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IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: January 22, 2019
Location: Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and as luck would have it, we’re getting a 2/3 falls match between Rey Mysterio and Almas (still not liking the new name). There are still some spots available in the Royal Rumble matches so maybe we’ll fill some of those in tonight. Hopefully some are left open though, as the surprises are always nice. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Becky Lynch to open things up. She’s sick of hearing about everyone telling her about what the Man should be doing. The only thing the Man should be doing is main eventing Wrestlemania and slapping everyone on the way there. That includes Asuka, because Becky will do anything to get the title back. This brings out Asuka who shouts without a microphone but here’s Charlotte to interrupt as well. Charlotte says she’s winning the Rumble and coming for the title, allowing Asuka to jump Becky from behind. The fight is on with Becky throwing her over the announcers’ table, leaving Asuka screaming as Becky leaves.

Post break Becky and Asuka are being held apart in the back. Good angle advancement here as Asuka doesn’t get shaken too often.

Long recap of Naomi vs. Mandy Rose due to Mandy trying to steal Naomi’s husband Jimmy Uso.

Mandy Rose vs. Naomi

Naomi jumps her in the aisle to start and slaps Mandy straight out to the floor. We take a break less than thirty seconds into the match and come back with Naomi hammering away with forearms into a running hurricanrana. Sonya Deville offers a quick distraction though and Naomi gets posted for the pin at 5:58. Not enough shown to rate but this was nothing.

Rey Mysterio talks about winning the Royal Rumble for honor but tonight is about respect. Tonight, Zelina Vega is banned from ringside and it’s a fair fight.

The Miz vs. Cesaro

Cesaro starts with the power but Miz kicks the leg out and gets an early Figure Four. That’s broken up and they head outside for a staredown with the partners as we take a break. Back with Miz fighting out of a chinlock and hitting the running dropkicks/clothesline in the corner. Cesaro uppercuts him out of the air though and Sheamus gets in a cheap shot, setting up the Neutralizer for the pin at 5:50. Again not enough shown to rate, but it was didn’t go anywhere.

Post match the brawl is on with Shane getting in his usual shots that of course do damage to a multiple time World Champion. Sheamus shoves him off the top and into the barricade though and it’s a Brogue Kick to knock Shane silly. Miz covers him up and gets beaten down as well. The Bar lays Miz on the table and powerbombs Shane through both of them for a good visual. This was a nice beatdown segment, but it’s not enough to overcome my apathy every time Shane shows up on camera.

We look back at Samoa Joe beating up Mustafa Ali last week.

Ali is on the streets of Chicago and talks about patrolling them as a cop. One thing he learned in that time is that eyes don’t lie. When Samoa Joe was attacking him last week, Joe kept asking if Ali understood. Ali understood, but it was the eyes that told him that Joe thinks Ali is beneath him. Now Joe needs to look into his eyes and understand that Ali is telling the truth when he says he can beat Joe. More great stuff here, as Ali’s stuff stands out due to being very well put together and different.

Miz and Shane are still being helped up.

Here’s Vince McMahon to moderate a final discussion between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan. Daniel won’t get in the ring though and complains about last week’s attack that saw him covered in concessions. Bryan uses his power for good, though AJ thinks he uses it to be a jackass. That sends Bryan into a mini rant about AJ exciting the fans but Bryan makes them think.

Bryan is the planet’s champion, not the people’s champion. AJ talks about Bryan’s change of mindset, which he sees as fickle. Bryan starts to quote Carl Sagan but Vince tells him to get in the ring. He won’t though, instead going on a rant against Vince’s generation being the biggest parasites ever. Then the people bow to him for it and trade Instagram likes while Vince and his generation ruin the world.

Vince tells him to shut up and get in the ring but if Vince wants a face to face, AJ is willing to make that happen. The fight is on outside until AJ throws him inside with Bryan hiding behind Vince. That’s enough to set up the running knee so Bryan can escape. Good segment here, though it took some time to get going.

R-Truth and Carmella talk about using their Royal Rumble wins for World Title shots. There’s no chance that Truth is going to use his win to ace Brock Lesnar because he doesn’t want to be sent to Sioux Falls City. Carmella says he can’t challenge for the Cruiserweight Title because of the weight limit and Truth walks off. Carmella walks over to Charlotte and gives her some advice about the tornado that is the Rumble, especially with her waiting at #30. Charlotte says Carmella should be the worried one.

This was really, really bad at the whole “no one talks like this” aspect, with Carmella saying “what about the Universal Champion Brock Lesnar” sounding cringe worthy. Anyone who watches this show knows who Brock is, and there are better ways to have Truth get the point across. Like: “Are you crazy? I’m not facing a suplex machine like Brock Lesnar! I don’t want to go to Sioux Falls City!” They’re already assuming that you know what Suplex City is, meaning you know who Lesnar is. Stop making this sound so bad.

Mustafa Ali vs. Samoa Joe

Joe throws him around to start and knocks Ali off the apron to send us to another early break. Back with Joe’s corner enziguri getting two and Ali not exactly making Joe nervous. We hit the neck crank for a bit until Ali fights up and nails Joe in the face for a double knockdown. They fight to the floor with Ali hammering away, followed by some superkicks back inside. The great tornado DDT gets two but the 054 is broken up and Ali grabs the Koquina Clutch. Ali taps at 8:02.

Rating: C+. Ali continues to have that Jeff Hardy underdog quality and that’s going to take him a long way. It’s not a bad thing to have him lose to a big, over star like Joe, who has to win something to keep him afloat these days. This was entertaining while it lasted, and the ending wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

Royal Rumble rundown.

New Day is preparing for the Rumble by watching some Kofi clips. They’re tired of being asked this question every year by every interview. Is Tony Chimmel going to ask them next? Here’s Tony Chimmel to ask them and get thrown out (Big E.: “Do you see Edge here???”). Kofi isn’t sure if he can figure out a big save this year but he has an idea. No hints though.

Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade

2/3 falls with Zelina Vega banned from ringside. Rey starts fast with a hurricanrana to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Rey hitting the springboard seated senton but Andrade dropkicks his springboard crossbody out of the air. Andrade sends him into the corner with the knee getting banged up, only to get caught up top. That’s fine with Andrade, who counters a hurricanrana into a super Batista Bomb for the first fall at 8:36.

Another big powerbomb gives Andrade two but Rey counters a third into a sick Canadian Destroyer (Andrade’s head hit hard) for the pin at 9:48. We’re tied up as we go to a break and come back with Rey sliding underneath the ropes into a powerbomb to send Andrade into the barricade. Back in and the West Coast Pop gives Rey two but the 619 is countered into an armbar over the ropes. Rey hurricanranas him to the floor but Almas moonsaults onto his feet, setting up a powerbomb into the post.

The hammerlock DDT connects for two back inside with Rey having to use the ropes for the break. A Fujiwara armbar has Rey in more trouble but Rey fights up and tries a springboard….I think into a rollup but they botch the landing with Rey going into a regular rollup instead. Rey gets two more off a reverse hurricanrana and the 619 takes Andrade down again. Cue Samoa Joe to break up another springboard with an apron powerbomb for the DQ at 23:15.

Rating: B. Oh man they were rolling there until the (slightly necessary) interference ending. I get that you don’t want either jobbing but my goodness they were on their way to something special. Andrade is getting somewhere with this new intensity, though having the matches be against Mysterio isn’t hurting things.

Post match Joe chokes Rey out and says that he’s doing the same thing to everyone on Sunday. As he’s talking, Randy Orton runs in for the surprise RKO (that always looks cool) and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This one is going to depend on how you looked at it. The wrestling and story advancement were good and as a regular show this was one of the better shows in a few months. However, as a go home show it has some flaws with the US Title match receiving no time and the Shane/Miz beatdown going on too long. What we got was very good though and it was a breeze to watch. The Rumble is looking good, especially if they space things out well enough.

Results

Mandy Rose b. Naomi – Mandy sent her into the post

Cesaro b. The Miz – Neutralizer

Samoa Joe b. Mustafa Ali – Koquina Clutch

Rey Mysterio b. Andrade via DQ when Randy Orton interfered

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 2014
Date: January 26, 2014
Location: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

The big story here is the rise of Daniel Bryan, who has gone from solid midcard guy to the people’s choice to win the Rumble. However, Batista has returned and is basically the guaranteed winner of the Rumble, no matter what the fans want to see. I can’t imagine this ends well. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Tag Team Titles: Goldust/Cody Rhodes vs. New Age Outlaws

The Outlaws reunited as a nostalgia act and pinned the champs to earn this shot. Dogg and Cody get things going with Dogg hammering away, only to miss his Shake Rattle and Roll punch. Cody misses the Disaster Kick but sends both Outlaws to the floor. The champs hit dives on the Outlaws as we take a break. Back with Goldust in trouble as Dogg puts on a chinlock.

