IMG Credit: WWE

It’s that time again. Earlier this year, WWE went over to Saudi Arabia for a major international event. Now, we have another edition down in Australia, headlined by two guys who have a combined age of over 100 years. That doesn’t exactly instill me with confidence, but this does feel like a more energized show than Greatest Royal Rumble. Hopefully it’s even better when it actually takes place. Let’s get to it.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: New Day(c) vs. The Bar

The tag team division on Tuesdays is one of the weakest things around as it’s all of….geez are there even four teams there at the moment? New Day is fine for placeholder champions until we see some new teams come up, but that might let them break their record for longest title reign. The Bar is good as well, but it’s not like one of them is that much better than the other.

I’ll take New Day to retain, as they’re that much better than anyone else at the moment. The Bar feels like the challengers of the month and that likely means two or three more title matches down the line. For now though I think the New Day retains, just for the sake of not killing the crowd. They’re still popular enough and that’s good enough to keep them in a prominent role.

Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander(c) vs. Buddy Murphy

I’m not sure on this one, even though it sounds like the biggest layup on the card. Murphy is in his hometown and Alexander has held the title for six months now without losing a singles match (on TV) in over a year. That sounds like the easily formula in the world, but you never know around this place.

Actually, I think I’m going with Alexander retaining the title, even if he might not win the match. For some reason, WWE absolutely loves the idea of Alexander as the centerpiece of the division, no matter how long he’s been in the role so far. Alexander is a talented guy in great shape, but he doesn’t quite pop as a star. I don’t know if Murphy is the solution, but I actually don’t see him getting the title here.

SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch(c) vs. Charlotte

The more I think about this one, the more I’m trying to convince myself that WWE isn’t crazy enough to put the title back on Charlotte yet. Above all else, Lynch is someone who needs to keep the momentum that she’s built up. You can’t have someone be an effective rebel if they lose in their first title defense, especially when her whole thing is that she’s finally turned the corner.

I’m going to give WWE the benefit of the doubt here and take Lynch to retain, although not likely clean. You know this feud is going to go on for a few more months and Lynch needs to hold onto the title for a good while longer. There’s no benefit to putting the title back on Charlotte just yet as she’s already the most decorated champion of modern times. Let Lynch catch up a bit and get what she can out of this reign.

John Cena/Bobby Lashley vs. Elias/Kevin Owens

I had the Coliseum Video theme in my head as I wrote that one out. This match is happening for no apparent reason other than to get Cena on the card, even though I can’t remember the last time he was on Monday Night Raw. You can imagine this match being on any given house show and that’s not the worst thing in the world. Hopefully they keep this one short, as there’s not much you can get out of something like this.

Of course I’m going with the faces here, even though WWE would be a bit crazy to pass up on a potential Cena vs. Lashley match down the line. Just let us them have about ten to fifteen minutes to build to a hot tag and Cena can go back to China or wherever he’s filming next. As long as we get more of Owens and Elias together, because they’ve got a nice little chemistry going.

Bella Twins/Ronda Rousey vs. Riott Squad

This is another case of a match being a means to an end and while that’s annoying, there isn’t much of a way around it. The Squad has been a nice surprise in recent weeks with Riott herself showing some real talent (including but not limited to avoiding a weekly botch). That being said, I had forgotten who the Bellas and Rousey were fighting, because it’s all about those three. Well two of them at least.

I’ll take the Squad to win, hopefully with Brie taking the fall. At the end of the day, we’re destined for Nikki vs. Rousey for the title at Evolution, because that’s the match WWE has decided the fans are dying to see. We’re really supposed to buy that the stripper is a threat to the baddest woman on the planet, though thankfully we’re only looking at a three week build between the “former best friends” or whatever they’re going to say Rousey and Nikki used to be.

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

This is for a future WWE Championship shot, because WWE doesn’t believe in the term #1 contender anymore. These two have fought what seems to be a few dozen times now, with WWE releasing most of if not all of their previous encounters on YouTube, just to hammer the point home. While there is no word on when the title match would take place, I have a feeling I know what they’re doing.

I’m going with a non-finish here, setting up a four way for the title at Crown Jewel. That’s not the worst idea in the world, as it’s pretty clear that we’ll be seeing Miz vs. Bryan for a long time. Ignoring how little sense that makes and how it’s taking away the impact from Bryan FINALLY winning the title back (if he ever does), I can’t imagine they’ll have either get a clean fall here. We’ll go with a double countout here to make sure the feud keeps going.

Asuka/Naomi vs. Iiconics

I’m not sure I get the idea here. So Asuka has beaten up both Iiconics on her own for years now, but apparently she likes the Glow. Now though, after watching the Iiconics lose over and over, we’re supposed to be interested because they’re in their home country? I’m not sure how that’s going to be interesting to anyone aside from the Australian fans, which makes me wonder why they’re not throwing out some people who the Iiconics could beat in a hurry.

I’ll go with the Iiconics winning by pinning Naomi to give the fans something to cheer, though given how WWE has botched Asuka over the last few months, her losing to one of them for the first time wouldn’t shock me. This should be the popcorn break match and there’s nothing wrong with that, as the Iiconics are rather nice to look at if nothing else.

Shield vs. Braun Strowman/Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler

Yes this is still going and at the moment, I can’t imagine that changing until Tables Ladders And Chairs in December. Until Strowman gets out of the way and falls down the ladder, we’re stuck with these trios until we get to a fresh challenger. That’s not the most thrilling thing in the world but it’s what we’re stuck with at the moment. There’s the drama over whether or not someone might be turning, though I can’t imagine they’ll do that here.

While I’m not entirely confident with the pick, I’ll take the Shield to win here as that tends to be the case in most of their big matches. Let them tease the split some more, because just a few weeks is nowhere near long enough for what should be a big deal. Strowman and company aren’t the best villains in the world but if it gets us closer to McIntyre as a breakout star, everything will be worth it. I think.

SmackDown World Title: AJ Styles(c) vs. Samoa Joe

From where we stand right now, we’re looking at Samoa Joe becoming the latest version of Shinsuke Nakamura (who still exists, I promise). Styles has beaten him time after time and just having that one tap that didn’t count isn’t enough to prevent Samoa Joe from looking like a loser. At some point you have to have him win, and there’s really not much of a reason to not do that here.

Hence why I think Styles is going to retain. I know it makes sense to have Samoa Joe take the title here, but for some reason I can’t bring myself to say it’s going to happen. At some point Samoa Joe’s promo work isn’t going to be enough to carry him over the losses, but I don’t think we’re there yet. Styles retains, as little sense as it might make.

Undertaker vs. Triple H

And finally there’s this, which has dominated Monday Night Raw for the last month and might be just a way to get to D-Generation X vs. the Brothers of Destruction in Saudi Arabia. The big story here is….well it’s the fact that this has happened several times before and it’s happening one more time here. For some reason that’s supposed to be enough to draw an audience and while the build has been good, there’s not much of a way around the fact that they’re both old and Undertaker hasn’t had a good match in a long time.

