NXT
Date: January 2, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s getting close to Takeover time and the show is starting to come into focus. With some of the matches already set, the rest of the card can be put together over the next few weeks. As tends to be the case in NXT, you can probably guess what’s coming but the journey is the most entertaining part. Let’s get to it.

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

This is a special two hour edition as we look at the NXT Year End Awards. Well so much for seeing what we’ve got coming up.

In Memory of Gene Okerlund.

Opening sequence.

We go to Cathy Kelley at WWE Headquarters to hype up the Year End Awards nominees being announced tonight.

And we’ve got a Best Of show. As usual, full versions of the matches will be listed even if clipped versions are shown.

From Takeover: New Orleans.

North American Title: EC3 vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Adam Cole vs. Killian Dain vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream

Ladder match for the inaugural title with EC3 and Ricochet making their in-ring debut. Cole is the heavy crowd favorite here but they’re not opposed to some of the others. The fans deem this awesome at the opening bell and it’s EC3 bailing to the floor. Ricochet is thrown outside with Dream and Cole following, leaving the battle of the monsters in the ring. Actually never mind as they both go outside to surround EC3, which doesn’t take much effort.

That allows Ricochet to dive off the top with a shooting star onto the giants though and the fans go even nuttier than they were just a few seconds ago. The first ladder is set up but Dream catches Ricochet before he can go anywhere. Ricochet flips around into a headscissors and a dropkick in an incredibly smooth sequence. Dream breaks up a springboard and goes up, drawing in Cole for a save this time around.

EC3 comes in with a jawbreaker and a Hennig necksnap to Cole but it’s Sullivan time again. A pair of powerslams later and both normal sized guys are gone, leaving Dain to knock Sullivan outside. Dain isn’t done with a HUGE suicide dive taking Sullivan out. Cole, Ricochet and EC3 manage to get Dain down and it’s a big brawl with the monsters down. That doesn’t last long either though as it’s Sullivan throwing a ladder at them and wiping everyone out without much effort again.

Dream gets gorilla pressed onto the ladder and Sullivan goes up, drawing some incredible booing. Ricochet can’t sunset bomb him off so EC3 and Dream help, along with Cole punching Sullivan in the face to FINALLY put him down. Now it’s Dain shoving Cole down though and backdropping Ricochet onto the ladder. Cole and EC3 get together to take out Sullivan and Dain in a smart move. With the monsters down, a ladder is bridged between the announcers’ table and ring, which can’t possibly end well.

Hang on though as EC3 does Cole’s pose and that’s just not cool with Cole, who AA’s EC3 onto the ladder. A series of superkicks put a bunch of people down and here’s the REAL pose. Sullivan is up to push the ladder over but this time it’s Dream getting up and cleaning house. Dream even shoves a ladder into a charging Sullivan’s face to cut him off, setting up a HUGE Purple Rainmaker off the ladder (with his head above the belt) to crush Sullivan.

The writhing in pain means Dream’s climb is rather slow and EC3 powerbombs him off one ladder and into another. A TKO off the ladder drops Cole as well but it’s Dain back in to kick EC3 down. He puts a ladder onto EC3 and drops a Vader Bomb, followed by a second with Cole on his back to make it even worse. It’s finally time for Sullivan vs. Dain but Ricochet runs back in….and is tossed back and forth between the two of them like a ball. With Ricochet thrown away, the big men slug it out until Sullivan powerslams Dain down to get the better of it.

Ricochet makes another save and climbs up but Sullivan shoves the ladder over, only to have Ricochet moonsault off (as the ladder is falling back) onto Cole and Dain outside. You know, because of course he can do that. Back in and Ricochet hits a shooting star onto EC3 onto the ladder, because he hasn’t taken enough abuse so far. Dream is back up though and bridges a ladder into the standing ladder, with Ricochet standing on the platform. That means a Death Valley Bomb to drive Ricochet into the ladder and everyone is down again.

Sullivan and Dream are up first with the former putting Dream on the bridged ladder. A Freak Accident puts EC3 through Dream through the ladder, leaving EC3 with a look of physical shock on his face. Not to be outdone, Dain drives Cole through Ricochet through a second bridged ladder to put all six down even longer this time. Sullivan and Dain crawl back in and go up the ladder, only to have EC3 and Cole come in with a ladder of their own to climb next to them.

Naturally Dream and Ricochet are up on a third ladder and Cole gets knocked down. Ricochet and Dream go down with EC3 falling as well, leaving a battle of the monsters. Sullivan gives Dain a huge Freak Accident off the ladder and goes up again, drawing even more booing. Cue Ricochet to springboard in and land on Sullivan’s back, dropping two ladders down in the process. Ricochet goes up but Cole turns it over and pulls down the title at 31:15.

Rating: A+. Well that was incredible. I mean really, what else can you say? This never felt longer than it needed to be and was one insane spot after another. Coming in and during the match, it always felt like all six could have won, meaning that nothing felt like a waste of time. Cole winning is one of several acceptable choices and no one comes out of this looking worse than when they came in. Just an amazing spectacle and one of the best things I’ve ever seen in NXT, or any promotion for that matter.

Quick look at Ricochet winning the title from Cole at Takeover: Brooklyn IV.

Here are the nominees for Breakout Star of the Year:

Ricochet

Dakota Kai

Lars Sullivan

Rhea Ripley

War Raiders

Lacey Evans

EC3

Bianca Belair

Video on the rise and split of DIY. The fact that this is still going strong nine months later is remarkable.

From Takeover: New Orleans again.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Unsanctioned match, meaning anything goes and it’s pinfall or submission only with Gargano’s NXT career on the line. Ciampa comes out to no music, looking as carved up as you could imagine him being. The fans are all over him with some rather vulgar chants and Ciampa is reveling in soaking them all in. Ciampa gets on the corner and says that its his show and his moment. Fans: “F*** YOU CIAMPA!” He even closes his eyes to listen to the chants. Gargano’s music gets a heck of a reaction and you can feel the energy here. In a nice touch, the referee has a black shirt on instead of the usual referee gear.

They stare each other down at the bell and now it’s on with wild punches. That’s how it should start as there’s no reason for this to be about wrestling. The slingshot spear puts Ciampa down and Gargano stomps a heck of a mudhole in the corner before taking it to the floor. Ciampa gets sent over the barricade and Gargano dives right at him to get even more. This time Ciampa gets something out of it though by dropping Gargano ribs first across the barricade.

Gargano tries a piledriver on the table but Ciampa hits him with a monitor. That’s followed by a suplex to take Gargano off the table and to the floor with a sick thud. Ciampa gets creative by slamming Gargano onto the table cover as the pace slows. They get back inside with Ciampa’s face looking more and more evil by the second. Gargano uses the sneering break to get up for a slugout until a belly to back suplex cuts him off for one. A modified Texas Cloverleaf (more like a Liontamer) has Gargano in more trouble until he makes the rope….which means nothing here, as it shouldn’t.

Gargano crawls over the apron to force the break so Ciampa stomps on the back of his head, followed by applauding himself. The fans call Ciampa a rather mean British term and it’s made even worse as he steals a plant’s crutches. Back in and Gargano takes the crutch away and hits the rolling kick to the head to send Ciampa out to the apron. The slingshot DDT is blocked so Ciampa loads up an Air Raid Crash to the exposed concrete.

To prevent a bad case of death, Gargano reverses into a powerbomb onto the same concrete. Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!” Thank goodness, as I was worried about the fans cheering Ciampa for being too good of a villain. Somehow that’s not enough to end Ciampa so Gargano unloads with crutch shots. Ciampa backdrops him to the floor to save himself and Gargano hits his back on the apron. He’s fine enough to crutch Ciampa in the head though and the slingshot DDT gets two.

Gargano pulls the turnbuckle pad off but can’t hit the Lawn Dart. Instead he’s sent to the apron and the slingshot spear is kneed out of the air. A torture rack powerbomb gives Ciampa two more before he goes old school with the Meet in the Middle knee to the back of the head. That’s only two again and frustration/disbelief sets in. Back up and Gargano grabs the beard so he can hammer on Ciampa even more. A reverse hurricanrana is more like a Backstabber as Gargano can’t get Ciampa over.

Not that it matters as he grabs the Gargano Escape instead, even rolling back into the middle of the ring for good measure. Ciampa rakes the eye for the break, drawing a heck of a heel reaction from the fans. With nothing else working, Ciampa chokes with his wrist tape but Gargano grabs it and they slug it out (great touch as they’re attached here, just like they always have been).

Gargano gets the better of it but a low blow cuts him off. A crutch to the back and Project Ciampa (a powerbomb onto knees) give Ciampa two and they’re both spent. Ciampa pulls himself up and says this is his so Gargano slaps him in the face. A superkick has some more effect and now the Lawn Dart sends Ciampa into the buckle. The low superkick (and a GREAT one at that) gets two in an incredible false finish. They head up top and it’s a SUPER PROJECT CIAMPA (onto Ciampa’s bad knee) for two in an even better false finish that I bought even more than the previous one.

