Lucha Underground – June 22, 2016: All Hail The King
Lucha Underground Date: June 22, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
We’re just a few weeks away from Ultima Lucha Dos and a lot of the card still needs to be set. The official length hasn’t been announced yet but the rumor says four hours over three weeks, which is an upgrade over last year’s three hours. Also it’s about time to start going somewhere with these storylines because time is running out on this season. Let’s get to it.
The opening video recaps the Gift of the Gods Title, most recently held by Cage, who failed in his cash-in attempt against Matanza. We also look at the stories for Famous B. and Black Lotus.
Dario Cueto talks to a masked man named Night Claw, who is from the same Aztec tribe as Prince Puma. Tonight the seven Aztec medallions will be awarded but Dario gives Night Claw one for free. Dario isn’t letting him off that easily though as he reminds Claw that the Jaguar tribe was the first one to be wiped out by the gods.
The announcers tell us that Night Claw debuts at Ultima Lucha Dos.
Aztec Medallion: Daga vs. Mascarita Sagrada
I have no idea what they’re going for with Sagrada but it’s getting annoying at this point. Kobra Moon is watching from the balcony. Daga throws him down for two to start and a snap suplex gets the same. A Russian legsweep sets up a cobra clutch crossface to make Sagrada tap at 2:13.
Famous B. superkicks Sagrada and hits him with a shoe. B. promises to get a new client and make him famous. Hopefully this gets rid of this story because it’s really not interesting.
Dragon Azteca Jr. is in Dario’s office and accuses the boss of being a liar. That gives Dario an idea: Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Black Lotus at Ultima Lucha Dos. We’ll see who is the true killer that night.
Aztec Medallions: Joey Ryan/Cortez Castro/Mr. Cisco vs. Killshot/Marty Martinez/Siniestro de la Muerta
Remember that Cisco now knows his partners are cops. Before the match, Marty returns Killshot’s dog tags as a peace offering. Cortez and Marty get things going with Marty doing the Moth pose. It’s off to Joey for a fight over the lollipop until Killshot comes in to make things more serious. A handstand walk sets up a dropkick to send Joey into the corner, meaning it’s off to Cisco vs. Siniestro. Some armdrags put Sinistero down and a powerslam gets two.
We get a Buzz Sawyer reference from Striker but Vampiro “won’t put that over at all.” Sinistero trips Cisco, which Striker calls a Canadian trip. Cortez comes in for a bottom rope tornado DDT on Marty, who is taken down again by a middle rope hurricanrana from Cisco. Everything breaks down and it’s time for the dives with Marty posing instead of jumping.
Castro and Cisco put him on the floor with a double clothesline before Killshot uses Castro as a launchpad to moonsault onto everyone else. Back in and Cisco hits a reverse hurricanrana (Rewind Rana according to Striker. I kind of like that.) on Killshot but Joey tries to steal the pin to start a brawl. The distraction lets Marty curb stomp Cisco so Killshot can add a top rope double stomp for the pin at 8:04.
Rating: C. This was fine but I’m getting a little tired of the Aztec Medallion shows. The strength of Lucha Underground is in its storytelling and we’re really not getting that in these thrown together matches. Yeah Joey, Cisco and Castro have a story but that can’t really be addressed here because the announcers don’t know about it. The match was fine but nothing all that interesting, which makes for a dull show when that’s all you get.
Marty steals the dog tags back.
Aztec Medallions: Sexy Star/Mariposa vs. Ivelisse/Taya
Taya and Star get things going with the latter grabbing a front facelock. That goes nowhere as Taya reverses into a keylock before they trade some armdrags for a standoff. A double tag brings in Ivelisse and Mariposa with Ivelisse putting on a headlock until she’s pulled into the buckle. For a little change of pace, Mariposa ties her arms between Ivelisse’s legs for something like a Sharpshooter. Cool move.
Ivelisse is quickly out and it’s off to Taya vs. Mariposa for a rather intriguing matchup. Star comes in before anything happens though and armdrags Taya from the top. Everything breaks down and Star hits a running seated senton off the apron to drop Taya again. Taya gets thrown into some empty chairs as this breaks down into a brawl like it probably should have in the first place.
Ivelisse dives down onto Mariposa and it’s back to Taya vs. Star in the ring. A DDT drops Taya but Star won’t tag in Ivelisse. La Majistral gets two on Ivelisse and we hit the pinfall reversal sequence. Everything breaks down again and Taya spears her partner by mistake so Mariposa hits Ivelisse with a White Noise to give Star the pin at 9:45.
Rating: B-. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting with the women showing that they could have a compelling match with some pairings that are actually intriguing. I could go for Taya vs. Mariposa down the line with Taya being all about fitness and perfection and Mariposa being something like the female Mankind. There’s something interesting there and it could be entertaining down the line.
Here’s Prince Puma for his first ever speech in the Temple. Puma gets right to the point: he’s been thinking about Ultima Lucha and there’s only one match people want to see him have. Ever since he started training, people have been asking if he can be the next Rey Mysterio but Puma doesn’t want to know if he can be Rey Mysterio. He wants to know if he can BEAT Rey Mysterio so the challenge is issued. Rey comes out and says he’s a pioneer of all this, but at the end of the day he’s El Rey (Spanish for The King and a nice plug for the network) and Puma is still a prince. However, Rey needs to know if he’s still the best so the match is made.
Overall Rating: C+. This show continued the roll towards Ultima Lucha with one of the big matches being set up. For once this feels like a major match actually worth looking forward to as Rey could probably nail it for a show like Ultima Lucha. I’m starting to get excited for the show, which is apparently going to run for three weeks over four hours, which gives them a lot of time for a lot of the matches. Hopefully next week is a storyline show though because they’re running out of time to wrap up a lot of this stuff.
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Ring of Honor TV – June 22, 2016: Go Home New Japan
Ring of Honor Date: June 22, 2016
Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly
It’s the go home show for Best in the World and my guess is that means it’s time to talk about the Bullet Club instead of anything related to the upcoming pay per view. I mean, I really don’t think that the last several months focusing on New Japan has been fair to them so we better dedicate another hour to them. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Dalton Castle vs. Gedo
The announcers use the entrances to run down Friday’s pay per view card. Feeling out process to start with Silas spinning out of an Irish whip, meaning it’s time for Young to bend back in a manner that freaks Gedo out in a funny bit. Gedo is sent outside where the Boys fan him down, earning themselves a poke to the eyes. We take a break and come back with Gedo hammering away but running into a forearm to the face. A facebuster has Castle in trouble but the Boys offer a distraction, allowing Castle to hit the Bang A Rang for the pin at 10:55.