That being said, I’ll take Undertaker to win, because Triple H doesn’t get to beat him for some reason. I’m sure the interference and outside shenanigans will be enough to get us to the tag match and that’s going to be the focus of the match anyway. The interesting thing here is going to be seeing how well they can actually have a match, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the match being the kind of main event slugfest that they’re capable of having.

Overall Thoughts

I’m looking at this card and really, nothing is jumping off the page at me. The biggest worry that I have is the same problem from Greatest Royal Rumble: a card that is advertised as being big and is held in front of a bunch of people, but has very little that actually matters. Hopefully we get a few title changes to make the show feel important, though it wouldn’t shock me to have it come and go with almost nothing important happening.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Lucha Underground Twitter

Lucha Underground
Date: October 3, 2018
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

It’s definitely Ultima Lucha time as we’re starting to see the card coming together. As of last week we have the Lucha Underground Title match, though there’s always the chance that things are going to change before we get there. Other than that, Mil Muertes is going to be facing the Mack in what should be destruction but might be something a little more interesting given the stage. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap looks at the variety of stories going on around here.

The announcers talk about Marty the Moth Martinez winning the Lucha Underground Title two weeks ago, much to Matt’s shock.

Joey Ryan/XO Lishus/Ivelisse vs. Rabbit Tribe

It’s a brawl to start with Ivelisse armdragging London down, though he seems to like it. El Bunny (I love this team) comes in instead and springboard crossbodies Lishus to take over. The slingshot Bronco Buster connects as the White Rabbit isn’t exactly pleased. London drops Lishus on his head as the White Rabbit shakes his head no.

Ivelisse comes in and starts cleaning house with Joey getting the tag to throw London into Lishus’, uh, hips. The Rabbits send everyone outside though and White Rabbit tags himself in for the menacing stare at Joey. Back to back superkicks have no effect so White Rabbit Saito suplexes Joey down. Ryan is done so the White Rabbit pulls out a white glove and puts on a Mandible Claw for the knockout at 5:20.

Rating: D+. Just a way to introduce the White Rabbit here and that was rather successful. That being said, wouldn’t it make a little more sense to do that earlier in the season instead of doing it with a month to go? He has a great look (it’s awesome in TNA as well) and can wrestle a monster style quite well, but I’m not sure how much time they have to get anywhere with him at this point.

The glove is bloody as it comes out of Joey’s mouth.

Ultima Lucha is two weeks this year and starts on Halloween night. Freshly announced: Fenix vs. Dragon Azteca Jr. in a 2/3 falls match.

Killshot vs. Son of Havoc

Havoc slugs away in the corner to start and a dropkick puts Killshot on the floor. The suicide dive is countered into an F5 into the barricade and Killshot steps on the hand while going after the mask. They go face to face for some yelling until Killshot gets low bridged to the floor. He lands on his feet so Havoc is right there with a dive to take him out.

Back in and Killshot goes for the mask again, only to get get taken down with a cutter for two. Killshot puts him in the corner though and a knee to the back sets up a running Killstomp for two more. An exchange of loud shots to the face goes to Killshot but he can’t get in a cross armbreaker, allowing Havoc to reverse it into a cradle for the pin at 6:36.

Rating: C. They beat each other up well enough here and you can pencil them in for a mask vs. mask match at Ultima Lucha. This has been a good feud where the matches have made up for a not that interesting (though not bad by any means) story and that’s perfectly fine. These two hitting each other really hard for twelve minutes will be more than fine, even with Striker ranting like a moron.

Post match Killshot jumps him from behind and unloads with brass knuckles shots to the head. The mask comes off with Havoc covering his face on the mat. Cue Antonio to make the mask vs. mask match.

Here are Marty Martinez and his still unnamed female friend for a chat. Martinez talks about this journey beginning when Sexy Star embarrassed his family. That’s why he sent Reclusa (the woman) after her and now she has Star’s mask. So there’s your explanation for where she went. The only person to humiliate Martinez more than her was Pentagon Dark and now Martinez has his championship. The only person left is his sister Mariposa, to whom Martinez owes a huge thank you. For that thank you, come have a title shot.

Lucha Underground Title: Mariposa vs. Marty Martinez

Martinez is defending and this is No DQ. A headbutt doesn’t bother Marty as he kicks Mariposa low and hammers away in the corner. Striker: “This is like making love in a hammock.” They head outside with Mariposa being sent into a variety of things and getting busted open in the process. Marty: “BLEED SISTER! BLEED!”

That’s only good for two back inside and Marty smiles as only he can. They’re back outside in short order with Mariposa sending him into the barricade a few times, only to get posted for her efforts. Reclusa sends in a chair which of course goes across Marty’s back as the fans are behind Mariposa.

The chair is pelted at Marty’s head and since that works so well, Mariposa buries him under about eight chair, throwing each one at him about four times each. Somehow Marty isn’t dead so Mariposa drop toeholds him into a chair inside for a rather near fall. A Samoan drop through the chair gets two but Reclusa breaks up the Butterfly Effect. The package piledriver retains the title at 9:14.

Rating: B. Now that was a lot of fun as they managed to make what should have been a dull match into something very entertaining. Mariposa throwing the chairs at Martinez went on so long that it went from silly to awesome, which is a hard trick to pull off. Marty winning was obvious, but it was a good time to get there.

Post match Marty cradles Mariposa and thanks her for his new focus. As for Pentagon, he wants Ultima Lucha to be a Cero Miedo match, which he’ll dedicate to Mariposa. Speaking of Mariposa, Martinez breaks her arm ala Pentagon. Cue Pentagon to chase Marty off and accept the challenge to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Now we’re getting ready for Ultima Lucha and while I’m still not blown away by a lot of the things they have going on, I like it a lot more than I did just a few weeks ago. The main event should be fun but given how this place works, you know they have something planned for a surprise. Good show here, and that’s what the series needed at the moment.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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: October 4, 2018
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re less than two weeks away from Bound For Glory and things are already starting to clear up. The big matches don’t have the best build and you could argue that the (presumably non-title) match between LAX and the OGz is the biggest thing on the card. That’s not a bad thing, but it makes for a kind of odd build. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap focuses on the upcoming Bound For Glory matches, many of which were adjusted or made last week.

Opening sequence.

Rich Swann vs. Matt Sydal

This feud has done a grand total of nothing for me so hopefully the match is actually good. Swann isn’t interested in a handshake, much like the referee isn’t interested in an opening bell. Sydal gets kicked to the floor for a flip dive off the apron, followed by a headscissors back inside. A kick to the face puts Sydal down again but he’s right back up with a leg lariat to send Swann outside.

Back in and Swann kicks him in the ribs and then the face for two. Sydal’s top rope hurricanrana doesn’t work as Swann lands on his feet, then uses one of said feet to superkick Sydal into the corner. Another hurricanrana attempt is countered into a jumping powerbomb (cool) for two but Swann is fine enough to hit a spinning kick to the head. Swann heads up top but some unnamed guy comes in to powerbomb him down (which the referee somehow doesn’t see), setting up Swann’s snap Angle Slam for the pin at 7:30.

