Money in the Bank 2016
Date: June 19, 2016
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield

You always hear about how any particular show is supposed to be the best ever but in this case they might actually have a chance at the best Money in the Bank of all time. There are three major matches tonight with AJ Styles vs. John Cena, Roman Reigns defending the WWE World Title against Seth Rollins and of course the Money in the Bank ladder match. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Breezango vs. Golden Truth

Breezango has severe sunburns due to some shenanigans before the match. Fandango and Truth start things off with Truth chopping at the very raw chest. It’s off to Breeze vs. Goldust as the chop-a-thon continues. Fandango comes in and ducks a chop, only to have Truth slap him on the back. Breeze offers a distraction so Fandango can stomp away, much to his own severe pain. We hit a leg crank on Truth for a bit before it’s back to Goldust for more chops and atomic drops. Everything breaks down and the Final Cut (suplex into a neckbreaker) puts Fandango away at 5:00.

Rating: D+. Sure it was stupid but I’ve got a soft spot for this angle as they’re just having goofy fun. The wrestling obviously wasn’t the point here and that’s ok when the entire point of this match is to fill in some time before we get to the actual pay per view. It’s nothing worth watching again but it’s funny enough to do its job.

Pre-Show: Lucha Dragons vs. Dudley Boyz

Bubba and Kalisto start things off before Cara comes in for a dive, followed by a double dive to take the Dudleyz down. Back from a break with Bubba working on Cara’s arm as the fans want tables. D-Von’s big elbow drop gets two before it’s back to Bubba who threatens to rip Cara’s mask off. The jab sequence is countered by a dropkick from Cara and the hot tag brings in Kalisto. The hurricanrana driver and kick to the head have the Dudleyz rocked and we get some heel miscommunication for good measure. A 3D is broken up and it’s the Salida Del Sol and the Dragon Bomb (swanton) for the pin on Bubba at 8:50.

Rating: C+. This was WAY better than I was expecting and a rather snappy little tag match. The Dragons never getting the titles is actually a bit surprising but at least we get a few nice matches like this every now and then. I’d still like to see Kalisto get an extended singles run but if this is the best I can get, so be it.

The opening video looks at the history of Las Vegas and the idea of chasing the dream. Everyone here tonight is going all in for the sake of reaching their goal, whatever that may cost.

Tag Team Titles: Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Vaudevillains vs. The Club vs. New Day

New Day is defending. Enzo’s attire looks like it’s covered with a bunch of miniature license plates. He’s sorry but he’s a bit tired tonight because he and Lady Luck were up all night. New Day does some impressions on the way to the ring, including calling Enzo and Cass a sawed off Han Solo and a hairless Chewbacca. The Vaudevillains are the Monopoly Men and the Club is being sent back to Japan to cure their male pattern baldness.

One fall to a finish here and it’s Kofi vs. Karl to start things off. It’s quickly off to Gallows who eats a quick pendulum kick in the corner before Enzo comes in to help clean house. Kofi grabs a rollup for two on Amore and that’s not quite cool. We get the big showdown between Cass and E. but Gotch tags himself in instead. Everything breaks down and all eight stare each other down in a cool visual.

The heels are sent outside and it’s Enzo/Cass vs. New Day, only to have the Vaudevillains jump Kofi from behind to take over. Gallows tags himself in but a double clothesline drops both Luke and Kofi. A double tag brings in English and Enzo (odd choices for tags) but it’s quickly back to Gallows, who low bridges Enzo to the floor. Amore grabs a tornado DDT on Luke and another double tag brings in Cass and Anderson. Cass cleans house and throws Enzo onto a pile at ringside.

The Rocket Launcher gets two on Anderson with Gallows pulling Enzo out at the last possible second (or maybe a bit too late). Kofi tags himself in but misses Trouble in Paradise. The Whirling Dervish gets a very close two on Kofi (I bought that as the finish for a second) and Big E. spears Gotch to the floor. Kofi grabs a DDT on English but Karl makes a blind tag. There’s a Magic Killer to English, only to have Big E. make a quick save. The Midnight Hour connects on Anderson and Kofi pins English at 11:47.

Rating: B+. It’s not quite the four way from last month but sweet goodness they were on fire here. This was a great back and forth match where I actually bought that all four teams could have gotten the belts at any time. In theory this sets up the Club vs. New Day for the titles at Battleground after New Day sets the record for the longest title reign.

Kevin Owens is in the back and brags about being awesome when he powerbombed John Cena on the apron last year. See, you have to specify what he does because everything he does is special. Owens: “That’s what my mom tells me.” Jericho comes in and does his usual speech about inventing Money in the Bank but Owens calls him out for never winning the thing.

Alberto comes in (Owens: “Most likely to speak some Spanish.”) and they discuss the meaning of perro. Del Rio brags about being the only one to win Money in the Bank but Owens cuts him off to say he needs new material, like Owens, who is always doing cool stuff. Jericho: “The only perros I see here are this pair-o idiots.” Jericho offers them the gift of Jericho but both guys leave, allowing Jericho to call them stupid idiots. If Owens was any more golden, he’d be a prize in the Olympics.

Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler

Because this won’t die. The threat of a superkick sends Corbin backing off so he pops Dolph with a right hand to take over. Ziggler tries to send him under the ropes but Corbin swings around the post and comes in with a hard clothesline. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Corbin just stomps away. The fans call this boring so Corbin takes a bit of a bow and picks Ziggler up even slower.

Dolph comes back with some dropkicks but can’t follow up. The Fameasser and superkick are both broken up and Corbin blasts him with another clothesline for two. Back up and Ziggler avoids a charge to send him shoulder first into the post, setting up the Fameasser for two. The fans alternate between Bayley and Ryback chants as Corbin bails to the floor to avoid the superkick. That thing better hit at some point.

A Deep Six on the floor gets a nine count. Back in again and End of Days is countered into the superkick for two. Ziggler heads up top but gets caught by a running right hand. Well that’s a bit more simple. Ziggler jumps back down and tries another superkick, only to run into End of Days for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of a quality match where the fans just weren’t interested and I really can’t blame them. These two have fought so many times and there’s no reason to want to see them again. That’s where WWE gets in trouble so many times: they get something interesting and then don’t know when to stop, laving us with crowd reactions like this. It was good with the nice little story of teasing the superkick but I had no interest in watching them.

Charlotte/Dana Brooke vs. Becky Lynch/Natalya

The announcers point out Natalya losing title match after title match this year. Natalya shoves Dana to the ropes a few times to start so Dana shouts a lot. Becky comes in and we get a Hart Attack on Dana, followed by a baseball slide to put Charlotte on the floor as well. Back in and Natalya gets beaten down as the announcers push the idea that Charlotte has been teaching Dana to get better. Apparently she needs to do more teaching as Natalya gets over for the tag off to Becky for the house cleaning.

The Bexploder sends Charlotte flying and a double missile dropkick drops the villains. Natalya comes in for the discus lariat on Charlotte, who comes back with a rollup for two with her feet on the ropes. The Sharpshooter has Charlotte in trouble but Dana makes the save, only to have Natalya and Becky collide. Natural Selection ends Natalya at 7:00.

Rating: C. Much like the previous match, I never want to see Charlotte vs. Natalya again. That’s like five straight losses for Natalya and there’s no reason to see them go at it again. Just let Sasha come up and get the title in a better match like everyone wants to see instead of just doing the same stuff over and over again. Why can’t WWE get that simple logic?

Post match Becky apologizes but Natalya blasts her with a forearm for a heel turn. Yeah because that’s going to make her interesting. Again, if you want us to care about a character more, DON’T HAVE THEM JOB IN EVERY SINGLE MATCH BEFORE YOU TURN THEM.

Dean Ambrose says we’re in the jungle tonight and he’s walking out with the title. He doesn’t have a comment on the main event other than Reigns is going to have fun beating on Rollins. “Beating up Seth is fun.”

Sheamus vs. Apollo Crews

Veteran vs. newcomer. Sheamus jumps him to start and headlocks Crews down. Back up and Crews sends him out to the floor, only to get caught in Irish Curse off the apron and out to the floor. Back in and we hit the chinlock as the fans break out the YOU LOOK STUPID chants again.

The ten forearms to the chest get two for Sheamus and we hit another chinlock. Crews pops back up for his running clotheslines and an enziguri before belly to belly suplexing Sheamus over the top. A moonsault from the apron gets two but Sheamus runs him over again. Sheamus takes it to the top for a super White Noise and two but an argument with the referee allows Crews to grab a rollup for the pin at 8:44.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than I was expecting to as Crews got the win after hanging in there long enough. It’s kind of a fluke but Crews kicked out after a big move and got to show off enough to make it look like a big win. This is what people like Sheamus and Ziggler are good for: having quality matches and putting people over while it still means something.

We recap AJ Styles vs. John Cena. This has been billed as a dream match and that’s not too far from the truth. Styles attacked Cena a few weeks back like so many others have done but Cena was more impressed by a moment when the fans were chanting LET’S GO CENA/AJ STYLES. Tonight AJ has his chance to prove that he belongs and has agreed to have the Club barred from ringside.

AJ Styles vs. John Cena

The fans are just coming unglued for this before the bell. They trade takedowns to start and AJ is all fired up. Cena comes right back with some armdrags and a monkey flip of all things but it’s way too early for the AA. You Can’t See Me is answered with a forearm to the face and AJ starts sticking and moving. That earns him a belly to belly before they head outside. Cena tries to send him into the steps but AJ jumps over them in a sweet counter that leaves Cena shocked.

Back in and a knee drop gets two for AJ, followed by a suplex. AJ: “Is this all he’s got?” Cena keeps going simple with a stiff right hand and a backdrop but the flying shoulders are countered with a dropkick. We hit the chinlock for a bit before another comeback is countered by an enziguri.

