Lucha Underground
Date: August 29, 2018
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

It’s time for a wedding! In something that I’m actually thrilled to see, tonight Johnny Mundo and Taya are getting married. There is no way that this won’t be incredible as Lucha Underground has regular shows that are better than most, meaning a special show could be incredible. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the events leading to the wedding, Jake Strong and XO Lishus.

The Worldwide Underground, in their lime green sleeveless tuxedos (the only way to go) has a surprise for Johnny: Joey Wrestling (Mercury, his old partner) is here. Joey is going to be the best man, meaning PJ Black is demoted to groomsman and Ricky Mundo is now a ring bearer. Everyone leaves Ricky, whose doll isn’t happy.

Matt and Vampiro are in suit jackets for a nice touch.

Famous B. is still ring announcer.

Jake Strong vs. Drago

This could be interesting. Drago tries a rollup to start and gets thrown into the corner for some knees to the ribs. A running chop block takes the knee out and an elbow to the leg keeps Drago down. Strong switches to an armbar but a powerslam is reversed into a tornado DDT. They head outside with Drago being sent over the barricade and onto the required pile of chairs. Back in and the ankle lock makes Drago tap at 4:50.

Rating: C-. They’re pushing the living heck out of Strong and that’s a good idea. Having someone who used to be a World Champion in WWE around here is smart, as whoever finally beats him is going to get a nice rub. It’s also a necessary move to push some fresh stars and someone with some size makes it even better.

Post match Strong puts the hold on again but Aerostar makes the save.

XO Lishus vs. Jack Evans

No Mas match, meaning I Quit. Evans shouts about Lishus having no place in lucha libre so Lishus snaps and beats the fire out of him. They head to the floor with Evans bailing as fast as he can. Evans kicks him in the face and dives off the apron for his first offense. Lishus is fine enough to hit a Blockbuster off the announcers’ table, so Evans calls him a bully.

A choke with a chain doesn’t make Lishus quit so he hits a Regal Roll and moonsault double knees to Evans’ chest. Evans climbs part of the set and flip dives off, earning a “F*** YOU!” Cue Ivelisse to yell at Evans, who whips her into the steps. They actually get inside with Lishus putting on something like a YES Lock.

That goes nowhere as Jack reverses into an ankle lock, which is reversed as well. The handspring slap sets up Carmella’s Code of Silence but gets reversed into an armbar. It’s chair time with Lishus taking a shot to the face and Evans lays him on the chair, promising to break his neck. Cue Joey Ryan for the save, allowing Ivelisse to pull Lishus off the chair. A cross armbreaker makes Jack give up at 11:15.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than I was expecting to, though I can’t say I’m surprised at Lucha Underground pushing what would seem to otherwise be a comedy character as something important. Lishus is going to annoy a lot of fans but he’s trying and that’s as much as you can ask for most of the time. The win was a surprise and that’s a good thing every now and then.

Post match Ryan and Ivelisse help Lishus up with no violence or swerving.

Post break the defeated Evans crawls in front of the Underground and is told to get dressed. Ricky thinks he can take Evans’ place now and doesn’t have to carry the stupid rings anymore. That’s not cool and Johnny makes it worse by saying that Joey and PJ are his best friends. They leave and the doll says it’s time for Ricky to do the real job.

It’s wedding time with Famous B. as the minister. He’ll run your wedding too, and ugly people are welcome. You can even get Texano and Dr. Wagner Jr. as guests for a small fee! The groom and party are brought out, each with a caption under their name (Apparently it’s John E. Mundo. Who knew? He’s also the Mayer (yes Mayer) of Slamtown.). Taya’s bridesmaids are Cheerleader Melissa (not Mariposa) and of course Brenda. Taya comes out in lime green wrestling gear and a veil, as she should. We go to a break, but first Ricky is in the back….where he releases Matanza (at the doll’s orders).

Back in the Temple, Famous B. asks if anyone has issue with these two “fine a** people” being married. Antonio Cueto comes out to say he likes the two of them and has a gift: “RING THE BELL!” Actually it’s fried tacos for everyone! They’re sat on tables at ringside (uh oh) but now, on with the ceremony.

Taya: “Johnny, I love you more than fluffy puppies, kneeing people in the face and decapitating snake men.” Johnny: “Taya, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would meet anyone as tanned, ripped and attractive as me.” He loves her more than his own reflection and this is better than winning the Lucha Underground Championship. They say the I do’s (well a si in Taya’s case) so here’s Ricky (with the doll) to present the rings. He hands B the rings and is told to git.

B: “By the powers vested in me by the state of California and 423-GET-FAME, I now pronounce you man and HOLY S*** WHAT THE H*** IS THAT???” Cue Matanza to clean house, including smacking Taya. Brenda faints (makes sense actually) and Melissa eats a World’s Strongest Slam. B and his wheelchair gets thrown aside and PJ goes through a table. Johnny gets up and fights but gets suplexes through another table. Taya (bleeding) has HAD IT and taps the dress off to fight as well but takes the Wrath of the Gods. A spinebuster through the cake (Fans: “NOT THE CAKE!”) ends the show.

This was a lot of fun but really, I wanted more. I wanted this to be much more over the top with wackiness and it just didn’t go that far. What we got was funny and entertaining (Famous B was great) but Lucha Underground is the place where you want something so crazy that it could only happen here. I didn’t quite get that with this wedding, though it was entertaining. Mundo vs. Matanza has serious potential too.

Overall Rating: C+. This was actually less entertaining than I was expecting. The wrestling was skippable (fine on a big show) but the wedding could have been so much more. They actually played the show a bit more serious and that’s not what I was hoping for. Still though, they’re having fun this season and that makes for a nice show. Check out the wedding, but it’s not exactly required viewing.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

World of Sport
Date: August 18, 2018
Location: Epic Studios, Norwich, England
Commentators: Alex Shane, So Cal Val, Stu Bennett

Things kind of wrapped up last week and that means it’s time to start something fresh around here. We’ll likely be seeing another match in the Tag Team Title tournament and that means four more people being thrown together and being called teams. Other than that we’re getting two more title matches and I’ll be stunned if there’s a story to them. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap/preview…uh…opens things up.

Women’s Title: Bea Priestly vs. Kay Lee Ray

Ray is defending. Priestly takes her down in the corner to start and chokes for a bit. Well at least we know who the villain is. The champ catches her up top but gets knocked into the Tree of Woe for the Alberto double stomp. They head outside with Priestly throwing her into the barricade. Kay is fine enough to slide back in for a suicide dive….and here’s Viper for the no contest (because when you attack one wrestler first, it’s still not a DQ even in England) at 3:10.

Rating: C-. The action was good while it lasted but you’re not about to get anything resembling time on this show. At the same time, Viper coming out as the monster makes sense in theory, until you remember that she took the fall in the title match. Why would I want to see this again when Kay has already shown that she can pin Viper clean?

Post match the fight is on when Ayesha (I had to look it up off the company’s site) comes out to help Viper. Bennett makes a battle royal for the title next week.

Earlier today, Bennett yells at Grado for not being serious. His punishment: a spot in the Tag Team Title tournament if he can find a partner. This company is rather questionable at times.

Will Ospreay vs. Martin Kirby

Ospreay starts fast with the flipping off the ropes with an armdrag and dropkick sending Kirby out to the floor. The teased dive just lets Ospreay hit his pose but Kirby is right back in with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. We hit one of the most quickly broken chinlocks I’ve ever seen until Ospreay sends him into the corner and hits something like a 619. A springboard clothesline gives Ospreay two but Kirby shouts STOP, and then hits an enziguri. Dang who knew Ospreay took instruction so well?

They head outside with Kirby beating him up even more, including a suplex on the ramp. A Michinoku Driver gives Kirby two and the fans are entirely behind Ospreay. Back up and Ospreay is fine enough for an enziguri and a standing C4, which Bennett calls old school. Kirby gets two off a neckbreaker but takes too long walking the ropes. A hurricanrana sets up the shooting star for two, followed by Stormbreaker to finish Kirby at 7:18.

Rating: C. It helps a lot to have the better known and more talented people in the ring, especially with a little extra time. Ospreay is one of the biggest stars in the promotion and has certainly faced a lot more international talent than most. That’s going to make him seem like a bigger deal and his matches have felt more important.

Bennett is in the ring with Grado to ask if he’s found a partner. Grado hasn’t…..except for this guy.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Grado/British Bulldog Jr. vs. Crater/Robbie X

Grado and Robbie start before it’s off to Crater vs. Bulldog without anything happening. Bulldog’s shoulders have no effect so Grado tries his luck, only to bounce off of Crater and sell it like death. Bulldog comes back in with some forearms and it’s already back to Robbie, who is quickly slammed off the top. The arm work begins with the good guys taking turns, as polite Englishmen should.

Bulldog hits his suplex and it’s back to Grado for some dancing, which Bennett describes as the grace of an elephant. Robbie can’t suplex Grado, who snaps off the left hands. A cheap shot from the apron allows Crater to come back in, hit a single shoulder, and hand it back off to Robbie. Grado suplexes his way out of trouble and hands it off to Bulldog to clean house. Robbie gets backdropped onto Crater, who easily catches him….and leaves. The cutter gives Grado the pin at 8:34.

Rating: D+. Pretty standard formula match here with a big man tag and there’s nothing wrong with that. I mean, aside from the match not being very good and all that. Bulldog was the only optional partner for the popular Grado as Bulldog’s name alone makes him a big deal. Not terrible, and the result was the only option.

Post match Crater comes back in and kicks Robbie, only to have Bulldog and Grado stare him off.

Rampage and his cronies don’t care about the triple threat #1 contenders match.

Joe Hendry vs. Justin Sysum vs. Adam Maxted

The winner gets a title shot at some point in the future. Hold on though as Maxted’s partner Nathan Cruz says he should take the shot to protect Maxted’s face. Maxted actually agrees so Cruz gets knocked to the floor to start. Hendry technicals Sysum down and then scores with a shoulder, which doesn’t need a replay. It’s Cruz coming back in and speeding things up, earning himself a dropkick from Sysum. Maxted’s distraction lets Cruz hit a slingshot belly to back suplex but Hendry comes back in with a German suplex on Cruz, aided by a sunset flip from Sysum.

Hendry starts cleaning house with some clotheslines, followed by the ankle lock on Cruz. Sysum dives in to block a tap (always a nice touch, though you do wonder why they don’t tap with the other hand. Cruz hits Sysum with a Samoan driver but walks into the fall away slam from Hendry, with Maxted putting the foot on the ropes. Back up and Cruz sends them both to the floor but Sysum does an awesome jumping spear from the floor through the bottom ropes to take Cruz down. Maxted offers a distraction though, only to have Sysum hit what looked like a running slap to the face for the pin at 6:58.

Rating: C+. Sysum winning is the right call as he’s been one of the most impressive people on the show so far and I could go for some more of him. That spear from the floor was impressive enough, though it should have been the finish. At least Hendry didn’t take another loss, which is at least a step in the right direction for him.

Overall Rating: C. That’s pretty easily the best show of the series so far, as at least they’re getting somewhere with some of this stuff and aren’t adding in a bunch of new people every week. It’s still not a good show and there are a ton of issues, but things are settling down a little bit. That being said, it could just be the fact that we’re almost halfway done with the series and you can see the ending from here.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

All In
Date: September 1, 2018
Location: Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Commentators: Don Callis, Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni

We’ve finally arrived. Last year, Dave Meltzer said Ring of Honor couldn’t sell 10,000 tickets to an event. Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks took it as a challenge and they actually pulled it off in about fifteen months. The tickets sold out in about half an hour and they were off to the races. This is the biggest independent wrestling event in history and really, anything good coming out of the show is a bonus. Let’s get to it.

The arena looks great and rather full. I’d think there were more than 10,000 people there.

Here are Cody and the Young Bucks to say they’re going to blow the whole budget in 90 seconds with a bunch of pyro. The pyro doesn’t go off and Cody asks Nick if he paid the pyro guy. They try again and there is indeed pyro. With that out of the way, here’s Animal on a motorcycle for the wrestling legend cameo (their words). Now it’s time for free merchandise with t-shirts being thrown and launched out of a t-shirt gun.

