Monday Night Raw
Date: June 5, 2017
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T.

We’re past Extreme Rules and in a bit of a surprise, the new #1 contender is Samoa Joe, who will get to face Brock Lesnar in just over a month at Great Balls of Fire. Other than that…..yeah there isn’t really a lot to talk about, other than Cesaro and Sheamus winning the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of last night’s main event. Makes sense in a long match.

Here’s Bray Wyatt to say that he was ready to slay the Beast but his sword was taken from him. The other four men in the match are all guilty and now it’s time to start his path back to the Beast.

Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

Before the match, Bray offers an alliance with Roman, who says this reaction is why he’s the guy. He punches Bray in the face and we’re ready to go. Sister Abigail and the Superman Punch both miss in the first thirty seconds and Bray is punched to the floor for a break. Back with Roman fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in a DDT for two.

Another chinlock is broken up with a Samoan drop for two, only to have Bray send him into the post. A backsplash on the floor crushes Roman and takes us to our second break in eight minutes. Back again with Reigns sending him to the floor, only to get Rock Bottomed for two.

Bray takes him up to for some reason, only to have Roman slip out for a big sitout powerbomb. The Superman Punch gets two more but Bray rolls outside before the spear. That’s enough to set up the apron dropkick but Roman gets blasted with a clothesline. They’re both in at nine and Sister Abigail is countered into the spear for the pin at 19:38.

Rating: B. Well that was long. It was also annoying booking as they were seemingly building Bray up for a potential run at Lesnar but HAHA ROMAN WINS AGAIN! You know, because we have to keep the former three time World Champion strong in case the shine goes away. Bray gets to rebuild again while Reigns just keeps babbling about being THE GUY because people keep cheering/booing him at the same time.

Enzo Amore doesn’t know who attacked him and thinks he should sell ice cream. Cass doesn’t like the idea that people think it was him and promises to have Enzo’s back. Enzo stops to hit on Cathy Kelly, who doesn’t seem to mind.

Stills of Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss from last night.

Kurt Angle is in his office reading another incriminating text when Bliss comes in to hear some congratulations. When they don’t come, Bliss says she’s tired of Bayley so tonight it’s Alexa Bliss: This Is My Life. Angle says that’s terrible because last week’s segment was awful (it wasn’t THAT bad). Instead, tonight Bliss is defending against Nia Jax as she promised she would on last night’s pre-show.

Elias Samson sings about Dean Ambrose.

Dean Ambrose vs. Elias Samson

Ambrose comes out and hits him in the head to send Samson outside. Dean grabs the mic and says he wants his rematch for the Intercontinental Title right now. Miz comes up on the screen and says no because he has a celebration for later. The distraction lets Samson hit his swinging neckbreaker. No match.

Post break Angle makes Miz vs. Ambrose for some unspecified point in the future. As for tonight though, Ambrose needs to leave.

Here’s Samoa Joe to talk about Lesnar. Joe gets straight to the point: he isn’t afraid of Brock Lesnar but he does envy the way Lesnar gets to do things. He shows up and fights when he wants and has Paul Heyman to run his errands for him. This brings out Heyman to say that Samoa Joe is the next challenger. Lesnar doesn’t fear Joe but Heyman thinks Joe likes that.

We hear about Lesnar not being afraid of facing Undertaker, John Cena, Goldberg or any of his other challengers because that’s what Lesnar does. A few weeks ago, Heyman said he wanted to see Lesnar vs. Finn Balor because it’s a license to print money. Joe is the worst case scenario however because Joe doesn’t care.

Even if Lesnar successfully defends the title, Joe is going to take a piece of Brock with him. That being said, Heyman’s job is to make Lesnar Joe’s worst case scenario. They shake hands and Heyman goes to leave. Joe stops him though and whispers into Heyman’s ear that he’s about to choke Heyman out and render him unconscious. Before Joe does it though, he makes sure Heyman remembers it so he can tell Lesnar what’s coming for him. That’s exactly what Joe does and Heyman is left laying. Joe looked amazing here and that’s the kind of upgrade he needed before heading into the match with Lesnar.

Post break Angle gets in Joe’s face and says that can’t happen. Joe says he’ll do that to anyone who is in his way but all that matters is if Angle is in his way. Seth Rollins comes up with a challenge for later tonight. Angle makes the match.

Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Cesaro/Sheamus

Non-title. Sheamus sends Slater into the post to start and we’re in an early chinlock. Heath actually comes back with a kick to the face but Cesaro pulls Rhyno off the apron. The distraction is enough for a Brogue Kick to finish Slater at 1:43.

Sheamus says that’s how smart teams win and takes a quick poll on how happy the fans are for the win. They know the Hardys aren’t happy and there’s nothing that can be done. So the feud CONTINUES??? REALLY???

TJP runs into Neville and wants his promised title shot. Neville basically tells him to back off.

Mustafa Ali vs. TJP

Ali starts fast and snaps off a headscissors but TJP takes him down without too much effort. TJP takes him into the corner but gets caught in a tornado DDT. It’s too early for the inverted 450 though, allowing TJP to hit the Detonation Kick for the pin at 2:40.

Post match Neville comes out to say there’s no shot. TJP wants to talk to Angle about this right now and gets his face slammed into the stage. Neville shouts that the title is on the line tomorrow night on 205 Live.

Goldust sees the bigger picture here and says the biggest names in Hollywood will be around soon because the Golden Age is back.

Mickie James, Dana Brooke and Sasha Banks are talking (like any three random women do) when Alexa comes up and wants to chat. By chat, she means turn them against Nia Jax. Sasha has already left but Mickie and Dana don’t seem to buy it. The two of them will be at ringside tonight.

The announcers talk about Bliss vs. Jax when Angle comes up to show Graves another text. They have a talk that we can’t hear and Graves goes back to the announcers’ desk, where he completely ignores Cole’s questions about what just happened.

Angle won’t talk about what happened, calling it a private matter. As he goes outside with his phone, Ambrose sneaks back in, with the Revival again being seen in the background.

Kalisto vs. Titus O’Neil

Titus accidentally cost Apollo Crews a match last night so he’s showing Apollo how it’s done. Kalisto gets sent into the corner and slammed down as we see Akira Tozawa of all people watching. Apparently he’s next in line to join the Titus Brand, though that’s from Titus himself. A fall away slam is countered into a rollup with trunks, only to have Kalisto reverse into one of his own, with a handful of trunks for the pin at 1:43.

Big Cass has been attacked. Enzo runs in and finds a gold chain in Cass’ hand. Post break, Enzo blames Revival and says they need to have their match. The referee says Enzo will need to find a new partner.

It’s time for Miz’s celebration with Maryse hosting and a guy in a bear suit behind her. Miz comes out and we hit the YOU DESERVE IT chants. That’s not cool with the new champ, as the fans chant that at every new champion in WWE. Miz brags about how awesome he is and how glad he is to be the new champion.

Maryse is praised for being this great but she didn’t order the bear. Miz beats the heck out of the bear….but it’s not Ambrose. That earns the bear a toss over the top (Miz: “At least you got beaten up by the Intercontinental Champion.”) and here comes a present in a big box. Miz doesn’t trust it and destroys the thing with a chair.

Maryse freaks out because it’s from her. She got him a grandfather clock because it’s timeless, just like her. Maryse yells and leaves as Miz goes off about Ambrose getting in his head. As the rant continues, the cameraman puts his camera down because it’s Dean. The beatdown doesn’t take long and Miz is left laying.

Enzo Amore/??? vs Anderson and Gallows

Amore has a new partner and it’s……Big Show. Before the match, Enzo says Show is looking slim and might be joining 205 Live. Enzo is 206 though and that makes him a heavyweight. He keeps going about rubbing Big Show and asks him to loosen up. That sends Show into something like an Enzo impression before finishing with the Cass line. Gallows kicks Enzo in the face at the bell but it’s off to Show almost immediately. A chokeslam to Anderson sets up a modified Bada Boom Shaka Lacka for the pin at 1:42.

Video on Alexa Bliss.

Post break, Cass accuses Show of being the attacker but leaves with Enzo without much of a problem.

R-Truth says he’s coming for Goldust and quotes A Few Good Men.

Bliss doesn’t like the rest of the division.

Women’s Title: Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss

Bliss is defending with Mickie and Dana at ringside. Jax throws her around to start and sends the champ into a corner. Bliss avoids a charge and tries a sleeper but gets sent outside. Mickie and Dana laugh at her so Alexa starts a fight, drawing the DQ at 2:20.