Ciampa takes the brace off instead and loads up the big running knee, only to get hit in the knee with the brace to cut him off. Gargano gets the crutch again and bends it down a bit….only to stop when Ciampa begs off. They sit next to each other (in a callback to their match in the Cruiserweight Classic back in 2016) but Ciampa swings with the brace. That misses though and it’s the Gargano Escape again. Gargano switches to an STF, using the brace to pull on Ciampa’s face for the tap at 36:59.

Rating: A+. And that might be the best match NXT has ever produced. This was a complete roller coaster with both guys looking like they wanted to kill the other, going from one great bit of violence to the next. Some of those near falls were great too, with the possibility that either of them could have won at different points. That being said, Gargano winning was the right call no matter what, as he was the hero in the end.

The emotion here was awesome too, with some perfect callbacks to the deep history between these two. I’ve seen this match a few times now and it does not get old, nor does it ever feel long. It’s an incredible performance and one of the best things I’ve ever seen in wrestling. Absolutely see this, but do yourself a favor and watch a lot of the earlier matches to set it up first. That’s the extra stuff that puts it over the top, making it one of the best things NXT has ever done.

Quick look at Ciampa winning the rematch at Takeover: Chicago which sent Gargano on a downward spiral.

Clips of Aleister Black winning the NXT Title from Andrade Cien Almas, also from Takeover: New Orleans.

From July 25.

NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black

Ciampa is challenging and still has no music. He even breaks up Black’s pre-match poses like a real villain. They lock up hard to start with Black getting the better of a technical exchange on the mat. It’s almost weird to see Ciampa wrestling but it makes sense because his hatred is at Johnny Gargano alone. A small package gives Black two as they’re still firmly in first gear. The hanging DDT is quickly broken up and Black hits his first kick to the chest to keep Ciampa down.

More kicks have Ciampa on the floor and Black moonsaults into the seated position so he can mock Ciampa’s wave. Back in and Ciampa gets in his first real shots to put Black on the floor for a whip into the steps. Now it’s Ciampa’s turn to mock Black’s pose because what’s good for one devil is good for another. Ciampa stays on the back with a backbreaker and an abdominal stretch.

Nigel is right there to talk about how this will weaken the Black Mass because it’s based on core strength because Nigel actually knows how to analyze a match. A Texas Cloverleaf switches over to the legs but Black is in the ropes pretty quickly. Black is fine enough to escape a super White Noise and a collision gives us a double knockdown, continuing the odd theory of one move balancing out a long stretch of offense.

More kicks have Ciampa in trouble and the standing Lionsault gets two. A hard kick to the head is good for the same and some kicks to the chest (Black: “TWEET ABOUT THIS!”) rock him even more. He’s fine enough to hit a top rope DDT for two but Black is right back with kicks to the head. A big spinning kick to the head sets up a German suplex for a near fall and Ciampa bails to the floor. Black misses a moonsault though and Ciampa sends him into the cameraman.

Back in and the hanging DDT gets a VERY close two so it’s time to pull the ring mats up. The referee starts yelling so Ciampa comes back in, only to be shoved into the referee, knocking him to the floor. Black Mass connects but there’s no one to count. Ciampa goes for the eye and grabs the title but here’s Gargano to superkick him. Gargano tries to take the belt away, sending it square into Black’s head. Ciampa sends Gargano outside and a lifting sitout Pedigree (Christopher Daniels’ Angel’s Wings, a FAR better finisher than that lame neckbreaker Ciampa was using) finishes Black at 22:18.

Rating: A-. It’s basically Shawn/Bret/Undertaker at Summerslam 1997 and that’s not a bad place to be. You could easily get to a triple threat from here and for once I like that idea instead of going with the trilogy. Black vs. Gargano could be awesome on its own and you could really milk the build to Gargano vs. Ciampa III where Gargano goes back to his normal self (how fitting of a first line to his theme music: “Be yourself, can’t be no no else.”) to defeat the evil once and for all.

The match itself was a great piece of drama with Black knowing he had the big weapon ready to win in the end but getting caught by outside interference and Ciampa being evil enough to take him down. Black is kept very strong as he knocked Ciampa cold and didn’t lose clean, making this another near perfectly booked match.

Recap of the Whodunit story to find out who attacked Black.

From Takeover: WarGames II.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Knee to the face beats Ohno in six seconds.

Ohno wasn’t happy and jumped Riddle a few weeks later.

Here are the nominees for Tag Team of the Year:

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Street Profits

Heavy Machinery

Moustache Mountain

War Raiders

Undisputed Era

From Takeover: Chicago II.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan

Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly are defending and have Adam Cole in their corner. The fans are behind the champs here (well duh) as Strong headlocks Lorcan to start. It’s off to O’Reilly for a headlock takeover and some right hands to Burch’s head but Burch easily wins a slugout. Everything breaks down and Kyle gets suplexed onto Strong before the champs are sent to the floor.

That’s enough for the hot tag off to Lorcan and it’s time for the running uppercuts. Lorcan nails a big running dive over the top and alternates chops to both champs. The double elevated DDT gets two on Strong but a Doomsday Device is broken up with Lorcan being shoved hard onto the apron. O’Reilly scores with an enziguri on Burch and the cross armbreaker goes on. Somehow that’s rolled over so Burch can grab a rope and the fans are NOT happy that he survived. Geez guys give the bald guys a chance.

The High/Low is broken up and Lorcan is back up with a double Blockbuster off the apron. Now the Doomsday Uppercut gets two as Cole pulls Strong out at the last second. That means an ejection and the fans now hate the referee too. Strong saves another elevated DDT but Lorcan suplexes his way out of a guillotine choke.

A blind tag brings Strong back in so Lorcan powerbombs him down as the referee tells them they have one minute left. The champs get caught in a double submission with O’Reilly having to kick Lorcan off a half crab to break up Burch’s Crossface. A slugout actually goes to the champs and the High/Low ends Lorcan at 15:59.

Rating: B. This was getting close to the great level and that’s a very solid place for an opener. They were also smart to let the fans cheer for the Undisputed Era early on as you know they’re going to be the most popular guys on the card all night long. Burch and Lorcan looked great here and they might have their day later on. This was all it needed to be though and you can probably have War Raiders waiting on the champs in Brooklyn.

Burch and Lorcan get a standing ovation post match.

Here are the nominees for Rivalry of the Year:

Andrade Cien Almas vs. Johnny Gargano

Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain

Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet

Aleister Black vs. Nikki Cross vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane

Here are the nominees for the Future Star of the Year:

Matt Riddle

Mia Yim

Keith Lee

Forgotten Sons

Candice LeRae

Marina Shafir/Jessamyn Duke

Kona Reeves

Dominik Dijakovic

Io Shirai

Here are the nominees for Match of the Year (only a sampling listed here but the full list is from WWE.com):

WarGames Match (TakeOver: WarGames)
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (NXT Championship Match, TakeOver: Philadelphia)
Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed ERA (NXT Tag Team Championship Match, NXT TV, July 11, 2018)
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Unsanctioned Match, TakeOver: New Orleans)
NXT North American Championship Ladder Match (TakeOver: New Orleans)
Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT Women’s Championship Match, TakeOver: Brooklyn IV)
Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream (TakeOver: Chicago)
Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Championship Match, NXT TV, July 25)
Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson (WWE U.K. Championship Match, NXT TV, Aug. 22)
Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole (Extreme Rules Match, TakeOver: Philadelphia)
Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly (WWE U.K. Championship Match, NXT TV, June 13)
Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. Undisputed ERA (TakeOver: Chicago)
Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair (NXT TV, Sept. 12)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne (NXT North American Champion vs. WWE U.K. Champion Match, NXT TV, Sept. 19)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole (NXT North American Championship Triple Threat Match, NXT TV, Oct. 10)

From August 22:

Bianca Belair vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo has wrestled all over the indies and had a few appearances with NXT a few years back. The fans seem very pleased to see her as some early headlock takeovers are escaped with a nipup and a handstand. A headscissors into a Fujiwara armbar doesn’t work so Purrazzo tries it again, only to get caught in a gutbuster to put her in trouble. Belair crashes down onto Purrazzo’s back and we hit the full nelson.

Back up and some elbows to the ribs have Purrazzo in more trouble as the EST chants begin. Belair’s standing moonsault misses and a basement dropkick connects. The Fujiwara armbar goes on but Belair fights up and hits a torture rack into the faceplant (kind of a reverse Samoan driver) for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C-. This was exactly what it needed to be with the fans getting a little taste of Purrazzo as Belair goes over strong in the end. Purrazzo is going to be fine around here with her skill level (at 24 years old) and charisma so everything is going to be fine. Belair is likely coming for the title sooner rather than later.

Clips of Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black from Takeover: WarGames II.

We look at what seemed to be a DIY reunion in the cage match from two weeks ago.

Gargano isn’t sure what to think of what happened in the cage but he beat Black, which helps him become the hero at the end of the story.