Rating: C-. Believe it or not this actually has some meaning as Castle is challenging for the TV Title at the pay per view. I mean it’s not like they actually build the thing up or anything like that, but why build it up when you can remind us that Gedo is part of the Chaos stable, which means a grand total of nothing over here?
We recap BJ Whitmer vs. Steve Corino, or at least the most recent aspects of it. They bring up the idea of Corino being run out of the promotion but Mr. Wrestling III appearing in his place. Whitmer then drew Corino back by stalking Corino’s family (shown here for the first time) to finally set up the Fight Without Honor on Friday.
Adam Cole doesn’t care who wins on Friday because he’s going to be the next champ.
We look at Jay Lethal becoming undisputed champion at last year’s Best in the World, followed by Jay Briscoe having Jay Lethal pinned at a show back in April.
Will Ferrara vs. Tomohiro Ishii
They slug it out to start with Ferrara not getting very far on the bigger Ishii. A shoulder actually staggers Ishii and a dropkick puts him down. A neckbreaker gets two for Ferrara but Ishii slams him down for some two counts of his own. Ferrara comes right back with a running elbow in the corner and a Samoan drop for two. Will goes one step too far though as he tries a suplex, earning himself a beating in the corner. A running clothesline gets two for Ishii so Ferrara slaps him in the face. That means the brainbuster puts Will away at 4:06.
Rating: C. Not a bad power match here, especially when you keep in mind how small Ferrara is. Unfortunately it doesn’t mean anything other than a way to make Ishii look good, because that’s what the world was waiting for. I know I keep harping on this but there’s a pay per view in two days and we’re spending TV time on a nothing match that advances no story. That’s just bad planning and focusing on the wrong issues.
The Briscoes are ready for the main event.
Here’s Steve Corino for some thoughts on his Fight Without Honor against BJ Whitmer. Corino is an evil man and it sounds as sweet as a slogan on a t-shirt. Years ago he took barbed wire to Terry Funk’s flesh and convinced people to turn on their best friends but it was always about him. A few years ago he fell in love with a woman and tried to change himself but it’s just his nature to be evil.
Whitmer has accused him of of wearing a mask and BJ was right. However, the mask was this suit, these glasses and under this dyed hair because it made people believe he was who people wanted him to be. At the end of the day, he’s an evil man and BJ Whitmer will be out of Ring of Honor after Best in the World because Corino is taking the trash out.
Jay Lethal likes the idea of facing the Bullet Club on equal footing because something they never try.
Roderick Strong is ready to stand up for Ring of Honor against the Bullet Club.
Bullet Club vs. Briscoe Brothers/Roderick Strong/Jay Lethal
It’s Kenny Omega/Guerillas of Destiny/Matt Jackson for the Club in a somewhat weird combination. Matt and Mark start things off with Matt sliding under the crazy man but getting stopped by the threat of redneck kung fu, which earns him a jumping kick to the face. Strong comes in and knocks Matt down with an elbow to the face, meaning it’s off to Lethal vs. Omega for a BIG reaction from the crowd.
That goes nowhere though as Omega tags in Tonga Loa, who gets in a shot from behind to take over on Lethal. Now of course Omega is willing to come in and stomp away in the corner, only to have Mark take him into the ROH corner for a beatdown. Everything breaks down for a bit (of course) and it’s time for the multiple dives but Omega pulls Lethal to the floor and sends him into the barricade. Strong kicks Omega in the face though and we take a break.
Back with Omega trying to fight out of the corner but getting planted ribs first onto the mat. The tag brings Matt in anyway and it’s time for the superkicks because those are so hard to predict. The fifth superkick puts Roderick down for two and it’s off to Tama Tonga vs. Mark. Tonga’s suplex doesn’t work and it’s time for more kung fu. A Roll of the Dice drops Mark and it’s another double tag to bring in Lethal and Omega for a slugout.
The Lethal Injection is countered but Matt starts superkicking his partners by mistake. The One Winged Angel and Lethal Combination are both countered so it’s Jay Briscoe vs. whoever he can punch at the moment. Everything breaks down and the double superkick hits Lethal but the second attempt is broken up. The Jay Driller plants Loa for the pin at 15:12.
Rating: C+. It was nice to have them get together before their matches on Friday but as usual the Bullet Club had to be involved as well. Unfortunately that dominated the match and the pay per view matches weren’t exactly touched on because there was no time for something silly like that.
Dalton Castle and Bobby Fish trade promos about Castle earning his title shot but that not being enough to make him the champion.
Roderick Strong says Mark Briscoe may have been around here longer but he’s still going to be second best.
The Addiction is ready to prove that they’re the best in the world and not just the best in the busi-a-ness.
Both Jay’s are ready to go and prove that they’re the best in the world. Briscoe hopes Lethal has enjoyed all the good food he’s eaten in the last year because after Best in the World it’s back to Ramen noodles. This was really good, especially with the editing going back and forth like it did.
Overall Rating: C-. This was a watchable show on its own but a pretty lame go home show for a pay per view. That last little bit helped but a lot of it felt like they had forgotten they needed to plug this show. Hopefully the New Japan people are gone for a long while after this because they’re really dragging things down. It’s one thing to have the Bullet Club around but the people like Ishii, Gedo and Kushida are just taking up TV time from the ROH regulars and that’s not a good thing.
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Smackdown – June 23, 2016: The Smackdown Gravestone
Smackdown Date: June 23, 2016
Location: Tucson Arena, Tucson, Arizona
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga
It’s an interesting time in WWE as we’re less than a month away from the new era really taking hold as the Draft takes place and separates the two shows into different entities. On top of that though, Roman Reigns has been suspended for thirty days, meaning the build towards the triple threat match at Battleground could be interesting. Let’s get to it.
The opening video focuses on the recent issues with the World Title.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Seth Rollins to get things going. He talks about how when he was a kid, his parents would tell him that he could do anything if he worked hard enough. Well obviously that was a lie because no one works harder than he does but Dean Ambrose is the WWE World Champion. Ambrose should have given him his rematch one on one but instead we’re coming up on this triple threat at Battleground to make it as hard on him as possible. As for tonight though, Seth is going to prove that he’s more man than Ambrose ever could be by issuing an opening challenge.
This brings out Sami Zayn and the fans seem interested. Rollins: “Did your master Kevin Owens let you off your leash for a couple of hours?” Cue Dean Ambrose, who has his guys turn this into an impromptu Ambrose Asylum. Actually wait because Dean needs to draw a title on the sign because this is now the championship edition. Sami is thrilled to be on the show but Rollins freaks out because he hates this show. Dean says Rollins has always has a poor attitude as Seth storms out to get ready. This was a pretty long way around to set up Sami vs. Rollins.
