IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: November 27, 2003
Location: BSU Pavilion, Boise, Idaho
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s Thanksgiving and there are some stories that are starting to pick up steam. Last week saw Chris Benoit continue his feud with Smackdown World Champion Brock Lesnar and John Cena seemed ready to start something with Vince McMahon. They have about two months before they can do anything on pay per view but maybe we can get a big TV match in there somewhere. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show if you need a recap.

We open with most of the roster standing on the apron and Paul Heyman in the ring. Tonight the spirit of opportunity is in the air because there will be a twenty man battle royal. The winner will receive a shot at Brock Lesnar, who comes to the ring to join Heyman. Lesnar is thankful to be twenty six years old and on his way to being the greatest WWE Champion of all time.

The YOU TAPPED OUT chants get on his nerves but he swears that he’s not afraid of anyone. He’s not afraid of a Mexican jumping bean, or someone who stands 7ft tall and weighs 500lbs or a guy who has never been champion (Cena) or a guy who will never be champion (Benoit). The chants start again and Lesnar admits that he did, but he’ll never do it again. Whoever wins the battle royal is going to tap out instead. Brock whispers something to Heyman, who decides that Cena and Benoit have to qualify for the battle royal. Cena has to defeat A-Train and Benoit will face a hand picked opponent, with that match starting next.

Chris Benoit vs. Matt Morgan

This couldn’t be announced five minutes in advance? Benoit baseball slides him before the bell but Morgan goes to the basic power by throwing him into various corners. A suplex and legdrop to the stomp give Morgan two but he misses the running crotch attack to the back. The Swan Dive misses but Benoit reverses a powerbomb into the Crossface for the win.

Rating: D. Time takes another one here as there’s not much Benoit can do when all he’s able to hit are chops and the Crossface. Morgan is still very green and needs more time in developmental, but he has the look and some of the movement down. The size, power and visuals will carry him far enough though and that’s a good starting point.

Jamie Noble asks Nidia if she can’t see because she might be trying to get extra attention. Nidia mocks her for the stupid question so he shouts in her ear because he thinks being blind and deaf are the same things. He brings up her being a liability at ringside so she promises to just sit at ringside, which is enough to make him give in. Also of note: Jamie says a win tonight could get him into the battle royal so he could become WWE Champion. If he’s allowed to compete for that title, why does the Cruiserweight Title exist?

We get a weird (and stupid) bit with Cole and Tazz as CGI turkeys. It’s as dumb as it sounds.

The Cat is here tonight.

Jamie Noble vs. Akio

Nidia is on commentary. Akio jumps him from behind to start and stomps away in the corner as Nidia talks about the possibilities of getting her sight back. A suicide dive takes Akio down but Noble chases Tajiri, allowing Akio to spinwheel kick him down. We hit the pinfall reversal sequence as Nidia is getting annoyed at not being able to see any of this.

A double clothesline takes both guys down and cheers for Jamie after hearing what happened. Jamie gets two off a swinging neckbreaker but Tajiri is going over to Nidia. A superplex drops Akio as Tajiri is now standing on the table in front of her. Nidia is told what’s going on and slowly walks her hands up Tajiri’s legs, setting up one of the best looking low blows I’ve seen in a long time. Tajiri’s eyes bug out as Akio rolls up a distracted Jamie for the pin.

Rating: C-. That low blow alone made the match work and Jamie continues to be one of the most consistent performers on the roster at the moment. Even with an annoying gimmick he’s making the thing work and putting on good matches. I’d love to see him actually get the title back but that’s as far as he’s going to go, which is the annoying part of being a cruiserweight.

Heyman comes in to see the injured Shannon Moore and, after a plug for Smackdown Magazine, gives him a match with Nathan Jones.

Rey Mysterio is thankful for the fans dialing up 619 and for being alive. Well those are rather opposite ends of the spectrum.

Shannon Moore vs. Nathan Jones

Shannon tries his luck and dropkicks Jones before he can get inside. Jones lifts him from the floor to the top rope and shoves him back onto the floor in a big crash. Two raised feet in the corner rock Jones but he’s right back with a reverse slam off the top. Back in and a release gutwrench suplexes ends the slaughter. Moore’s selling continues to be good in something like this.

The Thanksgiving party took place earlier today with John Cena coming in to rap the blessing, which involves sex jokes about every woman on the roster.

Eddie Guerrero runs into Chavo, who is on crutches after last week. Chavo is going to be ringside for Eddie’s match but Eddie wants Chavo to worry about the knee. Don’t worry though, because Eddie’s success is more important.

Charlie Haas vs. Eddie Guerrero

Charlie’s right hands have very little effect to start as Eddie snaps off a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. That’s enough of the back so Eddie starts in on the knee with Chavo adding in a few shots of his own. Haas gets in his own backbreaker for his own two as the fans start some solid Eddie chanting. With that not working, Charlie starts in on the arm to really change things up. Annoyed at Haas for not trying the same thing for very long, Eddie sends him head first into the buckle a few times, followed by Three Amigos. Shelton Benjamin gets on the apron so Eddie steals Chavo’s crutch to hit Charlie for the pin.

Rating: C. As has been the case for the last few weeks, this was a short match that could have gone longer but I can get the idea of putting in more stuff and going with the logical, positive development. Eddie using the crutch was pretty heelish but he’s just going to grin his way out of it, as tends to be his case.

Post match Shelton beats on Chavo so Eddie makes the save with the crutch. Chavo rips into Eddie for STEALING AN INJURED MAN’S ONLY CRUTCH. Well yeah that’s pretty low.

John Cena vs. A-Train

A-Train breaks up the rap and stomps away but misses the bicycle kick. Instead he runs Cena over and gets two off a running powerslam. It’s off to an abdominal stretch for a few moments before Cena is tossed outside. As the announcers have a discussion of whether or not turkeys have hair, the referee gets bumped so Cena can kick the rope for a low blow. The referee is back up to see a slow motion ProtoBomb but A-Train is right back with a Derailer for two. That means it’s time to be frustrated so A-Train throws some chairs in, only to walk into the FU for the pin.

Rating: D+. They’re doing well with the progression of Cena’s face turn here as the cheating is getting less frequent. Here, he finished clean with the FU instead of using one of the chairs that A-Train threw in. He’s starting to see the light, but he’s also getting to the point where he can win without the cheating. They’re getting there.

We recap Hardcore Holly attacking Brock Lesnar last week and getting suspended.

Hardcore Holly joins us for a live interview and says he’s appealed his suspension (To whom? Vince? The mythical board of directors?) and is coming for Brock. I would say run but….is that really a threat?

Here’s Lamont to introduce his boss: The Cat, to what would become Brodus Clay’s theme music. For those of you who don’t remember him, that would be Ernest Miller, a decent talker who couldn’t wrestle a good match 80% of the time (he wasn’t the worst but rarely got out of first gear) and danced a lot while talking like James Brown. Cat dances, no one cares, hometown girl Torrie Wilson comes out to join him, a few people care. Torrie pulls out the lollipop and puts it in her mouth before lowering it into his mouth. Cat goes into convulsions as Torrie leaves. This took nearly seven minutes.

John Cena wishes some friends and family a Happy Thanksgiving.

Battle Royal

John Cena, Chris Benoit, Charlie Haas, Shelton Benjamin, A-Train, Bradshaw, Johnny Stamboli, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Ultimo Dragon, Orlando Jordan, Chuck Palumbo, Danny Basham, Doug Basham, Rhyno, Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones, Big Show

I’m pretty sure that’s everyone. Show throws Stamboli out in two seconds and Dragon actually scores with some kicks before Show tosses him as well. Orlando is out in short order as well with the masked Basham (because the Tag Team Champions are still the slaves in an S&M gimmick) being eliminated a few seconds later.

Show actually goes after Morgan for a few seconds but Jones saves Rikishi for some reason. A bunch of people go after Show but he shoves them all away. They try it again and actually try to lift him this time, meaning the elimination works. I’m surprised they got rid of him that fast. Show clotheslines Jordan in the aisle to blow off some steam as we go to a quick break.

Back with Jones and Bradshaw having been eliminated during the commercial. Mysterio and Guerrero go at it and the fans REALLY like that one but no one is tossed. Rey hurricanranas Eddie to the apron as A-Train kicks Scotty out. Rhyno is up with a Gore to A-Train and Eddie dropkicks A-Train out, followed by Morgan eliminating Rhyno as well. There’s a 619 to Shelton as everything slows down. Rikishi is the next person to get the group elimination but takes Haas, Palumbo and Morgan with him.

We’re down to Cena, Benoit, Doug Basham, Mysterio, Guerrero and Benjamin. Cena and Benoit catch Mysterio’s springboard and toss him as well with Basham going out seconds later. The final four go to a corner each and the fans are behind Cena here. Eddie hurricanranas Benoit as Cena and Shelton fight in the corner. They trade off and Cena takes Three Amigos but isn’t ready to be eliminated.