The Protobomb plants AJ but the Shuffle is broken up as well with Cena being knocked outside. A big flip dive misses though and Cena finally has an opening. Back in and the AA is countered again with AJ hitting the strike rush, only to get caught in the STF. A rope is grabbed so Cena tries a top rope AA but Styles reverses into something like Snake Eyes. Cena tries it again (with some LOUD spot calling, which has been an issue all night) but AJ escapes one more time.

The Phenomenal Forearm is countered into the AA but Cena takes too much time turning to face the camera, allowing AJ to reverse into the Calf Crusher. John gets to the ropes and hits that big running clothesline to make the comeback when he needs to hit a big move to make a comeback. The AA is countered AGAIN but Cena just muscles him up, only to have AJ kick out again.

Cena is shocked so he goes up top, only to have the Fameasser countered into a powerbomb to put both guys down. That’s only good for two as well so it’s a Pele into the Styles Clash for two more with the fans getting more and more into the kickouts. The springboard 450 only hits knees though and both guys are down. Neither can hit finishers with AJ landing on his feet to escape the AA but missing the Pele. The Forearm misses and Cena tries another AA, only to have the ref get bumped. Now the AA connects but there’s no one to count. Cue the Club for the Magic Killer to give AJ the pin at 24:09.

Rating: A-. I was hoping for a clean finish here as they were nailing it near the end. They were working the big match formula here and the key thing is AJ looking like he belonged in there and even frustrating Cena like few others have been able to. I don’t know if I’d say it lived up to the expectations but I don’t think anything really could have. Still though, excellent stuff as you had to know was coming..

JBL calls this a cheap victory but it’s not clear if AJ knew what happened. I mean, him looking up while the Club ran in would suggest otherwise but I’ve heard worse storyline explanations. As expected, JBL drives the point into the ground like no one else can.

We get a really cool video on the ladder match with a theme of what the briefcase can mean for you and how it means the world to someone’s career.

Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose

The fans seem split between Owens and Ambrose. Huge brawl to start as you would expect with Ambrose taking Owens down, followed by Sami hitting a big flip dive to take out most of his opponents. Owens kicks Sami in the face though and it’s Jericho with a front suplex to send Cesaro ribs first into the ladder. Dean gets back in but gets suplexed onto the ladder for his efforts. Jericho tries to crush him 69 times with the ladder but Del Rio comes in for the save.

That means it’s time for an uppercut party until Owens makes the save and busts out the Cannonballs. Sami comes back in and makes the first real climb but Del Rio makes the save and ties him in the Tree of Woe. Del Rio gives Cesaro the top rope double stomp onto a ladder but makes the slow climb, allowing Jericho to come in for a save. Chris gets pulled down and might have hurt his knee.

Del Rio goes up again but Cesaro makes a save this time, only to get caught in the cross armbreaker on the ladder. Kevin superkicks Del Rio but eats the spinning uppercut. Now it’s Ambrose and Jericho back inside with Jericho hitting a Codebreaker but only getting his hand on the briefcase as Sami makes a save.

They’re both knocked onto the ropes by an intervening Owens, who is taken down just as quickly with a Backstabber. There’s a Cesaro Swing for Del Rio and one for Jericho as a bonus with Cesaro letting him fly into the ladder for a big crash. Ambrose hits the elbow drop on Cesaro but Owens makes another save and crushes Dean with a frog splash onto the ladder.

Sami’s Michinoku Driver onto the side of an overturned ladder freaks the fans out all over again and breaks Owens at the same time. Del Rio hits Sami with a ladder over and over for the save before bridging one ladder into the other and draping the end on the middle turnbuckle. Cesaro does the same thing on the other side to make two platforms and all six are on ladders at the same time.

Cesaro and Del Rio fall off and the four others climb the middle ladder at once, only to have Del Rio and Cesaro set up another ladder. That results in a huge crash with Del Rio taking a very nasty fall. Everyone else falls down and Sami goes up, only to have Jericho run across the platform and make a save. Now it’s Dean stopping that one and planting Jericho with Dirty Deeds. Owens pulls Sami down and powerbombs him onto the platform. Dean and Kevin fight on the ladder with Owens falling backwards through the ladder and Ambrose gets the briefcase at 21:36 as JBL goes ballistic.

Rating: B+. See, this is what I was hoping for when they announced a six man match. Instead of fighting to get time, this was all about everyone going for the briefcase and surviving until the end when someone could get the briefcase. The ending isn’t a shock as you had two main options with Ambrose and Owens and it’s hard to argue with Dean winning. Really fun brawl though with some awesome spots, though nothing we haven’t seen before.

Long pre-show recap.

US Title: Rusev vs. Titus O’Neil

Rusev is defending and Titus’ kids are in the crowd. Rusev goes straight outside and gets in their faces, setting up a double clothesline on the floor. Titus just erupts on Rusev against the barricade before throwing him into said barricade. Rusev sends him into the post for a seven count before getting two off a spinwheel kick back inside. A hard knee has Titus’ ribs in trouble and we hit the chinlock.

Titus fights back with elbows to the ribs and a shoulder. Something like a reverse slam gets two but Titus has to get out of the Accolade. A pumphandle powerslam gets two more on the champ, who comes right back with the jumping superkick. Now the Accolade retains the title at 8:15.

Rating: D+. It’s almost like the idea of crushing the former champion over and over left Rusev with no one credible to defend against here. Oh wait Titus won some dad award a year or so ago so now he’s supposed to be interesting. Boring match here with zero doubt about the end result but that’s what midcard titles mean these days.

Rusev laughs at Titus’ kids and PLEASE don’t mean we get a rematch.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins with 15 minutes left in the show. They’ve been involved forever and things were made even worse when Rollins cashed in Money in the Bank to end Wrestlemania XXXI. Then Rollins hurt his knee and Reigns took the title in Seth’s absence, setting up this showdown.

WWE World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns is defending and the bell rings at 10:54 EST. Feeling out process to start until Reigns drops him with a shoulder. A second shoulder does the same but a third is blocked with a dropkick. Reigns is sent outside for a suicide dive but comes right back with a Samoan Drop for two. The fans don’t give Roman an inch as he hits that running clothesline and pounds away in the corner.

It’s past 11pm as regular pay per views now have overruns. Roman asks if Seth is ready for this so Rollins slaps him in the face. The comeback is stopped with a right hand and Roman sends him over the announcers’ table. Seth whips the champ into the steps but Roman comes right back with a Razor’s Edge into a sitout powerbomb for two. The Superman Punch is avoided though and Seth dropkicks him outside for another suicide dive. A big flip dive over the top is followed by a Sling Blade for two back inside.

The Pedigree doesn’t work though and the Superman Punch gets two for the champ. Seth enziguris Reigns away and hits the springboard knee to the head. A frog splash gets two on Reigns, allowing JBL to get in his second Eddie Guerrero reference of the night. Rollins is scared to go for the sunset bomb so he switches to a buckle bomb and low superkick for two instead.

Seth has to try three times for a superplex before getting him down, setting up a Falcon’s Arrow for two. The Pedigree is broken up again and Rollins gets two more off a powerbomb. The slugout goes to Rollins and there’s another buckle bomb, only to have Reigns come out with a Superman Punch for two. Since this hasn’t gone on long enough, Rollins goes outside, only to avoid the spear into the barricade.

Medics come out to check on Reigns until Rollins throws him back inside for the Pedigree. That’s countered as well and we get a ref bump, followed by the spear for a delayed near fall. The spear is countered into a Pedigree for two and Rollins is stunned. There’s a second Pedigree and Rollins is champion at 26:04.

Rating: B+. It was long but the end was a surprise and a good way to wrap things up with Reigns getting pinned clean. This sets up a lot of interesting stuff with the potential Shield triple threat that should headline Summerslam but more importantly….I hear music so we’ll cut this short.

We’re not done yet! Ambrose comes in through the crowd and hits Rollins with the briefcase for the cash-in.

WWE World Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

Ambrose is champion off Dirty Deeds in 9 seconds. More importantly: NO MONEY IN THE BANK FOR A YEAR!!!

JBL sounds like he wants to cry as Ambrose celebrates to take us off the air.

Overall Rating: A-. If not for some of the midcard stuff not exactly living up to the same standards and what seems to be the introduction of overruns on a pay per view (because ten matches over four hours and then three hours and ten minutes tomorrow night isn’t enough), this would have been a classic. As it is it’s just great and a bit beneath the 2011 edition, though still very good.

That being said, if WWE actually runs the Shield triple threat at freaking Battleground and not on the big stage of say Summerslam’s main event, I think my head might explode. That’s a Wrestlemania main event level match and there’s a chance they’ll waste it on the nothing July pay per view. Either way, it’s a really good show worth watching, but have your fast forward button ready.

Results

New Day b. The Club, Vaudevillains and Enzo Amore/Big Cass – Kofi pinned English after a Magic Killer

Baron Corbin b. Dolph Ziggler – End of Days

Charlotte/Dana Brooke b. Natalya/Becky Lynch – Natural Selection to Natalya

Apollo Crews b. Sheamus – Rollup

AJ Styles b. John Cena – Pin after a Magic Killer from the Club

Dean Ambrose b. Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Alberto Del Rio, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho – Ambrose pulled down the briefcase

Rusev b. Titus O’Neil – Accolade

Seth Rollins b. Roman Reigns – Pedigree

Dean Ambrose b. Seth Rollins – Dirty Deeds

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:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

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

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It’s another big time pay per view but more interestingly it might be the last pay per view of this era with the Brand Split changing everything a month after this show airs. They’re building this up as the greatest Money in the Bank of all time and while I have a really hard time believing they can top the 2011 edition, it could be interesting to see what they could do here. Let’s get to it.

The card has actually undergone a few changes so we’ll start with the new pre-show matches, beginning with Golden Truth vs. Breezango. I know it’s not the most popular feud in the world but I’ve been digging this story as it’s gone on for months. The interesting thing here though is I’m not sure who wins goes over. They could finally have Golden Truth get a win but that kind of wraps up the feud. On the other hand they could go with Breezango winning and further the split between Truth and Goldust.