The Outlaws double team Goldust for a bit until he hits a jumping sunset flip for two on Dogg. Gunn charges into a powerslam and there’s the hot tag to Cody. A missile dropkick drops both Outlaws and Cross Rhodes plants Dogg for two with Billy making the save. Gunn makes a blind tag and hits a Fameasser on Cody for the big upset win.

Rating: C. This was fine for an opener and the fans were into the nostalgia. The Outlaws were only transitional champions anyway as the Usos would get the belts before Wrestlemania. Cody and Goldust had them back before the year was over too so no one was really hurt by this.

The opening video talks about working to achieve your dreams. Sometimes there’s a very thin line between almost getting there and getting everything you want. We also focus on Orton vs. Cena because that’s the real main event here. The Rumble itself gets a quick mention too.

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt

Daniel joined the Wyatt Family on the last Raw of the year but then rejected them a few weeks later, leading to one of the loudest YES chants you’ll ever hear. Bryan punches out of the corner to start but Bray drives knees into his ribs and blasts him with an elbow. That’s fine with Bryan as he kicks the knee out but has to go after Bray’s followers Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. A suicide dive drops Harper but the referee ejects both monsters.

Bray huddles with his Family on the floor, allowing Daniel to take him down with a plancha. Back in and a high cross body gets two on Wyatt but he chops Daniel off the middle rope and out to the floor. Bray charges at Daniel but drives the bad knee into the steps to put him back down again. Back in and Daniel starts kicking at the leg before snapping off a dragon screw leg whip. A modified curb stomp gets two for Bryan but Bray drives him back into the corner.

They slug it out to the apron with Wyatt snapping Daniel’s shoulder down in a big crash. Back in and Bray hits his release suplex slam and we hit the chinlock. Bray puts Daniel’s head against the post and drives in forearms to follow up on Bryan’s recent concussion. Back in again and a kick to the face gives Bray a few near falls. A big release Rock Bottom plants him again and Bray does his Spider Walk out of the corner. Bryan finally avoids an elbow drop and hits a running clothesline.

Some kicks stagger Bray and a drop toehold sends him into the middle buckle. Daniel kicks away in the corner and nails a top rope hurricanrana for two. Another running clothesline is countered by a running elbow to the chest as Bray takes over again. Bryan low bridges him to the floor and hits a running tornado DDT off the apron. A running dropkick sends Bray into the barricade and a missile dropkick puts Wyatt down in the ring.

The YES Kicks get two but Bray turns him inside out with a clothesline for two. Sister Abigail is countered but Bray bites his way out of the YES Lock. Daniel scores with more kicks and hits a top rope splash but Bray ducks to the floor to avoid the running knee. The Flying Goat is blocked though and Bray hits Sister Abigail into the barricade to knock Bryan silly. Back in and another Sister Abigail is good for the pin.

Rating: A. This was considered a match of the year contender and it’s easy to see why. These two beat the tar out of each other with each move getting harder and harder than the previous. Bryan lost here but came out looking like a star. Bray on the other hand looks like a killer and that’s exactly what he’s supposed to be.

Paul Heyman says Brock Lesnar is going to challenge the winner of Orton vs. Cena for the World Title. However, first he has to make an example out of Big Show.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is here.

The expert panel of Jim Duggan, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair aren’t sure who to pick between Lesnar and Big Show.

Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar

These two have had a feud for years and this time Big Show has been getting the better of it through pure power. Lesnar takes Show down before the bell and pounds on him with fists and then a chair. As Big Show is down, Lawler says Big Show gave Lesnar his first loss at the 2002 Royal Rumble, which would be three months before Lesnar debuted. We get the opening bell with Lesnar getting another chair but Show nails him with the KO Punch. Lesnar is rocked and Show takes him outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Big Show loads up another KO but Lesnar ducks and throws him up for the F5 for the easy pin.

Lesnar beats on him with the chair even more after the match. He’s broken two chairs over Show’s back.

Shield says they have 27 enemies tonight and it’ll be the three of them left standing. Only one of them can stand tall at the end but Reigns thinks he has the winning number. He won’t say what it is though. Dean offers to tell him his if Reigns tells his. Dean: “What if I have two numbers? I have ALL the numbers!” They agree to believe in the Shield.

Orton says he’s going to beat Cena and put him to the back of the line. Renee Young asks about Batista, Brock Lesnar and Bray Wyatt wanting title shots but Orton laughs it off and calls Wyatt a deranged hillbilly Duck Dynasty reject.

We recap Orton vs. Cena. This is more about their short term history, focusing on the titles being unified back in December. Orton seems to be cracking under the pressure of being champion and even attacked Cena’s father at Raw recently.

WWE World Title: Randy Orton vs. John Cena

No countout and no DQ with Orton defending.. The fans loudly chant for Daniel Bryan before and after the bell. They hit the mat and the fans are already bored less than twenty seconds in. Cena fights up and gets two off a bulldog but charges into an elbow in the corner. Now a Randy Savage chant starts up and Orton stops for a second before kicking Cena even more.

Off to a chinlock as the fans chant for Y2J. After fighting out, Cena catches on and tries a Boston crab. Orton kicks him to the floor during a brief Undertaker chant and now it’s just the standard boring chant. A clothesline puts Orton back outside but he sends Cena into the steps. Back in and a DDT gets two for Orton as the fans just say both guys suck. Cena comes back with shoulder blocks and the ProtoBomb, only to take too long jawing and walk into a powerslam for two.

A half nelson slam into a neckbreaker gets two for Cena but he gets caught on top. He headbutts his way out though and hits the top rope Fameasser for two. Orton counters the AA attempt into his backbreaker for two as the fans have calmed down a bit. The Elevated DDT off the apron to the floor gets two more on John. Orton’s RKO is countered into the STF but Randy is too close to the ropes. He grabs the ropes to block an AA as well but the refereee gets bumped.

There’s the STF again and Orton taps but there’s no referee. Orton uses the opportunity to nail Cena with a title belt for two. He stands around too long again though and takes an AA for two more. The RKO gets the same and now the fans want Divas. Orton misses the Punt but pulls Cena down into an STF. John counters that into a Crossface but Orton rolls into a cover for two.

Back up and Orton hits Cena with an AA, followed by Cena grabbing an RKO for another near fall. With nothing left to do, Cena loads up a middle rope AA but has to settle for a tornado DDT. The STF goes on in the middle of the ring….we’ve got Wyatts. The lights go out and come back on to reveal all three on the apron. Cena goes after them but walks into an RKO to keep the title on Orton.

Rating: B. This matchup has suffered from brand damage. We’ve seen it so many times over the years that even if the match is good, like it was here, people just do not want to see it. The guys got the crowd to calm down a bit about halfway through the match, but there’s just nothing left to see from these two. They’re both hard workers and try every time they’re out there but the interest is just gone.

The fans chant for Bryan as the Wyatts destroy Cena even more.

Tribute video to the recently passed away Mae Young.

The New Age Outlaws celebrate but tell Renee that she isn’t invited to the party.

We get some classic Rumble promos.

Miz will win because he’ll do whatever it takes to headline Wrestlemania again.

The Usos are cool with having to fight each other.

Intercontinental Champion Big E. says headlining Wrestlemania is where it’s at.

Fandango thinks he’s the only one worthy to headline the big dance.

Batista just says exactly.

Damien Sandow says it’s insane to try the same thing and expect different results. He won’t make the same mistake again.

Ryback says there are 29 superstars and one Human Wrecking Ball.

Mysterio will shock the world again.

The expert panel makes their picks. Duggan likes Ziggler, Shawn goes with Shield or Punk and Flair takes Batista.

Royal Rumble

90 second intervals with Punk at #1 (as ordered by Kane) and Seth Rollins at #2. Punk takes him into the corner to start for some shoulders to the ribs. Some kicks stagger Rollins but he comes back with a big kick of his own. A clothesline drops Rollins again but he pops back up with an enziguri. Both guys are down as Damien Sandow is in at #3. The fans loudly chant for Punk as he DDTs Sandow and drops Rollins with a neckbreaker at the same time.

The heels stomp Punk down until Cody Rhodes is in at #4. Cross Rhodes plants Sandow but Rollins stops an elimination attempt. Punk dumps Damien a few seconds later though and it’s time for Rollins to get double teamed. Kane comes in at #5 and cleans Punk’s clock. He loads up the chokeslam but Punk kicks him in the head for a surprise elimination. The debuting Alexander Rusev is in at #6.

