Clash of Champions 2017
Date: December 17, 2017
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the final pay per view of the year and this time the focus is on champions. Well, at least some of it is as the rest of the focus has been on Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. Shane McMahon, who has put together Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura to fight for him. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Mojo Rawley vs. Zack Ryder

They were partners who kept losing so Rawley turned on him. Rawley has new music as well. Ryder dropkicks him at the bell and we start in a hurry. They head outside with Ryder slugging away until Rawley rams him back first into the barricade. A spinebuster plants Ryder again and a running splash in the corner gets two.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Ryder gets shoved off the ropes and outside again. Back from a break with Ryder caught in another chinlock. A big boot gets two more but Ryder is back up with some forearms in the corner. Mojo gets serious and chop blocks the knee, setting up the running right hand for the pin at 7:12.

Rating: C-. Fairly entertaining glorified squash here and that’s all it could have been. Ryder was always going to lose this and that’s the right idea with Rawley potentially becoming a midcard act as a result of the split. It served its purpose and if Rawley gets something out of it, even better.

The opening video is split between looking at the title matches and the tag match. This show’s name is going to be its undoing.

US Title: Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin is defending. They circle around to start until Corbin is sent outside, leaving the challengers to trade rollups. Ziggler sends Roode outside as well and it’s Corbin with a hard clothesline to take Bobby down. Dolph takes some right hands as well and it’s Corbin standing tall early on.

Back in and Roode is whipped hard into the corer as we’re firmly in the two in/one out triple threat formula. After a good stomping on Roode, Ziggler comes back in and takes one of his own. At least the champ is consistent. It’s Roode coming back in with a Blockbuster for two on Corbin. Ziggler runs in for a Fameasser on Roode, forcing Corbin to dive back in for a save.

Roode hits a swinging Rock Bottom but walks into Deep Six. With everyone else down, Roode goes up for some reason, only to get caught on the bad end of a Tower of Doom. Ziggler throws Corbin outside but the superkick is countered into Roode’s spinebuster. The jumping DDT gives Ziggler two though and everyone is down again. A charging Corbin is low bridged and Ziggler eats the Glorious DDT but Corbin pulls Roode out at two. Back in and Corbin loads up End of Days, only to have Ziggler grab the Zig Zag for the pin at 12:03.

Rating: C+. I….what? Like seriously what? Ziggler was there to take the fall and winds up winning the title? Was this just for the sake of shutting him up on Twitter? The match was every triple threat match you’ve seen with a nice sequence in the middle, but my goodness Ziggler winning does nothing for anyone.

Daniel Bryan thinks his referee shirt is a little big when Shane McMahon comes in to say his, which of course is customized, fits fine. Shane wants to know what’s up with Bryan as of late as he just added himself to the match out of nowhere. They’re both going to be in the ring tonight and more discussions will be had later on.

Corbin is livid and promises to get the title back.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable vs. Rusev/Aiden English vs. Usos

The Usos are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Before the match, English sings the Twelve Days of Rusev so the Usos sing about having all twelve days on lock. There are four in the ring at a time here so it’s Gable, English, Kofi and Jimmy starting things off. Four straight rollups lead to a quadruple tag as everything breaks down. Of course a bunch of them wind up on the floor with Jey diving onto Big E. and English.

Benjamin runs the corner to superplex Jimmy down with Big E. having to make a save. New Day takes over inside and loads up some Unicorn Stampedes, only to have Rusev come back in and run everyone over. Cue the RUSEV DAY chants, meaning WWE will destroy him in short order. Gable and English put on holds at the same time with a staredown thrown in.

English of course wins by singing, because that’s what a good man does. A hard suplex drops Jey and we settle down to Gable and Benjamin working Kofi over in the corner. Byron won’t shut up about English’s singing and Graves keeps berating him, meaning advantage Graves. English has to make a save and gets in a shoving match with Gable. Double hot tags bring in Jimmy and Big E. as this is WAY messier than it needs to be.

A running Umaga Attack and a Warrior Splash gives us a double two. The Usos clean house with superkicks until Shelton powerbombs Jimmy and Gable grabs a Texas Cloverleaf. Rusev makes a save with a superkick to the back of the head and grabs the Accolade on Gable. Big E. makes the save but eats the jumping superkick. There’s the Accolade on Big E. until Gable makes a very delayed save of his own. Chad starts suplexing everyone, including Rolling Chaos Theory on Big E. The Usos make a blind tag though and it’s the superkick into the Superfly Splash to retain at 11:56.

Rating: B-. The action was good but egads this was messy. There was too much going on and a lot of that is due to the four in the ring at once. Hopefully they don’t keep that up if they do something like this again in the future. The Usos retaining is acceptable but the titles could use some fresh blood pretty soon. Hopefully that means Rusev/English, at least before Rusev Day loses its steam.

We recap the Women’s Title match. Charlotte beat Natalya to take the title but the debuting Riott Squad interfered in the rematch. The solution was a lumberjack match, including the Riott Squad at ringside.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Natalya

Charlotte is defending and the lumberjacks get individual entrances to fill in time. Oh and we get Big Match Intros in case you didn’t get the idea yet. Charlotte wastes no time in kicking Natalya outside where Naomi gets in a shot of her own. Back in and a neckbreaker gives Charlotte two as Graves says he has 20/13 vision, making him better than Saxton. Normally this would be annoying but Saxton is so worthless that it’s actually fine.

Natalya knocks the champ outside and the beatdown is on with the Squad getting annoying at the other lumberjacks trying to get in their own shots. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by a basement dropkick to keep Charlotte in trouble. Natalya gets sent outside and, of course, is tossed back in unscathed. Charlotte makes a comeback but decides to dive onto Ruby Riott instead.

We get the required lumberjack brawl until Naomi dives onto everyone. Back in and Natalya grabs a Sharpshooter until Charlotte gets over to the ropes. That’s not cool with the lumberjacks, who pull Charlotte outside to keep up the beating. In the melee, Carmella grabs the Money in the Bank briefcase but the Squad breaks it up. Charlotte moonsaults outside onto the pile but gets posted by Natalya. Back in and Charlotte reverses the Sharpshooter into the Figure Eight to retain at 12:33.

Rating: D+. As usual, Smackdown seems to have no idea how to book this division without throwing everyone into the match at once. All the people running around got old in a hurry and there was no way around it. On top of that we still don’t have the Money in the Bank cash-in out of the way, despite having the most perfect of a moment imaginable at the CHAMPIONS pay per view. This was more annoying than anything else and that’s not good. On a side note though, this felt like it was planting some seeds for a women’s Rumble and that could be interesting.

Post match Natalya says Charlotte used her family’s name to cut corners and talks about giving everything to the division in the last ten years. Now the WWE and the women want to turn their backs on her. Well she’ll turn her back on all of them. Ok Nattie. You do that and see if we can make people care about you even less. I mean, I doubt it, but maybe your cats will be interested. Just don’t talk again. Like ever. I’d rather listen to your cats being swung around by their tails.

Long video hyping up the Network because THIS SHOW IS WAY TOO SHORT IF YOU DIDN’T GET THE IDEA YET!

The Singh Brothers won’t allow any interviews with Jinder Mahal. They do however note that he heard what AJ said “on the Clash of Champions Kickoff Show”. As opposed to the Barney Miller marathon kickoff show?

1. Who listens to this and thinks humans talk like this?

2. What do I have to do to get a Barney Miller marathon?

Anyway they tease that they won’t get involved in the title match.

Breezango vs. Bludgeon Brothers

Or can we just have Breezango win something for once?

Post match the Brothers promise more destruction.

Zayn and Owens like Bryan playing fair and promise that the YEP Movement will rage on. They walk away from a question of what if they lose.

We recap the tag match, which I can’t believe isn’t the main event. Owens beat up Vince McMahon so it turned into the Shane McMahon Avenging Hour. Zayn joined forces with Owens and turned into the double big bad, setting up a tag match between Owens/Zayn vs. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura. Shane and Daniel Bryan are both going to be refereeing and if Owens/Zayn lose, they’re fired. The bosses are rather divided on what to do about Owens and Zayn, meaning there’s some tension around here.

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura

Both referees are in the ring at once as Orton headlocks Sami to start. Orton clotheslines Sami down and let’s have an argument over the counts. Shane yells at Sami for punching in the corner while Bryan just stands back. Nakamura comes in and reverses a wristlock into one of his own. It’s off to Owens who hammers away in the corner, only to have Shane pull him off.

Orton comes back in and completely misses a right hand but gets two anyway, triggering another argument. Eventually they agree to cover half of the ring each and we seem to have peace at the moment. Owens superkicks Orton to take over, allowing Zayn to chop away in the corner. Orton breaks a chinlock (he would know about them) and drops Sami ribs first across the top.

It’s back to Owens for a chinlock of his own until a belly to back suplex gets Orton to freedom. Nakamura comes in for the hard strikes and some Good Vibrations. We hit a triangle choke on Owens but he powers out in a bit of a surprise. Sami comes in for two off the Blue Thunder Bomb as everything breaks down. Orton’s throat is snapped across the top rope but he’s able to crotch Sami into a superplex.