I actually think Breezango goes over as Golden Truth doesn’t exactly have much of a future while Breezango could actually be built into a low level team of some value. Yeah I’ll take Breezango but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was wrong. Either way, this is a good example of how to get WAY more than should be gotten out of a stupid comedy story and I could actually go with these teams going somewhere else.

The other pre-show match is the definition of “here’s a match thrown together for the sake of making this show even longer” as the Dudley Boys face the Lucha Dragons. It’s really sad to see the Dragons thrown back together after Kalisto lost his US Title and the writers threw him out of their crib like they do with all of their new toys.

I guess we’ll go with the Dragons here because…..well because they were heads when I flipped a coin in my head. There’s really no reason for either team to go over the other so yeah we’ll pick the Dragons with at least a 50% confidence rate. This really feels like background noise while you’re getting your pizza ready for the main show and that really doesn’t need to happen, especially when you already have a pre-show match with so little importance.

Now on to the main card and we’ll start with the four way for the Tag Team Titles as New Day defends against the Vaudevillains, the Club and Enzo Amore/Big Cass. In theory this is the Club’s match to lose but the more I think about it, the more I think that they’re going to let New Day break the record for the titles, which they would by the time Battleground rolls around.

So yeah I think New Day escapes here to set up the big showdown with the Club, though again Club could wind up pulling it off here. I think we can forget the idea of Enzo/Cass or the Vaudevillains getting the titles here though I can go with the idea of the other two teams being added on to save the big showdown for later. As easily as I could see the Club getting the belts, I’ll go with New Day surviving one more month and getting the record before dropping them at Battleground.

I’m sorry for being so back and forth with the picks here but it’s that kind of a card. That’s not a bad thing either.

In another match that doesn’t need to exist, we have Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler yet again because this is what you do with a young name after you bring him up and give him a big win at Wrestlemania: give him the exact same match over and over again with no one getting anywhere as a result.

In theory this should go to Corbin in what better be this final match of the feud. I can barely remember why they’re fighting at this point because they’re in the horrible trap of “well we’ve been fighting for a long time now so let’s just keep fighting”. Ziggler has nothing to lose at this point but Corbin could move on to fighting for a midcard title after this feud so there’s really no reason to not go with Corbin. Yeah Corbin and I’m moving on to the next match before I can change my mind again.

Next up we have what should be a squash in a title match with Rusev beating the barks out of Titus O’Neil. I know he’s like the best father ever or whatever that nothing award they gave him was and the show is on Father’s Day but I can’t imagine they put Titus, who hasn’t actually won a match on Raw or Smackdown since February. Of course that’s enough for a title shot, mainly because Jack Swagger is too busy in theory.

So yeah, Rusev wins here and absolutely crushes Titus while Lana stands around looking hot. I’m not looking forward to this but it’s better than watching Rusev squash Kalisto all over again. They really need to actually have someone built up to challenge him instead of just picking someone off the roster and letting Rusev crush them on pay per view. Still though, at least Titus’ energy should help carry some of the match.

In a match I’m actually looking forward to, Apollo Crews will be facing Sheamus in his first major match in the company. This is your standard “I’m big and you’re small” match and that’s a style that is almost always going to work no matter what you do. Again there’s no reason for Crews to lose as Sheamus has the ability and the resume to pop back up after anything that happens to him. Crews wins here and there’s no reason for Sheamus to even be considered.

One more match before we get to the big stuff as we look at the women’s tag match. What in the world has happened to this division since Wrestlemania? The triple threat there was an absolute spectacle but this never ending Charlotte vs. Natalya feud while the fans are just waiting for Sasha to come out there and take the title has completely burned through all of the momentum they had built up. The wrestling is definitely better and it’s a lot more entertaining than it was but there’s no fire to the matches and that’s not a good thing.

I’ll go with Charlotte/Dana over Becky/Natalya because the latter two are just not allowed to win a big match no matter what they do. There’s no need for this feud to continue but it seems like we’re waiting for August to actually have Sasha come in and win the title she should have gotten at Wrestlemania in the first place. Either way it’s time for some fresh energy (not blood, which is a different thing) in the division, which shouldn’t be the case after one of the best women’s matches in American history just two and a half months ago.

Now we get to the important stuff and we’ll start with probably the least important of the three main events as Seth Rollins faces Roman Reigns. To say this one is confusing is an understatement as Rollins was built up as the sympathetic face with the big documentary and returned to the big face pop at Extreme Rules. On the other hand you have Roman Reigns who certainly does have his fans but is being pushed as one of the awkward faces in history despite being a natural heel while getting booed out of several buildings around the country.

The thing is, there’s almost no way this is going to be the last match between the two, but possibly more importantly it’s going to be the last time they might be on pay per view on the same brand. I’m almost sure there’s not going to be a cash-in but I’d bet on a DQ or countout finish here with Reigns holding onto the belt. Rollins will probably need some more seasoning before being put back on top of the card, but this should be one heck of a match as Reigns is always good to great once the bell rings.

Next up we have the namesake match with Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio in the Money in the Bank ladder match. In another instance of me having almost no idea who is winning here, this match is basically a pick em save for Alberto who should have as much chance of winning this match as I do of winning Miss Nevada 1973.

I think I’m going with Owens, who would be the best choice for the briefcase long term for the promos alone. Ambrose is a real option too but I can’t really picture them going with him actually winning a big match. The same is true of Cesaro and it’s too early for Sami. There’s a slight chance to get it on Jericho, who they’ve talked about as never winning the match he’s created. Of course that would be ridiculous and not really help anyone but that didn’t stop them at Wrestlemania. I’ll stick with Owens here but Jericho is a dark horse. Oh and one last thing: well done on keeping it at six. For once I can remember everyone involved.

That leaves us with the main event and sweet goodness this should be fun. There aren’t many actual dream matches out there but AJ vs. Cena really is one of them. The buildup has been excellent with that contract signing more than pushing me over the top, which really wasn’t hard after the setup.

I’m not sure what else there is to say here as it’s AJ Styles vs. John Cena in a featured match on a WWE pay per view. I’ll take AJ to win in a masterpiece to set up a bunch of rematches down the line which is fine. Yeah Cena would lose in his big comeback match but it makes the most sense here, meaning it’s more than likely to be wrong. The thing is there’s no wrong answer here and that’s a good sign going into tomorrow night.

It’s a rare thing but I actually got more excited for the show going through the preview. This really is one of the most stacked cards I’ve seen in a very long time and it has the potential to be some incredible stuff. Maybe not the best Money in the Bank ever but it’s going to be a heck of a night of wrestling and that’s what these shows should be. Pay per views are almost always awesome these days and I see no reason why that trend won’t continue here.

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:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

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

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Ring of Honor
Date: June 15, 2016
Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly, Mark Briscoe

We’re less than two weeks away from Best in the World and we’re getting ready for the showdown between Jay Lethal and Jay Briscoe for the ROH World Title. However there’s also the issue of the Bullet Club’s Adam Cole circling around the title as well, which almost has to be the next hurdle for whichever Jay comes out with the belt. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito’s IWGP Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line and he has a taped up knee coming in. Moose powers him into the corner to start and teases a right hand before just slapping Naito on the chest. Naito’s right hands have no effect so Moose dropkicks him down with ease. Another dropkick puts Naito on the floor and it’s easy to see why Moose is rumored to possibly go to NXT.

Naito slides back in and teases a dive but stops to pose instead. I can go for a cocky heel who knows how to deal with a monster like this. The second dive actually works as Mark talks about wanting to fight Roderick Strong at Best in the World. Moose misses the spear as we take a break.

Back with Moose doing his jab sequence but getting taken to the top for a hurricanrana. Since it’s just a hurricanrana though, Moose pops up and BLASTS him with a discus lariat for two. Moose keeps up the power with a suplex into the corner. A quick Koji Clutch slows Moose down and his delayed vertical suplex is countered into a snap DDT. Naito steps away from a dive ala Samoa Joe (love that spot) and a backflip into a reverse DDT gives Naito the pin at 10:16.

Rating: C+. It’s kind of weird to see the smaller guy as the heel and still have him be so dominant like this. Moose is someone who has kind of hit a wall as he has all the potential in the world but he needs to get a big win or have a story other than “he’s fighting people way better than him” because losing over and over doesn’t really do him much good, no matter how competitive he is.

The All Night Express want to make wrestling great again and get rid of all the superkicks. Now this I can get behind.

Jushin Thunder Liger/Cheeseburger vs. All Night Express

The Express attack at the handshake as the announcers try to figure out what makes Liger and Cheeseburger’s palm strikes so awesome. Speaking of the palm strike, Liger uses it to clean house before Cheeseburger’s dive is pulled out of the air. Instead Liger baseball slides into Cheeseburger’s back to put the Express down again. King drapes Cheeseburger over the ropes to take over as we take a break.

Back with Titus driving a knee into Cheeseburger’s face before King plants him with a spinebuster for two. We hit the chinlockery for a bit before Cheeseburger kicks King away and makes the hot tag off to Liger. Titus takes too long going up and gets superplexed down for two with King making the save. Liger saves King from a powerbomb/springboard clothesline combo but gets sent to the floor, leaving King to hit the Royal Flush (F5 with King landing on his face instead of his back) for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: C. It was nice of them to let one of the Ring of Honor teams to actually get a win instead of having to be beholden to the New Japan guys. Liger and Cheeseburger aren’t exactly interesting but I’m sure it gives the fans a thrill to see Liger in there after being in the ring for over thirty years. It’s not a bad match here but the New Japan vs. ROH idea has really gotten old.

Next week: ROH vs. Bullet Club.

Roderick Strong comes out to yell at Nigel about having to team with Mark in next week’s match against the Bullet Club. Mark doesn’t take kindly to this but no violence ensues.