Rating: C. Well that wasn’t too bad. Sydal is so much better once the bell rings but egads this “open your third eye” nonsense isn’t interesting, hasn’t been interesting and isn’t going to be interesting. I have no idea what they see in that gimmick but it’s been old and that’s not changing anytime soon.

Post match Josh Matthews identifies the fan as Ethan Page, who used to be Chandler Park for like a month earlier this year.

Dave Crist is freaking out over what Pentagon and Fenix did to him last week. Sami Callihan tells him to snap out of it and face them in the ring like men.

Moose calls Eddie Edwards and tells him to meet him for a fight at a bar. He also may have kidnapped Alisha.

Here’s Scarlett Bordeaux to do commentary for the start of her talent search. Callis is of course drooling over her, as is his custom.

Eli Drake vs. ???

Open challenge time as I try to imagine the levels of awesome that Drake and Scarlett would be. Before the match, Drake tells a technico to come out here with their fancy planchas, but he’ll take a rudo as well. The challenge is answered by…..La Parka, who isn’t the same guy from WCW but is still a big star in his own right. La Parka yells in Spanish before the fight is on with the masked man taking over. The shaking knee dance takes too much time though and Drake hits his jumping neckbreaker. Drake goes for a chair but gets caught with a reverse DDT, only to run away from the chair for the countout at 2:37.

LAX and the OGz get in their weekly argument. The OGz even steal their alcohol and throw it at Konnan, who still won’t break the ceasefire.

Sydal introduces Page, who praises Sydal’s vision. I liked Page so having him back is a good thing, though not with Sydal. They issue a challenge for a tag match at Bound For Glory against Swann and whoever he can find.

Joe Hendry vs. Murder Clown

Before the match, Hendry and Grado debut a new music video of “Katarina” and “Murder Clown” on a date, complete with lyrics of Clown wanting romance and violence. A sample: “I may not be a pirate and we may not be related, but baby I’m a murderous clown and that cannot be understated.” Clown clotheslines him down to start and ties Hendry in the Tree of Woe for a charge. Hendry manages the fall away slam but gets kicked away without much effort. A top rope splash finishes Hendry at 2:50. Hendry’s fall away slam felt really out of place in what was otherwise a squash.

Post match Katarina hits Grado low and Hendry gets splashed through a table.

Edwards goes to the bar to find Moose and Alisha. Moose tells him to sit down and recaps their feud over the last few weeks. Edwards says Austin Aries and Killer Kross aren’t Moose’s friends but Moose isn’t having that. A lot of yelling ensues until Alisha breaks a glass over Moose’s head. Eddie charges and turns the table over but Kross comes in to grab him. Edwards fights them both off and escapes with Alisha before calling Johnny Impact, telling him to go after Aries now. This was the most coherent Edwards has been in months and he sounded like his old self.

Post break, Impact kicks in the door to Aries’ locker room but the champ is nowhere in sight. Aries is nowhere to be seen backstage either so Impact heads to the ring. Impact wants Aries out here right now so here he comes, with a sling around his arm. Aries claims an arm injury, a back injury, a twisted ankle and a concussion after Impact hit him with the title last week (that’s some high quality whining).

This is about the title though, and that’s why Impact isn’t fighting him right now. It’s about being the best instead of how many goons you can recruit. Aries is so confident that he’s willing to leave Moose and Kross in the back so that it can be one on one. Aries knows he’s the best in the world, but who is Johnny this week? Mundo? Impact? Boone? Survivor? Impact doesn’t know which basket to put his eggs in while Aries has put his eggs in the basket of being the best in the world.

Sure, Impact looks great but he’s just a pretend top star. Aries may not look like he does but he knows that he’s great in the ring. At Bound For Glory, Impact can co-star in Aries’ starring role when he brings his black trunks and black boots. After the match, Johnny can take the name Johnny 205, because it’s the last job he can get. Maybe he can just join Aries as the latest goon.

Impact would rather be stretchered out than follow an idiot like Aries so the beatdown is on. Aries misses a belt shot though and eats a superkick, followed by Starship Pain. Really strong promo here as they make this personal after weeks of having no tension between these two. That’s exactly what this match needed.

Cage is ready to destroy OVE.

The Desi Hit Squad isn’t happy about losing last week and thinks they’re not being aggressive enough. Gama Singh comes in to yell at them again before saying they’re fighting next week to see who the weak link is.

Classic Moment of the Week: Hulk Hogan turns face to save Sting from Immortal at Bound For Glory.

Scarlett, in a different outfit than earlier, turns down various people trying to be her client, including Petey Williams and Trevor Lee. Petey even offers to teach her the Canadian Destroyer, much to Lee’s disgust.

Pentagon and Fenix are down for a fight with OVE tonight.

Kiera Hogan vs. Su Yung

Allie and the Undead Maid of Honor are both here. Kiera goes right at her to start (a common thing around here) and runs Su over in the corner for an early two. An electric chair faceplant out of the corner gives Yung the same thing and some palm strikes keep Kiera in trouble. That’s fine with Kiera, who slugs away some more and hits a low superkick to put Yung on the floor for a suicide dive. The Panic Switch is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two on Yung and Kiera heads up. That means a fight between the seconds and the distraction lets Yung hit the Panic Switch for the win at 4:17.

Rating: D. Yung’s time in Impact continues to astound me as she was pushed as the next big thing for a bit and now this win feels like a surprise just a few months later. Hogan isn’t much but they’re pushing her as an upstart rookie so having her lose here doesn’t make the most sense. Not a very good match either.

Post match the bridesmaids bring out the casket but Allie makes the save. That earns her a Mandible Claw until Kiera makes the second save, only to get slammed into the coffin as well.

Post break, Allie has a panic attack.

Video on Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie.

OVE vs. Lucha Bros/Brian Cage

Bound For Glory preview. Sami gets triple teamed to start and Fenix gets two off a Swanton. We settle down into a regular match with OVE breaking up Fenix’s springboard, albeit after he bounced about four times. It’s too early for the All Seeing Eye though as Fenix sends them into each other, allowing the tag to Cage. House is cleaned, including Cage putting Jake on Dave’s shoulders and German suplexing both of them at the same time. That’s enough for Sami, who shoves the referee for the DQ at 3:39.

Rating: C-. Cage’s power and Fenix’s agility alone are worth seeing here and I can’t complain about a three and a half minute preview for the big match at the pay per view. This was much more of an angle instead of a match that mattered and there’s nothing wrong with that ten days before Bound For Glory.

Post match the fight stays on with the brawling continuing. Cage climbs to the second ropes and deadlift superplexes Jake onto everyone, followed by Fenix hitting a corkscrew plancha off the barricade to take everyone down again. The fighting continues to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The best thing here was they had the big angle that helped push the pay per view main event. Other than that, the show was mainly focused on setting up Bound For Glory’s already announced matches and that’s not the worst thing in the world. The show feels like it’s going to have a lot of stuff added at the end and that’s all well and good, though it’s not the most thrilling thing in the world. Nice enough show here, with Aries vs. Impact carrying things.