Owens pulls Orton outside so the brawl can continue, including the overactive referees. The villains start loading up the announcers’ table and a splash drives him through. Orton is back up though and the hanging DDT gets two on Sami with Shane freaking out over the kickout. There’s an RKO to Owens but Zayn rolls Randy up for two as Shane just stops counting. Bryan snaps so Sami rolls Orton up again with Bryan fast counting the pin at 21:00.

Rating: C+. The match was a mess due to all the people involved but egads this better be a Shane heel turn. I like the ending, but I have a bad feeling about what it’s going to lead to. If nothing else it basically guarantees more Shane dominating TV, even if it’s not all that interesting anymore. Shane was a full on heel here, even if that is likely to change nothing because Shane is the cool guy or whatever their logic is.

A lot of staring ensues.

We recap the World Title match with a cool video about the history of the title and some great champions. AJ hopes to be such a champion one day and started the process when he won the title in England. Tonight is Mahal’s rematch.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal

AJ is defending and the Singh Brothers are here. Mahal powers him into the corner to start until AJ kicks him in the knee for a breather. They head outside with AJ sending the knee into the barricade and grabbing a leglock back inside. Mahal fights up and drops him ribs first across the top rope for another trip to the floor. A piece of the barricade padding is ripped off and AJ goes crashing through it as the fans are just dying here.

Mahal gets dropped onto the announcers’ table and we hit the reverse chinlock with a knee in the back. It’s off to a bodyscissors as this match is somehow getting even more boring, completely defying my expectations. Mahal stays on the ribs with an abdominal stretch, followed by a middle rope right hand to the jaw. AJ dropkicks the second attempt out of the air but it’s too early for the Phenomenal Forearm.

Some right hands in the corner are countered into an electric chair, followed by the seated forearm. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two on Mahal, followed by a northern lights suplex for the same. There’s the Pele but the tornado DDT is countered, allowing Mahal to kick him in the face for two more. With nothing else working, Mahal loads up a super Khallas but AJ breaks it up without much effort.

The springboard 450 connects, only to bang up the ribs. The Singh Brothers try to pull Mahal outside but get beaten up for their efforts, including a Styles Clash on the floor. Back in and the Khallas gets two so Mahal tries a Styles Clash. Since that would probably result in a bad case of death, AJ reverses into the Calf Crusher to retain at 22:57.

Rating: B. Much like in Manchester, AJ carries Mahal to a good match. NOW GET THE HECK OVER MAHAL AND GET HIM OUT OF THE MAIN EVENT FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER! I’ve been sick of the guy for months now and hopefully he drops down to the midcard (where he would be perfectly fine and should have been all this time) while someone interesting and/or talented gets the spot that they deserve.

Overall Rating: C-. While not the worst show ever, it certainly was one of the least important ever. The problem again comes down to the fact that the idea of a pay per view focusing on the titles doesn’t need to exist when every pay per view is like this. Maybe if you have a dual branded version it could work but this didn’t stand up very well on its own.

As has been obvious for weeks though, the bigger problem is how little this show needed to exist. Smackdown just doesn’t have the lineup for a stand alone pay per view at the moment as they ran a six match card here with almost nothing feeling like it belonged on pay per view. The main event was good but nothing that blew away the TV match from England and the tag match was a plot device. As for the rest….yeah it existed and ate up pay per view time, which is about the extent of its positives.

The show was far from terrible, but it wasn’t very interesting and didn’t need to exist. Granted we’re heading into the Rumble though and that’s going to guarantee things pick up in a hurry. In other words, this was the throw away December pay per view which only exists because they need a show in December. At least the boring stretch is out of the way though and things can start looking forward.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode – Zig Zag to Corbin

Usos b. Aiden English/Rusev, New Day and Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable – Superfly Splash to Gable

Charlotte b. Natalya – Figure Eight

Bludgeon Brothers b. Breezango – Double spinebuster to Fandango

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens b. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura – Rollup to Orton

AJ Styles b. Jinder Mahal – Calf Crusher

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

https://411mania.com/wrestling/wcw-wwe-alumnus-tom-zenk-passes-away-fifty-nine/

I was always a fan of the guy.  He wasn’t a huge star or ever anything close but he had a good look and was perfect as a pretty boy.  You would probably remember him best as part of the Can-Am Connection, who opened Wrestlemania III.  Zenk left the company in a contract dispute and was replaced by Tito Santana with the team being named Strike Force (one of my favorites).  He went on to WCW and won the TV Title before retiring in 1995 or so.

I know he wasn’t a big name but this one actually shocked me.

Is it really a good idea to have a pay per view entirely about champions if you only have a few title matches to put on? Or when the real main event isn’t even about a title? WWE certainly thinks so, which is why we’re getting “Clash of Champions 2017” tomorrow night. This show isn’t exactly inspiring and seems like further proof that we don’t need single branded pay per views. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley

This is the kind of thing you should be doing with the Kickoff Show. The match isn’t going to mean much but it gives you a match that was set up on TV a few weeks back. The Hype Bros weren’t exactly a top level team and neither of these guys is going to mean anything despite winning here, but at least they’ve being given a chance to do something with their story.

Rawley wins pretty handily here and I have no idea why that should even be up for discussion. Ryder is one of the most consistently cheered midcarders around and Rawley, despite winning the battle royal at “Wrestlemania XXXIII”, hasn’t had the big singles moment yet. Let him win here and maybe he could start something. I mean, he likely won’t, but at least there’s a chance.

Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

We might as well get the real main event out of the way here. There’s no reason to believe that anything is close to this on the levels of importance as it’s been by far the most featured story in recent weeks. The bigger question is who turns here as the winners aren’t really in doubt.

Of course I’m going with Owens and Zayn to win, but I think it’s due to Shane McMahon doing something screwy, likely that Daniel Bryan doesn’t see so he has to count the fall. They’re completely crazy if they try to turn Bryan heel in this whole thing but dumber things have certainly happened before. Just go with what the fans want and what makes sense here though and everything will be fine. You know, like most of the time.

Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair(c) vs. Natalya

This is a title match where the bigger question is what will the people outside the ring do, making it all the more odd. These two have shown that they have the chemistry to make a good match, but the Riott Squad is going to get a lot of the focus. That’s fine in theory as they’re more interesting than anything Natalya is going to do but it kind of misses the point of the champions idea.

I’ll go with Charlotte retaining and then a cash-in from Carmella. She’s going to be at ringside and you can almost guarantee some shenanigans either during or after the match. That makes more sense as she’s an easier target for the Riott Squad and can defend against Naomi while Charlotte handles the heavy lifting.

Tag Team Titles: Usos(c) vs. New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable vs. Rusev/Aiden English

Now this one could be fun, assuming the people can get out of each others’ way long enough. I’m not a fan of having so many teams (and especially so many people) being in one match but that’s how matches work in WWE these days. The Usos have been rocking the heck out of the division as of late but they’ve traded the titles with New Day for so long now that it’s time for some fresh blood.

I’m hoping that fresh blood is Rusev and English who have put together a shockingly good team in recent weeks. English has an excellent voice and that’s all he needs to keep himself relevant, even on a minor scale. Throw in Rusev for the heavy, hard hitting lifting and everything should come together nicely. Just keep the belts away from New Day for a change and everything should be fine.

Breezango vs. Bludgeon Brothers

This isn’t exactly how I expected to see this match happen but at least we’re getting it. Breezango has gone from the hottest thing on the roster to just kind of there, mainly due to almost never wrestling. That being said, they have no business beating the Bludgeon Brothers at the moment and I don’t think WWE is even considering going nuts here.

So yeah, the Bludgeon Brothers win and do so handily, as they should. Breezango is really just good for comedy at this point unless they actually get back in the ring more regularly. That’s quite the shame as they’re a talented team who come off like stars, but WWE isn’t the place to go with a team that got over doing creative stuff. One of these teams (or the Usos) could use a trade to “Monday Night Raw”, just for the sake of getting out of each others’ way. Bludgeon Brothers win and do so with ease.

US Title: Baron Corbin(c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler

Then there’s this, which has to be one of the least inspired matches in recent memory. I see no reason for this to really be taking place as there’s almost no effort put into the thing. Ziggler is still one of the worst characters around (due to staleness more than anything else), Roode needs someone to work with and Corbin is just kind of there as the big power guy.

I’ll take Corbin to retain as he and Roode can have some more singles matches down the line. Neither of them are exactly inspiring though and I have little desire to actually watch the match. Maybe Ziggler will be interested in trying though I’m not getting my hopes up. It’s a bad match with a bad build though and that’s a scary combination.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles(c) vs. Jinder Mahal

We’ll wrap it up here, with a match that I don’t think will actually close the show. It’s pretty clear that the Mahal experiment is over and done with and if logic prevails, tomorrow night will be the grand finale as Mahal is done with the main event scene once and for all. I think you can guess my pick from here.

Styles will win this and certainly should. I was never impressed with Mahal in the first place and there was little reason to be. He’s just not that good and while he was certainly trying, he felt much more like an experiment that got out of hand more than anything else. Styles is a proven commodity though and one more win over Mahal will….well it’s not really going to do much for him but there are a lot of fans who would like to see it.