Cesaro vs. Alberto Del Rio
OH COME ON. Money in the Bank is over! I shouldn’t have to deal with these pairings anymore. They get some inset promos with Del Rio claiming Cesaro cost him the briefcase and Cesaro telling him to do something about it. Del Rio grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to start so Cesaro hits one of his own.
The uppercut train sends Del Rio outside for the flip dive off the apron, only to have Alberto go after the apron as we take a break. Back with Del Rio slapping on an armbar and taking the arm out to block another uppercut. Alberto goes up but dives into an uppercut from the good arm. The corkscrew uppercut gets two (ok do something else) followed by a double stomp for the same on Alberto.
Del Rio comes back with a Backstabber for two of his own but Cesaro comes back with yet another uppercut. Cesaro gets crotched while trying a superplex but is still able to lift himself up and armdrag Del Rio down. A quick cross armbreaker attempt is countered into the Neutralizer for the pin on Alberto at 10:26.
Rating: B-. This was better than most of the Money in the Bank pairings but there’s almost no reason to care about any of them anymore. We’ve seen this so many times now and without a reason to fight, these matches are even less interesting than they were in the first place. At least the match was better this time around.
Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus
Sheamus hammers away and tells Apollo to smile now, only to have Crews cross body both of them over the top to the floor. Crews sends him into the steps before having to fight out of the Irish Curse back inside. An enziguri sets up the standing moonsault for two on Sheamus but he comes back with the ten forearms to the chest. The Regal Roll on the floor has Crews in trouble and Sheamus makes it worse by loading up the steps. Crews dropkicks him into the barricade, only to have Sheamus kick him off the apron. A whip into the steps is enough to get Crews counted out at 3:55.
Rating: D+. Well that means it’s time for a rubber match because the fans are dying to see a rematch from a sub-four minute TV match on a show not many people watch that ends in a countout. The idea of Crews beating Sheamus is fine but there really wasn’t much of a reason for a rematch, save for maybe Sheamus getting pinned again. I really hope we get somewhere new with the Brand Split because this stuff is getting old.
Recap of AJ Styles vs. John Cena on Sunday as well as Monday’s fallout.
The Club is happy with what happened on Monday but the Usos return. PLEASE not this match again. Jey calls the bald guys head and shoulders in an unfunny line and we’re getting Jimmy vs. AJ for later.
Jimmy Uso vs. AJ Styles
Mauro bills this as a Smackdown first. This is joined in progress after a break with Jimmy running Styles over and dancing a bit. That’s fine with AJ who takes him down into a headlock but Jimmy reverses into one of his own. Jimmy sends him outside but the baseball slide is countered as AJ grabs the feet and sends him head first into the steps.
Back in and AJ catapults him throat first into the bottom rope. Jimmy comes back with an enziguri so Styles Peles him right back. The Phenomenal Forearm is broken up with a superkick but the running Umaga attack hits buckles. Cue the Club to go after Jey, causing Jimmy to dive over the top and take them out. AJ hits a slingshot forearm to the back of Jimmy’s head and the Phenomenal Forearm puts Jimmy away at 6:02 shown.
Rating: C. For reasons that I’ll never understand, this means more Usos vs. the Club. I’m a big Usos fan but there’s little interest for them as singles wrestlers and they’ve done everything there is for them as a tag team, especially fighting the Club for probably the tenth time in a few months. AJ looked good but this was just a step above a squash for him.
New Day vs. Vaudevillains
Non-title. Kofi and Gotch start things off but it’s off to English inside of twenty seconds to start in on Kofi’s arm. Aiden’s running spin kick in the corner staggers Kofi but he runs English over with a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Big E. to clean house with a string of suplexes. Kofi takes out English and a quick tag sets up the Midnight Hour to pin Gotch at 2:28.
Post match the Wyatts pop up on screen to say everyone fears them and that New Day will fall.
Bob Backlund wants to review Darren Young’s goals. Darren wants to be a singles champion and then main event Wrestlemania. Backlund has wrestled at Wrestlemania and won singles titles but he’s already had his era. Now it’s time to start the Darren Young Era.
Sami wants to win so he can make a statement. He isn’t worried about Kevin Owens.
Charlotte and Dana Brooke are ready to take out Becky Lynch before showing Sasha that Charlotte is the queen because playtime is over.
Dana Brooke vs. Becky Lynch
Dana starts fast with some knees and shoulders to the ribs before avoiding Becky’s charge. Charlotte eats a forearm though, allowing Brooke to roll Becky up for the pin at 1:21.
Post match Becky gets beaten down until Sasha Banks makes the save.
Dean follows Seth to the ring to get on his nerves.
Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn
Dean is on commentary. Rollins scores with a shoulder to start and they pause early on. Some armdrags put Seth down and Sami gets in a nice headscissors. A good right hand puts Sami outside before a clothesline takes us to a break. Back with a fight over a suplex until Rollins gets two off a Falcon’s Arrow. Seth slowly stomps away as Dean talks about not sleeping for six or seven days.
A big clothesline drops Rollins and it’s time to pound some right hands in the corner. Sami gets two off a high cross body and Seth loses an elbow pad. That’s not exactly interesting stuff so Sami gets in the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. The Helluva Kick is blocked so Seth scores with the buckle bomb. Sami counters the Pedigree and scores with the tornado DDT. Rollins bails so Sami hits the big flip dive. Not that it matters as Seth grabs the Pedigree as soon as they get back in for the pin at 8:42.
Rating: B-. The ending was really odd as Sami hit two big moves in a row before Seth just hit the Pedigree with nothing in between. It was like they had to go home really fast and had to cut out a few minutes in the middle. The match was what you would expect from these two, albeit a few steps slower than I thought it would have been.
Seth and Dean brawl post match with Rollins running from the threat of Dirty Deeds.
Overall Rating: C+. Another acceptable but totally forgettable show. When they’re boasting an AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Uso match, you know your show is in trouble. Again though it’s not like any of this matters when you consider everything resets three more shows. At least it’s not bad and we got some decent wrestling here though. That’s about all there is to say, which is going to be the legacy of this era of Smackdown: it wasn’t bad, but I can’t remember much about it.
Results
Cesaro b. Alberto Del Rio – Neutralizer
Sheamus b. Apollo Crews via countout
AJ Styles b. Jimmy Uso – Phenomenal Forearm
New Day b. Vaudevillains – Midnight Hour to Gotch
Dana Brooke b. Becky Lynch – Rollup
Seth Rollins b. Sami Zayn – Pedigree
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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Of course take this with a big bag of salt but there’s a chance that this is legit. Click on the picture for a better image.