Here are the nominees for Male Competitor of the Year:

Adam Cole

Pete Dunne

Andrade Cien Almas

Ricochet

Velveteen Dream

Johnny Gargano

Aleister Black

Tommaso Ciampa

Here are the nominees for Female Competitor of the Year:

Ember Moon

Nikki Cross

Kairi Sane

Bianca Belair

Shayna Baszler

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Riddle misses an early jumping knee so it’s off to some kicks in the corner, followed by some running forearms. Ohno can’t block an exploder suplex and a backsplash crushes him all over again. Back up and Ohno hits a few shots of his own before giving Riddle a flipping backsplash of his own. A loud kick to the head rocks Riddle again but he somehow scores a German suplex. Ohno scores with a jumping knee to the head of his own and the cyclone kick gets two. Riddle isn’t having this though and kicks him down, setting up the Bromission, with some slaps to the chest, to make Ohno tap at 6:05.

Rating: C-. It was hard hitting with Riddle winning as he should have. Riddle needs to move on from Ohno now though as there isn’t anything left for him to do there. The first match didn’t mean anything other than a surprise so this was the right way to go for the rematch. Ohno is still fine for the role, though they might want to have him win something along the way so these things can mean something.

Post match Ohno looks devastated and near tears. Riddle offers him a fist bump but Ohno sadly walks away. He turns around and gets back in though, eventually giving Riddle the fist bump….and sending him into the post. Another posting on the floor sets up some whips into the steps, followed by a rolling elbow. A fist bump to the unconscious Riddle ends the show. This was rather long and didn’t need to happen as the feud should be done instead of continuing.

Overall Rating: B. With the matches you got to see on here, either in nearly full or shortened form, you can’t go wrong. It was a great year for NXT as things somehow got even better than they had been before, which I didn’t think was possible. It’s an outstanding collection of matches with a few things that didn’t need to be there but were harmless for the most part. NXT is incredible, but I’m pretty sure you already know that.

Results

Matt Riddle b. Kassius Ohno – Bromission

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

NXT UK
Date: January 2, 2019
Location: Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

It’s time for a big fight this week as Dave Mastiff is facing Eddie Dennis again in a rematch of the monsters. These two are some of the best big men in the promotion and I’m impressed by how well Mastiff has turned out. I like Dennis more for his overall presentation, but there’s something so classic about Mastiff that he’s working for me too. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Gene Okerlund.

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show.

We look at Toni Storm saving Deonna Purrazzo from Rhea Ripley a few weeks back.

Last week, Storm and Purrazzo agreed to a match this week.

Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Feeling out process to start with a battle over a wristlock. Toni takes her down into a front facelock and a bodyscissors before countering the counter into a headlock. Purrazzo’s headscissors doesn’t work either and it’s a standoff. Back up and Purrazzo kicks the offer of a handshake away and it’s time to strike it out. A kick to the face gives Toni two and it’s off to the STF.

Purrazzo reaches over for the rope in a hurry and avoids a running hip attack in the corner. That means a Pentagon arm snap for one on Storm and it’s time to start wrapping the arm around the ropes. With that not going anywhere. Purrazzo Downward Spirals her into the Koji Clutch. Toni rolls her up for two to escape but comes up holding her elbow. She’s fine enough to hit a Backstabber and now the hip attack connects.

The bad arm breaks up Storm Zero so Storm headbutts her down for two more. Purrazzo pulls her into something like the Rings of Saturn with Storm having to stretch to get her foot on the rope. Some trash talk fires Storm back up and she spins out of another armbar attempt. A snap German suplex sets up Storm Zero to finish Purrazzo at 9:48.

Rating: B-. The arm stuff was a good way to go here and it was a smart move to have Storm get a big win to give her some momentum heading into Blackpool. Purrazzo is going to stay over through pure talent and one day she can get a title shot to pay some of that off. Storm is the star right now though and it makes sense to give her the shot at Ripley.

Speaking of Ripley, she comes out for the post match staredown.

Sid Scala announces Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews vs. James Drake/Zack Gibson for the other Tag Team Title tournament semifinal. Drake and Gibson have more than earned that spot already.

Josh Morrell vs. Mike Hitchman

Hitchman throws him around to start and it’s an early armbar to keep Morrell down. A wheelbarrow throw keeps Morrell in trouble and there’s a backsplash for good measure. It also gets two but I didn’t want to leave the good measure part out. The nerve hold goes on for a bit until Morrell comes up with a Pele and a standing Swanton for two. A sunset flip is good for the same but Hitchman fireman’s carry slams him into the corner. Hitchman drops a top rope splash for the pin at 2:59. Morrell looked fine in a small dose but Hitchman needed a win to give him some more credibility.

Joseph Conners talks about being sold a lie two years ago when he joined NXT UK. A lot of other people were too but there’s no WE in NXT UK. It’s all about yourself and if he has to break every new toy around here, so be it. Anytime Conners would like to become interesting, so be it as well.

Travis Banks doesn’t like Jordan Devlin calling him out for not loving his country. If that’s a challenge, Banks is in.

Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel want in the Tag Team Title tournament but that’s a big negative because they haven’t had a good attitude since arriving.

Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis

Dennis charges straight at him for some kicks to the ribs and Mastiff is in early trouble. An elbow to the face cuts off a charge though and a running crossbody crushes Dennis. Mastiff hits a running dropkick and ties Dennis up in the ropes for some elbows to the head. Dennis needs a breather on the floor but manages to pull him down into a Razor’s Edge.

That’s escaped to prevent a bad case of severe pain and it’s the Regal Roll to crush Dennis again. A missed charge sends Mastiff into the steps though and they both have to dive back inside at nine. Back in and they slug it out with the referee getting shoved, drawing the double DQ at 4:13.

Rating: C-. It’s a nice story with the two monsters fighting to a draw, but it doesn’t work as well when Mastiff had already beaten him coming into this one. There should be a third match at Takeover and that’s something they both deserve, though it would have been better to have both previous matches go to a draw. Either way, nice brawl here and they were smart to keep it short.

Post match the fight continues until Johnny Saint comes out to announce a No DQ match at “NXT UK Blackpool Takeover.”

We look back at the end of last week’s show with the brawl between British Strong Style and Gallus. Next week it’s a six man tag.

Saint and Scala are in the ring for the contract signing between Joe Coffey and Pete Dunne. Coffey talks about how Takeover is going to be the clash of two giants. Everything around them is all his and soon the UK Title will be as well. Dunne has been the champion too long now and he has to be wondering why that’s the case.

The only reason is that Joe hasn’t been here, but now it’s time for the Iron King to claim his throne. Coffey signs so Dunne breaks his fingers, pulls out his own pen (like a proper Englishman) and signs as well. Dunne: “You talk too much.” Mark Coffey and Wolfgang come out for a distraction and Joe powerbombs him through a table to end the show.

Odd note: this show ran about 47:00 but the video on the Network currently lasts over an hour, with the last thirteen minutes being a mini Seth Rollins documentary. They can’t schedule the show to start airing on time and now they can’t even edit it down properly.

Overall Rating: C. The Takeover card is mostly together at this point and it’s certainly looking fine. There isn’t one big match that I really want to see but Coffey vs. Dunne has been built up much better than I was expecting. The contract signing worked well and Dennis vs. Mastiff could be fun under the right circumstances. They’re very slowly building up some better characters though and that’s fixing the biggest problem. It’s not there yet, but at least it’s a small step.

Results

Toni Storm b. Deonna Purrazzo – Storm Zero

Mike Hitchman b. Josh Morrell – Top rope splash

Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis went to a double DQ when both shoved the referee

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

 

NXT UK
Date: January 2, 2019
Location: Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

We’re almost up to Takeover: Blackpool and a lot of the card is becoming clear. There are a few spots left though and some of those are in the Tag Team Title tournament. We have a semifinal match tonight with Moustache Mountain facing Gallus, which could be entertaining if done right. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Gene Okerlund.

Opening sequence.

Travis Banks vs. Jamie Ahmed

Banks goes straight for the arm to start but Ahmed is right in the ropes. Ahmed gets in a few shots of his own until Banks sends him into the corner. That means a running dropkick to the back and a German suplex for two. Another dropkick sets up a running stomp in the corner and the Slice of Heaven finishes Ahmed at 2:42. Pretty much a squash.

Post match here’s Jordan Devlin to say that he and Banks have wrestled all over the world but the difference is Devlin gets to go home to his family every week. Banks looks like he wants to shut Devlin up but Devlin reminds him to never bet against the Ace.

We look back at Zack Gibson beating Trent Seven a few weeks back with the help of James Drake. Tyler Bate came out for the save, leading to Gallus beating Bate and Seven down. The teams will meet for a spot in the first ever NXT Tag Team Title match.

Video on Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis from a few weeks back. The rematch is next week.

Kenny Williams/Amir Jordan vs. Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner

Williams takes Barthel down into an early headlock and then does it again by the arm. Jordan comes in to stay on the arm but stops to dance because that’s his whole deal. Thankfully Barthel knocks him down with one shot and it’s off to Aichner for the beatdown in the corner. Jordan’s comeback is cut off by a cheap shot from the apron and it’s a spinebuster into a running kick to the chest.

The chinlock is broken up with a jawbreaker but Aichner is smart enough to knock Williams off the apron. Barthel grabs another chinlock which is broken in short order as well, allowing the hot tag to Williams. That means some house cleaning until Jordan tags himself back in. Barthel throws him down with a suplex for two and Aichner tosses Williams into the barricade. A powerbomb/belly to back suplex combination finishes Jordan at 7:21.