Results

Matt Sydal b. Rich Swann – Snap Angle Slam

La Parka b. Eli Drake via countout

Murder Clown b. Joe Hendry – Top rope splash

Su Yung b. Kiera Hogan – Panic Switch

Brian Cage/Pentagon/Fenix b. OVE via DQ when Callihan shoved the referee

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: October 2, 2018
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Michael Cole, Vic Joseph, Renee Young

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

Raw Division: Bayley/Finn Balor (0-0) vs. Alicia Fox/Jinder Mahal (0-1)

Bayley and Balor have each others’ jackets in a nice touch. The women start things off but Fox wants Balor instead. That’s just a ruse though as they trade rollups for two each until it’s off to the men. Mahal takes him down into a quick chinlock so Balor grabs an armdrag into an armbar. A basement dropkick keeps Mahal in trouble as Natalya and Kevin Owens are in the comments section.

The women come back in with Bayley being knocked off the apron and landing in Sunil Singh’s arms. That’s not cool with Fox, who pulls Bayley down and sends her into the post. That means another chinlock for a long while until Bayley backdrops her way to freedom. Balor comes back in to clean house until Mahal superkicks him out of the corner. A shotgun dropkick looks to set up the Coup de Grace but Fox crotches Balor on top instead.

Bayley tackles Fox down as the guys fall to the floor. A high crossbody gets two on Fox so Singh helps her up outside. Ever the gentleman, Singh bails so Fox takes a baseball slide. The chase is on and Singh charges into the Bayley to Belly, leaving Balor to dive onto the guys. The Bayley to Belly finishes Fox at 9:27.

Rating: D+. The lack of drama really killed this one as there’s only so much you can do in a match where you know how it’s going to end. Mahal and Fox are fine for a bickering team but their levels of interest stop as soon as the bell rings. Bayley and Balor are a good combination but they need something better to work with than this.

Braun Strowman and Ember Moon are ready for Balor and Bayley next week.

Bayley and Balor are ready for Strowman and Moon next week.

Smackdown Division: Jimmy Uso/Naomi (0-1) vs. Rusev/Lana (0-1)

The fans chant MILWAUKEE to mess with Rusev and Lana. Naomi and Lana hit the mat to start and Naomi dances at her a bit. A kick to the head and a bulldog allow Lana to break dance up and dance some of her own, so of course we stop for the dance off. This goes on for a good while with Renee having way too much fun when Naomi does a reverse Worm. The guys get in an argument over who won so we hear about Aiden English posting about Milwaukee in the comments.

And now, Jimmy and Rusev have a dance off of their own. Jimmy even busts out some Rikishi glasses so Rusev can….kick him in the head for two. Another kick to Rusev allows the tag to Naomi as everything breaks down. Lana X Factors Naomi and loads up the Accolade but Jimmy asks about Milwaukee. That’s enough of a distraction for Naomi to grab a rollup for the pin at 8:54.

Rating: D. Yeah I’m not sure what to say about this and that’s never a good sign. Like I’ve said with a lot of the matches on this show, it’s not like they have any stories to go with here (save for Milwaukee) so going with the dancing was the best idea they had. Naomi and Jimmy winning is fine as you can have Rusev and Lana get a win back later on. Pretty nothing match, but the dancing was fun.

Charlotte and AJ Styles are ready to win next week.

R-Truth and Carmella aren’t sure if they’re facing Ric or Charlotte next week.

Overall Rating: D+. This is a show where you have to consider it on a very sliding scale. The wrestling wasn’t great but that’s not the point of something like this series. They can get into the serious stuff later but at the moment, we’re just stuck with the nothing matches. That being said, it’s not like these shows are hard to sit through or completely horrible or anything. Instead they’re usually a nice, laid back version of WWE and I’ll take that over the ultra serious and often bad regular stuff any day.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #24
Date: September 28, 2018
Location: War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

We’re getting closer to Fury Road and that means things are starting to pick up. It also means that we’ll be getting something entertaining tonight with MLW World Champion Low Ki defending against Fenix. In other words, taking two talented guys and letting them have a long match should work fine. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Sami Callihan and Jimmy Havoc have started fighting in the back before their scheduled match tonight. Both guys go for the eyes and seem to be heading towards the arena.

Opening sequence.

Jason Cade vs. Myron Reed

Cade has Rhett Giddins in his corner. Reed is nice enough to let the referee check him for weapons and Cade dropkicks him in the corner for his efforts. A sunset flip gets Reed out of trouble and a dropkick puts Cade on the floor. Giddins offers a distraction so Cade can take over again as the beating continues. We hit the chinlock and go split screen to see Havoc and Callihan still fighting.

Back to full screen and Reed hurricanranas his way out of a powerbomb attempt, followed by a nip up into an enziguri. Reed scores with a running forearm in the corner and another enziguri, followed by the top rope seated senton for two. Cade knees him in the face for the same, only to be kicked in the face for his efforts. A superkick rocks Cade again but he’s fine enough to elbow Reed in the face.

Reed gets buckle bombed so he pops right back up with a reverse hurricanrana to plant Cade again. Cade scores with another superkick but Reed springboards into a cutter for two. Something like a Cradle Shock (which Tony calls a sitout powerbomb) gives Cade two more so he takes Reed over to the other ring, only to have Reed reverse a suplex into a Stunner.

Just to show off, Reed gets a running start and dives over both ropes for a cutter to wreck Cade. Another diving cutter over the top rope drops Cade onto Giddins but Giddins is fine enough to crotch Reed on top. A backslide driver (that’s a new one) of all things finishes Reed at 9:54.

Rating: C+. Reed looked like a star here, even if he used that cutter once or twice too often. That running cutter looked awesome and I was hoping to see Reed win here, which I didn’t expect coming in. Cade is fine for a midcard heel and having the bigger Giddins as an enforcer is a classic story that will work fine here. This was a very nice surprise.

Post match Cade grabs the mic but Jimmy Yuta runs in and dropkicks him down.

Post break, Yuta promises to play dirty along with Cade.

Fury Road rundown, including Maxwell Jacob Friedman defending the Middleweight Title against Cade and Yuta. Makes sense.

Brody King is ready to face Tommy Dreamer and show him some real violence at Fury Road.

Callihan and Havoc are still fighting with Havoc being choked down until a wet floor sign to the head gets him out of trouble. They fight into the men’s room with Callihan getting a face full of soap. After a break, Havoc can’t find Callihan.

Shane Strickland is ready to prove that he’s still the ace when he faces Tom Lawlor.

Friedman and Aria Blake try to get in to see Salina de la Renta but get shut down.

Cade isn’t happy with Yuta for interfering in his match and swears vengeance.

Court Bauer makes Callihan vs. Havoc: Spin the Wheel Make the Deal for Fury Road. I’m down.

Lawlor is ready to beat up Strickland and prove that he’s the present and the future. He wants to prove that this is a filthy world, not Shane’s house.

Video on Salina de la Renta vs. Konnan in a battle over talent and power.