Overall Thoughs

this really isn’t doing much for me as it’s a one and a half match card with the rest of the show feeling pretty slapped on. The big problem of course is that EVERY pay per view features this many title matches, making the entire concept of focusing on the titles seem like a waste of an idea. It’s fine in theory, but when there are title matches almost every week, a pay per view about them doesn’t do it. The fact that the real main event isn’t about a title either sums the whole thing up perfectly well. There’s potential for some good stuff on here, but my hopes are pretty firmly down.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Final Battle 2017
Date: December 15, 2017
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

It’s the biggest show of the year for Ring of Honor and the card is actually not too bad. The main event is Dalton Castle challenging Cody for the World Title with another big match in the form of Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer vs. the Briscoe Brothers in a street fight. You know, to check off the ECW box on the card. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about how this was the greatest year in ROH history. I’m thinking no on that one. It’s your standard hype video with the narrator saying things like “great debuts” and “major changes” with clips of such things being shown. Not bad, but nothing that hasn’t been done far better before.

The production gets a major upgrade tonight with fire shooting up on the stage and a square lighting fixture above the ring with some LED signs. It looks very good, albeit a little out of place around here. Still good though.

The announcers hype up some of the big matches. We just did this in the opening video.

Will Ospreay vs. Matt Taven

This is your required “here’s a New Japan guy” match that has no storyline behind it. Ospreay kicks him in the face to start and hits a big flip dive over the top onto the other members of the Kingdom. Taven is right back up with a big dive of his own though as they’re starting very fast.

Back in and Taven flips out of a hurricanrana but gets armdragged into a dropkick to send him outside. Ospreay teases a dive but instead backflips into his signature pose to pop the crowd even more. The Kingdom offers a distraction so Taven can take over. Cabana: “Ospreay is great but notably kind of dumb.” Vinny Marseglia SWINGS AN AX at Ospreay’s leg, allowing Taven to dropkick him down.

The beatdown is on and Taven adds a hard knee to the face for two. Ospreay kicks him in the head again and gets two off a running shooting star. Taven reverses a hurricanrana into a Liontamer of all things, drawing a Y2J chant. A rope is grabbed and Taven shouts to the camera that he better be on Jericho’s cruise. Ospreay speeds things up a bit and gets behind Taven but still manages to superkick him in the jaw.

One heck of a superkick puts Taven on the floor and Ospreay runs the corner for a springboard shooting star onto the rest of the Kingdom. Taven is right back in with a kick to the face but his frog splash hits knees. The Oscutter is countered straight into the Climax to give Taven the sudden pin at 10:50.

Rating: C+. While little more than a flipping and kicking match, this was a great choice for an opener. Ospreay is one of the best high fliers in the company and he got to show off in front of the fans, who ate up everything he was doing out there. I’m still not getting the point of Taven but it makes sense to have him win here as he’s around a lot more often than Ospreay.

We recap the Addiction vs. War Machine. War Machine had the Tag Team Titles won when Addiction interfered and cost them the match. The monsters wanted revenge but accidentally took out a fan, earning Ray Rowe a suspension. While he was gone, Addiction cut off part of Hanson’s beard. You know what kind of revenge that warrants.

War Machine vs. Addiction

It’s a brawl to start with War Machine winning the brawl on the floor but Hanson’s clothesline train is cut off in short order. Rowe comes in for a save as this isn’t exactly going to have a lot of tagging. Some fans try to start a JOHN CENA SUCKS chant but seem to be promptly shouted down. Good. Rowe t-bone suplexes the heck out of Kazarian but Daniels trips him up to take over.

We actually get to the tag stuff with Daniels choking Rowe in the corner, followed by Kazarian’s springboard legdrop. Addiction fires off a string of springboard dives to keep Rowe in trouble. The double teaming doesn’t quite work though as Rowe Rock Bottoms Daniels onto Kazarian. Hanson comes back in off the hot tag to clean house and Addiction is stacked up in the corner for a quick pounding.

A double Bronco Buster (that’s a new one) sets up a German suplex/middle rope clothesline combo. Kazarian gets in a Backstabber on Rowe and an Unprettier is good for two. Celebrity Rehab gets the same and a Downward Spiral takes Hanson down as well. He’s right back up with a double Tajiri handspring elbow though and it’s Fallout to end Daniels at 9:35.

Rating: C. This was a well built match and War Machine winning was the right call. Addiction isn’t a team that really ever needs to win anything else and putting teams like War Machine over is a great use for them. War Machine should get back to the title hunt soon, though I could see WWE coming after them one day in the near future.

We recap Marty Scurll vs. Jay Lethal. Scurll got to pick his opponent and wanted to face someone he saw as one of the best villains in Ring of Honor history. Lethal doesn’t want to go back to the dark side but Scurll has him getting closer to being villainous all over again.

Marty Scurll vs. Jay Lethal

Scurll, in all white here, isn’t defending his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. Marty wins a technical sequence to start and grabs a wristlock. A clean break against the ropes keeps the mind games high. Lethal armdrags him down but Marty rolls straight into a bird pose. The cartwheel into a basement dropkick rocks Scurll but he’s still able to stomp on Jay’s fingers.

Jay’s elbow gets stomped as well, only to come back with a hard whip to send Marty into the barricade. Someone throws a streamer into the ring and the fans are all over him. Again, good. A springboard dropkick has Marty in trouble again, followed by a single suicide dive. Back in and Marty suplexes him into the corner before going right back to the arm. They slug it out until a Lethal Combination gives Lethal a delayed two.

It’s off to a torture rack of all things (Cabana: “Can we call that the Lethal Express?”) with Lethal rolling forward for two more. Marty is up first and catches Jay with a tornado DDT on the floor. That’s fine with Lethal, who hits a cutter off the apron to take Scurll right back down. It doesn’t seem to have much effect as Marty grabs the chickenwing, only to have Lethal reverse into a rollup for an escape. The ref is bumped (makes sense this time around) so Marty grabs a chair for the Eddie Guerrero treatment.

Jay is one step ahead of him though, wrapping the chair around his own head and dropping down to the mat. The referee says keep it going so Scurll grabs a brainbuster onto the knee for a near fall. A Figure Four is quickly broken up so Marty grabs the umbrella. The referee takes it away so Marty pulls out a second one to knock Jay silly. That and a piledriver are only good for two so Jay kicks him low, setting up the Lethal Injection for the pin at 15:53.

Rating: B+. I really like both of these guys and it was cool to see them play up a story like this. That being said, this feels like a start to the story and I wouldn’t be complaining about seeing them do some more of this. I don’t think Lethal needs to turn heel, but an edge to his character would be nice. Scurll pinning Lethal in the future would be nice too.

The Motor City Machine Guns say no one is on their level, which is why they’re here.

The Best Friends disagree, albeit in multiple takes.

Tag Team Titles: Best Friends vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The Guns are defending. Sabin and Chuckie start things off and the fans still don’t seem to care about the Guns. An armdrag into an armbar sets up the Friends’ Two Dog Night but Shelley blocks the big hug. Shelley does a Rick Rude hip swivel and sends the Friends outside, where we get that hug. Eh Bryan and Kane did it better.

The Guns hit back to back kicks and knees to the head to take over. Back in and Sabin stands on Barretta’s crotch in the corner, followed by the face to the crotch spots. The Guns even hug to hammer home the joke. At least they seem to be embracing (no pun intended) the heel roles here. Barretta ducks a kick that goes onto Shelley’s head instead, followed by a tornado DDT to Sabin.

The hot tag brings in Chuckie to clean house and that means another hug. Yes it’s funny, we get it. Back in and the Dude Buster is broken up, but so is the rollup from the Guns. Skull and Bones gets two on Barretta, followed by Strong Zero for the same on Shelley. The Friends try another double team but Sabin rolls Chuckie up for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: C. I know this isn’t the most popular opinion in the world but I really can’t stand the Guns anymore. Their matches are basically signs that say these things were all rehearsed and planned out beforehand and I never buy the idea that they’re having a spontaneous match. The Best Friends aren’t much better with the constant hugging (I know it gets a reaction but maybe they should have something else), making this one of those matches I had to get through rather than enjoy.

We recap the TV Title match. Kenny King is a fighting champion and is ready to defend against anyone. So how about defending against three people at once?

TV Title: Kenny King vs. Punishment Martinez vs. Silas Young vs. Shane Taylor

King is defending and it’s elimination rules. Martinez comes out of a coffin and has what appears to be his legion behind him. Young and King start things off with the champ stopping for a quick dance after a shoulder. It’s off to Martinez, who grabs a headlock of all things. That’s not exactly what a monster should be doing. King can’t do much with Martinez so Taylor tags himself in for the big showdown.

Everything breaks down with Silas diving over the top onto Taylor. King dives onto both of them so of course it’s Martinez hitting his own springboard flip dive onto the pile. Back in and Martinez takes King down with a top rope spinwheel kick, putting all four down on the mat. King and Martinez kick each other in the face but Taylor catches the champ in a spinning sitout piledriver.

For some reason no one covers King with Taylor instead hitting a running Death Valley Driver to send Martinez into the corner. Taylor gets crotched on top and King manages a Royal Flush, followed by Martinez’s springboard twisting swanton to get rid of Shane at 9:07. Martinez elbows the other two in the corner but gets knocked outside in short order.