So Cal Uncensored vs. Briscoe Brothers

The Briscoes’ ROH Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Scorpio Sky (as Apollo Creed from Rocky) and Kazarian (as Rocky Balboa from Rocky II) for So Cal. Before the match, Sky rips on Chicago (Dude it’s Hoffman Estates. Get your suburbs right.) but the fans chant for them anyway. The Briscoes don’t get much of a reaction, likely because they didn’t insult the crowd enough.

Jay and Kazarian start things off but Mark comes in to take over. Everything breaks down and SCU does the fast paced offense, which would make you think they’re the good guys here, despite them insulting the fans before the match. The Briscoes take over with the hard clotheslines and things settle back down. Mark suplexes Sky for two and the right hands don’t get Sky out of trouble.

We hit the chinlock for a few seconds before Sky hurricanranas his way over to the corner for the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Kazarian hits a nice slingshot hurricanrana to put Mark on the floor. Sky adds a running flip dive, followed by stereo dragon sleepers back inside. The Brothers crawl to each other with Jay raking Sky’s eyes for the break. Mark elbows Kazarian in the face and adds the Blockbuster off the apron and Sky is down again.

Back in and the Razor’s Edge/running neckbreaker combination gets two on Kazarian. Sky breaks up a super version though and it’s a Rock Bottom/Backstabber combination to Mark. Jay pops back up and the Jay Driller into the Froggy Bow gets two with Sky diving in for a save. It’s Doomsday Device time (appropriate) but Kazarian reverses the clothesline into a powerslam on Mark with Sky taking Jay out for the pin at 12:36.

Rating: B-. Good match, though nothing we haven’t seen from these teams before. The Briscoes are an awesome team and have been for years so there’s not much of a surprise there. As a bonus, it’s nice to see Sky getting a chance instead of the standard Daniels/Kazarian lineup.

Kenny Omega talks about facing Pentagon Jr. tonight, saying it’s the IWGP World Champion against the former TNA World Champion. Sure Pentagon is a killer, but Omega is fired up to be in front of 10,000 Being The Elite fans. Goodbye and goodnight.

Video on Cody vs. Nick Aldis for the NWA World Title.

Over Budget Battle Royal

Brian Cage, Bully Ray, Jimmy Jacobs, Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn, Chuck Taylor, Trent Barretta, Ethan Page, Tommy Dreamer, Moose, Punishment Martinez, Colt Cabana, Hurricane Helms, Rocky Romero, Marko Stunt, Brandon Cutler, Cheeseburger, Jordynne Grace, El Hijo Del Chico

I’ve probably missed someone. Winner gets an ROH World Title shot on the main show. Former World Champion Dalton Castle is on commentary. Ray wastes no time in powerbombing Chico through a table at ringside. A series of dives take a bunch of people out and everyone is on the floor, with Tommy Dreamer and Billy Gunn teasing going over but going through the ropes and jumping off the apron instead. No one has actually been eliminated yet, even though the ring is emptied.

Back in and everyone goes after Moose but gets shoved away. For some reason Moose tries a middle rope crossbody, only to be thrown to the apron. Moose fights that off as well but a very small guy eliminates him instead. Ethan Page breaks up the Best Friends hug so they fight over a suplex to the floor. Cage apron superplexes Dreamer back in and Cutler spins Marko into a Rock Bottom. Ray knocks Marko out (not an elimination) and Cutler follows him as this is a complete mess.

The Best Friends are sent to the apron but Romero makes a save. Trent and Chuckie drop Jacobs and Page to set up the hug but Martinez dumps both of them. Romero catches him with a springboard hurricanrana and the forever lariats start connecting. Cage cuts him off with a discus lariat and there goes Romero. Cheeseburger gets in all of his palm strikes before Cage puts me out of my misery by getting rid of him. Martinez and Cage take turns with their crazy big man stuff but neither can hit a chokeslam.

Hurricane chokeslams both of them to a huge reaction and goes to the apron with Page. Cabana knocks both of them out and it’s time for the weapons so Dreamer can have something to do. Thankfully Riccaboni is there with the Doug references but Dreamer gets knocked out by Ray. Marko is actually still in this and goes after Ray, who finally eliminates him. The Gunns get back in and clean house until Jacobs grabs Austin’s crotch. That means a Five Knuckle Shuffle but Billy makes a save.

Jacobs kisses him for some reason and gets tossed but Austin knocks out Martinez. Bully dumps Austin and throws in a Suck It, only to have Billy hit him with a Fameasser. Cage and Billy have a showdown with Cage knocking him out as we’re almost done. That Marko guy is STILL IN HERE so Bully finally launches him out, leaving us with Grace, Cage, Ray and Cabana.

Grace actually squats Cage, who powerbombs and buckle bombs her for her efforts. Grace powerbombs him right back and clotheslines Cage out clean to get us down to three. Ray gives her a spit chop but Cabana plays Ray on What’s Up. Grace goes to toss him but Ray eliminates her instead, leaving us with Cabana vs. Ray. Cabana is tossed out in short order…and here’s Chico to dump Ray for the win at 17:04.

Rating: C+. This was actually a lot of fun as they made it feel like more than a way to get everyone on the card. There were some stories being told in there and the ending was a great touch. I could have gone with a little more order but it never felt like it was dragging, which is the worry of a match like this. Still though, well done.

Chico unmasks as…..Flip Gordon in a very nice surprise.

National Anthem.

The announcers run down the card.

Matt Cross vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

This is a surprise match. Cross is better known as Son of Havoc in Lucha Underground and Friedman is a rich guy. Friedman shoulders him down to start but Cross moonsaults away instead of trying a dropkick. That earns a round of applause from Friedman but he kicks Cross in the ribs instead.

Cross bails to the floor, only to have Friedman say he doesn’t have to flip to get over. They switch places and it’s a Sasuke Special to drop Friedman. Back in and Friedman rolls away before the shooting star can launch. A stomp to the hand has Cross in trouble and a hammerlock powerbomb of all things gets two. Cross catches him with a super hurricanrana and a springboard spinning crossbody for two of his own.

Friedman is right back with a package shoulder breaker to take the arm right back down. A slugout doesn’t go anywhere so Cross rolls him down and hits a double stomp. Cross weakly covers and gets caught in an armbreaker. The pendulum piledriver (think Orton’s hanging DDT but a piledriver) gives Friedman two but Cross hits something like a Lethal Injection. Now the shooting star can finish Friedman at 10:07.

Rating: C. Totally average match that didn’t need to be on the main card and could have been cut entirely. The high flying vs. technical work was fine and while it wasn’t a bad match, I have a bad feeling about how long the show is going to run if a match like this is getting some extra time.

Sean Mooney is with Nick Aldis (announced as Christopher Daniels in a bit of an error), who is ready to defend his title against Cody. They’re both here for the ten pounds of gold. He has a date with destiny and she is getting impatient.

Singer John Mayer is in the front row.

Christopher Daniels vs. Stephen Amell

Jerry Lynn is the referee, billed as the New Reffin Show. Amell is the star of Arrow, who wrestled at Summerslam a few years back. This is a story from Being The Elite where Daniels framed Amell for murdering Joey Ryan in Japan. Yeah it’s a different world. Daniels takes him down with ease to start and does a little Curry Man dancing. Back up and they chop it out with Amell taking him down and offering a bow.

Amell hits a nice dropkick and clotheslines Daniels to the floor. No dive of course but he does send Daniels into the barricade. A table is set up on the floor but they get back inside where Lynn accidentally distracts Amell, allowing Daniels to take over. Amell gets sent into the post and we hit the waistlock. The Arabian Moonsault, with very little elevation, connects for no cover as Daniels would rather go for the table. The distraction lets Amell score with a clothesline and a Falcon Arrow gets two.

Amell manages to hit a Coast To Coast (not a bad one either) for two more but gets enziguried down. The Best Moonsault Ever gets two more but it’s time for Chekhov’s Table. Daniels gets knocked down onto it, only to have Amell miss an elbow through the table (which exploded) instead. Fans: “BROKEN ARROW!”

That’s almost enough for a countout….so Lynn picks Amell up and throws him back inside. Lynn shoves Daniels into a school boy for two, earning Amell a pummeling. Amell says bring it on and flips Daniels off before reversing Angel’s Wings into a rollup for two. That’s about it though as Daniels kicks him down and hits the Best Moonsault Ever for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: B-. That’s on a very sliding scale, as it should be. Amell isn’t a wrestler but looked to be at the low prospect level, putting him roughly 1000 steps ahead of most celebrities. You couldn’t have him win here as Daniels is still a big deal in wrestling and having him lose a singles match to a celebrity would have been a disaster. Very nice surprise here.

They shake hands post match.

Chelsea Green vs. Britt Baker vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Madison Rayne

Blanchard’s Knockouts Title isn’t on the line and Mandy Leon and Tenille Dashwood are on commentary. Baker, who plays a doctor (which she actually is as well) is Adam Cole’s girlfriend and comes out to his old music. Tessa hugs Magnum TA and Tully Blanchard on the way to the ring. The announcers ask why a match called a Survival match isn’t elimination rules. The explanation: it just isn’t.

They stare at each other a bit as Chelsea’s multiple personalities start fighting for control. Tessa blasts Madison and sends her outside for a whip into the barricade. Britt armdrags Chelsea down back inside but gets take down with a springboard wristdrag. Tessa comes back in with a heck of a clothesline to Chelsea but Madison is back in with a couple of twisting rollups for two each.

That’s not cool with Tessa, who gorilla presses Madison down onto the other two. Chelsea is back up with a big suicide dive onto Tessa and Britt, followed by Tessa hitting her own dive (though she seemed to get caught on the ropes). Madison hits her own high crossbody to the floor and everyone is down. Back in and Baker hits Sling Blades on everyone until Tessa gets up to clean house. A missed charge sends Tessa shoulder first into the post but she’s fine enough for a Flatliner on Baker.

Chelsea missile dropkicks Tessa and Madison hits a top rope bulldog (called a cutter) on Baker. An Unprettier hits Madison but Tessa dives in with the Magnum (jumping Codebreaker from the top) with Baker stealing the two. Tessa rolls Baker up for two of her own and Chelsea gets two on Baker off another Unprettier. Back up and Tessa grabs the hammerlock DDT to plant Chelsea for the pin at 12:46 with Baker not making the save in time. That seemed to have been a botched finish.

Rating: C. It was good with the big spots but it went on too long and there were too many false finishes. Tessa winning was the right call as she’s on a huge roll at the moment. The other three were perfectly fine (save for the messed up ending) and the spot fest stuff was good. Just a little longer than it needed to be.

They hug post match, which seems to be a trend tonight.

Video on Cody vs. Aldis, which is really just Cody wanting to win the title to be like his father. Aldis basically told him to try it and we have a match. The promos between the two have actually been quite good.

NWA World Title: Cody vs. Nick Aldis

Cody is challenging and has Brandi (sweet goodness), Brandi’s father, his dog, Diamond Dallas Page, Tommy Dreamer and GLACIER in his corner. Aldis on the other hand has Sam Shaw, Tim Storm (who he beat for the title), Shawn Daivari and Jeff Jarrett with him. The seconds, save for Brandi, all go to the back though (good) and we’re ready to go. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far off a few holds.

A wristlock and headlock go nowhere so Cody catches him with a dropkick for the first big move. Aldis heads outside and there’s a big dive to take him out. Back in and Aldis chops away, setting up a pretty early chinlock. They ram heads with Aldis seeming to bang up his nose, followed by a double clothesline for the breather. Stereo crossbodies give us another double knockdown and Aldis rolls outside. The big dive from the top is knocked out of the air but Aldis goes down as well.

Cody isn’t getting up so here’s Page to check on him. Daivari comes out with a towel and shoves Page, earning himself a Diamond Cutter inside. With Page and Daivari gone, Aldis drags a very bloody Cody back in but gets powerslammed down (with Aldis’ head hitting the mat) for two. The moonsault press misses and Aldis drops a top rope splash for his own near fall. Cody is right back with the Figure Four but they roll to the ropes in pretty short order.