MLW World Title: Low Ki vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix is challenging and we get the Big Match Intros. They stare each other down to start without much happening in the first minute. Fenix starts speeding things up and hits his springboard armdrag to send Low Ki outside, meaning the big flip suicide dive to drive him into the barricade. The loud superkick has Low Ki in even more trouble and a standing moonsault gets two back inside.

Low Ki dropkicks him down though and Fenix invites the champ to kick him in the chest. One heck of a chop on the floor sends Fenix over the barricade and the pace stays slow. Back inside and we hit the neck crank with Low Ki going after the mask. A double stomp gets two and they head outside again, this time with Fenix being catapulted face first into the post (DING!) to draw some blood.

Fenix gets chopped even more and can barely stand as the referee starts checking on him to make sure this can keep going. Of course Fenix gets up and screams before losing a chop off. Fenix does an Undertaker situp but can’t do much more after that, despite the fans loudly cheering for him. So he really is like Undertaker. One heck of a chop slows Low Ki down so he kicks Fenix into the corner again.

Low Ki grabs him by the hands and goes up top, only to have Fenix grab a double springboard into a hurricanrana. A rolling cutter gets a delayed two on the champ and the Ki Crusher is blocked. Instead Ki kicks him out of the corner for two and the top rope double stomp gets the same.

The big kick is countered into a rollup for two more and they both head up top. Fenix gets the better of it with a springboard Spanish Fly and the kickout shocks them both. A reverse hurricanrana drops Ki on his head but Salina takes Fenix’s mask off, setting up a great looking top double stomp to the back to retain the title at 14:28.

Rating: B. These two beat the heck out of each other and they got somewhere with the idea of Fenix fighting from behind. Those near falls were awesome and Fenix is someone easy to cheer for, making this quite the match. They can save Pentagon vs. Ki for later on or whenever Ki gets a partner for the big tag war. Very fun brawl here and they beat each other up as you would have wanted to see them do.

Salina yells in Spanish and poses with Low Ki.

In the back, Havoc and Callihan are still fighting as they go outside. Callihan gets knocked down some steps and calls Havoc crazy. Havoc: “I know it!” Callihan runs away from Havoc’s kendo stick to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s a good sign when you have two matches on a show and both of them are either good or quite good. Throw in the whole Havoc vs. Callihan thing that set up a big gimmick match for the special show and this was a heck of a night. I want to see Fury Road and that’s a good sign going forward. Really strong show this week and one of the better Fusions to date.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: October 3, 2018
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

The road to Australia wraps up here as we’ve got one more show before Super Show-Down. That likely means one more segment between Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander and #1 contender Buddy Murphy, along with more between TJP and the Lucha House Party. You know, for a change. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening preview.

Opening sequence.

The empty seats are back with a vengeance this week.

Akira Tozawa vs. Jack Gallagher

Gallagher takes him up against the ropes to start so Tozawa shouts in his face. Tozawa takes it to the mat and it’s time to start fighting over a leglock. The pinfall reversal sequence gives us a reversing sequence of pinfall attempts until Tozawa kicks him in the chest. That sets up the backsplash because almost every wrestling match today needs a backsplash. Gallagher bails and Drew Gulak is a good enough villain to trip Tozawa so Jack can take over.

The chinlock goes on but even Gallagher knows how boring that is so he hammers away instead. Now it’s the longer form chinlock, plus a stomp to the arm. The double arm crank just seems to annoy Tozawa though as he kicks Gallagher to the floor for the suicide dive. Back in and the Black Widow has Gallagher in trouble but you don’t try holds on a British wrestler. Gallagher quickly reverses into a leglock to keep Tozawa down. With that not working, Gallagher takes him up top, which is rarely a good idea in general. Tozawa shoves him down and drops the top rope backsplash for the pin at 8:34.

Rating: C-. There was a story here with Tozawa getting a win back after he went with what worked well for him in the first place. Gallagher on the other hand had his success with the technical wrestling but then got out of his comfort zone. Tozawa could be a top star on the show at the drop of a hat, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the trio is split up soon.

Post match Gulak says the team hasn’t been successful lately so it’s time for the return of the POWERPOINT PRESENTATION! His plan for a better 205 Live includes no mercy, which is why he didn’t win the Cruiserweight Title. Starting right now, this team has no place for weakness or weak links. No place for former Cruiserweight Champions who have lost their edge and are dead weight holding Gulak back.

Gulak goes after Kendrick but gets sent outside, leaving Gallagher to take the Captain’s Hook. You never put a hold on when there are two people around though and Drew comes back in for the Gulock. Good enough angle, especially if you ignore Gallagher losing and Kendrick being called the weak link.

Video on Murphy vs. Alexander, complete with both of them training for the match. That’s a touch I haven’t seen in a very long time and it’s cool to see it back.

Drake Maverick says that Hideo Itami and Mustafa Ali will face off again, though no details are given.

Next week: Lio Rush’s Open Challenge.

Kalisto vs. TJP

They go right into the test of strength with TJP taking him to the mat into a double bridge. Kalisto monkey flips TJP down as well so TJP monkey flips over, only to have Kalisto land on his feet. A crossbody gives Kalisto two and it’s off to the armbar to slow things down. Back up and Kalisto dances a bit, followed by a slightly botched headscissors to the floor. The teased dive has TJP cowering away and he charges into a rollup for two more back inside.

Kalisto tries his hand walk again and gets dropkicked in the ribs this time, followed by another dropkick to the floor. Back in and TJP ties up the legs before tearing the back of the mast off. Good, as that tail thing looked stupid. The double arm crank (that’s popular around here) goes on until Kalisto fights up and tries a springboard but TJP is right there with a Russian legsweep in a cool counter.

TJP rolls some suplexes for two and the chinlock goes on for a few seconds. The Swanton misses though and Kalisto starts kicking away, including his rolling kick to the head. It’s too early for the Salida Del Sol so Kalisto settles for an enziguri instead. TJP is right back with an Iconoclasm of all things off the top but he goes up again, allowing Kalisto to pull him back down for a big crash.

A dropkick to the knee cuts Kalisto off again though and the kneebar goes on in the middle of the ring. Kalisto rolls him up for two and eventually dives over to the rope for the break. With nothing else working, TJP goes for the mask like a true villain. Cue Lince Dorado for the save, allowing Kalisto to grab a rollup pin at 14:27.

Rating: B-. Good match but it never reached the kind of level that these two are capable of hitting. Kalisto winning was a bit of a surprise and even though it wasn’t clean, it does him some good after losing so many times. TJP is still a star who should be on the main roster but why do that when you can have him toiling here?

Post match TJP steals the mask and runs off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a pretty lifeless show as there was little to get excited over, mainly due to the Cruiserweight Title match being set for Saturday. That’s a constant problem in WWE and something that keeps happening no matter what. The show wasn’t bad, but it’s nothing that you need to see. Hopefully Saturday’s match is and things get better as we move forward.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

It’s going to happen one day.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-vince-gone/

IMG Credit: World Of Sport

World of Sport
Date: September 29, 2018
Location: Epic Studios, Norwich, England
Commentators: So Cal Val, Stu Bennett, Alex Shane

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

We open with a recap of the season, mainly focusing on the titles.