The first thing I think is SWEET GOODNESS THAT’S A LOT OF SHOWS and that’s going to be the take away from this schedule. You’re looking at basically two shows a month with two or three weeks between them. I can go with that if they cut some of the times down but a lot of people are going to get burned out in a hurry if they’re running a three hour (potentially plus if Money in the Bank is the first of its kind) show with an hour pre-show. I can watch wrestling all day every day but even I think that’s a lot.
Now for the good: WAY better names. Stuff like Backlash, No Mercy and Clash of the Champions are improvements over a lot of the goofy names we have to put up with so often. It’s also going to be nice if the wrestlers are allowed to have some more time but the worst thing they could do is the old formula of making so many matches filler. I’m talking about airing stuff like Mordecai vs. Hardcore Holly on pay per view. Fans aren’t going to put up with that and it could get old in a hurry.
It might help a lot if some of these shows are two hours instead of three. Look at Money in the Bank. You could have cut off at least two matches (meaning keep them on the pre-show where they were scheduled in the first place) and trimmed the thing down a bit. If you’re paying the same price for it on the Network (I’m aware some people are going to get it on regular pay per view still), it’s ok to trim off some of the fat and let the shows actually work for a change.
It’s too early to tell but I’m skeptical about this. Knowing WWE, whose new philosophy seems to be CRAM AS MUCH AS YOU CAN IN, I’m worried about what we might be going through with them burning through everything they can as fast as they can.
NXT – June 22, 2016: The Greatest Dancing That Ever Lived
NXT Date: June 22, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips
It’s a rare situation where we’re coming off a Takeover and already have another announced. In theory we have our first match set as Shinsuke Nakamura challenged Finn Balor to a match though a promo on Raw suggested that the match would be taking place tonight. For the life of me I can’t imagine NXT hot shotting a match like that so maybe it was just badly worded. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Nakamura challenging Balor last week.
Opening sequence.
Tye Dillinger vs. Oney Lorcan
And I thought Andrade Cien Almas was a bad name. Lorcan is the latest name for Biff Bushick, who takes Tye down to the mat by the leg. We hit a headlock takeover which earns Lorcan a ten. I mean it was from himself but at least he was trying. Back up and Lorcan flips over Tye and blasts him with a running uppercut for no count as Tye was under the ropes.
It seems to fire Dillinger up though as he fires Oney into the corner and starts in on some clotheslines. Oney nails a huge clothesline and another uppercut but runs into a superkick for two. That’s good for a perfect ten but Lorcan shoves him out out of the corner and hits a running Blockbuster for the pin at 5:55.
Rating: C+. They were beating the heck out of each other here but what are they doing with Dillinger? There’s a strong chance that they’re tearing him down to build him back up again though wins and losses mean something in NXT and you can only do the Sami/Bayley road to redemption so many times. Oney looked good but that name is just horrible.
Austin Aries is ready to keep going forward when No Way Jose of all people comes up to say you just say NO to adversity. That’s quite the fall for Aries or quite the upgrade for Jose. Or maybe either.
We look at Bayley’s leg injury.
Bayley is back tonight.
No Way Jose vs. Josh Woods
Jose dances out of a waistlock to start and hiptosses Woods down for two. Woods takes him down for a chinlock but walks into a double chop, followed by the swinging full nelson slam to keep Jose undefeated at 1:57.
Post match Austin Aries comes out to say Jose isn’t defined by wins or losses. Aries was defeated at Takeover but he doesn’t blame his bruised ribs. What Aries has learned from Jose is that wrestling is about having fun and he actually dances with Jose as Graves fights the urge to join in. Jose goes over to the announcers’ table and the dancing continues until Aries finally lays Jose out with a forearm to the jaw. Aries puts on the Last Chancery on the ramp with Jose slowly blacking out. If nothing else it’s nice to have Aries go full on heel.
Earlier today, General Manager William Regal makes Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for three weeks from tonight. Murphy of all people comes in to interrupt and gets Nakamura for later tonight as a punishment.
The announcers talk about Aries attacking Jose.
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Bayley
You can actually see the fans rise to their feet when Bayley’s music comes on. Bayley dances to her the fans singing before suplexing Purrazzo early on. The charge in the corner misses though and Purrazzo hits a running knee lift. Bayley shrugs off some rams into the buckle and hits a back elbow to the jaw. Bayley to Belly ends Purrazzo at 2:46.
Carmella says she wants to be Women’s Champion when Alexa Bliss comes in to say Carmella is nothing without Enzo and Cass. She left Blake and Murphy because she was the star of the team. Carmella gets in her face and dares Alexa to get in her way of the title. I can’t believe it but I’m getting into Carmella as a scrappy heroine.
Video on Samoa Joe.
Long video (as in the better part of four minutes) on Nia Jax vs. Asuka.
Nia Jax vs. Liv Morgan
Morgan grabs a headlock to start but is easily shoved away and pounded about the head and shoulders. Liv’s forearms to the head have no effect and it’s off to a very loose cobra clutch. An ankle scissors sends Nia into the buckle and a dropkick staggers her a bit. Not that it matters as Nia hits a great looking powerbomb for the pin at 2:11. That’s a WAY better finisher for her than the legdrop. Morgan was squashed here but she showed some really good fire which could get her somewhere.
Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss next week.
Buddy Murphy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
It’s kind of interesting that they put Nakamura out there almost every week. No one else gets this much exposure around here but they’ve done a great job of having him save the King of Strong Style stuff for the big matches and just let him have fun in matches like this one. Nakamura kicks him away to start and grabs a headlock before doing that head against Murphy’s chest.
Murphy misses a clothesline and Shinsuke tells him to bring it, setting up Good Vibrations. A counter sends Nakamura into the buckles and he just smiles at Buddy. It’s time for the hard kicks (“KING OF STRONG STYLE!”) and the running knee to the ribs makes it even worse. The reverse exploder sets up Kinshasa for the pin on Murphy at 4:35.
Rating: C-. Just a squash here to close things out but it’s always cool to see Nakamura flip that switch that makes you realize pain is imminent. Murphy is a good choice for a jobber to the stars as he’s a former champion, which actually means something around here. I’m not sure what Blake is going to do because having them in the same vein would be a waste of time. Balor vs. Nakamura should be awesome, albeit a bit predictable.
Overall Rating: C+. This was back to the NXT formula as they used some simple matches to set up the bigger stuff for the upcoming weeks. We have a firm date for Balor vs. Nakamura and a few other feuds set up down the line. It’s not a great show but that’s not what these things are supposed to be. Sometimes you just need an hour of TV that builds towards the big shows and that’s where NXT excels.