A powerslam on the floor has Cody in more trouble but he’s fine enough to hit an Alabama Slam. Aldis powerbombs the heck out of him and the Kingsland Cloverleaf goes on. Brandi’s cheers bring Cody over to the rope and she tells him he doesn’t have to do this. Aldis doesn’t care and piledrives him before heading up top, only to have Brandi come in and beg for mercy.

She climbs on top of Cody and takes the elbow for him (Aldis jumped before she moved), sending Aldis into panic. That’s only good for two on Cody, who pops up with the Disaster Kick and Cross Rhodes for two. Cody can’t hit a Vertebreaker but counters a sunset flip into a cradle (ala British Bulldog/Bret Hart) for the pin and the title at 22:02.

Rating: B-. I get what they were going for here and there had to be some shenanigans because the ending wasn’t in any serious doubt, but the match went longer than it needed to and there were times where I was wanting them to just get on with things already. The Page/Daivari segment didn’t need to be there and the Brandi thing felt like a forced heel turn that was forgotten ten seconds later. I liked the match and the ending was the only possible option, but the overbooking hurt things.

We get the big presentation of the belt with all of the seconds coming back in. New champion, people in matching track suits, woman in sequined bikini. Just like back in the Brisco vs. Funk matches.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela. Page thought Joey Ryan’s, ahem, signature area was fake and may have murdered him, so Janela is fighting for him. Or something.

Nick Jackson wakes Page up and nearly gets strangled.

Adam Page vs. Joey Janela

Street fight. I’m still not sure I get Janela (with Penelope Ford) so maybe he can win me over here. Page wastes no time in sending him to the floor for a suicide dive but Janela hits one of his own, complete with the flying middle finger. Janela is staggered though and Page moonsaults down from the top to take him down again. A chair is set up in the ring and Janela gets suplexed onto (not through) it for the first big crash.

With that out of the way, it’s time for an actual cracker barrel, but Page takes too long looking at it and Janela whips him into the barrel instead. The barrel is used as a springboard for a flip dive onto Page but he’s fine enough for the Buckshot lariat over the barricade. Page loads up a table at ringside but of course takes too long and gets Death Valley Driven into the corner.

Janela bridges a ladder between the apron and the barrel but gets caught in a “Burning Hammer” (really a torture rack throw because, you know, the real thing would have killed him) onto the ladder instead. With Janela down, Page pulls a bag out from underneath the ring. That’s enough for Ford to come in and slap him in the face before backflipping away from some clotheslines. A Stunner sends Page to the floor for a heck of a crossbody and Page is laid on the table.

That means the big elbow through the table but of course Page is right back up. Two more tables are set up in the aisle and Page powerbombs Janela off the stage….near the tables at least with Janela’s head banging off the edge. Back in and the Rite of Passage gets two with Ford making the save. There are now two garbage bags in the ring and one of them has Page’s cursed cowboy boots (they talk to him).

Ford goes to pick one up and eats a superkick, followed by Janela superkicking Page for two of his own. Janela throws in a ladder and a table with the ladder being set up. Fans: “SAFETY FIRST!” The other bag has a phone (which Page used to kill Joey Ryan) and a few shots to the head rock Janela. Rite of Passage through the table ends Janela at 20:04.

Rating: C+. Way longer than it needed to be but they did what they needed to do. This was all about Being the Elite and that’s perfectly fine. As someone who doesn’t watch the show, they explained it well enough that I got the idea. Page continues to look like a star, but Ford stole the match here, which is saying a lot for someone as new as she is. Janela was the same guy I’ve seen a bunch of times, which isn’t exactly a great thing. He’s fine, but not great.

Post match….an army of people dressed like male genitalia comes out and here’s the very much alive Ryan. Page can’t believe it and there’s the You Plex. A superkick knocks Page out and the army takes him away.

Jay Lethal’s eyes are bugging out for some reason.

Ring of Honor World Title: Flip Gordon vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending and has Brandi Rhodes in a military outfit. Lethal one ups her by coming out as Black Machismo, complete with Lanny Poffo in his corner. Now that’s smart. Brilliant even. You might even say it’s…..dang it I need a word for someone who is really smart. Sandow! That’s it. Poffo is introduced as Lethal’s brother from another mother. The Mega Powers handshake gives us the Code of Honor but Lethal rolls to the floor and tells Brandi to stay in the corner.

Flip snaps off some armdrags to start but gets clotheslined to the floor for his efforts. Lethal has to yell at Brandi and chases her inside, where he puts her on his shoulder in the obvious homage. That earns Lethal a slap and it seems to rock him back into reality. The basement dropkick misses though and Flip hits a standing moonsault for two. Flip’s bouncing nipups avoid some clotheslines and there’s a suicide dive to send Lethal into the barricade.

A second sets up the running flip dive over the top and Lethal is in trouble. He’s fine enough to hold up half of a pinfall reversal sequence until a standing moonsault to the back puts him down. Lethal takes too long going up and gets kicked in the head but the 450 misses (Flip lands on his feet anyway). The Lethal Combination gets two so Flip knees him in the face, followed by a Falcon Arrow for two of his own.

That’s enough for Poffo, who fires Lethal up to bring the Savage out again. A slam sets up three straight top rope elbows….for two as Gordon starts Hulking Up. The right hands set up the big boot but Gordon goes with a Star Spangled Sling Blade instead of the legdrop. The backwards fall away slam sets up the Spiral Tap (Cancun Tornado) for an even nearer fall. Gordon takes too long going up though and it’s a cutter off the top. The Lethal Injection retains the title at 14:23.

Rating: C+. The comedy was a little much for me here as they hammered away with it instead of just having a good match. We’ve covered the shenanigans tonight and that’s not the best idea in the world. Lethal can wrestle a straight match but thankfully they didn’t go with just straight shtick here. It wasn’t great, but fine for a TV main event.

The shake hands post match but here’s Bully Ray to take them both out. Even Poffo gets beaten up until Colt Cabana runs out for the save. A TripleBomb through the table (Ray: “HOLY S***!”) plants Ray and the good guys stand tall.

Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon Jr.

Non-title and you can feel the energy on this one. Pentagon does a few CERO MIEDO’s and kicks him in the ribs to send Kenny outside early. Back in and the Backstabber out of the corner has Omega in more trouble but he’s ready for a dive. Pentagon waits inside and hits the Sling Blade, followed by the big running flip dive to the floor. Omega gets sent into the barricade as it’s all Pentagon early on.

Back in and Omega hits the Regal Roll and a running tornado DDT drops Pentagon for the first time. A big springboard dive takes Pentagon down again and the Snapdragon has Pentagon rocked. The One Winged Angel is reversed into the Backstabber though and Omega is in trouble. He’s fine enough to hit a V Trigger in the corner but can’t hit a super brainbuster. Instead Pentagon ties him in the Tree of Woe for a double stomp but the Fear Factor is broken up.

Another V Trigger (Pentagon: “CERO MIEDO!”) sets up another V Trigger (Pentagon: “CERO MIEDO!”) which sets up a powerbomb into another V Trigger. The One Winged Angel is broken up and the Pentagon Driver gets two. They slug it out on the apron with Pentagon asking for a V Trigger. Tis but a ruse though as Omega charges into a Fear Factor on the apron, which should likely kill him.

Back in and a top rope double stomp gets two with the fans knowing that’s not it yet. Omega hits his own Fear Factor for a near fall, followed by another V Trigger. The One Winged Angel is broken up again and Pentagon snaps the arm. Another Fear Factor gets two so Omega hits a sixth V Trigger, followed by the reverse hurricanrana for two more. The seventh V Trigger sets up the One Winged Angel for the pin at 17:48

Rating: B+. Best match of the night and I’ll spare you the rant about Omega with all of the finishers again. Both guys looked like stars and that’s exactly what the match should have been between the two. You knew Omega wasn’t losing here so the false finishes didn’t do much for me, but that’s the case with a lot of his matches.

Post match the lights go out and we’ve got….Omega standing there and a very aggressive Pentagon, who happens to be missing a tattoo. A Codebreaker hits Omega and it’s CHRIS JERICHO under the mask. Another Codebreaker puts Omega down and Jericho says he’ll see him on the cruise. Callis freaks out so much that he actually falls out of his chair. Or maybe Jericho pushed him.

Marty Scurll runs into someone off camera who yells at him for not being very good. Someone else disagrees with him because Scurll is quite good. Scurll breaks their fingers and that’s that. Apparently this is another Being The Elite things.

Marty Scurll vs. Kazuchika Okada

We even get the Okada Bucks. Feeling out process to start with Okada laying Marty up against the ropes and slapping him on the chest. Marty teases doing the same thing but stops with a pose instead. The announcers entertain themselves with inside jokes as Okada’s wristlock doesn’t get him anywhere. Marty starts slugging away with running forearms and an apron superkick, followed by the suicide dive.

They chop it out with Marty getting the better of it but Okada flapjacks him back inside. That’s enough for in the ring so they head outside again with Okada DDTing him on the floor. Back in and Marty pulls himself up but gets caught in a crossarm choke. That’s reversed into a Backstabber followed by a tornado DDT for two more.

Another DDT gives Okada two and they strike it out until Scurll grabs the brainbuster to knock Okada silly. Scurll grabs a piledriver but can’t pick him up. Instead he stops to fire himself up, allowing Okada to hit the over the White Noise onto the knee to put Marty right back in trouble. They go to the corner to slug it out with Okada getting the better of it, followed by the pinfall reversal sequence for two each.

Scurll powerbombs the heck out of him for two so Okada missile dropkicks him for two of his own. Another DDT gets Scurll out of trouble but there’s the Tombstone. Okada spends too long loading up the Rainmaker though and Marty snaps his finger (Ian: “We found the umbrella!”). The Rainmaker is countered a second time into the chickenwing but Marty can’t get the grip. Okada stands up and drops back on him for the break, only to have Marty slap it on again.

The hold gets flipped back for the break…and the ref gets bumped. An umbrella to Okada’s head sets up a Rainmaker from Scurll for two as THIS JUST KEEPS GOING. The chickenwing is countered into the Rainmaker but Okada can’t cover. Scurll tells him to bring it on so a forearm puts him down. A slap to the face annoys Okada and it’s a discus lariat into the Rainmaker to finally finish Scurll at a ridiculous 26:09.

Rating: C. It was pretty good at times but GOOD GRIEF this was long. They easily could have cut ten minutes out of this and when the show is already running long, it would have done them a lot of good. The story of Scurll trying to rise up to the heavyweight level was a good one, but sweet goodness it wasn’t the right time to go the better part of half an hour. I was worried they would do that late in the show and they did it here.

Rey Mysterio/Bandido/Fenix vs. Young Bucks/Kota Ibushi

Rey is Wolverine. Matt and Bandido start things off with Bandido wasting no time in the spinning corkscrew high crossbody. A headscissors puts Matt on the floor and there’s a big spinning flip dive. Everything breaks down and it’s Fenix coming in to kick at Nick. It’s off to Ibushi vs. Rey and that gets the fans back into things. Ibushi gets hurricanranaed down but he pops up to kick Rey in the chest.

The standing moonsault misses but Ibushi lands on his feet (of course). It’s back to Matt to superkick Fenix as a producer talks about going home when he tells them to. The fast tags continue with Ibushi moonsaulting into a double knee drop onto Bandido, followed by moonsault Pele kicks to Bandido and Fenix. Everything breaks down with Rey hurricanranaing Matt to the floor, followed by a top rope Asai moonsault to take everyone down.

Fenix dives onto all of them as well, leaving Bandido to corkscrew dive onto the pile as well. Back in and the Bucks hit their buckle bomb/enziguri combination on Bandido, followed by Ibushi getting two off a German suplex. Rey comes back in and sends the Bucks into each other but Matt breaks up the 619. Fenix walks the rope to break up the Meltzer Driver before throwing Bandido at Nick for a hurricanrana.