Shelton is back up with a hard powerbomb on Eddie but Benoit grabs the rolling German suplexes on Benjamin to put everyone down. Eddie is up with a frog splash on Benjamin but walks into the FU. Now the rolling German suplexes drops Cena so Shelton pops up with a superkick to Benoit. Shelton throws Benoit over but a little skinning the cat allows Benoit to pull himself up for a headscissors to get rid of Benjamin.

Cena dumps Eddie and we’re down to two. The slugout goes to Cena but Benoit grabs the Crossface to make Cena tap (you don’t see that too often). Instead of dumping him though, Benoit drops Cena ribs first onto the top rope. They fight onto the apron and fall to the floor at the same time for the double elimination.

Rating: C+. This got way better once we got to the final four when there was some drama about the winner. They didn’t waste time getting rid of a bunch of the dead weight here and it was cool to see Shelton getting a bit of a push. Cena is clearly the future around here though and that makes thing more interesting. Good match here and it didn’t feel long at all, which is a rarity in battle royals.

The referees, wrestlers and announcers argue as Lesnar and Heyman come out for the title match. Back from a break with replays showing that they really do land at the same time. The referees still don’t agree and both wrestlers swear they win. Heyman thinks that means a triple threat but that wouldn’t be in the best interest of the title. Therefore, Cena and Benoit can fight next week and the winner will get the title shot later that night. So there’s your non-pay per view big TV show of the month. Team Lesnar runs in to beat down Cena and Benoit with Lesnar wishing them a happy Thanksgiving to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Lame ending aside with the lack of the advertised title match, it’s cool to have a show that actually has an interesting goal and then focuses on that goal for two hours. Most of the matches have to do with setting up the battle royal and you can feel Cena and Benoit getting bigger and bigger every week. There’s a lot of potential in there and if they do it right, Smackdown could be a heck of a show again in very short order.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Greatest Royal Rumble
Date: April 27, 2018
Location: King Abdullah International Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton

It’s finally time for a show that feels like the build has been going on for months. This is one of the biggest cards the WWE has ever produced and it’s hard to say where a lot of the matches are going to go. We’ve got seven title matches, two big time singles matches and the fifty man Royal Rumble, meaning this show could run longer than Wrestlemania. Let’s get to it.

We open with the National Anthems of Saudi Arabia and the USA.

The stadium looks mostly full, though there are some very visible pockets of empty seats.

The opening video is a countdown with the other big matches shown in between the numbers. We switch to the regular opening video looking at the rest of the matches.

The announcers welcome us and say this is a step in the country’s progression. Oh I’m sure that’s going to go over well.

HHH vs. John Cena

The crowd is WAY into things to start, at least for HHH’s entrance. Cena has a tunnel of kids to run though, which is one of the universally good ideas. HHH shoves him down to start so Cena does the same for a staredown. We hit the test of strength until HHH kicks him in the ribs. They’re at a very slow pace to start until Cena gets two off a rollup. HHH grabs a sleeper but Cena fights back, only to get clotheslined down.

The facebuster gets two so Cena grabs the ProtoBomb but gets caught in a belly to back suplex. HHH does his own You Can’t See Me (plus a crotch chop) to set up the Pedigree, which is reversed into a whip over the corner. Back in and the spinebuster gets two on Cena, who slugs away and grabs the STF. HHH is in the rope in a hurry and hits another spinebuster (you don’t seen him repeat that too often) for two more.

Cena is right back with another ProtoBomb into the Shuffle, followed by the AA for a close two. Another AA is countered into the Pedigree for two in the most obvious sequence ever. The STF goes on but HHH reverses into a Crossface which is reversed into another AA. A catapult into the corner sets up the third AA to put HHH away at 15:52.

Rating: B+. Well you knew these two would have a good match. It took some time to get going but once they hit their stride it got better in a hurry. Cena winning is fine as the fans are going to love him, just for the charisma alone. If nothing else he probably has to get on the first place out of the country and back to Hollywood. Good match and a smart choice for an opener.

Post match Cena thanks the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all of the fans who allowed him to be here.

Cruiserweight Title: Kalisto vs. Cedric Alexander

Cedric is defending. They fight over the wristlocks to start and then trade headscissors into safe landings. Kalisto sends him outside for a springboard flip dive but Cedric is right back in with a flip dive of his own. Back in and we hit the waistlock to keep Kalisto down, with Alexander muscling him down.

Kalisto fights up and scores with an enziguri, followed by a springboard crossbody for no cover. A wicked Michinoku Driver gets two on Kalisto but he kicks Cedric in the head again. Kalisto puts him on top and, after a slugout on the ropes, hits a springboard C4 for two. The Lumbar Check is countered into a sloppy hurricanrana but the Salida Del Sol is countered into the Lumbar Check to retain Cedric’s title at 10:08.

Rating: B-. That waistlock was a bit of a match killer but the rest of the stuff after that was solid. They were really getting going there near the end and it was a better match. The lack of a story didn’t help things though and they needed a little something else to make it work. Cedric can move on to Buddy Murphy, but that’s still not exactly going to ignite 205 Live.

Raw Tag Team Titles: The Bar vs. Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt

The titles are vacant coming in due to Braun Strowman and a ten year old (who carried the team) vacating the titles after Wrestlemania. Hardy wants to delete the Bar but settles for elbowing Cesaro down. Wyatt comes in and runs Cesaro over and it’s time for the applause. A neckbreaker gives Matt two but Sheamus shoves the Twist of Fate away. Matt gets shoved outside for no logical reason before Sheamus takes him back inside for a front facelock. It’s off to Cesaro for a chinlock as Cole points out that the fans here might not get Matt. To be fair, most Americans don’t either.

Cesaro gets two off a gutwrench suplex and there’s a double backbreaker to keep Matt in trouble. Matt rolls away though and the hot tag brings in Wyatt to clean house. With Matt down though, the double White Noise gets two and Wyatt is down as well. Sheamus loads up the Brogue Kick but Wyatt spiders up for Sister Abigail. The elevated Twist of Fate gives Matt the pin at 8:52.

Rating: C. This just kind of happened and there’s nothing wrong with that. The ending was never in doubt and Matt and Bray are fine as champions. I’m not sure who going to take the titles from them as the division has some teams to it, but most of the aren’t exactly the kind of teams that would take the titles.

We recap the US Title match, which was Jeff Hardy winning a quick title match over Jinder Mahal, who was fresh on Raw. Hardy then moved to Smackdown so Mahal is trying to get the title back in a Raw vs. Smackdown match.

US Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal

Hardy is defending and has a bad knee coming in. Mahal runs him over to start but gets sent outside for a dive off the steps. Sunil Singh offers a quick grab of the leg though and Mahal gets in a shot to take over. We hit the chinlock for a good while until Jeff pops up for a Twist of Fate. Back up and Mahal tries a gutbuster but gets hit with the legdrop between the legs for two instead.

The Whisper in the Wind misses but Mahal goes down anyway (I thought he dropped a quick elbow) in a horrible looking botch. Jeff hits the corner dropkick and another Twist of Fate, setting up the Swanton to retain at 6:19. Hardy’s knee injury from Smackdown was never a factor.

Rating: D. I’m surprised by the ending but anything that involves Mahal losing and his stock value being lowered is a good thing. This also changes the likely outcome of the Intercontinental Title match but Hardy winning is a smart idea. He could be a major player on Smackdown and taking the title from him so soon would have been ridiculous.

It’s time for the national prayer so we go to the Kickoff Show panel.

Video on the changes in Saudi Arabia, including how women are being treated better. I’ll be moving on.

Chris Jericho is ready to win the Greatest Royal Rumble over stars like Kurt Angle, Mark Henry, Rey Mysterio and MOJO RAWLEY. Jericho doesn’t know the interviewer’s name so Mike Rome JUST MADE THE LIST.

We run down the remaining card.

Daniel Bryan wants to win as well because he needs to be back in the ring.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Bludgeon Brothers

The Usos are challenging with Rowan dropkicking Jey down early on. A pumphandle backbreaker gets two and we hit the fists crushing Jey’s head. Cole says this was made famous by the “late great” Sgt. Slaughter. In case this has you confused, Slaughter is very much alive. Harper misses a big boot in the corner and the hot tag brings in Jimmy to speed things up.

The running Umaga Attack hits Harper in the corner and Rowan gets knocked to the floor. There’s a double superkick to Harper and the Superfly Splash gets two. Harper runs Jey over and slaps Rowan to fire him up. The double powerbomb finishes Jimmy and retains the titles at 5:11.

Rating: D+. The Usos’ flurry was nice but this was only a few steps above a squash. That’s what the match needed to be too as the Brothers can be established as monsters for a long time to come. Since the show is so long by definition, it’s good to have something go fast like this one and this was their best option.

We recap the Intercontinental Title match, which is just a video about ladder matches.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. The Miz vs. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe

Rollins is defending in a ladder match. It’s a free for all (later known as a Kickoff) to start with Rollins hitting a double Blockbuster and some suicide dives, including one to knock out the Arabic announce team. The first ladder is grabbed but it’s Balor hitting a big flip dive to take everyone out. Joe can’t get a ladder in so Balor does it instead and goes up, only to have Miz make a save.