Results
Oney Lorcan b. Tye Dillinger – Running Blockbuster
No Way Jose b. Josh Woods – Swinging full nelson slam
Bayley b. Deonna Purrazzo – Bayley to Belly
Nia Jax b. Liv Morgan – Powerbomb
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Buddy Murphy – Kinshasa
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Impact Wrestling Date: June 21, 2016
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Angelo Dinero
We’re coming off one of the most entertaining nights Impact has put on in a long time but there was a small bump in the road just afterwards as they aired their regular show. The big news coming off that: we get ANOTHER Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy match this week as they fight inside a cage. I doubt they can top the commercial marathon from last week but let’s get to it.
We open with dueling promos from Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy as they both talk about how this is the final battle. I’m so sure.
Here’s Drew Galloway for an opening chat. Galloways isn’t going to whine and complain but he wants Ethan Carter III out here right now. Carter apologizes for what happened last week but Drew wants a fight. He thinks Carter was on commentary because Carter thought he deserved the title shot instead.
Ethan says he shouldn’t have been in the title match because he was burned out. They yell about how hard both of them worked as champion but Ethan rescinds his apology and says he should be champ. Drew thinks Ethan got where he was by talking instead of fighting so it’s about to be on.
Cue Lashley to laugh about them arguing before both guys think they should have a #1 contenders match. Instead Lashley has set up a tag match where Drew and Ethan will team together. If they win they get a title shot (not clear if it’s one at a time or a triple threat) but if they lose they go to the back of the line. If Lashley’s team wins, his partner gets a title shot so here’s Eli Drake to offer to be the partner. Lashley agrees and it’s on right now.
Lashley/Eli Drake vs. Ethan Carter III/Drew Galloway
Lashley goes after Ethan to start but a standoff means a double tag. Drake gets taken into the corner as the good guys keep tagging themselves in, much to each others’ annoyances. Ethan backdrops Drake but Eli grabs a quick neckbreaker. It’s off to Lashley for a quick choke before Eli punches Ethan in the face a few times.
The bad guys keep taking turns stomping away before Eli slaps on a chinlock. A double clothesline drops Ethan and Lashley but Drake knocks Drew off the apron to break up the tag attempt. The TK3 allows the hot tag to Drew as everything breaks down. Blunt Force Trauma is broken up and the 1%er plants Eli, only to have Lashley spear Ethan down. That’s fine with Drew as he pins Drake at 8:17.
Rating: C. Well I’m glad they solved that issue in the span of twenty minutes. As usual, TNA has no idea how to let something build up because it can’t be the main event since that’s Matt and Jeff’s designated territory and the idea of waiting a week just isn’t in TNA’s lexicon. I like the story and I love the fact that these guys are being built up but let the stories progress over time, not all at once.
Decay wants to know who Rosemary has been talking to but she says to trust her. They’ll get an answer tonight.
Lashley comes up to Drew in the back and says he holds all the cards. He might give Ethan the first shot but Drew wants to step outside right now.
Here’s Decay to reveal who Rosemary has been talking to. They’re the death dealers but tonight they want to offer life to….Bram. She asks everyone to trust each other and thinks Bram is fed up with everyone trying to fix him. Bram lost the King of the Mountain Title because he was alone and they don’t want him to be like that anymore. The answer is decay. Bram: “I guess you’re kind of hot, I don’t know.” Bram declines the offer though and the beatdown is on.
Lashley congratulates Ethan on getting his title shot but it’s still on his terms. Ethan will know who gets the shot by the end of the night. As I said earlier: SLOW DOWN WITH THESE THINGS.
Marti Bell vs. Jade
Jade goes right after her to start as a fan tries to start dueling chants. Marti takes over and sends it to the floor while yelling a lot. That’s fine with Jade who picks up Marti’s baton, only to be told to put it down. You don’t argue with Earl Hebner so they head inside, sans baton. A German suplex looks to set up Jade’s package piledriver but Marti escapes and slaps her in the face. Jade faceplants her hard and Marti bails to the floor to grab that baton for a knockout shot for the pin at 5:49.
Rating: D-. The wrestling was nothing, the story was nothing, and the ending was predictable. I really don’t think anyone was looking forward to this match and I have no idea why it’s going to continue other than they have a lot of time to fill and think these two are interesting because they’ve been on TV before.
Maria Kanellis and Mike Bennett will respond to Dixie slapping Maria in the ring.
Lashley laughs at Dixie about the slap so she says he’ll face both Ethan and Drew next week. That’s fine with Lashley, who is way too cool with this.
Here are Mike and Maria with something to say. Josh says they’ve gone radio silent on social media since last week. Just out of curiosity I checked both of their Twitters and couldn’t find the end of their tweets from the last 24 hours. In other words, Josh Matthews continues to have no idea what he’s talking about. Anyway, Maria says she hasn’t slept in a week and the slap last week was assault. They demand Dixie is out here right now so here she is, along with Billy Corgan.
Maria screeches that Dixie needs to step down but Dixie thinks it’s crazy. Mike threatens to sue TNA for so much money that Dixie would lose everything. Eh true but small claims courts are backed up for months. Corgan suggests that Dixie take a leave of absence for about a week. Yes a week. Dixie panics but agrees before leaving. Mike wants an X-Division Title shot because Destination X is coming up soon. He can wrestle any style, no matter what the keyboard warriors think. Billy thinks Mike needs to earn that so he can have a title shot right now.
X-Division Title: Eddie Edwards vs. Mike Bennett
Eddie is defending and Josh starts things off by talking about everything Eddie has accomplished as champion. He’s held the belt NINE DAYS and has had one successful title defense. As usual, Josh Matthews continues to be stupid. Eddie snaps off a hurricanrana to start and avoids a Bennett knee drop. Maria offers a distraction as the announcers talk about bullfrogs. A quick cutter gives Mike two and we hit the chinlock on the champ. Eddie fights back and sends him outside for a pair of suicide dives.
Back in and a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Bennett and Eddie heads up top. Mike tries a superplex but Eddie smacks his ears to break it up. Josh: “How appropriate in an X-Division match.” Josh Matthews, stupid, you know the drill. Anyway the Miracle in Progress is broken up and Eddie tries a sunset flip, only to have Mike kneel down and hold the ropes (while Maria holds his hands) for the pin and the title at 8:32.
Rating: C-. This was your standard “it’s that time of the year so the X-Division Title means something to the main eventers” match but I really can’t get over all the stupid things Josh was saying. He got on my nerves last year when he called fans stupid for bringing up Austin Aries losing his career because they were paying too much attention and now he just says stupid stuff. I’m sure I’m just overthinking it though because wrestling fans are stupid people who overthink thinks.
Robbie E. plugs Big Brother After Dark and sees Jesse and Raquel talking about doing something behind Robbie’s back.
Braxton Sutter vs. Balam
Actually not so fast as Rockstar Spud comes out and says he’s taking Balam’s place because he’s sick of the Braxton Sutter show. Spud runs his mouth and gets punched in the face to start things off.