Nia destroys Mickie and Dana post match.

Heyman is in the trainer’s room when he gets a phone call from Brock. Paul thinks Brock should be here next week.

Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins

Joe tries an early powerbomb and gets taken down with a hurricanrana, only to have Joe come back with right hands and chops in the corner. A hard knee to Seth’s head has Rollins in trouble and the Sling Blade is countered as we take a break. Back with Joe still hammering away as the announcers talk about wrestlers hitting their stride and being on a roll like never before.

Joe crushes him with the backsplash and cranks on the arm. The snap powerslam gets two but Seth finally scores with an enziguri. A suicide dive sets up the Blockbuster, followed by a second dive. Rollins muscles him up for a Falcon Arrow and Joe is actually in some trouble. Bray Wyatt’s lights hit though and…..no one comes out. The distraction is enough to set up the Koquina Clutch though and Rollins is out at 14:14.

Rating: C+. As usual, this match had the standard Raw problem: it doesn’t mean anything so why should fans care enough to watch it? We know Lesnar is back to deal with Joe next week so why is this interesting? You know what else isn’t interesting? Bray, who lost to Reigns two and a half hours ago completely clean. If you want him to be this big deal, stop having him lose matches over and over. Rollins vs. Wyatt is interesting but it doesn’t matter if you have Reigns beat both of them in back to back weeks.

Overall Rating: C-. Not a bad show but way too long, as is so often the case. Having Lesnar back next week should help a lot and the show will be better as a result but dang the rest of the show could use some freshening up. It feels like a lot of these feuds have been going on forever and that shouldn’t be the case coming off a pay per view. The show had good moments (Bliss continuing to be gold and Joe choking Heyman out) but they need something to get people fired up. Maybe it’s Lesnar next week but if he doesn’t do it, I have no idea what will.

Results

Roman Reigns b. Bray Wyatt – Spear

Cesaro/Sheamus b. Heath Slater/Rhyno – Brogue Kick to Slater

TJP b. Mustafa Ali – Detonation Kick

Kalisto b. Titus O’Neil – Rollup with a handful of trunks

Enzo Amore/Big Show b. Anderson and Gallows – High crossbody to Anderson

Alexa Bliss b. Nia Jax via DQ when Mickie James and Dana Brooke interfered

Samoa Joe b. Seth Rollins – Koquina Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Extreme Rules 2017
Date: June 4, 2017
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves

It’s the night of extreme, which is loosely translated as “night of gimmicky rematches”. The main event is a Fatal Five Way for a future shot at Brock Lesnar and the Universal Title, likely coming at next month’s Great Balls of Fire. The stories aren’t the strongest this time around so it’s going to be mostly up to the in-ring action. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Kalisto vs. Apolo Crews

Kalisto has been feuding with Crews and Titus O’Neil for a few weeks now with Titus stealing a tainted win over him last week. Feeling out process to start with the announcers talking about LaVar Ball trying to buy into the Titus Brand. If you don’t know who that is, leave it at that and consider it a good day. Kalisto takes over with some speedy technical stuff and sends Crews to the floor for a big springboard dive. He tries another dive but gets kicked in the head for his efforts as we take a break.

Back with Crews holding a front facelock but having to clothesline Kalisto down to break up a comeback. Kalisto makes his real comeback with the corkscrew springboard shoulder as Titus plays cheerleader. A small package gets two on Crews, followed by one heck of a tornado DDT for the same. Crews comes back with a Samoan drop but his standing shooting star only gets two. Titus offers some suggestions but the distraction lets Kalisto hit a quick Salida Del Sol for the pin at 9:35.

Rating: C+. That was a lot better than I expected and if it leads to Crews beating the fire out of Titus, so be it. Basically whatever gets Crews pushed better than he has been so far on the main roster with a bit of a character/personality to him is an improvement, as we’ve been seeing him waste away for over a year now. Kalisto continues to be the guy that should be near the top of the cruiserweight show but for now he’s just a low level performer who fights heavyweights on the main show. You know, because the cruiserweight division is nonsense

The opening sequence talks about about things going extreme and how this is all about facing Brock Lesnar. You might remember him even though you haven’t seen him in two months.

We recap Miz vs. Dean Ambrose. They feuded on Smackdown late last year but now they’re both on Raw so we’ll just keep it going. Miz got a shot at the title but Ambrose got disqualified, setting up this rematch.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Dean Ambrose

Ambrose is defending and can lose the title via DQ. They start slowly with an exchange of hammerlocks as the announcers talk about this being Miz’s 92^nd pay per view match. A slap to the face annoys Ambrose so he hammers away in the corner. Dean keeps his cool and sends Miz outside for a suicide dive, followed by a whip into the barricade.

Things settle down though as we make sure that the EXTREME show doesn’t get too intense. Another yell from the referee allows Miz to get in an apron DDT for two. A neckbreaker is good for the same and Miz kicks him in the face for good measure. Three corner running dropkicks and the running corner clothesline has Dean in trouble but he’s still able to punch Miz out of the air.

Neither finish can hit so Dean sends him outside for another dive. Back in and Ambrose grabs a rollup for two, only to tweak his knee coming off the top. That means it’s off to the Figure Four with Dean finally getting over for the rope break. Dean gets crotched on top and Miz pulls him away, taking the turnbuckle pad with him.

The champ catches himself from sending Miz into the buckle but Miz uses the distraction to hit some YES Kicks. The big one is countered into a Figure Four on Miz but another rope grab is good for the break. They both limp on the bad leg for the slugout for a double knockdown before we FINALLY get to the obvious idea as Maryse slaps Miz. The referee says no and ejects Maryse though, allowing Dean to grab a rollup for two. Miz gets smart though and sends Dean into the referee but that’s still not a DQ. Instead Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 20:02.

Rating: B. I’m happy with Miz getting the title back but sweet goodness they were waiting around until the gimmick played into the ending. The slap not counting was pretty obvious but at least the DQ thing set up the ending. The problem here is very simple though: there’s not much interest in these two fighting again because they did it for so long back in December and January. But hey, at least Cena got a marriage proposal in there before they send Miz right back where he was a year ago first right?

Bayley thinks Alexa Bliss was no Rock and Mankind but she’s been watching Tommy Dreamer, Sandman and Steve Blackman to get ready for tonight. She also saw Wonder Woman and feels empowered to take the title back.

Sasha Banks/Rich Swann vs. Alicia Fox/Noam Dar

Swann gets a great hometown pop with one fan in particular really seeming happy. How do I know that? It’s because they cut to the one fan’s reaction during the entrance. The women start but it’s off to Dar before anything can happen. That means Swann has to come in to kick Dar in the head a bit before handing it back to Banks. The Bank Statement has Fox in trouble until Dar pulls her to the ropes.

Fox takes over on Sasha for a bit but another kick allows the hot tag to Swann, who gets almost no reaction this time around. A running flip Fameasser drops Dar and the spinning kick to the face makes things even worse. Everything breaks down and Sasha hits the double knees off the top to drop Dar on the floor. Back in and the Phoenix Splash ends Noam at 6:23.

Rating: D+. Well that was filler. Seriously what else can you call something like this? They have a six match card and one of the matches gets less than six and a half minutes. That being said, this was a match that shouldn’t have gone any longer because it has no place on a pay per view card. Also why does Swann get to survive the hometown curse?

The winners dance.

Elias Samson sings about how bad Baltimore is. This goes nowhere but does manage to kill off three minutes.

We recap Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss. Alexa kind of cheated to win the title last month and then attacked Bayley with a kendo stick. Tonight it’s a kendo stick on a pole match but the question is whether Bayley is capable of getting extreme.

Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss

Bliss is defending and gets sent into the corner early on, only to send Bayley outside. She’s too short to reach the stick though, which falls out to the floor instead. A belly to back suplex on the floor makes things worse for Bliss and Bayley grabs the stick. Graves: “It’s like she went from Prince Adam to He-Man!” Bayley takes too much time pulling the stick back though and gets speared down, allowing Bliss to hammer away with the stick. The beating is cut off with a Bayley to Belly but Bayley can’t follow up. More stick shots knock Bayley silly and the DDT finishes her off at 5:13.

Rating: F. So to recap: Bayley is the biggest star in NXT and then is booked like a huge loser in WWE. The fact that NXT was booked by Dusty Rhodes’ protege and WWE is booked by a “creative team” has nothing to do with this I’m sure. Yeah I’m sure they didn’t think that the simplest idea in the world (Bayley is an underdog who gets beaten down but keeps coming back because she has heart and loves what she does) needed to be completely redone in a horrible way or anything.

