in the back of the head to knock him into the Blue Thunder Bomb, which of course only gets two (once in a lifetime you see). Another kick to the head puts Sami down this time and the springboard 450 is good for another near fall. They slug it out with AJ throwing Sami to the floor, only to eat a superkick from Owens. The Pop Up Powerbomb is countered into a rollup though and AJ retains (pinning the illegal man) at 16:08.

Rating: B. About what was expected here as there’s only so much you can do when the participants have been treated as background characters. I’m glad Bryan and Shane were left out but the match has been booked to make them the stars, meaning this is likely to continue. Some good action here, but it wasn’t the most thrilling match in the world.

Wrestlemania XXXIV ad.

Sami and Kevin ask Shane what he’s going to do. They can’t have another referee screw Owens out of another title. Shane says that yep, he did indeed see that. Nothing else is said.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable

The Usos are defending and this is 2/3 falls after Gable pinned the wrong Uso a few weeks back. In other words, the same ending as the previous match, again showing the limited creative abilities of WWE. Gable can’t hit a German suplex on Jimmy to start so it’s some chops to the chest in the corner. A distraction lets Chad get in a chop block though and Jimmy is in trouble early on.

Benjamin drives knees into the bad knee as the challengers start cutting the ring off for an old NWA feel. Shelton stops to yell at the crowd though and it’s an enziguri to cut him off. The hot tag brings in Jey, who dives through the ropes to take out both challengers in a row. Back in and Gable gets two off a tiger suplex (I haven’t seen that one in years), followed by a powerbomb to send Jey into Jimmy.

Pay Dirt gives Shelton two and the bug eyed look on the kickout is funnier than it should be. It’s back to Gable who moonsaults onto both champions on the floor but Gable can’t pin the illegal Uso. That means a superkick into the Superfly Splash for two in a surprise near fall. The double Superfly Splash is broken up so Gable loads up Rolling Chaos Theory.

That’s broken up as well and four straight superkicks end Gable at 12:21. Gable and Benjamin beat the heck out of both champs to start the second fall. A rolling Liger Kick hits Jey and Chad goes up, leaving Shelton to get small packaged to retain the titles in two straight falls at 13:47.

Rating: B-. That was kind of a surprising ending but it’s not like it really matters. The Bludgeon Brothers (who have kind of disappeared in recent weeks) are pretty clearly the next challengers and it should be a fun match when we get to it. I’m not sure what happens to Benjamin and Gable at this point but they’ve proven to be a good team who deserve more time.

Rumble by the Numbers video.

Jerry Lawler joins commentary for the Rumble.

Men’s Royal Rumble

90 second intervals this year. Rusev is #1 (with Aiden English singing him to the ring) and Finn Balor (in red here) is in at #2 to a very strong reaction. Balor gets sent to the apron early on but gets back in without too much effort. Rhyno is in at #3 and gets in a showdown with Rusev that doesn’t go much of anywhere. Balor is back up and it’s Baron Corbin in at #4 to quickly eliminate Rhyno.

Finn is right behind Corbin though and gets rid of him as well, sending Corbin into a rage. That means Balor is pulled to the floor for a whip into the barricade (shoulder first) and End of Days on the floor to Rusev. Heath Slater is in at #5 and gets run over on the ramp. Everyone is down and it’s Elias in at #6, playing the guitar (and kicking Slater in the head) on the way to the ring.

It’s time for a song about spitting in the Rocky statue’s face but the countdown clock cuts him off. NXT Champion Andrade Cien Almas is in at #7 (running Slater over again as we have a running joke) and a running elbow puts Elias into the corner. The running knees rock Elias again but the hammerlock DDT is broken up. A hard clothesline drops Almas and it’s Bray Wyatt in at #8.

Naturally Slater gets laid out again and there’s a release Rock Bottom to Elias. Balor comes back in to break up Sister Abigail (again, thank goodness). Big E. is in at #9 and gives Slater some pancakes instead of beating him up. Bray is waiting on him with Cole saying Bray has been so dominating since entering. IT’S BEEN LIKE TWO MINUTES!

Rusev is back in but can’t get rid of Almas. Tye Dillinger is in at #10 (again), giving us Balor, Rusev, Slater (still not in the ring), Elias, Almas, Wyatt, Big E. and Dillinger. Actually hang on a second as we cut to the back to see Dillinger getting beaten down by Owens and Zayn. Sami is taking his place and continues the tradition by jumping Slater.

Sheamus is in at #11 and throws Slater in….who immediately eliminates Sheamus (on his BIRTHDAY). Bray dumps Slater almost immediately and it’s Xavier Woods in at #12. Woods and Big E. double team Sami and a wheelbarrow slam into a splash hits Elias. Rusev can’t get rid of Big E. and it’s Apollo Crews in at #13. Apollo gets in a good looking jumping enziguri on Bray as Byron is now anti-Zayn as he tries to show a personality.

Balor escapes Sister Abigail and it’s Shinsuke Nakamura in at #14. Sami is waiting on him in a Takeover: Dallas flashback as the fans sing Nakamura’s song. There are WAY too many people in there and some eliminations are needed. Nakamura fires off some kicks and it’s Good Vibrations for Elias. The running knee in the corner gets rid of Sami and Cesaro is in at #15, giving us Balor, Rusev, Elias, Almas, Wyatt, Big E., Woods, Crews, Nakamura and Cesaro.

Uppercuts abound without much happening and it’s Kofi Kingston in at #16 to put New Day at full strength. Cesaro cuts him off with an uppercut but Crews gorilla presses Cesaro….to the apron at least but he gets back in. Instead a shot to the back gets rid of Crews to thin the ring out a bit. Jinder Mahal is in at #17 and goes after Woods, who dropkicks him into the corner. Woods is dumped a few seconds later though and Mahal gets rid of Big E. as well.

Seth Rollins is in at #18 (now with flames on his tights) and gets rid of Cesaro in short order. Mahal sends Kofi over the top but he lands on Xavier….and then on a plate of pancakes. Big E. and Woods launch him from the floor over the ropes and over Mahal, who gets caught with Trouble in Paradise for the elimination. As the rest of New Day throws pancakes at Mahal, Almas hits the hammerlock DDT and eliminates Kofi in a pretty big upset.

Matt Hardy is in at #19 for a standoff with Bray, which is broken up by Rusev. Bray and Matt actually start working together and get rid of Rusev (the fans are NOT pleased) before fighting each other. They eliminate each other and it’s John Cena at #20, giving us Balor, Elias, Almas, Nakamura, Rollins and Cena.

Everyone jumps Cena at the same time in a smart move but then let him up, allowing him to AA Elias out. The Hurricane of all people is in at #22 (which Cole calls a superhero persona which was a huge hit with kids years ago) and tries a chokeslam but gets tossed out by Cena. Hurricane lands on the pancakes, nearly slips, and then does his pose over and over again on the way to the back. Aiden English is in at #22 and goes after Rollins before switching to Balor.

Adam Cole (with taped ribs) from NXT is in at #23 to a very nice reaction. Balor kicks English off the ropes for an elimination and it’s Randy Orton in at #24. An RKO drops Almas and there he goes after a strong performance. Things settle down a bit and it’s Titus O’Neil in at #25. Cole gets sent to the apron but slides back in, leaving Titus to chop Nakamura in the corner. Miz is in at #26 and starts fast with the YES Kicks, followed by a Skull Crushing Finale on Cena.

Lucky #27 is the returning Rey Mysterio to get rid of Cole in a hurry. The Miz takes 619 and it’s Roman Reigns in at #28. You can feel the pain from the booing. Reigns goes after Miz and hits the jumping clothesline, followed by the clotheslines in the corner. Titus gets eliminated but the Miztourage saves Miz from the same fate. Rollins Curb Stomps Miz but gets into a showdown with Reigns. A DoubleBomb gets rid of Miz but Reigns turns on Rollins to get rid of him as well.

Goldust is in at #29 and hurts himself headbutting Reigns. Cena gets beaten up as well and it’s Dolph Ziggler (POP) in at #30, giving us a final group of Balor, Nakamura, Cena, Orton, Mysterio, Reigns, Goldust and Ziggler. Goldust is out in a hurry and Balor kicks Ziggler out, making him one of the most inconsequential #30s in recent memory. Rey, Cena and Orton get together in one corner, Nakamura and Balor are in another and Reigns is on his own (how appropriate).

Balor takes a quick AA followed by the 619 to Reigns. There’s an RKO to Nakamura but Cena blocks another attempt. A Superman Punch lets Reigns get rid of Orton and a double 619 hits Reigns and Cena (with Cena loudly talking to Reigns while they wait). Balor throws Mysterio out to get us down to four meaning everyone goes to a corner.

We get the big staredown as the fans are behind Nakamura. Cena throws a You Can’t See Me at Balor and hammers on Nakamura while Reigns beats on Balor. That gives us the big showdown as the fans think they both suck. No one throws a punch as Balor and Nakamura get back up, giving us a much better received showdown. The running knees in the corner put Balor on the apron but he kicks a charging Nakamura in the head. Another kick to the head rocks Balor but he scores with a basement dropkick.

Reigns and Cena are back up again with Cena charging into a Samoa drop. The Superman Punch is countered with a ProtoBomb but the Shuffle is broken up with a Sling Blade. Balor hits the shotgun dropkick on Reigns but Nakamura kicks Balor in the face. Balor’s standing double stomp cuts off Kinshasa and Cena tosses Balor to get us down to three. Reigns slips out of an AA and hits the Superman Punch on Cena. The spear is cut off by the AA and Nakamura puts Cena on the apron.

A running kick to the face gets rid of Cena and we’re down to Nakamura vs. Reigns. That means COME ON and Reigns does so with a Superman Punch. Reigns sends him to the apron but gets kicked in the head but Nakamura grabs a hanging triangle over the apron. A powerbomb brings Nakamura back in and they’re both down again.

It’s Reigns up first but the spear is cut off with a kick to the face. A middle rope knee to the face drops Reigns but Kinshasa is hit with a spear to put them both down again. Nakamura grabs the ropes to hang on and another running knee drops Roman, setting up the elimination to give Nakamura the win at 65:32.

Rating: A. Best Rumble in years, though that’s not exactly saying much. The important thing here was they went with a popular name to win the Rumble, which has been lacking in recent years. Nakamura winning really surprised me as I never thought they would actually do it but I’ll take what I can get.