Braxton Sutter vs. Rockstar Spud
Sutter sends him into the corner but gets caught in a tornado DDT for two. Spud’s chinlock doesn’t go anywhere as Sutter kicks him in the face and hits a Downward Spiral for the pin at 2:40. There’s no reason for them to do so, but I’m sure these two will fight again.
Post match Spud kicks Sutter low, hits him in the back with a belt and spits on him.
Video on Sienna, talking about how hard she trains and how she wants to destroy Gail Kim. Until she mentioned Kim, this was a face promo.
Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy
Cage match with pin or submission only to win. Jeff doesn’t even waste time by throwing in tables, a ladder and a chair before Matt can even come out. Reby Hardy introduces Matt and insists that no one call him crazy. Matt brings in his own chair and somehow doesn’t notice Jeff on the top, waiting to dive on him at the bell. Matt comes back by shoving Jeff into the cage for two. Another whip sends Jeff into the cage and us to a break.
Back with Matt still in control as the announcers try to make sense of the story. Matt takes too long setting up a table though and eats a chair to the face. Poetry in Motion only hits the cage though and Matt bites the leg. A Side Effect through a chair only gets two for Matt but Jeff comes back with Whisper in the Wind to put both guys down.
Some Twists of Fate keep Matt down but the Swanton only gets two. The fans aren’t reacting to any of this. Another Twist of Fate puts Matt on a table so Jeff puts a chair on top of him. A second table is stacked on top of that before Jeff puts a ladder on the ropes for a splash through the top table but not through Matt. Not that it matters of course as it’s enough to pin Matt at 14:13.
Rating: B-. Ok now what’s next? I mean, I have no reason to believe this wraps up the feud so what are they doing next? It’s clear that these two are going to feud for months on end while the fans get quieter and quieter because they’re desensitized to these huge spots after seeing them for years. It’s a good cage match and all but the big spot is the only thing that’s going to matter.
Overall Rating: C+. This was a better show than they’ve done recently and a lot of that was due to having the Hardys contained to the last twenty or so minutes. They’re going to get in their stuff no matter what happens so just let them have their time while the rest of the show is mostly strong. It’s not a great show or anything but if they can get this pacing stuff down, everything will get better in a hurry.
Above all else though, the most frustrating thing about TNA continues to be that they clearly know how to create new stars (Sutter, Carter, Galloway etc.) but those people are typically stuck underneath the Hardys’ nonsense. It’s gotten better in recent weeks but I can’t help think that whichever Hardy comes out of this on top is next in line for the title after pushing everyone else out of the way to less of a reaction because we’ve seen that so many times.
Results
Drew Galloway/Ethan Carter III b. Lashley/Eli Drake – 1%er to Drake
Marti Bell b. Jade – Baton to the head
Mike Bennett b. Eddie Edwards – Rollup while holding the ropes
Braxton Sutter b. Rockstar Spud – Downward Spiral
Jeff Hardy b. Matt Hardy – Swanton Bomb through a table
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Reigns has also stated that this is legit and isn’t denying a thing. This doesn’t change anything for Battleground as the suspension will end before then but he won’t be around for the Draft.
Monday Night Raw – June 20, 2016: How To Make Battleground Important
Monday Night Raw Date: June 20, 2016
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton
A lot changed last night at Money in the Bank, not the least of which is all three members of Shield held the WWE World Title at some point. Dean Ambrose walked out with the title after cashing in Money in the Bank briefcase to end the show on new champion Seth Rollins, who had taken the title from Roman Reigns. We’re heading towards Battleground now but first up is that whole Brand Split and completely changing the company thing. Let’s get to it.
Dean arrived earlier today and threw money at the cab driver, only to have to chase after the cab because he forgot the title.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Dean to open things up, walking past a Raw and Smackdown podium on the way to the ring. The fans tell him that he deserves it before Dean talks about barely remembering a lot of last night. Apparently he ran into the Cleveland Cavaliers but he isn’t a fan. I’m sure the crowd booing him out of the arena didn’t sway that decision in the slightest. Dean gets right to the point: hard work and dedication pay off and when it pays off, it pays off BIG.
If Roman Reigns is the guy, maybe Ambrose can be the Dude. Call him whatever you want but you have to call him champ because it was all worth it to get here. Cue Roman to some LOUD booing. Roman says last night wasn’t his night because it was Dean’s night. He’s here to congratulate the new champ but the fans cut him off with a YOU CAN’T WRESTLE chant. Roman says all the people chanting that need to take a sip of their beer and calm down. The other reason Reigns is out here is to find out if Dean is a fighting champion.
This brings out a furious Seth to say he never properly lost the title and Reigns needs to go to the back of the line. Here’s Shane McMahon to calm things down a bit. Shane thinks the best idea is to have Seth vs. Roman with the winner facing Dean. Shane talks to an invisible Stephanie about her idea since the real version isn’t here tonight. Stephanie agrees so let’s have the match tonight instead of waiting around.
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
Owens bails to the floor to start so Sami takes him down with a clothesline. You would think Sami could come up with some different offense somewhere in there. Sami moonsaults off the barricade to drop Owens again so Kevin bails into the crowd. That goes nowhere as Sami throws him back to ringside, only to have Owens drive him into the post as we take a break.
Back from a break with Kevin’s backsplash hitting raised knees. Sami low bridges him to the floor for the running flip dive, only to charge into a superkick for two. Sami’s half and half suplex looks to set up the Helluva Kick but only earns him another superkick. A victory roll out of nowhere gives Sami the pin at 8:54.
Rating: C+. These two always work well together and it’s a good idea to have Sami get a clean pin over Owens. You can’t have the whole thing be one sided and I kind of like the idea of not waiting for some big moment for the first win for a change. Good enough match here but these two have that natural chemistry that you just can’t fake.
Kevin goes after him again post match but Sami escapes a powerbomb on the stage and they trade fists until referees break it up.
After a break, Sami and Kevin are still fighting in the back.
The announcers talk about the Draft, basically making the official announcement.
Here’s John Laurinitis to throw his name in the hat as GM but Shane comes out to say no way because that’s not how it’s going to work.
Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Vaudevillains
Enzo and Shane compare shoes and dance a bit on the way to the ring. After the usual catchphrases, Enzo says he didn’t like what Johnny laryngitis was saying. Any guesses how many dimes he would have if he got one for every time Johnny said something important? English stomps Enzo down to start before it’s off to Gotch for a neckbreaker. The slow beating continues until Gotch eats a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle. The hot tag brings in Cass to clean house with the Empire Elbow for two on English. Enzo goes up for the Rocket Launcher, now named the Bada Boom Shaka Lacka, for the pin at 2:53.