Just hand her the title almost right out of the gate, let her win an overbooked match at Wrestlemania and everything will be fine. It’s certainly not creative’s fault at all. Nah, it’s all on Bayley, just like all those other hot prospects in NXT who just can’t make it work for whatever reason on the main roster. All on them of course.

To clarify some of that rambling mess: this was a horribly booked match. The whole idea was building towards Bayley finding her inner anger and using the stick. They built it up well enough and then…..nothing. She had one chance to swing the stick and then Bliss just beat her up to retain in a very short match. There was no late hope spot, there was no comeback and there was nothing for the fans to get behind. This was just a step ahead of a squash instead of something interesting, which makes the last month or two a complete waste. Bliss looked great but Bayley continues to be completely mishandled.

Did I mention I REALLY don’t like WWE creative as of late?

Tag Team Titles: Hardy Boyz vs. Cesaro/Sheamus

The Hardys are defending in a cage with both members needing to escape to win, meaning no pinfalls. Cesaro and Sheamus head for the walls and the door to start but the champs pull them back in without much effort. A few whips into the cage set up a few Poetries in Motion against the cage. The advantage doesn’t last long as Cesaro sends Jeff into the cage. It’s still too early to leave though as Jeff makes the save.

They trade some escape attempts to no avail until Cesaro ax handles Jeff. Sheamus misses the Brogue Kick and gets caught in Matt’s tornado DDT to put all four down. The champs are up first and go up the cage, only to have Cesaro and Sheamus make quick saves. Jeff actually manages to get to the floor but that leaves Matt in a handicap match. The Side Effect drops Sheamus and Cesaro is put down as well but Matt can’t escape just yet.

Jeff tries to help and even pulls him halfway over the top before Cesaro punches him down to the floor. That means Matt gets pulled back down into the ring for a double Razor’s Edge (cool spot). A Brogue Kick drops Jeff again but Matt keeps Sheamus from escaping. Back to back Twists of Fate allows Matt to get his legs over the top until Cesaro hits an uppercut.

A super White Noise knocks Matt silly but here’s Jeff to dive off the top with a Whisper in the Wind to take Sheamus and Cesaro down again. Matt gets up and drags Jeff’s body towards the door as Cesaro and Sheamus go up over the top at the same time. Matt is on the floor first but can’t get Jeff out (again), allowing Cesaro and Sheamus to drop down and win the titles (for a face pop) at 15:45.

Rating: B. Uh, is it just me or does that ending not make sense? Matt and Jeff escaped first but Jeff’s escape is rescinded for going back in? When has that been a rule? It’s not the worst ending in the world and I’m fine with Cesaro and Sheamus as champions (imagine saying that six months ago) as they had to get the titles off Matt and Jeff somehow, likely without pinning them. The match being good always helps too.

We recap the Cruiserweight Title match. Austin Aries has lost to Neville twice in a row, both times via some shenanigans. Tonight it’s a submission match with Aries coming in on a bad leg, though he made Neville tap in a tag match six days ago.

Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Austin Aries

Aries is challenging in a submission match. Feeling out process to start with Neville working on an armbar instead of the taped up neck or bad knee. Aries smacks him in the back and hits a slingshot hilo, only to have Neville bail to the floor to escape the Last Chancery. Back up and Aries tweaks his knee coming off the ropes to give Neville a target. A dragon screw leg whip has the leg in trouble but Aries hits a few shinbreakers with the good leg.

The neckbreaker across the ropes is broken up and Aries might have hurt his arm on the landing. The arm is fine enough for Aries to take Neville’s leg out again and grab a figure four until Neville makes the ropes. Ignore this being a SUBMISSION match, meaning the rope shouldn’t be a break.

The Rings of Saturn go on Aries in the middle of the ring but he gets his feet to the ropes for another break. Now it’s Aries grabbing his own Rings of Saturn, only to have Neville grab the referee. That’s the threat of a DQ (ERG!) so Aries lets go to tell the referee not to do it.

Neville gets in a superkick and puts Aries on top but gets caught in a sunset bomb. The Last Chancery goes on but Neville crawls to the floor, only to have the hold stay on. Neville taps to no avail because the fall has to be in the ring. Aries misses the suicide dive to send him crashing to the floor. Back in and the Red Arrow hits Aries’ back, setting up the Rings to make Aries tap at 17:23.

Rating: B+. Other than actually growling at the referee to STOP WITH THE DQ THREATS BECAUSE IT’S A FREAKING SUBMISSION MATCH YOU STUPID PEOPLE, this was really entertaining stuff. Above all else though, it needs to be the finish to the feud. Aries has lost every single time and now he lost as clean as you can in a match like this (which STILL shouldn’t have disqualifications). Let it be over now and give us Akira Tozawa or someone else challenging for the title.

Great Balls of Fire ad with a 1950s theme because that’s the best they can come up with.

Lesnar’s title defense will take place at Great Balls of Fire.

We recap the Fatal Five Way, which is really happening because Braun Strowman is injured and we need a new #1 contender. Kurt Angle put five guys in a single match with the winner facing Lesnar next month.

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Samoa Joe

Winner gets Brock next month, one fall to a finish and anything goes. It’s a big brawl to start with Reigns being left alone in the ring until Bray Wyatt comes in to keep him from being lonely. Wyatt gets caught on the middle rope for a Samoan drop, followed by one to Joe for good measure.

Balor sends Reigns to the floor, leaving Bray to come back in and beat on Rollins and Joe. The three are sent outside for a big flip dive from Balor, only to have Reigns send him into the barricade. Joe breaks up the apron dropkick to Wyatt and sends Reigns into the steps. There isn’t much else to do here other than list off moves, as is so often the case in matches like this one.

Wyatt and Joe get together to hit people with steps, including a shot to Reigns which draws some solid cheers. They officially make a deal and take over on Balor inside as Corey is waiting on them to turn on each other. Seth starts a comeback but gets DDTed onto the steps for his efforts. Bray grabs a chair and cleans house again until he and Joe take turns backsplashing the chair onto Balor.

Joe finally misses a charge into a chair and Bray misses the crossbody, allowing Reigns to remember that he’s in the match. Roman gets the expected house cleaning segment until Bray takes him outside for a Rock Bottom onto the table. Now it’s Rollins coming back with a springboard clothesline on Wyatt, followed by a double Blockbuster to Bray and Joe.

Things speed up with Rollins loading up a suicide dive to Bray, who pulls Joe into the path instead. Back in and Sister Abigail plants Rollins, only to have Joe break it up and start the inevitable fight with Bray. Balor comes back in with a chair to break up the Koquina Clutch before dropkicking everyone in sight.

It’s time to load up the announcers’ table but Reigns comes back with a spear to drive Balor and Joe through the barricade. Seth is back up with a frog splash to drive Bray through the table but stays down holding his knee. The knee is fine enough for him to stand up for a staredown with Reigns as the chair is still in the ring. A quick Superman Punch gives Roman two, followed by Seth’s low superkick getting the same.

Another frog splash gets two more but here’s Bray for failed Sister Abigail attempts on both guys. Roman spears Bray down and hits Rollins with another Superman Punch. Balor takes one of his own but still comes back with the shotgun dropkick and Coup de Grace. It doesn’t matter though as Joe comes back in with the Koquina Clutch on Balor for the win at 29:10.

Rating: A-. I think I can go with Joe vs. Lesnar if I absolutely have to. This was a WAY better match than I was expecting with the extra time doing it a lot of favors. They had all five looking strong with the Bray/Joe alliance working fine for a story during the match. Joe winning is a good idea as he can get a rub from working with Lesnar, despite having almost no chance at actually beating him. I had a great time with this one and the ending is a very good call.

Overall Rating: B+. This was actually a heck of a show, albeit one that isn’t going to mean a thing after…..oh I’d say tomorrow. That’s a common problem in WWE and I’m not surprised to see it continue here. The idea of having a title match to build towards is a nice change of pace and should help the show a lot. Add that to a lot of really solid wrestling (only the Bayley vs. Bliss match was really bad, which is due to the booking instead of the action, or lack thereof) and you have a much better show than I ever would have guessed.