Rusev kicks Rollins and Rhodes in the face but can’t eliminate either guy. Instead he just beats everyone up until Jack Swagger is in at #7. It’s Swagger vs. Rusev now but everyone opts to gang up on Rusev instead. Cody and Swagger break off and Kofi Kingston is in at #8. Everyone fights by the ropes until Jimmy Uso is in at #9. The announcers are noticing how fast the clock is going by.

Jimmy goes after Kofi in the corner as Rusev works on Swagger. Punk puts Rusev in a sleeper and Goldust is in at #10, giving us a group of Punk, Rollins, Goldust, Cody, Jimmy, Swagger, Kingston and Rusev. Goldust hammers away until Rusev nails him in the jaw. A group of people gang up on Rusev and dump him out, which isn’t quite a great debut for him. Kofi gets thrown out as well but Rusev catches him in mid air. He drops Kofi on the barricade and it’s time for the great return. Kingston stands up, uses the barricade as a balance beam and jumps back to the apron in a pretty cool save.

US Champion Dean Ambrose is in at #11 and goes right after Punk. Things slow down again and Dolph Ziggler is in at #12. The fans are entirely behind Dolph as the ring is getting too full. Punk has to hang onto the apron as R-Truth comes in at #13, only to be dumped in about thirty seconds by Ambrose. Rollins knocks out Jimmy and Kofi steals Swagger’s boot while literally hanging on by his feet. Jack comes over to him but gets nailed by the boot as Kofi gets back in.

Kevin Nash makes a required return at #14. He eliminates Swagger with ease and goes after Ambrose and Rollins. Punk has Ziggler dangling but Dolph gets his feet back in. Roman Reigns completes the Shield at #15, giving us Punk, Rollins, Rhodes, Kingston, Goldust, Ambrose, Ziggler, Nash and Reigns. Roman cleans house with punches and spears before launching Kofi out.

Ziggler puts Roman down with a DDT but eats a spear to cut him in half. Reigns throws Ziggler out with ease and the fans suddenly hate him. Nash gets the same treatment as Reigns now has three eliminations in less than two minutes. Great Khali is in at #16 and goes after the Shield but gets tossed by Reigns. Goldust eliminates Cody to make up for the last two years but Reigns gets rid of Goldust a second later. That leaves the Shield alone with Punk but Sheamus returns after being out six months with an injury at #17.

Sheamus cleans house and gives Dean the ten forearms followed by an Irish Curse to Rollins. Reigns eats a Brogue Kick as Miz is in at #18. Punk is just laying in the corner and making almost no effort to get back up. Miz hammers away on Reigns in the corner and Fandango is in at #19. The entire crowd starts doing his dance but Miz sends him to the apron in just a few seconds. Fandango gets back in though as Shield slowly takes over again. Reigns motions to Punk in the corner but doesn’t go after him. Punk hasn’t moved from there in at least five minutes now.

El Torito is in at #20, giving us Punk, Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, Sheamus, Miz, Fandango and Torito. Of course the bull cleans house until Punk stands up. Punk grabs him by the head but takes a headscissors, only to have Fandango run Torito over. The referee checks on Punk as Torito dropkicks Fandango out. Reigns catches Torito with ease and dumps him out for his sixth elimination. Punk gets back up as Cesaro is in at #21. He immediately starts swinging Miz but Shield breaks up a Swing attempt on Punk. Instead Rollins gets swung a ridiculous THIRTY TIMES. Luke Harper is in at #22 as Reigns spears Cesaro down.

Rollins and Cesaro slug it out until Jey Uso is in at #23. The brawling slows down a bit now and JBL is in at #24. Cole: “The JBL character has never entered the Royal Rumble.” Good grief. JBL wears his full suit into the ring but asks Cole to go get his jacket, allowing Reigns to dump him out. Fans: “YOU STILL GOT IT!” Erick Rowan is in at #25 as JBL tries to talk about ANYTHING but being in the Rumble. Rowan kicks Miz out to clear things up a bit but everything slows back down again.

Harper tosses Jey Uso but the Wyatts turn around to see the Shield. Ryback is in at #26 and goes right for Cesaro as the fans chant Goldberg. Alberto Del Rio gets lucky #27 and things slow down yet again. Batista is in at #28 and the fans just rip him apart. He quickly dumps Rowan and has a staredown with Ryback before dumping him as well. Del Rio, the man who has been going after Batista since he returned, superkicks him down but gets lifted into the air and dumped with ease.

Intercontinental Champion Big E. is in at #29 to almost no reaction but the fans like him for suplexing Batista. The fans are chanting for Bryan and get even louder as the countdown clock comes on. The clock runs out….and it’s Rey Mysterio. To say the fans aren’t pleased with this is the understatement of the year. We’re going to pause for a second here and look at this.

First of all, Rey Mysterio is a fine choice for #30 in the Royal Rumble. He’s a multiple time World Champion, he’s held nearly every title in WWE history, he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame one day, he’s the most successful cruiserweight of all time, he’s won the Royal Rumble before and he’s one of the most popular wrestlers ever. However, he’s not the right choice for this spot.

There are two schools of thought here. The first and more prominent is that WWE just did not understand the fans and thought they would accept Batista as the big star making his return and embrace him with open arms. Then they heard the reaction and changed course to make Wrestlemania all about Daniel Bryan. The other school of thought is Bryan not being in the Rumble was planned from the beginning, they knew where they were going at Wrestlemania the entire time and the stories about Orton vs. Batista headlining the show were false rumors. I’m in the middle on that but I lean more towards the second.

Now Bryan didn’t have to win the Rumble here. You could have had a bunch of different ways to get rid of him, even down to having Kane run out and eliminate him if need be. However, he should have been in the main event. It makes sense that he at least has a chance to be in there, even if it’s just to get screwed over again.

Anyway, we have a final grouping of Punk, Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, Sheamus, Cesaro, Harper, Batista, Langston and Mysterio. Rey hurricanranas Punk to the apron as the fans are booing the heck out of the match. Sheamus clotheslines Langston out to end his worthless Rumble. Cesaro hammers on everyone in sight and Rey hits the 619 on Rollins just to make everyone even madder. Rollins enziguris Rey out for a nice pop and we’re down to eight.

Dean and Seth put Harper on the apron but Reigns Superman Punches him out to give him eight eliminations. Ambrose tries to put out his Shield mates but Cesaro jumps he and Rollins. That’s fine with Reigns who dumps Cesaro, Rollins and Ambrose all at once to tie Kane’s record for eliminations in a single Rumble.

We’re down to four now and everyone hits a finisher. Reigns takes the GTS but Kane sneaks in to eliminate Punk. That would be Punk’s last WWE match to date. Kane goes off on Punk outside and chokeslams him through the announcers’ table. We’re down to Sheamus, Batista and Reigns but all three are down. Another Daniel Bryan chant starts up as Batista takes over, turning it into a NO chant.

Sheamus cleans house and points at the sign before loading up a Brogue Kick. He misses Batista though and gets backdropped to the apron. Reigns elbows Sheamus out to set a new Rumble record for eliminations with twelve. That leaves Reigns vs. Batista and all of a sudden everyone is a Reigns fan. Reigns wins a slugout and clotheslines Batista down as the people chant for Roman. Batista comes back with his own horrible spear, only to have Reigns show him how it’s done….and then get thrown out a few seconds later to send Batista to Wrestlemania.

Rating: D. This just wasn’t a very good Rumble though its moments. Batista came in at the wrong time and it killed any kind of comeback he could have had. The fans did not want to see what the company was offering them at this point and they let them know about it. In their defense though, this Rumble was kind of awful. The comedy and returns felt forced, Rusev’s debut went nowhere and they might as well have given it to Batista and put on an hour of Mighty Mouse cartoons to save everyone’s time. It’s not a good match but the crowd reaction is certainly interesting.

Batista is booed out of the building as we see a highlight package ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The Rumble really hurts this show as it drags down two good matches and an entertaining Lesnar squash. The problem is that’s the lasting memory of this show: the fans booing the heck out of Batista as WWE seemed to think he was exactly what WWE wanted. The show isn’t horrible but it leaves a really bad taste in your mouth.

Ratings Comparison

New Age Outlaws vs. Goldust/Cody Rhodes

Original: C

Redo: C

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt

Original:A

Redo: A

Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

John Cena vs. Randy Orton

Original:B

Redo: B

Royal Rumble

Original:B

Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original:A

Redo: D+

Hokey smoke that’s quite the drop.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/01/26/royal-rumble-2014-the-night-the-crowd-died/

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

There’s no reason for this one to be the final entry of the year but it’s kind of appropriate as newcomers are all about the future, which is where you go when you get done with the past. There were a lot of fresh faces who sowed up last year and a lot of them had a great deal of potential, meaning the future is rather bright.