This time it’s Joe going up with Miz making another save, meaning he’s ticked off Joe. It’s a shame that Maryse will have to raise the new baby on her own. Joe starts wrecking people with the ladder until Balor hits a Sling Blade and the running dropkick to knock Joe into the ladder. Rollins breaks up a Coup de Grace onto the ladder onto Joe but gets planted on the worst part of a Tower of Doom. Miz hits Joe in the face with the ladder and goes up, only to be caught by Rollins.

Balor makes a save and takes a neckbreaker, followed by Miz shoving Rollins of the ladder. More ladder shots take out Rollins and Balor again but Finn is back up with a kick to the head. The Coup de Grace onto Miz on the ladder but Joe comes back in. The Koquina Clutch goes on for a few seconds with Balor slipping out and stomping on Joe again. Another ladder shot allows Balor to climb but Rollins springboards in and pulls the title down in a flash to retain at 14:29.

Rating: B. That ending was sweet with Rollins barely being involved for a few moments and then literally jumping in to retain. Rollins looks like an even bigger star than usual and that’s the way they should have gone. They’ve got something with him right now and it makes sense to push the heck out of him. It’s even better that no one had to job here with Balor, who was close to the win, not looking bad in defeat. Good match, though the NXT ladder match is going to outshine any ladder match for a LONG time.

Video on the Saudi Arabia tryouts.

Four people who did well in the tryouts are presented to the crowd and talk about what it was like. Cue the Daivari brothers with Iranian flags (Saudi Arabia and Iran DO NOT get along) to say this is how real athletes look. The trainees clean house before a war breaks out.

We recap the Smackdown World Title match. AJ Styles beat Shinsuke Nakamura at Wrestlemania but Nakamura turned heel and attacked AJ’s groin for several weeks. Tonight is the rematch with Styles very ticked off.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Styles is defending. They fight over a wristlock to start and I’m not exactly feeling the anger and hatred so far. A quick trip to the floor leads to a hard lockup back inside and a COME ON from Nakamura. What might be the Wave breaks out as Nakamura kicks him down and grabs a long chinlock.

AJ fights up with a facebuster and a shot to the face to rock Nakamura. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two but Nakamura hits a facebuster. The Calf Crusher goes on for a bit until Nakamura rolls away for the break. Nakamura hits the running knees in the corner as the fans are trying to get back into this. AJ sends him head first into the buckle to slow Nakamura down but still gets pulled into the cross armbreaker.

Styles stacks him up for two and scores with the Pele for another double knockdown. The referee nearly gets knocked down so Nakamura gets ANOTHER low blow but AJ grabs the rope. Kinshasa is broken up with a forearm and they fight to the floor with a tackle taking Nakamura over the announcers’ table for a double countout at 14:28.

Rating: B. This was getting really good but I get why they went this way. The big rematch at Backlash can see Nakamura win the title for good, possibly with the help of a turning Anderson and Gallows. I liked it better than the Wrestlemania match, at least somewhat due to the lower standards. There’s chemistry there, and the emotion stemming from the low blow helped.

Post match AJ beats the heck out of Nakamura, including a slingshot forearm to the floor.

Cole: “Next up, the return of the Dead Man!” As in the guy who wrestled earlier this month.

Video on Undertaker. His opponent is never mentioned.

Rusev vs. Undertaker

Casket match. Undertaker, with a streak of red across his forehead (it looks like faded lipstick), follows Rusev to the floor and slugs away. More right hands in the ring follow, one of which puts Rusev onto the closed casket. Rusev’s right hands have little effect so Undertaker hits the apron legdrop.

Aiden English won’t let the casket be closed so Rusev hammers away and even gets the Accolade on. Undertaker powers out and the slugout is on with Undertaker hitting the chokeslam. Rusev gets tossed into the casket, followed by a chokeslam and Tombstone to English. He’s thrown in next to Rusev and Undertaker slams the lid shut to win at 9:14.

Rating: D. This was a house show casket match and that’s not the most thrilling thing in the world. Undertaker was just doing the greatest hits here and that’s not exactly thrilling stuff. He’s old and banged up but can still chokeslam people, which is about all you can expect. Nothing to see here, other than Rusev losing all over again.

We recap the Universal Title match. Brock Lesnar beat Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania in a surprise and tonight is the rematch inside a cage, possibly due to WWE knowing the American fans aren’t going to cheer him no matter what.

Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Brock is defending inside a cage. Forty five seconds in and Lesnar is at three German suplexes. Number four is followed by the first F5 less than two minutes in. Reigns slips out of a second and hits back to back Superman Punches. The third rocks Lesnar but Reigns goes up. Lesnar makes a save and pulls Reigns back in, only to get powerbombed out of the corner. Reigns sends him into the cage and hits a spear that looked like it was in slow motion.

Two more spears drop Lesnar for two and Reigns goes for the door, which Heyman slams onto his head. Another F5 gets two and Heyman throws in a chair. The gloves come off but Reigns hits the fourth spear for two. Reigns chairs him down and hits another Superman Punch. A big spear drives Lesnar THROUGH THE CAGE with Reigns following and rolling to the side, putting his feet on the floor. This means LESNAR wins at 9:15 though, because “his body hit the floor first”. Even though it didn’t as it was laying on the broken cage wall. They completely botched that finish.

Rating: F. I had to pause for a second from laughing so much. I have no idea what they’re going to do with Reigns now but my goodness they couldn’t have screwed that finish up worse if they tried. On top of that it was a terrible match with nothing but finishers over about nine minutes with the fans reacting to absolutely nothing. Terrible match as Wrestlemania XXXI looks more and more like a fluke every time.

Greatest Royal Rumble

90 second intervals with Daniel Bryan in at #1 and Dolph Ziggler is in at #2. They waste no time in going for the eliminations but of course neither can go anywhere. Bryan can’t suplex him over the top and they grapple in the corner a bit with no one getting much of an advantage. It’s Sin Cara in at #3 for some rapid fire kicks. The Swanton hits Bryan but Cara can’t get him out. Instead it’s Ziggler kicking Cara out but not being able to do anything with Bryan.

Curtis Axel is in at #4 and goes after Ziggler in the corner, pulling him back in for some reason. Mark Henry is in at #5 and headbutts Axel out but Ziggler and Bryan can’t get him out. Mike Kanellis is in at #6 with Cole talking about how famous Mike’s wife is. He’s out in about three seconds thanks to a Henry clothesline, leaving Bryan to try and choke Henry. Hiroki Sumi (looks like a sumo wrestler) is in at #7 for the big showdown with Henry.

This goes badly for Sumi, who is put out in short order, followed by Ziggler and Bryan getting together to dump Henry. Viktor is in at #8 and knees Bryan down but can’t slam him out. Instead Bryan armbars him over the top and we’re down to two again. Kofi Kingston is in at #9 and gets a nice reaction from the crowd. Things speed up a bit until Kofi is sent into the post, allowing Ziggler and Henry to pound away. Tony Nese from 205 Live is in at #10 to really crank things up. Some high flying drops a few people to little avail until Dash Wilder is in at #11.

There’s still nothing going on here so Hornswoggle is in at #12 to help pull Wilder out, followed by a Samoan drop to Kofi. Ziggler superkicks Hornswoggle to break up the Tadpole Splash and Nese’s running knee is good for the elimination. Primo Colon is in at #13 and promptly botches a springboard attempt. More nothing goes on so it’s Xavier Woods in at #14 to give the fans something to cheer for. Woods gets sent to the apron and Kofi is sent over, landing on Woods’ back.

They climb up together with Kofi diving off both of them, meaning it’s time to dance. Tony tries to join in and gets dumped as the intervals are all over the place. Bo Dallas is in at #15 to do nothing either so here’s Kurt Angle in at #16 to get rid of Primo and Dallas. Angle dumps Ziggler as well before shrugging off New Day. Scott Dawson is in at #17 to go after Angle, leaving New Day to double team Bryan. The short clock strikes again with Goldust in at #18.

Bryan is put on the apron but slides through the legs for a sunset flip out of instinct. Konnor is in at #19 and goes after Kofi as Woods tries to amateur wrestle Angle. Corey: “You can call that the stupidest move in the history of wrestling. Elias is in at #20, giving us Bryan, Dawson, Woods, Kingston, Angle, Goldust, Elias and Konnor. After a quick concert, Elias dumps Kofi, Woods and Konnor at the same time. Luke Gallows is in at #21 as Angle locks up Bryan’s ankle. There’s the Angle Slam but Elias dumps Angle. Dang that’s quite the rub.