Results

Miz b. Dean Ambrose – Skull Crushing Finale

Sasha Banks/Rich Swann b. Alicia Fox/Noam Dar – Phoenix Splash to Dar

Alexa Bliss b. Bayley – DDT

Cesaro/Sheamus b. Hardy Boyz – Cesaro and Sheamus escaped the cage

Neville b. Austin Aries – Rings of Saturn

Samoa Joe b. Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns – Koquina Clutch to Balor

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/05/19/history-of-saturday-nights-main-event-and-clash-of-the-champions-now-in-paperback-plus-price-drops/

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

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So it’s time for one of the least gimmicky gimmick pay per views that WWE offers. I get the idea behind what they’re doing here but can you really consider a lot of these matches to be EXTREME? It’s a good idea if the bigger matches are all extreme (Is that really the best name they can come up with? It sounds so officially and corp……yeah that’s the best we’re getting.) but it really feels like a bunch of gimmick matches which are lumped together under the EXTREME banner. Let’s get to it.

Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss(c) vs. Bayley

There’s no announced Kickoff Show match this time around so we can jump straight into the bigger matches. This is kendo stick on a pole match with the big idea being that Bayley can’t get extreme with the stick. I mean, this ignores the time where she beat the fire out of Tommy Dreamer with one on Edge and Christian’s show. This lead to the not as bad as people thought This Is Your Life Bayley which again saw Bliss beat the heck out of her.

I smell a screwy finish here with Bayley using the stick but still losing the match somehow. Bliss needs to hang onto the title for a good while as she’s blown the roof off all of the expectations she had upon winning the title. Bayley continues to flounder on “Monday Night Raw” (A popular NXT talent being used horribly on the main roster? Really?) but I’m sure she’ll land on her feet eventually.

Tag Team Titles: Hardys(c) vs. Sheamus/Cesaro

Wake me when this one is over. This is a fine example of a feud that has dragged on for the better part of forever (really only about a month and a half) because there’s little reason for them to be fighting anymore other than the “Monday Night Raw” tag division is a barren wasteland. I know it’s asking a lot but the precious, overworked (and overstaffed) writing staff could build up more than one team at a time.

I’ll take the Hardys to retain here, even though they’re rapidly turning back into the standard version of the team. There isn’t much of a reason to care about them now other than nostalgia and hoping that they get to use the Broken characters down the line. They don’t need to be crushed or anything similar but I could go for some new champions. However, that seems to be the Revival’s spot to take and I think we’re all the better for it.

Intercontinental Title: Dean Ambrose(c) vs. The Miz

Again, WHY IS THIS FEUD HAPPENING AGAIN? Miz moving to “Monday Night Raw” was the worst thing that could have happened to him as he easily could be feuding with Randy Orton over the Smackdown World Title right now. Instead though he’s feuding with Ambrose again and chasing yet another Intercontinental Title. This time around though he can win the title via DQ and that sounds like a way to a screwy finish.

In theory this should be Maryse slapping Miz or something of a similar simple manner for a quick DQ. However, instead they’ll likely have Kurt Angle come out and say “eh that’s not happening” so the match can continue with Ambrose retaining. There’s no reason for Ambrose to keep the title (which he’s had for FIVE MONTHS) but I have a feeling they’re going to keep the belt on him even longer for absolutely no apparent reason.

Cruiserweight Title: Neville(c) vs. Austin Aries

This is their third straight pay per view match and also shows the major issues with having so many TV shows and pay per views. They had a great match at “Wrestlemania XXXIII” and a slightly less great match at “Payback 2017” but after seeing them fight in almost every possible style of tag match possible, I’m sick of watching them over and over again. This time around it’s a submission match, which at least adds a new element to the match.

I think I’ll go with Neville retaining here as him tapping out on Monday made it feel like they were setting up doubt that won’t go anywhere. If nothing else this seems likely to set up Akira Tozawa as Neville’s next challenger, which certainly wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. Either way, I’m sure the match will be entertaining and I’m sure TJP and possibly Jack Gallagher will be interfering as well.

Rich Swann/Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox/Noam Dar

I’m sorry what now? This is the best they can do and yet American Alpha is stuck on the “Smackdown Live” bench for weeks at a time? This is really all they can come up with for Banks (I reserve the right to retract this is it helps set up a Banks heel turn) when you have Dana Brooke sitting around? Or Mickie James and Nia Jax perhaps? It’s two feuds put together and while that’s usually good, Banks feels completely forced into this spot.

I’ll take Swann and Banks in what should be the Kickoff Show match at worst. Swann is entertaining in the ring and has a gimmick with the dancing thing but Dar really doesn’t feel like he’s all that special. Fox is good in the crazy role and Banks is great by definition but that doesn’t mean we need to be having this match on pay per view.

Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins

And WWE still seems confused by why the “Monday Night Raw” ratings suck. This is about an opportunity to be destroyed by Brock Lesnar at a nothing show in July and that’s really all they’ve got. The title isn’t on the line here and Lesnar isn’t going to be seen but we’re supposed to get fired up about a match with a stipulation that might change anyway? I mean, do you believe WWE won’t change the match before July? Nothing is actually on the line here and it’s basically a glorified prequel.

I’ll take Rollins to win here as there’s a reason for Lesnar to want another shot at him after their match at “Battleground 2015”. Paul Heyman even referenced that the night after “Wrestlemania XXXIII” so it’s definitely been considered. Not that it matters though as this is just a pit stop on the LONG road to “Wrestlemania XXXIV” where Roman Reigns can save us all again and we can boo him our thanks.

Overall Thoughts

Overall “Extreme Rules 2017” feels very skippable. The wrestling should be good enough but that doesn’t mean it’s a show you need to see. You have a match setting up another pay per view main event and a bunch of rematches, plus Banks slumming it with the cruiserweights. That’s really the best thing we can get out of WWE on the monthly pay per view schedule? Why do these things exist again? The show will likely be entertaining and the main event sounds fun but it’s not a show I’m looking forward to watching.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Smackdown
Date: January 2, 2003
Location: Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s time for a new year with a special live show. The big deal tonight is the wedding between Al Wilson and Dawn Marie, which should hopefully be a big step towards finally ending this stupid storyline. The thing won’t go away and unfortunately it’s going towards another Torrie vs. Dawn match. Let’s get to it.

A narrated opening video talks about Brock Lesnar making his return to the ring tonight. Another voice talks about the wedding, which really does seem to be the bigger deal.

Opening sequence, which includes several shots of Stephanie.

Here are John Cena and Bull Buchanan to rap about Rikishi being fat.

John Cena vs. Rikishi

Rikishi punches him down to start as it’s very weird to see Cena in wrestling boots with the (khaki) shorts. Cena gets thrown outside for a bit, followed by a legdrop for two back inside. Buchanan offers a cheap shot on the floor and Cena takes over as Cole says we’ll start the Royal Rumble participants next week. Those are always fun, even if the show is old. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Rikishi fights up with a Faarooq spinebuster. The referee is with Buchanan though, meaning Rikishi has to beat him up too. Cena shoves the referee away and rolls Rikishi up (with Rikishi’s feet in the ropes) for the pin.

Rating: D. The match was nothing to see but the result is the right call. I’ve complained for months about Rikishi being pushed far too strong so it’s nice to see him finally lose a match to someone, even in a bit of a weak finish. Either way, it’s a good thing to see Cena getting a win as the raps are getting more entertaining week after week.

Rikishi beats them up post match.

Here’s Dawn Marie, in her wedding dress, with something to say. She’s going to be getting married tonight because she’s such a beautiful bride. Oh and she’ll do it without clothes. No, she won’t.

Stephanie is in the back and goes into Dawn’s locker room to say she can’t be married without any clothes on. So she’s stopping a woman from taking off her clothes but is also stopping a heel from doing what she wants. As usual, I have no idea what Stephanie is supposed to be. Repercussions are promised but Dawn hints that she’ll do it anyway.

Chuck Palumbo vs. Bill DeMott

DeMott runs him over to start and shrugs off a clothesline. A screaming splash in the corner keeps Palumbo in trouble as Cole talks about Bill wanting to step up in WWE. Chuck’s comeback is cut off by a shot to the back of the head. That goes so well that they do the same thing again, followed by DeMott hitting a reverse DDT for the pin. Was there really anything wrong with the powerbomb or moonsault?

Rating: D. So is this DeMott push going anywhere? I mean, I can’t imagine that it will but it would be nice to tease that it’s going to instead of just doing the squash matches over and over. At least they let him stop beating up cruiserweights and went with someone who wasn’t going to be hurt by the loss.

Undertaker is coming back at the Royal Rumble. Every clip of him in this video is the Deadman version.