They laid the match out nicely here as things took a little time to get going but the final ten to fifteen minutes were excellent with the final six all being solid options. I wasn’t dreading this one at all and it made the match that much better. This was a lot of fun and the way the Rumble should go, with one of the best endings in a long time. Great match.

The Smackdown bosses are celebrating in the back when Stephanie McMahon and Kurt Angle come in to say Raw will win later. Daniel and Shane (buddies again) don’t seem to care.

Post match Nakamura is asked who he wants to face at Wrestlemania. Fans: “PLEASE SAY STYLES!” Nakamura: “AJ STYLES!”

There was a Royal Rumble to determine the next Colonel Sanders with Ric Flair winning. He has the wrinkles for it.

Raw Tag Team Titles: The Bar vs. Jason Jordan/Seth Rollins

Rollins and Jordan are defending with Seth and Sheamus starting things off. Seth gets driven into the corner with Cesaro offering a distraction to keep Jordan away from interfering. Jordan is ready for the hot tag but Cesaro pulls him down (I thought that was the heel turn) and posts him into near unconsciousness. Back in and Sheamus’ top rope clothesline gets two as the double beatdown is on, made especially worse by Seth’s long Rumble run.

Seth finally sends Sheamus into the post to get it back to even, followed by a Sling Blade and Blockbuster. Sheamus comes back in for the save but Rollins drops both of them for a double frog splash. As Seth gets up, Jordan is STILL sitting on the steps, leaving Sheamus to hit the Brogue Kick. The super White Noise gives us new champions at 13:03. Jordan was never in the match.

Rating: C-. This was an angle instead of a match and there’s nothing wrong with that. For some reason we seem to be waiting on Jordan vs. Rollins at Wrestlemania, even though that doesn’t quite blow my skirt up. The match was stuck in the cool down spot after the great Rumble and that was the right spot for it.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Basically you have three monsters fighting each other and breaking things to hurt each other, meaning it’s time to get violent.

Raw World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Kane vs. Braun Strowman

Brock is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Strowman wastes no time in cleaning house, including a hard knee to Brock’s head. That’s fine with Brock who starts throwing punches, only to have Kane score with a chokeslam. Brock grabs a chair but Braun punches it away and drops everyone.

Shots with the steps clean house and it’s time for a pair of tables. Strowman chokeslams Kane for two with Brock making the save and it’s time for Suplex City. Braun pops up like a daisy and powerslams Brock through a table with Kane making the save this time. Kane is tossed away again (it’s almost like he’s completely unnecessary in this match until the ending) and it’s time for the announcers’ table.

Braun takes too long though and it’s an F5 to drive him through instead. Brock turns the other table over Braun (Corey: “I’m about to throw this German guy in front of me!”) and F5’s Kane through another. Braun gets up again and sends Brock into the steps, followed by the powerslam. Kane makes the save and sends Braun outside, setting up an F5 onto the chair to retain Brock’s title at 10:12.

Rating: B-. Well duh. The world knows that Braun is ready to be World Champion and should have been like six months ago but Vince McMahon and seemingly Vince McMahon alone wants to see Reigns take the title from Brock. Again, as has been the case many, many times: none of this is important because we’re just sitting around waiting on Reigns to take the title like we’ve been waiting for for nearly a year now. After that, I have no idea where they go and I’m not sure WWE does either. This was fun, but exactly as expected.

Trailer for Andre the Giant’s HBO documentary.

We get a video on the women’s Royal Rumble with a focus on the Revolution (and Stephanie of course) with everyone talking about how important this is.

Maria Menunos is guest ring announcer and Stephanie McMahon is guest commentator, with Cole reading off her resume (and saying Stephanie will tell you about her trailblazing). Alexa Bliss and Charlotte come out to watch at ringside.

Women’s Royal Rumble

Sasha Banks (in Wonder Woman gear) is in at #1 and Becky Lynch is in at #2 to give us a good start. Becky blocks an early elimination attempt and we talk about how nervous Stephanie is. The Bank Statement is broken up and it’s a double clothesline as Sarah Logan is in at #3. Logan clotheslines Becky down but Sasha makes a questionable save. Becky gets stomped down in the corner and it’s Mandy Rose in at #4. Mandy can’t get rid of Sasha and it’s LITA in at #5.

Sasha and Becky aren’t sure what to do so they opt with kicking her in the stomach. Mandy jumps Lita from behind and gets placed on the apron, followed by a hard shot for the first elimination. Kairi Sane is in at #6 and chops Lita into the corner as Cole talks about her “yacht persona”. She’s not Ashley Remington (bet you didn’t think I knew that one) because SHE’S A FREAKING PIRATE! Sane kicks Sasha down and drops the Insane Elbow, followed by another to Becky as Tamina is in at #7.

Lita starts hitting the Twists of Fate and hits a double moonsault onto Sasha and Becky (more like her falling backwards instead of any kind of jump but give her a break). That means the YOU STILL GOT IT chant before she eliminates Tamina, only to get dumped by Becky. That’s all this needed to be from Lita and it worked to perfection. Dana Brooke is in at #8 and actually dumps Kairi before stomping on Sasha in the corner.

Torrie Wilson is in at #9 (oh give me a break) and it’s time to prove why she wasn’t a wrestler. Logan dropkicks her down but Torrie pops up and eliminates Dana. Sonya Deville is in at #10, giving us Banks, Lynch, Logan, Wilson and Deville. Sonya starts firing off knees and gets rid of Torrie (thank goodness). Liv Morgan is in at #11 so the Squad can start getting together. No one is tossed though and it’s Molly Holly in at #12.

Molly gets rid of Logan and hits the Molly Go Round on Sasha. Lana is in at #13 and is immediately taken down by Morgan and Deville. She actually gets fired up and slaps her way to freedom as Michelle McCool is in at #14. That means an UNDERTAKER chant as she gets rid of Logan, Morgan and Holly. Sasha and Becky are down on the floor (not eliminated) as Michelle gets rid of Lana as well. With Michelle alone, Becky and Sasha get back in and it’s Ruby Riott at #15, giving us Michelle, Becky, Sasha and Ruby.

Vickie Guerrero is in at #16 and shouts EXCUSE ME over and over but everyone stares her down. She tries to bail and is tossed with ease (I guessed that as a comedy spot and it’s as perfect as I thought it would be). Carmella is in at #17 but Vickie takes the Money in the Bank briefcase to knock her silly. Natalya is in at #18 and throws her gear on Carmella, who pulls Natalya off the apron. That’s enough for Carmella to get in for some superkicks and it’s Kelly Kelly in at #19. Kelly fends off an early elimination as Natalya gets rid of McCool.

Naomi is in at #20, giving us Banks, Lynch, Riott, Carmella, Natalya, Kelly and Naomi at the moment. Becky goes up for some reason and gets dumped by Riott. Jacqueline is in at #21 and goes after Kelly. Nia Jax is in at #22, meaning it’s time to clear the ring. Jacqueline is out first, followed by Kelly with ease. Natalya is sent outside (through the ropes), leaving Nia to press Riott onto the top turnbuckle and then out to the floor. Naomi goes after Nia’s legs but tries a hurricanrana.

Nia knocks her off the apron but the pile catches her, allowing Naomi to land on the barricade. NXT Women’s Champion (with a bad arm) is in at #23 with a springboard kick to Nia’s face. Nia sends her flying as Naomi is walking across the barricade to steal Maria’s chair on wheels. She then crawls across the floor using her hands and the wheels on the chair….only to have Nia catch her coming back in and toss her out. I smiled at the irony. Beth Phoenix is in at #24 and this could be a lot of fun.

Phoenix is a lot closer to Nia’s size than I expected and manages a fireman’s carry but can’t eliminate Nia. Natalya’s help doesn’t work very well as they knock Nia through the ropes. That means a hug and of course Natalya turns on her and gets rid of Beth. Carmella (never eliminated) comes back in to jump Natalya from behind….and it’s Asuka at #25. There’s the hip attack to Carmella and it’s time for the showdown with Ember Moon.

Ember actually hits a one armed Eclipse but Asuka goes after the bad arm and gets rid of her. Sasha (also never eliminated) gets back in and it’s Mickie James in at #26. That goes nowhere and it’s Nikki Bella getting lucky #27 (well duh). That means the JOHN CENA SUCKS song but Carmella takes Nikki into the corner for the Staten Island Shuffle (not the Moon Walk Stephanie). Nikki powers her up though and a neck snap across the top rope gets rid of Carmella.

Brie Bella is in at #28 to save her sister from a big beatdown. The Bellas get their big moment (their latest one for those of you who have lost track) and knock Nia off the apron. A double suplex puts Natalya down and it’s Bayley in at #29. Asuka kicks Bayley in the head in short order but can’t get rid of her. It’s Trish Stratus in at #30 (not exactly shocking and that’s not a bad thing) to give us a final group of Sasha, Natalya, Nia, Asuka, Mickie, Nikki, Brie, Bayley and Trish.

Stratus gets to clean house and hits a double Stratusfaction before getting into a showdown with Mickie. James misses a charge and gets tossed, meaning it’s time for everyone to go after Nia. She shrugs them all off but the Bellas choke her on the ropes, allowing everyone else to join in and get rid of Nia. Sasha of course turns on Bayley for the elimination and we’re down to six.

Natalya puts Trish in the Sharpshooter for some reason and is broken up just as quickly. The Chick Kick eliminates Natalya but Trish mocks Sasha’s Boss pose, meaning the Stratusfaction is broken up to get rid of Stratus. Sasha turns around to meet Asuka but they decide to get rid of the Bellas….for all of three seconds until Sasha decks Asuka from behind. Sasha calls the Bellas off so she can beat on Asuka in the corner but the Twins dump her out as she tries the double knees.

So we’re down to the Bellas and Asuka and it’s time for the YES Kicks to both Twins (there’s a joke there that I’m not touching). Brie gets sent to the apron but Nikki decks Asuka, followed by the Rack Attack 2.0. Nikki decks Brie to get rid of her though and it’s down to two. Asuka is on the apron and hits a missile dropkick but Nikki’s spinning middle rope kick catches her in the face. Nikki puts her on the apron for the big forearm….which doesn’t end it. Instead Asuka grabs a headscissors to put Nikki on the apron but Asuka kicks kicks her in the leg for the elimination to win at 58:47.

Rating: B. I know a lot of people are going to be annoyed about the amount of legends (and the amount of botches) in there but my goodness what else were you expecting? The women’s division is about twenty people deep and I’d rather have people like McCool, Lita and Trish in there to give us either a good performance or appearances from people who are legitimate trailblazers (not McCool obviously but she did quite well). I was surprised by the lack of NXT names but what we got was fine, save for the Iconic Duo still not appearing.