The Bullet Club thinks Adam Cole should be in the main event at Best in the World and takes over the production stuff to let Cole talk about how awesome he is.

The announcers try to talk about the Best in the World card until Silas Young comes out to interrupt. Silas doesn’t like the idea of ACH playing video games in his locker room. ACH believes he’s a superhero from some Japanese cartoon but Young is ready to give him a hard fall back to reality at Best in the World. Young goes after a plant but security drags him away so ACH can run out and dive on him.

Kyle O’Reilly wants a rematch against Kushida after losing to him last year in the finals of the Beast of the Super Juniors. It’s been 367 days in the making and the match starts now.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Kushida

So yeah, the ROH main event is a rematch from the finals of a New Japan tournament from last year. Kushida’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Feeling out process to start until Kyle takes it to the mat. That’s fine with Kushida who can’t get a Hoverboard Lock but Kyle can’t get a cross armbreaker either. Back up and Kushida kicks him in the leg and then gets in one on the arm before stomping on the triceps. Kyle comes back with strikes of his own before going after Kushida’s leg. A knee bar has Kushida bailing to the ropes so Kyle knees him in the head as we take a break.

Back with Kyle getting in an ankle lock but Kushida flips away for the escape. Kyle takes him to the floor to work on the knee out there but dives into a cross armbreaker almost underneath the ring. Back in and they slug it out with Kushida knocking Kyle’s mouthpiece out. Kushida sends him into the ropes but gets caught in a guillotine, only to have Kushida reverse into the Hoverboard Lock. That’s reversed into a rollup for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C+. So Kyle just pinned Kushida clean in the middle of the ring. Is this going to lead to a title shot? Say in Ring of Honor? I haven’t heard about anything yet, but I have a feeling that if it happens, we’ll see it in New Japan. That’s where they lose me on this promotion vs. promotion stuff: I shouldn’t have to go buy some other promotion’s shows or follow their stories to see where this stuff is going.

If you want them to feud in ROH then have them feud in ROH. If you want them to feud in New Japan then have them feud in New Japan. Either of those are fine, as are the occasional crossovers. The problem is these companies are basically running a full time crossover with a shared roster. If I want to know what half of this stuff is about, I have to watch New Japan as well. The problem is I’m not watching this show to see New Japan because the show is called Ring of Honor. I get that this is a special, but this same idea has been going for four months now. At what point does it stop being a special and become the norm?

Overall Rating: C. It’s another Ring of Honor vs. New Japan show and it seems that it’s what we’re going to get next week as well. “But KB! It’s War of the Worlds!” Yeah and it’s coming after Global Wars which came after Honor Rising which came after a bunch of regular shows with the New Japan guys around. Like I said earlier: this is now the norm instead of something special. Other than Young vs. ACH and a few mentions of Lethal vs. Briscoe, this was a stand alone show despite the pay per view airing in nine days. This keeps happening and it’s really getting old.

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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Smackdown
Date: June 16, 2016
Location: Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Jerry Lawler, Byron Saxton

It’s the final show before Money in the Bank so just set up the big six man main event already. This week’s Raw had some strong story building moments for the coming pay per view but the go home Smackdowns can be all over the place quality wise. Hopefully they don’t just bore us with nothing matches that don’t fire up the fans for Sunday. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We open with Chris Jericho in the ring for the Highlight Reel. Jericho says quiet about seventeen times and unveils the new Jeritron 6500 and the new $2000 carpet. He promises to win Money in the Bank because he created it (“You’re welcome.”). Tonight his guest is Dean Ambrose, even though Jericho hates him. Dean comes out with a cup of coffee but first we have to look at the clip of the Ambrose Asylum on Monday. Jericho isn’t cool with the coffee because this carpet is made of Serengeti yak hair. Dean’s coffee is like the Gift of Jericho man. He’s just drinking it in.

Jericho says Dean won’t be Shawn Michaels tonight and shove his head through the screen so Dean’s Jeritron privileges are revoked. Actually everyone has so raise the screen. Chris brings up the thumbtacks and says the holes don’t combine to equal the hole left in Dean’s spirit by never being World Heavyweight Champion. Dean isn’t winning the briefcase or the title on Sunday but here’s Kevin Owens to interrupt. That case is HIS and he might cash in at any time.

Cue Del Rio to speak Spanish and say no one understands how this works except for him but here’s Cesaro to interrupt as well. Nothing is said before Sami cuts them off and announces tonight’s six man, triggering an argument with Cesaro over the interruption. Jericho calls them stupid idiots and says they’ll win tonight so Dean pours the coffee on the carpet to start the brawl.

Kofi Kingston vs. Aiden English vs. Luke Gallows vs. Big Cass

Enzo’s entrance is cut off by New Day and that’s not cool. I guess New Day are haters now? Other than Kofi riding in on Big E.’s shoulders, there’s no special entrance from New Day. Enzo and Woods are sitting in on commentary. Gallows powerbombs Kofi to start but Cass clotheslines Luke down and knocks Aiden outside as well. The Club gets Cass to the floor and sends him into the barricade as the guest commentators both get up and we take a break.

Back with Aiden and Gallows taking turns beating on Kofi before naturally fighting over who gets the pin. Cass breaks up what looks like a Doomsday Device with big boots and clotheslines all around. Gotch tries to interfere but Gallows pulls Cass to the floor. Kingston dives off the top to take out Gallows and Cass, followed by Big E. running over Gotch. Back inside it’s Kofi hitting Trouble in Paradise for the pin on English at 7:44.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and Kofi winning isn’t exactly a great sign for New Day’s reign going forward. The Club winning the titles makes the most sense which is probably why the Vaudevillains will win the titles. I’m really hoping they don’t split up New Day or Enzo/Cass in the Draft but leave it to WWE to go with the worst possibly choices.

Natalya and Becky Lynch are ready for their tag match on Sunday and insist that the truth is out there: Charlotte can’t win a match on her own. Dana and Charlotte come in so bickering can ensue.

Baron Corbin vs. Zack Ryder

Dolph Ziggler is on commentary. Corbin chokes to start but goes outside to yell at Ziggler, allowing Ryder to get in a dropkick off the apron. The Broski Boot gets two (on Baron if that wasn’t clear) but End of Days wraps Ryder up at 1:46.

Corbin walks away from a fight with Ziggler post match.

Rusev vs. Kalisto

Non-title and Lana does Rusev’s intro. They show Rusev beating Titus O’Neal down on Raw to basically guarantee the post match shenanigans. Kalisto gets jumped during the entrances and put in the Accolade. No match.

Sin Cara tries to make a save and gets the same treatment. Titus runs in for the save and cleans house.

Recap of the Styles vs. Cena contract signing.

AJ Styles says he’ll prove he can win on his own this Sunday. New Day comes in to laugh at AJ’s lack of style and a match is set up between Woods vs. Styles.

Xavier Woods vs. AJ Styles

No seconds at ringside. Feeling out process to start with AJ sending Woods off the ropes and saying Xavier can’t see him. AJ cranks on a wristlock and says he does this better than Cena. Woods comes back with a strike to the forehead, only to have AJ chop block him down. AJ takes his time to let the referee check on Woods, who catches AJ with a jumping knee to the head. The Pele drops Woods for two though and it’s off to the chinlock.

Woods finally gets up and grabs an O’Connor Roll for two, only to get caught in a backbreaker. We take a break and come back with Xavier punching his way out of a superplex and getting two off a high cross body. A reverse suplex drops Styles and a discus forearm puts him on the floor. Woods follows him out with a big flip dive before walking across the top rope for a LONG elbow drop and a near fall. AJ escapes a superplex and scores with the Phenomenal Forearm setting up the Calf Crusher (Styles: “THIS IS WHAT I’M GOING TO DO TO JOHN CENA!”) for the tap out at 12:21.

Rating: B-. Woods can go when he wants to but most of the time he’s just there for comic relief. Granted it might have helped that the match was against AJ Styles and Woods only had to do the basics to get through this one. The ending made perfect sense as they set up the injury at the beginning and then paid it off at the end. Why is that so complicated?

Post match AJ says that’s just a taste of what Cena is getting when his time is up.

This week’s lesson with Bob Backlund is about Darren Young reading more. Bob says they’re like dumbbells for the brain but Backlund doesn’t like the idea of Darren taking advice from anyone, including Backlund himself. That’s because Backlund doesn’t give advice. Instead he gives orders, like 100 high knees right now.

Natalya vs. Charlotte

Non-title with Becky and Dana at ringside. Charlotte takes it to the mat with a headlock which is countered into a headscissors. The hold is quickly broken but Natalya breaks up the strut. Charlotte gets caught in a surfboard but it’s too early for the Sharpshooter. Natalya will have none of this waiting on the floor and takes Charlotte out with a baseball slide. Dana offers a distraction though, allowing Charlotte to kick Natalya in the face to take over. The advantage doesn’t last long though as Natalya throws her over with a German suplex for two.

Nattie By Nature gets two as the announcers talk about video games. Lawler: “The only video game you should be talking about is WWE2K16.” That’s some veteran shilling. Charlotte goes up for the moonsault but gets caught in a sitout powerbomb for two, only to have Dana hold up the title as a distraction. Becky and Dana slug it out and Charlotte chop blocks Natalya, setting up the Figure Eight for the submission at 5:48.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how this is supposed to help set up Sunday but I’m not really sure why these women are still fighting. You would think Natalya losing like five matches to Charlotte would be enough to end the feud but let’s just keep it going anyway. It’s not like there’s anyone else around to challenge for the title. One last note: I’d like to point out that the loss to Paige on Monday seems to mean absolutely nothing, barring a surprise Paige title shot coming up after Money in the Bank.

Long video on Roman vs. Rollins.

