IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 8, 2004
Location: Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s title night around here as John Cena is defending the US Title against Booker T., who earned his shot at the title by winning a triple threat match last week. Other than that it’s time to build things up for next week when JBL defends the Smackdown World Title against Eddie Guerrero. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Rob Van Dam vs. Mark Jindrak

Rene Dupree is on commentary. I had forgotten Jindrak is a thing, though he’s now called the Reflection of Perfection, meaning he has Lex Luger’s mirror in the ring. He and Teddy Long have also split, but it’s described as amicable. Jindrak knocks him to the floor at the bell and the beating is on in a hurry with some rams into the barricade. Back in and the choking continues with Jindrak nipping up to show off a bit.

Rob tries to go up top but Jindrak hits an awesome looking standing dropkick (at one point Jindrak had the highest vertical leap in WWE history) to knock him into the barricade. The reverse chinlock with a knee in the back has Van Dam in more trouble but Rob comes back with a kick to the face. Rob’s rolling monkey flip out of the corner sets up another kick to the face but Rolling Thunder hits knees. A belly to back superplex is broken up though and Van Dam hits the Five Star for the pin.

Rating: C-. Jindrak was an amazing athlete and could jump like few others but everything between those jumps didn’t work so well. At least he’s a fresh name though as we haven’t see him do anything in recent months. That’s better than having Van Dam and Dupree fight each other time after time and a lesson that WWE could learn a lot from today.

We look back at JBL defending the World Title against Spike Dudley last week and Eddie Guerrero coming in for the post match beatdown. Eddie announced a cage match for the title two weeks later. Good ending after a dull match.

JBL talks about how much better a champion he is because Eddie didn’t offer handshakes or come to Canada while he held the title. Eddie is no gentleman and he probably didn’t even graduate from high school. JBL isn’t worried because he’s a champion’s champion and a man’s man who doesn’t belong in a cage. The growing JBL fan club will carry him through though and he can hear the chants starting from here. Tonight, he’s facing El Gran Luchadore, the champion of Mexico, who he’s fought before and comes in to see him here (looks to be Shannon Moore this time around). This time, it’s going to be a massacre.

Tag Team Titles: Paul London/Billy Kidman vs. Dudley Boyz

The Dudleys are defending and this is a rematch from Velocity where the champs had to get themselves disqualified to save the titles. It’s a brawl to start with London hitting a top rope missile dropkick, followed by an assisted moonsault for two on D-Von. London unloads with right hands until Bubba low bridges him out to the floor. Back in and D-Von hits a Hennig neck snap of all things and it’s Bubba coming in to stay on the neck.

Actually make that the knee as Bubba finally takes notice of the big brace. D-Von comes back in to grab the foot and….really that’s about it. He doesn’t twist on it or anything and is really just putting his hands on the foot. Bubba adds the apron legdrop and it’s a reverse chinlock to keep D-Von in control.

The middle rope headbutt misses though and there’s the hot tag to Kidman, in full accordance with the tag team formula. Everything breaks down and it’s D-Von and London being sent to the floor. What would have been the longest What’s Up ever is broken up so Kidman rolls through and lets London hit it on Bubba instead. London’s superkick sets up the shooting star press to give Kidman the pin and the titles.

Rating: C. The title change is quite the surprise but the big deal here is how fast the Dudleys fell. They went from main eventing a pay per view to losing the titles completely clean here in about two weeks. That’s an incredible collapse and really, something that needed to happen. Amazingly enough, that would be the team’s last title reign in WWE. It’s almost hard to believe that they never did it again but they would be gone in a few months and then left for about ten years. Quite the low key ending to their title years.

Post break the celebration is on, complete with champagne and congratulations from Billy Gunn. Well now it’s certainly a big deal. The Dudleys come in and shake their hands and no violence ensues.

Kenzo Suzuki has Hiroko translate a promo for him. He doesn’t like what John Cena has been saying about him lately and wants revenge. Kenzo is misunderstood and has great respect for America because it’s the land of opportunity. Kenzo: “God bless of America!”

US Title: John Cena vs. Booker T.

Cena is defending but before the match he needs to remind us that the champ is here in Manitoba. Booker isn’t getting the title back tonight because Cena is five times better and has five times the groupies. Cena isn’t losing to a Whoopi Goldberg lookalike, which is a line that the fans rather like. Cue Kenzo Suzuki for a fight but Cena beats him down with ease. With Suzuki down on the floor, Luther Reigns comes in and lays Cena out with the reverse swinging neckbreaker. I guess the match will be taking place later, because Kurt Angle will send his goon in to lay Cena out, but he’s fair about things.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. El Gran Luchadore

Non-title and JBL makes sure to shake hands on the way to the ring. It’s such a relief to have this new “I love you people” gimmick than what we were getting before he won the title. It’s still bad, but it’s not insufferably bad and that’s a step up. Hang on though as JBL needs to sanitize his hands. That’s very important in a foreign company. Luchadore rolls away to start but gets caught with a right hand to the mask.

Back up and Luchadore poses a bit too much, earning himself another knockdown. A running dropkick has JBL in trouble and a moonsault press gets two. JBL has had it with this and sends him outside so the real beating can begin. The huge clothesline drops Luchadore and there’s a second one to make it even worse as the fans chant for Eddie. Luchadore gets tied in the Tree of Woe with JBL ripping at his face for painful measure. A belly to back superplex makes things even worse and JBL kicks him out to the floor.

Cue a second El Gran Luchadore from underneath the ring to throw JBL outside and leave a banana peel on the mat before hiding again. The referee is so confused that the Luchadores are able to switch and the Eddie Guerrero dance might give you a clue as to what’s going on (in case you’re REALLY slow). Three Amigos (Cole: “That’s Mexican!”) have JBL bailing to the floor and it’s a countout as Luchadore says there’s no running next week.

Rating: D+. This was an entertaining squash until the angle, which went on a little longer than it needed to. JBL not taking a pin is a good idea as he doesn’t have the highest standing in the world at the moment and having him get beaten so soon would have been a bad idea. Not as bad of an idea as making him champion in the first place, but a bad idea nonetheless.