The match itself was fine, albeit a bit predictable. You knew Asuka was the heavy favorite and really, it’s not like there were many other solid options. Aside from Jax, who really else was there? Banks or Lynch? Well maybe, but Asuka getting the title needs to be a big deal and one of those two can take the other title. Either way…..uh, back in a minute.

The champions get in the ring……AND BAD REPUTATION HITS AS RONDA ROUSEY IS HERE!!! Rousey, in a Roddy Piper shirt, points at the Wrestlemania sign and offers Asuka a handshake but Asuka slaps it away. Ronda also shakes Stephanie’s hand and high fives fans to end the show.

Oh and Stephanie’s commentary was annoying but acceptable. She didn’t need to be there and added nothing at all but she could have been worse. Sounded very much like a fan who wasn’t the most polished but it was fine.

Overall Rating: A-. I loved the heck out of this show as they made the Rumbles FUN. That’s been sorely, sorely lacking in recent years and they made up for it tonight. The Rumbles are interesting by definition but above all else, these matches were a good time as I kept waiting to see who was coming out next. I was actually worried about Reigns and Nikki winning so well done on some false drama. This did everything it needed to do, including setting up a major Wrestlemania match. I had a great time with this show and that’s what the Rumble is supposed to be. Well done all around and a great show.

Results

AJ Styles b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens – Rollup to Owens

Usos b. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan – Small package to Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura won the Royal Rumble last eliminating Roman Reigns

The Bar b. Seth Rollins/Jason Jordan – Super White Noise to Rollins

Brock Lesnar b. Kane and Braun Strowman – F5 to Kane

Asuka won the Royal Rumble last eliminating Nikki Bella

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

It’s finally arrived. After what felt like a very long wait, we are ready to get on the Road to Wrestlemania. That means starting things off in Houston with the Royal Rumble, which feels both wide open and pretty clear about the winners. There are some odds on favorites but both feel like they are favored due to default more than anything else. I’m holding out hope for a surprise, but that hope might be false. Let’s get to it.

Shorty G. vs. Sheamus

We’ve waited for the better part of a year for Sheamus to come back and this is what he gets to do: make fun of someone for being short. Words can’t express how much I can’t stand this horrible gimmick for Gable, who deserves so much better (anyone would). The whole idea is built off one joke that probably only Vince McMahon himself finds funny, but Gable does seem willing to try and make it work.

That being said, Sheamus isn’t losing his first match back so Gable will try hard (as always) but still lose in the end. WWE does not see anything in Gable and while I can understand what they see in Sheamus, I can’t get my head around how they’ve set this up. I really hope this winds up on the Kickoff Show because it doesn’t feel like a match that needs to be on the main show at all.

SmackDown World Title: The Fiend(c) vs. Daniel Bryan

This is a strap match, which is kind of a weird choice for a gimmick. It fits their story well enough, but a cage match would make a lot more sense. I’m not sure what the point is in tying them together and whipping each other, as Fiend can survive a lot worse than pain. Bryan will be able to deliver some good visuals by letting out his aggression, but it still feels like an odd choice.

Of course I’m going with the Fiend here as there’s no logical reason to expect him to lose in this spot. Fiend seems destined to defend the title at WrestleMania in Tampa so winning here seems obvious. I’m not sure what Bryan is going to do next but he can take a few weeks off and come back to set up his WrestleMania program. Fiend wins here, after a pretty brutal match.

United States Title: Andrade(c) vs. Humberto Carrillo

They set this one up on Monday Night Raw and that’s not the biggest surprise in the world. Andrade took Carrillo out a few weeks ago and now it’s time to get revenge and the title. The fact that Andrade tried to take out Rey Mysterio made it even worse, but it’s nice to see two younger guys getting a spot like this.

I’ll take Andrade to retain, as he seems primed for a serious run for the title. Carrillo is someone who makes sense on paper but hasn’t exactly clicked with the audience yet. Someone with his skills is going to be around for a long time though and they should have a good match, but it isn’t going to include a title change. Andrade is too hot at the moment and Carrillo isn’t ready.

Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch(c) vs. Asuka

This is the match that I’ve been looking forward to more than anything else on the roster. It was set up last year when Asuka made Lynch tap, which set her forward on her path to winning the Royal Rumble later in the night and then winning the Women’s Titles at WrestleMania 35. The loss is still in Lynch’s head though and that is driving her to want to face Asuka again.

I think Lynch wins here, but it’s after a war. Lynch is going into WrestleMania 36 for a heck of a showdown with someone (who we’ll find out tonight as well) and having her beat Asuka on the way there would be a great way to start. This could be an outstanding match and I could see an upset being possible, but the champ retains here, as she should.

Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin

This feud is still going and I’m really not sure I get why. Well ok I get why from WWE’s perspective, but the fans are the ones getting stuck with this boring story as WWE continues to try to make us care about Corbin. It’s Falls Count Anywhere so they can brawl around the stadium, which is a good bit better than trying to imagine them having another regular match.

Corbin wins here and, assuming Reigns can win the Royal Rumble, we get ANOTHER match out of them for the title shot in February. It’s the same idea that they had with Lynch last year and since WWE sees their wrestlers as the same all around, Corbin will win here, likely with the help of all of his cronies. I really don’t want to watch this but the faster we get done with this match, the faster both of them can get on to ANYTHING else.

SmackDown Women’s Title: Bayley(c) vs. Lacey Evans

I’m curious about this one as it could go either way. Bayley has been Women’s Champion for a good while now and WWE seems to like what they have with her during the heel run, but at the same time, Evans is the kind of person they have been trying to push for years now. This really could go either way and that’s a very nice feeling to have.

I’ll play it safe and pick Bayley to win, though other than Sasha Banks, I’m not sure who in the world she’s supposed to face at WrestleMania. The SmackDown women’s division isn’t exactly strong at the minute and Bayley could use a fresh challenge. I’m not exactly confident in this one and Evans could very easily walk away with the title, but I’ll take Bayley to retain.

Women’s Royal Rumble

This is your wide open Rumble as there are only five entrants announced as we come into the show. Out of those five, the only one who has a realistic chance to win is Charlotte, and I’m only kind of believing she could win. This is going to require some mixture of returning stars, NXT names and legends, which leaves the whole thing wide open.

I’m going with Shayna Baszler to debut and win, though I’m holding out hope for a Ronda Rousey return. Lynch vs. Rousey is the dream match that WWE would want at WrestleMania and one of the only logical ways they could go. Baszler is the other option and I’m hoping that’s the way they go, as she has certainly earned the chance. Then again the Survivor Series main event was kind of horrible and I don’t really need to see Baszler vs. Lynch again. Either way, Baszler wins here, save for Rousey returning.

Men’s Royal Rumble

I’m completely lost on this one. Brock Lesnar is starting the match at #1 and the question is who, if anyone, throws him out. There are a ton of wrestlers who are already announced for the match who could take him out, plus the possibility of Cain Velasquez returning (take me now) or a surprise Edge return (maybe but I’ll believe it when I see it). Then again there’s one name that seems to be a strong favorite.

As much as I don’t want to see it, I’ll take Reigns to win here so we can have his latest coronation at WrestleMania. I’m not sure why I’d want to see that, but Reigns vs. Fiend is the most likely choice they can have. Hopefully we get some nice surprises or that I’m completely wrong, as there are probably a dozen people who could get a rocket push out of this thing. They won’t, but they could and that gives me some nice false hope.

Overall Thoughts

The more I think about the two Rumble matches, the more confused I am. That’s the best thing that you can have happen, but I’m scared that we’ll get the easy way out and that’s the most annoying possibility. This year’s matches do feel wide open so maybe we can get a better show than last year. Then again, if it’s over six and a half hours counting the Kickoff Show, it isn’t going to matter how good things are.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Worlds Collide
Date: January 25, 2020
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a big night in Texas, and not just because I finally remembered that the show isn’t called When Worlds Collide. This is NXT vs. NXT UK and the card is actually stacked, with a bunch of matches that could be awesome. If they live up to the hype, it’s a show of the year contender. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Mia Yim vs. Kay Lee Ray

Non-title. Mia knocks her into the corner to start and hits a Cannonball for two. Ray gets chopped against the ropes but Mia takes her down by the leg and gets two off a kick to the head. A faceplant gives Ray her own two and the chinlock goes on. Mia fights up and chops her way out of the corner so Ray superkicks her for two. The Swanton misses though and Yim scores with her own superkick.

The springboard DDT gives Yim two more and Ray gets hit with a suicide dive. Ray is right back up with a top rope flip dive of her own and they’re both down on the floor. Back in and Code Blue gets two but Ray is right back with Eat Defeat for her own near fall. It’s Yim’s turn now and a Batista Bomb give her two more. A Canadian Destroyer is good for the same but they go to a series of rollups. Yim gets two more but gets reversed, with Ray grabbing the rope for the pin at 9:18.

Rating: C+. It was good action and a fine finish, though I still can’t bring myself to care about Yim. She just isn’t interesting and there is nothing that she can do to fix that. Maybe she’ll catch fire later on but so far it has been a lot of dull stuff from here where they push her well but nothing clicks. Ray is better, though I’m still waiting on her to step up to another level.

The opening video features narration by Winston Churchill, talking about how we will fight everywhere over video of Imperium and the Undisputed Era. The rest of the card gets some attention as well, but the eight man tag is the focal point, as it should be.

The announcers welcome us to the show.

Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov

Dragunov comes out to some near silence. Balor grabs a headlock to start and takes Dragunov down, only to get reversed with a headscissors. Dragunov starts slugging away but gets sent outside for a baseball slide through the ropes. Back in and Dragunov knocks him down, setting up a backsplash for two. The armbar is broken up as Balor makes the rope but he misses his apron enziguri.

Balor bails to the floor so Dragunov hits a crossbody from the apron. A top rope ax handle misses though and Balor stomps away, setting up an elbow for two back inside. Balor stomps away in the corner and the fans are VERY pleased. A running chop gets two and we hit the chinlock to keep Dragunov down. 1916 is countered into a suplex though and Dragunov hits a running knee in the corner.

Dragunov hits a bunch of knees to the chest and a big one to the face gets two. Balor is one step ahead of him though and hits the jumping double stomp to the ribs. They slug it out until Dragunov hits an enziguri. The Pele is caught but Balor is back with a Nightmare on Helm Street.