Dean Ambrose/Sami Zayn/Cesaro vs. Alberto Del Rio/Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens

It’s a big brawl to start until Del Rio and Cesaro are left alone in the ring. Alberto misses the corner enziguri but still lands on Cesaro’s back. That means it’s time for the uppercut train (and Mauro’s uppercut party line) before Del Rio avoids the Codebreaker to the arm. Cesaro can’t hook the Swing though and has to settle for a flip dive off the apron. The running European uppercut sends Jericho into the timekeeper’s area.

Del Rio gets one as well and Cesaro stays on him with a high cross body for two. Cesaro Swings all three heels with Jericho getting the last one and a Sharpshooter to go with it. Jericho taps but isn’t legal, allowing Del Rio to superkick Cesaro down for two as we take a break. Back with Jericho posing over a fallen Cesaro before handing it off to Owens for a stomping in the corner. Del Rio tags himself in to hammer Cesaro even more, only to get dropkicked off the top and out to the floor.

The hot tag brings in Sami to take on Jericho as everything breaks down. Sami’s high cross body gets two but Owens gets in a cheap shot to let Jericho take over. That means a long and obvious spot call in the corner until Sami gets in a clothesline to set up the hot tag to Dean. Everything breaks down again and Dean sends Del Rio to the floor for the suicide dive.

The standing elbow misses though and Alberto gets two off a Backstabber. Dirty Deeds is broken up and it’s Cesaro cleaning house with uppercuts, including one to Ambrose. Del Rio tags out to Owens, earning himself a superkick. Jericho gets one from Owens as well, setting up Dirty Deeds for the pin on Kevin at 13:50.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what I was expecting but that’s to be expected when you do the same building process year after year. It’s a fine Smackdown main event with enough good action and a grand total of almost no storyline advancement. In other words: a big part of why no one watches Smackdown at the moment.

Overall Rating: C. You can feel the show being stuck in a holding pattern until we get to the Brand Split and Smackdown possibly starts meaning anything again. This didn’t do anything to make me want to see Sunday’s show but Raw already took care of most of that. The show wasn’t bad or anything but it was so horribly average with nothing memorable whatsoever. If this doesn’t change after the split, this show is in major trouble.

Results

Kofi Kingston b. Big Cass, Aiden English and Luke Gallows – Trouble in Paradise to English

Baron Corbin b. Zack Ryder – End of Days

AJ Styles b. Xavier Woods – Calf Crusher

Charlotte b. Natalya – Figure Eight

Dean Ambrose/Cesaro/Sami Zayn b. Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens/Alberto Del Rio – Dirty Deeds to Owens

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:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

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

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

Monday Nitro #274
Date: January 23, 2001
Location: Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Commentators: Scott Hudson, Tony Schiavone

We’re on a Tuesday this week as TNT has stopped pretending that Nitro is the ratings juggernaut it was back in the day. It’s the new era of WCW (the latest one that is) with Ric Flair in charge and evil for reasons that haven’t yet been and won’t be explained because WCW. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the pay per view and last week’s show, which night as well have Nash going TOO SWEET to make it feel more NWOesque.

Last week, the heel stable was eating chicken wings and breaking the bones in time with Sid breaking his leg. Ok that’s kind of awesome.

Tony and Scott say WCW has new owners and it’s not clear where things are going.

Here are Flair, Animal, Luger and Bagwell to get things going. Flair gets right to the point and says that Steiner, who isn’t here yet, deserves a top level opponent for SuperBrawl. That makes Flair think of one name and that would be….Alex Wright. Alex actually comes out as the heels can’t keep straight faces, only to have Kevin Nash cut him off. Wright yells (and rightfully so) and is promptly powerbombed through the stage.

Nash declares himself #1 contender with Cat coming out to say that’s correct. Flair says not so fast because Nash has to beat Bagwell first and Luger will be guest referee. Not so fast either as Luger has to face Diamond Dallas Page for the right to be guest referee in the main event #1 contenders match (my head hurts). Oh and Buff or Nash can’t interfere, because other wrestlers not being allowed to interfere is a special rule.

Mike Sanders gives Chavo Guerrero a pep talk and tells him to watch the next match closely. The Wall is here too and promises to end the legend of the Misfits tonight.

Flair tells Jarrett and Steiner what’s going on. Was there any reason to not have them be there during the talking segment?

Michael Modest vs. Christopher Daniels

Modest had one match on Nitro in March 2000 and hasn’t been seen since. Daniels is 29 here (in his mid-20s according to Tony) because he’s never been a young wrestler in his life. He does however have hair here which is quite jarring. Daniels punches away to start but gets taken down with some wristlocks that have Modest dropping to the mat as he twists. Daniels botches a springboard and almost lands on his head allowing Modest to crank on the arm a bit more.

Modest takes a kick to the shoulder which puts Daniels on the mat for reasons that aren’t clear. They head outside with Modest being sent into the barricade and eating a dropkick through the ropes, followed by a slingshot splash to the floor. Daniels seems to have shaken off whatever was wrong with him at the start. Back in and Daniels hits a slingshot moonsault (called split legged by Hudson despite the fact that Daniels’ legs were in fact unsplit) for two before getting caught in a dragon suplex for two of his own.

Daniels pops back up to the top but Modest runs across the ring and does a handstand into a hurricanrana to bring him right back down. Modest gets dropped again though and the BME gets two, only to have Modest get the same off something like White Noise. A second attempt is countered into a modified Angel’s Wings (Daniels flipped Modest onto his back instead of his face) for two more. Modest cross bodies him out to the floor and here’s Scott Steiner to destroy them both for a no contest.

Rating: C+. It was nice while it lasted but why bother letting either guy go anywhere when you can use them as cannon fodder for WCW? This would be the last appearance in WCW for both guys but at least they were able to be in the ring for a bit before Steiner got to treat them like the most worthless goons this side of The Goon. At least let someone win the match before the run-in.

Steiner uses the pipe to break both their legs before saying he broke Sid’s leg on purpose. They’ll be laying next to Sid and Nash is going to be added to the list soon.

Here are Kwee Wee and Paisley with something to say. He’s ticked off about now being part of Flair’s team and it’s clear that he’s tough enough after the beating from Rick Steiner on Monday. Kwee Wee issues a challenge to anyone in this building, including fans. For some reason he goes after a security guard and beats him down until other guards break it up. As usual this would work better minus the overly gelled hair and glitter.

Team Canada comes out with Lance Storm challenging Konnan to a one on one match with the winner being the official winner of the war between the Canadians and the Filthy Animals. Konnan comes out to accept in his own unique way.

Lance Storm vs. Konnan

They hit the mat to start where Konnan is completely out of his league. Storm grabs the Maple Leaf but gets kicked in the face for a break. Konnan hits the rolling lariat as everyone else brawls on the floor, as they should be. The faceplant is broken up and an Irish whip transitions into the Maple Leaf for the tap out in less than two minutes. Some war, but midcards never meant anything under Bischoff’s watch.

Shane Douglas wants on the team and Luger says he’s in if he can beat the Cat.

General Rection looks a little crazy as Gene asks him about everything the former Misfits have been going through lately. Lash says he’ll have Rection’s back until the end. Rection says it wasn’t supposed to be like this and asks for Lash’s shirt. He’s honorably discharged from the team and it’s time to return to their roots. Rection takes off his shirt and says Hugh Morrus is back. Uh, yay.

Lex Luger vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Winner gets to referee the #1 contenders main event. Luger stalls to start so Page knocks him out to the floor so he can stall while looking up at the ring. Back in and Luger hits an atomic drop and belly to back, burning up half of his arsenal in a few seconds. A shoulder sends Page into the corner and it’s time to stomp a lot. Page crotches him against the post and sends Luger head first into the buckle several times. The referee gets bumped so here’s Jarrett with the guitar to set up the Torture Rack for the Luger win.

Rating: D. I could go with this a little bit more if they didn’t set all this up an hour ago for a payoff half an hour from now. You could pencil Jarrett’s interference in here as soon as they said Bagwell and Nash couldn’t interfere. Again: we’ve reached the point where interference being banned is a special stipulation. How did that happen?

Mamalukes vs. Shawn Stasiak/Mark Jindrak

The Thrillers jump Johnny at the bell so he has to kick Stasiak’s head off for a breather. It’s off to Vito who helps with a double belly to back suplex on Shawn. The Mamalukes take over on Jindrak as well, including a double back elbow for two. Stasiak comes in again and misses a charge in the corner as this is completely one sided so far.

Shawn finally gets in a jumping back elbow to the jaw before bringing in Jindrak for one off a moonsault. Vito takes a double elbow of his own, which is finally enough for Johnny to come in without a tag as everything breaks down. Vito kicks Stasiak and Jindrak clotheslines Johnny for two each, only to have the rest of the Thrillers come in for the weak DQ.

Rating: D+. As illogical as it was for the Thrillers to come in there, you kind of had to know that was going to be the ending. That’s how most matches end around here these days because so many people are in some kind of a faction. The Mamalukes continue to be perfectly acceptable jobbers to the stars and that’s all they need to be.

Stasiak and Jindrak aren’t happy that they just lost a match due to interference. My goodness that actually makes sense.

Post break the Thrillers are still arguing with Sanders not being able to calm them down. Flair pulls Sanders off to the side and tells him to outsmart the rest of the team.

Shane Douglas vs. The Cat

If Shane wins he’s on the team. We get the usual Shane insults to the crowd to start because that’s his big thing. That’s not to say it doesn’t work well enough though. Cat isn’t ready to go yet as he has to make Jarrett vs. Page for SuperBrawl. He also wants to make this for the US Title but Flair comes on screen to say it’s non-title. Instead, the Commissioner’s job is on the line.

Douglas jumps him from behind to start and Flair makes it No DQ to insure a messy ending. Something like a bridging Indian Deathlock has Cat in trouble before a poke to the eye cuts him off again. Shane gets slammed off the top and sent into the buckle ten times as the match warps back to 1987. Cat keeps up the Hogan offense with ten right hands to the head in the corner, only to get poked in the eye again. Cue Mike Sanders followed by the Thrillers to take Cat out but Rick Steiner makes the save, allowing Cat to superkick a chain out of Douglas’ hand for the pin to keep his job.