Billy Kidman (who I had almost forgotten was Cruiserweight Champion) runs into Torrie Wilson for the patented awkward conversation. They talk about the wedding and Kidman acts it out for some reason. So he’s making fun of her father and reminding Torrie that her dad is marrying someone she hates.

Kurt Angle isn’t worried about who Chris Benoit picks to face Team Angle tonight because he’ll still be champion after the Royal Rumble. This place is about wrestling and the three of them are the best in the world. If Benoit ever did wrestle in college, it was probably at the University of Saskatchewan and he couldn’t even make the practice squad.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Billy Kidman

Non-title again and Eddie has gotten one heck of a haircut. Eddie gets monkey flipped to start so he snaps off a fall away slam into a bridge for two. We hit an armbar as Cena and Buchanan come out to say he’s about to crack the Guerreros and make huevos rancheros. After a few Taco Bell jokes, Chavo goes after Buchanan in the ring and a fight breaks out.

Rikishi comes in for the save and is taken away as we take a break. Back with Rikishi still being held back, Chavo and Buchanan ejected, Cena on commentary talking about how he’s harder than ring tones and Eddie hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A Gory Stretch into a spinning powerbomb gets two and it’s off to a chinlock. Eddie backdrops him to the floor and Cena threatens to hit Cole in, what sounded like, his foolbox.

Kidman fights out of a sleeper but takes too long going up top and gets superplexed right back down. The Frog Splash misses though and Kidman hits the BK Bomb for two. A high crossbody gives Kidman two but they ram heads in the corner, allowing Cena to hit Eddie in the head with the chain. Kidman didn’t see it and hits the Shooting Star for the pin.

Rating: B-. It looks like they’re trying to turn Los Guerreros face, which they would be due to how strong they’ve been recently anyway, but I’m not sure if it’s the best move to just change them up this fast. At least Kidman finally won something, even though that Cruiserweight Title means less and less every single week. As usual, Kidman has shown he can hang with heavyweights but is apparently on top of the nothing division an in way over his head anywhere else.

Video on Brock Lesnar.

WAY too long package on the buildup to the wedding. As I’ve mentioned many times, I still have no idea why this is a bad thing for Al.

It’s wedding time. Al comes out looking like he’s trying to look classy in Hawaii, Dawn is in her dress and the minister sounds like Slick. We hit the objection line and Dawn does indeed object. She wanted to take everything off but instead strips to her underwear. The thing is no one ever said AL couldn’t be married sans clothing so let’s take a long time stripping him as well. With a straight on camera shot of Al in briefs, they’re married and Al is kissed to the ground. That’s it. No angle, no Torrie, no interruption. Just a wedding and that’s it. This has been a major waste of your time.

Chris Benoit/??? vs. Team Angle

Benoit can pick any partner he wants and one of the big drawing points of this show has been the return of Brock Lesnar. We also saw a video on Lesnar and Brock has issues with Angle. Therefore, the partner is Edge. Not a bad choice but not exactly where the signs were pointing.

Benoit and Haas get things going with Chris running him over a few times and handing it off to Shelton. That means a quick Crossface before it’s off to Edge to stomp away in the corner. Haas offers a distraction from the apron though and Team Angle takes over for the first time…..in their careers I guess.

Shelton gets two off a suplex and it’s off to the chinlock. A cheap shot from Angle sets up the first suplex from Haas for two. Charlie drapes Edge over the ropes so Shelton can jump over his back and land on Edge. Eh the Beverly Brothers already did it. We hit the Haas of Pain but Benoit makes a quick save.

The half nelson faceplant drops Shelton and the hot tag brings in Benoit to clean house. The suplexes are unleashed and Benoit nails the Swan Dive to Shelton for two. Everything breaks down with Team Angle taking stereo rolling German suplexes until Angle pulls Edge outside. Benoit Crossfaces Shelton, drawing Angle in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. I would have given Team Angle some more offense though they certainly didn’t look weak. The DQ finish protects Benoit and keeps the new team looking strong enough. All that matters here is that Angle now has some backup and hopefully we can keep him FAR away from Big Show.

Angle beats up Tony Chimmel until he announces Team Angle as the winners.

Post break, Paul Heyman is in the ring to brag about how awesome his clients are. That brings him to Lesnar, and it’s time for Big Show. Heyman gets right to the point: he wants Big Show vs. Lesnar with the winner going into the Royal Rumble and the loser being left out. Since it’s Heyman, this takes a lot longer than it needs to. Cue Lesnar but Matt Hardy and Shannon Moore jump him from behind with a chair. One shot busts Brock open BAD from the back of his head as the villains run off.

Dawn and Al, still in their underwear, go to the limo. You mean they haven’t left yet? Anyway, they have a camera to film their honeymoon.

Crash vs. Nunzio

Josh Matthews has replaced Chimmel as ring announcer and looks even dumber than usual. Crash comes in with a high crossbody for two and then the opening bell rings. That’s not the most competent referee. Nunzio goes after the arm with a quick armbar and something like a Stunner onto the arm. A rollup gives Crash two but the kickout sends his shoulder into the post. The DDT on the arm (flying armbar) is good enough to give Nunzio the pin.

Matt gives Shannon a pep talk.

Matt Hardy vs. Brock Lesnar

Brock is in a t-shirt and workout pants. Matt, who always stays awake until sunrise on New Year’s Eve, tries to have Shannon get in some cheap shots but the still bloody Brock cleans house anyway. A great looking backbreaker sets up a belly to belly, followed by some powerslams into the corner. Shannon’s distraction works as well as you would expect though it does allow Matt to hit a Side Effect. That just earns him a belly to belly, followed by Shannon being thrown on top of Matt. A release F5 plants Moore but Brock walks into the Twist of Fate for two. The F5 finishes Matt a few seconds later.

Rating: D+. It’s very fun to watch Lesnar destroy people like they’re not even there and if he can do two at once, that’s even better. It was entertaining and a good use of Matt and Shannon, both of whom will be over again as soon as Matt does another over the top promo about how awesome Mattitude really is.

Show comes out for the staredown, earning Matt another F5 to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. The wrestling in the middle helps but so much of this show was dominated by the wedding nonsense. Dawn Marie is good looking but she is nowhere near enough to save this story. I still don’t know why it’s still going but I’m sure we’ll be seeing another big part of it next week, eventually leading to Dawn vs. Torrie again.

Other than that we had Bill DeMott and Rikishi getting featured spots. They’re building some acts up (Los Guerreros, Cena, Team Angle) and that can lead them to a lot of good places in the future. This wasn’t a horrible show but there’s no way around that wedding, which ate up more than almost any given match. I’m sure it’s a Vince thing but this is the funniest thing he can get behind?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Ring of Honor
Date: May 31, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re back to the regular shows this week after a quick trip to Japan (and back in time about three months). That means it’s time to deal with the War of the Worlds fallout along with starting the build towards Best in the World on June 23. Christopher Daniels is still World Champion but it’s hard to say who challenges him next. Let’s get to it.

We look back at War of the Worlds where Adam Cole seemingly finished up with the promotion with a Bullet Club sendoff. Bullet Club leader Kenny Omega came on screen and said this was the end of Cole’s fairy tale because there was a new member of the team. This brought out Marty Scurll for the big beatdown to a very strong reaction.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Bullet Club to open things up. The Young Bucks brag about what happened and say no one saw that coming, unless you watch their YouTube series. They bring out Scurll to talk about how it’s time for a new era in the Bullet Club because they needed some villany. Instead of a Superkick Party, let’s have a tea party. Scurll: “Bring out the crumpets!”

Actually it’s Adam Cole to a huge reaction. Cole thinks we should have story time instead of a tea party. He lists off his resume and talks about what a mistake it was for Bullet Club to make an enemy. Hangman Page says he’s going to run Cole out of this company and a match is made for some point.

Clip of David Starr laying out Josh Woods. Who is Starr you ask? Eh not important as you’re just supposed to know that coming in.

David Starr vs. Josh Woods

Despite being the heel, Starr is the hometown boy and has a bunch of monikers, including “Your Favorite Wrestler’s Favorite Wrestler.” Woods takes him into the corner and strikes away, earning quite a few boos. A springboard clothesline sends Woods outside but he grabs a fall away slam on the floor.

They head back in with Starr grabbing a DDT on the apron, followed by a hard clothesline. Starr’s superkick gets two but Woods reverses into a LeBell Lock. Back up and they slug it out with Starr kneeing him in the face but getting pulled down into a heel hook. Woods takes him into the corner and grabs a kneebar for the tap at 4:35.