Luchadore says play Eddie’s music because they’re close.

Booker says he’ll win the title because he’s better than Cena. That’s about as to the point as you can get.

Raw Rebound.

Rey Mysterio, Scotty 2 Hotty and Spike Dudley are ready for their six man tonight when Bubba and D-Von come in to talk to their cousin. Scotty and Rey leave and advise Spike to help defend the family name tonight because he already let them down last week. Spike says he didn’t want their advice last week when they were champions. Why would he want it now? Sick little burn there.

Rey Mysterio/Scotty 2 Hotty/Spike Dudley vs. Chavo Guerrero/Akio/Jamie Noble

It’s off to Scotty to clean house and everything breaks down. Spike drops a top rope double stomp to the ribs and stomps on Chavo in the corner. The Dudley Dog gets two on Noble with Chavo making a quick save. That earns Chavo the Worm but Akio knocks Scotty outside. Chavo ducks the 619 so Rey catapults him outside, setting up a top rope Asai moonsault onto Chavo and Akio. Back in and Noble tiger drives the heck out of Spike for the pin. Like I said: Rey didn’t need partners.

Rating: B-. This was a heck of a fun little match with all six guys going out there and getting in everything they could in a little bit of time. Mysterio needs a fresh challenger though and it would make sense to have Noble (or anyone for that matter) come after the title. They could have had something special with more time, but what we got was quite good.

Paul Heyman doesn’t care about the Dudleys losing the Tag Team Titles because he has to worry about the Undertaker. Fair point actually. Heyman needs to say something to Undertaker and he’ll do it in the ring tonight.

We look back at last week’s completely unshocking moment with Undertaker announcing that with Paul Bearer gone, he’s going to destroy Paul Heyman.

Speaking of Heyman, he’s in the ring, with the Urn, to address Undertaker. He pulls out a statement, which says that everything that happened to Bearer was the Dudleys’ fault. Then the Dudleys got what they deserved so now Heyman wants to make a peace offering: the return of the Urn. Near tears, Heyman gets down on his knees and begs for a pass, rather than begging for forgiveness. No one is backing him up out here and he’s a little lamb lost in the wilderness, begging the reaper to pass on by. If Undertaker lets him live, Heyman will cross his path no more. And that’s it as I guess we’ll get to that later.

US Title: John Cena vs. Booker T.

The banged up Cena is defending. Hang on though as here’s Kurt Angle, still in a wheelchair but now carrying a cane. The distraction lets Booker get in a cheap shot and the beating is on in a hurry. A superkick gets two and it’s off to a top wristlock instead of staying on the bad neck. Cena starts the early comeback with a powerslam and hip toss for two each, followed by the Shuffle for two more.

The FU is blocked with the grab of the rope and Booker dumps him. Angle gets to his feet for the first time in months and limps over to Cena for a cane shot (breaking the cane) to the back. We take a break and come back with Booker dropping a knee and grabbing the chinlock. What a change of pace to coming back to the chinlock. Totally different you see. Cena fights up like a good guy fighting out of a chinlock but walks into a spinebuster.

The jumping kick to the face gets a delayed two and it’s right back to the chinlock. Cena kicks out of three straight covers and, you know it, back to the chinlock again. Back up yet again and Cena grabs a DDT for two of his own. Booker’s snap suplex gets the same and a Cactus Clothesline puts them both on the floor. Cena isn’t done and clotheslines Booker into Angle. Back in and Cena hits the FU but Reigns comes in for the DQ.

Rating: D. Quite the slog of a match here with Booker using a ton of chinlocks and Cena’s neck injury not having much to do with the match. With Booker jumping Cena from behind, you could have written the Reigns attack from earlier out entirely and not changed a thing. These two should be capable of so much more and that’s kind of a shame given how the match had been set up.

Post match Reigns beats Cena down but Angle says bring the title with him. Cena causing Angle to be knocked over is enough for him to be stripped of the US Title. Angle is very happy to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Not a very good show here with the six man tag being the only really strong part. The Eddie/JBL segment did its job but took too long to make it work as well as it should have. Other than that, the show was pretty mediocre at best and that’s not enough to make a full show work. That being said, I’ll take this over the horrible shows they were putting on just a few months ago any day.

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

A bunch of words say it all.

Daniel Bryan is actually pretty good as a heel. I enjoyed his first major heel run in WWE when he cashed in on big show, but he’s actually impressing me thus far with his skills. Is there any way he can get someone else to his WM30 level as a face? I guess the only option is Styles. Daniel Bryan’s build build was well in progress by this time.

I can answer this in….well in several words actually.

No. No no, no no no, no no.

Here’s the problem: Bryan’s face run was one of a kind. It was lightning in a bottle with the fans wanting to cheer for Bryan. Not someone like Bryan, but Bryan himself. I mean, if it was just someone like Bryan, why wouldn’t they do the same thing again? Look at how many times WWE has tried to recreate Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon. It’s a great story, but it’s only really worked that one time because A, it was the right people at the right time and B, everything that comes after it looks like they’re trying to recreate the same idea.

As for now though, Bryan is still trying to find his footing as a heel. I’ve liked a lot of what he’s doing and he’s going to be great at it (again, because he’s done it before) but building him up to that level by Wrestlemania isn’t going to happen. That Wrestlemania was a years long process (you could easily argue that it was started all the way back at Wrestlemania XXVIII, if not earlier) and had the right people with the right stories and the right precision with the right people involved. And a great story which I still think was a complete work from the start (yes, I think the 2014 Royal Rumble was WWE’s plan all along).

Overall though, Bryan’s title reign can be a great story that can have an awesome finish as someone finally shuts him up to take the title and become a big star in the process. However, it’s not going to be the kind of story that takes over the company, at least somewhat because Bryan is on Smackdown and that’s just not how something like this works in WWE. It’s going to be an awesome angle, but not the kind of game changer that Bryan’s road to New Orleans was. That was once in a lifetime and you can’t recreate it, no matter how much WWE may want to.

These came out a few weeks back and I finally got around to checking them out. I think I’m glad I waited.