Note that in this context, newcomers include people who came to a new promotion and not just people who have only stared wrestling recently.

Brian Pillman Jr.

I know I’m one of the few MLW fans but Pillman is becoming more and more like his dad every day. He’s good in the ring, a solid little talker and is getting more and more offbeat every single week, which makes you think of his dad in a very good thing. The fact that he was very nice to me and we had a chat at WrestleCon in New Orleans didn’t hurt things either. He has a long way to go but what we’ve gotten so far shows potential.

Killer Kross

There aren’t many instances of Impact Wrestling having a story that intrigues me but the X Attacker got my interest. Someone was laying out members of the roster for weeks and it was time to find out who it was. It wound up being Killer Kross, a very intimidating monster who seemed to be impervious to pain and had some great promos. Kross’ in-ring work might not be top level, but it’s more than good enough to back up the incredible character.

Matt Riddle

I don’t think it’s any secret that Riddle is going to be a very big deal in NXT in the near future. What we’ve seen of him already though is more than enough to make me want to see him again though and that’s what matters. He’s young but experienced and has the kind of offbeat style that gets him noticed. The fans love him too, and that’s going to take him very far. He needs more time in WWE, but it’s looking great so far.

Keith Lee

What Frankenstein’s laboratory did they make this guy in? Lee is a huge guy who moves like someone about 150lbs lighter and makes it look easy. He’s got a few losses on his record but having him win a few matches by squashing people is going to be more than enough to fix that. Lee is the kind of athletic freak that you just don’t see very often and WWE knows it. That cool finisher alone should keep him around.

Brian Cage

Speaking of people who look like they were created in a lab, you have this guy in the craziest shape around and can do 619s and moonsaults. Cage is a different kind of freak and while WWE wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot steroid test, it’s certainly fun to watch him be a monster on Impact. That might be as high as he can go, but sweet goodness he’s making it work.

Bandido

He might not be as well known but I haven’t seen a high flier like this in a long time. Bandido does some of the craziest stuff in a ring that I’ve ever seen and makes it look easy. If you can find his match from the WrestleCon Supershow, go out of your way and enjoy one of the best spectacles you’ll see in a long time. Those flips and dives shouldn’t be human and yet he does them all the time. Incredible talent and worth your time.

Ronda Rousey

What else can I say about her? She has the mainstream appeal, she came in like a star and has gone through even further through the roof every single time she’s out there on the big stage. There’s a real chance that we’re coming up on her main eventing Wrestlemania, which isn’t too bad for someone whose in-ring debut came at the show last year. Rousey is a near natural and that’s not something you get to say very often.

And yet, there’s one more ahead of her.

Ricochet

This one dawned on me as I was writing this up and the more I thought about it, the more right it felt. Ricochet is someone with some experience outside of WWE but it didn’t feel like there was even the slightest bit of a transition. He came into NXT in a match of the year candidate and stole the show with one of the spots of the year. Then he had more classic matches and won the North American Title, plus had a quick showdown that teased a shot at the NXT Title. Ricochet is way more than a high flier and could be the top star in NXT in the near future. You don’t see that happen in a place with that kind of talent, but he’s doing it with ease.

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

I’m not going to waste your time on this one as there are only three viable options. 2018 was a good year for pay per view as there weren’t a lot of horrible shows. It’s interesting that wrestling companies can get the big stuff so well but have so many problems with the weekly shows. We’ve covered that enough though and now it’s time to get to the big ones.

Backlash

This would be the BEAT THE TRAFFIC show that went nearly an hour longer than it needed to and had one bad match after another with the only two good ones being matches that had been done better before. This was the wrong show in front of the wrong crowd at the wrong time. That Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe main event was the expired icing on the spoiled cake and made this one even worse than I thought was possible.

Greatest Royal Rumble

Oh you knew we were getting to Saudi Arabia. Tell me: other than Strowman winning and Titus’ funny fall, what else happened on this show? Well we had Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar ruining a cage match, and a far too long main event. This show set the WWE Saudi Arabia relationship off on a bad foot and it was only going to get worse.

That worse would be the worst of the year.

Crown Jewel

Like it was going to be anything else. I didn’t get to watch this show live as I had to take care of some stuff outside of town. My wife read me the results as we came home and we were having trouble keeping the car straight from laughing at how stupid the whole thing was. There was a tournament won by Shane McMahon (who wasn’t involved in the first place), Brock Lesnar becoming Universal Champion again, and a disaster of a main event that is going to be on the list of all time awful ones. This was a different kind of bad and nothing really came close all year.

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: WWEGen

This is a weird one as it takes us both in and out of the ring. It’s more along the lines of the biggest headline, which could be either good or bad. Some of these are a lot more widespread than others but they’re all important in one way or another. That makes this rather interesting in a way, as some stories have more ramifications than they would originally seem to.

Shawn Michaels Returns To The Ring

This is one of those things where you almost never believed it could happen. Michaels had the perfect retirement back in the day and had been teased to return to the ring almost ever since. Now though he actually got back in the ring….and it didn’t matter whatsoever for the most part. It was a one off (for now) appearance and while Shawn looked decent, it came on such a nothing show that it was more of a disappointment than anything else.

Ronda Rousey Is Awesome

I said this one in Surprise Of The Year but who in the world expected her to be this good? Rousey coming over to WWE made some headlines in mainstream sports but I don’t think anyone imagined she would be so awesome so fast. Rousey hasn’t had a bad match yet and has run through everyone in front of her like they’re nothing. I don’t know how much better she can get, but it’s going to be fun to watch.

WWE TV Ratings Plummet

I didn’t really consider this one a strong contender because it happens every year. At the same time though, it never gets this bad. You can’t be surprised that the ratings got this bad because the shows were just so bad. There was nothing good about them more often than not and WWE didn’t exactly go out of their way to make things better. At the end of the day you can’t get around bad wrestling TV and that’s what WWE found out in a hard way this time. It’s getting a little better, but without things really changing it’s not going to fix things.

Roman Reigns Vacates The Universal Title

Now we’re getting somewhere as this is the kind of thing that changes wrestling companies. Reigns is gone for the time being and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. WWE has spent years centering the company around Reigns and now that he’s gone, WWE is really starting to feel the burn. Reigns’ health is what really matters here though, as there’s nothing good about having any wrestler, especially one in the prime of his career, taken out like this. I hope Reigns gets better so it can be an even bigger headline soon.

Daniel Bryan Returns To The Ring

This is a bigger one than Shawn for me as I never would have believed it could happen. While it’s certainly a surprise, it also offers something bigger. Bryan was injured for so long and it seemed hopeless yet he came back (and got awesome again under a new character). It gives hope for others whose careers seem to be over, which could make things a lot more interesting in the future.

WWE FOX Deal

WWE has a history with being on network TV but the idea of a weekly show is unheard of for them. It’s a huge step forward and a huge financial boom for the company. With the money coming in there are also loftier expectations, which could mean we get a better Smackdown going forward. I want to see where this goes, but it’s already gone pretty far to start.

All In Sells Out Almost Instantly

Earlier in the year, All In was announced and sounded like something with potential but nothing that big. Then it sold out in something like half an hour (I was thinking about going to the show and then saw how fast it was gone, much to my own shock) and it was clear that they had something special. The show being really good was just a bonus, because the show being such a success was what really mattered.

That’s all wrestling stuff though. Now we need to get to what really matters.

Controversy Over Crown Jewel

This is the kind of thing that went beyond wrestling as it made mainstream headlines. It made WWE look like a money hungry company (it’s not like other companies aren’t the same) who was willing to ignore everything else going on involving a man’s death for the sake of a huge check. This was a disaster on every point, with the show being a nightmare making it even worse. WWE is going to keep going to Saudi Arabia and it’s going to look bad every single time. But at least the stock went up or something right?

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

And then there’s all the awful stuff, which really is something you can’t escape. Some of these things are downright horrible and some of the worst angles I can remember in a long time. This year was particularly terrible in some instances, which is covering a lot of ground given how bad some of these have been over the years. There were so many options this year that I trimmed off some that would have been favorites in previous years. It’s been that bad.

Smackdown Swept At Survivor Series And…..Nothing

This is a combination of two things. First of all you have the problem of the Kickoff Show match not counting towards the score (after it counted towards the score), but then there’s the fact that Smackdown got swept. WWE had hyped up the fact that Raw had won a few times and then they did again in even more dominant fashion. There was no drama at Survivor Series and the latter half of the show felt unimportant. Then a grand total of nothing happened as a result. Survivor Series is a major show, but they made it feel less important than Starrcade.