King and Young beat on the monster outside and it’s a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo for good measure. Back in and the Royal Flush plants Martinez but Young hits King with a beer bottle for the elimination at 12:58. The chokeslam gives Martinez two but Beer City Bruiser makes a save. They fight to the floor again with Young winning the brawl and kicking away back inside. Back in and some knees to the ribs set up Misery to give Young the title at 17:24 in a rather sudden finish.

Rating: D. I’m not sure why this match is getting the really harsh reactions it’s been receiving. Yeah it was bad but you would think it was one of the worst matches ever or something. The match was a bit of a mess, but what else were you expecting? Matches involving tags that break down into wild brawls are kind of ROH’s thing and that’s what you had here. Young winning is the right call and I have no idea what else you would have expected here.

We recap Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer vs. the Briscoe Brothers. Bully and the Briscoes were partners but they turned on and injured him at Death Before Dishonor. Ray has teased retiring but was suddenly fine enough for this fight. Fellow ECW alum Tommy Dreamer is with him for the sake of nostalgia, though it does fit for what they’re doing.

Briscoe Brothers vs. Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer

Street fight with the ECW guys coming in through the crowd. It’s a brawl to start (as it should be) with the Brothers in early trouble. Dreamer hits a flip dive off the apron onto Jay and Mark is already bleeding a bit. Bully crossbodies both of them off the apron but Jay posts him to get a breather. Jay’s good looking suicide dive takes Bully down again and it’s time for some chairs. All four wind up with one though and it’s time for the dueling.

They switch to kendo sticks instead with Bully and Dreamer pulling out plastic lightsabers. You know, for part of the match where taking place out of such EXTREME hatred. A kitchen sink is brought in and Dreamer is told to get the tables. The Briscoes fight up and clean house again, this time busting Ray open. We’ve got a ladder now too and you know this isn’t going to end well. It’s cheese grater time and Bully’s cut is a lot worse in a hurry. Maybe they shouldn’t have spent as much time with the lightsabers.

Rating: C. I really could go the rest of my life without another ECW tribute. It’s annoying enough to have this be a New Japan holding pen half the time but do we really need the ECW stuff too? I know it’s asking a lot to have ROH find its own identity again but it would be nice if they would try. The match itself was the brawl you would expect and really that’s all it needed to be. Again, the right guy won too and that’s always a perk. The ECW stuff was a little heavy handed but at least the build to this was good. It still should have been Bully vs. Jay though.

Video on the Top Five moments in Final Battle history. There’s no need for this but it only takes about two minutes. Austin Aries FINALLY ending Samoa Joe’s World Title reign is #1.

Ian brings out the Women of Honor because we’ll be having a Women’s Title tournament starting in late January. It’s a nice idea but the division has been filler at best so far. A title might help them though.

The Young Bucks and Hangman Page are ready to defend the Six Man Titles.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks/Adam Page vs. Flip Gordon/Titan/Dragon Lee

The Bucks and Page are defending, Titan and Lee are basically guest stars and Scorpio Sky is on commentary. Lee and Nick start things off and immediately go to the mat for a technical sequence. Nick is up first and walks the corner for a wristdrag before a double dropkick goes nowhere. Titan and Page come in with the masked man grabbing a headscissors before it’s off to Matt vs. Flip.

Back in and Page stomps on Titan until a legwhip takes him down. Flip comes back in and nips away from a series of superkicks. A springboard double Blockbuster cuts the Bucks down and a springboard flip dive takes them down again. Flip’s running shooting star gets two on Page but Nick has to scratch the superkick itch. A springboard DDT plants Lee onto the apron, leaving Flip to escape the Rite of Passage.

Matt superkicks Nick by mistake and Titan’s suplex into a sitout powerbomb gets two. That’s about it for the Bucks being in trouble though (might be a record for them around here) as more flip dives and a shooting star Indytaker plants Lee onto the floor. Gordon chops at everyone but gets triple superkicked. The Indytaker Rite of Passage to Titan and Gordon retains the titles at 15:14.

Rating: B-. As usual, the Bucks are a lot more entertaining when they’re not just throwing a bunch of superkicks. Unfortunately and also as usual, there was no question about who was winning here. The Six Man Titles are still completely worthless and odds are we’ll have to have another team thrown together to get another title match set up. Entertaining match, assuming you can handle the Bucks being around even longer.

Post match Sky and the Addiction come in to beat on Gordon and hold up the titles.

We recap the main event. Dalton Castle has been a wrestler for a long time, even if Cody doesn’t respect him. That’s the story of the whole thing: Castle has been fighting for as long as he’s been here while Cody thinks he deserves everything being handed to him. It’s a good story, even if they’re recycling the same videos we saw on TV in recent weeks.

ROH World Title: Cody vs. Dalton Castle

Cody, now with bleach blond hair, is defending and has Brandi in his corner. Castle comes out with a fleet of Boys, which is really what he should do here. It’s a cool entrance, which fits him quite well. Castle shoves a kick away to start and an armbar sends Cody bailing to the ropes. A chase around the ring allows Brandi to grab Castle’s foot and a DDT gives Cody his first offense.

The Alabama Slam gets two and it’s time for a shoving match with the referee. Cody takes him outside and throws him into the ramp steps, followed by a powerbomb through the timekeeper’s table. Brandi isn’t done as she goes up, despite being in a long, tight dress, and dives onto the Boys. That means a triple ejection and we’re down to one on one. Cody stops for some pushups but the delay allows Castle to slug him down into the corner. A suplex drops the champ as well and Castle pulls him face first into the post for a bonus. Blood is draw, which is probably why the hair has been bleached.

Rating: C. So….that’s it? After spending nearly half a year as champion, Cody just loses the title in less than fifteen minutes? As stunned as I am that they actually put the title on Castle, it’s cool to see them go with someone new. Castle is one of the only homegrown stars they have around here and giving him the title, even if it’s for a short reign, is a smart move. Just do it in a better match next time.

Castle celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The show wasn’t bad but aside from Lethal vs. Scurll, nothing stands out on it. I like that they’re going with less outside talent for a change and focused more on storytelling, but this was missing the big blowaway moment. Castle winning is the closest thing they had to one but Castle is more of a feel good deal than a game changer. It all depends on where they go from here and it’s a fine show, though I wasn’t as impressed as I was hoping to be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: July 17, 2003
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re almost to Vengeance and the good things in the build towards the show have been quite good. At the same time though, the bad thing is very bad. Vince vs. Stephanie is running wild and for some reason we’re supposed to want to see Vince vs. Zach Gowen at the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

This was actually taped on Sunday as the Smackdown roster was going on an Asian tour.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event with Big Show chokeslamming Brock Lesnar through a table.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Vince to get things going. He recaps the Gowen story (minus the Hogan aspect) up to last week and blames Kurt Angle for Gowen winning his contract. The point is everyone needs to be taught a lesson, which is what Gowen learned last week (I think he meant to say Lesnar there).

Last week ended with Lesnar being chokeslammed through a table while Angle was in Vince’s office. Vince had Angle stay in the back because if he interfered, he would be out of the triple threat at Vengeance. Therefore tonight, Angle will be facing the same match tonight: no holds barred, falls count anywhere against Big Show/Charlie Haas/Shelton Benjamin.

Cue Lesnar to say he’s here to beat the boss….and Vince actually makes himself vs. Brock. Just not tonight of course. Vince wants Brock to be at 100% so tonight, Brock has the night off. That includes keeping him out of tonight’s handicap match. If he interferes, he’s stripped of the title and fired. Brock leaves, but since he can’t give Vince an F5, he’ll settle for FU.

US Title Tournament Semifinals: Matt Hardy vs. Chris Benoit

Matt, who’s beard is much cooler than Benoit’s and tans wearing only a sock, has Shannon Moore back in his corner. Benoit tries a Crossface less than ten seconds in (you don’t insult a man’s beard) but settles for a regular armbar instead. Matt gets tied up in the ropes so Shannon sneaks in for a neckbreaker to change control. It’s off to a seated full nelson for a bit until Benoit pops up with a running forearm to the head.

Shannon comes in again and is promptly suplexed over the top and out to the floor. The Crossface goes on but Matt, with a bloody nose or lip, is in the ropes in a hurry. A Side Effect gives Matt two but he misses a Swan Dive. Benoit rolls some German suplexes, only to miss a Swan Dive of his own. Matt takes him up top for a super Side Effect, only to be countered into the Crossface to send Benoit to Vengeance.

Rating: B-. Matt was trying hard out there and the finish looked awesome. This was a solid match and that’s not the most surprising thing in the world, especially given the fact that Hardy is back to his normal range of opponents. Hopefully this is the kind of match the US Title starts to represent and if that’s the case, Benoit will be just fine.

Vince is in Stephanie’s office when she comes in to say she expected to find him here. Sable isn’t here tonight but has sent a peace offering: Midol. It’s as funny as it sounds.

Brock goes to leave but and Angle can’t stop him.

Ultimo Dragon vs. Jamie Noble

Before the match, Jamie ups his offer to $25,000 for a night with Torrie Wilson. Nidia walks away in a huff. I’d have expected her to approve actually. Dragon kicks him down to start and seems surprised at Noble kicking out. Noble heads outside and there’s the Asai moonsault for good measure. Back in and Jamie kicks him down, only to have Billy Gunn and Torrie come out for a distraction. Dragon grabs a rollup for the pin. If Dragon needs Billy Gunn to beat a comedy cruiserweight, just leave now.