Bennett is in the ring to start and introduces the first of two title matches.

Tag Team Titles: Kip Sabian/Iestyn Rees vs. British Bulldog Jr./Grado

Bulldog and Grado are challenging. The champs try to jump them to start but get punched in the face for their cheating efforts. Bulldog slams Grado onto Sabian but Rees offers a grab of the leg to let Sabian take over. A slingshot legdrop gets two on Grado and it’s off to Rees for a chinlock. Grado fights up without too much trouble and brings in Bulldog for the real house cleaning, mainly off a bunch of suplexes. Rees tags himself in though and saves Sabian from the running powerslam, followed by a leglock on Bulldog.

That just earns him an enziguri for the second hot tag to Grado as house is cleaned again. Shane: “Grado has been kept on the outside this entire match.” We’re barely six minutes in and this is his second time in the ring. The Cannonball crushes Sabian for two but he’s right back up to take both challengers down again. The powerbomb/neckbreaker combination only gets two, leaving Bulldog to pull Rees to the floor. Sabina gets Grado up but walks into a cutter for the pin and the titles at 7:55.

Rating: C-. Given the main event we have coming up, this was only the second most obvious ending of the week. The only question coming into this match was which of the two top stars would get the pin and that doesn’t leave much in the way of drama. Not the worst match, but more a matter of waiting on the inevitable.

Post match Bennett applauds Grado to end their….I guess it was a feud. That being said, Grado came into this season as WOS Champion and leaves as a Tag Team Champion. That’s kind of a downgrade no? Did he ever even mention going after the World Title again?

We recap Rampage vs. Justin Sysum. Rampage and his cronies cheated Sysum out of the title so Sysum (already #1 contender at the time) won a match involving nearly the entire roster to earn the shot tonight.

WOS Title: Justin Sysum vs. Rampage

The distraction lets Rampage trip Sysum down on the apron and a hard clothesline gives Rampage two. A belly to back suplex gets the same and an elbow to the face cuts off a comeback attempt. The required heel spinebuster gets two more and we hit the even more required chinlock. Back from a break with Sysum making a comeback off with exactly the kind of offense you would expect from him.

A t-bone suplex sends Rampage flying, only to have him clothesline Sysum’s head off. Rampage’s superplex gets the same and another suplex on the floor keeps Sysum in trouble. Like any villain, Rampage tries to cheat but spends too much time setting up the steps, allowing Sysum to hit a clothesline. The 450 is loaded up but cue Banks for a distraction, mainly showing how toothless the referees are around here.

Sysum hits his own running clothesline for two as Banks pulls the referee out. That means a suicide dive for Banks but since that’s another distraction, Rampage catches Sysum with a Samoan drop. We haven’t had a cheap booking tactic though so the referee gets bumped, meaning there’s no one to count the pin on a fisherman’s suplex to the champ. Now it’s Samuels coming back in to slam Sysum and take the turnbuckle pad off.

Rampage’s implant DDT gets two and the referee gets crushed again on the kickout. Rampage grabs the belt but another referee comes out to take it away, allowing Rampage to grab a small package for two. Sysum sends him head first into the exposed buckle though and the 450 gives him the pin and the title at 25:04.

Rating: C+. It’s good, but WAY too long for what they were capable of doing. This felt like they were trying to fill in as much time as they could with one booking trick after another, which isn’t what you want on a main event. The match should have come off as a big moment and while the title change was the only way to end the show, it needed to have come about ten minutes earlier.

Post match Rampage is livid and shoves Barrett so it’s a Bull Hammer to leave him laying. Sysum celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. And that’s probably it for the series. The final show was exactly what you would have expected it to be and there’s nothing wrong with that. You wouldn’t want to leave the fans sad and having the popular guys win the titles was the right way to close things out. I’m not wild on a lot of the roster but that’s the way you go with things, at least in a classical booking style.

Overall though, the show just wasn’t very good. At the same time though, it wasn’t very bad. That’s the problem as a whole: the show is so average and so mundane that there’s just nothing to talk about. Most of the roster is forgettable and the promos/stories are almost nowhere to be seen. None of the stories stuck with me more than the end of each episode and that’s not enough to make a full time series. Having ten episodes hurt things, but they didn’t leave me with anything that made me want to see more.

I still have almost no idea what the differences are in a lot of the members of the roster. So many of them have no distinguishing features and since there are almost no characters around, it’s not exactly the best roster to make you remember who is who. There were a few stories here and there but most of them began and wrapped up so fast that they didn’t have time to go anywhere.

Every week, the thing that sticks out to be is how much better stuff there is out there. The British wrestling scene is hot right now and this doesn’t cater to any large group of fans. Older fans aren’t going to be interested in such a lame show and younger fans aren’t going to be entertained by something that comes and goes so fast. With all the other wrestling available out there, this isn’t something worth your time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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: May 3, 2004
Location: America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s a big night here with Chris Benoit defending the World Title against Shawn Michaels. HHH is still lurking around though because he doesn’t know how to do anything else. Other than that we have the continuing adventures of Eugene, who has turned out to be quite the charming fellow, especially with William Regal as his handler. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Benoit vs. Michaels, billed as the Showdown in the Desert. I’ve heard of worse ideas.

Opening sequence.

JR welcomes us to Memphis.

Evolution vs. Tajiri/Shelton Benjamin/Edge

Flair is the odd man out here. HHH and Shelton start things off but Randy tags himself in before anything can start. Orton catches a kick to the ribs but is smart enough to not spin the leg around for the Dragon Whip. A clothesline drops Orton and it’s Tajiri coming in, only to be taken into the Evolution corner. As he comes in, the fans remind HHH that he tapped out. Edge, now with a more stylish black cast, gets in as well and it’s a rather nice looking staredown.

HHH eventually gets the better of it and brings Orton in for some choking in the corner. Evolution keeps taking turns on Edge with Batista slamming him down and HHH stomping away in the corner. The bad hand goes into the steps and HHH slugs away, followed by the facebuster for two. Edge scores with a spinwheel kick and it’s off to Tajiri for some slightly better kicks. A tornado DDT gets two on HHH until Batista breaks up the handspring with a shot to the back.

We come back from a break with Tajiri still in trouble, including HHH elbowing him to the floor. Batista chokes a bit and HHH adds an elbow to the chest as the dominance continues. Lawler: “Is it true that if you turn an Oriental upside down, they become disoriented?” Orton even gets in some pounding of his own and grabs a long chinlock. Back up and Tajiri kicks the head out of Orton, allowing the hot tag off to Edge. Everything breaks down and Edge hits Orton with a top rope clothesline. Batista breaks up the spear attempt and HHH clotheslines Benjamin. Tajiri mists Batista though and the spear is enough to put Orton away.

Rating: B-. Good old fashioned six man tag (which we need a lot more of) here and that’s exactly what this story needed. Evolution vs. a rotating cast of faces is a perfect way to book the show as you can do all kinds of combinations. The win should give Edge the inside track to an Intercontinental Title shot and there’s nothing wrong with that. Good booking and fun action to start the show.