DX vs. Brothers of Destruction

Where do I even begin with this one? Let’s see: the youngest person involved was just south of fifty years old, the match was a disaster, it brought Shawn Michaels out of retirement for a match that didn’t seem to mean anything, and there’s the whole building a match with scenes in front of a grave on a show whose controversy centered around a journalist being murdered. I think we can move on now.

Drake Maverick and Bobby Roode’s Robe

This doesn’t need an explanation. It was bad.

Brock Lesnar As Universal Champion

Lesnar spent most of the year as champion despite the fans not exactly being thrilled with what’s going on. I know you don’t have to have the World Champion on TV every week, but you would think that they would have him show up every now and then instead of just letting him be around every few months. That’s fine every now and then but as of Wrestlemania this year, it’s going to be two years (save for two months) of Lesnar as champion mostly out of residence. That’s insane and shows no sign of slowing down.

Bayley and Sasha Banks’ Unwild Ride

Note that this is NOT the fault of the wrestlers. They’re stuck on this treadmill of bad booking and there’s no end in sight for it to this day. Their feud with the Riott Squad will likely continue for several more months because WWE doesn’t see the need to change anything. Other than that one week where Sasha was in love with Bayley, nothing has changed and that’s such a waste of everyone involved.

But at least there’s something to waste, unlike on the winner.

Baron Corbin Runs Raw

I don’t remember the last story that got to me like this. The biggest issue here is very simple: Baron Corbin isn’t that good. He’s a perfectly serviceable big man, but he was the centerpiece of Raw for months. What WWE sees in him is beyond me, but he’s still near the top of the card even after being removed from power. They eventually turned him into a scapegoat for the lousy booking because that’s the kind of missing the point that WWE can pull off. This was terrible and easily the worst thing WWE did all year.

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 21, 2019
Location: Chesapeake Energy Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s the last Raw before the Royal Rumble and last week saw a pretty big change. Finn Balor has taken Braun Strowman’s place in Sunday’s Universal Title match and that means things are a lot more interesting in a hurry. I doubt something that big is going to change tonight but you never know. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the traditional Martin Luther King Jr. Day video, which absolutely never misses.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to get things going. Heyman sounds rather disgusted this week and talks about Finn Balor winning the title shot last week. Balor pinned John Cena, who them endorsed Balor for his win. Everyone got on their feet and said they believed in Balor, who is going into a Universal Title match.

Lesnar was ready for Braun Strowman and now he’s going to take that out on Balor. Finn is going to be sacrificed for believing that he can defeat Lesnar and for the sin of believing that he can take what Brock has. Here’s your spoiler alert: Balor will be destroyed for his sins and conquered by the conqueror.

This brings out Vince McMahon to say Heyman believes this one more than usual. Vince sees this as David vs. Goliath. See, one day David went out and ate every mushroom he could find and decided he could beat Goliath. Then Goliath beat David to death, but David was reincarnated as Finn Balor. Vince calls this hillbilly land (Heyman: “You’re speaking too fast for them Vince.”) and says no one should believe Balor can win.

This brings out Braun Strowman, much to Vince’s annoyance. Strowman says last week was the worst night of his life because of Baron Corbin, who cost him $100,000 and his Universal Title shot. That makes Lesnar a lucky man too because it means Strowman won’t be waiting for him on Sunday. He’ll be waiting after Sunday though and it’ll be time for Lesnar to get these hands. This brings out Balor, who says he earned the title shot last week by beating the best of all time in John Cena. Heyman: “Second greatest of all time after Brock Lesnar. Continue.”

Strowman chimes in again but Balor says to keep his nose out of it because Balor is going to do something that Braun never did. Lesnar leaves so Balor explains the story of David to Vince. No one bought what David was made of, just like Balor will do on Sunday. Vince tells Lesnar to hang on because we’ll have Strowman vs. Balor right now in a David vs. Goliath match. No Chance playing us to the break seems rather appropriate. Also, how long did it take for Vince to turn heel? My goodness.

Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor

Joined in progress with Balor’s dropkick not having much effect. Strowman knocks him to the floor for the running shoulder and it’s off to the nerve hold back inside. They head outside again and this time the running shoulder is countered with a Sling Blade. Back in and Balor grabs a sleeper to knock Strowman down. It’s too early for the Coup de Grace though as Strowman throws him off the top and down onto Lesnar for a belly to belly.

The bell didn’t ring and it’s Balor going back in to attack Strowman. A running flip dive takes Lesnar down and there’s another Sling Blade to Strowman. Balor dropkicks Lesnar through the ropes and dropkicks him into the barricade for a bonus. Strowman pulls Balor back inside but misses a charge into the post. The shot gun dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace but Lesnar comes in with an F5 for the DQ at 7:46.

Rating: C. This was much more about the brawling at the end than the match and that’s fine. Balor needed some momentum heading into the pay per view, though having Lesnar come in for the DQ wasn’t the best idea in the world. I guess they didn’t want Strowman taking a pin, though that begs the question of why book the match in the first place.

Here are Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley for the Intercontinental Title celebration. Rush brags about how good Lashley is and says we’re having an open challenge (non-title of course), because Lashley fights for money. The lights are turned low so Lashley can pose until Apollo Crews comes out to interrupt. Apollo knows that Lashley is a stud but no one paid money to see Lashley pose.

Rush says that Crews doesn’t have the stature to do this but if he can beat Lashley in a pose off, he can have the match. Lashley poses but Crews dances into his pose. They do it again to the same result, followed by Lashley doing his most muscular pose. Lashley finally jumps Crews but gets sent outside. Rush is tossed on top of him to really hammer the point home.

Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title and joined in progress with Lashley powering him down. Crews is right back with a press slam of his own (dang) for the double knockdown. Crews makes the mistake of going after Rush though, meaning another gorilla press. That’s enough of a distraction for Lashley to spear him down for the pin at 2:45.

After Lashley’s win, Seth Rollins comes out for a staredown. Post break, Rollins says this day is about Martin Luther King Jr., including a quote talking about a man being measured by what he does when he’s surrounded by tragedy. That’s what Rollins has felt for the last few months because he now has his ring all around him. He’s going to Phoenix this weekend and winning the Royal Rumble.

It’s a long shot, but he’s betting on himself because of what’s inside his chest. This brings out Drew McIntyre, who says he can’t wait to take everything away from Rollins both tonight and on Sunday. If you had Rollins’ heart and put it in Drew’s body, the person would be unstoppable. That sounds like the setup of a match to me.

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

Joined in progress again with Rollins elbowing him in the face for two. Rollins sends him outside but the suicide dive misses, allowing McIntyre to put on an armbar. That delay lets Cole tell us that Cena is out of the Rumble with an ankle injury. I guess that’s how they get him back on the movie set. Rollins fights up but misses a charge into the post, allowing the armbar to go on again. Drew kicks him in the ribs to the floor and the reverse Alabama slam takes us to a break.

Back with Rollins hitting the Sling Blade but having the Buckle Bomb reversed. Rollins gets two off a hurricanrana and the Falcon Arrow gets two. The Stomp is countered but the Claymore is countered with a heck of a superkick for two more. They’re certainly trading the heavy shots so far. It’s McIntyre up first and he takes Rollins up for the super White Noise into another near fall. The frustrated McIntyre tries a clothesline but gets rolled up for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. This shouldn’t have been on Raw and I’m not sure I can go with the idea of McIntyre losing to anyone clean at this point. At least there’s a good chance that Rollins is winning the Rumble on Sunday so it would make sense to give him a win this big. The loss doesn’t do serious damage to McIntyre, but it doesn’t exactly help him either. Kind of a weird choice, though if they go all the way with Rollins it makes more sense.

The Revival (hey they’re still here) sucks up to Vince to get a title shot. Vince agrees, but this time we need a special referee. Someone like….Curt Hawkins. The Revival immediately starts sucking up.

Lucha House Party vs. Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers

Dorado goes right after Jinder to start but gets driven into the corner. We hit an early chinlock but Dorado is quickly up. Sunil comes in and almost immediately allows the hot tag to Kalisto. The step onto the shoulders into a splash gets two on Sunil but a knee to the back puts Kalisto down. A kick to the head allows the hot tag off to Metalik so house can be cleaned. Metalik wastes no time in hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker….to pin Sunil at 3:22. Everyone is surprised by that pin, as they should be.

Rating: D. Were they just running short on time this week and needed to fill in some time? The match wasn’t anything interesting and I was half expecting Mahal to take a pin in there instead. The ending came out of nowhere and while I didn’t like how fast it was over, it did mean I didn’t have to watch it anymore so that’s an improvement.