John Cena is in a cemetery and raps about Undertaker being gay and a dead issue. He also relieves himself on a grave.

We look back at Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman becoming #1 contenders last week.

The APA invites Brian Kendrick and Spanky to the first ever APA Invitational Bar Room Brawl at Vengeance. Kanyon can’t go because his cable guy is coming. That’s not an option so threats of violence make Kanyon agree to reschedule.

Rey Mysterio/Billy Kidman vs. Los Conquistadors

These would be Conquistador #45 and #47, who I believe are Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore. 45 (Conway) starts things off with Kidman and a headscissors takes the masked man down. Mysterio comes in but gets cheapshotted from the apron so 47 (who certainly looks like Dinsmore) can get in some forearms.

The masked men make a switch with no tag (the referee doesn’t notice despite 45 having blond hair sticking out from underneath the mask) and a neckbreaker gets two on Kidman. A powerbomb is broken up and there’s the 619 into the shooting star for the pin on 45. Not bad actually, but that’s not surprising given who was under the masks.

Here’s Vince for another chat. He’s not happy with being interrupted earlier because he wanted to talk about Sable, who is in the Presidential box. She’s up there for Stephanie’s protection and Vince explains her sexual prowess. This shifts into a discussion of Gowen, who has a handicap. That must make the fans feel a little uncomfortable and everyone here knows it. Sure they might give a few bucks to charity but that’s just a way to keep the conditions at arm’s length.

Cue Cena of all people, with Vince dancing a bit to his music. Cena talks about Gowen winning being an impossible mission because just like Ted Turner, he’s no competition. At Vengeance, he’s killing a dead man while Vince fights Christopher Reeves. Cena: “What’s better than a one legged wrestler? Being able to walk!” Vince: “Word life.” Undertaker comes out and clears the ring without much effort.

Rhyno vs. Sean O’Haire

They fight outside before the bell but here’s the APA to invite them to the Bar Room Invitational. I know Piper leaving messed with O’Haire’s push but this is all they have for him? Fighting ensues.

Sable complains about the service in her suite.

US Title Tournament Semifinals: Eddie Guerrero vs. Billy Gunn

Feeling out process to start until Gunn punches him down. A powerslam gets two and a delayed vertical suplex is good for the same. Eddie sends him into the corner and hammers away before getting two off a snapmare of all things. We hit a chinlock with Tazz making jokes about Torrie bouncing as she plays cheerleader. Billy fights up and hits a release faceplant, only to get caught in a half crab (looked to be the Lasso From El Paso but it fell apart).

Eddie’s brainbuster sets up the frog splash but Billy rolls away because this needs to keep going. Billy’s cobra clutch slam gets two (he’s no Jinder Mahal) and here’s Jamie for a distraction. Eddie gets in a chair shot and drops to the mat to make sure the referee doesn’t know who did it. So for once the referee actually heard the chair shot? That might be a first and Eddie gets the pin.

Rating: C-. So now the US Title tournament is being used to set up Gunn vs. Noble? They really are going for it this time around. Anyway, Eddie winning was the only option here and that’s the right move. At least we should get a classic out of the title match and Gunn vs. Noble can be five minutes long for the thrilling conclusion.

Sable is being interviewed when Stephanie sneaks in (read as walks in wearing a waiter’s uniform) to pour wine over Sable’s head. Catfighting ensues and food is spilled everywhere.

Kurt Angle vs. Big Show/World’s Greatest Tag Team

Hardcore. Angle gets double teamed in the corner to start as Show stands on the apron for the sake of dramatic convenience. Charlie gets sent head first into Shelton’s crotch though and it’s off to Big Show for a headbutt. A trashcan lid to the back gets two on Angle and the villains finally realize triple teaming is perfectly fine.

Back in and Show gets low bridged outside, leaving Angle to German suplex the normal sized opponents. A heck of a chair shot drops Show and we take a break. Back with Haas being sent over the barricade and Benjamin getting clotheslined down. They head into the crowd with Benjamin being thrown through a gate and Charlie getting caught in the ankle lock. Show makes a save and takes Angle to the stage.

The group beatdown continues until Angle cleans house with a trashcan lid. Show gets in a clothesline though and here’s Gowen for some jumping knees to the head. Angle Slams take down Show and Benjamin but Show is up fast enough to save Haas from the ankle lock. Gowen gets thrown into the barricade but Angle hits Show with the steps. Back in and Shelton kicks Charlie by mistake, setting up the ankle lock for the submission.

Rating: B-. I liked this more than I expected to as they allowed the match to build up and let Angle hang in there long enough to steal a win. The interference helps a bit and while it’s a stretch to have Angle beat them, he didn’t pin Show and outsmarted the champs rather than flat out defeating them. Good match, especially with Angle one upping Lesnar after last week.

Overall Rating: C-. They kept the Vince/Stephanie/Sable/Gowen stuff on more of a leash this week and it helped a lot. Unfortunately we got two Gunn vs. Noble segments instead so it kind of balances out. The wrestling was better this week with some matches getting time, though there are still a lot of problems around here. That being said, Vengeance is looking better each week as there’s a chance that they’ll give the matches enough time to pay off all the build put into them. Not a great show, but they’re fixing some of the problems.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Ring of Honor is kind of an oddball promotion. Unlike most wrestling companies, they wait until the end of the year for their biggest show, which actually makes sense. WWE holds their big show in March/April and Impact Wrestling’s is in October/November. Those are kind of strange choices, which is why “Final Battle” being held in December makes some sense. Their biggest show of the year is being held tonight so let’s get to it.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks/Adam Page(c) vs. Titan/Dragon Lee/Flip Gordon

We’ll get this one out of the way early as I’m certainly not a fan of the Bucks. It doesn’t help that I can never even remember these titles exist. They’re hardly ever defended and the teams seem to be thrown together more often than not. That’s what’s happened here as Titan and Lee are CMLL wrestlers who are being brought in for another special appearance, this time getting a title shot.

Therefore, I’ll take the Bucks and Page to retain, as it’s not like they have anything else to do at the moment. It’s rather annoying to have these belts thrown around for no apparent reason other than for the sake of having more titles but having to deal with the Bucks makes it even worse. I’m sure the match will be entertaining and could make for a fun opener but it’s not much more than that.

Matt Taven vs. Will Ospreay

Another special attraction match with Ospreay coming in from New Japan for a guest appearance. Taven is another name that doesn’t do anything for me, along with the rest of the Kingdom. They’re just kind of there more often than not and this feels like a way to make sure Taven is on the card and fill in some time.

As awesome as Ospreay can be at times, I’ll go with Taven winning here. There’s no reason to have the outsider win here, though Ring of Honor has some weird opinions on how to treat the New Japan wrestlers. Taven seems better suited as a tag team wrestler but maybe having do a singles match will be a better fit for him. I mean, it’s not like it can get much less interesting.

Jay Lethal vs. Marty Scurll

Now this is more like it. Lethal has completely won me over and I see him as one of the true stars of Ring of Honor. He has consistently good matches, including pulling off a minor miracle against Beer City Bruiser a few weeks back. Scurll is a heck of a performer too and I’m actually starting to come around on this idea of cheering for someone whose gimmick is being a villain. They’ve even had a good story here with Scurll pointing out that Lethal was more successful on the dark side and trying to tempt him back.

I’ll take Lethal here, but Scurll winning would be a huge moment for him. It’s a case where you can’t go wrong with either pick and that’s a very nice situation to be in. Scurll isn’t quite a full time Ring of Honor guy and Lethal can absorb the loss just fine, though I think he needs the win at this point. I’m looking forward to this match and if it goes as I’m expecting, it could very easily steal the show.

Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer vs. Briscoe Brothers

The build for this one has been downright impressive. In modern wrestling and especially in a promotion like Ring of Honor, it’s next to impossible to sell an angle. However, Ray sold the heck out of the thing and made it seem like he really was done. You could always feel that he was going to be in the ring at this show, but my goodness they made it work while they were building it up.

This is going to be the emotional rollercoaster of the show and it’s going to end with the Briscoes destroying the ECW legends. I’m not sure why this isn’t Ray vs. Jay Briscoe but the tag match works well enough. The Briscoes have their work cut out for them to get booed in New York but if there’s one team that can help them pull it off, it’s a pair of ECW alumni.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns(c) vs. Best Friends

We’re back to the matches that don’t feel like they have much going for them. The Best Friends showed up a few months back and haven’t exactly done much. That being said, they also haven’t done too little. The same is kind of true for the Guns, who are a semi-legendary team who deserve at least one run with the titles. That’s fine, though not exactly inspiring stuff.

I’ll take the champs to retain here as the Best Friends don’t quite seem ready for the belts. The Guns could lose them at any time (please, not back to the Bucks) but I really don’t think that’s the case here. The match should be well laid out, albeit in that Ring of Honor style that I’m just not a fan of most of the time. It won’t be bad, but I can’t see myself getting too far into this one.

Addiction vs. War Machine

This is more my style. These teams have built up a very nice rivalry over the last few weeks with War Machine wanting the titles back and Addiction using every heelish trick they can come up with to cut them off at every turn. Getting Ray Rowe suspended (likely for a tour or an injury) was a nice move and it gives you a reason to want to see War Machine crush them.