Rating: D+. This could have been worse and while I’m still not wild on Barthel, he works fine enough as a partner for the pretty good Aichner. Jordan continues to be nothing but a bad joke while Williams is perfectly watchable. Hopefully we can get more from Aichner and Barthel as they could be a rather nice team.

Toni Storm and Deonna Purrazzo agreed to a match because they both want the Takeover title shot.

Johnny Saint and Sid Scala are trying to announce some Takeover matches when Joe Coffey interrupts. He wants the title shot with Pete Dunne at Takeover and is told it’ll be taken under advisement.

Jinny vs. Candy Floss

The announcers confirm that Storm is getting the Women’s Title shot, making the match with Purrazzo seem a little less important. Floss takes her down into a hammerlock to start as the fans call Jinny a Primark Princess. Jinny gets in some stomping and a hard forearm for two before grabbing a Kimura. A wristlock sends Candy face first into the mat again but she pops up with a dropkick for a breather. Jinny has had it with this offense though and it’s A Touch of Couture to finish Candy at 4:23.

Rating: D. Jinny is starting to get better at this, though she’s still nothing compared to what she does in Progress. That’s because she hasn’t been allowed to be that character, which is going to slow anyone down. Candy continues to be fine as the perky face and that’s a good role to be in on a show like this.

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Moustache Mountain vs. Gallus

It’s Wolfgang and Mark Coffey for Gallus here. Bate wastes no time in dropkicking Coffey down for one as the fans sing about their love of Moustache Mountain. A backdrop keeps Coffey in trouble and he bails outside for a breather. Back in and Coffey finally runs him over and it’s off to Wolfgang to take over with a front facelock. Wolfgang lets go to take a swing at Seven but walks into a hurricanrana for his efforts.

Now it’s Seven coming in for the chops and a DDT to drop Coffey. Wolfgang suplexes him down though and the beating is on with right hands to the head. A running elbow sets up a waistlock to keep Seven in trouble and the beating continues. Coffey grabs the same waistlock before it’s back to Wolfgang for the same hold, which stays on for a ridiculous amount of time. Wolfgang finally switches over to the bearhug before throwing Seven outside for a breather. Coffey tries to add a dive but gets knocked out of the air, allowing Seven to run around the ring and tag Bate in.

Bate starts fast with a suicide dive on Wolfgang, followed by a middle rope uppercut for a bonus. A t-bone suplex drops Wolfgang again and Bate nips up for good measure. Bate throws him up for the airplane spin and the reverse motion sets up a toss as Wolfgang is rocked. With Bate staggered, Coffey jumps on his back for a choke….so Bate German suplexes Wolfgang and drops Coffey onto the mat at the same time. My jaw actually dropped on that because THAT’S NOT NORMAL!

It’s back to Seven to pick up the pace with a dive off the apron to take out Wolfgang. As Wolfgang comes up holding his knee, Mark enziguris Bate for two. Cue Joe Coffey to get on the apron but Pete Dunne is out to cut him off. An X Plex drops Joe on the apron and it’s Bop and Bang to put Mark down. Wolfgang gets knocked off the apron and it’s the dragon suplex/clothesline to finish Coffey at 14:38.

Rating: B+. I’m still not wild on Gallus but it was nice to see these guys beat the heck out of each other and draw in Joe and Dunne as a bonus. They had a very good match here with Bate looking like a star (I mean DANG) and Seven more than holding up his end. You had to put Moustache Mountain in the title match though as they’re bigger and more interesting stars. This wasn’t up for debate but we had a good match on the way.

Post match the brawl is on with Dunne coming in for the save. British Strong Style stands tall with Dunne saying he’ll defend the title against Joe at Blackpool. Another brawl breaks out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event saved the show and that’s all it needed to do. They focused on some different people here and it helped a lot as the show needs some stars other than the established ones. Blackpool doesn’t look awesome yet but they’re putting the pieces in the right places to make it work. Pretty good, but the main event is all that’s worth seeing.

Results

Travis Banks b. Jamie Ahmed – Slice of Heaven

Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner b. Kenny Williams/Amir Jordan – Powerbomb/belly to back suplex combination to Jordan

Jinny b. Candy Floss – A Touch of Couture

Moustache Mountain b. Gallus – Dragon suplex/clothesline combination to Coffey

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

https://www.wwe.com/article/mean-gene-okerlund-passes-away?sf205241548=1

 

Oh come on now.  You can’t take away Mean Gene.  This one hurts as he was one of those guys that was always around back in the day and would still pop up every now and then.  I got to meet him at Axxess in 2016 and apparently he thought my wife was attractive.  I was flattered…..I think.  Hopefully this isn’t a trend for the year.

Royal Rumble 1994
Date: January 22, 1994
Location: Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Attendance: 14,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Ted DiBiase

Vince is on commentary here and gets to do his carnival barker stuff. The guy knows how to make a show sound exciting, I have to give him that. DiBiase comes out to do commentary with McMahon due to having to retire late in 1993 due to a bunch of injuries.

Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Tatanka gets in a shot to the head and tries a top rope sunset flip, only to have Bam Bam sit on him. When all else fails, sit on the other guy. Off to a bearhug for about two minutes before Bigelow drops him with a shoulder block. Tatanka starts his war path thing so Bam Bam decks him in the head with an enziguri to drop him. The moonsault misses though and Tatanka goes up again, this time hitting the cross body for the pin.

Rating: C+. Shockingly hot opener here and if you cut the bear hug in half or so, this is a really solid match. They stuck to the formula really well here and the match was good as a result. This is one of the nice surprises in wrestling: on paper this sounded horrible but it turned out to be a pretty nice match. Good opener.

Tag Titles: Bret Hart/Owen Hart vs. Quebecers

Intercontinental Title: IRS vs. Razor Ramon

Guess who is defending here. JR and Gorilla Monsoon do commentary for this match. IRS goes on a big rant about how evil the crowd here is for not paying their taxes, even though they have about three months left to file. Razor goes off on IRS to start, knocking him out to the floor. IRS comes back with some forearms but Razor punches him right back down to take over again.

Ramon hits a bunch of basic stuff like atomic drops and clotheslines for some two counts, but IRS ducks under a clothesline to send Razor out to the floor. Back in and IRS goes up but jumps into a boot. For one of the only times I can EVER remember this happening, IRS avoids the foot and drops an elbow for two instead. WHY IS THAT SO HARD FOR PEOPLE TO DO???

Or maybe another referee comes out to explain the interference and the match is restarted. Razor hits the Edge to retain.

Bearer and Undertaker are making a coffin for Yoko.

We recap the world title match, which is Yoko being scared of Taker and Taker being one of the last hopes to stop the monster. Apparently the contract was signed before Yoko and company knew it was a casket match. Taker I believe debuted his popping out of the casket spot in this feud.

WWF World Title: The Undertaker vs. Yokozuna

AND HE GETS UP. Diesel comes out and they get Taker in the coffin but he fights ALL OF THEM OFF. Yoko steals the Urn and hits Taker in the head with it before opening the Urn. Green smoke comes out of it and Taker now is powerless. Everyone hits a bunch of moves on him as this goes on WAY too long. After ALL THAT, Taker is put in the coffin and Yoko retains the title.

BUT IT GETS WORSE!

Then, to REALLY hammer home the point, the image on the screen starts to rise up through the top of the screen (which should be the top of the casket, meaning it should be ramming into the people that put him in the freaking casket) and A FREAKING BODY RISES OUT OF THE TOP OF THE SCREEN. AS IN A TANGIBLE BODY (which might have been played by Marty Jannetty).

The usual Rumble interviews eat up some time.

Royal Rumble

Mabel is #16 and dang there are some big guys in there. He goes right for Diesel in a terrifying preview of Summerslam 95. Mabel cleans house until Sparky Plugg (Bob Holly as a racecar driver and debuting here as a replacement for the 1-2-3 Kid) is #17. Shawn Michaels is #18 and stares down Diesel to start. Everyone gets on Diesel and Shawn gives the final push to eliminate him. Diesel gets a VERY audible ovation and chant as he leaves.

For your big face pop of the match (other than Diesel): Bret Hart is #27 and limping very badly. Today, people would have a bandage on the knee and charge to the ring because modern wrestling is stupid. Fatu is #28 and DEAR FREAKING GOODNESS THROW SOMEONE OUT ALREADY! A bunch of guys team up and FINALLY throw Crush out as Marty Jannetty is #29. Naturally he goes right for Shawn and punches Shawn to the apron.

Ratings Comparison

Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Original: B

Redo: C+

Quebecers vs. Bret Hart/Owen Hart

Original: A+

Redo: B-

Razor Ramon vs. IRS

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Yokozuna vs. Undertaker

Original: F

Redo: F

Royal Rumble

Original: B

Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: C-

DANG I liked this show a lot better on the first viewing.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/01/13/royal-rumble-count-up-1994/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: January 1, 2019
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the first show of the year and we’re taped again, though for the last time here. The big story this week is the return of John Cena, who is making one of his regular stops here in between movies. It’s not clear what he’s going to be doing but there could be some interesting interactions with some of the people on the roster. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s New Day, with Big E. as the New Year’s Baby, to open things up. They’re happy to be on the first Smackdown of the new year and we’ll start things off with an important announcement: all three of them will be in the Royal Rumble. Big E. goes into the Scott Steiner math promo, with Woods asking why he’s doing Steiner Math. If they win, they might be able to challenge for the Universal Title but Brock Lesnar won’t show up anyway. Kofi snaps about not being able to get a title shot so Big E. gives him some of the bottle.