Rhyno is in at #22 and hits some forearms until it’s Drew Gulak in at #23. Everyone keeps brawling and it’s Tucker Knight in at #24. Drew’s sleeper is reversed into a flip over the top for an elimination and it’s Bobby Roode in at #25. The Blockbuster drops Elias and a dropkick gets rid of Goldust. Dawson gets catapulted out and lands on the corner of the steps in a painful looking landing. Fandango is in at #26, sending Cole and Graves into one of their patented stupid arguments about how Cole knew it was him.

Some near eliminations go nowhere so it’s Chad Gable in at #27. The ring is starting to fill up and it’s Rey Mysterio in at #28 to wake things up a bit. A hurricanrana gets rid of Gallows but Fandango breaks up the 619 to Roode. Mojo Rawley is in at #29 to get rid of Fandango and it’s Tyler Breeze in at #30, giving us Breeze, Bryan, Rhyno, Roode, Rawley, Elias, Knight, Mysterio and Gable. Breeze is out at Rawley’s hands in just a few seconds and Big E. is in at #31. He throws pancakes at Knight and grabs an abdominal stretch before throwing him out.

Karl Anderson is in at #32 for a spinebuster to Roode but Big E. throws him to the apron. Rey hits the 619 on Roode and it’s Apollo Crews in at #33. Gable gets tossed and lands on his face. Nothing else goes on until Roderick Strong is in at #34. Backbreakers abound and a jumping knee gets rid of Rhyno after a long run. Randy Orton is in at #35 to the biggest pop of the match. He catches a diving Apollo in an RKO for the elimination and eliminations for Anderson, Rawley and Apollo in short order. Orton and Mysterio go at it until Heath Slater is in at #36.

That goes nowhere and it’s NXT’s Babatunde (never been on the show but stands about 6’10 and weighs over 300lbs) in at #37. Kicks and choking ensue until Baron Corbin is in at #38. Corbin pulls Elias to the floor and sends him into the steps before hitting Deep Six on Mysterio. A clothesline knocks Strong out of the air and Corbin dumps Roode. Strong is out as well and Titus O’Neil is in at #39….and slips on the way to the ring, falling flat on his face.

Dan Matha is in at #40, giving us…and I won’t bother listing them because Braun Strowman is in at #41 so a lot of people are going out soon. Babatunde and Matha are out, followed by Big E. Slater gets press slammed onto the NXT guys, leaving us with Strowman, Bryan, Orton, Elias, Titus and Mysterio. Braun shrugs them off as Bryan is nowhere to be seen.

Tye Dillinger is in at #42 and Titus is tossed. A parade of finishers drops Strowman but he’s not tossed. Mysterio is out, followed by Dillinger and Orton at Elias’ hands. Strowman is back up and knocks Elias to the down but not out. Curt Hawkins is in at #42 and tries to run back to the entrance, only to have Strowman run to the floor and bring him back. Strowman throws Hawkins inside and runs over Bryan, who was down at ringside and not eliminated. Elias sends Strowman into the post twice in a row but here’s Bobby Lashley in at #44.

The power game begins and Elias is eliminated, leaving us with Lashley vs. Strowman. That brawl doesn’t get very far as Bryan comes back in and hits the running dropkicks from corner to corner. Great Khali is in at #45 and looking even slower than ever. He chops everyone in sight but Strowman and Lashley get rid of him in just a few seconds, much to everyone’s benefit. A double clothesline put Strowman and Lashley down and MY GOODNESS Bryan’s chest is a complete mess. Kevin Owens is in at #46 and the big guys get Cannonballs. Bryan takes a Pop Up Powerbomb and it’s Shane McMahon in at #47.

Shane elbows Owens down and does the bad punching, followed by the tornado DDT. Bryan and Shane have the big staredown before kicking at Owens. Shelton Benjamin is in at #48 and starts beating on Bryan. Owens gets everyone to go after Strowman and it’s Big Cass in at #49. Wait what about Sami and Jericho? They were both announced for the match no? Shane hits the Coast to Coast on Braun and Cass grabs a fall away slam on Lashley. Chris Jericho (POP OF THE NIGHT) is in at #50, giving us a final grouping of Jericho, Bryan, Lashley, Strowman, Owens, McMahon, Cass and Benjamin.

Jericho goes right for Owens and dropkicks Cass to the floor (not out). Shelton gets clotheslined out and there are the Walls to Owens. Cass is back in with a big boot to Jericho but Lashley can’t superplex him, instead dropping Cass down with a brainbuster. Bryan is back up with the YES Kicks and Shane loads up another Coast to Coast, only to have Strowman chokeslam him off the top through the announcers’ table.

Lashley and Jericho are tossed by Strowman as we make sure Shane isn’t dead. Owens is tossed and Bryan goes after Strowman but gets kicked in the head. Cass gets rid of Bryan after about an hour and fifteen minutes. Lashley and Jericho were eliminated somewhere in there so we’re down to Cass vs. Strowman. Cass charges at him but gets crotched on the ropes, followed by a running shoulder to give Strowman the win at 1:17:23.

Rating: D. Yeah this was bad, mainly due to the match being so crazy long that it became more about surviving until the ending rather than caring about the match. I was much more bored here than annoyed or angry or anything, which doesn’t exactly help things. Strowman winning is fine and Bryan getting so far until Cass throws him out is a good way to advance the story, but this was a bad idea, showing how ridiculous it was to have this many people involved.

Vince McMahon comes out to present the trophy and a Saudi official gives him a special title to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. And that’s being generous. This show just did not need to exist and really, nothing happened. A few matches at Backlash were advanced but it was nothing that couldn’t be done elsewhere. The crowd was only into it some of the times and a lot of the people in the white robes in the front row couldn’t have looked less interested. Throw in all the SAUDI ARABIA IS AWESOME stuff and this was a rough sit. It’s not a terrible show but it really, really didn’t need to be some big event. We’re done with it now though and that means it’s time to rapid fire the Backlash build.

You could have cut at least an hour out of this show (start with twenty minutes from the main event) and it wouldn’t miss a thing. Undertaker vs. Rusev didn’t need to happen and one or two title matches were skippable as well. It’s not the worst show ever, but it’s another good example of WWE overdoing things for very little value. Virtually nothing on here matters and that’s not how this was presented. WWE acted like this would be some mega show and while it was on paper, I’m likely to forget the results in about a week. Long and boring, but not terrible.

Results

John Cena b. HHH – Attitude Adjustment

Cedric Alexander b. Kalisto – Lumbar Check

Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt b. The Bar – Elevated Twist of Fate to Sheamus

Jeff Hardy b. Jinder Mahal – Swanton Bomb

Bludgeon Brothers b. Usos – Double powerbomb to Jimmy

Seth Rollins b. Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and the Miz – Rollins pulled down the title

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles went to a double countout

Undertaker b. Rusev – Undertaker shut Rusev in the casket

Brock Lesnar b. Roman Reigns – Lesnar escaped the cage

Braun Strowman won the Greatest Royal Rumble by last eliminating Big Cass

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

The year is 1999, and for some reason, the millennium came early.

I’m sure everyone remembers or has checked out the WWE network to see one of the great debuts in WWE history. Instead of the countdown clock existing to usher in a new year, it ushered in a new superstar in Chris Jericho.

In August.

Shortly after Jericho’s debut, a strange symbol started appearing on the Titantron. For weeks, we saw only this symbol, wondering what it meant. At the Royal Rumble, we found out that it meant Red Hook was invading the WWF in the form of Tazz.

Had those two guys been around today, things would be a bit different. They’d both be young, hungry, and coming from smaller wrestling organizations than WWE. Thus, a year in NXT would likely be in the cards and if the NXT crowd takes to them, the internet would be abuzz with their impending debuts the week after Wrestlemania.

Ho. Hum.

While I do see the value in the system that has been created today, I struggle to see how the overly formulaic strategy is, in the words of the family that runs the place, “best for business”. After all, didn’t spontaneity allow that same family to become THE family in wrestling?

It did, but that isn’t an excuse to rely on a calendar to do all your work for you. Instead of feuds dictating gimmick matches, the calendar does. And while many have addressed that, few have addressed the backlash to reserving debuts solely for Wrestlemania week.

Just this year, we were treated to one of the best TakeOver events ever. For me though, the thing that holds it back is what holds back every Takeover on Wrestlemania weekend, the predictability. When 60% of your matches feature individuals and teams that are near certainties to get the call up, you know they aren’t winning their matches. And the bigger problem, is what happens afterwords.

I remember hearing a while back that due to some of the main roster flops of his “babies”, Triple H wanted all NXT talent set to debut to have 6 months of storylines ready to go. This was so that each debuting talent would have a real opportunity to succeed on the main roster. Fast forward to today, and outside of The Iconics, who else debuted with a story?

The answer is nobody, and worse, people who were somebodies in NXT are coming to the main roster were little fanfare. A lot of smarter fans (many of whom likely read this site) said things like this before Wrestlemania weekend:

“I’m picking Baszler because Ember will probably go to the main roster after Mania.”

“I got Black because Almas and Vega should be headed up north” (because it’s still the 80’s and the main roster is considered “New York”……)

When you know someone is leaving, it negatively effects what you’re watching (see Lesnar, Brock vs Goldberg, Bill 2004), and why this has become the status quo, I can only venture a guess, laziness.