The Sling Blade looks to set up the John Woo dropkick but Dragunov grabs a bridging German suplex for two more. Dragunov’s discus lariat puts Balor on the floor for another crossbody. Back in and Balor is draped over the ropes for a missile dropkick to the side of the head. Balor’s nose is busted but he’s fine enough to get his knees up to block a backsplash. The John Woo dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace into the 1916 for the pin at 13:50.

Rating: B. The best sign of the match is that they overcame an apathetic crowd to start. The fans did not care about Dragunov and were cheering Balor throughout, but the important part here is that they got the fans caring. Dragunov isn’t ready to defeat someone like Balor so the loss isn’t a bad thing, but what matters is that he was competitive and they had a heck of a match. Really good opener.

The Broserweights and the Grizzled Young Veterans are in the front row. They’re told that the winners will receive a Tag Team Title shot at Takeover: Portland and Gibson isn’t pleased. He’s seen the Broserweights’ resume and there’s nothing there. The Veterans should win the tournament because they’re the best team in the world.

Matt Riddle talks about how they should be happy over the new prize for the winners. Dunne is stone faced, but Riddle says that’s his happy face. Dunne: “I’ll be blunt.” That makes Riddle VERY happy and we even have to pause for his mini celebration. Dunne promises to smoke the Veterans next week because it’s their trophy to win. Riddle came off like a star here.

Cruiserweight Title: Isaiah Scott vs. Jordan Devlin vs. Travis Banks vs. Angel Garza

One fall to a finish with Garza defending. The fans are behind Scott and all four grab hands to start. Garza asks for a pause so he can TAKE OFF HIS PANTS but it’s a triple suplex to cut him off. Devlin Rock Bottoms Scott and Banks and moonsaults onto both of them. Scott is back up with the rolling Downward Spiral on Banks, followed by the dropkick to Devlin. Devlin and Scott go outside so Garza hits the big flip dive, leaving Banks to hit a stomp from the apron.

Banks kicks at Scott’s chest back inside but Garza joins in, earning himself some Banks kicks as well. Scott kicks Garza into the corner but gets suplexed into a different corner as banks continues to dominate. Scott is sent into Garza in the corner and Banks hits a suicide dive on Devlin. Back in and Banks sends Devlin into the corner onto the other two. Devlin is back up with a crazy spinning tornado DDT on Scott and a Spanish Fly to Garza, only to have Banks dive in with a double stomp for the save.

They slug it out from their knees until Garza sends Banks into Devlin. That means GARZA CAN TAKE OFF HIS PANTS before catching Banks’ crossbody. Devlin can’t hit a hurricanrana on Garza, who holds them both up at once. Scott dives in with a double stomp to Devlin and everyone is down. The House Call to Garza is broken up by Devlin but Banks is back up with a Canadian Destroyer to plant Devlin and everyone is down.

Garza and Scott go up top but get pulled down with a double super Spanish Fly from Devlin. Banks is right back up with the Slice of Heaven into the Kiwi Crusher for two on Devlin to put everyone down again. Banks tries a headscissors out of the corner but Scott flips him forward into something like an Iconoclasm for two. Garza hits a reverse hurricanrana on Scott and the Wing Clipper connects, only to have Devlin headbutt him down. The Devlin Side finishes Scott for the pin and the title at 12:08. Devlin’s celebration is awesome as he looks like he just won the World Title in the main event of Wrestlemania.

Rating: B. I had this one wrong but I can go with this as the Cruiserweight Title doesn’t mean anything on NXT. Devlin has needed a big win for a long time now and that’s the right call here. He’s lost several big matches now so giving him a major win and a title is a good move, especially when there isn’t much for Garza to do with the title in NXT. If nothing else, this might put Devlin on 205 Live, though I’d get a chuckle out of him just never showing up there and having 205 Live pretend the show serves any purpose (like it does now).

Post match Devlin says he told you all and you should believe him. Never bet against the Ace.

Keith Lee, Mia Yim, Chelsea Green and Robert Stone are here.

We recap DIY vs. Moustache Mountain. There isn’t much of a story but they’re both the signature teams of their brands so it’s time to have a dream match.

DIY vs. Moustache Mountain

This could be good. Maybe. Possibly. Gargano and Bate start things off with Gargano taking him down for an armbar. A headlock keeps Bate down and he can’t power out of a front facelock. He can however flip out of a hurricanrana attempt and try the Tyler Driver 97, only to have Gargano slip out this time. Gargano misses the rolling kick to the head so Bate grabs his leg on an attempted kick to the ribs.

Bate is nice enough to put the foot down and it’s a double tag to Seven and Ciampa. They have a moustache off and then a pose down with Seven conceding the second round. Ciampa takes him t the mat but the flip over armbar is countered into a rollup for two. Bate comes back in and he’s willing to pose with Ciampa. We go old school with a test of strength and the taller Ciampa gets the better of things.

They flip over to the mat and bridge up at two each. Bate loads up Bop and Bang but gets hit in the face in a hurry. Ciampa knees Bate to the floor and Gargano superkicks Seven out with him. The Brits are sent over the announcers’ table and DIY have a seat on the apron. Back in and Gargano mocks Bate’s pose before kicking him in the back of the head for two. Ciampa elbows Bate down and we’re off to the chinlock.

Bate finally fights up and flips out so he can tag Seven in for the chops. A DDT drops Gargano and the powerbomb into the Seven Star Lariat gets two on Ciampa. Another lariat is blocked with a jumping knee to the face, which may have knocked out Seven’s tooth. Gargano is back in with a Downward Spiral/DDT combination, followed by the slingshot spear for two on Bate.

Willow’s Bell hits Seven and Gargano’s slingshot DDT gets two on Bate. Gargano and Seven fight to the floor and Ciampa knees Bate in the head. Project Ciampa and the Tyler Driver 97 are countered so Bate hits the rebound lariat instead. Now the Tyler Driver 97 can connect for two with Gargano making the save and kicking Ciampa into a rollup for another two on Bate. Everyone is down until Bate muscles Gargano up into a suplex.

The standing shooting star press gets two and it’s off to the airplane spin. That’s reversed into the Gargano Escape and it’s Ciampa coming in with the flip over armbar to Seven at the same time. Both are reversed into stereo airplane spins, setting up a belly to back suplex/clothesline combination for two on Gargano. Bate is knocked down in the middle so Seven has to save him from Meet In The Middle.

DIY tries it anyway but walk into Bop and Bang, setting up the Birminghammer for two on Ciampa. A double Birminghammer hits Ciampa so Bate goes up for Spiral Tap, with Ciampa pulling Seven into the path to steal his own near fall in a great spot. They slug it out with DIY getting the better of it and superkicking Bate out of the air. That leaves Seven to take Meet In The Middle for the pin at 22:54.

Rating: A-. The beginning felt like it was going to be a comedy match but then things got serious and they beat the fire out of each other for the next fifteen or so minutes. Moustache Mountain can hang with anyone, including DIY, but it only makes sense to have DIY go over here when they’re likely going after the Tag Team Titles over Wrestlemania weekend. Either way, incredible stuff here with no clear winner almost the entire way through.

Post match, respect is shown.

Mercedes Martinez and Dakota Kai are here….and Tegan Nox jumps Kai from behind. They fight to ringside until security breaks them up, much to the fans’ annoyance.

We recap Toni Storm. They’re old rivals with Storm having beaten her twice and now wanting a shot at the new champ. Storm leads the series 2-1 so Ripley wants to even things up and keep her title.

#1 contender Bianca Belair is here.

NXT Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm

Ripley is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and the fans are split. That goes nowhere so Storm forearms away, only to get blasted with a chop. A staredown sets up some clotheslines from Ripley but she walks into a superkick in the corner. Storm suplexes her into the corner and Ripley needs a breather on the floor. With her neck seemingly ok, Storm grabs a suplex for two and it’s off to an STF variation. That’s broken up so Storm hits a DDT for two more.

The chinlock doesn’t last long but some shots to the back have Rhea in more trouble. They slug it out with Ripley getting the better of it and kicking her into the corner. The standing Cloverleaf goes on but Ripley can’t get it on in full because of her neck. Riptide is countered into a crossbody to give Storm two. Storm’s German suplex drops Ripley on her head for two more but they hit heads for a double knockdown. It’s Storm up first but she misses a frog splash, setting up Riptide for the pin to retain Rhea’s title at 10:09.

Rating: C. Well that was….short. I’m not sure if Ripley was actually banged up in there or not because that’s a pretty fast ending to what could have been a much longer match. What we got was nice enough and Ripley winning is the best way to go, but that was very short for what could have been a longer match. The fans weren’t exactly into it though and that disappoints me a good bit.

During the previous match, Johnny Gargano was doing an interview when Finn Balor jumped him. Tommaso Ciampa and Moustache Mountain made the save.

We recap Imperium vs. Undisputed Era. The Era jumped them at the end of Takeover: Blackpool II and then Imperium cost them their Dusty Classic match. They’re the big faction in both companies and it’s time for a showdown.

Undisputed Era vs. Imperium

Aichner throws O’Reilly around a bit to start so O’Reilly goes for the arm. That’s broken up so it’s a kneebar instead, with Aichner making the rope in a hurry. Back up and O’Reilly hammers away in the corner, only to walk into a powerslam. Barthel comes in for two off a pop up uppercut, only to have O’Reilly knee him in the chest. It’s off to Strong, who gets chopped into the corner for a bit. That’s broken up so Fish comes in for half of a double gordbuster on Wolfe. Fish and O’Reilly hit stereo kicks…and Wolfe is down.

The medics come in and take him to the floor so it’s Walter vs. Cole instead. Walter throws him down so Cole decides to slap him for some reason. The threat of the big chop sends Cole bailing into the corner but Walter gets knocked into the Era’s corner. Walter is right back up with a leapfrog over Strong into a big boot, meaning Aichner can come in to stand at attention. Cole saves Strong from a powerbomb and takes over on Barthel with some elbows to the head.

It’s O’Reilly unleashing the strikes in the corner and Strong blasts Barthel so hard in the jaw that it brings Walter in for a few seconds. There’s the slingshot hilo from Fish and Cole slaps on the chinlock. O’Reilly kicks Walter on the apron and Walter just glares at him. The distraction lets Barthel get in a Russian legsweep though and it’s Walter coming in, meaning O’Reilly hits the panic button. The strikes are countered into a German suplex but O’Reilly reverses the powerbomb into a guillotine.