Chronicle: Dean Ambrose

This one is the more interesting one as it’s much more kayfabe based. The idea here is basically a big explanation of why Ambrose turned on Seth Rollins back in October, which wasn’t really something that has been explained in full on WWE TV. They look back over the course of Ambrose’s rehab and up to the point he turns on Rollins, which he explains on the way to and in the time after.

The difference here though is you can see the issues building up towards Ambrose’s turn and what finally makes him snap. At the same time though, you get a good look at the mind of Ambrose and how he really is just off a few steps. Ambrose is one of the more closed characters in wrestling and it’s nice to see behind the curtain just a little bit. This one is interesting if you want to see a good backstory and someone building up until they’re ready to snap. They do it really well here and it’s an interesting character study into a rather unknown person. It helped fill in some gaps in the story, which I’ll always appreciate.

AJ Styles: 365

Now this is more WWE’s regular speed with a documentary covering a year in Styles’ WWE career, mainly looking at his long Smackdown World Title reign. The idea is to look at everything AJ has done over the course of the year and seeing some of the places he’s been. This includes trips around the world, big matches and various little details, like tearing his hamstring around the time of Money in the Bank, that weren’t mentioned before.

What’s interesting here is how much they focus on the other places AJ has been, with a long section on TNA and a trip back to the Impact Zone for the first time since AJ left the company (with Jeremy Borash accompanying him). The ending even hints at possibly leaving WWE, as AJ has been wrestling for a very long time now and doesn’t have much left to accomplish. He’s currently in contract negotiations (not mentioned here of course) so there’s a little more real life included. This is more a traditional documentary and since that might be what WWE does best, it’s certainly worth seeing, as are all these things.

Both are good, even if you get a very different perspective from the two of them.

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: December 5, 2018
Location: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

Last week saw Cedric Alexander pin Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy in a tag match, which should set him up as the next challenger to the title. With a pay per view coming up, the timing couldn’t be much better. As for tonight, we have the Lucha House Party vs. Mike Kanellis and TJP in a Texas Tornado match. Let’s get to it.

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

Drake Maverick previews the show, which works very well every week.

Opening sequence.

Drew Gulak vs. Brian Kendrick

Jack Gallagher and Akira Tozawa are at ringside. The empty seats are AWFUL this week with far more red seats than people visible, meaning we start with the lower camera angles. Nice idea, but it just shows how bad the problem is around the arena. Gulak takes him to the mat to start but can’t get him anywhere. More grappling gives us a stalemate so Gulak nails him with a clothesline to take over.

A modified half crab (with Gulak pulling back on the foot instead of wrapping his arm around) starts in on Kendrick’s knee and Gulak takes him down by the leg for good measure. Kendrick tries a full nelson of all things, followed by a tiger suplex of all things for two. That just earns him a powerbomb into a regular half crab as Gulak’s logical moveset continues. It’s off to a headlock as Gulak moves towards the neck for a change.

With that not being as weakened, Kendrick fights up so it’s another leg hold to cut him down again. A front facelock keeps Kendrick in trouble but he flips out into the Captain’s Hook. That means a crawl over to the ropes for the break so Kendrick goes with a dragon suplex for two instead. A quick trip to the floor goes nowhere but Gallagher sends Tozawa into the post for a distraction. The rollup gives Gulak two and Sliced Bread #2 gives Kendrick the same as Gallagher comes in for the DQ at 8:49.

Rating: C. Technically fine but I still have no reason to care about what these people do. The feud has been going on for weeks now and it seems like they’re in about the same places they were before. That’s the case with the opening match around here most of the time, but it doesn’t make things any more interesting.

Gallagher and Gulak destroy Tozawa and Kendrick post match.

We look back at last week’s tag team main event.

Maverick sits down with Buddy Murphy, who isn’t worried about facing Cedric Alexander in a rubber match. Murphy cuts him off and says he’s glad to face Alexander one more time. Besides, Mustafa Ali is the tougher opponent. That sounds manipulative to me.

Ariya Daivari vs. Clay Roberts

Daivari is in street clothes and is all aggressive to start with stomps in the corner. A kick to the head has Roberts in more trouble as Hideo Itami is watching from the back. The hard standing clothesline gets two and a hammerlock lariat is good for the same, with Daivari pulling him up both times. Three more clotheslines knock Roberts silly and the referee stops it at 1:48 before Daivari can do it again. Good idea, but it’s still Ariya Daivari hitting a bunch of clotheslines. Maybe it gets better, but they’re facing an uphill climb.

Itami seems pleased.

Mustafa Ali is down after losing but he’s getting back up, which is the harder part. He’s rooting for Cedric, but he’s coming for the title no matter who has it.

Alexander isn’t letting Murphy get into his head and wants his title back.

Noam Dar wants Buddy Murphy too and the title doesn’t even need to be on the line.

Lucha House Party vs. TJP/Mike Kanellis

Tornado tag with Kalisto and Lince Dorado for the Party, without Gran Metalik around. Maria is around though and that’s a good thing. During his entrance, Kalisto puts a hat on a young girl’s head and she looks LIVID in a funny bit. TJP gets sent outside to start and Kalisto’s splash off Dorado’s shoulders (after a little balancing) connects with Mike. Both villains are put on the floor so Dorado can hit a dive off the post to take them both out. Kalisto pulls a noisemaker out of a Christmas sack before grabbing a tornado DDT for two on TJP.

Mike gets in a spinebuster on Dorado on the floor but Kalisto kicks him in the face. That’s a little too much offense though and Maria grabs the pinata and threatens to destroy it. The distraught Kalisto gets taken down and Mike gets in a good shot. TJP kicks the pinata away and hits his half of a double clothesline on Dorado. Now it’s time to pull out a spare mask and hammer away a bit more, followed by an elbow drop for two. Yeah he covered off an elbow drop and was surprised as the kickout. I don’t get it either.