Jonathan Coachman and Garrison Cade are insulting the women of Phoenix (and promising two good looking midwest women, who better not be Moolah and Mae Young) when Vince McMahon comes in to say he’s here for the big main event. That’s a nice cameo and Vince put Benoit over very strong.

Smackdown ReBound.

Last night at a Smackdown show, Eddie Guerrero brought his family into the ring when “something” happened, possibly involving JBL. I don’t see this going well.

HHH rants to Bischoff about being in the World Title match. Batista wants Tajiri and Johnny Nitro tries to calm things down. HHH: “Take it easy Johnny Oversell.” For next week: Batista vs. Tajiri, Orton vs. Edge for the Intercontinental Title and HHH vs. Benjamin.

Hurricane vs. Rob Conway

They fight over a neckbreaker to start with Conway getting the better of it and hammering away. It’s off to a modified cravate to keep Hurricane in trouble but he pops up for a missed Shining Wizard. Conway is right back up with a hanging swinging neckbreaker for the clean pin.

Rating: D. Not enough time to mean anything here but at least they’re doing something to set up next week’s match. That’s been the norm as of late and that makes for some fun television: set up things for next week and keep giving the fans a reason to come back. Why is that so hard to grasp?

Post match Conway promises a special beating for Eugene.

Video on Kane’s renewed evil, including forcing a kiss on Lita last week. You know, in case you haven’t seen enough from Kane in recent months.

Kane vs. Steven Richards

Chokeslam in about thirty seconds.

It’s time for the Highlight Reel. Before the guest comes out, Jericho talks about tonight’s World Title match. What are his thoughts? It’s been far too long since he’s had a World Title match of his own so he wants the first shot at the winner (making sure to point out that it’s someone other than HHH challenging for a change in a nice touch).

As for the show though, his guest is Matt Hardy, who believes in karma and is not afraid of pain. Jericho asks him about Kane and Lita but Matt gets right to the point: he wants Lita in the ring right now because he needs to ask her something. Lita shows up on the screen and says Matt has to listen to her. In what sounds like a forced statement, she says she never loved him and has found someone else. She never wants to see him again and needs him to stay away from her.

Lita finally snaps and says she can’t do this before screaming that she’s in the basement, revealing that Kane has her hostage. Matt runs out and Jericho says that’s kind of an abrupt end to the show. Cue Christian, Trish Stratus (all in black and…..well dang) and Tyson Tomko to chat a bit before coming in and laying Jericho out, including a low blow from Trish.

During the break, Matt went to save Lita but Kane was gone. Hugging ensues. Again: logical stuff there. There was no reason for Matt to wait until the break was over if it was that important, so just say it happened in real time and show it later.

Gail Kim vs. Victoria

Non-title and Molly, now with long, curly blonde hair, is with Gail. Before the match, Gail says no one feels sorry for Lita. Gail jumps her to start but gets half gorilla pressed up with Victoria dropping her part of the way through. The dancing moonsault gets two with Molly making the save and earning herself a stern lecture.

Back up and Gail clotheslines her into a chinlock, followed by a dragon sleeper. That works so well that Gail does the same sequence of moves again, this time causing Victoria to fight up and scream a bit. Three straight shot to the face have Gail knocked down (ignore Gail falling before the contact on at least one of them) but she’s right back with the Black Widow….and actually gets the tap.

Rating: D. Pretty boring match here but Victoria does need a new challenger. I can’t say fresh because we’ve seen every combination of these women for the better part of ever but at least we’re getting somewhere different with these people. Gail isn’t exactly polished at this point and hopefully we get to Trish instead of her instead.

William Regal is ready to train Eugene in what he calls a torture session. This might be his way to get out of this once and for all.

Vince is alone in a sky box to watch the main event.

It’s time for the training session with Eugene, who is very excited by an armdrag because Ricky Steamboat did them. Regal does a bunch of moves but Eugene does them all (set to what would become his music) and then taunts him with toys and a HHH water bottle. Regal switches to chain wrestling (as Ride of Valkyries starts up)….and is almost immediately taken down into a Regal Stretch with Eugene making him tap.

That’s EXACTLY how this character should work as he’s a goon in over his head everywhere but the ring, where he’s an idiot savant. That’s a good character and something that plays to both WWE’s creativity (which can exist) and Eugene’s in-ring skills. Everyone wins and I’m looking forward to the match next week.

Preview for next week. Again: give them a reason to tune in because they want to see matches instead of asking them to tune in and find out that it’s a good show. It also helps when you have the show planned that far in advance.

Before the main event, Bischoff makes Christian vs. Jericho in a cage for next week.

Raw World Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit

Shawn is challenging and they have a lot of time, as they should. An aggressive Benoit goes straight at Shawn in the corner but the referee makes a bit of a forced break. They do it again and now it’s time to start slugging away for a few moments. A headlock doesn’t keep Benoit down long as he’s right back with a backdrop and a clothesline to put Shawn on the floor. The announcers talk about Shawn being born here, with JR pointing out that not many people are going to notice, or likely care.

Shawn gets in a neckbreaker, followed by the flying forearm into the nipup. Benoit can’t get the Crossface in either of two attempts so Shawn hits him in the head again. Back from a very abrupt break with Shawn holding an abdominal stretch, allowing Lawler to plug next week’s matches again. One heck of a whip into the corner just wakes Benoit up as he rattles off some rollups for near falls.

Shawn atomic drops him down again, which Lawler thinks has the fans cheering because Shawn is from Phoenix. The top rope elbow connects but Sweet Chin Music is countered into the rolling German suplexes. Benoit hits four in a row but misses the Swan Dive to put them both down. Shawn goes up again, only to get caught with chops and some very angry stomps to put him in trouble.

Benoit loads up a suplex but gets suplexed out to the floor instead. The moonsault to the floor takes Benoit down again and Michaels’ tights coming down far lower than they need to be. He’s fine enough to whip Benoit knees first into the steps and head first into the post to bust him open as we take another break. Back again with Benoit fighting out of a sleeper and getting two off a bridging German suplex.

Shawn grabs the Walls of all things but Benoit makes a rope as we keep going (not a bad thing). The Crossface goes on and Shawn is in trouble until he gets his foot on the rope. With that not working, Benoit tries the Sharpshooter but gets kicked into the referee. Of course Sweet Chin Music connects a few seconds later but there’s no one to count. Cue HHH (erg) for a Pedigree to Shawn (Benoit didn’t see it) to give Benoit the retaining pin.

Rating: B+. Dang it they had me believing that HHH might actually stay out of the main event scene for a few weeks. This is either leading to HHH vs. Shawn (again) or Shawn wanting ONE MORE TITLE MATCH (again) because that’s the only way the World Title scene seems to be able to go for Benoit. HHH and Shawn need to just stay far apart for a long time but that’s not going to happen anytime soon, because they need to take over the show again and again.