Fenix superkicks Matt into the 619, followed by the running Destroyer. Bandido’s reverse hurricanrana sets up some double dives to Nick and Ibushi, leaving Rey to frog splash Matt….for two. Bandido hits a backflip Blockbuster (egads) but Nick makes another save. More Bang For Your Buck gets two, followed by the Five Star Golden Meltzer Driver for the pin at 11:33.

Rating: B. Well you knew the Bucks weren’t jobbing here. They were doing some very fun high flying stuff with the idea of just turn off your brain and have fun. That’s all this match needed to be, though there’s really not much of a reason for it to be the main event. Let this be the match that picks things up somewhere in the middle and it’s a lot better. Still though, good, mindless fun.

We’re off the air IMMEDIATELY with Ian not even being able to completely sign off. Channeling some Barely Legal there to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B. This one is going to be divisive no matter what I say. Here’s the thing: this wasn’t a standard wrestling show and therefore it’s going to be looked at differently. This is a glorified supershow with matches that are there because fans seem to want to see them without any stories being built up for the card. Aside from the wacky Being the Elite stuff, there were next to no stories being built up for the matches. The announcers said Omega vs. Pentagon was built up as Omega fighting “that crazy guy from Impact”. Fair enough, but I tend to go for a bit more than that.

The other big issue was just how long the show ran. Every match went at least ten minutes and two broke twenty. With a nine match main card, that’s quite a bit to sit through and I was very burned out by the time the Lethal vs. Gordon match started. Cut some of that stuff out (MJF vs. Havoc didn’t need to be there and you could cut at least five minutes off multiple matches, or ten plus off Okada vs. Scurll) and the show is FAR more enjoyable.

Now all that being said, I had a good time watching it and nothing was truly bad. It felt like a really souped up ROH show (which is pretty much what it was) and that’s not a bad thing. As a one off event it was good and I could see it being a yearly thing, which would be a very cool event to have every year. I’m fine with not getting the Being the Elite jokes as I don’t watch it too as that’s on me instead of them. Overall, I had a good time and the wrestling was solid enough, but it wasn’t some blowaway event and there were some big problems. More positives than negatives though, and that’s all you can ask for.

Results

Matt Cross b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Shooting star press

Christopher Daniels b. Stephen Amell – Best Moonsault Ever

Tessa Blanchard b. Britt Baker, Chelsea Green and Madison Rayne – Hammerlock DDT to Greens

Cody b. Nick Aldis – Rollup

Adam Page b. Joey Janela – Rite of Passage through a table

Jay Lethal b. Flip Gordon – Lethal Injection

Kenny Omega b. Pentagon Jr. – One Winged Angel

Kazuchika Okada b. Marty Scurll – Rainmaker

Young Bucks/Kota Ibushi b. Bandido/Rey Mysterio/Fenix – Golden Meltzer Driver to Bandido

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: April 1, 2004
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re officially in the JBL Era here and that’s going to go on for a long time. Last week we saw the debut of the new character, followed by him interfering in an Eddie Guerrero vs. Booker T. World Title match. I was hoping that it was just a bad dream but now it seems that we’re going to be in for the long haul. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence, which STILL includes Rock.

Here’s General Manager Kurt Angle to open things up. There’s something behind him underneath a black blanket, which Cole thinks might be a surprise. Angle talks about sacrificing his in-ring career for the good of both the fans and Smackdown. He can’t do it alone though and needs someone to step up and help him.

Tonight, someone needs to show that they’ve earned what is underneath the blanket: a trophy, which is the Kurt Angle Great American Award. Eddie Guerrero isn’t eligible, mainly because the winner gets the next shot at Eddie’s title. Tonight there will be a series of matches with the winners being the official nominees, with the first match beginning right now.

Great American Award Nominee Match: Big Show vs. Rikishi

Rikishi slugs away to start but gets knocked down with next to no effort. The slow beating begins, including the boot choke in the corner. One heck of an overhand chop puts Rikishi down but he superkicks Show in the corner. The Stinkface is broken up though and the chokeslam gives Show the pin. They kept it short, as they should have.

Earlier today, JBL with the horned limo arrived, complete with him yelling at the Latino driver, especially for not speaking English. Cole hypes up JBL’s portfolio beating the stock market SEVEN YEARS IN A ROW, which is now the way you push a top heel.

Rey Mysterio/Spike Dudley vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr./Chavo Guerrero Sr.

Chavo has new music. Rey and Jr. start things off with Mysterio’s standing Lionsault getting caught, only to have him armdrag Jr. down. Everything breaks down and it’s a Bronco Buster to Jr. and Spike’s running corner stomping on Sr. Rey gets crotched on top though and Sr. comes in for a butterfly suplex.

The fans think Chavo sucks and Tazz wants to know which one. My money is on Jr., who comes in with a camel clutch to Rey. That doesn’t last long and Rey sends Jr. into a right hand from Spike, who comes in for more offense than you’re usually going to see from him. Jr. saves his dad from a 619 so Spike Dudley Dogs Jr. while kicking Sr. to the floor for the pin.

Rating: C-. It’s a bad night for the champions so far and the match just wasn’t working very well. I can certainly go for having Spike as a cruiserweight more than as the plucky underdog though and at least he’s getting some more time. That being said, if you’re going to use this to likely set up a title match, maybe you shouldn’t have had Spike lose to Jr. last week.

Post match JBL comes in to beat up Rey and Spike, because cruiserweights mean nothing around here.

Great American Award Nominee Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Charlie Haas

Rematch from last week, though Haas now has new trunks. Haas tries to take it to the mat but has to avoid a kick to the face. Another attempt gets Rob on the mat, though jumping him from behind works. Unfortunately for Haas, the second attempt at kicking him in the face works as well but Haas is smart enough to start in on the leg. A headscissors sends Haas to the floor and he picks up a chair. Cole: “Great Americans don’t run around hitting people in the head with steel chairs.”

Back in and more shots to the leg have Rob in trouble and Haas wraps it around the post a few times. Charlie pulls him down by the leg again and puts on a half crab, which works a bit better than last week. Van Dam still gets out in a hurry, but this time Haas doesn’t get kicked in the face. A trip up top takes too long though and now Haas gets kicked in the head. Rolling Thunder (What leg injury?) gets two but the Five Star misses. Haas rolls to the floor and grabs the chair to knock the suicide dive out of the way, setting up the double countout.

Rating: C-. Not bad, Van Dam’s selling issues aside. I can appreciate the idea of building Haas up though as you can always have a good technical guy on the roster to get a good match out there. Haas isn’t likely to go anywhere and going 0-1-1 in two matches isn’t the best start, but the talent is clear and with a few wins, he could be a fine midcarder.

Actually hang on as Angle comes out and says Haas wins because he was ahead on points. Well yeah, he certainly was. Cole, obviously lacking an eye for talent, freaks out.

Video on JBL’s big promo and interference from last week. They’re certainly going full speed ahead with this guy.

We look back at JBL getting out of the limo earlier and then beating up Mysterio and Spike.

Booker wants in on the Great American Award and gets a Nominee match with Hardcore Holly. So Booker is slumming it with Holly while freaking BRADSHAW is pushed as one of the top heels. Who writes this nonsense?

Video on the WWE getting an award from the USO.

Great American Award Nominee Match: Booker T. vs. Hardcore Holly

They trade shots in the corner to start as Cole talks about earning respect on Smackdown. You know, like Holly has done for all those years. Holly knocks him to the floor for a seven count so Booker comes back in with the hook kick to the face. A delayed vertical suplex gives Holly two and it’s off to the armbar.

Booker fights up and gets two off a side slam before dropping a knee. An elbow gives Holly two and it’s back to the armbar. Back up and Booker’s Cactus Clothesline puts them on the floor as we take a break. We come back with the side kick putting Holly on the floor but not being able to suplex him onto the steps.

Instead Holly suplexes him onto the floor and throws Booker back inside, only to have Booker get two off his twisting sunset flip out of the corner. Holly makes the fired up comeback and gets two of his own off a powerslam. The dropkick gets two but Booker Book Ends him for the same. With nothing else working, Booker grabs a rollup with trunks for the pin.

Rating: D+. The post break half was way better than the first but my goodness why is Hardcore Holly going move for move with Booker T. for more than fifteen minutes? I don’t know who in the world thinks JBL is a better top heel than Booker (at least given their statuses at the moment) but we really are getting Booker as the midcard act who has trouble beating Holly while JBL gets to run people over.

Dudley Boyz vs. Akio/Sakoda

Bubba headlocks Sakoda to start and shoulders him down, only to have Akio kick Bubba in the back of the head to take over. The stomping begins, which makes sense given that Akio and Sakoda are just generic villains now that Tajiri is gone. Sakoda cranks on the neck but Bubba just blasts him with an overhand chop. It’s off to Akio so Bubba hits a pretty good looking spear to cut him down as well. The diving tag brings in D-Von to clean house and the villains are sent into each other. A 3D finishes Akio in short order.

Rating: D. Just a short match here as the Dudleys are still getting settled in around here. That being said, the Dudleys vs. Scotty/Rikishi isn’t exactly a big time match so I’d assume a title change before we get to the title showdown. Akio and Sakoda aren’t bad by any stretch, but they’re not going anywhere without a few tweaks.

We look at the nominees for the Great American Award.

The Dudleys check on Spike when Teddy Long comes in to offer his services. Well for Bubba and D-Von at least.

Raw Rebound looks at Chris Jericho ripping Trish Stratus apart and Shelton Benjamin upsetting HHH.

Eddie arrives and talks to the limo driver. Plans seem to be forming.

Rene Young and Fifi come out for commentary with Tazz interviewing the dog.

Great American Award Nominee Match: John Cena vs. Nunzio/Johnny Stamboli

Cena gets a heck of a reception as the star power is growing at a remarkable rate. He doesn’t think much of the other nominees because that award is his. Cena also throws in an insult to Dupree and Fifi, suggesting that Cole is in love with him. I’ll let you figure out who Cena is talking about. Cena easily pounds Stamboli down and knocks Nunzio off the apron before catapulting Stamboli into his partner. The Throwback and Shuffle set up the FU to put Stamboli away. I don’t think Cena is even sweating.

Post match Cena gets in Dupree’s face.

Angle recaps the Great American Award process and wants Eddie in the ring next.

Here’s Angle with the trophy for an announcement. He’s proud of the locker room because they’ve shown that HHH wouldn’t have lasted five minutes here. The award will be given out next week because the fans can vote for the winner. Make your choice careful too, as the winner will be the new #1 contender to Eddie’s title. This brings out Eddie, who cuts Angle off a few times to annoy the boss.

Eddie is ready to fight right now but Angle isn’t going to do that because he’s the General Manager. Instead, he wants someone skilled to take the title from Eddie. Someone who is as adept at the stock market as Eddie is at stealing cars. That would of course be JBL, who is now the fifth nominee for the Award. JBL comes out in the limo and climbs on top to thank Angle for the nomination. He can’t wait to get out of here and get back to New York City to his Central Park home.

We hear about all of his TV and radio show appearances, plus hear a plug for his TALK RADIO SHOW! As for Eddie, last week was just business and now he wants the WWE Championship. Eddie wants to make it personal and climbs onto the limo where he steals the hat as JBL goes back in through the moon roof. With JBL saying that the hat costs $1000, Eddie passes it around the arena, telling fans to put whatever they want into it. Angry Texas ranting ends the show. I don’t know about you, but I could really go for more from the #1 contender than “I wear expensive hats and talk about the stock market”.

Overall Rating: D-. So, much like last week, we got to see the new names showing up and having matches that meant absolutely nothing because it’s clear that JBL is getting the shot and didn’t have to wrestle a match to get there. The wrestling ranged from pretty meh to bad and then you have the entire change of pace at the end of the show. Just a worthless show as you can see the cliff coming from here and that makes it really hard to watch.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

205 Live
Date: August 28, 2018
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re still on the way towards….whenever the next Cruiserweight Title match is going to be as Drew Gulak seems ready to get another shot at Cedric Alexander. Last week’s main event saw Lucha House Party defeat Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese, but we could still get a thing or two more out of the feud, especially since Kalisto got involved at the end. Let’s get to it.

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

Drake Maverick gives us the recap/preview.

Opening sequence.

Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa

Before the match, Kendrick and Brian Gallagher rip on Toronto a bit for being a secondary Commonwealth city. In addition to that, Tozawa doesn’t know his place and needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. Tonight, Tozawa is taking the beating that he deserves. Kendrick bails to the floor to start so Tozawa dives onto both he and Gallagher. Back in and the hard kick to the chest sets up the screaming backsplash as Kendrick is in big trouble early on. Gallagher offers a distraction though and Kendrick knocks Tozawa out to the floor.

They head back inside with Kendrick nailing a butterfly suplex and slapping on a chinlock. The Captain’s Hook doesn’t work and Tozawa snaps off a hurricanrana. It’s too early for the top rope backsplash so Tozawa goes with the suicide headbutt instead. Back in and the extra aggressive Tozawa wraps the leg around the post before a Saito suplex knocks Kendrick silly. Three straight corner dropkicks to the knee set up a missile dropkick and the top rope backsplash finishes Kendrick at 6:15.

Rating: C-. This was just a step below a squash win for Tozawa, who needed something like this to get him back to normal after the losses to Lio Rush. Kendrick is fine for someone to put Tozawa over as he’s going to stay relevant due to his past success. In other words, a perfectly fine bit of booking.

We look back at Buddy Murphy costing Kalisto a match against Buddy Murphy. Last week, Kalisto made up for it by costing Murphy the fall in the tornado tag.

Murphy and Nese are ready to get rid of Kalisto and the Lucha House Party.

Hideo Itami vs. Michael Blaise

Before the match, Itami talks about feeling bad over Mustafa Ali. He should have hurt Ali even worse a few weeks ago. Itami hammers away in the corner as Vic name drops Hulk Hogan being at his debut press conference. Some kicks put Blaise down and some shots to the back have him in even more trouble. A Falcon Arrow gets two as Itami pulls him up. That GTS thing gets the same but Itami would rather hit the running corner dropkicks. Before he can hit the third, here’s Ali to interrupt. That’s enough for Itami, who bails into the crowd for the no contest at 3:50ish because countouts don’t exist when they’re not scripted.

Rating: D. Just a squash with an angle finish here and there’s nothing wrong with that. Itami still needs more than RESPECT ME and maybe some different gear would help. He’s a very small, skinny guy and that doesn’t exactly make him intimidating. They’re still looking for the right formula for him and I’m not sure how much longer that search can go on.

We recap Drew Gulak wanting a rematch with Cedric Alexander but running off when Alexander showed up.

Alexander says Gulak was a hypocrite last week but next week, he’ll be waiting in the middle of the ring for Gulak to come finish things.

Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto

Tony Nese, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik are at ringside. Murphy wastes no time in throwing Kalisto down and the fans are behind him here. Back up and Kalisto does the pose but makes the mistake of trying a test of strength. Of course he’s powered down with ease so it’s time for some nipups. Kalisto finally gets smart by walking the ropes, setting up a hurricanrana to take Murphy down for the first time. Nese blocks a dive though and the noisemakers are already out.

The rescheduled dive takes the two of them out instead so everyone tries to come inside. The distraction lets Murphy hit Kalisto in the back to take over as things settle back down. Back in and another hurricanrana is countered so Kalisto tries a suicide dive….which is caught and reversed into a suplex. Well ok then. Another skirmish on the floor gets the House Party ejected while Nese is allowed to stay.

Murphy takes him back inside but misses a kick to the back. Kalisto slaps on a sleeper but Murphy powers out again, this time hitting Kalisto in the face for two. Nese tries a grab of the ankle and that’s enough to get him tossed as well. Things settle down and it’s Kalisto hitting a springboard seated senton and kicking away, followed by the reverse hurricanrana. The hurricanrana driver has both guys down and the referee has a quick chat with them. Murphy blocks the Salida Del Sol but gets his head kicked off to give Kalisto two.

They head to the apron and Kalisto gets launched hard into the announcers’ table for the loud crash. Murphy would rather send him into the barricade over and over than go for a pin but he’s smart enough to break the count. Kalisto tries a springboard (minus the spring) off the barricade, only to get kneed out of the air.

Now Murphy is willing to take the countout but Kalisto taunts him right back out. A monkey flip puts Murphy in the timekeeper’s area for nine but Kalisto catches him with another hurricanrana driver for another two. Murphy hits a helicopter bomb for two and we have a rare 205 chant. Murphy’s Law is reversed but Murphy knees him in the head again, followed by Murphy’s Law for the pin at 16:45.

Rating: B. They could have had a better match had it not been for all the shenanigans with the seconds but what we did get was quite good. Murphy continues to be someone way too good for this show, though the same thing is true of Kalisto. But they don’t weigh enough (allegedly in Murphy’s case) so they’re stuck here instead. Such is life in WWE, though the match was rather awesome.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event saved what was a pretty much otherwise lame show and there’s nothing wrong with that. Gulak and Alexander not being around isn’t the best idea in the world as the show is little more than a good standalone night, but you can only do those shows so often if the series is supposed to mean something. Good main event, but they’ve done better.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Starrcade 1987
Date: November 26, 1987
Location: UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

The main event here is a cage match between NWA World Champion Ronnie Garvin and Ric Flair.  Garvin won the title a few weeks back with the sole purpose of losing it to Flair here.  In a logic that I’ll never understand, everyone else said no except for Garvin because no one else wanted to be a lame duck World Champion.  Other than the Garvin vs. Flair title match, the other major match is the Road Warriors facing the Horsemen (Arn and Tully) for the tag titles in the Warriors’ hometown of Chicago. Let’s get to it.

We open with an intro sequence that looks like it’s out of a bad 1980s sitcom. It’s a bunch of headshots of the wrestlers with bad music in the background.

The arena looks huge but very smoky.

Sting/Jimmy Garvin/Michael Hayes vs. Eddie Gilbert/Larry Zbyszko/Rick Steiner

This is right after Jim Crockett acquired the UWF, so a lot of these guys are making their big time debuts. Gilbert was a big deal back there, as was Hayes. Sting didn’t mean anything at this point, but he would have his day very soon. He had recently left Gilbert’s stable in the UWF so they have a built in feud already. Steiner jumps Sting to start but misses a charge and falls to the floor. Sting dives out onto him as the lighting is really bad here. It looks like the lights haven’t been turned all the way on.

As they head back in, Sting hits a missile dropkick as everything breaks down. Sting’s team clears the ring until we get down to Hayes vs. Steiner. Michael pounds on the arm for a bit and it’s off to Garvin. Michael and Jimmy would wind up as a tag team in a few years but here’s they’re just randomly paired together. Off to Larry to fight Garvin and it’s time to stall already. Larry was legendary for stalling and it drove a lot of people crazy, myself included.

Back to Hayes who grabs Larry by the nose and pounds away. Michael struts and moon walks to get the crowd fired up as it’s off to Gilbert. Hayes avoids a right hand and struts some more before sending Eddie into the corner. Back to Sting as things speed up a bit, but at this point he’s not capable of carrying a match on his own. Sting grabs an armbar on Steiner and it’s off to Garvin for more basic offense on Rick.

Steiner takes him into the heel corner and it’s off to Larry for a spinning kick to Garvin’s ribs. A powerslam gets two for Rick and it’s off to Gilbert for an atomic drop. Gilbert stays on the back for a bit but misses an elbow drop. It’s not enough for the tag out though as Steiner comes in for the save. Off to a bearhug to further the punishment on Garvin’s back but Jimmy fights out. Larry saves another hot tag and puts on an abdominal stretch. Garvin finally hiptosses his way out of it and it’s off to Sting to pick up the pace.

Everything breaks down but Gilbert comes in with a cheap shot to the back to take Sting down. Eddie sends him out to the floor for a bit before throwing him back in for some triple teaming. It doesn’t seem to do much good as Sting counters a Zbyzsko suplex, only to be stopped by Steiner.

Sting avoids a charge from Larry and it’s off to Hayes with less than two minutes to go in the time limit. Everything breaks down and the good guys all pound away on a bad guy in a different corner. The DDT gets two for Hayes on Larry but he’s in the ropes. One minute to go as Steiner breaks up a sleeper on Larry. Steiner comes in legally for a bearhug of all things before turning it into a belly to belly suplex. Everything breaks down again and the time runs out with no winner.

Rating: C. This was probably the best opener the series has had yet and it’s very obvious that that’s not saying much. The main idea here was to introduce most of these people to the Jim Crockett audience and it only worked to a degree. Steiner actually came off looking the most polished here, but Hayes would have the immediate success. Sting would be several months away from his big break.

UWF Title: Steve Williams vs. Barry Windham

As mentioned, this is the final days of the title as it would be retired the next month. Williams is defending and is basically the Brock Lesnar of the 1980s: an All-American football player and a top level collegiate wrestler who looked and wrestled like a monster. If nothing else he has an awesome nickname of Dr. Death. Windham was considered the future of the company and potentially the business at this point, regularly tearing the house down with Flair everywhere they went. He’s also the Western States Heritage Champion, which might be the most worthless title in wrestling history.

We start with a crisscross before Williams throws Windham down and presses him over his head with ease. Considering Windham is 6’6, that’s rather impressive. Jim Ross LOVES Oklahoma so he’s a big time fanboy for Williams here. Windham tries to take it to the mat but can’t do anything with a wrestler the quality of Williams. Instead they take it to the floor and it’s a standoff. Back in and Williams easily suplexes out of a headlock, so Windham muscles him over with a gutwrench suplex of his own.

Williams puts on a headlock and Barry suplexes him down but this time the hold isn’t broken. It shifts into a chinlock but Barry shakes him off. They’re still in first gear here. They trade go behinds and Williams tries a leapfrog but Barry accidentally headbutts him very low. Barry stands around instead of going in for the kill and even stops the referee from counting Williams down.

Steve walks around holding his groin as the stalling continues. Windham finally takes him down with a headlock so Williams counters into a headscissors. That’s good for another standoff followed by a missed flying something from Barry, sending him over the top and onto the announce table. Back in and Williams grabs a quick rolling cradle to retain.

Rating: D. This was nothing and you can’t really blame the injury for it. They were looking terrible before the accidental headbutt and after that it somehow fell apart even more. I’m not sure what was going on here as these two are WAY too talented to have such a horrible match. To this day I’m confused by this match.

Rock N Roll Express vs. Midnight Express

This is another Skywalkers (scaffold) match which is an odd choice for these guys. These two teams redefined tag team wrestling with their incredible series of matches, so the company decides to put them in a match with no wrestling involved in it at all? The Midnights are the now Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane and they’re the US Tag Team Champions but this is non-title. They also have Cornette and Bubba with them.

Both teams are skeptical to go up but after over a minute and a half of waiting, everyone goes up top. Actually scratch that as Bubba pulls Morton down as he’s climbing and spikes him down onto the mat to give the Midnights a two on one advantage. Bubba tries to climb up as well but Morton gets up and steals Cornette’s tennis racket. A few shots to the back keeps Bubba down and Morton climbs up, still holding the racket. Eaton gets whacked a few times as well as the fighting really gets going.

Morton knocks Eaton around with the racket as Gibson pounds on Lane on the other end of the scaffold. Eaton busts out his trusty powder to blind Ricky and now Gibson is double teamed. Ricky gets the tennis racket back to stagger Bobby with as all four guys head back to the ends of the scaffold. Eaton drops the racket to the mat as Lane climbs under the scaffold.

Cornette throws the racket up to Eaton again so he can pound on Robert’s back. Morton heads under the scaffold to get at Stan, eventually kicking him down to the mat. Eaton and Gibson are up top still though until Ricky goes up too. The Rock N Roll finally knocks him down over the edge and down to the mat for the win. I know the ending sounds sudden but there really isn’t much else to it than that.

Rating: D+. Just like last year, what can you really expect from a match like this? They can’t do much without risking a very serious injury but you don’t want the fans to be bored out of their minds either. These guys had some of the best tag team matches ever when they were on the ground floor and I have no idea why they were given this gimmick of all things.