Rating: C. As I’ve asked every time he’s been mentioned: WHO IS DAVID STARR??? I’ve seen him twice now and still have no idea who he is, why he attacked Woods or anything else, other than he’s from Philadelphia. Maybe this was explained elsewhere but would it be asking too much to have the announcers tell us about that?

Video on Punishment Martinez.

Cole vs. Page next week.

Here are Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser for a chat. Young is coming off a victory over Jay Lethal (not mentioned until now) who he also attacked backstage after the loss. We saw the attack but not the win, which is why this company is so hard to follow at times. Young brags about his victory over Lethal and says he has Jay’s number. Cue Lethal to say let’s fight so Silas bails, setting up this.

Beer City Bruiser vs. Jay Lethal

Bruiser punches away in the corner to start as Young is on commentary. Lethal dropkicks him outside and chops Bruiser up against the barricade for a running Cannonball. Back from a break with Bruiser hitting a running right hand in the corner as the fans think Bruiser still sucks. It’s off to some shots to Lethal’s knee but Jay is quickly out and kicking Bruiser in the face. Lethal can’t hit the top rope elbow but can hit a dive to the floor, only to have Young start a brawl for the DQ at 10:13.

Rating: D+. I’m still not buying into the idea of Young as a star as they’ve teased pushing him multiple times not but haven’t gone anywhere. Having him beat Lethal is fine but is there a reason that we only saw/heard about his win now, after they did the angle with the knee injury. The match was just a way to set up a rematch and that’s fine.

Bobby Fish comes out to save Lethal.

We look back at the end of the War of the Worlds Main event with Daniels pinning Cody, who had Lethal in a Figure Four.

Cody vs. Frankie Kazarian

Before the match, Cody says he wants a rematch with Daniels because, as Cabana said on the pay per view’s commentary, the Figure Four should have had Lethal pinned. Kazarian goes right after him to start and we head outside for a Frankie dive. A swinging neckbreaker takes us to a break but we come back with Kazarian in trouble on the floor.

Cody gets two off a delayed gordbuster and an Alabama Slam as the fans are split on their favorite. A butterfly arm crank keeps Kazarian down for a bit before it’s time to stomp on the ankle. The Beautiful Disaster sends Kazarian outside, only to have him catch Cody with a crossbody as we take a second break.

Back again with Cody’s kick to the ribs and another Beautiful Disaster for two. Kazarian grabs an Unprettier for two, followed by a cutter for the same. Not that it matters as Kazarian kicks him in the face and tries a neckbreaker but gets caught in Cross Rhodes for the pin at 17:35.

Rating: C+. This was an easy way to keep Cody looking strong before what is likely a one on one rematch for the title against Daniels at Best in the World. Beating the best friend is a classic idea, even if it’s basically the same story they did in the previous match. You can’t expect them to come up with another idea so soon though.

Hangman Page comes in to beat on Kazarian but Daniels runs in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I think I could go for more of this building to the pay per view several weeks in advance. I’ve never understood how their taping schedule works but at this rate they’ll have three weeks to build to a pay per view, which actually feels like something that could work for a change. Good show this week with stories being advanced and the build towards what is likely the World Title match being started.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Main Event
Date: June 1, 2017
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

For the first time in a good while, I’m getting to the point where I don’t quite know what to expect from this show. They’ve actually mixed things up a bit in recent weeks and that’s been the best idea they could have had. I’m not saying the show is good yet but at least it’s easier to sit through. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Drew Gulak vs. Lince Dorado

Dorado starts fast with some kicks to the face and something like a springboard headlock takedown. Drew is smart enough to hide behind the referee to get in a shot to the throat and take over. It’s off to the arm with Gulak cranking on the chin for good measure. One heck of a clothesline drops Dorado again and we hit a regular chinlock. Dorado comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but hurts his knee and the match is actually called off at 4:40.

Rating: D+. The injury hurts things but you have to assume that Gulak was going to win anyway. Hopefully Dorado isn’t out long term as he’s perfectly fine for a face jobber in the division. Gulak has found his groove in this character and hopefully he can take it somewhere instead of just doing the same bits over and over.

From Raw!

Here’s Alexa Bliss with a table of stuff and some random people for This is Your Life Bayley. Bliss talks about the kendo stick hanging in the corner, which Bayley would probably try to hug instead of use on her. Now it’s off to the table, which includes Bayley’s first doll, which she still plays with. Then we have a trophy for best in sportsmanship. Bliss also has Bayley’s yearbook where she was voted most likely to apologize.

That’s enough for the table of stuff though so let’s move on to the guests, starting with Mrs. Flapper, Bayley’s fourth grade teacher. Apparently Bayley had perfect attendance and sat next to her father, who she just couldn’t be away from without crying. Then we have Bayley’s best friend Tracy, who says Bayley was the nicest girl in the world. The problem was Bayley let people take advantage of her by taking the fall for them or doing their homework. Then something happened and they stopped talking. Bayley wanted to watch wrestling instead of going out and doing anything else.

Bliss finds this hilarious we have Bayley’s ex-boyfriend Phil, who said their first date was ok but kind of strange. Her dad was there every single time, including the time they almost had their first kiss. Phil didn’t really like her though because he just wanted to get closer to Tracy. She liked him too so they kiss, which Bliss deems disgusting. Cue the real Bayley to clean house, including going up to grab the stick. Bliss cuts her off though and pulls out a second stick to give Bayley a beating. This was a long segment but Bliss sold it as she can do so well. The joke got old in a hurry more than once but at least they kept it moving fast enough.

We see a few minutes of Samoa Joe vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor from Monday.

Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Bo Dallas/Curt Hawkins

Is there any show Hawkins isn’t on (not a bad thing)? Rhyno and Hawkins get things going with the fans going nuts for Rhyno again. Some early shoulders stagger Hawkins and it’s time for some cheese to go with those crackers. Slater comes in and works on the arm for a bit and Dallas gets some of the same. A little double teaming sends Slater outside though and we take a break.

Back with Dallas driving knees into Slater’s back and grabbing a cravate. Hawkins comes back in for a chinlock of his own as the fans want Rhyno. A kick to the face is enough to grant the fans’ wish and it’s time to clean house. Everything breaks down and Rhyno TKO’s Hawkins for two. The spinebuster puts Dallas away at 10:48.

Rating: C. Is there a reason Slater and Rhyno aren’t on Raw? They might not be the best team in the world but they’re a perfectly serviceable face team and the fans are always going to be behind Rhyno. Then again that’s asking WWE to be able to handle two face teams at once and you know that’s not going to happen.

We’ll wrap it up here.

Seth Rollins says he’ll win.

Roman Reigns says he’ll win.

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins

They circle each other to start with the fans being almost one sided behind Rollins. Reigns throws him around and stares Rollins down. Some big forearms send Rollins outside but he hits the jumping knee, followed by a clothesline over the top. A dive takes us to a break with a good deal of time left.

Back with Rollins being sent into the barricade, right in front of a good number of empty first and second row seats. Reigns hits the corner clotheslines but the Superman Punch is pretty easily blocked. Rollins springboards into the Superman Punch for two but it’s too early for the spear. Instead Rollins hits the low superkick for two of his own, only to have Reigns no sell the Buckle Bomb and hit another Superman Punch.

They head outside with Reigns going shoulder first into the steps, setting up a Blockbuster for another two. That great looking frog splash is still only good for a near fall but Rollins misses the third Phoenix Splash of the night. An enziguri sets up the windup knee but Reigns spears him down for the pin at 18:22.

Rating: B-. As is the case in the tag match (albeit to a better degree), the match was good but nothing we haven’t seen several times before. I know the idea is that Reigns has the momentum heading into Sunday, though it’s really hard to buy the idea that he’s getting the title shot at some nothing show in July instead of in his fourth Wrestlemania main event in a row. Good main event, but people really didn’t seem to care.

Overall Rating: C-. I know this goes against the common opinion but I really didn’t think This Is Your Life was that bad. Sure the thing at the end with the actors kissing was dumb but the rest was fine with Alexa being such an awesome heel that it can never be completely bad. The rest of the show was your usual weak effort in a dead time for the show but that’s Money in the Bank season for you.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 1, 2017
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Angelo Dinero

We’re about a month away from Slammiversary 2017 and that means we need to really build up the card. While a lot of it is likely going to be set up during the upcoming India shows, we have a main event already set as Ethan Carter III will challenge Lashley for the World Title in a match that I’m sure won’t be changed. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of last week, including Scott Steiner returning to join Josh Matthews against JB and Joseph Park at Slammiversary and Carter becoming #1 contender.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Ethan Carter III with a barbershop quartet (in snappy hats) plus a violinist and bass player to sing his theme song. They also sing that he’s the #1 contender, which nobody can deny. Ethan talks about getting ready for the biggest fight of his life before having the group sing a goodbye song to Lashley.