Kalisto gets a bit too close to getting back in so Mike knocks him into the barricade. Dorado is back with a double Golden Rewind, followed by Kalisto with a springboard high crossbody to TJP. The hurricanrana driver is countered into an STF and it’s time to go for Kalisto’s mask. As TJP goes for the eye, we see a replay of Mike hitting a Russian legsweep off the apron on Dorado. You don’t see WWE cameras missing things like that very often. With the mask not working, it’s time for the kneebar on Kalisto, who eventually makes the ropes. TJP gets caught up top and Kalisto’s knee is fine enough to superkick an invading Mike.

A top rope hurricanrana sends TJP into Mike and Dorado is back in to help things out. Another superkick to Mike sets up the Super Crazy triple moonsaults for another near fall. The masked guys yell at each other a lot and it’s time to bring in the Christmas bag, which is full of mini pinatas. Dorado has to fight out of a bunch of suplexes onto the pinatas and it’s time to fight over who gets tossed from the corner onto them.

A double superplex finally puts TJP onto them but Mike makes a very fast save. TJP powerbombs Kalisto for two more and now he wants the BIG pinata. Maria and Kalisto get in a fight over the thing until he throws it at her, knocking him off the apron and onto Mike. The springboard Salida Del Sol into the shooting star press finishes TJP at 14:17.

Rating: C+. At first I wasn’t really feeling this one as it was all kinds of carnage and insanity….and then I realized that was the point. It’s called a Texas Tornado match for a reason and the match was fun as a result. This was an entertaining match with all four guys getting involved, plus Maria as a bonus. I could go for fewer pinatas next time, but at least what we got was entertaining with the right ending.

We get a preview of next week’s matches.

Tony Nese is ready to finish Cedric for good next week.

Overall Rating: C. The main event helped but this was a show that didn’t exactly showcase some of the more entertaining wrestlers on the roster. It helps that we’ll be getting Ali, Murphy and Alexander in the next few weeks though and that’s a great sign for the show going forward. This wasn’t a bad show or anything, but it didn’t have quite the pop that it needed.

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: December 6, 2018
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

This could be an interesting one as this week’s Raw and Smackdown were as polar opposites as you could ask for. Raw was a slog to get through while Smackdown was a heck of a show with everything you could want in two hours. Now the question is how much of Raw’s awful can they cram in here. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Dynamite Kid.

Opening sequence.

Curt Hawkins vs. Tyler Breeze

Feeling out process to start and this match is so important that the announcers start talking about Mixed Match Challenge and where they would take their vacations if they won. Hawkins knocks him into the corner and offers a handshake but Breeze is too smart for that. Some right hands don’t go very well for Breeze as he gets caught in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick. Breeze is right back with some right hands and stomping of his own in the corner, though the fans aren’t too thrilled with him.

After a quickly broken reverse chinlock, Breeze ties him in a Tree of Woe of his own but misses a dropkick. So….is Hawkins face here? The fans are treating him like one and he seems to be wrestling like one, and since faces and heels are switched week to week around here, it wouldn’t shock me at all. Hawkins makes a comeback with right hands and a Michinoku Driver for two. A running lariat gets the same but Breeze hides in the ropes, allowing Breeze to score with a superkick. The Unprettier extends Hawkins’ losing streak at 5:57.

Rating: D. Well I’m confused. I mean, I get the idea of the rapid fire changes, but that doesn’t make it a good idea. Hawkins has been a heel for the better part of ever (he has a cane so he has to be evil) and while Breeze reluctantly teamed with Ascension last week, I don’t get how this is supposed to just be ok. That being said, Hawkins has a much better chance of winning a match as a face as you can only have the plucky good guy lose so many times.

From Raw.

A bunch of security guards in gas masks come out to escort Ambrose, in a gas mask of his own, to the ring. Ambrose, still in the mask, says you can’t be too careful in a horrible city like Houston so he has some guards to protect him from that madman Seth Rollins. The mask comes off and Dean talks about how Rollins wanted something from him, just like all the people. Like all those people who would always stick their phones in his face to try and add some excitement to their lives.

Seth tried to control him and that’s the worst feeling in the world. Those people are sitting in the crowd right now but none of them have the courage to slap them in the mouth right now. Ambrose is proud to sit in this ring as the moral compass and at TLC, he could take the Intercontinental Title but he’d rather just teach Rollins a lesson. At TLC, Rollins will lose control of himself, his emotions and the Intercontinental Title. Don’t worry though, because he’ll be right there to save the title.

Cue Rollins from behind (at least he wasn’t a guard in disguise) to get in a few shots and then beat up the guards. Ambrose uses the distraction to get out but Rollins chases him down for the brawl. They come back to ringside though and Dean gets in a shot to the face with a gas mask. Ambrose even hits Dirty Deeds on the floor, followed by another inside. This was good but that’s the problem: it’s just good. This feud started off red hot and hasn’t lived up to the hype since then. The match will be very good as these two almost always are, but it’s not what it could have been.

From Smackdown.

It’s time for MizTV but hang on because we need R-Truth and Carmella for a dance break. Miz’s guest tonight is Daniel Bryan, who has been on the show several times but never as WWE Champion. Miz says that Bryan’s comments last week were proof that Miz was right all along. Bryan says he came to the realization that he doesn’t care about the people and he’s allowed his dreams to take control. He doesn’t have a lot of intellectual peers to discuss this with (Miz included) but he can consult great minds of history in his books. Men like Alexander Hamilton for instance.

Bryan calls the fans fickle for chanting YES because they’re sheep who regurgitate things from twenty years ago for reasons they don’t know. Anyway, Bryan talks about the abilities of the old Bryan being mixed with the mentality of the new Bryan. Miz thinks that sounds like EXACTLY WHAT HE TOLD BRYAN FOR YEARS. Bryan talks about doing one bad thing to one man while all these people do horrible things to harm the planet every single day. They drink from their plastic water bottles and eat their processed meat that releases methane into the air and causes permanent changes to the climate.

All he did was kick one man in the groin and he’s the bad guy? Bryan tells us to count the sins and Miz is confused. Miz: “Did you think I brought you out here to talk about Alexander Hamilton, methane gas and water bottles?” He’s not cool with Bryan not admitting that he was right and wants a simple answer: was he right nor not? Bryan finally says yes….and then no….and then yes and no again over and over.