Rating: D. Somehow that wasn’t as messy as I was expecting it to be, which is saying a lot. Keeping Cat short like this (under five minutes) is the right idea and the match could have been a lot worse. If nothing else Cat is great proof of how charisma is far more important than in ring abilities and almost always will be.

Post match Cat does his dancing and Rick actually joins him for a bizarrely entertaining visual.

Hugh Morrus/Lash Leroux vs. A-Wall/Chavo Guerrero Jr.

It’s a brawl to start and no one can stop Wall (or A-Wall as he’s still being called here, even though he’s out of the team) until Morrus grabs a slam, only to tag off to Leroux by mistake. Morrus says that was just a high five and Wall uses the distraction to make the tag off to Chavo. Wall chokes Lash in the corner a bit as Morrus tries to get in as this breaks down into a more standard tag match.

Lash gets in a quick tilt-a-whirl slam and scores with a clothesline for two, only to get caught in a Gory Special for a few seconds. Back up and Chavo accidentally hits Wall because you have to have heel miscommunication. Chavo doesn’t seem to mind and dropkicks Lash for two with Morrus coming in to break it up. Wall goes after Morrus to start a brawl, allowing Chavo to grab a rollup on Lash for the pin.

Rating: C-. This worked better than it probably should have but above all else it was a good sign that Chavo wound up getting the pin instead of having another champion get beat. Morrus is still being treated as a big deal and it’s nice to be able to go with the stupid name instead of the really stupid name. Lash still isn’t all that great in the ring and is really just a guy in wrestling gear but he could be worse.

Morrus beats Chavo up post match. Sore loser.

Kevin Nash vs. Buff Bagwell

Lex Luger is guest referee and if Nash wins he gets the title shot at SuperBrawl. Totally Buff wastes some time as Luger promises to call it right down the middle. Nash starts with a knee to the well toned abs and chokes in the corner with the boot, drawing some harsh criticism from Luger. Thankfully the whole fair referee thing doesn’t last long as Luger grabs Nash’s foot so Buff can crotch him on the way back inside. However, Lex counts very slowly for Bagwell with Nash kicking out before one, causing Bagwell to yell at Luger.

Bagwell’s chinlock keeps things so slow that it’s Nash being the one on his feet to speed things up with a side slam. Of course it’s another slow cover and Snake Eyes gets the same speed, only to have Luger cut off the count at two instead of screwing around with the pretext. It’s time for a chair with Luger holding it up so Bagwell can knock it into Kevin’s head.

The Blockbuster doesn’t work though as Nash ducks to send them crashing into each other. Of course this is treated as some heroic comeback because WCW announcers are easily entertained. Cue Diamond Dallas Page to hit the Diamond Cutter on Luger. Nash gets up and Jackknifes Bagwell to set up the Austin/McMahon count with Nash grabbing the unconscious Luger’s hand to count the pin.

Rating: D-. This was every crooked referee match you’ve ever seen because there isn’t much you can do to change this gimmick. Nash was obviously getting the title shot and somehow this was the better choice than Nash vs. Luger with Bagwell as the referee. Unfortunately Luger and Bagwell are still some of the top heels in the company and this is about as high speed as they’re going to be able to go.

Post match Scott Steiner, Kronik, Animal and Jarrett come out for the big brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. So to recap, this whole show took two hours to set up Steiner vs. Nash at SuperBrawl. One of the matches was to set up a guest referee for a match to establish Nash as the #1 contender. Just like back in the NWO days, there’s the issue of having so much of the show revolve around that one story, which isn’t very good in the first place. There are other stories on the show to help things out a bit but a lot of them are tied into the Flair super stable stuff in some way. It’s another show full of bad wrestling and focused around one tired story, which is an idea that has barely ever worked but WCW kept doing it.

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:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

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

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

NXT
Date: June 15, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s the week after Takeover and possibly the last taping cycle before the Brand Split really screws things up. Not a lot of major changes took place last week aside from new Tag Team Champions as Revival took the belts back from American Alpha in a pretty surprising upset. Next up is Brooklyn in August so let’s get to it.

We get a We Stand With Orlando graphic.

Long recap of Takeover, running the better part of four minutes.

We’ll be hearing from Finn Balor and Samoa Joe later tonight.

Authors of Pain vs. ???/???

The Authors of Pain are the monsters who attacked American Alpha last week and have Paul Ellering (who somehow looks younger than he did when he first came to the WWF in 1992) in their corner. The announcers have no names for the jobbers, who are run over at the bell to start. To be fair they don’t have individual names for the Authors either with one of them being referred to as the Tattooed One.

Some hard knee strikes have the first jobber in trouble before it’s off to the other one for more of the same. The non-tattooed Author throws one jobber into the other and it’s a side slam/big boot combo for one and a running clothesline/Russian legsweep combo to the second for the pin at 1:36. Total dominance, though names for the Authors would be helpful, as well as a better finisher.

Andrade Cien Almas (speaking of needing a better name) is happy with his win last week when Tye Dillinger comes in to interrupt. Dillinger: “Now listen up you six.” A rematch is requested and seems to be granted.

Ellering is asked what he and the Authors are doing here but he’ll only say “in due time”.

Carmella vs. Tessa Blanchard

Carmella grabs a quick rollup for two to start and a dropkick makes things even worse for Tessa. Blanchard drops her with a forearm and asks how the fans are doin. A legsweep doesn’t work though as Carmella dances away, only to get caught in an abdominal stretch. Carmella just blasts her with a right hand to the jaw, followed by a superkick to set up the Bronco Buster. A Downward Spiral into the Code of Silence (that leg crossface) is enough to put Tessa away at 2:47.

After last week’s cage match, Samoa Joe says he destroyed his brother and hunted a demon around the world to get his title. This cage match ended all the questions and officially started the reign of Joe. No one can take it from him.

Blake and Murphy say there were no problems until Murphy started causing the issues. The blame seems to go towards Alexa Bliss but they agree to get their Tag Team Titles back.

TM61 vs. Blake and Murphy

It’s now TM Six One instead of TM Sixty One. In case it’s gone over your head (which was the case with most people, including me), the 61 is the international calling code for Australia. The fans want to know where Alexa is. Blake and Thorn start things off with Shane nipping up out of a wristlock before it’s off to Miller for a shot to the face. A slingshot hilo gets two for Thorn and a standing moonsault/jumping fist drop combo gets the same on Murphy. TM61 is moving very quickly here and even better than they were in their debut.

Murphy comes back with a clothesline, which Graves thinks could have taken out Lord Humongous. We hit the chinlock on Thorn for a bit before it’s time for the heel miscommunication as Blake clotheslines Murphy by mistake, which allows the hot tag off to Miller as everything breaks down. Murphy is sent outside and Thunder Valley (a double gorilla press slam) puts Blake away at 5:37.

Rating: C+. Nice match here that accomplished two goals at the same time with TM61 looking dominant over former champions and Blake and Murphy dissolving for good. I’m really not sure where they go from here but TM61 should be up for a title shot after Alpha and Gargano/Ciampa get their chances.

Revival said they told you so and now have their titles back. Dawson: “Clink me Jack!” That means bang the titles together.

The announcers talk about Bobby Roode debuting in the UK over the weekend.

We look at Bayley injuring her knee against Nia Jax.

Bayley has a doctor’s appointment next week and if she’s cleared there, she can get back in the ring.

Tye Dillinger vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Takeover rematch and Dillinger is still crazy over. The fans start the dueling chants with something about one hundred and then a much louder PERFECT TEN response. Almas flips over the top rope to start and a springboard cross body sends Tye outside. Back in and Tye takes over, only to run into a dropkick to send him outside again so Almas can do his pose in the ropes as we take a break.

Back with Almas getting two off a sunset flip and slapping on an armbar. Tye gets free and they run the ropes, only to have Almas dropkick Dillinger as he tries to drop down. Dillinger gets one off a backbreaker and some crossface shots to the face have Almas in more trouble. Back up and Almas hits some forearms to the face and a spinwheel kick, followed by a dive over the top to take Ty out again. A Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog sets up the double running knees in the corner to give Almas the pin at 10:48.

Rating: C+. Almas looked better here but there are still a lot of things that need to be fixed with him. It’s a combination of the old school vignettes not matching the character, the male stripper entrance gear, the lack of a mask and the not great in ring abilities. He’s hardly horrible and is really just more bland than bad with a pretty weak finisher for a high flier. Finally, either go with Andrade Almas or Cien Almas because the three names really don’t work together. It doesn’t help that Dillinger is so popular right now, especially in front of the Full Sail crowd. They need to capitalize on that, especially with the recent callups.

Here’s Finn Balor to address the crowd but first he has to soak up a THANK YOU FINN chant. That switches to a PLEASE DON’T GO before Finn starts talking about watching NXT in Ireland and wanting to be a part of that. He became a part of NXT but it became a part of him as well. Finn was NXT Champion for 292 days (YOU DESERVE IT) and he went to wars with Neville, Tyler Breeze, Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe. At the end of it though, he’s not the champion. Now the question is what’s next for him. Fans: “BALOR CLUB!” Finn: “Too sweet!”

Balor asks what’s next for him again…..and here’s Shinsuke Nakamura. They shake hands and the fans instantly think this is awesome. Nakamura says when he was in Japan, he watched Balor become the icon of NXT but now he’s no longer champion. Balor is still an icon though and if Nakamura wants to be champion, he has to beat the icon. The fans lose their minds over that and start the MATCH OF THE YEAR chant. Balor says that’s the answer to what’s next for him so the match is on at some point in the future.