Video on EC3.

Dana Brooke seems awestruck by EC3 and asks him a bunch of questions about his nutrition.

Here’s Elias for a song. He talks about what a great year it’s going to be until Baron Corbin interrupts. Corbin threatens to come beat him up so Elias wants the mic cut. Since Corbin isn’t in charge anymore, Elias gets what he wants. Elias goes on to sing about how much Corbin sucks and the fight is on. You know what’s next.

Elias vs. Baron Corbin

Joined in progress because opening bells are the enemy tonight. Elias hits Old School into an armdrag and clotheslines Corbin down before sending him outside. That means the slide underneath the ropes into the big clothesline but Elias is right back with the jumping knee to the face. A swinging neckbreaker gives Elias two but Corbin punches him in the throat, setting up End of Days for the pin at 3:33.

Rating: D. Another match that didn’t have time to mean much here, but I’ll certainly take a Corbin match going as short as possible. This feud hasn’t done anything for me, though it’s sad to see Elias fall so far so fast. He wasn’t going to be a big star with the rather simple gimmick, but this face turn and losses to Corbin have killed him.

It’s time for A Moment of Bliss with Alexa talking about the Women’s Royal Rumble. After listing off 21 names in the match so far, she brings out her former best friend and the odds on favorite to win: Nia Jax. Before Nia can answer who she would want to face with a win, Ember Moon interrupts to says he’s staking her claim right now. This brings out Alicia Fox to says he’s the captain of the division and navigating the ship towards Wrestlemania.

Mickie James comes out (much to Bliss’ annoyance) and says she’ll win. A fight breaks out and a bunch of other women come out, sending Bliss onto her chair to say ENOUGH. The fight breaks out again and heads to the back so Bliss announces herself for the Royal Rumble. This brings out Lacey Evans to say that was messy. She’ll be bringing class to the Royal Rumble, including taking care of the sawed off girly runt Bliss.

Titus O’Neil announces his introduction into the Royal Rumble when a production guy bumps into him. Titus isn’t happy as the guy leaves….and that’s it.

Ascension vs. Heavy Machinery

Otis spins Viktor around with a slam to start and it’s off to Tucker for a double headbutt. The Bushwhackers double knee to the head sets up the Caterpillar, followed by the Compactor for the pin at 2:12. Total squash and fun match that Heavy Machinery can do.

Tag Team Titles: Revival vs. Bobby Roode/Chad Gable

Roode and Gable are defending and Curt Hawkins is guest referee. Wilder and Gable start things off and it’s time to take over in the corner early on with a tag to Roode not counting due to a lack of grabbing a tag rope. Everything breaks down in a hurry and it’s stereo t-bone suplex to send Revival outside. Gable is backdropped onto Wilder but gets clotheslined down by Dawson as we take a break.

Back with Gable making the hot tag so Roode can clothesline away, followed by a spinebuster to Wilder. Dawson tries the Ultimate Warrior/Bobby Heenan leg trip on a suplex but gets caught at two. Wilder’s rollup with feet on the ropes gets the same treatment, as does Dawson pulling the trunks on a rollup. Dawson has had it and shoves Hawkins, allowing Gable to grab a rollup for a fast counted pin at 8:04.

Rating: C-. They had a story here and while I’m not sure if this is enough to keep the Revival happy, it’s still something that has been done as of late. Would it really hurt to give them the titles at some point? It’s not like Gable and Roode are anything special and they’ve been a team for all of a few months anyway. Not a bad match, but I just want to see the Revival get to do something.

Post match Hawkins gets beaten down until Zack Ryder runs in for the save to a rather mild reaction from the announcers.

Ronda Rousey says she doesn’t owe Sasha Banks a thing because Banks insulted her as soon as she got a Women’s Title shot. She’s the Boss’ boss, and she’ll prove it at the Royal Rumble.

Ronda Rousey/Natalya vs. Sasha Banks/Bayley

Before the match, Banks talks about Rousey not being around very long and being ready to stop her on Sunday. That sets Rousey off to the point that Natalya has to hold her back. Banks and Natalya start things off with Sasha getting in a cheap shot on Rousey to knock her off the apron. Rousey comes in to clean house and we take an early break. Back with Bayley coming in for a running knee to Natalya’s face. Sasha adds the Meteora for two but Natalya gets over for the hot tag to Rousey.

Banks slips out of a quick fireman’s carry and rolls Rousey into the Bank Statement with Natalya having to make a save. Bayley gets beaten up as well but takes Rousey into the corner for an ax handle to Rousey’s arm. That doesn’t seem to bother Rousey as she pulls Banks down into an armbar attempt. That goes nowhere so it’s back to Natalya for a suplex into the Sharpshooter. Everything breaks down and Banks slaps on the Bank Statement to Natalya for the tap at 7:41.

Rating: C. The match was as watchable as you would expect, but what matters here is I’m much more interested in seeing Rousey vs. Banks than I was before. Rousey showed some fire here and that’s what makes her matches that much better. I don’t think Banks will win the title, but I think there’s the tiniest chance that it could happen, and that’s what matters. Good job on that, and that’s what mattered most.

Banks and Rousey stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show felt fast and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Everything felt like it was happening at a breakneck pace and that gives it a benefit of never dragging. At the same time though, very little felt very good or even worth seeing, though I’ll take that over boring or dragging every week. The Rumble itself isn’t getting a lot of attention at the top, though that’s mainly because Seth Rollins is such a heavy favorite. The rest of the card is looking good though and that’s a fine way to go. Not a bad show, but it went flying by.

Results

Finn Balor b. Braun Strowman via DQ when Brock Lesnar interfered

Bobby Lashley b. Apollo Crews – Spear

Seth Rollins b. Drew McIntyre – Rollup

Lucha House Party b. Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers – Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to Sunil Singh

Heavy Machinery b. Ascension – Compactor to Viktor

Chad Gable/Bobby Roode b. Revival – Rollup to Dawson

Sasha Banks/Bayley b. Ronda Rousey/Natalya – Bank Statement to Natalya

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

Someone is out of the Rumble.https://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/article/john-cena-injury-mens-royal-rumble-match-question

John Cena is questionable for the Royal Rumble, which might be their way of getting Cena back on the movie set in time.  Nothing wrong with that, and Cena put Balor over before he left.  Kind of annoying to false advertise him, but I like this better than him just leaving again.

IMG Credit: WWE

Royal Rumble 2013
Date: January 27, 2013
Location: US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 13,00
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

This show was only a year ago and I can barely remember anything about it. Aside from the Rumble the big matches are the Rock challenging CM Punk for the WWE Title in the most obvious ending ever and Alberto Del Rio defending his newly won World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show in a last man standing match. Other than that we’ve only got HELL NO vs. the Rhodes Scholars to complete the card. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: US Title: The Miz vs. Antonio Cesaro

Cesaro is defending. This is just after Flair passed the Figure Four to Miz, starting the worst period of his career. Miz grabs a headlock to start and gets two off an elbow to the jaw. The headlock takes Cesaro down to the mat but he fights up and grabs one of his own. Back up and Miz tries a leapfrog but gets caught in midair with a tikt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. The champion takes over and cranks on both of Miz’s arms before getting two off a Michinoku Driver.

A hard European uppercut sets up the gutwrench suplex for two and it’s back to the double arm. Back up again and Miz slips out of a slam and hooks the Reality Check for two. There’s the running clothesline in the corner and Miz goes up but hurts his knee on the top rope ax handle. Cesaro gets caught with his feet on the ropes, allowing Miz to get two off a rollup. Antonio misses a running knee in the corner but is still able to roll away from the Figure Four. Cesar takes him to the floor and rams Miz into the metal underneath the ring. Miz is out cold so Cesaro Neutralizes him for the pin to retain.

Rating: D+. Miz just doesn’t work in a lot of these matches and the Figure Four doesn’t work in the slightest. Thankfully he wouldn’t be featured very prominently for awhile as there was just nothing to him for the most part. Cesaro still needs to get a push as he’s more talented and marketable than half the roster but instead we get people like Miz.

The opening video is about time passing and how no one has enough. This ties into Punk’s time as champion with Rock saying the reign ends tonight.

Smackdown World Title: Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio

Last man standing match, which is a rematch with the same stipulations from when Alberto won the title a few weeks ago. Del Rio turned the announce table on top of Big Show so Big Show turned it on top of him a few weeks later. Alberto is shown in the back and he runs into Bret Hart for no apparent reason whatsoever. Bret says Alberto reminds him of a Mexican version of himself. Alberto calls Bret a Canadian Del Rio and Ricardo gushes, earning him Bret’s sunglasses. What a bizarre cameo.