It really doesn’t matter either way, because the old Daniel Bryan and the YES Movement are dead. Bryan throws down the YES plates from the side of the title and holds up the title while calling the fans fickle again. This brings out AJ Styles so Bryan throws Miz into him and runs off but can’t get away fast enough. Bryan tries to use Miz as a shield again and this time it works, as a Skull Crushing Finale drops AJ. This was more gold from Bryan, who is playing a great heel. That’s very impressive given how big he was as a good guy.

And from later in the night on Smackdown.

AJ Styles vs. The Miz

Miz grabs a headlock to start as Bryan talks about how the fans wanted him to come back but weren’t willing to put in the work with him on the way. Saxton reads some comments from hurt fans and Bryan calls them idiots. AJ gets two off a slingshot splash (Bryan: “I could do that.”) as Bryan wishes that his daughter kicks thousands of men in the groin, including Saxton.

The reverse chinlock goes on to put AJ in some trouble so Bryan calmly goes off about ruining the environment. Saxton continues to come off as the lamest commentator ever, again asking about Bryan’s new attitude and getting laughed off. AJ gets dropped to the floor and we take a break.

Back with both guys down and Saxton again trying to question Bryan, who cuts him down with ease. AJ hits a running clothesline in the corner and gets two off the fireman’s carry backbreaker. The Skull Crushing Finale is countered so Miz gets two off a DDT instead. AJ sends him outside for the slingshot forearm but Bryan gets up for a distraction, allowing Miz to send AJ into the steps. That and the Finale are good for two back inside and that should be about it for Miz. Bryan grabs AJ’s leg so Miz charges, only to get caught in the Calf Crusher to make him tap at 13:02.

Rating: C+. This was much more about Bryan, though as awesome as he was, he made me want to strangle Saxton all the more. He’s just so annoying and comes off like a child in an adult’s world. Anyway the match was fine and helped advance AJ vs. Bryan, which is exactly the point of what they were doing here.

Post match Bryan goes after AJ’s leg with a chop block and wraps it around the post. Bryan puts on a heel hook until referees break it up so he settles for a kick to the head. The multiple stomps to AJ’s head have Bryan doing a victory lap, only to come back for even more stomping. Bryan insists on being announced as the NEW Daniel Bryan and then rants about the fans being fickle. One more chop block ends the show.

TLC rundown.

Mojo Rawley/Ascension vs. Zack Ryder/B-Team

Mojo and Axel start things off and that means some dancing from Curtis. We get a very early stalemate into a big brawl as it’s off to a break. Back with Ryder diving over for the hot tag to Axel for the house cleaning. Ryder hits a pop up Rough Ryder on Viktor and a sunset flip gives Axel the pin at 5:57. There must have been a lot cut out of there.

From Smackdown.

Ladders surround the ring and it’s Paige at a table to host the contract signing. Paige mentioned making history so Becky says it must be Tuesday because that’s what she does every time she gets in the ring. She doesn’t care what happens at TLC because she plans to win and doesn’t care what happens to these two dopes. Charlotte doesn’t like Becky implying that she was handed a title shot because she beat up Ronda Rousey on her own. Then it took Nia Jax one time to knock Becky onto the shelf so Charlotte won’t have any trouble.

Asuka cuts off the argument and says Becky has never beaten her so she’ll beat Becky at TLC. They all yell at each other (as WWE women tend to do when they’re in large groups) but Becky says neither of them can beat her and signs. That’s it for Becky, which Charlotte says is appropriate because Becky is all talk these days. Charlotte promises to win too and signs as well. Asuka wants a fight right now but cue Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to cut them off. They promise to beat up Asuka and Charlotte the first chance they get so Paige makes the match for later. Why not just do it now?

And from Smackdown to close things out.

Ronda Rousey/Ember Moon vs. Nia Jax/Tamina

Rousey walks hard to the ring but gets jumped 2-1 until Moon comes in. A middle rope Codebreaker rocks Nia and Rousey hits a running forearm off the apron to take her down again. Back from a break (with no bell beforehand) with Ember in trouble and Rousey bouncing back and forth on the apron. Ember gets over and makes the tag a few seconds later….and Rousey tags back out after a few kicks to Tamina. Nia loads up the big right hand, which she uses on Ember’s ribs after a quick tease.

Ember hurricanranas her way to freedom but Nia breaks up the hot tag, only to get knocked off the apron by Tamina. That means the hot tag can bring Rousey in for the clotheslines and knees to Tamina, who is knocked into the corner. Rousey demands the tag to Nia so she comes in and tags right back out. Rousey flips Nia back in and then beats Tamina up with the rapid punches in the corner. A jumping knee to the face gets two on Tamina but the Eclipse rocks her again. The armbar makes Tamina tap at 5:57.

Rating: D+. This was exactly what it needed to be with Nia being the loudmouth who won’t actually fight but at the same time, I’m not sure how much WWE can make me buy her as a threat to Rousey at TLC. She’s really living on that one right hand to Becky from a few weeks ago and that’s not exactly a lot of material. At least the ending was the right call here and Moon didn’t get treated like an afterthought again.

Overall Rating: C. Well, they did balance things out a bit. Aside from the weird Hawkins turn which likely won’t go anywhere, you had a nice selection from Raw and Smackdown to make the show feel far less one sided. Unfortunately the good stuff from Smackdown was weighed down by the Raw counterparts. That being said, the lack of Baron Corbin helped so much. I didn’t realize just how bad he was on Raw but my goodness what a difference it makes when he’s gone.

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: December 5, 2018
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Marty Scurll

Final Battle is next week and the card seems to be mostly set. For once, they’re at least doing something with the build towards the show, which is more than you get most of the time around here. Odds are we’ll see a few matches set up here along with the build to those already announced. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s main event, where the Briscoes and the Young Bucks went to a draw. SCU didn’t seem to mind and made a triple threat ladder match for the Tag Team Titles at Final Battle. Makes the most sense of all their options.

Opening sequence.

Kenny King vs. Christopher Daniels

Marty Scurll, who wants to face Daniels at Final Battle, is on commentary. Before the bell, King says he doesn’t know how long Daniels has left in ROH so he’ll hand Daniels one of his last losses. Then Daniels can go back to SCU: the Senior Citizens Unite at the hospital. Daniels, with tape on the back of his neck, chops away to start and gets two off a standing Lionsault.