Yes, the ever-present trope of rematch clauses, trilogies, and now set debut times are conveniently easy for the writers. And because us fans have fed into it, and we look forward to the post-Mania debuts, we let it happen. I admit, even I’m guilty of getting hyped for the returns and debuts the night after Mania. Of course, it’s kind of like getting the date with the hot, lame cheerleader. The idea of it happening is far better than when it actually happens.

The sad thing is, WWE is capable of debuting these talents with fanfare and importance. Samoa Joe burst onto the scene as HHH’s muscle and he has been treated as a main eventer ever since. Kevin Owens debuted against John Cena and has never faltered. Both took place organically within an existing storyline, so their debuts were treated as an important continuation, not just a “hey look, they’re here!” scenario.

The point is, while I’m not totally against the post-Mania debuts, I certainly think we can do better. The calendar should not be dictating what happens in wrestling, the stories should. When wrestling is at its best, things just fit. We’ve seen it before. I don’t want writer laziness to take away from us ever seeing it again.

Eric Cordova is the host of the Mouth of the South Shore Radio Show. The show airs live on Wednesday nights at 9pm at i95sportsnetwork.com and TuneInRadio (i95). Follow the show at the Mouth of the South Shore Radio Show page on Facebook and @motssradio on Twitter and Instagram.

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Hi, my name is AB Morales, otherwise known as Killjoy from WrestleZone Forums. A good buddy of KB since he started this website and he’s offered me a column spot here. Thank you very much for your time and reading my first piece here and I hope to do more.

It feels like it was such a long time ago, but years ago the options for wrestling were quite scarce. WWE was obviously the most accesible. But if you were not a fan of WWE for one reason or another, the pickings were slim. But alternative did exist. It’s name was controversial. As was it’s image. It was TNA: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Now, it wasn’t controversial because it was this edgy product pushing the boundaries. No, it’s because for many, it was a terrible product that just looked nice. But for others, it was the wrestling company that wasn’t embarrassed to say it was wrestling. That wasn’t shilling its cellphone app as if you were too dumb to know how your phone worked. For all it’s faults, TNA was there to be the second choice. And many took it. But as we know, over time they fell behind with the advent of other the counter online services and the rise of other companies across the world. TNA was no longer the alternative. There were far more now.

As TNA, now Impact Wrestling, struggled to grasp to its audience and dealing with it’s own internal turmoil, their fanbase dwindled. Their brand name diminished in the public eye and the company has been on the bring of death several times. But come 2018, there’s a VERY minor sense of optimism towards the now called Impact Wrestling. Coming off a Pay-Per-View most consider good. Other’s as it’s best show in years, there is a sense of establishment to Impact that it has not had since losing its Spike TV deal in 2014. Characters are being established, they’re grasping their placement on the card and for once, you can feel optimistic about their weekly TV. Sure, it’s not perfect. It still has the faults TNA is known for. But Impact once again feels like an alternative worth selecting.

With the likes of Pentagon Jr, Brian Cage, Aerostar, Drago, Fenix and Hijo del Fantasma from Lucha Underground coming in to bolster their roster, Austin Aries being both a familiar and established top star for the promotion and other acts like the new LAX, Allie and Rosemary growing their name as well as the feud between Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan seemingly giving Impact it’s highest ratings on Pop TV since the advent of the Broken Universe, things do seem to be looking up for Impact. Not to mention, it also seems like after a lot of turmoil and chaos that the company has finally found a stable management.

At the end of the day, what I’m trying to say is that Impact Wrestling is not as bad as it used to be. I know that’s not the most endearing thing to say, but as someone who went through heck and high water for TNA’s sake for many years, I want to give it another go. While no one can deny the superiority of NJPW or that ROH is another choice, Impact is still the most accesible alternative to the WWE out there. It’s also far more open to work with other companies as evidenced by their alliance with Lucha Underground which has been a great help to both promotions. While time will tell if Impact Wrestling has indeed found it’s second footing, I can say that I’m cautiously positive about them right now. They’re clearly in a better place now than they have been the past 3 years.

Thank you for your time, my name is AB Morales. You can find me in the following.

Facebook | Where I have my own personal blog with daily wrestling updates and even cover anime and videogames once in a while.

Twitch | Where I stream videogames and do occasional art streams.

Twitter | Where I do….., well it’s Twitter.

IMG Credit: WWE

It’s time, once again, for a big show in April. You know, in case the five shows that ranged from biggest show of the year to big enough to warrant two nights weren’t enough already. This time around WWE is heading over to Saudi Arabia for a MASSIVE card, featuring ten matches, including seven title matches and the first ever fifty man Royal Rumble match. In other words, this thing has a chance of going as long as WrestleMania 34 did a few weeks back. You know, because bigger means better in WWE. Let’s get to it.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles(c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

We’ll start with a big one as it’s already a WrestleMania rematch. While I’m almost positive that Nakamura gets the title at some point, I’m not sure if it’s here. Either way, he’s leaving Backlash at the latest as champion so a title change here isn’t out of the question. This week on SmackDown, Nakamura kicked Karl Anderson in the head while a downed Styles was helpless to stop him. That sounds like a way to turn the Club against Styles, which could set up the loss.

I’m just not ready to pull the trigger yet though so we’ll go with Styles retaining via DQ, likely due to having his groin abused again (get this man a cup already). You can probably pencil the match in for Backlash (announcing a few more matches for that thing would be nice already) so I don’t think they change the title just yet. It’s coming though, or at least it should be.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Bludgeon Brothers(c) vs. The Usos

The Brothers (as opposed to the brothers) won the titles in a short triple threat match at WrestleMania where they dominated in short order. Who would have ever guessed that having Harper and Rowan just beat the heck out of people would be the best choice for them? The Usos have been incredible as of late as well too though and that could give them a strong chance.

Unfortunately it won’t be enough of a chance as I can’t imagine the Bludgeon Brothers losing so soon. A team like them loses a lot of steam in their first loss and there’s no need to do that so soon. Give them some big wins until another team can take the belts later. The Usos have been champions frequently enough recently and there’s no need to change the titles here. Bludgeon Brothers retain in a good match.

United States Title: Jeff Hardy(c) vs. Jinder Mahal

This one worries me and I think you know what that means. At the end of the day, WWE LOVES itself some Jinder Mahal and I have no idea why. Maybe it’s because of his look or maybe it’s because of the market he allegedly can bring in but he’s not seeming likely to go away anytime soon.

And yes, that means he wins the title here. They set the stage for it with Sunil Singh running in and attacking Hardy’s knee, which unfortunately seems to signal a short title reign. Mahal taking the title back to Monday Night Raw would give him more to brag about, which means he might be able to add a whole new sentence to the same promo he’s given for about a year now. There’s no way around this one for whatever reason.

Undertaker vs. Rusev

Casket match. Here’s a case where it feels like the person who paid for this show saw one about twenty years ago and thought it would be cool to see it again at his show. Undertaker is fresh off squashing John Cena at WrestleMania and Rusev is fresh off having almost all of his value squashed away by various combinations of Randy Orton, Jinder Mahal and whomever else WWE has beat him that week.

So yeah of course Undertaker wins because it’s clear that WWE thinks very little of Rusev at this point. Who cares if he became the hottest thing in the company for awhile and brought them in a bunch of merchandise money that they didn’t have to work for? Why should that matter when you can just have lose over and over? Undertaker wins here and does so handily, as expected.

Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander(c) vs. Kalisto

It’s pretty clear that Alexander isn’t the long term choice to be champion as he’s already bringing the show back down to where it was before the tournament started. The problem is he doesn’t really have a character and there’s nothing to his personality. He’s not bad and can be a perfectly acceptable hand, but 205 Live isn’t interesting in the first place because there aren’t many stories to go around.

That being said, it’s not like it matters who leaves with the title so we’ll go with Alexander retaining. Kalisto was thrown in as a challenger and it’s still clear that Buddy Murphy is the next big time challenger. Either that or Mustafa Ali can be there to get his rematch after turning heel or whatever. Alexander is trying, but he needs more than this. That’s not happening anytime soon though and it’s why 205 Live is where it is.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy vs. The Bar

The titles are vacant coming in and you can make your own Nicholas jokes here. This one isn’t exactly a secret and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s no way they’re going to put both titles on the same show, meaning the winners are pretty obvious. It’s still a good idea though as having the former champs put the new team over at least gives them a little more legitimacy.

Of course Hardy and Wyatt win because Raw needs some titles. Really there’s not much more to it than that, especially when the Bar has already set up a feud with New Day. The Bar may not be my favorite team (to say the least but they’ve been a good pairing, meaning a win over them would help Wyatt and Hardy really get going. Wyatt can really benefit here and that’s a great sign for his career, which was on life support about a year ago.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins(c) vs. The Miz vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor

Ladder match. WWE has done a good job of rebuilding Rollins in the last few weeks, especially with the fans going coconuts for him on Raw recently. Therefore, it’s time to take the title away from him because we can’t have him getting too over as a face, especially with Roman Reigns still being the Big Dog. Therefore, it’s time to make a switch and the US Title match result should give you a hint.