Just to show off, Walter suplexes Strong and O’Reilly at the same time. Barthel elbows O’Reilly in the face for two and it’s Aichner putting on a chinlock. It’s back to Walter for a running seated senton and the LOUD chop takes the spirit out of O’Reilly’s eyes for two. The running double dropkick in the corner rocks O’Reilly again but he dives around Walter for the tag off to Strong. He chops it out with Walter and actually knocks him into the ropes for the running elbows.

That’s broken up with a single clothesline so Aichner comes in. A heck of a tiger bomb sets up the Strong Hold but Aichner is out in a hurry. White Noise gives Barthel two but Fish gets away and brings in Cole to pick up the pace. The Panama Sunrise is blocked so it’s a fireman’s carry neckbreaker for two on Barthel instead. Walter comes back in so everyone but Cole pounds him down at the same time.

The announcers’ table is loaded up but Walter fights them off and loads up another table. O’Reilly and Strong have to break up a powerbomb and it’s the Angle Slam to put Walter through the table in a huge crash. Back in and it’s an exchange of strikes to the face, including Cole superkicking Aichner out of the air. Cole hits the brainbuster onto the knee to Barthel for two and the running knee to the face gets the same. Aichner comes back in and gets kicked down in a hurry.

O’Reilly gets Barthel in a kneebar but a crawl makes the rope. The hold is still on so Aichner moonsaults in to break it up. Aichner gets beaten down on the floor but Walter is back on the apron. An enziguri allows the hot tag to Walter to wreck everything in sight. Cole hits a superkick but the Last Shot is broken up with the huge chop.

The powerbomb hits Strong and the frog splash crushes him but Cole breaks it up with the Last Shot. Aichner and Barthel break that up at two and everyone is down again. Everyone gets up for the staredown and the fight is on. Walter gets taken down by High/Low and Strong flip dives over the top onto Cole, O’Reilly and Barthel. Aichner follows that with a dive of his own but Fish’s moonsault misses Walter. The powerbomb finishes Fish at 29:53.

Rating: A. Even with one of the eight people out of the match, these guys put on a clinic with great drama throughout with the Era using a strategy of divide and conquer. The problem with that is they had no answer for Walter, who came back up and wrecked the place, which is how you should have presented him here. It’s going to take a monster to take the title from Walter and I’m not sure who that is right now. This was a showcase for everyone involved though and the match was great up and down. Hopefully Wolfe is ok though because that’s the most important thing.

A highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: A. The women’s match is the only thing on here that isn’t great and even that was completely watchable. This is one that actually lived up to the hype and that is hard to do given how good the show was looking on paper. It even added something to the future because NXT is smart enough to do something like that. This show flew by at about three hours total, making it an easy sit with some amazing matches. Check this one out for sure.

Results

Finn Balor b. Ilja Dragunov – 1916

Jordan Devlin b. Angel Garza, Isaiah Scott and Travis Banks – Devlin Side to Scott

DIY b. Moustache Mountain – Meet In The Middle to Seven

Rhea Ripley b. Toni Storm – Riptide

Imperium b. Undisputed Era – Powerbomb to Fish

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

These are the ones that stick in your mind forever because they’re what people remember more than anything else. Some of these can come at the end of a match, during a segment, backstage, or really anywhere in between. They might not mean much in the long run or they could change everything forever. Either way, they’re the things that people remember the most and that is the case as we enter a new decade.

Honorable Mention

Big E. Langston Faces The Shield – NXT – January 2, 2012 – This is a personal one for me. NXT Champion Seth Rollins was defending against Corey Graves when the Shield interfered. GM Dusty Rhodes sent out the locker room and they all got slaughtered as well. Watching at home, I said out loud “In a good promotion, this is where the monster would come out for a showdown.” As soon as I said it, Big E. came out and the Shield ran. I was hooked.

Sting Debuts – Survivor Series 2014 – Yes, that actually happened after all the years. It didn’t mean anything in the long run, but for an old WCW fan, this was magical.

Daniel Bryan Is Medically Cleared – Smackdown – March 20, 2018 – I never thought I would see the day but it actually happened. This was a feel good story as Bryan was FINALLY back in the ring where he belonged after three long years away. Good for him and he’s still going strong.

Women Main Event Wrestlemania – Wrestlemania XXXV – At Wrestlemania XXVI, the women’s match was a ten woman tag that ran 3:26. XXVII and XXIX didn’t have a women’s match. XXVIII had a women’s celebrity match. XXX was a big cluster match. We’ve come a long way and again, I never thought I would see something like this.

Austin, Rock and Hogan Together – Wrestlemania XXX – Yep.

Undertaker/HHH/Shawn Michaels Hug

This was arguably fifteen years in the making, as the three of them had had so many battles and wars over the years. The last four Wrestlemanias had offered some of the best matches in recent memory as the three legends left it all in the ring and nearly destroyed each other in one classic after another. The final blowoff in the Cell had the best near fall I’ve ever seen. It was a roller coaster the whole way through and it had to end with something special.

That’s exactly what it did too, as all three got together and hugged on the stage, signaling that the wars were over (until Australia and Saudi Arabia needed big matches of course). This would never happen at such a level again and it was amazing to get to watch these things unfold in front of our eyes. They were incredible performers at the top of their game and deserved every second of what they got.

Kofi Kingston Wins

One of the things you hear a lot about in wrestling is the journey that you have to take to get to the goal and that is how things were with Kofi Kingston. He debuted in 2006 and seemed incapable of having a bad match. However, he also never made it close to the main event scene and the idea of him being a World Champion seemed impossible. Then we came to the Elimination Chamber in 2019 and it wound up being Kofi vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship.

I don’t remember the last time that so many people snapped to attention so fast. Somehow this felt like something that could really happen and that’s what needed to happen. Kingston could actually do it and while he didn’t make it at the Elimination Chamber, he was suddenly a real threat to the title. That took us to Wrestlemania XXXV and he did it. Kofi Kingston actually did it and won the WWE Championship clean in the middle of the ring. It was a special moment and everyone knew it, because Kofi Kingston had earned every single thing that he was finally getting.

Becky Lynch Bleeds And Stands Tall

There are moments in wrestling where you can feel something is about to happen. When Hogan returned in 1984 to save Bob Backlund. When Austin Stunned McMahon. When Batista gave HHH the thumbs down. You can see the future before you and you know where things are going. The energy spikes and it doesn’t matter what happens next, because you know where it’s going.

That’s what happened on the November 12, 2018 Monday Night Raw when Becky Lynch led the Smackdown women in an invasion of Monday Night Raw. Lynch attacked Ronda Rousey in the locker room and then took the fight to the stage. A damaged Ronda came out but got taken down….as Nia Jax wildly swung and knocked Becky silly, breaking her nose and giving her a concussion in the process. Lynch wasn’t done and kept fighting, eventually being forced to flee into the crowd. The show ended with a bloody Becky posing near the top of the arena and a star was born. It was Becky’s time and everyone knew it, in case they didn’t before.

Daniel Bryan Wins

This one is similar to Kofi but I think it’s just a bit better. Kofi’s run had only taken place over the course of about six weeks while this one was over more than six months, with Bryan being screwed over by the Authority but never giving up (that’s kind of a trend with him) and eventually found his way to the main event of Wrestlemania XXX. Then the magic happened.

The main story here was a major villain, with the Authority constantly telling us that Bryan was never going to reach the top. That gave Bryan a reason to fight, and fight he did, all the way to the highest point that he could with an amazing performance that went beyond anything we could have expected. It felt like a changing of the guard in a feel good moment, which was exactly what they were shooting for. Well done indeed.

CM Punk Wins

There are times in wrestling where you say “That couldn’t happen….right?” That last word is where everything gets interesting, because all WWE has to do is go there and they have their fans right where they want them. That’s what they did going into Money In The Bank 2011, as CM Punk threatened to win the WWE Championship and leave the company with the title. That couldn’t happen…right?

Well that’s exactly what DID happen and it was one of the first times I can remember where I didn’t know what to expect. That’s an incredible feeling to have and it worked like a charm here. While it got brought down a lot by having Punk back two weeks later, it was a special moment and Punk blowing a kiss to Vince before leaving through the crowd is as good as it gets.

And now, as bad as it gets.

The Streak….Is Over

I’ve been a wrestling fan for over thirty years. During that time, a lot of things have come and gone and that is always going to be the case. When I was born, Hulk Hogan was the WWF Champion. Now, Hogan is recently back from being blackballed from the company and only gets to make the occasional legends appearance. For most of my life though, there were only a handful of constants. One of those was taken away at Wrestlemania XXX.

On that night, Brock Lesnar defeated the Undertaker, ending a Streak which began over 23 years earlier (on Undertaker’s birthday actually). It’s something I never thought I would see and I really did believe that there was a chance it would live forever. I was in the stadium that night and I could not stand up or speak. It was that kind of shock: they managed to shut me up, and that’s all the proof you need that this was one for the ages.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: August 25, 2005
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Attendance: 5,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

Summerslam has come and gone and that means a lot of things have wrapped up for good. First and foremost, Batista defeated JBL to retain the Smackdown World Title, which means we need a new #1 contender. Other than that, Rey Mysterio defeated Eddie Guerrero (again) to gain custody of his son, but I wouldn’t bet on the feud being done just yet. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Summerslam if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Summerslam, or at least the Smackdown side of it.

Here’s Cowboy Bob Orton to talk about how Randy Orton did exactly what he promised to do at Summerslam. This brings out Randy….and he’s having a match.

Randy Orton vs. Hardcore Holly

Holly is now the Alabama Slamma. Feeling out process to start as they shove each other around a bit with the fans being all over Randy. Orton is smart enough to get away from the threat of a chop as we’re still waiting to get into first gear. The threat of an Alabama Slam (or Slamma according to Cole) freaks Orton out again so they can stare at each other even more.

Holly cranks things up with a headlock takeover but Orton reverses into one of his own. Back up and another Alabama Slam attempt is countered so Holly takes him down with an STF. A suplex gives Holly two but Orton runs him over and drops the knee for his own near fall. The neck crank keeps Holly in trouble but he breaks up the superplex attempt.

Holly’s middle rope elbow hits (kind of) a raised boot so he goes right right hands instead. A full nelson slam gives Holly two and a top rope clothesline connects for the same. The Alabama Slam is loaded up so Bob gets on the apron for a distraction. The RKO doesn’t work though and Holly hits the great dropkick for two more. Since it didn’t work the first time, Bob grabs Holly’s leg and now the RKO can finish him off.