Daniels avoids a springboard though and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. An STO sets up a belly to back faceplant for two but King gets the same off a spinebuster. It’s too early for the Royal Flush though and Daniels hits a release Rock Bottom. The referee gets bumped though, allowing King to hit a low blow and the Royal Flush for the pin at 8:48.

Rating: C. Nice action for the most part, though I’m getting sick of the ref bumps and low blows around here. Mix it up a little bit by having King throw his feet on the ropes in a rollup or something, but find something new. Daniels losing should lead to a big comeback win at Final Battle, or his retirement and leaving the company. You could go either way.

Dalton Castle says he was gone for three months and didn’t go through all that treatment to fight Matt Taven. That belt that Taven wears is nothing but a RUSE. The anger inside Castle is certainly real though.

Josh Woods vs. Jeff Cobb

Non-title. Cobb tries to wrestle him to the ground but Woods is a former NCAA wrestling champion so it’s not so easy. Cue Hangman Page to sit on the stage and watch the match as Woods takes him down and works on the arm with Cobb not being able to shake him off. Cobb gets tired of the wrestling thing and sends him flying with a suplex, only to get caught in another armbar. Woods goes after the arm again before trying a spring but Cobb catches him in the Tour of the Islands for the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C. This was a great illustration of Cobb being well rounded. His amateur wrestling was canceled out so he slammed Woods really hard instead because he has the power to go with the mat skills. That’s a very dangerous combination and a good reason why he could be a star for a long time to come.

Post match Page comes in and says he’ll show Cobb how this is done.

Hangman Page vs. Facade

Joined in progress with Page stomping away in the corner as Cobb is watching from the stage this time. Page hits a running dive from the apron and gets two off a tabletop suplex back inside. Facade fights back with some flips and jumps, including a one armed cartwheel. A rope walk dive goes right into Page’s boot though and there’s a super fall away slam. Again Facade tries to slug away, this time connecting with a springboard spinning kick to the face to send Page outside. That means a big flip dive of his own but he walks into the Buckshot Lariat. The Rite of Passage finishes Facade at 5:14.

Rating: C+. Facade was moving out there and Page was his usual entertaining self. It’s interesting that Page had more trouble against a weaker opponent though. That’s not exactly what you would expect from a match designed to make Page look like he’s on Cobb’s level, but the ending sequence looked good and that’s what people will take away from it.

Post match Page and Cobb stare each other down.

We look back at Marty Scurll winning the Survival of the Fittest tournament.

After the match, Scurll congratulated Christoper Daniels (the man he pinned) on a good match. Daniels said Bullet Club cost him the match and arguing ensued. They’ll face off at Final Battle with Scurll’s World Title shot on the line.

Jay Lethal is ready to beat Cody because Cody had to cheat to beat him in the first place. Cody knows he can’t beat Lethal so Jay is ready at Final Battle. Cody cannot win because Jay isn’t letting him start the year on top.

Final Battle rundown. Points to them for having a proper build instead of a one week version.

Matt Taven talks about Dalton Castle cracking under the pressure of being World Champion. When he’s under pressure though, Taven becomes a diamond.

We get that heart rate thing again.

Tag Team Titles: Stuka Jr./Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. SCU

SCU is defending. Sky, dressed up as Apollo Creed, takes Guerrero down to start and works on the arm to keep him in trouble. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gives Guerrero two and it’s off to Stuka vs. Kazarian with Frankie getting two off a dropkick. The champs tie up Stuka’s legs and roll him over (the Rockers used to do that) and we take an early break. Back with Stuka and Guerrero putting Sky in a double surfboard (cool) until Kazarian makes a save.

Another double hold is broken up again and thankfully we get back to the actual tagging with Sky coming in to take over. Kazarian adds the slingshot dropkick (so much for the tagging) in the corner but Stuka moonsaults onto him outside (with Kazarian somehow winding up on top). Guerrero adds a running flip dive through the ropes onto Sky but Kazarian comes back in with his slingshot DDT. The Rock Bottom into the Backstabber finishes Stuka to retain the titles at 8:04.

Rating: C+. The match was entertaining, though it’s not like there was any kind of drama at all. This would have been better served airing before the announcement of the ladder match as there might have been a reason to believe in a fluke title change. The CMLL guys are talented, though I’m still not sure how much it means to have them around. Yeah they’re big names there, but that’s not entirely the case for a lot of the fans who might not be familiar with the company.

Post match Christopher Daniels comes in to say he’s the only one who doesn’t have a contract extension at the moment. He has one match left on his contract and that’s against Marty Scurll at Final Battle. If that’s what he has to do to stick around, he’s willing to do it to stay in the company that he helped build. Marty gets in the ring and asks if Daniels wants to be the man who built his company or the man who is known for a three letter catchphrase. A tense handshake takes us out.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling, while pretty good here, wasn’t the point this week. This show was all about building up Final Battle and for once, they made it work very well. The card is getting some attention and it should be a good one once we get there. You know most of the matches already and most of them have gotten some attention instead of just adding things in for the sake of adding them in. That makes the biggest difference and makes Final Battle feel important after all those shows with a last second build. Well done, for a rare change.

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 6, 2018
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re a month away from Homecoming and the card is already starting to take shape. That means there’s plenty of time to build things a bit higher, including the main event which doesn’t exactly have the strongest setup so far. The most interesting story around here is the Tag Team Title situation, with Konnan playing a great wild card role. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the most recent stories, which is one of the best ways to open any show. Quick, easy and gets you up to date going into the night. Unfortunately it also serves as a reminder that Tommy Dreamer was in last week’s main event.

Opening sequence.

Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Jake Crist vs. Willie Mack

Mack is Chocolate Thunder for a pretty good nickname. Dave Crist and Sami Callihan are at ringside while Mack is alone. Mack hits an early dropkick as the announcers compare him to Refrigerator William Perry. Crist raises a boot in the corner and flips up to the top in one move (cool) for a top rope dropkick. That just earns him a fall away slam to send him outside, but he catches Mack with a superkick to take over again.