On a sadder note, their doctors have told them to stop eating pancakes but Big E. pulls some out of the diaper. After Kofi freaks out, he and Woods have new year’s resolutions….which are the plots to Bumblebee and Bird Box. Big E. gets us back on track by talking about the fatal five way for the WWE Title shot at the Royal Rumble, but first we need to have a regular match to fill in the fifth spot. Let’s do that now.

Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe

Before the match, we get clips of their match last where Jeff snapped. See, why couldn’t they just combine the two matches? Either have last week’s match be for the spot in the five way or do something else and only have them do this match. That’s a big reason why these feuds feel like they go on forever. Anyway Joe pulls him down into a kneebar to start and punches away in the corner. Jeff slips down to the floor and wraps Joe’s knee around the post to keep things even. Joe gets mad and unloads the announcers’ table to send us to a break.

Back with Joe hammering away in the corner, which is rather different than the expected chinlock. Joe ties him in the Tree of Woe to break up the Whisper in the Wind, setting up a sliding dropkick. Jeff makes his comeback with all of the usual, including the Twisting Stunner to set up the Swanton but Joe bails to the floor. Hardy goes with him but gets caught in the Koquina Clutch. That gives Joe a nine, so he slaps it on again back inside to knock Hardy out at 10:26 for a spot in the five way.

Rating: C. The match was the usual stuff they’re capable of doing, but that doesn’t make it that much more interesting. Joe’s promos were great before the matches started but they’ve already done this match enough that it’s hard to care about it again. Joe just won clean, so why would I want to see them fight again? I’m sure they will, and that’s a problem.

We look back at Vince McMahon bringing out the animal in AJ Styles, who beat Vince down due to a slap.

Vince and Shane McMahon are in their office and explain the fatal five way in a fashion that they would never use. AJ comes in and asks if Vince is sure he wanted to see him. He’s not apologizing for what happened last week so watch the real AJ tonight. AJ teases showing the real version to Vince right now and Vince has to hold Shane back. With AJ gone, Shane tells Vince to be careful what he wishes for. Better advice: make sure that HHH isn’t doing the same storyline with Seth Rollins on Raw.

Here are Rusev and Lana for their celebration of winning the US Title last week. Rusev talks about how great he is, including his animal magnetism (Lana seems to approve) and smelling like a bacon flavored Cinnabon. We get a RUSEV DAY USA chant but here’s Nakamura to jump him from behind. Lana tried to jump on Nakamura’s back and Rusev uses the distraction to superkick him down. That crushes Lana, who can handle wrestling matches but not having a 220lb man fall on her. Nakamura uses the distraction to kick Rusev in the face and then hit Kinshasa.

We look back at Mandy Rose trying to get Jimmy Uso under the mistletoe last week, which didn’t sit well with Naomi.

Mandy Rose vs. Naomi

Mandy takes off the Mandy Rose shirt to reveal an Usos shirt….and apparently we have a change.

Sonya Deville vs. Naomi

Sonya uses the early distraction to hit a sliding knee for two and it’s off to the chinlock. Naomi comes right back with a Disaster kick but Mandy grabs the mic. She was getting ready earlier today and sent Jimmy a picture of herself in a towel (which is covering her more than her gear). That’s enough of a distraction for Sonya to hit a Hellevator (suplex into a Rock Bottom) for the pin at 2:23.

Randy Orton promises to make victims out of everyone else in the five way.

Rey Mysterio has shown that he can’t be pushed around and he’ll prove that he’s not just here for nostalgia.

Mustafa Ali used to be known as the heart of the cruiserweights but now he wants to be known as the heart of Smackdown. He may be the underdog but he has hope and heart.

We get some new year’s resolutions.

The IIconics want to be the first ever Women’s Tag Team Champions.

The Good Brothers want to eradicate Smackdown of all the nerds.

Shelton Benjamin doesn’t care because no one is going to live up to their promises, and pulls down the New Year’s resolution curtains.

Samoa Joe promises to win the five way and then win the WWE Title because he wants to prove himself to people like Jeff Hardy.

Here’s John Cena, bad hair and all, for a chat. Cena thanks the fans for the energy and talks about the year in review. He bought a ticket to Wrestlemania and probably shouldn’t have had those beers before the match. His personal life was all over national television, he wrote a best selling children’s book that he’s very proud of and lived in China for six months. With all that though, he still thinks this hair is a good idea. On top of that though, he can still float like a butterfly and sting like a bumblebee, which is still certified fresh.

The question now is why is he here. Well he knows that someone is going to come out here right now and say Cena should leave WWE faster than Nikki Bella left him. That brings out Becky Lynch to some applause from Cena. Becky asks how it feels to expect a man to come out here but to get The Man instead. Things have gotten a bit more complicated since Cena left, because now Becky wants to take his place instead of Charlotte’s. He’s been THE star of WWE and now she wants to be on those posters and filling his shoes. If Cena has a problem with that, Nikki won’t be the only woman to drop him this year.

This brings out Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega, with the latter saying a fresh start was promised not too long ago. What she sees though is an old face in Cena and a still broken face in Becky. Vega introduces the two of them and promises that this will be the year of tranquilo. Cena: “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is John Cena and you may know me from being John Cena.” The challenge is thrown out and the mixed tag starts after the break.

John Cena/Becky Lynch vs. Zelina Vega/Andrade Cien Almas

The women start with a chop sending Vega bailing for a tag to Almas. That means Cena comes in as well and Andrade is rather pleased. The early tranquilo pose doesn’t have Cena very impressed and Almas’ headlock doesn’t make things much better. The fans want Becky but have to settle for more headlocking instead. Almas kicks him down but gets his suplex reversed. A running clothesline takes Cena down though and we take a break.

Back with Vega holding Cena on the ropes and Almas still in control. Cena fights up and avoids a charge, allowing the hot tag to Becky as the fans stay interested. Some kicks have Vega in trouble and the Bexploder makes things even worse. A top rope dropkick with almost no elevation (Becky might have slipped) gets two but Almas breaks up the Disarm-Her. Cena takes care of him with the usual, including the Lightning Fist. Becky shoves Cena out of the ring though and grabs the Disarm-Her for the win at 10:11.

Rating: C-. That ending was a great example of something that Becky would do and fitting her character. She didn’t ask permission from Cena to do what she wanted and just took the spot herself. That fits her very well and was the right call. It’s not going to mean anything, but it fit for the moment.

Post match Cena offers a handshake but Becky does You Can’t See Me instead.

We look back at Shane finally agreeing to be Miz’s tag partner.

Miz comes in to see Shane and has ideas for matching gear. That means Shane in Miz’s coat, but Shane isn’t thrilled. He doesn’t seem that much happier with the red version with sunglasses either. Miz’s last idea is Shane in Miz trunks, with Shane looking rather ripped. Shane suggests coming up with something brighter and leaves.

The same video on the coming NXT stars. Good grief WE GET IT ALREADY.

HHH comes up to see Asuka in the back and asks her who should get a title shot at the Royal Rumble. Asuka is up for anyone because no one is ready for her. Charlotte pops in to say Ronda Rousey is the only reason she’s not champion. Carmella comes in to say she was champion for a long time, followed by Becky saying she’s the only option. Advisement has been undertaken.

Rey Mysterio vs Mustafa Ali vs. Samoa Joe vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

One fall to a finish and the winner gets Bryan at the Rumble. Everyone is in the ring at once so Ali goes right at Joe, who throws him down without much effort. AJ hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Rey before hammering away at Orton in the corner. Everyone but Orton heads outside with the aggressive AJ sending Ali face first into the post. Ali is fine enough to hit the rolling X Factor for two on Orton as Joe makes the save.

Rey dives in to take Joe down but AJ sends him hard into the corner. Mysterio is fine enough to hurricanrana AJ out to the floor, only to walk right into a powerslam. Joe suplexes Ali but charges into AJ’s elbow in the corner, setting up the moonsault into the reverse DDT for two. Back from a break with AJ taking over again but not being able to launch the Phenomenal Forearm. Joe drops him through the announcers’ table, only to have Ali take him down.

Rey does the same to Orton and we get an Ali vs Mysterio showdown. Ali flips out of a headscissors and catches Rey on top with a super Spanish Fly. That’s good for a delayed two with Joe making a save this time and firing off knees to Ali. The Satellite DDT plans Joe but the 054 misses. Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch with Rey making a save off a 619. Another 619 hits Ali and there’s the RKO to make it worse, with Rey coming off the top with a legdrop for the save. A hurricanrana on the floor takes care of Joe and AJ hits the springboard 450 to pin Orton for the title shot at 13:09.

Rating: B-. Not too bad here with the right call. You don’t want to have AJ get that big moment last year and then lose his first match back. I don’t think they’ll put the title back on him but there’s a good chance he’ll get screwed out of the title, which is a fine enough way to set up a Rumble match. Ali got some nice offense in here as well and that’s a good sign for his future.