Rating: D. This wasn’t good with a weird opening that felt like they were on different planets at times. Then there’s the ending, which could have been done just fine off the initial distraction and didn’t need the second. It also doesn’t say much when you need the same help to beat both the Undertaker and Bob Holly. Summerslam was one thing but you really don’t need the same help for both.

Theodore Long comes into his office and finds a man in a suit that he doesn’t recognize. That would be Palmer Cannon, who works for the network. Which network? Not important here. Anyway, he’s here to help Smackdown continue to be successful in his time slot and to make sure the network’s opinion is represented. In two weeks, the show is moving to Friday nights and Cannon has a huge main event for the debut show. That would be Batista vs. JBL for the World Title, which suggests that Cannon isn’t very good at his job.

Here’s Christian for the Peep Show. Before we get to the business, Christian is ready to face the Mexicools anytime because he just finally got the smell out of his carpet. As for tonight though, here are his guests: Booker T. and Sharmell. Christian welcomes Mr. and Mrs. T. and starts explaining that Booker is a five time, five time….but Booker cuts him off because that’s his stuff. Therefore, Christian asks his first hard question: are they still on speaking terms?

We see a clip of the mixed tag last week with Jillian Hall tripping Sharmell to give Melina the pin. Christian calls Booker out for the non-wrestler wife losing, which puts him in contention for the Ike Turner/Tommy Lee Husband of the Year Award. Sharmell has to hold Booker back as Christian talks about all of Booker’s accomplishments. Granted he can’t think of any at the moment….so what has Booker exactly done lately? Sharmell: “That’s a pretty good question.”

Booker talks about beating up Christian at the Great American Bash and then beating up Kurt Angle for what he did to Sharmell. That’s all true, but Sharmell tells Booker that it’s time to get back to being who he is. Booker remembers who he is…and we’ve got Mexicools. Christian goes after them on the floor and it’s Juvy knocking Sharmell down by mistake. That’s enough to get Booker in on things and the Mexicools are cleared out. Booker made a good fired up comeback but the Sharmell stuff is dragging him way down.

Johnny Nitro vs. Heidenreich

Jillian Hall introduces MNM and brags about the team being on the cover of Smackdown Magazine. Animal, Mercury, Melina and Hall are at ringside. Heidenreich goes with the power to start, including a running knee to rock Nitro. The threat of a shot to the face puts Nitro on the floor and he has to run from Animal for a bonus. Back in and Nitro gets in a kick of his own for two and we hit the chinlock. Heidenreich fights up and hits a few clotheslines, setting up a side slam for two. Everyone gets on the apron at the same time and Mercury chairs Heidenreich in the knee for the DQ.

Raw Rebound.

Chris Benoit is proud of making Orlando Jordan tap out in 25.5 seconds and wants to see what else he can do that fast. We get a clock n the screen and see the whole match as Benoit tries to make a cup of coffee faster than he made Jordan tap out. Benoit wins again. Ok that’s really funny.

JBL yells at Jordan for losing so badly but ignore that because JBL needs him tonight. And make it longer than 25.5 seconds!

Christian/Booker T. vs. Mexicools

Juvy is the odd man out here. It’s a brawl to start with Booker and Christian taking over until we settle down to Christian faceplanting Crazy for an early two. Booker comes in to kick Psicosis in the chest but it’s back to Christian, who goes shoulder first into the post. Crazy’s middle rope missile dropkick gets two so Booker has to be held back from interfering.

Christian can’t fight away from everyone at once and walks into a spinwheel kick from Psicosis. The moonsault misses for Crazy though and it’s back to Booker for the house cleaning. Juvy offers a distraction so the double teaming can ensue. Sharmell tells Christian to get in there but he walks out instead, leaving Booker to take a double belly to back suplex to give Psicosis the pin.

Rating: D+. The Mexicools still aren’t interesting but at least they’re not beating big names clean. Booker vs. Christian is something we’ve done before and I’m not wild on seeing it again, but the Sharmell factor would suggest that a heel turn is coming for Booker. If nothing else, I could go for a Booker vs. Batista in a one off title match.

Post match, Sharmell yells at Booker some more. That’s kind of all she does isn’t it?

The Ortons brag about destroying the Undertaker and have even signed an Undertaker DVD. It’s going to be auctioned off on WWE.com and the proceeds will go towards Undertaker’s retirement, because he’s dead.

Cannon praises/recaps tonight’s show and wants more Orton on Smackdown. Long doesn’t think that’s the best idea because he has an announcement to make. Cannon stops him, because he wants to know first. That’s not happening because Cannon can find out when everyone else does….right now. Oh yeah Cannon is going to get old in a hurry.

Here’s Long in the ring to announce a lingerie pillow match. He has two women who he knows “can shake that Laffy Taffy” so here are the two newest Smackdown Divas: Stacy Keibler and Christy Hemme. They’re about to disrobe but here’s Cannon to say the network doesn’t want to see this. So yeah, he’s your new heel boss, because this show needed two authority figures.

Ken Kennedy vs. Funaki

Kennedy has been on Velocity before and now he’s making his Smackdown debut. He does his own ring announcing, insisting that Funaki speaks no English but is somehow the #1 announcer. Oh and he says his name twice, which is apparently brilliant. Funaki armdrags him down to start and works on a wristlock but gets sent outside. Kennedy tells everyone to clear out of the way….as he throws Funaki back inside. A splash hits raised knees though and Funaki scores with an enziguri. Kennedy crotches him on top though and finishes with the Green Bay Plunge. Not a blow away debut but you can feel his charisma to start.

Kennedy declares himself the winner. And that’s Mr. Kennedy.

Chris Benoit/Rey Mysterio/Batista vs. John Bradshaw Layfield/Orlando Jordan/Eddie Guerrero

Triple Summerslam rematch and the entrances take their sweet time. JBL, Eddie and Rey are very banged up (with Eddie’s arm and JBL’s ribs heavily taped) after Sunday. Benoit and Jordan start because that’s a great idea for the team. Jordan is quickly German suplexed into the corner and Benoit beats him to the floor for an early break. Back with Eddie hammering on Rey because he can’t let anything go.

A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two on Rey but he’s right back with the wheelbarrow bulldog. JBL comes in to stare at Rey before demanding Batista. That’s what he gets and the slugout is on, even though the interest was gone after their first match. Batista drives him into the corner for shoulders to the ribs and Benoit comes in to stomp away at them as well. A suplex gets two but Benoit is sent outside for a right hand from Jordan. That actually works for a change and Eddie takes over on Benoit inside.

The abdominal stretch stretches Benoit’s abdominals until Jordan comes in to grab the same hold. Benoit hiptosses his way out because Jordan is worthless and it’s back to JBL to hammer away. Jordan comes back in for two off a swinging neckbreaker and JBL comes in again before Jordan can screw anything up. Benoit avoids a charge though and hits an enziguri, allowing the hot tag to Batista. House is cleaned but Eddie breaks up the Batista Bomb to Jordan. Everything breaks down and a 619 into a German suplex into the Batista Bomb finishes Jordan.

Rating: C-. This felt like a post show dark match that got to appear on TV. That’s not a bad thing either as it’s something they can play safe without hurting anyone in the process. Jordan is there to take falls and that’s all he should be doing. Batista continues to look dominant as champion, but another match with JBL sounds as uninteresting as I can imagine at the moment.

Overall Rating: D-. Anything good that Smackdown had going for it before Summerslam has been wiped out now as this was a wreck of a show. There was almost nothing good in any sense and the idea of a heel authority figure, even if it seems to be there to mock UPN, makes my head hurt. It’s a stupid idea that has been played out for years and now we get to do it again as Smackdown channels ECW on TNN. Awful show here, with one bad match after another and a lot of uninteresting people getting television time. Hopefully it back to normal next week, because this was dreadful.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

This might be the biggest of them all and that makes things all the more interesting. It really depends on what you’re looking for in the best wrestler in the world, as you could go with the wrestling abilities or the talking abilities or some combination of the two, which is really what matters most. There are a lot of great ones in there and several ways to go with the choices.

Honorable Mention

Johnny Gargano – I know he isn’t on the main roster, but you don’t have this many incredible matches at a high level without getting some recognition. The Johnny Takeover name is very appropriate (partially because his name is Johnny) and he has become a guaranteed hit on the major shows. That’s worthy of at least a mention.

Chris Jericho – I’m not sure where to put Jericho because he’s turned it back up to another level since he became a living legend, but there was a big gap in the middle of the 2010s where he was just kind of there. The List brought him back up and then AEW put him back over the moon, but the special attraction nature for such a long time holds him back just a bit.

Hiroshi Tanahashi – This is a name where you kind of have to include him, just because of everything that he has accomplished and continues to accomplish. Every time he seems ready to be put out to pasture he just keeps hanging around, because he really is that good.

Randy Orton

I know a lot of people aren’t big on Orton, but he is one of the most talented people in wrestling history. He has the talent, the resume and the killer finisher to make it work. He’s one of the most consistent wrestlers on the roster and if John Cena hadn’t been around for so much of his career, we would look at Orton in awe.

You’re going to be hard pressed to find someone as good at everything as he is and possesses the kind of talent that almost no one else has. There’s a reason why he is always around and given how good he still can be in the ring, he is going to be around for as long as he wants to be. Orton might not be popular all the time, but he’s around for a reason and had a great decade.

AJ Styles

How can you not have him in there? Styles is the rare breed of wrestler who has dominated everywhere he goes. He’s the most successful wrestler ever from TNA, then he won the IWGP Heavyweight Title and then he won several WWE Titles. Has anyone ever done that? Kurt Angle maybe? Styles really is one of the best of all time and it’s great to get to see him shine on this kind of a level.

What matters the most about Styles is that he still feels special. Styles went from being the huge fish in the small pond to finally graduating to something big in New Japan and then to the main event in WWE. He has been a featured attraction throughout and while his career is winding down, there is still a lot to enjoy about everything he does, which hopefully is the case for a long time to come.

Kenny Omega

This is another name where you have to include him whether you’re a fan of his or not. Omega has done so many things everywhere he has gone and while the style might not be your favorite, he is the rare star to get some nearly universal acclaim. I’m not big on a lot of the video game references and some of his style gets annoying a times, but dang if he can’t have one exciting match after another.

Omega is now considered one of the big stars in AEW and there is a reason to expect him to be there, at a high level, for a long time to come. When his matches get to that next level, there is almost no stopping him and he has the legendary series with Okada, including the IWGP World Title win, to cement things even further. If you can’t get into him at least a bit, you might want to check your pulse.