Cue Alberto El Patron but before that can go anywhere, Karen Jarrett, Bruce Prichard and Dutch Mantel, flanked by Tyrus, cut them off. Bruce says it’s not going to happen this way so he makes El Patron vs. Carter tonight for the GFW Title and the shot at Lashley inside a cage. The other three never said a word and really didn’t need to be there.

The show heads to India next week.

Grand Championship: Moose vs. Eli Drake

Moose is defending and Drake has Chris Adonis with him. Mantel, Prichard and Scott D’Amore are guest judges here for no apparent reason. The champ kicks him in the face at the bell and tosses Drake into the corner with ease. Drake starts in on the knee and works it over before grabbing a Figure Four to take us to the end of the first round.

Eli wins round 1 and goes right after the knee again to start the second. Josh completely ignores the match to talk about the upcoming tag match at Slammiversary. The leg is wrapped around the post but Moose pulls Drake into it as the announcers bicker about commentary. Back in and Moose dropkicks him off the top to set up a backsplash and moonsault. The knee is too banged up for the cover though and round 2 ends as we take a break.

Back with Moose being announced as the winner, sending Adonis over to yell at the judges. They slug it out at the bell for round 3 with Moose getting the better of it and hitting his chokebomb for two. Drake comes back with some kind of a throw for two of his own. Moose slugs him right back drop but Adonis grabs the foot, allowing Moose to hit whatever he calls White Noise as the clock expires at 9:00. Moose retains via split decision.

Rating: C+. Same as always: it’s a fine match that really doesn’t need the rounds and doesn’t need the nine minute time limit. As usual Drake continues to look better in the ring almost every time but he needs to actually win something of note. Moose is being built into something interesting and when someone finally takes the title off of him, it might actually be a big deal.

We look back at Rosemary saving Allie.

Allie isn’t sure why Rosemary helped her but Rosemary comes up to freak her out even more. Rosemary says she heard something crying out and she knew Allie needed protection.

Impact will hold a house show on August 5 in Staten Island. I’ll believe it when the opening bell rings.

Matt Sydal talks about tonight’s X-Division Title match with Low Ki defending against Andrew Everett.

Swoggle is in the front row.

Allie vs. Amber Nova

Nova is billed from the Garage (Gradge?) and wears a rather small outfit. Allie shoves her away to start but eats a knee in the corner. The comeback doesn’t take long as Allie starts overcoming her self confidence issues and hits some clotheslines. A lot of shouting sets up a running Death Valley Driver to pin Nova at 3:34. Allie hugs everyone, which totally isn’t a Bayley knockoff in the slightest.

Rating: D+. Allie as TNA’s version of Bayley is fine as she’s certainly popular with the crowd and it’s nice to have her actually win something for a change. It would be nice to have her win a blowoff match against Laurel Van Ness to FINALLY end the story but odds are this gets dragged out even further for some reason. Nova wasn’t bad but you can only see so much out of a three and a half minute match.

Joseph Park and JB arrive in a golf cart.

GFW Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Veterans of War

Tournament final with LAX’s Impact Tag Team Titles not on the line and no disqualifications. The rest of LAX comes in to help with an early beatdown (makes sense) but leaves after only a few seconds. Wilcox shrugs Ortiz off and brings in Mayweather for a big hiptoss as LAX takes a breather on the floor. Santana sneaks in from behind to clip Mayweather’s knee though and LAX takes over for the first time.

The beating begins in the corner with Ortiz stomping away and Mayweather taking out the knee for more of the same. Mayweather finally comes back with a Downward Spiral to get a breather The hot tag brings in Wilcox to clean house with the heavy clotheslines. Everything breaks down and Konnan hits Mayweather in the knee with a bat, allowing Homicide to blasts Wilcox in the back with a title belt. The Street Sweeper gives LAX the titles at 6:56.

Rating: D+. NOW UNIFY THE THINGS AND NEVER MENTION THE GFW TITLES AGAIN! That being said, this was a big disappointment as the VOW have already lost a match which is likely setting up a rematch at Slammiversary. I mean, it would have made sense to have them both have a title and unify them at the pay per view but this company has far bigger problems than that.

Park and JB have a really lame psych up segment and Park says it’s time to train. JB: “Have you lost your d*** mind?”

X-Division Title: Low Ki vs. Andrew Everett

Low Ki is defending and Sonjay Dutt is on commentary. The champ is in a suit to continue an idea whose origins probably don’t remember in the first place (yes I know what it is). They trade kicks to start with Low Ki getting the better of it and headbutting Everett into the corner. Everett is sent outside and Low Ki yells at Dutt as we take a break. Back with Low Ki in control and pulling Everett off the middle rope for two. We hit an abdominal stretch but Everett slips out and kicks him away.

A bad looking hurricanrana sends Low Ki into the middle turnbuckle, followed by a running shooting star for two. Everett goes for a springboard but completely botches it (calling Maffew, come in Maffew), landing about four feet away and giving Low Ki two off the crash. Andrew shoves him off the top and tries the shooting star, only to have it land on knees. The running dropkick into the corner sets up the Warrior’s Way to retain the title at 13:45.

Rating: C. The botch aside, this wasn’t the worst match in the world but they might as well have held up a big sign counting down to the start of Dutt vs. Low Ki for the title. That’s not a bad thing but it made this match seem a bit like a waste of time. Everett seemed primed and ready to win the title but somehow we’ve moved on to two guys from the original days of Impact for reasons I don’t want to fathom.

Low Ki yells at Dutt.

Lashley wants to make Impact great.

Spud jumps Swoggle and beats on his knee with a hammer. Josh: “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS???” I’m not sure why I’m so amazed every time Josh asks these stupid questions but it happens every time. Swoggle’s eye is busted and the fans call Spud a stupid idiot.

GFW Title: Alberto El Patron vs. Ethan Carter III

Patron is defending inside a cage and the winner faces Lashley at Slammiversary. Alberto starts kicking away (common trend tonight) but gets sent into the cage. A DDT gets Alberto out of trouble but Carter is right there to cut off an escape attempt. One heck of a Samoan drop off the cage plants Alberto and we take a break.

Back with Carter hitting a charge in the corner, only to get caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A sitout electric chair faceplant gives Carter two but Alberto is up with a middle rope Backstabber to pull him off the corner. Alberto starts in on the arm with a Codebreaker and the cross armbreaker goes on in the middle of the ring.

Carter gets out again and the TK3 gets two more. A Batista Bomb lets Carter get to the middle of the cage but Patron pulls him down and hits a top rope double stomp from the top of the cage (FREAKING OW MAN). Since that’s not enough, Alberto adds a top rope splash for the pin at 17:40.

Rating: B-. Well I’m shocked. They’ve been setting up El Patron vs. Lashley II since the week after El Patron debuted and I don’t know how many people bought the idea of Carter getting the shot after all those weeks of talking about how the GFW Title was the golden ticket. Also, aside from the ending, there was no reason for this to be in a cage and it’s not like they had any chance to hype it up because, as is the case in way too many wrestling companies, they announced it at the beginning of the show and had the match an hour and a half later.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s amazing what happens when this show has something to build towards. After all the months of running around like seahorses on bicycles, they’ve FINALLY got something to go for instead of just doing the same things over and over again to little avail. The GFW stuff isn’t interesting and there’s no reason for a show with two hours of TV a week to have multiple titles for almost every division but at least they have something to focus on, which helps so much. Much better show here and the direction has so much to do with that.

Results

Moose b. Eli Drake via split decision

Allie b. Amber Nova – Death Valley Driver

Low Ki b. Andrew Everett – Warrior’s Way

Alberto El Patron b. Ethan Carter III – Frog splash

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Lucha Underground
Date: May 31, 2017
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

So this still exists. We’re back into season 3 with the first show in four and a half months. The big story continues to be Johnny Mundo defending the Lucha Underground Title, which he’s putting on the line here in an All Night Long match against the Mack. In other words, that’s the only match on the whole show. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Mundo vs. Mack, the latter of whom won a mini tournament to get a non-title match against Mundo. Johnny won that one, allowing him to pick the All Night Long stipulation.

The house band is still here.

The announcers open the show and Vampiro can’t seem to sit still.