Overall Rating: C. You really can feel the recent callups hurting things a lot these days as the last few shows have only been decent. The Takeover special was great but there’s only so much they can do aside from dream matches. Almas is really just not clicking though and they need to make some adjustments with him. To be fair though, not facing someone as hot as Dillinger would help a lot and it’s not like the matches have been disasters or anything close to them.

The rest of the stories have potential but it’s a bit early to see where they go. I have no idea who is next for Joe, unless Balor vs. Nakamura is on TV to set up the title match in Brooklyn. NXT has a lot of work to do but I can easily trust them to pull it off, which is a really rare thing in wrestling.

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:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

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

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

Another look at some lesser looked at stories.

http://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-in-other-more-news/

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 14, 2016
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: D’Angelo Dinero, Josh Matthews

It’s past Slammiversary and we have a new World Champion as Lashley took the title from Drew Galloway via knockout. Tonight is a special show though as we have four title matches with the World, King of the Mountain, Tag Team and X-Division Titles all on the line. Let’s get to it.

We open with…..the feed screwing up as it’s a bunch of looping commercials.

Eighteen minutes in and we see Eli Drake coming out to face Jeff Hardy for the King of the Mountain Title. And never mind as we’re back to the commercial loop.

Apparently that match ran about two minutes as Lashley comes out to the ring for a chat at 9:21. Never mind again as the loop is back on at 9:22. At 9:23 Lashley is back to say that anything can happen on live TV. Oh and the audio is screwed up and out of sync. He talks about how Drew Galloway lost the title and it’s back to the loop at 9:25.

At 9:32 (with a LIVE graphic in the corner), Ethan Carter III is in the back talking to Drew Galloway about how tough his schedule is and we’re back on the commercials in about twenty seconds.

It’s 9:45 and the only word from anyone is that Pop TV is having technical issues. Still nothing on screen or anything as the only information is coming from Twitter.

10:00 and no changes.

At 10:14 we get a crawling message saying the show will be airing in its entirety. This message airs once and doesn’t say what time the show will be starting. The graphic starts running on a loop a few minutes later and is gone by 10:20.

10:40 and the graphic is still gone with no updates in sight.

The show starts airing at 10:50 with no announcement whatsoever. It just started airing, complete with the crawler still airing.

We open with a package from Slammiversary with the footage turning to stills before the big moments actually happen.

Josh Matthews: “Tonight LIVE on Impact, witness the fallout from Slammiversary.”

Lashley comes out to open the show, meaning the very brief clips we saw earlier were out of order. Last week Lashley promised to win the title and here he is with the belt. Everyone else has run out the building to get away from him but here’s Ethan Carter III to interrupt. Lashley says Carter is a joke and doesn’t want this fight. After Lashley beats him, there’s no one left.

Cue Drew Galloway to interrupt but Lashley calls him a loser. Drew tells him to shut up but Lashley thinks he looks like garbage. Lashley says he’s flat out better than Drew and everyone knows it, including EC3. Drew doesn’t care because he’s invoking his rematch clause right here tonight.

Yesterday, Jeff Hardy challenged Eli Drake for the King of the Mountain Title.

King of the Mountain Title: Eli Drake vs. Jeff Hardy

Drake is defending. Jeff starts fast and sends Eli out to the floor for a baseball slide, only to eat a big clothesline. Hardy takes forever to get back in and eats a swinging neckbreaker for two before we hit the chinlock. A powerslam out of the corner gets two for Eli but Jeff comes back with a quick Whisper in the Wind. Eli dives into a powerbomb but grabs a second powerslam for two. Blunt Force Trauma is countered into the Twist of Fate followed by the Swanton, only to have Matt Hardy run in and bite Earl Hebner’s hands and face. Jeff goes after him for the DQ at 7:37.

Rating: D+. Mostly boring match here with Drake being much better when he can insult people on the mic though he’s passable in the ring. The worst thing here though is Matt vs. Jeff is continuing after what should have been the blowoff match. That’s the signature match between the two of them and Jeff won clean. There’s no reason for this to continue other than that’s the best TNA can come up with.

Ethan and Drew are in the back with Carter saying Drew worked himself too hard with his schedule as champion. Drew knows how to face Lashley and after he gets the belt back, Ethan is getting a title shot.

Jeff is still in the ring and says he’s sore after Sunday but he did what he had to do to get rid of his brother (Brother Moore. “If I can be Brother Nero, he can be Brother Moore”). Apparently that wasn’t enough though because Matt is still crazy. Matt pops up above the video screen to say this is where Broken Matt Hardy was born. This was where Jeff Hardy tried to end his career with no remorse for Matt, Reby or Maxill.

Matt wants Jeff to be DELETED but Jeff thinks Matt would be better off cutting a six minute promo in a hotel than this bull. Apparently Jeff has to come up and fight him or they’ll fight again next week. Jeff comes towards the stage and grabs a table but Matt says they should fight with hon-uh (his way to say honor). That’s fine with Jeff who climbs the steps and starts fighting, only to have Reby sneak up and spray him with a fire extinguisher. Matt slides Jeff down the railing and through a table.

After a break, Matt wants to face Jeff next week in Six Sides of Steel. Matt does this weird biting thing as he talks.

X-Division Title: Eddie Edwards vs. Trevor Lee

Lee is challenging and his manager Shane Helms jumps Eddie from behind to give Trevor an early advantage. Trevor starts firing off some right hands but charges into a boot in the corner. Eddie can’t hit his Backpack Stunner and another Helms distraction lets Lee get in a jumping knee to the jaw for two. Eddie dives through the ropes to take out Shane before a running knee to the chest (The Boston Knee Party. Seriously.) takes out Lee for the pin to retain at 4:00.

Rating: C. This was fine and hopefully wraps up the Lee vs. Edwards feud. I’m sure we’ll be seeing Shane vs. Edwards now though because that’s what the fans want to see: a guy in his 40s who was a big deal like ten years ago facing a guy who has the X-Division Title because his partner got injured.

Video on the Hall of Fame.

The BroMans spy on Raquel as a way to plug a Big Brother show.

We see a clip of Ethan and Lashley talking “during the break”, despite the fact that this version is being aired with no breaks due to the technical issues. Ethan says he doesn’t care who the champion is because he’s coming for the title. That sounds fine with Lashley because he’d love to take Ethan out.

Dixie Carter is in the ring to announce the new Hall of Famer as the roster is on the stage. After a quick speech about what this means, the newest inductee is announced as Gail Kim, which was pretty easily guessed months ago. Gail comes to the ring in tears and we go to a package on her, including the fact that she’s a five time Knockouts Champion with 232 days as champion. I have no idea where they got that number from as according to Wikipedia, her last reign alone was 232 days and she’s held it for over 700 days combined. They can’t even get their HALL OF FAME packages right?

Dixie praises Gail for creating the greatest female divisions in the world and thinks she’ll go down as the greatest in the world. The official induction is at Bound For Glory. Gail talks about how great her career has been because of this company and how important it’s been to her. She thanks everyone she’s ever worked with and is so grateful to be here.

Decay says they feel the presence of someone’s darkness.

We see Marti Bell costing Jade the Knockouts Title on Sunday.

Marti rants about how screwed up the Dollhouse was but through it all, she and Jade stood by each other. Once Jade became champion though, that title was her new best friend. Cue Jade for a brawl.

Tag Team Titles: Decay vs. BroMans vs. Mahabali Shera/Grado vs. Tribunal

Decay is defending and this is one fall to a finish. You would think Shera and Grado losing to the Tribunal would prevent them from getting a title shot immediately but things rarely go as they should around here. Baron Dax and Shera get things going and work on a wristlock each. It’s off to Robbie vs. Abyss with the latter easily destroying E. until Baraka comes in to steal a two count. A chinlock keeps Robbie down but he comes back with a Boom Drop and the tag off to Jesse as house is cleaned.

Jesse springboards in to dropkick Abyss to the floor before a quick BroDown sets up the Adonis Lock on Steve. Abyss makes the save though and chokeslams Jesse, only to have Shera come off the top to take Abyss down. Everything breaks down with Grado working on Steve in the ring until Snow shoves Grado off the top. Abyss chokeslams Steve onto Grado for the pin to retain at 6:46.

Rating: D+. This was your usual “here are a bunch of people running around like crazy” mess, which makes for a match that is too hard to keep track of with no one being able to stand out. Decay continues to impress though and lives WAY beyond what you would expect them to be able to do.

Maria tells Allie to leave her and Mike Bennett alone. She is FURIOUS that Gail is going into the Hall of Fame because no one appreciates them. Mike is ready to leave right now but Maria says they need to go to the ring and get everything they want.

Jeff Hardy accepts Matt’s challenge for next week.

Here are Mike (in a shirt covered in pineapples) and Maria with something to say. Mike says TNA needs a hero like him but the people have rejected him. Maria screeches that the loss on Sunday was a conspiracy from TNA management and they want it stripped from the record books.

They demand Dixie get out here right now but get Billy Corgan instead. Mike says he’s disappointed so here’s Dixie to back Billy up. Maria yells at her a lot but Dixie reminds her that we are LIVE tonight. Dixie says there’s too much talking and not enough wrestling here, especially from Maria who hasn’t had a single one on one match yet. If Maria has issues she should set up a meeting about it but Maria says the finger of blame should be pointed at Dixie because she’s the problem.

Maria thinks she could run this place better than Dixie and Billy must agree with her. She and Mike should be in the Hall of Fame but Dixie calls her self absorbed and thinks Maria shouldn’t be running the Knockouts division. Maria goes on and on about how awesome she is and how she’s a self made woman, only to have Dixie slap her in the face. Lame slap of course but did you expect anything else?

TNA World Title: Drew Galloway vs. Lashley

Drew, with heavily taped ribs, is challenging and Ethan Carter III is on commentary. They immediately fight on the floor with Drew taking over early and making sure to slide back in to break up the count. Lashley goes after the ribs and steps on the taped up part before dropping him on the apron with a side slam. They get inside for the first time with Lashley throwing Drew over the top and down to the floor for a big crash. Lashley is in full control but stops to stare at Ethan, allowing Drew to come back with some chops.