Overall Rating: C. The show wasn’t exactly great, but it set up things for the Rumble and advanced some stories without feeling long, which is a lot better than what you would see on the Monday counterpart. Things will pick way back up next week so this was little more than a filler, but at least we got a watchable show this time around. Hopefully we get more of the Rumble card next week, but what we’ve gotten so far isn’t too bad.

Results

Samoa Joe b. Jeff Hardy – Koquina Clutch

Sonya Deville b. Naomi – Hellevator

John Cena/Becky Lynch b. Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega – Disarm-Her to Vega

AJ Styles b. Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio and Mustafa Ali – Springboard 450 to Orton

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Royal Rumble 1993
Date: January 24, 1993
Location: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California
Attendance: 16,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan

Historical note: this is 13 days after the debut of Monday Night Raw.

Steiner Brothers vs. Beverly Brothers

Scott avoids an elbow drop but Blake breaks up the hot tag again. The crowd is silent when the Beverlies are on offense. Scott comes back with a butterfly powerbomb to put Blake down and Scott actually dives through the ropes and tags at the same time. Rick cleans house and there are Steiner Lines for both Beverlies. Scott pounds on Blake in the corner and counters a Doomsday Device with a victory roll for two. The Frankensteiner to Beau gets the pin.

Rating: D+. Pretty dull match here as the Steiners were clearly going to dominate the entire time. The Beverlies never got above lower midcard status and their biggest feud was against the Bushwhackers. What were you going to expect them to do against the freaking STEINER BROTHERS? Nothing here but a squash.

Intercontinental Title: Marty Jannetty vs. Shawn Michaels

Jannetty controls to start, sending Shawn to the floor twice with a knee lift and a clothesline. Marty punches Shawn down on the floor and poses in the ring. He tries a punch off the top but gets caught in the ribs on the way down. Shawn loads Marty up on his shoulder and in one of the only times I can ever remember it working, rams Marty shoulder first into the post.

Sherri finally does something by slapping Shawn, who gets belly to back suplexed into the ring. Shawn gets launched to the floor again as the pace picks up a bit. A powerslam puts the champ down but Shawn avoids the top rope punch. Marty stops himself before crashing and gets two off a DDT. Shawn misses a superkick and gets caught by one of his own for two. The crowd is getting into this.

Marty slingshots Shawn so he gets to do his big bump onto the post. There goes the referee via an elbow to the face and Sherri comes in. She swings her shoe but hits Marty by mistake of course. Shawn yells at her a lot and then superkicks Marty in the chest for the pin to retain.

In the back, Gene yells at Sherri to calm down. Marty comes to the back for some more brawling.

Heenan and Gorilla argue a bit.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Big Boss Man

We get a clip from WWF Mania (Saturday morning show) of Razor beating up Owen to hype the world title match.

WWF World Title: Razor Ramon vs. Bret Hart

Feeling out process to start with Razor getting the early advantage with some right hands. A knee in the corner misses and Bret has on the Figure Four in less than 90 seconds. Razor gets the rope so Bret drops elbows on the knee instead. The leg gets wrapped around the post before Bret goes after the other leg in the corner for some reason. Ramon comes back with a whip to send Bret ribs first into the post.

Here are Caesar and Cleopatra to hype up Wrestlemania. They read a proclamation about it and this is really stupid.

Royal Rumble

Ric Flair is #1 and Bob Backlund, going through a career resurgence at the time, is #2. Backlund drops Flair with a shoulder and does his little dance. Flair pounds him into the corner but Bob backdrops him down. Papa Shango is #3 and is dumped out by Flair in less than thirty seconds. Backlund it sent to the apron and Flair stomps away. They chop it out until Ted DiBiase, I believe half of the tag champions here, is #4.

Heenan makes fun of Backlund as the double teaming ensues, prompting Gorilla to threaten to knock Bobby out. Backlund is beaten on even more until Brian Knobs is #5. The Nasties are good guys at this point and happen to be feuding with Money Inc. Guess who he starts swinging at. Knobs almost dumps Flair but only gets him to the apron. Things slow down for a bit until Virgil is #6. The faces team up to fight the heels as not a lot is going on at this point.

Ratings Comparison

Steiner Brothers vs. Beverly Brothers

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty

Original: C

Redo: C+

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Big Boss Man

Original: D+

Redo: D

Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon

Original: B

Redo: B

Royal Rumble

Original: D+

Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: D

Redo: D+

Not much change here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/01/12/royal-rumble-count-up-1993/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/breaking-elite-wrestling-officially-announced-plus-first-event/

So….this could be interesting.Right now, all we know is the company’s name, the main people involved (Cody, Young Bucks, Hangman Page and possibly SCU), and the name of their first show: Double Or Nothing.

First and foremost, don’t get overly excited yet.  We have a show announced without any talent or anything beyond that.  Yes All In was great and a big hit, but that’s one show, not a full promotion.  New Japan’s shows in southern California didn’t draw nearly as well after a few times and that’s with a lot of the same talent that is going to be here, plus a lot more.  We still need to know a lot more about this, but there’s serious potential.

 

Above all else, it’s nice to have another place for the talent to go that is going to be a top level indy (Yes indy.  Don’t act like these guys are going to be anywhere near WWE for a long time, if ever.) on the level of ROH or TNA.  THis can get more talent in the ring and in front of people, which is always a great thing.  Maybe this can motivate WWE a bit, as nothing else has for years.

 

I’m interested in where this goes and I’ll be checking it out for sure, but we still need to know a lot more details, which I’m sure are coming soon enough.  Still though, big deal at the moment and I want to see what they can do.

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 31, 2018
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

We’re taped this week for the second time in a row, which has to be the first time in at least several years, assuming two of the UK shows didn’t take place back to back at some point. The big deal tonight is a cage match between Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, because that was a story that needed to go on for the better part of nine months, assuming it ends tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

The cage is lowered to start.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre

In a cage with pinfall, submission or escape to win. Ziggler has thankfully lost the record scratch at the start of his song. An early escape attempt doesn’t work for Ziggler and Drew chops the heck out of him. That and a delayed vertical suplex are enough to put Dolph down for some writhing on the mat.

Dolph’s early comeback is cut off by the Glasgow Kiss but he catches Drew on top. That means a series of rams into the cage but Drew kicks the knee out for a crotching. Back from a break with Drew demanding that Ziggler fight and being set into the cage for his efforts. The superkick gives Ziggler two but Drew pulls him back inside. A double headbutt puts them both down again but Drew is up first, only to have Ziggler slam the cage door on his head.

The Fameasser gets two and we take a break. Back again with McIntyre superplexing him off the top of the cage and then sending Ziggler face first into the cage. The Claymore takes Dolph’s head off but Drew would rather sit and look instead of cover. Another Claymore finishes Ziggler at 19:29.

Rating: C+. It’s a good win for McIntyre but it’s way past time for this feud to be over. McIntyre is better than Ziggler and they need to move him on to something else already. They’ve been at this for months now and McIntyre has gotten everything he can from Ziggler. That doesn’t mean it’s stopping, but it means that it should.

Post match Drew isn’t done as he puts a chair in front of Ziggler’s head and Claymores it into Ziggler’s head, driving it into the cage. Drew says that he’s going to win the Royal Rumble and leaves, but comes back as Ziggler was sitting up in the chair. That means another Claymore to leave Ziggler laying. Ok are we done with these two now? I mean we should have been three months ago but are we done now?

Time for some New Year’s Resolutions.

Finn Balor wants the Universal Title back.

Ember Moon wants to win the Royal Rumble.

Ascension wants to bring back the Fashion Files. And win the Tag Team Titles.

Lucha House Party wants it to be their year.

Here’s Seth Rollins for a chat. He wants a fresh start this year but that’s the case every single week on Raw because things move so fast. However, he has a guaranteed rematch for the Intercontinental Title and wants to use that right now. Cue HHH to say that it’s a new day in WWE and those automatic rematches are gone. On top of that, Rollins doesn’t really deserve a shot right now.

That’s hard for HHH to say because he’s always supported Rollins, which Rollins isn’t letting slip by. HHH talks about how Rollins made him believe in him but HHH is done handing things out. Rollins loses it over that, saying that he never wanted things handed to him. While Brock Lesnar was up in Canada doing whatever Lesnar does, Rollins was out here having classics with everyone from Finn Balor to Dolph Ziggler to MOJO RAWLEY.

HHH wants the old Rollins back and tonight he can burn it down against Bobby Lashley. That’s cool with Seth, who is taking Lashley down tonight, then Dean Ambrose and the Intercontinental Title, and then the Universal Title. If HHH and his family gets in his way, they’re being taken down too. This brings out Shane McMahon to say that Rollins needs to leave, because we’ve got a battle royal with the winner getting an Intercontinental Title shot later tonight and it starts right now.