Some hard chops have Del Rio in early trouble and a slam gets a five count. Alberto chops away but jumps off the middle rope right into a chop to change control right back. The champion dropkicks the giant’s knee out but the low superkick actually knocks Big Show up from his knees to his feet. A hurricanrana and a seated senton put Big Show down and Alberto gets a breather. It’s amazing how much more intersting Del Rio is by doing this lucha stuff instead of his arm work. The arm stuff is good but this is such a nice change of pace.

Big Show blocks the armbreaker with one arm and slams Del Rio down, sending him outside. Del Rio gets back in as Big Show gets a chair but the champion dropkicks him in the ribs to knock it out of his hands. A series of chair shots (crowd: “SI! SI! SI!”) has Big Show down but Alberto dives into a chokeslam for an eight count. We head outside again with Del Rio getting chopped to the floor with ease. This is a very slow paced match so far.

A pair of low blows puts Big Show down in the aisle but he’s up at nine. Show hits something resembling a DDT on the floor before sending Del Rio into the set. He rips a piece of the set, resembling a light tube, and blasts Del Rio over the back. Since this is WWE there’s a table readily available and Big Show takes the champion on top of the set for a chokeslam through the table. The bump looked awesome but he’s again on his feet at nine.

The beating takes Del Rio back to the ring and Show loads up the WMD. Alberto sees it coming and rolls outside, only to have Big Show throw Ricardo around for fun. Big Show misses a charge through the barricade (clearly heavily padded) for five but a long series of chair shots has him down again. Del Rio crushes the arm between the steps and a chair, but Alberto follows up with a fire extinguisher blast to the face for no apparent reason. Back in and the armbreaker goes on, but Ricardo ups the ante by duct taping Big Show’s legs to the ropes. The giant can’t get up and Alberto retains the title.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t the worst match in the world but it was very slowly paced and the ending made Del Rio look more clever than tough. It also doesn’t help that the match was the same gimmick they did less than a month ago. Face Alberto was a nice guy but they cut the cord just six months after this. Not bad, but Del Rio winning the title here would have been much better.

Send Slim Jims to the military!

Ziggler isn’t worried about being in the Rumble and AJ threatens Matt Striker with Big E. Langston for implying Ziggler can’t win. Langston does one of the most mind blowing imitations of an annoying reporter while asking Ziggler for his thoughts on the main event. Dolph has little of note to say but no one was hearing him after Big E.’s bit anyway.

Cesaro says he’ll continue the streak of non-Americans winning the Rumble.

The Prime Time Players……WE’RE GETTING RUMBLE PROMOS!!!! Anyway they say anyone that thinks they’ll eliminate either of them is getting a penalty flag.

Orton says he’s perfect for the Rumble because it’s every man for himself.

Cena is ready for the Rumble because it means he can be champion again.

Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett says he’ll restore credability to the Rumble.

Sheamus says he won the Rumble last year and he’ll do it again tonight.

Ryback isn’t any catchphrase and he doesn’t eat Fruity Pebbles, but he’ll see food every 90 seconds. Feed him more.

We recap Miz vs. Cesaro on the pre-show.

Tag Titles: HELL NO vs. Rhodes Scholars

The Scholars are challenging. Cody kicks Bryan in the ribs as Cole references Queen lyrics. Bryan spins out of a wristlock and the fans chant for Cody’s mustache. Cody’s leapfrog is countered into a surfboard and it’s off to Kane for a low dropkick and a two count. Rhodes scores with a dropkick of his own and drives Kane into the corner for the tag off to Sandow. Kane easily powers Sandow into the corner because, you know, he’s Damien Sandow and it’s off to Bryan for the YES Kicks.

JBL rants about Cole and Lawler hugging as Kane kicks Sandow in the face, knocking him out to the floor. The FLYING GOAT takes out the challengers but Cody low bridges Bryan to the floor to take over. Back in and a half crab has Daniel in trouble but he reverses into a small package to escape. Damien comes in again and drops an elbow for two before dropping the Wind-Up Elbow.

After some knees to the back it’s Cody in again but he charges into a boot in the corner. Sandow breaks up a hot tag attempt and Cody puts Bryan in an over the shoulder backbreaker. Daniel slides down to escape and makes the tag to Kane. Sandow is tossed around like a rag doll but a Cody distraction prevents the top rope clothesline. Kane grabs both guys by the throat and Bryan tags himself in. The Scholars double suplex Kane but Bryan shoves Cody into a chokeslam and Daniel YES Locks Sandow to retain.

Rating: C. Nothing you wouldn’t see on Raw around this time which means it was fine. The Scholars were a nice idea for a team but it was clear that they had no chance at this point given how low their individual stocks were. Kane and Bryan gelled perfectly well as a team and Bryan would get far bigger very soon.

Rumble By The Numbers which I’ve typed many times already.

HELL NO celebrates in the back when Vickie Guerrero comes up and gives them their Rumble numbers. Daniel shows Kane his but Kane won’t show Bryan.

We look at the Royal Rumble Fan Fest which is another name for Axxess. This included a tournament of NXT wrestlers for a spot in the Rumble, won by Bo Dallas.

Royal Rumble

Ziggler is #1 which he picked (the other option was #2) after winning a Beat the Clock Challenge on Raw. Dolph says he’ll win and doesn’t care who he faces first, bringing out a returning Chris Jericho at #2. This was a complete shock and the roof is blown off the building. Also remember that Ziggler beat Jericho to send him out of the company to give us some history. The clock is at 90 seconds between entrants this year.

Jericho is quickly sent to the apron but comes back with a top rope ax handle. Now it’s Dolph on the apron as the fans tell Jericho he still has it. When did Jericho ever come close to losing it? A superplex brings Ziggler back into the ring and Cody Rhodes is in at #3. Jericho hammers away on him but Ziggler gets in a cheap shot as the double teaming begins. Chris knocks Ziggler down and puts Cody in the Walls but Dolph makes the save.

Dolph catapults Jericho throat first into the bottom rope as Kofi Kingston is in at #4. Kofi immediately speeds things up and pounds away on Cody but can’t hit Ziggy with Trouble in Paradise. Ziggler is thrown to the apron and all four guys try to eliminate each other at the same time in the same spot. Santino Marella is #5 and he sends all four to the apron before loading up the Cobra. Everybody is back in and even though Santino takes Kofi down with the sock, it’s Cody backdropping Marella out.

Drew McIntyre of 3MB is #6 and gets to fight Kofi as everyone else takes a breather. Back up and it’s time to lay on the ropes while trying to eliminate people. Jericho is sent over the ropes but he keeps his feet off the ground and gets back in. Titus O’Neil is in at #7 to add some power, including taking Cody and Kofi down with a double clothesline. Cole finally tells us that the bark is a shout out to his fraternity from Florida. Thank you for explaining that to us after two years.

Jericho throws out McIntyre but can’t do the same to Ziggler as Goldust is #8. Cody gets ready for the showdown and the fans are WAY into this. They trade the kneeling uppercuts and Goldie stomps on Cody for a bit. The fans chant for Goldust and it’s David Otunga (remember him?) is in at #9. The announcers ignore the match to talk about the commentators being in the Rumble last year as people start to pair off.

Nothing much happens until Heath Slater is in at #10. That gives us Ziggler, Jericho, Rhodes, Kingston, O’Neil, Goldust, Otunga and Slater at the moment. Slater fires off right hands to Kofi as Jericho calls spots to Ziggler. Dolph gets stuck on the apron again and Sheamus is #11 to clear out some bodies. He destroys everyone with his usual stuff before sending Titus to the apron for the ten forearms. Otunga is thrown onto Titus to get rid of O’Neil before ten forearms and a Brogue Kick get rid of the lawyer. Tensai, still the Japanese lunkhead, is #12.

Everybody goes after Tensai to make a big cluster in the corner. That goes nowhere at all so Brodus Clay comes in at #13. We get a Tons of Funk preview before Goldust backdrops Cody to the apron, only to get pulled to the apron as well. Cody gets back in and sends Goldust into the post for the elimination and a lot of booing. Rey Mysterio is #14 to make the crowd happy again. Ziggler and Jericho get quick 619s and the top rope splash crushes Jericho. Things slow down a bit until we reach the halfway point with Darren Young at #15.

A bunch of guys join forces to dump Brodus and Kofi puts out Tensai a few seconds later. Now we get to the part that everybody was waiting on as Kofi is knocked off the apron, only to land on Tensai’s back. He jumps onto the announcers’ table as he tries to figure this out. Why he doesn’t just jump two feet to get onto the steps is beyond me. Bo Dallas is #16 as this is going on. Instead of the steps, Kofi gets JBL’s office chair and pogos his way back to the ring. Kingston pulls Darren out of the ring but gets caught with the Disaster Kick for the elimination before he can get back inside.