Post match Bubba goes up to fight Morton on the top, but, I kid you not, Morton points off in the distance to distract Bubba, allowing Morton to kick him in the groin and climb down. Ricky steals Bubba’s hat and coat for good measure.

NWA TV Title/UWF TV Title: Nikita Koloff vs. Terry Taylor

This is a unification match between the two Television Titles. Taylor has Eddie Gilbert with him as backup. Taylor grabs a headlock to start but is easily run over by a shoulder block. They head to the corner and amazingly enough we get a clean break. We go to another corner and Taylor tries a cheap shot, only to get punched in the face by Nikita. Taylor cranks on the arm so Nikita sticks his tongue out at him and puts on an armbar of his own.

Terry headbutts out of the hold but Nikita rams him shoulder first into the buckle. More right hands have no effect at all and Nikita cranks away on the wristlock into a hammerlock. Koloff muscles him down into a cover but Taylor makes the ropes and heads outside. Back in and Taylor talks some trash, earning himself a slap in the face. A backdrop gets two on Terry and its time for more stalling on the floor.

Nikita gets tired of waiting and pulls Taylor back in so he can put the hammerlock right back on. After a rope breaks saves Taylor, he pounds on Nikita in the corner but misses an elbow drop. Back to the armbar which has dominated this match so far. They get back up again and Taylor pounds away, only to be choked to the mat. The Russian Sickle misses though and Nikita charges into the buckle. They head outside with Taylor ramming Nikita’s shoulder into the post to take over.

The match slows down a lot as Taylor’s offense isn’t exactly suited to beat on someone like Koloff. He stays on the arm but can’t bring Nikita down into a sunset flip. Koloff blocks a suplex and takes the smaller guy down with a suplex of his own. Nikita has enough of the pounding and fights back with a bunch of right hands in the corner. Taylor comes out with an atomic drop to get two of his own and Koloff’s momentum is stopped cold.

A rollup gets two for Nikita as the fans are finally starting to get into the match. Terry loads up a piledriver but gets backdropped down and punched in the face. They head to the floor again but Gilbert hits Koloff in the knee to give Nikita control again. Off to a figure four on the Russian which gets a few near falls (the figure four can be used as a pin if the guy in the hold doesn’t raise his arms). Koloff finally gets the ropes and beats up Gilbert before hitting the Sickle on Taylor for the pin and the titles.

Rating: D+. This didn’t work for me. It was nearly twenty minutes long and way too much of that was spent in a hammerlock. I’ve never been a fan of Taylor but at least Koloff was there with the hard hitting stuff to make things somewhat interesting. This wasn’t terrible but it was too long and dull for what it was worth.

Tag Titles: Arn Anderson/Tully Blanchard vs. Road Warriors

The Warriors are challenging in their hometown of Chicago. Arn and Hawk start things off with Hawk taking him down via a top wristlock. Anderson is sent to the floor for a staredown with the Warriors’ manager Paul Ellering. Off to Tully who is almost immediately sent to the floor. Animal will have none of this stalling though and sends him right back inside. Hawk pounds away even more and hits a dropkick for a quick near fall.

Off to Animal who catches Blanchard coming in off the top in a powerslam for another two count. Arn comes back in and manages to avoid a charge in the corner, only to have his head taken off by a clothesline from Animal. Blanchard tries to come in but gets punched right in the jaw as well. Both Horsemen try to go after Hawk, only to get clotheslined down for a near fall on Blanchard. Total dominance by the Warriors so far.

Back to Animal for a bearhug plus a right hand from Hawk. Animal drops Tully down and Blanchard goes bailing to the corner. A dropkick to the ribs puts Blanchard down again so he tags in Anderson. Animal has to chase Arn on the floor before coming back inside to gorilla press him down. A press slam on Tully by Hawk is broken up by Arn hitting Hawk in the knee and the Horsemen FINALLY take over.

Tully adds in a chair shot to Hawk’s knee on the floor and a DDT gets two for Arn back in the ring. Blanchard’s figure four is countered into a small package so Tully pounds on the knee a bit more instead. Arn’s spinning toehold is broken up but here’s Tully again for the figure four. For some reason he tags in Anderson with Hawk still in the hold, and it’s Anderson who gets crotched to allow the hot tag to Animal. Everything breaks down and Tully accidentally knocks the referee to the floor before Hawk throws Anderson the floor. Back in and there’s the Doomsday Device on Arn for the pin and the titles.

Rating: C. This took awhile to get going but once the Road Warriors got rolling it got awesome in a hurry. They’re such a physical and dominant team that it’s almost impossible to not get fired up watching them. The leg work here by the Horsemen was much more interesting than say the arm work by Taylor, as they have the size and ability to make you believe the Warriors were in trouble.

Oh and scratch that title change because Anderson was thrown over the top, meaning the Warriors are disqualified and the Horsemen keep the belts. Say it with me: Dusty Finish. The fans boo this out of the building and with good reason. Who does this help? The Warriors look inept because they didn’t get the win, the Horsemen look like weak champions because they got pinned, and the fans are mad because at STARRCADE we can’t change the belts. Just a dumb idea all around.

US Title: Lex Luger vs. Dusty Rhodes

Luger is defending and if he wins, Dusty is suspended for ninety days. This is also inside of a cage. Luger had recently turned on Dusty to join the Horsemen, angering the fat man. Legend Johnny Weaver has the key at ringside. They circle each other as Dusty pretends to have a physique to match Luger, who would be a guest performer on some bodybuilding shows a few years after this. Both guys seem tentative to start things off here. Luger pounds away to start but misses his big jumping elbow. Dusty goes to an armbar and pounds an elbow into the shoulder. The armbar stays on for a LONG time, as per Dusty’s custom.

Luger finally pushes him into the corner….but it’s right back to the armbar. Rhodes pounds on the arm in the shoulder but takes a knee to the fat stomach to put him down. Dusty goes face first into the cage and we’ve got some blood on the challenger’s head. A clothesline gets two for Luger and the beating begins. The big jumping elbow gets two on Dusty but Luger takes too long, allowing Dusty to hit a HORRIBLE dropkick to put both guys down.

Lex can’t quite Rack (his finisher is the Human Torture Rack, meaning he puts Dusty over his shoulders and bends Dusty’s back around Luger’s own neck) Dusty so he pounds away instead. Now it’s off to an armbar on Dusty to take him down, despite Luger spending the entire match working on the back so far. They get back up and a pull of Dusty’s hair takes him right back down. Luger pounds away in the corner and Dusty just stands there without reacting at all.

Instead he flips Luger off and pounds away before hitting a bad DDT to put both guys down again. Off to a sleeper by Rhodes with him jumping on Luger’s back for good measure. JJ Dillon, Luger’s manager, blasts Weaver with a chair before throwing said chair into the cage. Lex escapes the hold and spends a LONG time bending over to pick up the chair, allowing Dusty to “DDT” him onto the chair for the pin and the title.

Rating: D. This sucked for the most part, as Dusty spent WAY too much time laying around on the mat before we had that really lame ending. There’s no reason for Dusty to win this title other than he was the booker and decided he wanted it, especially given how Luger was the future of the company at this point. Terrible match with a bad looking finish to top it off here.

NWA World Title: Ric Flair vs. Ron Garvin

This is also in a cage with Garvin defending, having won the world title in September and then basically disappearing for two months because no one wanted to job to a guy who was going to lose the title in a few months anyway. Flair gets a tremendous ovation while Garvin is pretty much booed out of the midwest. They chop it out to start with Flair losing as it’s early in the match. We get the Flair Flop followed by a backdrop by the champion into an armbar.

Garvin pounds away in the corner with ten punches and Flair is in trouble. With Flair down we get the Garvin Stomp, meaning Garvin stomps in a circle, hitting every limb and culminating with the head. Flair wins a slugout but hits Garvin low to take him down. An atomic drop has flair in even more trouble and a big knee drop gets two on the champion. It’s time to go after the leg and just a few seconds later it’s off to the Figure Four. Flair cheats by using the ropes but Garvin finally turns the hold over, leading to a break.

Back up and the champion blocks a shot into the cage. He blocks a second one and manages to send Flair into the cage a few times in a row. Flair has his forehead raked across the cage before tasting the steel again. Garvin bites Flair’s head to bust him open as they go to the top rope. Flair falls down before getting some hard chops in the corner from Garvin. After an elbow to the head, Ric goes up but gets slammed down as per his custom. Garvin puts on his own figure four but Flair makes the ropes pretty quickly.

Ron rams him into the cage and gets two off a top rope cross body and the same off a backslide. The fans are starting to get into this a bit. More chops have Flair in trouble and they go up top again. Ric gets crotched on the top rope and Garvin tries the top rope sunset flip which won him the title a few months ago. This time though Flair falls forward and grabs the ropes for two. Garvin pounds away in the corner but Flair shoves him off and crushes the referee. Ron hits his big right hand for two and sends Garvin into the cage for the pin and the title.

Rating: C+. It’s not a bad match, but at the end of the day no one bought Garvin as having a change to hold the title here. Flair winning the title back isn’t really a big moment but the reaction from the fans was odd, given that Ric was the big face here. Garvin would never come close to this point again, which he likely shouldn’t have.

Overall Rating: D. This just didn’t work. It’s not a horrible show, but at the same time there’s nothing on here worth looking at whatsoever. The best match is probably the main event and that’s just ok at best. There’s just nothing to see here at all and the fans didn’t care either. The WWF dominated this night by having almost every cable provider air their far better show. Just not a good show, although it’s still better than 1984 by far.

 

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

World of Sport
Date: August 11, 2018
Location: Epic Studios, Norwich, England
Commentators: Alex Shane, So Cal Val, Stu Bennett

I don’t know what to expect here but I’d assume a bunch of wrestlers will be added without allowing us to get to know anything about them. We’re still going along with the Tag Team Title tournament and there’s a new Women’s Champion, but it hasn’t been the best presentation in the world so far. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Kay Lee Ray becoming the new Women’s Champion and last week’s ladder match. This week, Gabriel Kidd gets to cash in his big opportunity….by facing the monster Crater.

Earlier today, Grado went into Bennett’s office to yell about getting a rematch for the title. Bennett says no but he’ll let Grado have a match against someone else. Just be serious.

Grado vs. Sha Samuels

Grado comes to the ring in a suit to show how serious he can be. Samuels isn’t impressed but Grado has been training so hard that he’s been walking OTHER PEOPLE’S DOGS. Grado says ring the bell but gets knocked down in a hurry, meaning it’s off to a chinlock less than a minute in.

Back up and Grado is sent to the floor and then into the barricade as it’s one sided in the first two minutes. A slam on the ramp gets Grado out of trouble and there goes the jacket. Some clotheslines set up the left jabs (with a camera cut on each one) and there’s a Cannonball in the corner to keep Samuels in trouble. Samuels gets back up and dives into a cutter for the pin at 4:50.

Rating: D. I know why they’re doing it but egads it’s rough watching Grado as the face of the promotion. He’s still just a comedy guy and while I chuckled at the walking other people’s dogs line, I’m guessing this is going to be the big story throughout the season. The wrestling was nothing of course and that’s all you can expect from a Grado match.

Martin Kirby vs. Joe Hendry

Fallout from two weeks ago when Kirby walked out on Hendry. Joe wristlocks him down to start and goes for the arm again, sending Kirby bailing to the floor. Back in and Kirby leg lariats him down, followed by a running shoulder to the ribs in the corner. Hendry rolls him up for some near falls but walks into a spinebuster, allowing Kirby to take WAY too long walking across the middle rope for a missed elbow. Hendry’s fall away slam gets two and he slams Kirby off the top for two more. Kirby is back up with a Fameasser and an enziguri, only to get his ankle locked. A rope is grabbed and Kirby rolls him up for the pin at 6:47.