Battle Royal

Finn Balor, No Way Jose, Viktor, Konnor, Kalisto, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Titus O’Neil, Apollo Crews, Zack Ryder, Mojo Rawley, Tyler Breeze, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Curt Hawkins, Baron Corbin

This is dubbed the Fresh Start battle royal. It’s a brawl to start with Jose hitting an airplane spin on Viktor. Crews eliminates both of them and then puts the B Team on the apron. Some dropkicks have Konnor in trouble and things slow down a lot. Kalisto puts Kalisto on the apron but the House Party gets together to eliminate him. Back from a break with Balor eliminating Metalik by knocking him off the top and then sending the other members of the House Part to the apron.

They’re both thrown out by Balor but Crews then gets rid of the B Team, Konnor and Rawley in a rush. Breeze follows them out for Crews’ seventh elimination until Corbin chokeslams Crews down. Balor dropkicks away as we’re down to five with Balor cleaning house. Corbin gets in a shot from behind though and dumps Balor, leaving us with Corbin, Ryder, Hawkins and Crews.

Ryder gets in some hope spots but Corbin backdrops him to the floor to cut him off. Hawkins and Corbin have the staredown with the fans getting behind Hawkins, even as he’s thrown to the apron. Renee: “Take that haters.” Of course he’s out shortly thereafter to gt us down to two. Corbin throws Crews to the apron but Crews gets back in, allowing Corbin to try the slide underneath the ropes. That’s cut off by a jumping enziguri though, followed by a second to give Apollo the win at 11:38.

Rating: D+. Not much to this one, though they did a good job of making Crews look like a star in the whole thing. There’s nothing to be gained by having him just hang around until the ending and then win by eliminating one person, but Crews got rid of half of the field, which is quite the feat. Now of course that doesn’t matter if he loses badly to Dean tonight, which is about what you have to know is coming. Oh and Corbin in a battle royal is fine, as long as he doesn’t talk.

Post match Crews says that’s what he’s been looking for and it’s finally here after 364 days. Tonight, he wants the title.

Natalya talks about how great this year has been, including last week’s title match against Ronda Rousey. This has been a rollercoaster year and she wants the Raw Women’s Title, which is why she’s entering the Royal Rumble. Nia Jax comes in to say Ronda might not be the champion by then. Something might derail Natalya’s plans too, and here’s Tamina to jump her from behind. Nia: “Where’s your best friend now Natalya?”

Corbin is still in the ring after a break (ERG!) and rants about how hard his job was as General Manager because he had so much to do. This brings out Elias to play some Auld Lang Syne and call Corbin a loser. He was talking to Kid Rock earlier in the day and they agreed that spending New Year’s Eve with Corbin was a bad idea.

Detroit is making a comeback and now that Elias is here it can be ready to roll like never before. Elias’ song is about how Corbin sucks but it doesn’t matter because he’s in Detroit Rock City. The fight is on and they fight into the crowd for a bit before going back to ringside with Elias getting the better of it. If this is as high as Corbin gets, I can live with it.

Drake Maverick and the AOP promise to make the new year even more brutal. Akam pops a balloon.

The Riott Squad isn’t changing because no one ever changes.

Zack Ryder wants to win and collect action figures.

No Way Jose wants a party.

Bayley/Sasha Banks/Ember Moon vs. Riott Squad

Banks takes Logan into the corner to start as the announcers talk about Logan eating a deer heart at her viking wedding over the weekend. Ember comes in to roll Ruby (who has gotten a big haircut) up a few times, followed by a hard dropkick for two more. It’s off to Morgan to kick Moon in the face and then stomp her down in the corner. The Squad triple stomps away so Bayley and Banks come in for the brawl as we take a break.

Back with Bayley getting hiptossed but armdragging Morgan down to take over again. It’s off to Banks for an attempt at the double knees in the corner but Morgan is up in time to take her down instead. Ruby’s chinlock doesn’t go anywhere so Morgan comes back in and runs Banks down for two and some loud screaming. Banks slips out of a backslide and kicks her in the face but the numbers game gets the better of her Moon has to come in for a save and dives onto Morgan and Riott on the floor. That leave Bayley to make a blind tag and it’s the Backstabber into the top rope elbow for the pin on Logan at 12:30.

Rating: C+. DO! SOMETHING! ELSE!!! Good grief how many months has we spent watching Banks/Bayley/a friend of the month vs. the Riott Squad? They have the same match against each other over and over as we wait for them to be in the next big gimmick match on pay per view. How is anyone supposed to benefit from this? Well other than the writers who get to take this segment off every week of course.

We look at Braun Strowman’s year.

Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley wants a fresh start so there’s no posing tonight. He’s a fighter and tonight he’s going to fight. Lashley runs him over to start but Seth slugs away to get a breather. An enziguri staggers Lashley and a running knee to the back sends him outside. That means a slingshot forearm but a Rush distraction lets Lashley take over again. The nerve hold doesn’t last long as Rollins jawbreaks his way to freedom but he stops to go after Rush. That means a hurricanrana into the post and we take a break.

Back with Lashley holding a chinlock until he lets go for some posing. Rollins gets dropped onto his shoulder for two more but the delayed vertical suplex is escaped. Some right hands and a Sling Blade put Lashley on the floor. The suicide dives keep Lashley in trouble and the springboard clothesline gets two. Rush offers another distraction though and this time Rollins chases him to the timekeeper’s area. Rollins finally clotheslines him down but gets jumped by Lashley. That’s enough for Rollins, who hits him with a chair for the DQ at 9:38.

Rating: C. They’re trying to build Rollins up but just let him have a match he can win if you want him to work. Rollins got over huge in the first place because he had the most energetic matches on the show but now he’s swatting at Rush like a fly and losing to Lashley. Just let him win here as Lashley losing to a former World Champion isn’t going to derail him. He can do the post match beatdown after a win and still be fine.

Post match Rollins destroys both of them with the chair.

John Cena is back next week.

Remember that video where we see the same six NXT names over and over? Well here it is again.

Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers vs. Heath Slater/Rhyno

So Rhyno, the hometown boy, is already back after what, three weeks of being fired? It’s no Kevin Owens quitting one week and being back the next but still not great. Slater punches away at Mahal to start but gets driven into the corner for the series of right hands. Sumir comes in for some elbows and dancing but it’s quickly off to Rhyno for the house cleaning. A belly to belly plants both Singhs and it’s time for the Gore. Sunil grabs the foot though and Mahal adds a superkick. The Khallas is good for the pin on Rhyno at 2:59. That was the most necessary match I’ve seen in years.

Ambrose says he doesn’t need to have a fresh start because he’s great right now. He’s not about to have Crews get some feel good moment to begin the year.

Bobby Roode and Chad Gable want to shut up the Revival for good next week so the division can be glorious.

The Revival wants to bring credibility back to the division.

Bayley and Sasha want to win the Tag Team Titles.

Intercontinental Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is challenging and dropkicks Dean in the face for talking too much trash. A sunset flip and a rollup give Apollo two each and a clothesline puts Dean on the floor. That means a moonsault from the apron and we take a break. Back with Apollo fighting out of a chinlock and getting two off a small package. A double clothesline puts them both down but it’s Apollo up first with a kick to the head.

The Toss Powerbomb is broken up but Crews settles for two off a standing shooting star pres. A belly to belly sends Dean into the corner and now the Toss Powerbomb connects for two with Dean grabbing the ropes. Dean bails to the floor but gets caught with a flip dive. Back in and the frog splash misses, allowing Dean to hit Dirty Deeds to retain at 9:15.

Rating: C. Well thanks for pushing Apollo for about two hours. It sure was nice to have him do the same offense he always does before Dean pinned him to retain the title. At some point they need to push someone and having them lose like this isn’t the way to do it. I’m sure he gets points for losing or something, but either don’t put him in the match or have him win.

Alexa Bliss is proud of her time running the Raw women’s division but that time has come to an end. Next week, she’ll be debuting her own talk show called A Moment of Bliss. Her first guest will be Ronda Rousey, and Ronda better dress for the occasion because she won’t be in a pit.

Brock Lesnar is back next week.

Nia Jax/Tamina vs. Ronda Rousey/Natalya

Ronda wastes no time and starts the fight in a hurry before dropping Tamina. Nia comes in and has to fight off an armbar. That’s finally shoved away and it’s off to Natalya for a snap suplex on Tamina. Nia pulls Tamina outside but Ronda dives onto both of them to send us to a break. Back with Natalya in trouble and Nia sending her into the corner. The pull out of the corner is even worse and gives Nia two as it’s off to the chinlock.

Natalya scores with a crossbody though and the hot tag brings in Rousey to clean house. A jumping elbow gives Rousey two on Nia but she throws Rousey down again. The super Samoan drop is broken up so Tamina makes a blind tag and kicks Rousey in the face for two. The armbar on Tamina is broken up with the legdrop and Tamina superkicks Natalya to the floor. Tamina misses the Superfly Splash and gets armbarred for the tap at 12:21.

Rating: D. Oh no. This really didn’t work as it was every match we’ve seen Rousey have with these two. OH NO! THEY HIT HER REALLY HARD AND HOW CAN SHE EVER GET AND THERE’S THE ARMBAR! This was a lifeless main event and I was so bored sitting through it after a long show already. Bad ending to the show, which isn’t the way to end the year.