I’m going with Miz regaining the title here to tie Chris Jericho and set up a big time feud with Daniel Bryan for the title that he never lost. It’s not like Rollins has anything to lose by chasing freaking Mahal at this point so let’s just go with that. After all, Mahal was the WWE Champion and that makes him awesome. I’m really not sure I get the thinking here, but that’s WWE’s midcard for you.

John Cena vs. Triple H

You can file this one under “well, we had to get them on the card somehow.” It always helps to have a WrestleMania main event on the card so it’s not like this is going to feel like a letdown. Cena is fresh off of being squashed by Undertaker at WrestleMania and his TOTALLY real and TOTALLY not staged breakup with Nikki Bella so it’s not the best time to be him. Triple H on the other hand was beaten up by Ronda Rousey earlier this month so it’s not clear who might need the win more.

I’ll go with Cena winning here as he’s still somewhat active, or at least moreso than Triple H. I get why they’re both on the card and hopefully this is something shorter as there’s really no need for them to go twenty minutes or anything close to it. Let the time go to people who matter more at the moment as both guys are legends and don’t need much time dedicated to them.

Universal Title: Brock Lesnar(c) vs. Roman Reigns

Cage match. The more I think about this, the less sure I am about the whole thing. You know WWE wants Lesnar to move past CM Punk for the longest World Title reign of the modern era (because they’re all petty) and that means him holding it a little while longer. However, you also know they would cut ten years off the back of their life to get Reigns over as a face. Since that’s not happening in the United States, maybe the fans will react just for the sake of a title change.

I’ll go with the title change here, as Reigns isn’t going to get the reaction they want anywhere else so they might as well do it here. On top of that, there are SO many people he could feud with for the title on Raw, which means nothing for Lesnar because, you know, he’s never there. Reigns winning makes more sense, and also makes WrestleMania’s main event seem like that much more of a waste of time, which seems to be a bonus for the company. But yeah, new champion here as WWE won’t let it go.

Greatest Royal Rumble

And of course there’s this, with no prize to be seen other than a trophy. At the moment there are only twenty five out of fifty names announced for the match, meaning you could go a variety of ways for the winner. You can almost guarantee that people are going to be working twice on this show as otherwise this is going to be the bigger jobber filled Rumble since 1995. For the sake of sanity, we’ll assume that people can work twice on the show.

Even with that though, I’m going to go with Daniel Bryan winning because really, why not? He’s incredibly popular, could use a big win to reestablish himself, and can do the YES chant to end the show. The problem I might be running into though is looking at this like a wrestling show instead of the big sales pitch that it is, but I’ll take Bryan in what feels like a logical move

Overall Thoughts

The word LONG comes to mind for some reason. There’s so much taking place on this show and that makes it hard to imagine what we might be seeing all night long. There are likely to be a bunch of title changes but really, this is a major house show ala Global Warning, Insurrextion and Rebellion from back in the day. The card is stacked and if jet lag doesn’t kill them, there’s a good chance for an awesome show. Or a complete disaster. Either is a real possibility, which could make this a very interesting (and long) day.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: April 26, 2018
Location: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

We’re almost done. This week in WWE saw things settle down a bit as we have done with the Superstar Shakeup stuff. Raw and Smackdown were more traditional shows but at the same time they had to set up the Greatest Royal Rumble on Friday. You can guess what a lot of the stuff on this show is going to be so let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Bruno Sammartino.

Opening sequence.

Zack Ryder vs. Mike Kanellis

Kanellis now has trunks instead of tights and gets dropkicked for his fashion choice. Ryder misses a charge though and lands on the floor in a big crash. Back in and Kanellis stomps away before grabbing a chinlock. Ryder fights up and hits a flapjack, followed by the middle rope missile dropkick. The Broski Boot gets two but Kanellis scores with a superkick for two. A neckbreaker gives Ryder the same as Nigel quotes the Power of Love. Not that it helps as the Rough Ryder puts Kanellis away at 5:07.

Rating: D+. Not too bad here, especially considering Ryder apparently injured his knee (just a sprain and not a tear) somewhere in there. Kanellis is fine for a jobber to the midcard stars on a show like this so even though it’s not much to get excited over, it’s nice to have something fresh on here. Ryder winning is always nice to see as well.

From Raw.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to open things up. After a break, Heyman introduces himself for the man who is STILL the reigning, defending, undisputed Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar. Heyman knows fans think he’s here to gloat, just like they were when they broke the Streak or when they took John Cena to Suplex (repeated 14 times) City.

When it comes to Lesnar, this is real, and no one in the locker room or the crowd has a chance. Heyman delivers spoilers because Lesnar doesn’t gloat. However, Heyman can gloat all night long. He talks about the un-PG elbows to Reigns’ head and the multiple F5’s, but none of this matters to Lesnar. This Friday, Lesnar, who is dying to be in a UFC cage, will be flying across the world to be locked in a cage with Roman Reigns.

A small ROMAN chant breaks out before Heyman talks about Brock’s new contract. Lesnar wanted a fight inside a cage and now the odds are stacked against Reigns even more than before. Reigns will be coming back home in multiple boxes as another victim, but here’s Reigns to interrupt. Reigns says he’s coming home with the title and that’s it. I’m still not sure what to expect over there, but they’re booking themselves in a necessary title change at this rate.

Again from Raw.

Here are Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for the Sami and Kevin Show. They hype up the Greatest Royal Rumble and say it’s great because one of them will win it. They’re here tonight because of Stephanie McMahon was smarter than their first guest, which means Sami and Kevin singing YOU SUCK.

Cue Angle to say that they shouldn’t quit their day jobs. Owens understands Angle’s bitterness as Stephanie has his manhood in a jar in Connecticut. They recap the conspiracy on Smackdown and say that Stephanie must hate Angle for what she’s done to him. Angle agrees, because if not for him then Stephanie would still have full use of her arm. Owens talks about Angle needing this job because he has five kids. Actually it’s six because Sami forgot Jason Jordan “just like Angle did for years.”

Angle warns them about the beating they’ll be receiving on Friday when they’re in the ring with him, Daniel Bryan, Shane McMahon, Chris Jericho and everyone else they’ve treated badly over the years. As for tonight, they can have a tag match with Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman. Can we please not do the Stephanie vs. Angle story again? It wasn’t great the first time.

And from later in the night.

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman/Bobby Lashley

Sami and Owens try to bail but Strowman throws them back in without too much trouble. Lashley forearms Owens down in the corner but it’s off to Sami for some right hands to take over. A suplex gives Sami two and the double teaming begins. Owens is sent outside and Lashley gets two off a crossbody but Owens pulls him to the floor. We hit a backsplash and it’s off to a break.

Back with Lashley fighting out of Sami’s chinlock and dropping him with a clothesline. That’s enough for the hot tag to Strowman, who runs around the ring and shoulders Owens down. Sami gets taken down as well so Strowman goes outside to run Owens over again, just as he gets up. Strowman does it a third time, this time with a dropkick as the fans are going insane for this stuff. That’s enough for Sami as he bails up the ramp, only to be thrown back inside by Lashley. There’s the delayed suplex to Sami (one arm version), followed by the running powerslam from Strowman for the pin at 12:03.

Rating: C. This might not have been a great match but it was entertaining. Strowman running Owens over three times in a row was making me laugh and Sami being tossed around like a toy was great. Strowman and Lashley could make for a very entertaining monster team and I could go with seeing more of them in the future.

Owens hasn’t moved since taking that dropkick in a funny visual.

Revival vs. Heath Slater/Rhyno

Slater and Dawson get things going with Heath grabbing some headscissors because the Revival can’t even beat Heath Slater on the mat anymore. Rhyno comes in for a front facelock on Wilder but a quick tag allows the double teaming to begin. A double suplex is broken up by Slater and everything breaks down as we take a break. Back with Wilder blindsiding Rhyno to take over again, including an armbar. Now that’s more Revivalish.

Dash adds a cheap shot to Slater to break up a hot tag with Wilder breaking up another attempt. Rhyno avoids a charge in the corner though and grabs a spinebuster to finally set up the tag. A neckbreaker gets two on Dawson, followed by a small package for the same on Dawson. Rhyno gets pulled to the floor though and the Shatter Machine ends Slater at 10:53.

Rating: C. Much better than it should have been here with all four working hard and getting some extra time. The Revival gets better as the match goes on so giving them ten minutes was the best news they’ve had in a long time. I know they’re not going anywhere (wrestlers rarely do) but I’d love to see them get even a token title reign somewhere down the line.

And finally, from Smackdown.