The chinlock doesn’t last long but adding in the second version makes it a longer form. A knee to the face gives Jake two and it’s off to the third chinlock. Mack fights up, likely out of boredom from all the chinlocks, and hits a few clotheslines. Crist charges into a pop up right hand and a Codebreaker (becoming WAY too popular of a move) gives Mack two.

A super sunset powerbomb gets two on Crist but he’s right back up with two spinning kicks to the face. That’s not enough though as a snap German suplex gives Crist two so Mack throws him down with an exploder suplex of his own. A quick distraction from Dave lets Sami crotch Mack on top though and it’s a super cutter to give Jake the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C. The ending looked very cool and it’s amazing how much more entertaining the Crist Brothers are when they’re not standing behind Sami and nodding. I’m rather surprised that Mack took a fall this early, even if it’s with some interference included. The match was fun though and the right choice for the opener as the Crists have a lot of cool offense that can get a crowd going.

Tessa Blanchard says Taya Valkyrie is nothing but Johnny Impact’s wife. That doesn’t matter tonight though, because Tessa has Mr. Impact Wrestling for her partner. That would be Moose, who promises to do the same thing to Johnny that he did to Eddie Edwards.

Allie vs. Heather Monroe

The Dark Allie look suits her very, very well. Heather slugs away at her to start and even hits a few running shots in the corner. Allie is right back with a Backstabber for two and she throws Heather into the corner for some hard stomping. The slow walking around the ring in between her offense works so well as it looks like she’s in another world. A missed charge in the corner lets Heather hit a running enziguri but Allie slaps herself in the face. That means a running superkick for two more and the Codebreaker finishes Heather at 3:36.

Rating: D+. The wrestling wasn’t great here, though Heather got in some more offense than you would have expected. What matters and works more here though is the character shift for Allie, who is nailing this new evil version. I’ve heard a lot of great things from her indy days but this is much better than I was expecting.

Post match Allie puts on Su Yung’s bloody glove and gets the Mandible Claw on Heather. Kiera Hogan comes out to try and talk some sense into Allie but gets her code broken instead. Allie and Su leave together.

Mack isn’t happy about the loss and talks about revenge to Rich Swann. Rich tells him to let it go because it’s not worth what comes with it. Swann will take care of Dave Crist next week.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Damien Hyde/Manny London

Raj shoves London into the corner to start as I try to stay awake during the Squad’s match. Hyde comes in and gets punched in the jaw for his efforts, followed by a neckbreaker. It’s off to Raju for a middle rope knee to the head and the rapid fire stomping in the corner doesn’t make things any more interesting. Everything breaks down and the jumping knee into the Samoan drop finishes London at 3:24.

Rating: D-. Does Impact owe the Hit Squad money or something? It’s the only explanation I can think of for why they keep them on the show. The rest of the tag division is actually pretty awesome at the moment but the Squad….is awful. I don’t know of any other way to put it and I don’t want to see them anymore.

Matt Sydal continues his babbling to Ethan Page for a pep talk.

Katarina introduces a friend to deal with Jordynne Grace: Ruby Raze, a woman of a similar build to Grace.

We look back at Chris Sabin cashing in Option C to become World Champion. What a waste of time that was.

Eli Drake leaves the bosses’ office and says that last week’s letter was an invitation to a Monster’s Ball match against Abyss at Homecoming. He doesn’t like the idea but he’ll take care of Abyss if he has to.

Scarlett Bordeaux comes to visit the Rascalz in their That 70s Show circle.

Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Ethan Page vs. Matt Sydal

Matt talks to him a lot to start before getting caught in a headlock. That lets Ethan point to his third eye and we hit a crisscross before they stop and chat some more. A headscissors doesn’t get Page very far as Sydal points to his head again and escapes. Some chops in the corner have Page in trouble until he sends Sydal to the apron.

Matt is fine enough to slip out of a powerslam attempt and hit a standing legdrop for two. A jumping kick to the face lets Sydal start in on the leg, followed by a running kick to the face in the corner. Sydal dives off the middle rope but gets caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Some shots in the corner set up a big boot to drop Sydal again.

A tilt-a-whirl faceplant sends Sydal to the apron, allowing Page to grab a cutter onto said apron as we take a break. Back with a chop off and more pointing to the head, followed by Sydal getting two off a hurricanrana. They both head to the corner with Page shoving him off, setting up a Swanton for two. That sets off a rollup exchange with Page grabbing the pin at 15:21.

Rating: C. I liked the match well enough but I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen someone whose in-ring work is so different from their character. Sydal is completely fine in the ring and can have a good match with anyone, but this third eye stuff is beyond annoying. It’s not entertaining and hopefully it leads to Page doing anything else. Page and Sydal are fine together. Just get rid of the third eye thing for both of them.

Post match Page offers respect to Sydal and everything is cool.

Video on Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie.

We go to Eddie Edwards’ mental hospital where he gets frustrated by a chess game with Raven. Why is Raven here you ask? Apparently he checks himself in once a month, but that’s not cool with Eddie because he shouldn’t be here. Raven recounts his feuds with Tommy Dreamer and Sandman and then picks an orderly’s pocket to give Eddie a keycard, granting him access to the whole building. Ok then.

We get a face to face meeting in the back between LAX and the Lucha Bros. It’s clearly not personal but Konnan seems to be panicking anyway.

Johnny Impact and Taya are ready for the main event tonight and their matches at Homecoming.

Video on Impact vs. Cage.

Moose/Tessa Blanchard vs. Johnny Impact/Taya Valkyrie

Taya has a far different entrance where she almost dances to the ring. Yeah I’m missing the old version. The guys start things off with Moose yelling at Tessa for no apparent reason, allowing Johnny to roll him up for an early two. A dropkick sends Moose crawling over for a tag off to Tessa so Taya comes in as well.

Taya stomps her down in the corner and Johnny hits the Flying Chuck on an invading Moose to send him outside. The villains are sent into the barricade but they knock Taya and Johnny into it as well to send us to a break. Back with Tessa choking Taya on the ropes and getting two off a running kick to the back of the neck. Moose knocks Johnny into the barricade again, leaving Tessa to put on a hammerlock with some hair pulling included.