As much as I want to think it’s going to be the Addiction, I can’t get past the idea of seeing War Machine beat those two into the ground. Addiction doesn’t need a win like this and while they’re still good, are probably better suited more as gatekeepers for younger teams with more long term potential. War Machine is one such team, assuming they’re not eventually WWE bound.

TV Title: Kenny King(c) vs. Punishment Martinez vs. Silas Young vs. Shane Taylor

I’m not sure what to think of this but King has really grown on me in recent weeks. Who would have thought that someone who can talk and is a borderline athletic freak was better suited as a face? Again, they’ve built the heck out of this match and I really want to see who comes out as champion.

I’ll go with Young winning, as they’ve teased giving him something for so long now that they have to actually do it at one point or another. Having the match under elimination rules might make that a little more complicated, but he’s probably the best choice of the four. King would be the second best option and Martinez can be a solid monster, though I don’t see Taylor being much of an option no matter what he does. The match should be good, especially if they tell a story with some drama included.

ROH World Title: Cody(c) vs. Dalton Castle

As well as ROH has built Castle up, I just can’t bring myself to take him as a serious contender to the World Title. Having the Boys gone helps (though you can pencil them in for a return here, even if it’s just a run-in) and the wardrobe change is a good move, but Castle just doesn’t seem serious enough to take the title. Of course that being said, Cody hasn’t felt like a real World Champion since he won the thing and I don’t see that changing either.

In a prediction I’m almost sure to get wrong, I’ll go with Cody to retain. The problem is I’m not sure who takes it off of him if he gets by Castle. Lethal maybe? A Japanese import? Their options near the top of the card are a little limited as Castle could face the Bullet Club for months. I just can’t see them going with Castle though and that’s why the main event scene is one of the company’s biggest issues at the moment.

Overall Thoughts

This is one of Ring of Honor’s best built cards in a long time and that’s a nice thing to see. Far too often these shows feel like they’ve been slapped together and it’s cool to see them actually make the top show feel like the top show. There are multiple matches I want to see and I don’t get to that point very often around here. Well done on setting something up but now follow through on it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: December 13, 2017
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

It’s the go home show for Final Battle and you never know what that means around this promotion. They might set up something for the pay per view but at the same time it might be any given show. Unfortunately it’s probably going to be two weeks at minimum before we get to any kind of follow up due to the annoying taping schedule. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Kenny King vs. Caprice Coleman. That’s going to be our feature attraction tonight isn’t it? I’m so thrilled.

Opening sequence.

TV Title: Kenny King vs. Caprice Coleman

Silas Young is on commentary. King is defending but Coleman has the enforcer for hire Shane Taylor in his corner. The champ works on a hammerlock to start but it’s way too early for the Royal Flush. Back from a break with Coleman snapping him throat first across the top rope and grabbing a headscissors on the floor.

King gets sent hard into the corner for two and it’s off to something like a camel clutch/crossface chickenwing hybrid. A top rope hurricanrana doesn’t work though as King slips out, leaving Coleman to take a heck of a fall with his legs bouncing off the ropes. King gets two off a tabletop suplex but Coleman grabs his rolling northern lights suplexes for two more.

The Sky Splitter is good for the same but Coleman can’t hit a piledriver. Taylor finally gets involved with a distraction attempt, prompting the announcers to talk about King being on the Bachelor. Coleman’s rollup gets two but King is right back with the Royal Flush to retain at 10:05.

Rating: C-. Total lack of drama aside, this wasn’t too bad. Coleman continues to be a guy who is just there and I’m not sure how many people were begging for a Rebellion blowoff match. King is already set for a major title defense on Friday and they’re not going to mess with that so close to the show. Not bad though, especially that landing off the missed hurricanrana.

Post match Taylor and Punishment Martinez come in to beat King down but Young goes after both of them.

Here’s the Addiction to demand War Machine be fired for accidentally hitting a fan a few months back. Cue Hanson to go after both of them until a chair shot to the back takes him down. Hanson gets taped to the ropes and Daniels clips off a piece of his beard. Security comes in and Hanson gets free to clear things out.

Bullet Club is ready to defend the Six Man Tag Team Titles. I keep forgetting those exist.

Here are the Briscoe Brothers for a chat, though the fans aren’t exactly accepting of the heel turn. They’re here to tell it like it is and that includes saying they want Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer. Jay talks about doing everything they can to get those two in the ring and they don’t know what else they can do.

Cue Bully and Dreamer but security quickly cuts them off. COO Joe Koff comes out to try and calm things down but the Briscoes say the ECW guys are taking orders from a short old man. Koff gets in the ring and yells at them, saying he’s the matchmaker around here. The Briscoes are disrespecting everyone around here so the match is on for Final Battle and it’s going to be hardcore. Bully and Dreamer get in for the brawl but security is on them.

Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal

Marty Scurll is on commentary. They go straight at it and head to the floor in the first few seconds. Lethal shrugs off some chops and throws Taven over the barricade, only to suplex him back to ringside. A top rope ax handle gives Lethal two back inside and there’s the cartwheel into the basement dropkick. Scurll rips on him for the theatrics but Cabana points out that Marty spins around before the chickenwing. Marty: “IT’S MOMENTUM!” Cabana: “FOR A CHICKENWING???”

Jay’s Figure Four is countered into a small package for two but Lethal clotheslines him to the floor. That means a suicide dive but Jay stops at one for a change of pace. Taven gets in a dive of his own though and we take a break. Back with Taven getting two off a flip neckbreaker but hitting knees on a Lionsault attempt.

A slow slugout goes to Lethal and now the Figure Four goes on. The Kingdom helps Taven get to the ropes and Marty freaks out on Cabana for some reason. Hail to the King gets two as Marty goes to ringside. He throws the umbrella in but Lethal’s not sure. The delay allows Taven to grab a rollup for the pin at 10:11.

Rating: C+. They were working out there and Lethal losing via distraction is fine. Taven didn’t do much here but at least he wasn’t talking and that’s always a perk in his case. Not a bad match and it didn’t overstay its welcome. Scurll vs. Lethal should be a lot of fun and Taven….well Scurll vs. Lethal should be a lot of fun.

It’s time for the contract signing between Cody and Dalton Castle. Cody, in a fur coat, and company, including Brandi Rhodes also in a fur coat, are in the ring but Castle gets an entrance. Castle says Cody looks ridiculous but Cody is too busy eating what appears to be meats and cheeses.

Cody and Brandi stop for some champagne until Castle talks about breaking Cody’s heart at Final Battle. He was excited when he heard Cody was coming because Cody loved wrestling as much as Castle does. Then Cody showed up and it was clear he was overdressed, overpaid and overrated. Both guys sign and they stare each other down to end the show. No violence of anything, making this kind of disappointing. How appropriate in Cody’s case.

Overall Rating: C-. Uh….yeah. This didn’t exactly do much in regards to getting me fired up for Final Battle as the matches were ones you would see on any given TV show. I’m looking forward to the pay per view though and that’s a lot more than I thought I’d be saying a few months ago. Hopefully the show is better, but as always I’m cautiously optimistic around here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 14, 2017
Location: Aberdeen Pavilion, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Jeremy Borash, Josh Matthews

Impact actually has some wrestling competition tonight as WWE is presenting its annual Tribute to the Troops. This week’s big match is for the vacant Knockouts Title as Rosemary vs. Laurel Van Ness wraps up the mini tournament. Other than that we’re likely to get more build between Alberto El Patron, Johnny Impact and Eli Drake for the World Title. Let’s get to it.

Laurel and Rosemary arrive.

Recap of Gail Kim vacating the title and the tournament being set up. Again: it was two triple threat matches and a singles match. It’s not exactly some game changer.

Opening sequence.

Sienna vs. KC Spinelli vs. Madison Rayne vs. Allie

#1 contenders match and one fall to a finish. Allie gets triple teamed in the corner to start but Spinelli and Rayne quickly turn on Sienna. A northern lights suplex gives Spinelli two and Madison does the same move for the same result. Spinelli is back with a spinout Rock Bottom but Allie is back in to take both of them down at once. A hair takedown drops Allie though and it’s Sienna coming back in with a big boot to KC.

Sienna tosses Spinelli with a fall away slam for two as Allie makes the save. Back from a break with Sienna faceplanting Madison and throwing Allie down as well. Spinelli and Sienna hit a double clothesline and everyone is down. It’s Allie up first and cleaning house, including a Codebreaker for two on Sienna. Spinelli is loaded up into the AK47 but Allie rolls Sienna up for the pin at 12:39.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one but they got the finish right, especially if we’re heading for Laurel winning the title. Allie is still the most popular name in the division (or second most at worst) and giving her a push towards the title would make sense. That being said, it feels like it’s just being kept warm while we wait on Taya’s visa issues to be resolved, which makes some sense.

Trevor Lee/Caleb Konley vs. Dezmond Xavier/Taiji Ishimori

Lee and Ishimori start things off as we hear about expansion into Italy. Maybe we can see some Italian wrestlers that mean nothing around here for a change. Xavier comes in and uppercuts Lee a few times before dropkicking him in the back of the head. Lee sends Dezmond outside and scores with a running kick to the face as we take a break. Back with Xavier still in trouble as Konley sends him hard into the corner. Lee comes back in for a chinlock and a hard clothesline.