Kazuchika Okada

It’s very rare that you see someone who feels like he is the best in the world but that’s the feeling you get every time Okada is in the ring. He has size, the look, the completely overrated finisher (I will die on that hill if I have to) and the presence to make you feel like you’re seeing greatness in front of you. If nothing else, he might have the greatest dropkick of all time and that’s always worth seeing.

The problem with Okada is what is he supposed to do now? He’s dominated New Japan for so long now and is still relatively young. What in the world is left for him to do? I mean, other than going back to Impact and beating their heads into a wall for using him as a freaking superhero sidekick instead of LETTING HIM BE OKADA! I know the Rainmaker gimmick wasn’t there yet but put him in boots and trunks and let him do his thing. Anyway, Okada is great, in case you didn’t know that somehow.

Daniel Bryan

This is more my speed as Bryan only started in WWE at the beginning of the decade and then got thrown out almost immediately once he made it to Raw. He was back soon enough through and slowly took the company by storm, being capped off by the absolutely incredible YES Movement and the title win at Wrestlemania XXX. How in the world do you top that? By doing it again.

Bryan winning the title at Wrestlemania XXX may not have been the ultimate surprise, but him coming back to the ring after three years away certainly was. I never would have believed that he could make it back but through never giving up and being near insane in his efforts, Bryan was medically cleared, won the WWE Championship again, and reinvented himself as a psycho environmentalist. It takes someone special to do that and Bryan certainly qualifies.

And now, say it with me.

John Cena

There are very few wrestlers who can be placed on the list of true faces of the WWE. You have Bruno, Hogan, Austin, Rock and then Cena. That’s as elite of a list as you’re going to get and Cena has fought his way to make it on there, which he has certainly earned. The 2010s were Cena’s legendary time as he came in as the top star in the company and then moved on to the US Open Challenge where he would have an awesome match every week just because he could. Couple that with the part time mega legendary status that he has enjoyed since 2016 and what else can you need?

Oh yeah: that whole biggest match of his generation with the Rock. There is very little that Cena has not done yet (save for the Intercontinental Title, which you would think he would have won at some point in his career) and yet somehow you could believe he could still pop in and break Flair’s record. He’s already tied it, and that’s the kind of unreachable star that only a special someone could reach. Cena is beyond special though, and that was made clear in the last ten years.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

This might be the one that is remembered above anything else. Anyone can have a bad match but you can make up for it the next time out. When you have a bad angle though, it can just keep going and going no matter what you do. That can make things all the more frustrating every time you have to see these people and that’s a pretty terrible feeling. There were some bad ones to pick through, but which is the worst? Or is it best here? Eh I don’t think anything is the best out of these messes.

Honorable Mention

Lana/Bobby Lashley/Rusev – I’m not putting this one on the regular list because A, it’s still going and B, I still don’t find it to be as bad as some. It’s not good by any means, but there are far worse choices.

Shane McMahon’s Lockbox – This was a red herring if you’ve ever seen one, as Shane threatened to reveal the contents of a lockbox that would reveal everything about Vince McMahon. The unveiling hinged on Shane vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania, where Shane lost. Don’t worry though because the next night Shane got to run Raw anyway, making the whole thing one big waste of time.

Big Show Is Broke – Yeah remember this one? Apparently Big Show had fallen on hard financial times and had to work for the Authority, often crying over what he had to do. It was way too similar to Shawn Michaels working for JBL, which wasn’t exactly good either. This isn’t as terrible as some, but it’s pretty stupid and that warrants a mention.

The Authority

Again, it wasn’t all bad, but when it was bad, it was REALLY bad. The problem here was like so many McMahon stories: it went on for so long that it lost any meaning that it might have had in the first place. The Authority were the latest big bads who were telling everyone how to live their lives. That took a long time out of any given show and it kept feeling like little more than a way to get HHH and Stephanie on TV.

Survivor Series 2014 seemed to be the big saving grace of everything with Sting arriving to FINALLY vanquish the Authority….but they were back three weeks later because we just couldn’t live without them. It felt like that for a long time until they were finally gone, only to be replaced by Shane McMahon….with Stephanie joining him a few weeks later. Are you noticing a pattern here?

Anonymous Raw GM

Back in the 1990s, it was decided that wrestling fans were too stupid to get how things were put together and an authority figure was needed. For some reason this has continued for more than twenty years with one boss after another showing up to run things at any given time. That was the case again here, but this time we couldn’t see the boss’ face. Instead, we had Michael Cole reading emails from someone we never saw.

Of course we did wind up seeing him and it was…Hornswoggle, who was apparently a joke as the identity was never supposed to be revealed. It would have been better had no one ever been named, but why would you expect WWE to not follow up on a joke no one was asking for in the first place? This was stupid and got annoying fast, and then the payoff wasn’t something anyone was asking for. Oh and it just led to more HHH as boss because of course.

AJ Styles/Claire Lynch

Remember this one? Apparently AJ, the ultimate family man, had an affair with some woman named Claire Lynch, who cried about him over and over. It was stupid, it wasn’t interesting, it felt out of place, and then the actress playing Lynch quit because fans were yelling at her, mainly because was doing her job of being a heel. Allegedly she didn’t want to be associated with wrestling and if that’s true, I’m glad she’s gone. Heaven forbid an actress get to appear on national television every week. I’m sure any actress would turn down that job in a heartbeat.

It was a bad end to a horrible story. AJ Styles can play a heel just fine and having some bad soap opera story wasn’t the way to go. Let us see what he can do on his own by being the best in the world. Don’t do something stupid that no one is asking to see because you want to have some creative writing deal. There’s nothing good about this story, other than some actress who thinks she’s too good for wrestling being off television.

Kevin Nash Texted Himself

I’m still not sure if this makes sense. So back in 2011, Kevin Nash appeared in the Royal Rumble and got a huge reaction. Then for some reason he interfered in a World Title match at Summerslam 2011 to cost CM Punk the title, claiming that someone had texted him and told him to. It became a whodunit for weeks to see who sent the text, with HHH being a major possibility. It was an interesting twist, even though it wasn’t exactly something that needed to happen as CM Punk was derailed in a hurry.

And then it turned out that Nash sent himself the text so that he could get the spotlight one more time. Uh, ok then. Now of course this set up Nash vs. Punk….or at least it should in a sane world. But no, instead we got HHH vs. Nash as Punk was left out of the entire story. Punk wound up being fine and got the title back at Survivor Series, but sweet goodness what a mess this was to get there, and it really had no purpose other than getting the Kliq together one more time.

What could be worse than that? Oh there’s something in there.

Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler

This was bad for a pair of reasons. First and foremost: THEY’RE ANNOUNCERS! This was one of the featured stories of Raw and the whole thing was a battle between announcers who couldn’t get along because Cole was a super heel who didn’t do anything other than make himself look like a jerk. This went on for months, to the point where Cole even cost Lawler a WWE Championship match.

So the big solution was to have them fight at Wrestlemania (yes announcers fighting at Wrestlemania) where Lawler could destroy Cole once and for all, likely even writing Cole off of TV for a bit. But then there’s the second problem: COLE WON! WHEN THE ANONYMOUS GM REVERSED A DECISION! AT WRESTLEMANIA! This might be the dumbest result I’ve ever seen at Wrestlemania and it was in a match between two announcers who wouldn’t stop fighting because commentators need personalities. It was stupid, didn’t need to happen, and was the death blow to a Wrestlemania. That’s the worst of the decade and one of the worst ever.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

There are a lot to pick from here but I think you can remember the worst of the worst. Sometimes you see a show where you know just how bad it is and there’s no way around it. These shows are the worst of the worst and it could be due to one or two individual things or just an overall terrible nature. There’s a nice mix this time around and some of these might bring up some bad memories.

Honorable Mention

Royal Rumble 2015 – This is a show where the big featured match had to be bailed out by the World Title triple threat but even Cena/Rollins/Lesnar can only do so much. The Rumble was so bad and such a disaster that it sank the rest of the show. And then it only got worse later on.

Greatest Royal Rumble – It’s the first time the company had done one of its big Saudi Arabia shows and the card was as stacked as it could have been. There were all kinds of title matches and a huge main event….and I can barely remember anything about it. This was such a nothing show that it wasn’t so much bad as unnecessary, though that would change later.

Victory Road 2011

This is the one where you might only remember a single match (and I use that word loosely) from it because the main event is such a legendary disaster. I guess you can call it a main event as technically it was a match, but only in the loosest of terms. This would be the one where Jeff Hardy was bombed out of his mind and the “match” lasted about thirty seconds with Sting holding him down as the fans called it out for being BS. And yeah, that’s exactly what it was, but so was the rest of the show.

The rest of the card featured Tommy Dreamer vs. Bully Ray, Matt Hardy vs. AJ Styles with Matt in his COLD BLOODED deal, a First Blood match that ended in fake blood, Mr. Anderson vs. Rob Van Dam in a terrible match and wacky shenanigans on Jeff and Karen Jarrett’s honeymoon. Yes the ending is the worst part, but look at what it came after. This is an all time bad TNA show and it’s best that the rest of the card is forgotten.

Super Showdown 2019

Yeah imagine that: we’re back in Saudi Arabia. It’s another case where there was a lot on the card but it still felt like nothing happened. That’s the summary of the problems in general: with so many things going on, you would think that something could be good, but instead it feels like a big collection of house show matches that have been reheated out of the refrigerator (where you keep house show matches of course).

Then there’s the main event and while it’s bad, the injury forgives a lot of the negatives. Goldberg was knocked silly at one point and you can see the match change from a decent power match to a disaster. I can always forgive a match going badly for the sake of an injury, but when it comes at the end of this nothing of a show, there’s only so much that forgiveness can do.

Hardcore Justice 2010

I love One Night Stand 2005. It’s one of my favorite shows ever, even though I wasn’t much of an ECW fan (even less so after watching it back later). However, there was something so special about the reunion show because it felt like a real reunion. The wrestlers were (mostly) there, it felt chaotic and the ending was as perfect as you could have gotten.

Now take everything I just said and throw it out the window for this garbage, which felt like the biggest WAY too late cash-in ever. The wrestling was barely there, the arena looked terrible with the dark lighting, and it made TNA feel like a company years behind the times. It’s like they were trying to be WWE but didn’t realize that five years had passed. Not only was this show terrible, but it was sad. That’s not what you want out of a reunion special and TNA made it worse than expected.