Rating: D+. This show has really not been kind to Hendry, who should be the kind of guy this show is built around. I still know nothing about Kirby, which goes back to the main problem of this show. At the moment I know his name, the color trunks he wears, and that he’s a sore loses who cheats. I need a little more than that.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: BT Gunn/Stevie Boy vs. Brad Slayer/CJ Banks

Gunn and Stevie at least have matching gear and face paint. Gunn runs Banks over and grabs an armbar as we keep cutting to the crowd. A middle rope dropkick puts Banks down and it’s Boy coming in to speed things up. The good guys take turns on Banks with Gunn suplexing Boy onto him for two. Slayer low bridges Boy to the floor to take over and Banks gets two of his own off a snap suplex. A chinlock doesn’t go anywhere and the hot tag brings in Gunn. Everything breaks down and a Doomsday Device with a jumping elbow finishes Slayer at 6:17.

Rating: D+. It’s nice to see a team you can identify pretty easily (Gunn and Boy are a perfectly fine fast paced face team and the kind of thing you need when you already have four heels in the semifinals) and a very formula based tag match. That being said, it still wasn’t very good and that’s where the problem on this show comes from: including the pilot, one match has broken nine minutes. I understand that you only have an hour a week, but having one match get some actual time would be nice.

Gabriel Kidd vs. Crater

This is Kidd’s big reward from last week. Crater weighs over 500lbs and shoves Kidd down with….I think you get the idea here. Kidd uppercuts away and eats a clothesline, followed by some big tosses across the ring. The bearhug goes on but Kidd keeps his arm up at two drops. Crater splashes him in the corner and a chokeslam sets up the big splash for the pin at 4:48. Total squash.

Rating: D. So Kidd was a face? The things you learn around here. If that was made clear last week, they didn’t do the best job in the world of explaining it. I’m also going to need an explanation of why we needed to have a ladder match for the right to be squashed by a novelty act. Just more characters with little definition who seem around to fill time.

Kidd does a stretcher job.

World of Sport Title: Justin Sysum vs. Rampage

Rampage is defending and hammers him down to start until Sysum hits a spinning middle rope crossbody. A nice dropkick gets two on the champ but he runs Sysum over without much trouble. Sysum grabs a backbreaker but Rampage’s goons break up the 450. Things slow down with Rampage hitting a belly to back suplex and slapping on a bearhug. A clothesline gets two but Sysum catapults him into the corner for a breather. Sysum’s Stinger Splash into a t-bone suplex gets two and a Cactus Clothesline takes them to the floor. Rampage gets back in and Banks grabs Sysum’s leg for the countout at 7:13.

Rating: C-. They were starting to get somewhere here and some of that is due to Sysum being one of the more talented guys on the roster. Rampage continues to be a guy who has cronies, which isn’t exactly what I’m looking for in a top heel. I get what they’re going for with him and it works fine in a ten week show, but it’s not exactly thrilling stuff.

Overall Rating: D+. This show really needs a chance to breathe. Leaving out commercials, the show runs about 45 minutes. They squeezed five matches into that time frame and it’s too much. Cue out a match a week (Crater’s would have been the best option) and let someone talk. We need to know a little something about these people and you could accomplish that n some fifteen second promos.

Who am I supposed to cheer for on this show other than Grado? I get that a lot of the show is supposed to be a flashback to the old World of Sport days, but things have changed a bit since the original show was canceled. If nothing else have some vignettes while they’re on the way to the ring. Just give us something and the show would be that much better to watch. I know it’s not the standard wrestling show, but it’s ok to have some standard wrestling ideas.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 30, 2018
Location: Rebel Sports Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

Tonight is the Redefined show, which could mean several things. We’ll be getting a few title matches, including Su Yung defending the Knockouts Title against Tessa Blanchard and Allie, along with Fenix challenging for the X-Division Title. I’m sure there will be some more with Eddie Edwards/Moose vs. Austin Aries/Killer Kross as well. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the two title matches plus the Edwards vs. Aries feud.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title: Brian Cage vs. Fenix

Fenix is defending and has Pentagon Jr. with him. Some early flips keep Fenix away from Cage until a drop toehold sets up a 619 from the champ. Fenix tries some springboards but gets his head taken off with a clothesline. That’s not something you see most X-Division people doing but it works well for him. Another springboard is broken up and a delayed apron superplex has Fenix in even more trouble.

Fenix finally scores with some kicks to the face but Cage runs him over again without much effort. More kicks just get Fenix tossed onto the ramp but he manages a Lethal Injection onto the ramp for a breather. A Swanton gets two but Cage hits his own superkick and a reverse Death Valley Driver. The fans are already on the FIGHT FOREVER chants. People it’s been six minutes. Chill.

Fenix monkey flips him into a double stomp for two more but springboards into an F5. More kicks send Cage outside but he reverses a suicide dive into a suplex (this guy is scary) on the floor. Back from a break with Cage getting frustrated and Fenix kicking him in the head again. That just earns Fenix a diving middle rope DDT and they’re both down. Another superkick rocks Cage…but he shrugs it off and superbombs Fenix to retain at 16:53.

Rating: B. There was a story here with Fenix trying to hang with Cage as long as he could but Cage kept shrugging it off and hitting one more big move after another. The ending was great with Fenix just not being able to survive the power. I could go for Pentagon vs. Cage but I’m not sure who in the world is supposed to stop Cage. Unless we’re coming up on Option C again.

Post match OVE comes in for the beatdown but Cage makes the save.

Recap of Moose returning last week and saving Edwards from Kross and Aries.

Scarlett Bordeaux charms her way past security.

Classic Clip of the Week: Drew Galloway debuts in January 2015.

Impact is coming to Mexico.

We look at the OGz running over a kid last week to get at LAX.

King yells at the OGz for feeling sympathy about the kid. Someone calls King and he leaves.

We recap the Knockouts Title match, which is Allie trying to get revenge on Yung for all of her attacks on Allie’s friends. Tessa is here because she wants to be champion.

Tessa isn’t feeling pressure because she’s a Blanchard. That means you need something though, and that’s why she’s winning the title tonight.

Here’s Eli Drake for a chat. Eli has had the Cult of Lee following him around for the last few weeks. They’re never going to be friends and Drake wanted to see what happened last week when they got in over their heads. Cue Mr. Atlantis and Brandon Tidwell, the guys who beat the Cult of Lee last week. They’re not quite ready to be stars yet because they have one more test. After pausing to listen to the THEY ARE DUMMIES chant, Drake says one of them has to face him tonight. Atlantis volunteers so Drake says he’ll face Tidwell.

Eli Drake vs. Brandon Tidwell

Gravy Train in 24 seconds.

Atlantis takes a Gravy Train of his own.

Moose and Edwards are ready for revenge.

Impact. Mexico. Still happening.

Knockouts Title: Su Yung vs. Allie vs. Tessa Blanchard

Yung is defending and has the Undead Bridesmaids while Allie has Kiera Hogan. Tessa hits them both in the face but Allie snaps off a Backstabber to take over. Allie clotheslines Tessa to make her DDT Yung but the champ pops back up for a staredown with Tessa. That earns Yung a shot from Allie but Tessa takes her down into a leglock.

Yung is back up for an armbar on Allie at the same time but ropes are grabbed in short order. Tessa press slams Yung onto the Bridesmaids but gets suplexed into the corner to give Allie two. Allie superkicks Tessa into the Mandible Claw but takes one herself a few seconds later. A slam gets Allie out of trouble but Tessa rolls her up for the pin (with trunks) and the title at 6:21. Tessa looks shocked that she won.

Rating: D+. They didn’t have time to do much here but Yung dropping the title was the only option. She’s been a near afterthought to Tessa for a long time now and the real feud is Tessa vs. Allie anyway. Yung felt like a Rosemary knockoff since she debuted and that’s not exactly how you present a top star. Time killed this one but they got the ending right.

In the back, Tessa says she knew she could do it and proved it. Come try her to see how tough a diamond can be.

Gama Singh beats up the Desi Hit Squad for failing.

Aries and Kross promise pain for Moose and Edwards. They’ve turned everything upside down and no one is safe.

LAX isn’t happy with the kid being run over. Konnan tells them to take care of the kid’s family but gets a phone call from someone he calls sir and leaves. LAX isn’t sure what to think but they’re not happy.

Mexico part three.

It’s time for the Smoke Show with Grado, Katarina and Joe Hendry. Scarlett suggests that there’s something between Katarina and Hendry but Joe says it’s not true. They’ll have a tag match next week and Hendry’s song will fix things. Scarlett whispers something to Grado and the water shoots out of his bottle. Katarina isn’t happy and the guys run off, leaving her to yell at Scarlett. Can we please get somewhere with this story already?

Petey Williams vs. Rich Swann

Swann goes straight to the dancing to start and throws in some splits for good measure. Petey sends him outside but comes back in with the slingshot Codebreaker. Swann flips over him and scores with a dropkick, only to be sent outside in a heap. Back from a break with O CANADA but Swann avoids a charge in the corner.

A pinfall reversal sequence gives them two each until Petey pulls him down for a Sharpshooter attempt. Can we just change his name to Mr. Canada already? That’s broken up as well and Swann hits a Falcon Arrow for two more. Swann misses the middle rope Phoenix splash but slips out of the Canadian Destroyer. Another pinfall reversal sequence gives them two each and Swann this the running shooting star for the pin at 10:20.

Rating: C-. I am so over Williams. He’s not interesting, his whole offense revolves around one move and he’s only there for the Canadian fans. He was funny back in the Scott Steiner days but good grief that was the better part of ten years ago. Just find someone else to do this stuff already and stop talking about the Destroyer already.

The announcers talk about Konnan apparently having a boss.

Swann wants the X-Division Title when Matt Sydal comes in to say Swann doesn’t know what he’s in for. As Sydal offers his help, Moose is found with the X symbol next to him. I think you know where this is going.

Austin Aries/Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards

No Moose. Kross starts for the team and plants Eddie with an early spinebuster. Aries comes in for a kick to the back of the head but Eddie is back with some kicks of his own. A running kick can’t knock Kross off the apron so Eddie kicks Aries to the floor. Kross cuts him off though and Aries takes over again. The villains take turns kicking and stomping away but Aries takes too much time going up.

The Backpack Stunner out of the corner gives Eddie a breather and a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. Kross gets knocked outside and Eddie drops Aries with a suicide dive. With Aries back in, Kross suplexes Eddie on the floor to take him down again. Back in and a tiger bomb plants Aries but here’s the taped up Moose to grab Aries by the throat….and then spear Eddie. The referee gets thrown out and we’ll call it a no contest at 7:40.

Rating: C. This was much more of an angle than a big time match and the ending was far from a shock. It’s been a trope in wrestling for years and while it’s not a bad idea, it wasn’t exactly surprising. I’m not sure why Aries needs two monsters with him when Kross was doing his own thing but it’s not the worst idea in the world.

Post match Moose chairs Eddie. Alisha runs out to yell and slap Moose, who glares at her to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. So uh, what exactly was redefined here? I’m curious about some of the stuff they’re setting up here (LAX’s story is interesting) and the main event angle could go somewhere. It could be interesting to see who challenges the new trio but Cage, Pentagon and someone joining them is an option. That being said, this show didn’t do much for me as a lot of the wrestling was just ok to average and the good opener doesn’t quite cover it.

Results

Brian Cage b. Fenix – Superbomb

Tessa Blanchard b. Su Yung and Allie – Rollup with trunks to Allie

Rich Swann b. Petey Williams – Running shooting star press

Austin Aries/Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards went to a no contest when Moose threw the referee out

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Main Event
Date: August 31, 2018
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’ll wrap up Canada week here with the highlight package show. This week has been better than most for WWE as the followup to Summerslam has actually been pretty strong. The promos and stories have all been good and we’ve even had some nice matches to go with them. Hopefully the short form versions are good as well. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Tyler Breeze

Please don’t turn Breeze heel. Breeze armdrags him down to start and lays on the top, only to have Jose dance at him in return. Some right hands in the corner have Breeze in trouble so he takes out the knee to put Jose down. A half crab stays on the knee until Jose kicks him to the floor. That’s broken up after Breeze pulls him back to the middle but a dropkick to the knee makes things even worse. Jose is fine enough to catapult him into the corner and the pop up right hand is good for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: C-. Breeze is an interesting choice here and he was “aggressive” here, which sounds like the start of a heel turn. It’s not like he has anything else going for him at the moment but I still don’t want to see it happen. He’s rather amusing with the Fashion Police thing and I’d love to see them go somewhere when Fandango comes back.