Here’s AJ Styles to talk about the tainted win last night. The bottom line though is that he beat John Cena, even if it didn’t go down like he expected it to go. Either way, the Club is going to continue but he wants Anderson and Gallows to come out and apologize right now. Anderson and Gallows come out and AJ yells at them a bit, saying that was his only first chance to beat Cena and now John has an excuse. AJ wants an apology right now and gets one from both guys, but now he needs Cena out here as well.
Cena comes out and says AJ broke the contract but Gallows says AJ had no idea what they were going to do. That’s the apology but Cena thinks it’s a coverup to hide the fact that AJ isn’t as good as he says he is. Cena can accept the win because that’s the most important thing in WWE. What AJ doesn’t get is the idea of being a man of his word. Last night Styles proved that he doesn’t have a word or balls. That earns him a CENA chant but AJ doesn’t think the fans know what they’re talking about.
AJ thinks there should be a fight right now and Cena is ready but that’s not what Styles meant. Instead AJ meant against either Anderson or Gallows, not Styles himself. Cena says it doesn’t matter which one he faces because the other will be at ringside. Therefore, he’ll fight all three, which is the contract AJ should have signed in the first place. AJ stops him again and says it’s Anderson vs. Cena right now.
John Cena vs. Karl Anderson
Joined in progress with Cena pounding Anderson down but stopping to look at the entrance for Styles and Gallows. An early ProtoBomb sets up the Shuffle and the AA, drawing in the rest of the Club for the DQ at 2:24 shown.
Post match Cena takes the Magic Killer and Styles Clash.
Stills of last night’s ladder match and World Title situation.
We also look at the opening segment.
Rollins is ready to take the title back from Ambrose and it starts tonight. He wants to prove that he’s the best member of the Shield once and for all. Oh yeah that’s grounds for a triple threat.
Becky Lynch is sick and tired of everyone turning on her with Natalya being the latest one to do so. Natalya jumps her from behind and says it’s time to think about herself.
Baron Corbin vs. Zack Ryder
Ryder pokes him in the eye to start but Corbin might have been goldbricking as he blasts Ryder in the face with a right hand. Zack shrugs off some choking and sends him outside for a dropkick from the apron. The Elbro gets two but Corbin slides under the ropes and runs back in for a right hand, followed by End of Days for the pin at 3:03.
Rating: D+. This was better than I was expecting with Ryder getting in a lot more offense than I was expecting. Of course the second you heard Ryder’s music playing you knew how this was going to go but that’s all you can expect from someone like him. At least they kept this short though and there was almost no mention of Dolph Ziggler, a development that is LONG overdue.
We look at WWE announcing a partnership in China and signing a Chinese wrestler to a developmental deal.
The Wyatts are coming back soon.
We look back at Paige beating Charlotte in a non-title match last week.
Paige (who seems to not be under arrest) talks about having a history with Charlotte from Team PCB but Charlotte and Dana are behind her laughing about getting cell phone service. Charlotte brags about rocketing up the charts after Team PCB broke up while Paige fell down like a tree. Paige says she’ll win the title tonight and Charlotte will have no one to blame but herself.
Women’s Title: Paige vs. Charlotte
Charlotte is defending and we get big match intros. A rollup gets an early two for the champ but she nips up off a shoulder. Paige hits a running knee in the corner followed by a series of knees to the face from the bottom rope. Dana offers a distraction though and Charlotte nails Paige to take over as we take a break.
Back with Charlotte doing her figure four headscissors faceplants but Paige grabs a backslide for two. Some superkicks set up a running knee for two on the champ, followed by a fall away slam. Paige’s superplex is broken up and the moonsault gives Charlotte two. The Figure Eight is countered into a small package for two and the Rampaige gets the same with Dana putting the foot on the ropes. That earns her an ejection but Charlotte hits Natural Selection for the pin at 8:30.
Rating: C+. Good match here as usual and it’s nice to see Paige not have to babysit the lower level women for a bit. That being said, we’re just waiting on Sasha at this point and it’s just a matter of time until Sasha comes back and gives us the big Summerslam feud for the title. Well maybe Battleground but whatever.
Post match Paige gets suplexed but here’s Sasha for the big return to clean house. Charlotte gets caught in the Bank Statement to draw Dana back in, only to have Paige help make the save.
Roman says he’s going to be the guy to beat Seth Rollins.
The Wyatts are here.
Here are the Wyatts for their big return. We get a big welcome back chant so Bray asks if they missed him. The Wyatts have been locked away and punished but they have never forgotten what they stand for. Bray issues a warning to everyone back there…..and here’s New Day to cut them off. Woods says Bray needs to stop talking so much and Kofi goes into the usual spiel, only to have Bray seem to hypnotize Woods. Kofi gets him back but Bray thinks the future is New Day falls. That’s uh…..quite the odd choice for a pairing but Bray controlling people is interesting. Are the Wyatts still faces though?
Life Lesson With Bob Backlund, focusing on Backlund giving orders, not advice.
Rusev vs. Titus O’Neil
Titus says this is about respect and revenge instead of the US Title. He charges in and a fight starts before the bell, meaning no match so this MUST CONTINUE! They fight outside with Rusev getting the worse of it and being sent out into the crowd.
Miz and Maryse are on the set of Marine 5 and Miz gets annoyed because he can’t get good quail. He freaks out and goes on a rant about how bad the crew is, right in front of the crew.
Chris Jericho is in Shane’s office and rants about how he should be #1 contender but Shane doesn’t see it that way. Jericho brings up the 69 tacks and calls Shane a stupid idiot, which doesn’t sit well with the boss. Chris wants to be on whatever show Shane isn’t running but Shane says he’ll be on both.
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
Winner goes to Battleground for a title shot and Dean is on commentary. Roman shoulders him down to start and they head outside with Rollins getting knocked around even more. Roman loads up the announcers’ table but gets caught with a Blockbuster back inside. A dropkick gets two for Seth and we hit the chinlock. Rollins takes it to the floor and sends Roman into the barricade, only to get kicked in the face back inside. They head outside again with Reigns sending him into the barricade as we take a break.
Back with Rollins throwing on a sleeper but Reigns quickly escapes and fires off some forearms until the referee breaks it up. The distraction lets Seth get in a jumping enziguri and he sends Roman outside for the suicide dive. Back in and Reigns scores with his powerbomb for two. Neither guy can hit a finisher but Seth tries a springboard and dives into the Superman Punch for two. The spear is blocked by a kick to the face so Reigns punches him out to the apron.
Now the springboard knee to the face sets up the slow superkick for two but Reigns avoids a great looking frog splash. There’s the apron boot and Roman loads up the announcers’ table. Seth escapes to avoid extreme pain and scores with another enziguri. Seth barely breaks the count but Reigns pulls him back outside for a spear over the announcers’ table. That spot loses a lot when there’s no big crash. Neither guy gets back in and it’s a double countout at 17:27.