Somehow, during an X-Division match, the commentary manages to bring the discussion back to Gail Kim. We saw her during the opening and we discussed her during the Knockouts match and now we’re hearing about her too. Well of course we are. The hot tag brings in Ishimori to thankfully speed things up a bit, only to have Lee grab a German suplex for two. Everything breaks down and Dezmond gets caught in the Tree of Woe. For some reason they try a spike piledriver in the same corner though, allowing Xavier to make the save. Ishimori rolls Lee up for the pin at 12:49.

Rating: C. This division is so dull and so much of that is due to the villains. You can only do the “I’m the champion and you want the title” story for so long and they passed that point a LONG time ago. Completely average match here as we keep waiting for Ishimori to hopefully save us from the drek that is Lee’s X-Division Title reign.

We recap Dan Lambert pinning James Storm last week.

Alberto El Patron, Petey Williams and Johnny Impact aren’t happy with having to team together tonight. El Patron and Johnny talk a bunch of trash while Petey just stands around like someone who doesn’t belong here. Well you can’t fault him for his way of thinking.

We see the last five minutes of the Knockouts Gauntlet Match to crown the first ever Knockouts Champion at Bound For Glory 2007. The winner of course: Gail Kim.

Chris Adonis and Eli Drake seem to have found their partner for the six man tag in the form of Jimmy Jacobs.

Alberto El Patron/Johnny Impact/Petey Williams vs. Eli Drake/Chris Adonis/Kongo Kong

Or not actually as Jacobs comes out to say he’s a good guy. He’s here to help, which is why he’s found Adonis and Drake a partner. Quick question: has Impact ever explained who Jacobs is or why he’s here? Or are we just supposed to have a working knowledge of who has left WWE over the last few months?

Alberto hammers on Adonis to start but gets shoved into a tag to Impact. That goes nowhere so Petey chases Adonis into the corner….and earns a shot against Kong. A rolling backsplash crushes Williams and it’s back to Adonis to stomp in the corner. The slow beatdown continues and we’re just lucky enough to see more Kong. Drake comes in after a splash and drops an elbow for good measure.

Adonis almost hits Kong by mistake and the apology allows the hot tag off to Johnny. There’s a Flying Chuck for two on Drake but Alberto comes in to break up some attempted cheating. That’s enough being nice though as Alberto hits a Backstabber on Johnny. Petey gets caught in a double flapjack but Kong misses his top rope splash.

Johnny dives onto Drake but Petey’s slingshot hurricanrana is countered with a powerbomb into the crowd. Kong and Petey head to the back, leaving Johnny to deck Alberto. There’s Starship Pain but Alberto DDTs Johnny on the ramp. A frog splash to Drake is good for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: B-. Alberto logic made sense and it’s fine to have the champ get pinned in a tag match, but you really could have done almost the same match without Kong and Williams. This got a lot better at the end and once we got to the storyline stuff, but even the worst part of it wasn’t that bad. Just don’t let Alberto talk.

The Legion of Doom was in TNA for a cup of coffee back in the early days.

Alberto gets a title shot on the January 4 show.

The Park Family is proud of how well business is going but Chandler wants to be a wrestler. Joseph isn’t sure.

Video on the Grand Championship match, which will now be a three way involving champion Ethan Carter III, Fallah Bahh and Matt Sydal. That also takes place on January 4.

Also on January 4, Taiji Ishimori vs. Trevor Lee for the X-Division Title.

The next two weeks will be Best of 2017 specials.

All Storm wants is to face Lambert one on one. Dan goes into his usual wrestling sucks speech and eventually calls Storm the face of the company. Here’s the deal: if they fight each other, Storm’s career is on the line. Storm agrees, but if he wins, the MMA guys are all gone. Lashley and Moose start fighting and here’s KM, who is quickly cut off by a Last Call.

Storm vs. Lambert is set for the January 4 show.

Knockouts Title: Rosemary vs. Laurel Van Ness

The title is vacant coming in. Van Ness is sent outside and we take a break less than a minute in. Back (after a good while) with Rosemary hammering away in the corner and Cactus Clotheslining her outside. Laurel is up first and kicks Rosemary face first onto the ramp. That’s only good for two back inside and it’s time to shove each other a lot. Rosemary is up first and grabs her leaning back choke over the ropes.

They fall outside again with an exploder suplex dropping Laurel on the floor. Back in and Rosemary spears her down but has to escape an Unprettier. The Red Wedding doesn’t work either and Rosemary misses the mist. The delay allows Laurel to hit the Unprettier off the top for the pin and the title at 14:04.

Rating: C+. I’m a bit surprised by the ending but at least we have Laurel vs. Allie to look forward to. The match wasn’t bad but treating this like some kind of huge tournament win and a passing of the torch from Kim (who was mentioned almost as much as either finalist leading up to the match) is quite the stretch.

We go to a meeting between Konnan and Sami Callihan. They argue over who is in charge of this company and a match is made with titles vs. careers. Konnan agrees and says after LAX is done with OVE, they’ll be like O’Reilly and Spacey. Callihan throws a fireball at Konnan’s face to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty solid show here as they’re setting up something big for the January 4 show. That being said, I might have liked the show more because it means I get two weeks off from watching the show for the most part. If nothing else this show needs a breather and hopefully they have something a little more interesting when they get to the next taping cycle. This show worked better because it was mainly wrestling and didn’t feature much of Impact’s very sub par writing. Do that more often and the show gets better, though I don’t trust them to pull it off.

Results

Allie b. KC Spinelli, Madison Rayne and Sienna – Rollup to Sienna

Taiji Ishimori/Dezmond Xavier b. Caleb Konley/Trevor Lee – Rollup to Lee

Alberto El Patron/Johnny Impact/Petey Williams b. Eli Drake/Chris Adonis/Kongo Kong – Frog splash to Drake

Laurel Van Ness b. Rosemary – Super Unprettier

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Tribute to the Troops 2017
Date: December 14, 2017
Location: Naval Station San Diego, San Diego, California
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton

It’s the fifteenth annual special and that’s rather impressive. You never can know what to expect from these but it’s always cool to see WWE do something like this. The wrestling means very little at this show and there’s going to be a lot of filler but to complain about that would be missing the point. Let’s get to it.

The show is outside again for the first time in a good many years for a very cool setting.

Lillian Garcia performs the National Anthem at her usual amazing standard.

We look at a history of the show.

Shield vs. Samoa Joe/The Bar

Rollins and Reigns start things off with the troops in the audience telling Sheamus he’ll get sunburned. Some rapid fire elbows have Cesaro in trouble and it’s off to Dean for more of the same. Ambrose gets caught in the wrong corner though and it’s Joe hammering away. Everything breaks down and it’s the Shield cleaning house in short order. Back from a break with Rollins hitting a suicide dive and making the hot tag to Reigns. Everything breaks down again with Reigns Superman Punching Cesaro for two. The Wind-Up knee into Dirty Deeds drops Sheamus and it’s a spear to end Cesaro at 9:49.

Rating: C. I’m going to be a lot more lenient on the wrestling tonight because like I said, it’s just not the point. I’d be stunned if a heel wins tonight because this is the definition of a send them home happy show. You’re going to see these teams fight again on a big stage at some point and this was a nice preview.

Post match Reigns says the Shield brings the fight but the people in the audience here bring the big fight. Rollins and Ambrose say similar things and everyone smiles.

The cast of Star Wars loves the troops.

Clips of John Cena’s involvement with the troops over the years.

Carmella vs. Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott

Non-title with most of the division on the floor. Ruby bails to the floor to start before sneaking back in to jump Charlotte from behind. Charlotte gets in a few shots of her own but here’s Natalya to offer a distraction as we take a break. Back with Charlotte making a comeback but getting caught on top. Carmella pulls Ruby down and hits a Stratusphere for two on Charlotte and things slow down. Charlotte is back up with a double suplex and the rapid fire chops. A big boot sets up the Figure Eight to make Carmella tap at 10:04.

Rating: C. More of the same here with the face dominating and pulling off a win without much effort. Above all else though, how nice is it that the women aren’t in the Santa’s Little Helpers matches or whatever they want to call it this time? It’s really cool to see them have an actual match, even if it’s something this simple.

Charlotte thanks the troops, particularly the women.

Package of the wrestlers with the troops.

The cast of Pitch Perfect 3 love the troops.

Luke Bryan loves the troops.

Stephen Colbert loves the troops.

Machine Gun Kelly performs.

The cast of Daddy’s Home 2 loves the troops.

Sgt. Slaughter doesn’t want a fake Marine like Miz pretending to be the real thing. Dolph Ziggler is here too but doesn’t have much to say. Mark Henry comes in to tell Sarge to keep at it.

New Day/Usos vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable/Rusev/Aiden English

Before the match, New Day changes up their signature chant to a USA version. Big E. hits the abdominal stretch with some spanking on Gable to start and it’s off to Jey for a running Umaga Attack. Jey gets sent outside and into the barricade though as we take a break. Back with Rusev keeping Jey in trouble and Shelton coming in for a hard spinebuster. The Samoan drop allows the hot tag to Jimmy so house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and the Midnight Hour puts Shelton away at 8:03.