HHH laughs to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. What more can you ask for? The very good Eugene sequence, two very good to great matches and setting things up for later on. There’s very little that they’re not doing anything at the moment and it’s almost hard to believe that this is Raw. I’m not used to having a show where I can’t make fun of that much but they’re managing to do it as of late.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 3, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

As usual, NXT knows how to build towards the future and that’s what they’ve done here. Next week we get the triple threat match for the North American Title and the week after that it’s the War Raiders getting their shot at the Tag Team Titles. Other than that, it’s time to continue searching for Aleister Black’s attacker and Lars Sullivan vs. EC3. Let’s get to it.

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

Nikki Cross talks about being ready to play with Bianca Belair again because Bianca didn’t play fair last time. Speaking of people who didn’t play well, she knows what happened.

Opening sequence.

Candice LeRae vs. Lacey Evans

Fallout from Evans insulting Candice’s abilities as a wife last week. They shove each other to start with the much bigger Evans taking her down by the throat. LeRae gets driven into the corner as well so she sends Evans face first into the buckle. A faceplant gets two so Evans runs her over without much effort. Hang on though as Evans needs to pat down her lipstick before taking LeRae down into a headscissors, complete with pushups.

A kick to the face sets up the chinlock as Evans pulls the hair for some bad measure. Evans misses a slingshot elbow though and Candice scores with an enziguri. The middle rope swinging Downward Spiral gets two more and Evans says LeRae is a loser, just like her husband. That ticks LeRae off but she charges into the Women’s Right for the pin at 6:18.

Rating: C-. It seems like they really want to push the heck out of Evans but there’s such a firm gap between the title picture and everything else that there isn’t really a middle ground for him. They’re getting that right hand over as a finisher though and Evans is easy enough to hate that she’s likely going to get a title shot at a Takeover one day though and that’s fine.

Video on the North American Title triple threat match and what it means to everyone. Ricochet cares because it’s his, Cole cares because it’s proof that he’s the future and Dunne wants to prove even further that he’s the best in the world.

Video on the Forgotten Sons, in sepia.

Tommaso Ciampa sits in the back and says everyone is going to try to chop you down. They’re speculate and lie to try and steal your spotlight for themselves. Perhaps it’s to cover their own tracks and hide their own guilt, which is what Velveteen Dream is doing. Dream is living in a dream world where Ciampa attacked Aleister Black, but they both know what Black experienced. Maybe he should keep his theories to himself because Ciampa will turn the Dream into a nightmare. Ciampa vs. Dream sounds oddly fascinating.

Forgotten Sons vs. Vinny Mixon/Cesar Rise/Torry Kirsh

Who names these jobbers? Steve Cutler has a mask due to a broken nose in the team’s debut match. Ryker runs Kirsh over to start so it’s off to Mixon to get beaten up as well. The Tree of Woe makes things even worse for Rise as the announcers don’t bother trying to call the jobbers by their names. An armbar keeps Mixon in trouble for a few moments until it’s off to Rise for some failed clotheslines. Blake shows him how it’s done, followed by a middle rope double stomp/reverse DDT combination. A slingshot jackknife finishes Kirsh at 2:28. Exactly the kind of squash it needed to be.

We look back at Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane being set up for Evolution.

Video on Baszler vs. Sane over the last year, which has been a pretty under the radar rivalry. Baszler has been going back to the basics, which means more MMA-style training.

Tony Nese wants top competition so he’s going to beat Johnny Gargano tonight.

Bianca Belair doesn’t want to play with Cross. She’ll embarrass Nikki instead and repeats Un-de-fea-ted over and over.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tony Nese

They fight over a wristlock to start until Nese runs him over with a shoulder. A running hurricanrana sends Nese to the floor but the suicide dive is broken up with a hard clothesline. Nese misses a charge in the corner so Gargano rolls him up, followed by the rolling kick to the head. Now the suicide dive hits as Gargano is looking more confident than he’s seen in a long time.

Nese suplexes him down for two and we hit the bodyscissors. Gargano leans back for a rollup but can’t break the hold. I’ll certainly take someone trying to do something other than just laying on the mat. Gargano fights up and hits the slingshot DDT, followed by the slingshot spear. Some kicks to the head have Nese in more trouble but he rolls out of the Gargano Escape. A buckle bomb has Gargano right back in trouble and Nese dumps him to the floor.

The second slingshot DDT attempt is countered into a backdrop for a nasty crash to the floor, setting up the big Fosbury Flop to the floor. Back in and Nese hits a great looking 450 for two, followed by a sick looking German suplex into the corner. The running knee is blocked by a superkick though and the Gargano Escape makes Nese tap at 9:43.

Rating: B. When Gargano is on his game, he can have some of the best matches in the world at the moment. Gargano looked like his old self here and that should mean a big match at the next Takeover. He doesn’t need to go after the title again right away, but one day he’s going to get his hands on that thing and it’s going to be one of the best reactions NXT has ever seen.

Video on Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan, who got together after beating each other up in a series of matches. That’s a story that has worked before and it’s working well here. Lorcan has been out for a few months with a broken orbital bone. No word on when they’re back in the ring.

Lars Sullivan vs. EC3

EC3 gets aggressive to start and goes right at Sullivan, only to be taken to the floor for a choke. Some rams into the steps FINALLY put Lars down and EC3 hammers away at the head back inside. A whip into the corner sends Sullivan shoulder first into the post and a slam puts the big man down again. Sullivan finally gets going with some shoulders in the corner and the heavy crossface shots to the jaw.

The big neck crank goes on for a few seconds but EC3 fights up and manages a suplex. A not great looking high crossbody gets two on Sullivan, who comes right back up with a huge clothesline. The Freak Accident is broken up and it’s a Cactus Clothesline to the floor. EC3 makes the mistake of charging at Sullivan though and it’s a Freak Accident on the apron. Back in and the diving headbutt finishes EC3 at 6:45.

Rating: B-. They did this the right way by keeping things moving but not letting it go on too long. The point here was EC3 chopping at the tree as well as he could but Sullivan was just too much for him. That’s a good story and the match was entertaining as a result. I’m not sure what EC3 can get out of NXT as he has everything he needs to be on the main roster. Give him a win and let him go up, hopefully as a heel like he should be.

Overall Rating: B. You know what impresses me the most about NXT? The amount of mileage they can get out of any given match or story. They’re still talking about the ladder match from New Orleans (in the main event) and then the Aleister Black injury, which dropped into their lap, is fueling EC3 vs. Sullivan, Ciampa vs. Dream, and the whodunit story, which is spinning into the Undisputed Era vs. everyone else story. You don’t get that out of any other company and it’s really impressive to see here.

The show itself was good with two strong matches and more setting the table for the bigger stuff down the line. Next week’s triple threat match has the makings of a classic and with WarGames coming up next month, it’s more good forecasts for NXT. I’m not sure I can remember the last time that wasn’t the case and that’s remarkable.

Results

Lacey Evans b. Candice LeRae – Women’s Right

Forgotten Sons b. Vinny Mixon/Cesar Rise/Torry Kirsh – Slingshot jackknife to Kirsh

Johnny Gargano b. Tony Nese – Gargano Escape

Lars Sullivan b. EC3 – Top rope headbutt

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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