AJ Styles/Anderson and Gallows vs. Rusev Day/Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke now has a Japanese rock song set to the tune of his old music. I could go for never hearing that again. Graves says it’s because Nakamura is sick of the fans singing along. How does he know this? Graves: “Because I habla espanol.” Styles and Nakamura start but English gets tagged in before anything happens. That earns Nakamura a forearm off the apron and AJ pulls English into the corner for the tag to Gallows. So why isn’t AJ considered a coward too?

The villains are knocked outside in short order and we take a break. Back with Rusev kicking AJ in the head so Aiden can grab a chinlock. Therefore, let’s hit that inset promo for Friday! Back again with Rusev slamming AJ but getting kicked in the head, allowing the hot tag to Anderson. Everything breaks down but Nakamura kicks Gallows in the knee, setting up Kinshasa to the back of Gallows’ head for the pin at 10:08.

Rating: C-. Pretty standard main event six man here and there’s nothing wrong with giving Nakamura a pin before the title match, even if there’s not much benefit to pinning Gallows. I could very easily see a title change on Friday, but Nakamura is almost certainly getting the title at some point. If not, I’m not sure where he goes from here as it would make him look like a huge choker.

Post match AJ goes after Nakamura but takes ANOTHER low blow but Anderson shoves AJ out of the way to take Kinshasa. AJ is still down and can’t help Anderson from taking a second Kinshasa (sounds like a setup for an Anderson and Gallows turn to Nakamura) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Is anyone else completely sick of hearing about the Greatest Royal Rumble? It seems that we’re getting something about it every few minutes now and I can’t wait for it to be over. There’s a good chance that a lot of the show won’t mean much anyway, which makes it all the more annoying. A show recapping the build to the show didn’t help, but that tag match wasn’t half bad. Just get us on to Backlash already.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: April 24, 2018
Location: KFC Yum Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

We’re three days away from the Greatest Royal Rumble and we still don’t have a #1 contender for the Cruiserweight Title. That’s why we’re having a gauntlet match tonight with five men facing off for the right to face Cedric Alexander in Saudi Arabia. There’s a good chance this is going to be the entire show so let’s get to it.

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

The opening video explains the gauntlet match and introduces the competitors, all of whom get in a quick statement.

Opening sequence.

Gauntlet Match

Mustafa Ali and TJP start things off. TJP takes him up to the ropes and gets in some dabbing, earning himself a crank on the arm. The armbar goes on and there’s not much TJP can do early on. They hit the pinfall reversal sequence for some not very near falls until Ali dropkicks him in the back of the head. A kick to the head sends TJP outside and we’ll take a little breather.

With the breathing out of the way, TJP gets in a few shots to the head to take over back inside. We go split screen to hear Cedric Alexander say he’ll defend the title in Saudi Arabia and then make his own statement against Buddy Murphy. Back to full screen with Ali fighting out of a double arm crank but getting dropped with a Russian legsweep. TJP grabs Naomi’s reverse Rings of Saturn hold for a few seconds before Ali chops the heck out of him.

Ali gets in a kick to the head and the rolling X Factor (with TJP’s face not hitting the mat) gets two. The double chickenwing gutbuster is reversed into a rollup for two on TJP but he shoves Ali off the top. A missile dropkick to the knee (cool) sets up the kneebar, sending Ali bailing to the ropes. Back up and a tornado DDT on one leg drops TJP, setting up the 054 to send Ali on 9:53.

Drew Gulak is in third and you should be able to see the tap out from here. Ali is limping around and Gulak couldn’t be happier. A quick rollup gets two on Gulak but he slams the knee into the ropes to really take over. Ali does manages a drop toehold on the floor for a break, followed by a high crossbody back inside. Gulak rolls through into a leglock but Ali kicks him away in short order.

After an inset promo for Friday’s show, we come back to Gulak cranking on the knee even more. Ali tries a hurricanrana but gets pulled into a half crab. That’s reversed as well and an enziguri puts Gulak down again. There’s a kick to the head (and a shot of several empty seats in the lower arena) but Gulak is right back with the half crab. He even cranks back on the arm for a bonus but lets go, this time allowing Ali to make the ropes AGAIN. Ali likes the ropes so much that Gulak sets him on top of them, only to have Ali pull Gulak into a half crab in the ropes.

For some reason Ali decides that it’s a good idea to try a high crossbody to the floor, furthering the damage to the knee. Gulak chop blocks him down but Ali is right back with the tornado DDT. The 054 takes too long though, allowing Gulak to shove him off the top and into the steps. Ali is DONE so Gulak throws him back inside for the Gulock and the elimination at 22:41 total.

Tony Nese is in fourth and doesn’t even waste time counting his abs, meaning you know he’s serious. Nese pounds away and drags Gulak away from the ropes to keep up the stomping. Gulak gets knocked outside and sent into the barricade, followed by a toss over the announcers’ table.

They head inside again with Nese running him over and Nese yells at Gulak for saying they’re on different levels. There’s the running knee in the corner but Nese looks at the corner instead of covering. Nese lowers the knee pad but takes too much time, allowing Gulak to grab the Gulock for the tap at 30:34. That’s about it for Nese meaning anything as he got caught in a clean submission after beating the heck out of Gulak for a good while. Nese is crushed as Kalisto comes in last.

Gulak is chilling on the announcers’ table as Kalisto stands in the ring doing the LUCHA dance. Nigel isn’t exactly thrilled with this strategy and the stalling keeps going for well over another minute. Gulak finally gets in and is promptly dropkicked back to the floor. This time Kalisto follows so he can LUCHA dance right in front of him. Back up and Gulak sidesteps a suicide dive to send Kalisto hard into the barricade.

With Kalisto down, Tony Nese…has nothing to say. A snap suplex gives Gulak two and it’s off to a chinlock. Kalisto gets in a superkick but a tornado DDT is countered (maybe because it would be the third of the match). The Gulock goes on but Kalisto sends him into the buckle (again, countering the third attempt). Kalisto grabs the Salida Del Sol for the pin at 39:18.

Rating: B. I can go for this idea of having one match through the entirety of a show. It makes things feel more important and like a big deal, which is what you want for something like this. On top of that, the falls took about ten minutes each, which fits a lot better. Kalisto vs. Alexander should be fun and that’s all the match needs to be as Cedric can get a big win.

Lucha House Party celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. What else can I really say when the show is literally one match long? They did a good job with making Kalisto into a quick title contender, which makes sense given that he’s the most decorated name on the roster. That being said, the show is starting to lose steam after the tournament. There’s a good chance that the place is going to turn into a show that you can skip most weeks, which isn’t a good sign for the future. Good stuff this week, but I’m worried about where things are going.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 26, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re past Redemption and that means it’s time to get ready for Slammiversary. What that means is kind of up in the air at this point but it really could go in a variety of directions. Above all else though, we have a new World Champion as Pentagon Jr. defeated Austin Aries and Fenix in a triple threat match on Sunday. Let’s get to it.

Here are the Redemption results if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Redemption, including results from every match.

Earlier today, Austin Aries talked to the roster and said he’s still the Grand Champion so it’s now the top title. Aries makes a bunch of excuses and Moose calls him out on them before walking out. The rest of the people leave as well. Sounds heel turnish to me.

Opening sequence.

The pay per view set is now the regular set.

Brian Cage vs. Trevor Lee

Lee drops to the floor for a meeting with Caleb Konley to start before a shoulder drops him to the floor again. Cage throws him around and shrugs off a forearm but a Konley distraction lets Lee kick him outside. Back in and a bridging German suplex gives Lee two and Konley adds in some choking. That’s enough for Cage who Hulks Up and hits a powerslam, followed by the apron superplex. The Drill Claw puts Lee away at 5:04.

Rating: D+. Cage is starting to run through some bigger names and it wouldn’t shock me if the names get bigger and bigger as we move forward. There’s a certain monster quality to him and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him near the World Title picture within the next year or so. Lee isn’t going to lose anything by getting destroyed here, but it was nice to have him get in some offense.

A livid Eddie Edwards arrived earlier today and ran into Tommy Dreamer (in a Lucha Underground shirt). Tommy told him to go be with his wife but Eddie shoved him out of the way.

Here’s Eddie in the arena to talk about putting Sami Callihan in the hospital. He’s not done though because he wants to put OVE in there right next to Sami. Cue OVE for the 2-1 fight and Eddie runs through them before grabbing the kendo stick. We cut to the hospital room where someone in a wheelchair with balloons covering his face rolls up to Alisha Edwards’ bed. It’s a very banged up Callihan, who says he wants to talk.

OH MY GOODNESS how stupid can Eddie be? A few weeks ago he sees OVE in his wife’s hotel and then LEAVES after checking on her for a few seconds. Now he leaves her IN THE SAME HOSPITAL WHERE CALLIHAN IS STAYING??? My goodness I know he’s a face in wrestling but Sting would find this dumb.

We look at Sunday’s main event.

Classic clip: the Steiner Brothers vs. Team 3D at Bound For Glory. I really wouldn’t point out that one half of your Tag Team Champions was old eleven years ago.

Video on DJZ, who is back after over a year away.