Rating: C-. New Day was a requirement on a show like this as the fans are going to eat them up and the chants are always fun. It was perfectly fine with the right guy taking the fall and the right team winning. If nothing else it’s cool to see English getting a chance to do something with that sweet voice of his.

The cast of Ferdinand loves the troops.

The cast of This Is Us loves the troops.

The cast of the Today Show loves the troops.

Sasha Banks/Bayley/Mickie James vs. Absolution

Mandy shoves Bayley into the corner to start but gets forearmed away for her efforts. Mickie comes in to kick away at Sonya and a running forearm gets two. Everything breaks down and they fight on the floor as we take a break. Back with Mandy kneeing Bayley in the face for two but getting caught in a Stunner. Sasha comes in for the running knees in the corner but Sonya makes a save. Mickie’s top rope Thesz press gets two on Paige and she dives onto the other two for good measure. Not that it matters as a quick Rampaige ends Mickie at 10:06.

Rating: C+. If any heels were going to win tonight, this makes the most sense. Absolution needs to stay strong, which includes a match like this. The match was rather energetic and it’s fine to have Mickie take a fall as that’s pretty much all her job entails at the moment. Of course none of this matters for the most part as Asuka is the big target but we’ll get to her soon enough.

Stormtroopers were at the base today as Star Wars: The Last Jedi debuts this weekend.

Machine Gun Kelly performs again.

Clint Eastwood loves the troops.

The cast of Father Figures loves the troops.

Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura/AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Orton wastes no time with the threat of an RKO to send Owens bailing to the floor. Back from a break with Owens stomping at Orton long enough that he can bring Mahal in. Nakamura comes in for the knees to the ribs, including the big knee drop for no cover. Mahal takes him into the corner for a bit but Nakamura fights away and gets it back to Styles.

The belly to back faceplant gets two on Owens and Mahal has to break up the Calf Crusher. Orton DDTs both Singh Brothers but walks into a superkick from Owens. Nakamura and Zayn come in as everything breaks down. We hit the parade of finishers, capped off by Kinshasa for the pin on Sami at 10:18.

Rating: C+. Like there was any doubt in this one. Nakamura might not have gotten the best reaction in the world but he has a good looking finisher and this isn’t exactly a normal show. Styles and Orton were crazy over of course and there’s nothing like beating up three foreigners to end the show.

One last music tribute wraps things up.

Overall Rating: C+. As you might expect, the ratings here mean nothing. This is like wondering what the audience is for a Best Of show or something like that. Tribute to the Troops is for the live crowd and there’s nothing wrong with that idea. The wrestling doesn’t matter and as long as there’s a good atmosphere, which there was, everything is fine.

Results

Shield b. Samoa Joe/The Bar – Spear to Cesaro

Charlotte b. Carmella and Ruby Riott – Figure Eight to Carmella

New Day/Usos b. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable/Rusev/Aiden English – Midnight Hour to Benjamin

Absolution b. Mickie James/Bayley/Sasha Banks – Rampaige to James

Randy Orton/AJ Styles/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens/Jinder Mahal – Kinshasa to Zayn

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Main Event
Date: December 14, 2017
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the go home show for Clash of Champions 2017 and for once that might mean something around here. The recent change towards having Smackdown clips as well as Raw stuff is a nice idea and that’s a very cool thing for the time being. Maybe we can even build towards the pay per view a bit. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Curt Hawkins vs. Rhyno

Feeling out process to start until Rhyno scores with some chops and an elbow. Hawkins is right back with a clothesline for two but stops to pose. Nigel isn’t pleased with Hawkins’ offensive choices and we hit the chinlock. Rhyno fights up without much effort and runs Hawkins over again. The spinebuster is good for the pin on Hawkins at 5:04.

Rating: D. I’m not even sure what to say about these matches anymore, though to be fair I’m not sure there’s supposed to be much to say about them in the first place. Hawkins losing is a guarantee but you can pretty much write out every Rhyno match for the rest of his career. It’s not a horrible match or anything but it’s the same thing we’ve seen so many times now.

From Raw.

Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro

Reigns is defending and starts fast with uppercuts and clotheslines. They fight to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Cesaro cranking on the arm after swinging it into the barricade for a sick thud during the commercial. Reigns fights out with a backslide for two, followed by a rollup. That’s reversed into a Fujiwara armbar and then a regular armbar. Reigns fights up again and hits the apron kick to the face for two, only to get pulled into a Crossface.

Reigns reverses into a Samoan drop for two, only to be sent HARD into the post. It doesn’t seem to matter that much though as Reigns scores with a Superman punch off the apron. The arm won’t let him follow up properly though, allowing Cesaro to grab another Crossface. The Swing is reversed into a sitout powerbomb for two more but Reigns can’t follow up. Cesaro slugs away in the corner but the Neutralizer is countered with a backdrop, followed by the spear to retain the title at 16:53.

Rating: B+. It’s a long match but it actually needed a little more time. I would have liked a lot more of Reigns fighting back and something better than “spear, ow my arm, pin”. Cesaro working on the arm for that long looked like it was going somewhere but then they just went to the finish. That being said, they beat the heck out of each other for a long time and it was a heck of a match. Just have a better finish and it’s a classic.

From Raw again.

Video on Strowman vs. Kane.

Kane vs. Braun Strowman

The winner gets Lesnar at the Rumble. Strowman wastes no time by splashing Kane in the corner, followed by a running dropkick for one. Kane avoids a charge though and a chokeslam gets two. Another chokeslam gets the same before Strowman chokeslams Kane for good measure. They fight into the crowd and Strowman spears Kane through the barricade for a double countout at 4:31.

Rating: C-. It was fun while it lasted in a Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg at Wrestlemania kind of way but that’s about all it had. I don’t think anyone expected Kane to win here and Strowman not winning is likely a good idea, especially if it would have meant losing to Lesnar again at the Rumble. I really hope Lesnar does defend at the pay per view (assuming he’s not injured or something) but this doesn’t give me a lot of hope.

The fight continues post match with both guys picking up steps. Said steps are rammed together with Strowman getting the better of it but he can’t crush Kane’s throat again. Kane chairs Strowman in the knee and then the back, finally taking the monster down. Kane sets up a table but a double clothesline gives us a double situp. Strowman muscles him up for the powerslam through the table to end the show.

Video on the Riott Squad wrecking the Smackdown women’s division.

Pay per view rundown.

Brian Kendrick/Jack Gallagher vs. Gran Metalik/Akira Tozawa

Gallagher and Tozawa get things going with Jack doing his headstand in the corner and jumping over a charging Tozawa. It’s quickly off to Metalik vs. Kendrick with the masked man speeding things up, including a rope walk middle rope dropkick. Kendrick hits a super atomic drop of all things and we take a break. Back with the Metalik Driver getting two with Kendrick grabbing a Captain’s Hook for the save. Everything breaks down and Metalik drops a rope walk elbow for the pin on Kendrick at 7:10. Not enough shown to rate but it was energetic while it lasted.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Styles to open things up. He won the title a little over a month ago and wants to be a fighting champion. This Sunday he defends against Mahal and lists off what Mahal will do to get the title back, including bringing in Great Khali. Cue the Singh Brothers, who say they’re not introducing Mahal tonight. We look back at Mahal attacking the two of them two weeks ago so AJ wants to hug it out. AJ: “Come hug it out with Uncle Al!”

The Brothers get in the ring and say they want to be in Mahal’s corner on Sunday. One of them rants about how horrible Mahal is (“He thinks we’re twins!”) while the other tries to calm him down. AJ doesn’t buy it and shows a still of the Brothers being in Mahal’s corner this weekend in India. They swear they’re done with Mahal, who comes out looking rather angry. AJ of course doesn’t buy any of this (thank goodness) and lays the Brothers out.

And we’ll wrap it up with more Smackdown.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens

Bryan is on commentary to continue a trend tonight. Owens grabs a headlock for a bit before getting kicked in the chest for his efforts. A knee to the ribs cuts Nakamura down though and a backsplash gets two. We hit the chinlock as Bryan talks about how Shane’s stipulations aren’t exactly fair. Nakamura fights up but can’t hit the knee in the corner. Instead he gets sent hard into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Owens stomping away until Nakamura gets in a running kick to the face. Some YES Kicks have Owens in more trouble and there’s Good Vibrations for a bonus. The running knee in the corner gets two but Owens breaks up a superplex. His Swanton hits knees but Owens blocks the reverse exploder. The referee gets bumped and Bryan takes over instead. Nakamura’s spinning kick to the head gets a delayed two as Orton and Zayn get in a fight. The distraction lets Owens hit a Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 14:29.

Rating: C+. Good match, but the sledgehammer of plot didn’t help things. This was supposed to be the smoking gun that proves Bryan is going to be biased on Sunday but it feels a bit forced. Granted some of that might have been Byron Saxton hammering home the same idea over and over again, which makes anything sound annoying. I would say I look forward to this story ending on Sunday but I’d be surprised if it’s done by Wrestlemania at this point.

Kevin and Sami say no one is taking their careers away because they’ll win at the Clash.

Overall Rating: D+. All this show did was reinforce how boring WWE TV has been as of late. On top of that it also shows how unnecessary Clash of Champions is, but never let that get in the way of putting a pay per view on for the sake of putting a pay per view on. This didn’t do anything to change those issues and that’s becoming a problem. Hopefully it gets better after next week but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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