Godfather gives us the nostalgia pop at #17 and is dropkicked out by Ziggler four seconds later. He seems ok with that and leaves with his women. The whole point was the entrance anyway so I have no issue with that. Wade Barrett is in at #18 as the ring is getting too full. Everything slows down again and John Cena is #19 to clear out some tired people. Everybody gets ready for him so Cena comes a charging. John fights them all off and throws out Slater and Cody but can’t dump Jericho.

Damien Sandow is #20, giving us Ziggler, Jericho, Sheamus, Mysterio, Dallas, Barrett, Cena and Sandow. Mysteiro and Barrett fight to the apron and a big forearm puts Rey out. Sheamus goes right after Wade as Jericho tries to put Cena in the Walls. Daniel Bryan is #21 and fires off kicks to Sandow. Now it’s Barrett getting the kicks as everyone else is down. Sheamus and Bryan try to put Jericho out but he slides back in under the ropes.

Antonio Cesaro is in at #22 and gets in a fight with Sheamus as the fans start the dueling Cena chants. Everybody is back up now and Great Khali is #23. It’s chops all around until things calm a bit. Kane comes in at #24 to fire things up again (get it?) but the ring is too full. It gets even worse with Zach Ryder coming in at #25 but HELL NO dumps Khali. Bryan dumps Kane but Cesaro dumps Bryan into Kane’s arms. Daniel: YES! Kane shouts no and drops Bryan for the elimination in a funny bit.

Randy Orton is #26 and it’s powerslams all around. Ziggler and Dallas get a double Elevated DDT and it’s an RKO for Ryder, followed by the elimination. Jinder Mahal gets lucky #27 as Cesaro lifts Cena up, only to be eliminated himself. Ziggler gets launched to the ropes but slides back in as Miz is #28. He gets in a fight with Cesaro in the aisle and limps into the ring to sell the ankle injury from earlier. Sheamus dumps Mahal and Sin Cara is #29.

Cara tries an enziguri on Ziggler which misses by four inches but Ziggler sells it anyway. Bo Dallas pulls Barrett out in an elimination that should have led further than it did. Miz sends Jericho to the apron as Barrett pulls Dallas out from the floor. Ryback is #30 to give us a final grouping of Ryback, Ziggler, Jericho, Sheamus, Cena, Sandow, Orton, Miz and Sin Cara. Damien is out first and Sin Cara quickly follows. Miz tries to power Ryback out and is tossed as well to get us down to six. Jericho is somehow still alive and hits a Lionsault on Cena but the springboard dropkick doesn’t eliminate Sheamus.

Ziggler backdrops Jericho to the apron and superkicks him out (missed as well but he’s spent at this point) but walks into an RKO. There’s one for Cena as well and Sheamus gets the third. That leaves Ryback to fight Orton but the monster gets taken down with an Elevated DDT. Ryback fights off the RKO and clotheslines Randy out to get us down to four. Ziggler DDTs Cena down but a Brogue Kick puts Dolph on the floor.

It’s Sheamus, Ryback and Cena with Ryback getting double suplexed down. Cena and Sheamus make things serious by LOOKING AT THE SIGN. John takes over but Ryback runs him over with a clothesline. Sheamus escapes the Shell Shock, looks at the sign, and hits White Noise on Ryback. The Brogue Kick is countered with a backdrop to eliminate Sheamus and we’re down to two.

They LOOK AT THE SIGN and do their signature taunts before Ryback spinebusters Cena down. The Meathook is countered into the STF and Ryback passes out, leaving him as dead weight. Ryback fights out of the corner and Cena’s head into the mat. He loads up a powerslam but Cena slips out the back and shoves Ryback out for the win and title shot at Wrestlemania.

Rating: B. It’s a good but not great Rumble. That being said, there was almost no other option to win here, even though it set up the rematch that no one wanted to see. There’s certainly some good stuff in it and there were no down spots, but you would expect more big moments than we got here.

Coming Home ad for Wrestlemania. That still should have been Wrestlemania XXX.

We recap CM Punk vs. The Rock. It’s a basic story: Punk has been champion for 434 days and Rock is getting a title shot because he’s the Rock, which was kind of a lame reason, especially when the shot was announced six months ago. That began a countdown that made everything Punk did meaningless, because there was no way it would be anyone but Rock taking the belt from him here. Yeah Punk got in some shots on Rock before the match, but this was as much of a layup as you could get. Also if Shield or anyone interferes, Punk is stripped of the title.

Rock, after waiting for them to chant his name, says he isn’t worried about Shield, even though they busted up his lung recently. He goes on a rant about how many hard things he’s been through, but redeems himself a bit by talking about his mom getting cancer but beating it to be here tonight. Punk has said that the people don’t count but Rock says every single one of them count to him. He reaches his hand out to everyone that believes in the Rock so he can get their power, if you smell what he’s cooking.

Raw World Title: The Rock vs. CM Punk

Punk of course has Heyman with him. He charges right into the brawl and actually pounds Rock down into the corner. A quick Rock Bottom is countered but Punk is sent outside. Rock follows him outside and sends the champion into the barricade before loading up the announce table. Punk comes back with a shot to the ribs and puts the table back together in a great bit. Back in and Rock scores with more right hands to knock Punk to the floor again.

Punk is whipped into the barricade one more time but he gets a boot up to stop a charging Bull. He finishes fixing the announce table instead of following up on Rock before dropping Rock ribs first on the barricade. They head inside again for a body vice from CM followed by a knee to the ribs for two. Off to a freaky looking hold where Punk pins Rock’s shoulders down but pulls back on his head to crank on the shoulders and back.

More choking follows and a knee to the back has Rock on the apron, followed by a springboard dropkick to send him outside. Punk tries a top rope ax handle to take Rock down but injures his knee in the process. Rock scores with some kicks to the knee but the champion easily sends him out to the floor to stop the comeback. Back in and Punk misses the springboard clothesline and reinjures the knee, giving Rock his opening.

A DDT gets one on Punk but he fights out of the Rock Bottom. The GTS is countered into a Sharpshooter attempt but Punk counters into the Anaconda Vice in a nice sequence. Rock rolls over into a cradle, forcing Punk to let go of the hold. Back up and tries the Rock Bottom but Punk counters into a rollup for two, only to be countered into a low seated Sharpshooter. Punk is next to the rope so naturally he takes thirty seconds to get the break.

Rock takes him to the floor and loads up the announce table again. They fight on top but Rock counters a GTS attempt into what was supposed to be a Rock Bottom but was really more like the table collapsing with Rock’s arm around Punk’s chest. Rock comes up holding his knee and both guys make it back in at an eight count. Punk scores with a high kick but both guys are down.

Back up and Rock wins a slugout before scoring with the spinebuster. He loads up the People’s Elbow and there go the lights. Cole can see Shield pulling Rock to the floor and powerbombing him through the table. The lights come back up and Rock is laid out as the referee has no idea what’s going on. The announcers try to tell Mike Chioda what happened and Punk feigns innocence.

He throws Rock back in for the pin and celebrates but here’s Vince to say Punk is stripped of the title for the interference. Rock says no and to restart the match. The bell rings again and Punk stomps away as JBL threatens to put Cole through a table for playing cheerleader. The Macho Elbow gets two but the GTS is countered into a spinebuster, setting up the People’s Elbow to end Punk’s reign.

Rating: B. It’s another good match but it felt like they were dancing around for twenty three minutes before we got to the obvious ending. The Shield stuff was a decent fake out but it really didn’t need to be there. Rock winning was obvious though and that really put a ceiling on how high this was going to get.

Rock celebrates for about three minutes to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Yeah it’s a good show overall, but the major problem is obvious: there was no other possibly ending other than Rock vs. Cena at Wrestlemania 29 and almost everyone knew it. The show is definitely entetaining and actually really good at times, but it was so telegraphed up and down the card that it offers almost no excitement at all, even on the initial viewing. Still though, worth checking out if you have nothing else to do.

Ratings Comparison

Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show

Original: B

Redo: C-

HELL NO vs. Rhodes Scholars

Original: C

Redo: C

Royal Rumble

Original: C+

Redo: B

The Rock vs. CM Punk

Original: B

Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: A-

Redo: B

That original overall rating is too high for what I gave everything else. Also I think the original last man standing match rating is closer to the accurate one. It just didn’t hold up as well on a second viewing, but it was good.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/01/27/royal-rumble-2013-by-the-book-and-still-awesome/

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