Lucha Underground Title: Johnny Mundo vs. The Mack

Mack is challenging and this is an Iron Man match with the show’s time limit. Mundo’s shoulders have no effect so Mack hammers away in the corner. A running knee drop gets two and it’s time to have crowd reaction shots because WWE does them. Mundo blasts him in the face with a running knee of his own, followed by the Moonlight Drive neckbreaker for two. A quick End of the World gives Johnny the first pin at 3:19 and we take a break.

Back with Mundo’s flip being countered into something like a Side Effect, followed by a running Bronco Buster/backsplash in the corner. Mundo gets in a Flying Chuck and looks to set up the End of the World but Mack is right there with a rollup, only to have Johnny roll him over and grab the ropes to go up 2-0 at 7:40. Mack dropkicks him outside for a flip dive, followed by a neckbreaker off the apron for a good sounding thud. Back in and Johnny kicks him in the head but springboards into a sitout powerbomb to make it 2-1 Mundo at 10:45. We get an on-screen clock showing 26:00 to go and come back with 25:59 to go.

Mack takes a few knees to the chest but snaps off a suplex for two. They trade hard strikes until Johnny grabs a standing C4 for two of his own. The champ takes too long going up top though and gets thrown down with a belly to belly superplex. Johnny grabbing the ropes to break it up at two annoys Mack even more so they both go up top. As you might expect, Mack isn’t quite up to Mundo’s skill level up there and gets sent outside. Johnny busts out a corkscrew dive but hurts his knee/ankle with just over 20:00 left.

We take a break and come back with a stretcher coming out. Mack helps Johnny up and of course is kicked low (not a DQ), followed by a DDT onto the back board (again not a DQ) for a pin (which is counted even though Mack’s shoulders are up) to give Johnny a 3-1 lead at 18:32. Mundo does some jumping jacks and actually gets booed by the crowd for a change. With Mack livid, Johnny bails up the steps, only to get pummeled up there as well. Mack puts him on the back board and shoves Johnny down the steps as we take another break. Back again with Mack grabbing the Stunner for the pin at 22:40 to make it 3-2.

Johnny hides underneath the ring as someone runs into the back. Mack follows whoever that was as Johnny comes back out. It’s PJ Black, who helps beat on Mack with some kendo sticks. Cue Son of Havoc to even things up with a stick of his own. Havoc goes to Dario Cueto’s office and gets some beer to revive Mack. PJ cuts Mack off again though and Johnny demands that the band play a victory song.

Cue Sexy Star to dive onto Mundo and Black so Havoc can take PJ backstage. Mack has set up a table and TOMBSTONES MUNDO OFF THE APRON THROUGH THE TABLE to knock both guys silly. Naturally Striker barely responds because he needs to go through his long statement about how amazing this is instead. That’s enough to tie it up at 31:42.

Both guys are spent but Mundo is able to roll outside and pull out another table. Mack finds a ladder with five minutes to go. Mundo hits him in the head with something from the announcers’ table to bust Mack open. The ladder is bridged over the middle rope with Mack tripping him face first into it for two. Another End of the World hits the ladder and Mack puts him on the table with 1:30 to go.

Cue Ricky Mandel to grab Mack’s foot before he can come off the ladder though. Son of Havoc comes out to deal with Mandel so Mack can splash Mundo through the table but the clock runs out at 37:09 (not counting time for commercials) before the three count. Mundo retains the title due to the draw.

Rating: B+. Good but not excellent match here. I’m not wild on the draw ending as this felt like the big blowoff match, though a bigger gimmick (TLC would make sense) for the final match would make sense. Mack has a certain charisma that can help carry him through matches and there’s nothing wrong with that. The interference was fine here as I’d rather have something like that than repeating the same stuff because they’ve run out of things to do with fifteen minutes left.

Dario comes out to say not so fast because we don’t have ties around here. Next week it’s one fall to a finish for the title. Mack Stuns Mundo to end the show. Is there a reason there was time for an announcement if this match was going ALL NIGHT LONG?

Overall Rating: B+. I kind of like the idea of going with the one big idea to come back here as having the Rabbit Tribe or whatever other nonsense (not a bad thing here) they have going on instead. What you got here was two guys fighting over a title and a few people coming in on either side to help their person win the title. The rematch will help as well as you can do one match with someone winning and other stuff filling in the hour. I’m glad Lucha Underground is back and hopefully it can figure itself out again.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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205 Live
Date: May 30, 2017
Location: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for Extreme Rules and that means the very final push towards what is hopefully the last Neville vs. Austin Aries match. That’s not all though as we also have a guest star in the form of Sasha Banks. I’m sure that has nothing to do with how poor the viewership has been for this show. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Aries vs. Neville while they change the ropes. You know, to make sure we know the difference between the 205 Live cruiserweight show and the 205 Live knitting show that airs on local access in western Maine.

Opening sequence.

Here are Noam Dar and Alicia Fox with the former saying this is the closest people in Atlanta will ever get to true love. Alicia: “You complete me.” Dar: “That’s right fluffy button.” They don’t like Rich Swann and Alicia Fox, who interrupt in a hurry. The two of them have a lot in common too, such as dancing, fashion, and getting revenge on the people in front of them. The ladies insult each others’ hair and of course that means it’s on.

Noam Dar vs. Rich Swann

Swann chops away to start and Dar bails to the floor, only to eat a dropkick back inside. Dar scores with a penalty kick so Fox screeches quite loudly. We hit the arm crank with Banks looking very out of place as a cheerleader for a cruiserweight act. Swann’s arm is bent around the top rope and a running forearm to the chest is good for two. That’s enough for some posing though and the ladies are looking either nervous or elated.

Rich grabs a belly to back suplex and a good looking hurricanrana brings Dar off the middle rope. Sasha hits the cheerleading again and Swann gets two off a small package. He misses an enziguri though and gets caught in an ankle lock, which is quickly rolled out to the floor. Fox gets in a trip so the brawl is on (with Fox losing some hair), allowing Dar to hit his running knee to the face for the pin at 7:50.

Rating: C-. Dar is a good heel but his in-ring abilities aren’t the best. The arm work makes sense to start but when he follows it up with an ankle lock and a running knee, it doesn’t really seem to make much difference. I’m still not sure why Banks is here other than star power, but she’s really not fitting.

Cedric Alexander doesn’t have time to care about Dar and Fox because he has to make up for lost time with his WWE dreams.

Cedric Alexander vs. Corey Hollis

Cedric flips around to start and gets in a dropkick to put Corey in the corner. Hollis elbows him in the jaw and grabs a double arm choke. That goes nowhere as Hollis charges into a knee, followed by a Tajiri handspring into an enziguri. The springboard clothesline sets up the Lumbar Check to put Corey away at 2:41.

Video on Akira Tozawa.

Quick recap of Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali, which is mat wrestling vs. high flying.

Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali

Gulak comes out with his NO FLY ZONE sign so Ali hits a running flip dive to take him and the sign down. Drew says ring the bell (though he doesn’t seem to know where he is) so Ali sends him outside for a running knee off the apron. They chop it out on the floor with Gulak’s few shots having very little effect. Back in and Gulak sends him outside with Ali landing on his knee. Drew stomps away and asks if Mustafa wants to fight the message. We hit a seated abdominal stretch for a bit before Ali fights up with some clotheslines. Ali heads up top for a high crossbody but Drew rolls through for the pin at 5:03.

Rating: C. That’s the second time in a row where Mustafa has tried high flying on Gulak but gotten caught in a quick pin. Hopefully this leads to Ali accepting Drew’s teachings and joining him, which could set up a mini stable in the future. Gulak needs some followers and Ali would be a good place to start.

In the back, Drew says that was a victory for the way a lot of people want 205 to go in the future.

Here’s Austin Aries for the hard sell to end the show. After a quick plug for his upcoming book, Aries talks about the tap heard round the world. Neville has been saying no one is at his level but then he tapped out. We see the end of the tag match with Neville tapping, followed by a separate clip of just the tap. Aries goes over their history together but here’s Neville to say that was nothing more than a fluke. Cue TJP from behind and another double beatdown is on. Aries gets caught in the Rings of Saturn to end the show with no Jack Gallagher making the save.

Overall Rating: C. This show was perfectly acceptable and that’s about as good as I can go with it. Neville vs. Aries ran out of steam over a month ago and yet another beatdown segment isn’t enough to make it interesting again. There are several people ready to move into the title picture and hopefully they get the chance after Sunday. Good enough show but nothing you need to see.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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

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I told you I’d do it.

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