Back up and Tessa misses a charge into the post (must be a modern wrestling heel), allowing the hot tag to Johnny. That means running knees to take Moose down but Starship Pain doesn’t work. A pop up powerbomb sets up a running backsplash for two on Johnny but Moose misses his own charge.

Johnny’s superkick into the Moonlight Drive gets two and it’s back to the women. Taya scores with the running knees in the corner but Tessa scores with a cutter. The Buzzsaw DDT is countered into a release German suplex for two with Moose pulling the referee out. That’s fine with Taya, who hits a curb stomp to set up the STF to make Tessa tap at 15:08.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine main event here and I like them having Moose in there as someone who would actually want to fight Johnny instead of someone who would be conflicted. If nothing else we might get a Johnny vs. Cage match to fill in a little bit of the gap between now and Homecoming.

Post match Moose loads up the spear on Taya but Johnny takes the bullet for her. Killer Kross runs out to take a chair away from Tessa. Cage runs in to clean house but Kross walks away from the showdown. Johnny and Cage stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t much of a buildup show as the best match on the Homecoming card only got the one backstage segment. The problem, as usual, is that a lot of stuff doesn’t feel personal around here. The stuff that does works, but the majority of the title pictures don’t have much life to them. That’s been an issue around here for years and it’s not getting any better. It’s likely to be a good pay per view, but nothing that has any staying power.

Results

Jake Crist b. Willie Mack – Super cutter

Allie b. Heather Monroe – Codebreaker

Desi Hit Squad b. Damien Hyde/Manny London – Jumping knee/Samoan drop combination to London

Ethan Page b. Matt Sydal – Rollup

Johnny Impact/Taya Valkyrie b. Tessa Blanchard/Moose – STF to Blanchard

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

This two in two days thing is rough. After Dynamite Kid passed away yesterday at 60, Larry The Ax Hennig has passed away today at 82. Hennig is of course the father of Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig but he had a rather successful career in his own right, mainly as the partner of Harley Race back in the AWA where they won three Tag Team Titles.

Hennig was rather tough and had a rather infamous match with the Road Warriors in the AWA where he wasn’t having any of their roughhousing and pretty much beat them up, teaching them to either sell or face the consequences when someone wasn’t scared of them. Having met Hennig earlier this year at WrestleCon, I can see how he would be that kind of intimidating.

Hennig may not have been as famous as his son, but he was a legend in his own right and December continues to be a hard month for wrestling fans.

IMG Credit: WWE

No Way Out of Texas: In Your House #20
Date: February 15, 1998
Location: Compaq Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 16,110
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Marc Mero/The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust vs. Headbangers

Rating: D+. The match was pretty dull stuff but opening with Sable was a good idea. The fans absolutely loved her and she would get the crowd fired up every time she was on screen. Sable was probably the most financially successful Diva of all time as she drew insane money and ratings for the company around this time, which is unheard of for a woman in wrestling.

Luna tries to go after Sable but the guys break it up. Sable yells at Mero and slaps him down, furthering the split between the pair.

Jackyl, a semi-religious prophet character who did interviews and occasional commentary at this time, predicts that the mystery partner will lead DX and the Outlaws to victory tonight.

Light Heavyweight Title: Pantera vs. Taka Michinoku

Post match Christopher tries to go after Taka but Lawler stops him, allowing Taka to dive on both of them to show them up.

Godwinns vs. Quebecers

Phineas comes in to headbutt Jacques in the ribs but Jacques comes back with an elbow to the jaw. The ice cold tag brings in Pierre as things break down. A bad looking piledriver puts Phineas down and the Cannonball (assisted top rope flip splash from Pierre) gets two with Henry making the save. Not that it matters as Henry clotheslines Pierre from the apron to give Phineas the pin.

The Godwinns lay out the Quebecers with the buckets post match.

NWA North American Title: Bradshaw vs. Jeff Jarrett

Post match the NWA jumps Bradshaw until the LOD makes the save.

Faarooq says the Nation is ready for war while Rock makes funny faces.

Nation of Domination vs. Ken Shamrock/Ahmed Johnson/Disciples of Apocalypse

Post match Rock and Faarooq are about to fight but they eventually make up.

Kane vs. Vader

JR says Vader has won titles on more continents than he can count. That says a lot about the Oklahoma school system. Kane gets a BIG pop during his entrance. The brawl is on to start with Kane taking Vader down via a clothesline. They head outside with Kane still in control, even though the fans chant for Vader. Back in and Vader kicking away at the leg before dumping Kane out to the floor for a whip into the post.

They head back inside again with Kane hitting his top rope clothesline before pounding Vader down into the corner. A nice looking suplex puts Vader down and a top rope forearm to the back does the same. The slow pace continues until Kane clotheslines Vader down yet again. We hit the nerve hold for a bit until Kane slugs Vader down to stop another comeback bid.

Post match Kane grabs a wrench from under the ring and blasts Vader in the face with it to put him on the shelf for a few months.

New Age Outlaws/HHH/??? vs. Steve Austin/Chainsaw Charlie/Cactus Jack/Owen Hart

Gunn is powerslammed through the table and Vega is sent knees first into the steps. HHH has to break up a Sharpshooter on Gunn and DX actually makes a comeback. Austin gets pounded down with a trashcan lid and HHH powerbombs Owen for two. HHH blasts Charlie in the head five or six times with a trashcan but it takes a DDT to put him down for two. Owen comes back with a spinebuster to HHH and a quick Sharpshooter but Road Dogg breaks it up.

Cactus ducks a Gunn chair shot which blasts Dogg in the head and Jack has an opening. The hot tag brings in Austin to the pop of the night and house is cleaned. Austin destroys everything in sight and sends Road Dogg to the floor. He stomps away on Gunn in the corner before Dogg comes back in for the Stunner from Austin and the pin.

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

Not only is Shane McMahon still around, but he’s still doing a lot.  Like, a lot a lot.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-comes-guy-wont-leave/