Moose vs. Braxton Sutter

Sutter’s pre-match promo is cut off by Moose’s music. Moose throws him into the corner to start and dropkicks him out to the floor in a heap. Sutter gets in a whip to send Moose into the barricade, followed by a suplex into the corner for two. That earns Sutter a running elbow and running dropkick in the corner, followed by a spear for the pin at 3:32.

Rating: D. Nearly a total squash here, which makes sense as Sutter has announced that he’s done with the promotion. It’s not like Sutter has done anything of note in the company and now that he and Su Yung seem to be done, there’s no reason to not have him go out on his back like this.

Post match the fans chant HAPPY BIRTHDAY at Moose. He wants Pentagon Jr. and the World Title.

Matt Sydal promises to retain the X-Division Title against Taiji Ishimori. A commotion is heard and we go to see someone (not clear who) unconscious with an X on their chest.

LAX wants the titles back but also want to know what’s happened to Konnan.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Allie

Allie is defending. Taya wastes no time in jumping Allie and hammering away in the corner. Allie’s comeback is cut off in very short order as Taya powers her down without much effort. A running dropkick in the corner only hits buckle and Allie is in even more trouble. Taya is all fired up but the Road to Valhalla is broken up, allowing Allie to hit the superkick and Codebreaker to retain at 4:17. That was pretty much all of her offense.

Rating: D. Nothing to this one and Taya deserved more than that in a title shot. Allie shrugged off everything Taya threw at her and won with her regular stuff in short order. The match needed more time, but then we wouldn’t have been able to plug the Steiner Brothers vs. Team 3D match and that’s WAY more important.

Post match Su Yung appears, flanked by a bunch of dead brides. They load up a casket but Rosemary appears for the showdown. The lights go out again and Su is gone.

Slammiversary is in Toronto.

KM yells at Fallah Bahh, his partner for next week. Why in the world are these two getting TV time?

Eddie goes to the hospital to see Alisha, who isn’t happy with him leaving her there. He goes into Callihan’s room and beats the heck out of him until a bunch of doctors make the save. This crazy Eddie character is actually working for me.

Video on Kongo Kong vs. Johnny Impact from last week.

Tag Team Titles: Eli Drake/Scott Steiner vs. LAX

Drake and Steiner are defending. Before the match, Steiner says he promised he’d win “last night” (which he says twice) because he’s world famous. Konnan was at Taco Bell due to a discount on burritos so we know his priorities. The champs stall on the floor for a long time before Ortiz drives Drake into the corner to start. Santana comes in for a chop of his own but gets taken outside and sent into the steps by Steiner as we take a break. Back with Steiner getting two off a belly to belly as he picks Santana up.

The fans chant for LAX but get cut off when Steiner “hits” a belly to belly superplex (not rotating enough and nearly falling backwards). It’s back to Drake (thankfully) for a chinlock as we hear that Edwards has been arrested. Well duh. Santana rolls over for a tag so Ortiz can get two off a short DDT. The Death Valley Driver gets two more on Drake but the Street Sweeper is countered into a powerslam (ala Rick Steiner back in the day) to pin Ortiz and retain the titles at 10:54.

Rating: D+. Steiner continues to be scary with some of those near botches, but at least they have a “big name” on the roster now right? Steiner does offer some star power but really, how much is he going to be able to offer without maiming someone? I can’t imagine that he’s going to be around very long but I’m still not a fan.

Post match Drake holds up the World Title briefcase and suggests that he’s cashing in right now. Actually it’s just a warning, but here’s Aries anyway. Back from a break, Aries says he’s healing from a dislocated elbow and looks at the “suitcase”. The fans chant for Aries, who says he wishes they were here on Sunday. The Grand Championship is what matters now but he’ll get the World Title back soon enough.

Drake wants to fight Pentagon, Aries and the Easter Bunny because it means he’s getting the title back. Cue Pentagon Jr. to say CERO MIEDO (zero fear) but Steiner and Drake beat down Pentagon and Aries. They fight back and clear the champs out of the ring, leaving Aries and Pentagon to stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. I wasn’t feeling this one, as there wasn’t a lot in the vein of storyline advancement and the wrestling was nothing of note. Allie and Rosemary continue to be an interesting team but really, there’s not much else to go on here. That being said, they have a ton of time to get ready for the next pay per view so it’s not like this needed to be incredible. Not the worst, but nothing that pulled me in.

Results

Brian Cage b. Trevor Lee – Drill Claw

Moose b. Braxton Sutter – Spear

Allie b. Taya Valkyrie – Codebreaker

Eli Drake/Scott Steiner b. LAX – Powerslam to Ortiz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-knew-getting/

WWE may not be able to just take the money and run on Friday.

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: April 25, 2018
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

So I had a full introduction written up talking about how this is the start of a new taping cycle and we finally get some storyline advancement before War of the Worlds. Then I started watching the show….and it’s a special on the Women of Honor tournament. Yes indeed, we’re going to go nearly a month between storyline advancement shows because Ring of Honor is really weird sometimes. Let’s get to it.

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

Ian and Colt welcome us to the show and explain what we’ll be seeing tonight. You know, as in stuff we’ve seen before.

We see highlights from some of the opening round matches, mainly focusing on Kelly Klein.

From the Supercard of Honor pre-show.

Women of Honor Title Tournament Semifinals: Kelly Klein vs. Mayu Iwatani

Feeling out process to start and they hit the mat for some grappling to no avail. Iwatani sweeps the leg and kicks her in the chest as they’re still in first gear. Kelly kicks her in the face to take over and drives some knees into the head. A clothesline turns Iwatani inside out and we take a break.

Back with Kelly choking in the corner and going up, earning herself a kick to the head. A super hurricanrana brings Klein down and Iwatani gets two off a top rope double stomp. That’s not enough for a cover so Iwatani drops a frog splash for two instead. Klein grabs a front face DDT and something like a Samoan driver for two of her own. Instead it’s the guillotine choke and Iwatani is out at 11:35.

Rating: C. Not bad here and Klein continues to look like she’s a few miles ahead of everyone else in the tournament. That makes me expect someone to beat her in the finals, just for the sake of the surprise to wrap things up. Iwatani was working here and the match was entertaining, though it’s odd to see her brought in for a loss on the Kickoff Show.

We look at more early round matches, including Tenille Dashwood debuting.

Again from the Supercard of Honor pre-show.

Women of Honor Title Tournament Semifinals: Tenille Dashwood vs. Sumie Sakai

Sumie grabs an early fisherman’s suplex for two but Tenille is right back with the Tarantula. It’s time to go after Sumie’s knee with a leglock but she’s right back up with a cross armbreaker. Tenille stacks her up for two so Sakai reverses into a Crossface. That’s reversed as well and Sumie’s misses charge hits turnbuckle.

The Taste of Tenille gets two but Sumie is right back up with Smashmouse (reverse Cross Rhodes) for two of her own. Sumie gets caught on top with a release German superplex for two and you can see the frustration setting in. The Spotlight Kick misses though and Sumie grabs a crucifix for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: C+. Well that happened. This whole thing was screaming Dashwood vs. Klein in the finals but instead we’ll go with the uninteresting choice because she’s been around for a long time or something. I’ve seen Sakai on and off for a few years now and I still have no idea why I’m supposed to be interested in her. She’s not that great in the ring and doesn’t have a character, but she’s been around for a long time so I’m supposed to be interested I guess.

Post match Klein comes in for the photo op and decks Sakai with a forearm during the handshake.

From Supercard of Honor.

Daffney is ringside for the finals.

Women of Honor Title: Kelly Klein vs. Sumie Sakai

Sakai jumps her during the entrances and stomps away in the corner to rock Klein. A release German suplex drops Sakai though and Klein is confident enough to put in the mouth guard. They head outside with Klein sending her into the barricade and we take an early break.

Back in a hurry with Klein getting two but getting powerbombed off the top. Klein’s fall away slam and release German suplex put them both down and here’s the women’s division to watch from ringside. They slug it out from their knees, which doesn’t work so well about five minutes into the match. Kelly’s kick to the chest gets two but Sakai is right back with a fisherman’s buster. A moonsault (more like a moonsault headbutt) doesn’t do much damage to Klein so Sakai goes with a DDT for the pin and the title instead at 8:40. That’s Klein’s first pinfall loss in Ring of Honor.

Rating: C+. So after all that, the final was (without the commercial) less than eight minutes long? I know they were going for the big epic moment here but egads let them have a little more time here. I’m not getting Sakai winning the title but they backed themselves into a corner here as there’s not much interest in having the champion be this undefeated monster. Sakai doesn’t do anything for me though and putting the title on her because she’s been here for a long time isn’t the best thinking in the world.

Sakai celebrates and shakes Klein’s hand.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling wasn’t bad but this was the wrong time to air a best of/recap show. By the time we get to next week’s show, nearly a month will have passed since Supercard of Honor. I’m really not sure why we have to wait this long and that gets really annoying after awhile. The show was fine for what it was, but it was the wrong time to air something like this.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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