Battleground 2017

Just seeing this on the list of possibilities made me mad all over again. This was one of the worst one two punches of horrible that I can remember in years, with the Rusev vs. John Cena flag match followed by the Punjabi Prison match between Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton (which ran nearly half an hour). I don’t think I can give you a worse two match series to end a show, leaving this one in rare company.

It takes a special night to have AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens and the Usos vs. the New Day in a pair of very good (if not great) matches completely overshadowed with two horrible matches. That’s what they did here though and it remains one of the worst regular WWE pay per views that I’ve ever seen. A lot of the modern pay per views run together for me, but this one stands out as an all time mess.

But then, there’s this one and it is on another level of horrible.

Crown Jewel 2018

I didn’t actually get to watch this one live as I had to take my wife out of town for an appointment. I got to see the first hour or so before we left so a lot of it I got after the fact. On the way back home, I had her look up the results and read them off to me. As she read them off one by one, I rolled my eyes harder and harder. Then we got to the big one and things changed.

This was the show where Shane McMahon won the Best In The World Tournament without actually being entered. When I heard that result, I actually laughed harder than I had in months. It was as dumb of an idea as WWE could have had and I was wondering if the results were a parody. That’s their big idea for this show? More SHANE MCMAHON? Well of course it was, because that’s how WWE worked in 2018. It was so bad that the Shawn Michaels return match with DX vs. the Brothers of Destruction barely warrants a mention (Do you even remember that happening?). This was the runaway winner and it’s not getting topped for a long time.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

This is one of the bigger ones as a good, hot feud can bring in a lot of people in a hurry. If a feud is done right, it can spawn all kinds of other stories and mini feuds without needing the main wrestlers to even keep fighting in the first place. There were a lot of great ones in this decade and they are worth looking back at here.

Honorable Mention

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega – I’m putting this one here as I really don’t follow New Japan closely enough to go into depth about it. I’ve seen all of their matches and while I don’t quite agree with Meltzer’s ratings, they are indeed great and worth seeing, with nothing resembling anything less than awesome throughout.

Shield vs. Wyatt Family – The moment when they had their first staredown, you knew you were in for something. This was one of the most natural matchups WWE could have at the time and then everything wound up going even better than expected. They didn’t fight often and it was over in a hurry, but dang it worked while it lasted.

Rock vs. John Cena

There are very few matches that can live up to the hype of a dream match. That was the case here, because of how different of a path that they took to get here. The night after Wrestlemania XXVII, the match was set up for Wrestlemania XXVIII. That is unheard of in wrestling and it worked at a level no one could have ever anticipated. Cena hung with Rock every step of the way (or defeated him) on the mic and then we got to Miami for the showdown.

During the build, there was a point where I had to see the match. I didn’t know if it was going to be good and I didn’t know if it was going to be bad. All I knew was that I had to see this match. Then it wound up being a great match, though I’m not sure if the right person won. The promos made this though and there have been very few builds on this level. Go back and watch Cena’s promos and see if they’re better than you remember.

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

I was tempted to put this on the top for a bit but the problem was how long it took to finally have the match. Bryan and Miz have one of the best natural dichotomies you’ll ever see with the celebrity turned wrestler vs. the pure wrestler and that is always going to work. The Talking Smack promo was good enough to set up a Wrestlemania main event level match but we had to wait years to actually see it.

The anticipation helped a lot here, as Bryan never gave up on trying to return to the ring. Then one day he was finally cleared and the countdown was on. I wasn’t sure when it was going to happen, but we were going to see this match at some point. If nothing else it would have been incredible to keep Bryan’s return a secret and have him come out to face Miz on the Raw after Wrestlemania, but instead it was at Summerslam. They had a good match, but it was a bit too late for how big the blowoff could have been. It was good, but it could have been incredible.

Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority

This is the kind of feud where it’s hard to not get behind Bryan, and that’s where you have something special. It’s a story anyone can get behind, with the every man Bryan being held back by the Authority, who cared about money and power instead of doing the right thing. It’s a great example of something that was built up perfectly, with fans not being sure if Bryan would ever get to the finish line.

Then we got the Wrestlemania build and while you could see where it was going, the journey might have been the best part. There was something so special about watching Bryan never quit and get there in the end, even after wrestling twice at Wrestlemania. One detail that gets overlooked though is Michael Cole, who HATED Bryan when he started but was cheering for him by the end of the triple threat. It showed just how easy it was to get behind Bryan, who was fighting for the right thing and refused to give up. That’s a special story and belongs in the pantheon of Wrestlemania moments.

Yeah I’m going to have to cheat again as I just can’t pick between the two.

John Cena vs. CM Punk

One of the best things that you can do in wrestling is take two ultra talented people from completely different backgrounds and put them together against each other. Hulk Hogan was the All American superhero and Roddy Piper was the loudmouth who kept antagonizing Hogan over and over with Hogan never really being able to put him away. Steve Austin was the Texas brawler who didn’t care about authority. Rock was the pure athlete who was born to be a star. When you can set that up, there really isn’t anything else like it.

That’s what WWE had with Cena, the All American boy and face of the company, vs. CM Punk, the guy who shouldn’t be here, didn’t look like a wrestling star and messed with everyone’s head. The key to the whole thing though was that, at least at first, Cena couldn’t beat him. Throw in the Summer of Punk story with the stakes at their highest and you had a modern Hogan vs. Piper. Just this time around the matches were awesome to go with the talking.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

This was a little bit of a different feud as it was based on two guys who hated each other. The backstory was there, the wrestling was there, the violence was there…but the blowoff wasn’t there. Ciampa got hurt (for the second time in the feud) and they couldn’t do the big final match in New York with Gargano taking the title from Ciampa once and for all. If they can do that, it’s an all timer but for now, it’s just one of the best in years.

What made this work was the emotion and everything that spun off of it. Ciampa and Gargano both played mind games with each other, all the way to the point of reuniting in the Dusty Classic before Gargano got one up on Ciampa for a change. It was an epic story, though I can see taking some points off for all of the violent brawls instead of having a regular match somewhere. Anyway, it’s incredible and worth your time to go back and watch again, just like all of these.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

This is the trickiest of them all because it’s hard to know where to stop. The point of this is not necessarily wrestlers who started their in-ring career over the last ten years but rather someone who showed up on a new show. This one is likely going to be all over the place as a result so bare with me, as I’ve never been quite comfortable with the specifics of how this one worked.

Four Horsewomen

This is a group joined at the hip that you can’t really separate. I know there are a lot of arguments to be had about ranking the four of them and you could go with a lot of combinations, but what mattered is how much of an impact they had. These four came into WWE and showed that there was a future for women’s wrestling. For years before, there was no reason to believe that women were going to be able to do anything in WWE. Now, the better question is what is left for them to do.

This is one of the most important groups of newcomers of all time because of what they meant, though what they can do in the ring is quite the accomplishment as well. Much like the Shield, they are going to be a big deal for a long time but their impact is going to be more historical than anything else. They did something you don’t see by changing the game and that’s not bad for four newcomers.

Bray Wyatt

It’s almost hard to believe that Wyatt has only been in WWE since 2013 as he feels like he’s been around forever (to be fair, six and a half years is forever in wrestling). Wyatt has not been the most consistent performer in WWE, but there is something about him that lets you see just how good he can be. When Wyatt is at his best, he’s one of the best in the world today with the character stuff as you can’t take your eyes off of him a lot of the time.

Wyatt is the kind of person who does all kinds of things and now you have something as awesome as the Fiend to top them all. There are very few characters where you can feel the fans just go silent when they appear because no one knows what to do with them. That was the case when Undertaker debuted and it’s still the case now with the Fiend. I’m curious to see what he can do next and that’s a nice feeling to have.

Pete Dunne/Tyler Bate

With all due respect to Trent Seven, these two outclass him in almost every way and I can’t split them up so we’ll just put them together. Bate, who looked like a kid who got lost to 7^th grade history when he debuted, has put on more instant classics than almost anyone I’ve seen in years, is starting to grow into a star and that bodes very well for the future because he really is that good.

Then there’s Dunne and my goodness. Dunne is the kind of guy where you saw a future World Champion the day he debuted. The guy just had it and there was no denying what he could do in every aspect of wrestling. He looks tough, he has awesome matches, the aura is bouncing off of him, and he’s in his mid-20s. Dunne is as complete of a package as you can get and that’s why it’s always great to see him doing just about anything: you know you’re seeing something special.

Matt Riddle

What is it about former mixed martial artists that make them successful in the ring? Riddle is the kind of guy who showed up and looked like he had been doing this for years. The Bro stuff is a gimmick that you should hate right off the bat but that goofy smile, incredibly physique and the next level that he can reach at a moment’s notice make him impossible to turn down. Riddle is someone who feels like one of the most natural wrestlers you’ll ever see and he hasn’t even been wrestling for five years.

I remember back when Riddle was still wrestling in the indies and would be prominently featured over Wrestlemania weekend. I had heard so much about him that I needed to try to find a way to see him in person but it never could click. That’s how you know someone has some credentials: the hype is so strong that you want to go out of your way to see them. Imagine what he’ll do when he gets some more experience under his belt.

Ronda Rousey

What else is there to say about her? She debuted one year, had her first match ever at Wrestlemania XXXIV and then headlined Wrestlemania XXXV. That’s the kind of run that very few have been able to pull off ever and Rousey did it while looking like she had been doing this for ten years. In a way she had a good base with MMA, but that didn’t change how fast she took to wrestling.

The biggest thing for Rousey is that she wasn’t just wrecking people with the armbar in ten seconds with one move on occasion. She was out there having long matches and looking like a natural with them. That’s the kind of thing that no one not named Kurt Angle could pull off in their first year and she made it look easy. You don’t see that kind of talent ever and I’m hoping we get to see it again.

But then there’s one (kind of) to top them all.

Shield

Yeah like I’m going to try to separate these three. This team may be the greatest trio WWE has ever seen (certainly the one with the most successful individuals) and to this day it’s rare to see them outside of the main event scene. I don’t remember the last time I saw anyone show up and take over like this but the Shield debuted in the main event and took over the company like it was the easiest thing they had ever done.

You can argue for a good while about which one of the three is the best, but there is no denying that the three of them showed up and took over WWE like they weren’t even trying. These guys are going to be near the top of WWE for years to come and you can see how much WWE thinks of what they have with them. Not bad for three guys who just showed up out of the crowd one day.

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

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

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

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