Clip of Shield reuniting to cost Braun Strowman his Money in the Bank cash-in.

Clip of Strowman saying he was cashing in for a Cell match and agreeing to team with Reigns to face Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre on Monday.

From Raw.

Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns/Braun Strowman

Roman and Ziggler start as it’s already after 11pm. A clothesline puts Ziggler on the floor and Strowman approves. The apron dropkick rocks Ziggler but McIntyre kicks Roman in the face to take over. Back in and Ziggler gets two off the running DDT, followed by the sleeper. The big jumping elbow gets two and it’s right back to the sleeper.

Reigns finally shoves him away and the big boot drops Ziggler. The hot tag attempt is broken up by McIntyre, who throws Reigns with an overhead belly to belly. Reigns Superman Punches Ziggler out of the air and Strowman gets the hot tag….but doesn’t get in. Reigns gets stomped down as Strowman watches from the apron. The referee disqualifies…..I’m not sure actually but the match ends at 8:50.

Rating: D+. Just an angle and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s something wrong with wasting the last year plus on Strowman for the sake of having him be Reigns’ first victim, but that’s another rant for another time. As usual McIntyre looks better in ten second than Ziggler looked working most of the match, but that goes without saying.

Post match Strowman says he’s not finished with Reigns and beats him down. Ziggler and McIntyre join in until Ambrose comes in for the failed save. Rollins runs down and gets beaten up as well. A bunch of powerslams leave the Shield laying and Strowman poses with his new friends to end the show.

From Raw again.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Rollins is defending and Owens is still rather popular here. Feeling out process to start with Rollins hitting a clothesline to put Owens on the floor. Back in and Rollins hits a slingshot Fameasser onto the middle rope. A clothesline off the steps puts Owens down and we take a break.

We come back with Owens holding a chinlock and getting two off a backsplash to the arm. The armbar goes on and Rollins starts to scream. They head outside with Owens missing the Cannonball into the barricade, allowing Rollins to chop away. Back to back suicide dives have Owens in trouble but he blasts the third attempt with a right hand. Rollins hits the other dive anyway and we take a second break.

We come back with Rollins hitting the frog splash, stopping to shake his bad arm, and then getting two. Owens sends the bad arm into the post and puts on a Crossface. As Rollins crawls to the ropes, Owens turns it into something like a camel clutch to keep Rollins in trouble. A foot on the ropes gets Rollins out of trouble and frustration is setting in. Some right hands to the face just annoy Rollins and he jumps over the Pop Up Powerbomb. A low superkick rocks Owens but he counters the Stomp into a Stunner of all things for two.

The fans are WAY into this and Owens takes him up top, only to get reversed into a running buckle bomb. Owens no sells it and superkicks Rollins for a hot near fall and they’re both down. It’s Owens up first but Rollins catches him on top and they slug it out. Rollins gets shoved down and lands on the arm but is still able to avoid a moonsault. The Stomp retains the title at 22:11.

Rating: B+. Heck of a fight here and I was actually buying the chance that the title was going to change. Owens is someone who can bring the great stuff when he’s given the chance and that’s what happened here. It’s amazing how much better Rollins is when he doesn’t have Ziggler doing the same stuff every week as this was a nice change of pace.

Post match, Rollins nods at him in respect.

Back from a break with Owens sitting in the ring in a chair. He says he quits and leaves, taking the tape off his hands as he goes.

Pay per view rundown.

Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riott

Moon headlocks her to start but gets legsweeped down. A right hand doesn’t have much effect on Moon as she flips over and wristdrags Riott, only to get distracted by the Squad. Riott forearms her off the apron and we take a break. Back with Moon shrugging off a cravate and hitting a butterfly suplex. The front flip forearm in the corner gets two but another distraction lets Moon miss a corner charge. Riott gets two off a falling middle rope backsplash but walks into a gutbuster. The Eclipse is loaded up but the Squad offers another distraction, allowing Ruby to Riott Kick her down for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C. They actually had a story here with the Squad interfering over and over until Moon couldn’t stop them anymore. Riott has been a nice surprise in the last few months but egads what has happened to Moon? She was one of the big surprises on the post Wrestlemania Raw and now she’s jobbing on Main Event less than five months later?

Legends give their predictions on Undertaker vs. HHH.

From Smackdown.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Carmella

Charlotte is defending and they have a lot of time. Carmella gets two off a rollup as the fans are already asking for Becky. A headlock keeps Charlotte in trouble so she suplexes Carmella down, which at least quiets the BECKY chants for now. The moonsault takes too long to set up though and Charlotte gets shoved into the barricade. Carmella hits the suicide dive for two and we take a break.

Back with Carmella hitting a headscissors and shouting a lot, as is her custom. Charlotte gets kicked in the chest but rolls through a high crossbody for one. The champ goes up but gets pulled back down in a pretty good looking super hurricanrana. Carmella slaps her in the back and screams a lot, followed by a pair of not very superkicks for two. Charlotte shrugs it off and hits a spear, followed by Natural Selection. The Figure Eight goes on and Carmella finally taps at 13:02.

Rating: D+. As usual, I have no reason to buy Carmella getting in any kind of offense on Charlotte but that’s what we’re stuck with. Thankfully Carmella lost clean here and we can get away from her for a bit. She’s fine as a short term champion but the four month title reign and seeing her ruin Asuka was WAY too much from here. Now we can move on to the better stuff and I think you know what’s coming.

Post match here’s Becky to jump Charlotte (to some loud cheers) and says she’s getting the title back at Hell in a Cell, “you b****”. Becky leaves and we get a bunch of replays to fill in the show as it feels like they went home way too early. That was more full on heel from Becky (and it went about as well as the other stuff) so I’m not sure what was up with that edited promo last week.

Overall Rating: C-. Well so much for Smackdown. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe can’t get time, but we can hear predictions on a legends match six weeks from now? There was good stuff on Raw but they can choose how much is shown from each clip. You can’t cut some of that out and get in one more thing from Smackdown? I know it’s standard around here but egads man.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

World of Sport
Date: August 4, 2018
Location: Epic Studios, Norwich, England
Commentators: Alex Shane, So Cal Val, Stu Bennett

I’m really not sure what to expect here, even though the two big matches were announced in advance and I know some of the cast. Last week’s debut episode really wasn’t anything to see but hopefully things get better as they keep going. If they at least introduce the people and tell me something about them, things will at least be a bit better. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the “fall of the people’s champion” Grado last week.

The announcers talk about Grado losing the title last week.

Bennett talks to the crowd about Grado losing the title last week. Tonight we’ll be having a Women’s Title match, but first we need to have a championship celebration. Cue Rampage, CJ Banks (actually named this week) and Sha Samuels. Samuels says no one has the guts to fight Rampage but here’s Joe Hendry to interrupt. According to his music, he’s on a title quest and wants a shot right here tonight. Bennett: “RING THE BELL!”

World of Sport Title: Joe Hendry vs. Rampage

Hendry is challenging and headlocks him down before getting two off a fireman’s carry. That’s enough to send Rampage bailing to the floor where his goons distract Hendry. Rampage gets in a few cheap shots from behind and it’s an elbow drop into the chinlock. A shot to the throat cuts off the comeback and Rampage jumps on his back for a quickly broken sleeper. Hendry gets two off a neckbreaker and the ankle lock (which Hendry learned from Kurt Angle) goes on. That’s broken up as well and another distraction lets Rampage hit an implant DDT to retain at 6:00.

Rating: D+. Just like last week, this came and went so fast that it didn’t have time to take much effect. Hendry has a great personality and charisma but we barely know anything about him. Rampage on the other hand is I guess the top villain on the show but he’s in that spot because he has two goons, not because he’s some mastermind. This was another instance of “eh, it was ok I guess”, which might as well be the subtitle for the whole promotion.

Liam Slater vs. Robbie X vs. Gabriel Kidd vs. Lionheart

Ladder match for a “big opportunity”. They’re all in the ring for the introductions and Robbie wears a mask. Robbie clears the ring until Lionheart dropkicks him down. Lionheart brings the ladder in but gets sent face first into it for his efforts. Slater and Lionheart fight over the ladder until Slater pins him into the corner.

Robbie gets superplexed down and Slater goes up, allowing Kidd to make a save. Kidd goes up and drops an elbow on Slater, leaving Robbie to moonsault off the ladder onto the two of them (with two camera cuts on a single move). With Robbie going up, Lionheart shoves the ladder over for the crash to the floor. Slater gets the big ladder (required in a ladder match) but Lionheart pulls him down. Kidd shoves Lionheart off though and steals the briefcase to win at 7:56.

Rating: D+. This felt like every run of the mill indy ladder match that you’ve ever seen. There was little drama to be found, due to a combination of the match not even lasting eight minutes but more because it was another four random people that we don’t know anything about in a match. That’s been the case with both shows so far and it’s really not getting any better. Give us a ten second promo from them or let the announcers talk about them or just ANYTHING that gives me a reason to care about them or who they are.

Post match Kidd talks about how great it is to win this contract. What is the contract for? Not important. He’ll get it next week though.

Tag Team Titles Tournament First Round: Adam Maxted/Nathan Cruz vs. Doug Williams/HT Drake

At least the wrestlers get their names on the screen so I have an idea which is which. Cruz mocks Williams to start and is pulled down without much effort. Williams gets caught in a quickly broken chinlock before he armdrags Cruz into an armbar. The rapid fire camera cuts begin their nauseating switches again before Drake comes in to hurricanrana Maxted. A quick double team goes nowhere and it’s Cruz hitting a slingshot belly to back suplex for two on Drake.

Maxted comes back in for an Irish whip and pushups, followed by another chinlock. That lasts as long as you might expect and the hot tag brings Williams back in a few seconds later. A double Regal Cutter hits Cruz but a Codebreaker sends Williams outside. With Maxted shoving Drake away, Cruz grabs a springboard Blockbuster for the pin at 7:39.

Rating: D+. Take the same complaints I’ve made about most of the matches in the first two shows and use it here. This was the same problem that has been taking place on the entire series and I don’t see that changing as we move forward. I know Williams from TNA and Maxted was around earlier, but who is everyone else and why should I boo or cheer them? Get this stuff together.

Women’s Title: Viper vs. Kay Lee Ray vs. Bea Priestly

The title is vacant coming in. Viper is better known as Piper Niven from last year’s Mae Young Classic and probably outweighs the other two combined. That’s not an insult though as she moves around incredibly well. The only bio we get on any of them: Priestly is Will Ospreay’s girlfriend. They trade rollups to start and Viper throws Kay into the corner. Viper slams both of them down and hits a running low crossbody for a double knockdown. A buckle bomb drives Kay into Priestly and a Vader Bomb gives Viper two.

Priestly breaks up a cover off a hard clothesline and the camera cuts get so insane that it almost has to be editing something out. No one could be that all over the place with something so simple. Anyway some double teaming puts Viper down and Bea hitting an Alberto Del Rio double stomp for two.

A Gory Bomb gives Kay two but Viper is back up. Kay hits a running…I think spinning Downward Spiral but it’s hard to tell off the camera cut. Bea hits a Cheeky Nandos kick on Kay but Viper plants her with a Michinoku Driver for two. Viper gets sent outside and catches a running hurricanrana with a powerbomb for a thud. Back in and Kay actually manages a Gory Bomb to put Viper away at 8:31.

Rating: C+. I actually liked this one more than most of what I’ve seen so far. I mean, I still know nothing about any of these people but they told a nice story with Viper as the unstoppable monster and the other two having to fight her off. Kay winning with the big clean win over Viper was a nice touch and the match was pretty good. That seems to be as good as it’s going to get so I’ll take what I can.

Overall Rating: D+. Maybe it was the lack of Grado as a featured player or maybe it was actually accomplishing a few things but the show wasn’t as annoying as last week’s. It’s still far from a good show and thank goodness it’s a limited series as I can’t imagine it would have gone better in the long term. They’re starting to build up a story or two but it’s still a long way from good. The cameras were even more annoying this week though, especially with the longer shots. Not the worst show, but it’s still not worth your time.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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