Overall Rating: C-. This show felt rather self contained as it came off more like a holding pattern for next week than anything else. That being said, given how low the viewership is going to be for this due to the holiday, that’s not the worst idea in the world. Next week’s show is stacked though and it should be a good start on the way towards the Rumble. Nothing of note to see this week, though Drew winning is a good sign.

Results

Drew McIntyre b. Dolph Ziggler – Claymore

Apollo Crews won a battle royal last eliminating Baron Corbin

Bayley/Sasha Banks/Ember Moon b. Riott Squad – Top rope elbow to Logan

Bobby Lashley b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Rollins used a chair

Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers b. Heath Slater/Rhyno – Khallas to Rhyno

Dean Ambrose b. Apollo Crews – Dirty Deeds

Ronda Rousey/Natalya b. Nia Jax/Tamina – Armbar to Tamina

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Main Event
Date: December 27, 2018
Host: Scott Stanford

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

Opening sequence.

Stanford welcomes us to the show in the studio, which isn’t something you see too often anymore.

From Raw.

Elias vs. Bobby Lashley

Miracle on 34^th Street Fight so there are weapons around the ring, including Christmas trees. Lashley fires off shoulders in the corner to start until they head outside with Elias hitting him with a Christmas tree. Elias knocks him down again and we take a break. Back with Lio Rush helping put Elias in trouble and Lashley loads up a present. They come back in with Lashley throwing him in an overhead belly to belly and pouring out….Legos. Well that’s different. Not unique as I saw it done earlier this year, but different indeed.

Lashley loads up a superplex that wouldn’t put Rollins on the Legos whatsoever so Rollins shoves him onto them instead. A blast from a fire extinguisher blinds Lashley and he knocks Rush off the apron through a table. Another shot to the ribs with the fire extinguisher sets up the old Al Snow bowling ball to the crotch spot. Elias hits him with a cello for the pin at 12:36.

Rating: C-. It’s a tradition and I can’t get mad about it, but am I supposed to believe that the feud is over now? I don’t see why I should, as the ladder match should have ended things but this kept going anyway. The brawling was fine, but it’s not like this means anything more than the previous matches. It’s nice for Elias to win though, even if almost no one is going to see it.

From Raw again.

Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor vs. Dolph Ziggler

Before the match, Drew talks about not being worried because he’s a mountain lion. If the other two get in his way, he’s not worried to kick their heads off. After he gets done with this, he’s moving on to the Royal Rumble so he can main event Wrestlemania (becoming the first entrant).

Drew cleans house to start and knocks both of them into the corner, only to charge into a shot to the face both times. McIntyre gets sent outside and both guys join him, where Drew sends them into various hard objects as we take a break. Back with Balor caught in an armbar and then suplexing Ziggler into an armbar of his own. The big headbutt sends Ziggler back to the floor but Balor knocks Drew down.

The Coup de Grace misses though and Balor rolls through, right into a Zig Zag for two. Balor knocks Ziggler outside again and tries another Coup de Grace, only to get crotched by Ziggler. A superkick drops McIntyre for two with Balor finally hitting the Coup de Grace for the save. McIntyre gets dropkicked to the floor, leaving Balor to hit the Coup de Grace to put Ziggler away at 11:39.

Rating: C-. I’m completely done with seeing these three fight and while it’s better that McIntyre didn’t take the fall, he shouldn’t be toiling with these people. He should be going after the World Title, but since that doesn’t exist and we CAN’T switch people from one show to another save or at designated times, this is as good as he gets. At least Balor got the pin, which is the second best option.

Post match McIntyre yells at Ziggler for ruining things and gets Zig Zagged. So yes, it’s still going and we’ll be seeing them fight again.

From Raw, again.

Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Ronda Rousey

Rousey is defending. Natalya spins out of an early wristlock attempt but Rousey takes her to the mat without much effort. An early side triangle choke attempt doesn’t quite work as Natalya slips out to grab a waistlock. That’s reversed into a bodyscissors for a bit until Ronda sends her outside in a heap. Ronda looks concerned about her friend as we take a break.

Back with Rousey in trouble and Natalya making things worth with a bodyscissors of her own. The chinlock doesn’t last long and gives Natalya two, with the kickout seeming to just annoy her. An abdominal stretch, with Natalya picking up a leg, makes things even worse for Rousey. Since that’s a hard position to hold, Natalya goes with a dropkick for two. A delayed suplex gets the same and Rousey looks shaken in the corner.

It’s a clothesline to get Rousey out of trouble and she unloads in the corner. A running knee gives Rousey two but Natalya is right back with a Sharpshooter attempt. That’s reversed into Piper’s Pit but Rousey takes too long, allowing Natalya to get the Sharpshooter. With Natalya trying to bring it back to the middle though, Rousey reverses into an armbar for the tap at 15:43, nearly letting go so fast that Natalya hadn’t tapped yet.

Rating: C+. Match of the night so far, but I didn’t quite buy Natalya as having a real change of winning. Maybe it’s her inability to be good with the emotional side of things or the fact that her push has focused on the memory of Jim Neidhart, but this wasn’t exactly thrilling. Rousey did a good job with showing that she didn’t want to hurt her friend, which could help set up an eventual rematch.

From Smackdown.

It’s time for MizTV, with the Best in the World trophy in the ring with him. Miz wastes no time in bringing out Shane McMahon as his guest. Shane says the new mandate from the company is to listen to the fans (less than 24 hours after Baron Corbin main evented Raw) so Miz brings up Paige being removed from power. That’s dropped in a hurry so Miz says there are four McMahon’s (three and a HHH actually) in power so Shane should have more time to form the best tag team ever with Miz.

See, this is all about Miz’s father. Miz lists off his resume and says he’s never heard his father say he’s proud of him. Then it was the Best in the World, where his father said that Shane was something else. Miz’s dad usually likes the high fliers so Miz was confused. Shane is the kind of guy who will put his life on the line and that got Miz’s attention. Miz needs to team with Shane to make his father proud and Shane should do it since this is the land of opportunity. Shane agrees, but says Miz better not screw him. They hold up the trophy to wrap things up. I’m scared of where this is going.

From Smackdown.

AJ Styles runs into Vince McMahon in the back, where Vince asks who AJ is. AJ lists off his monikers but Vince wants to know why AJ wasn’t wrestling in the house that he built. Vince wants the real AJ Styles and knows that AJ has a tormented soul. If AJ can harness his aggression, the animal inside him can get out. That’s what Vince wants to see so he slaps AJ, who beats Vince down. Agents break it up and Vince seems very happy.

From Smackdown, again.

US Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev

Rusev is challenging. Nakamura, in a full body suit again, takes Rusev into the corner to start but gets taken down by some running clotheslines. An early triangle choke sends Rusev bailing to the floor and we take a break. Back with Nakamura grabbing a cravate to keep Rusev in trouble. A suplex gets Rusev out of trouble but Nakamura kicks him right back down. The stomps on the back of the neck have Rusev in more trouble and Nakamura grabs a chinlock. Rusev gets up and heads to the apron but gets kicked outside as we take another break.

Back again with Nakamura getting two off a knee to the head. The front facelock goes on for a few moments until Rusev throws him off without too much trouble. Rusev gets two off a spinwheel kick and another kick to the face gets the same. They head outside with Nakamura sending him into the steps and hitting a middle rope knee to the face back inside.

Kinshasa is countered with the Machka Kick for two but Nakamura grabs another triangle. This one lasts a bit longer until Rusev eventually throws him off. Rusev misses a charge into the post and a knee to the head gives Nakamura two. A lariat turns Nakamura inside out and another Machka Kick gives Rusev the pin and the title at 22:45.

Rating: B. It’s about nine months late but I’m that Rusev finally won the title back. He’s been over all year and has seemed to be going in circles for months now. Nakamura continues his near downward spiral after all that time doing nothing, despite being US Champion for five months. Good match here, but these two are going in opposite directions.

And from Raw to wrap things up.

Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin

The week after the McMahons promise everything is what the fans want, Baron is main eventing the show. Seth unloads on him in the corner to start and knocks Corbin outside for the suicide dive. Back in and it’s way too early for the Stomp so Corbin bails, earning another dive. Corbin finally sends him outside and into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Corbin hammering down on Rollins’ back and hitting the chinlock that you were all waiting to see. Rollins fights up and gets in a Blockbuster, followed by the Sling Blade. A Falcon Arrow gets two but the Stomp is countered into Deep Six. Rollins goes up top but the springboard clothesline is countered with a chokebreaker. That’s about it for Corbin’s offense though as Rollins kicks him in the ribs and hits the Stomp for the pin at 12:36.

Rating: C. And that’s completely it for Corbin, who will fade back into the midcard where he belongs and never darken the main event scene again right? That’s the logical path to take, so I’m sure it’s exactly what’s going to happen. The wrestling was fine but you could tell that everyone was spent and there isn’t much of a way around that. It was fine, but not exactly energized after the first few minutes.

Overall Rating: C. This show was a pretty good idea given how much else was going on last week. The timing couldn’t have gone worse for WWE with Raw and Smackdown being on the two big holidays and next week is going to go badly as well. I barely remembered a lot of this stuff so it was cool to get a fast paced reminder like this. Totally necessary show for once, which you don’t get to say that often around here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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