Rating: B-. Obvious ending aside, this was actually a bit more entertaining than last night as the length really pulled the first match down. Of course this sets up the Shield triple threat which should headline Summerslam but why do that when you can do it at a nothing show like Battleground? In theory this leaves Reigns vs. Lesnar II for Summerslam but that’s assuming Lesnar is healthy after the UFC fight. But hey, why play it smart when you can play it stupid?
Post match Shane comes out to say we need a #1 contender but Dean says he’ll fight both of them in the same night. The triple threat is made and Dean hits Dirty Deeds on both guys to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. This show set up some stuff for Battleground as it seems like we’re heading towards some Money in the Bank rematches. You have to assume we’ll get Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens in a big showdown, plus the Cena vs. Styles rematch and of course the big triple threat. Still though, good enough show here with some watchable wrestling but again we’re still stuck in a weird bit of limbo with the Draft in a month. I’ll take a watchable show that’s off the air at two minutes after the hour instead of thirty two minutes after the hour though so this is a bit less annoying than last night’s show.
Results
Sami Zayn b. Kevin Owens – Victory roll
Enzo Amore/Big Cass b. Vaudevillains – Bada Boom Shaka Lacka
John Cena b. Karl Anderson via DQ when AJ Styles and Luke Gallows interfered
Baron Corbin b. Zack Ryder – End of Days
Charlotte b. Paige – Natural Selection
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins went to a double countout
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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Lucha Underground Date: June 15, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
We’re approaching Ultima Lucha Dos with just a few weeks to go and the company has turned it’s attention to the big show. Last week six people won a tag match to set up a six way elimination tonight for a shot at the Lucha Underground Title in (probably) the main event of Ultima Lucha Dos. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap focuses on the undercover cops, Pentagon’s destruction and rebuilding, Mil Muertes coming back to life again and tonight’s six man match.
Pentagon Jr. vs. King Cuerno vs. Ivelisse vs. Taya vs. Johnny Mundo vs. Fenix
No tags of course and this is under elimination rules. Johnny and Taya double team Ivelisse to start with the Moonlight Drive and a swinging Rock Bottom getting two each, only to have Fenix come in with some kicks. What’s Up with Pentagon playing D-Von gets two on Johnny as Taya makes a questionable save. We get the big showdown between Pentagon and Cuerno with the former being sent out to the floor.
Johnny takes him out with a dive as well, only to have Cuerno and Fenix throw Ivelisse on top of everyone else. Back inside, Cuerno snaps off a super reverse hurricanrana on Fenix but here’s Mil Muertes to spear Cuerno down. Muertes adds a powerbomb and Mundo hits the End of the World for the elimination at 4:20.
Back from a break (oh yeah this is going through the whole show) with Fenix refusing to fight Ivelisse as the other three go at it on the floor. Fenix still won’t fight so Taya gets in, allowing Johnny to kick Ivelisse down. That’s fine with Ivelisse who kicks Taya down and snaps off a hurricanrana on Johnny. Taya slams Ivelisse but misses a moonsault. A double stomp to Ivelisse’s chest lets Taya pin Ivelisse at 12:24 as we take a second break.
Back with all four brawling in the ring with Pentagon giving Taya Shattered Dreams and then slapping her chest up against the ropes. Vampiro stares at Pentagon as he kicks Taya in various places. Johnny wants Pentagon inside for a fight and they trade big forearms. Taya grabs Pentagon’s foot though and the Flying Chuck drops him with ease.
That just allows Fenix to come back in for some kicks to the head before Taya tornado armdrags Pentagon down. The heels stomp the good guys down as the fans cheer for Pentagon. Taya’s double knees in the corner stagger Pentagon but he pops right back up with a package piledriver to get rid of Taya at 21:46.
We take a third break with Fenix, Johnny and Pentagon staring each other down and chopping in a circle. A spinebuster plants Fenix for two as Pentagon is sent out to the floor. Fenix sends Johnny outside for a dive, followed by Pentagon hitting one of his own to take both guys down. Pentagon and Fenix chop things off until Fenix gets a running start for a headscissors. Not to be outdone, Johnny busts out a corkscrew dive off the top to put down the masked ones.
Back in and Johnny’s corkscrew shooting star gets two on Fenix, followed by a standing C4 for the same. Pentagon puts Johnny on top so Fenix can jump very high for a big double stomp. Johnny is down so Pentagon tries to roll Fenix up, only to land on Johnny to get rid of Mundo at 30:22.
Another break brings us back to “a garden of violence” according to Striker. They stare each other down and Pentagon lets him have the first shot. Pentagon throws him into the air for a crash and brings the Haas of Pain out of mothballs for a near submission. Fenix gets out and puts on something like a kneeling Texas Cloverleaf. That goes nowhere so Pentagon grabs what looks like a Tombstone, only to tie Fenix’s legs up and bend his back.
Fenix is out as well and grabs a Dragon Sleeper before going with the springboard twisting Pentagon bails to the floor and gets taken down by a big corkscrew dive. Back in and Pentagon sends him into the corner for a big kick to take over again. Fenix catches a charge in the corner but Pentagon gets his legs around Fenix’s head for a swinging piledriver of all things. That’s certainly a new one.
Fenix springboards into a super hurricanrana for two and even Vampiro is stunned at the kickout. The fans aren’t sure who to cheer for until Pentagon scores with back Sling Blades. Fenix scores with a superkick and both guys are down. They head to the apron for a superkick from Pentagon, followed by a Canadian Destroyer to the floor of all things. Both guys slowly get back in and Fenix scores with a backbreaker for two more. They slug it out from their knees with Fenix getting the better of it, only to dive into the package piledriver for the pin at 52:11.
Rating: A-. I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say here. They beat the heck out of each other for the better part of an hour and there were some ridiculous looking holds and moves in the final two. It says a lot that they could get me into a match where the winner was as obvious as Pentagon, but Fenix as runner-up was the best possible option. Oh and we’re almost guaranteed Muertes vs. Cuerno now so everyone wins.
Matanza and Dario appear at the entrance so Pentagon can threaten to break every one of Matanza’s bones to end the show.
Overall Rating: A. If there’s one thing I love about Lucha Underground, it’s the idea of being able to go from the big ideas to something simple like this. Instead of a bunch of stories, this was all about one idea: getting a #1 contender to set up the main event of the biggest show of the year. That’s exactly what they did and threw in a bonus of Cuerno vs. Muertes in what should be one heck of a fight. As usual, Lucha knows how to be efficient which is something almost every other promotion needs to improve on. Really fun show here and it flew by, which is always a bonus.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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