Back in and Lashley misses the spear and gets caught in something like a Kimura. Lashley escapes and grabs a Crossface, only to have Drew reverse into a Tombstone but Lashley reverses that as well, only to get caught in a piledriver for two. Drew’s super Celtic Cross gets two but the Claymore takes out the referee. Lashley hits a pair of spears and grabs a chair, only to have Ethan take the chair away. Carter hits Drew by mistake (nice Summerslam 1997 ending) and Lashley side chokes Drew for the knockout win at 10:18.

Rating: C. I wasn’t really feeling this one but Ethan vs. Drew could be one heck of a feud for the #1 contendership, though I do wonder where that leaves Lashley. They really weren’t hiding the ending they had set up and that almost always draws away some of the attention. Still though, decent enough match with the time they had to work with.

Overall Rating: C-. So let’s recap here (ignoring the technical issues at the moment): all title matches, no title changes, and what looks like the start of Dixie vs. Maria. This felt like a way to long way to sit around and wait for next week to really go anywhere. It’s not the worst show by any stretch but almost nothing got me interested here and that’s a bad sign on a night when a lot of people should have been watching.

That brings us to the small room that couldn’t contain the elephant that was around tonight. This was one of the worst examples of production, behind the scenes work and handling a major issue that I’ve ever seen. Sure a lot of it is probably Pop TV’s fault but of course TNA is going to find a way to blame ANYONE but themselves. That’s one of the things that drives me insane about TNA: they almost never seem to accept any responsibility. The show was taped and there didn’t seem to be any issues with the show that aired before Impact. What a coincidence that TNA’s show for the week isn’t working right.

What bothers me the most though is the lack of anything resembling communication between TNA and their fans. All they would say was “Pop TV is having an issue and we’ll be back in a bit.” Nothing about the time, nothing about when the show would air and very little about thanking the fans for their patience and sticking with TNA. It was a bunch of sitting around waiting on this show which wasn’t even that great in the first place.

Sure a lot of that is on Pop, but how much blame do you think Vince would get if this happened on Monday Night Raw? If nothing else they would have had SOMETHING on screen instead of what we were getting. Air an old match, put up a graphic, put up ANYTHING other than the same commercials over and over.

Yeah TNA put up a video on their Facebook but nothing on their website or Twitter and that’s not something they could blame on Pop. The whole thing was a mess and again, it’s always something with TNA. It comes off as amateurish and that doesn’t help a lot of their major issues, but I’m sure I’m just being a WWE fanboy and not giving them the respect they deserve, whatever that’s supposed to be.

Why do I say they don’t deserve a ton of respect? That Gail Kim graphic. TNA likes to treat their Hall of Fame as something special and to be fair they do a solid job with it, but they can’t even have someone look over this package and say “Hey, that’s wrong.” Do you know how I knew it was wrong? Very simple: I’ve watched TNA long enough to know that Gail has held the title way longer than that.

I get that they probably didn’t have someone from TNA put that together but is it really too much to ask someone to proofread something before it goes out over international television? As usual it comes off as TNA looking amateurish and not paying attention. Of course no one is expecting WWE levels of production and research, but a simple bit of math (or checking Wikipedia) is really not asking too much. If TNA stops doing stupid things like this, people will start treating them like something worthwhile. When these mistakes keep happening over and over again however, they earn the treatment they get.

Results

Jeff Hardy b. Eli Drake via DQ when Matt Hardy interfered

Eddie Edwards b. Trevor Lee – Boston Knee Party

Decay b. BroMans, Tribunal and Mahabali Shera/Grado – Abyss chokeslammed Steve onto Grado

Lashley b. Drew Galloway – Side Choke

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:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

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

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

In case you haven’t heard, there were issues with the feed so Pop TV actually aired the same four commercials for the better part of an hour and a half straight.  The show, which is still being billed as LIVE (which it wasn’t when it was scheduled to air), will be over at about 1am EST.

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 13, 2016
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton, Michael Cole

It’s the go home show for Money in the Bank so it’s hard to say how much will actually happen this week. In this case we’ll have the buildup to the actual ladder match but one of the participants will be crossing over to the main event as well as Dean Ambrose hosts a special Ambrose Asylum with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We have a moment of silence for Orlando.

Here’s New Day to get things going. During their entrance we see a sign in the crowd reading “The guy behind me can’t see.” That actually made me groan and furthers my loathing of most wrestling fans. They talk about the upcoming four way but stop to make fun of Kofi for wearing the new Steph Curry shoes, which apparently look old. Kofi: “These shoes are hot on the streets!” Woods: “What streets? The streets of Greenwich, Connecticut?” Kofi: “Those are some mean streets.” They promise to keep the titles but here are Enzo and Big Cass to interrupt.

Cass says they’re going all in on Sunday and walking out with the titles. He implies that the unicorn horns are made for her pleasure and asks if Kofi is serious with the Jerry Seinfeld shoes. After New Day makes fun of the shoes as well, Cass wants to talk about Francesca. Woods: “That’s my girl.” Cass: “Well where was your girl last night?” Apparently she was with Enzo, who had his lips all over her like Satchmo.

Woods gets very serious and says he’s the only one who blows his girl. Kofi introduces the verbal joust of wits between New Day and Enzo/Big Cass but the Vaudevillains interrupt. English sings about how the new era but Anderson and Gallows cut them off. Gallows makes fun of the New Orleans Saints so Cass calls them S-A-W-F-T.

New Day/Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. The Club/Vaudevillains

This is joined in progress with Kofi working over Gotch before bringing in Big E. for the Unicorn Stampede. Cass throws in some elbows before Enzo tags himself in so Cass can throw him at Gotch. English shoves Gotch out of the way of a high cross body, only to have Gotch run Amore over. It’s time for Enzo to take a beating as all of the villains take a shot at him. English gets kicked out to the floor though and a kick to the chest is enough for the hot tag off to Cass as everything breaks down. Kofi dives on everyone and we take a break.

Back with Big E. in trouble but countering a sunset flip and dropping Gotch with an elbow to the jaw. Gallows gets in a clothesline though and Big E. is in trouble again. The Vaudevillains chop away before it’s off to Karl for a kick to the face in the corner. Big E. gets in a shot to the ribs though and it’s off to Kofi as things speed up again. A high cross body gets two on Anderson as Enzo and Gotch are sent out to the floor. English does the same to Cass, only to have Big E. LAUNCH him with a belly to belly. Gallows comes in off a blind tag and the Magic Killer puts Kingston away at 13:26.

Rating: C+. That break in the middle hurt this a lot as it felt like nothing more than a way to fill in time rather than something that the match actually needed. That being said, Kofi was on fire here, which is why he just had to take the pin. Big E. or Enzo were available, though they were smart to keep Cass looking strong as he’s possibly the biggest prospect in the whole match.

We look back at the debut of the Shield at Survivor Series 2012 to help set up the Ambrose Asylum later tonight.

Bob Backlund/Darren Young segment from Smackdown with Backlund telling him to save money, including only having one pair of clothes.

Shane and Stephanie are bickering over who should run Raw and/or Smackdown when Kane comes in to offer his services. He has a resume and a letter of recommendation from Undertaker so Stephanie lets Shane handle this one.

Zack Ryder is laughing with some random people about Apollo Crews knocking Sheamus down on Smackdown. Sheamus comes in and says he’ll beat Ryder up tonight, just like he’ll do to Crews on Sunday. Ryder says hi to Crews…..who isn’t there, allowing Ryder to run away like any former United States and Intercontinental Champion would do.

Clip of Shield’s face turn.

The Shining Stars brag about Puerto Rico’s water. How is this supposed to make money?

Titus O’Neil comes out for a match but Rusev jumps him from behind and beats him down on the stage. The referees have to come out and break the Accolade.

Clip of Shield breaking up. So to recap: they arrived, they turned face, and they split with nothing in between.

It’s time for the Ambrose Asylum with special guests Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. Before they come out though, Ambrose says he feels like he’s just woken up from a coma because this Sunday feels like Wrestlemania. There are two major matches and we’re focusing on one of them here. Therefore, let’s bring out his first guest, the scum of the Earth, Seth Rollins.

Reigns is brought out as well and we get the big visual of the three of them standing there. Ambrose: “This is great huh?” He asks Rollins about the knee and Rollins is stunned that Ambrose hasn’t watched his special on the WWE Network (he should because it’s awesome). Dean thinks Seth’s face must be hurt because it’s killing him. Reigns on the other hand had a great time on Bourbon Street last night.

Dean wants Rollins to calm down and stop being a party pooper. After the party pooper chant dies off, Rollins lists off some fun moments they’ve had like Wrestlemania XXX, flying in on a helicopter to fight Undertaker and HELL NO in London and finding Dean unconscious next to a dumpster in…..what town was that? Seth brings up the matches against Evolution and we get a BLUETISTA chant.

Rollins gets to the Wrestlemania XXXI cash-in and violence starts boiling over. Dean breaks it up and says Reigns beat Ambrose for that title in the first place. Yeah Reigns accomplished a lot in Rollins’ absence but he’s never beaten Seth one on one. Rollins rants about how he’s going to get the title back on his own but Dean laughs the idea off. Reigns actually says Rollins is right because it’s going to be one on one Sunday and then they’ll call him the guy because he beat Seth. Dean asks the fans which one it’s going to be but offers a third option: he wins the Money in the Bank contract and cashes in on either of them.

The music plays and the brawl is on with Reigns throwing Dean away so he can beat Seth up himself. That earns Seth a Superman Punch but Dean gives Reigns Dirty Deeds because that’s what friends do to each other. Ambrose looks up at the briefcase and the fans seem to like the idea.

Back from a break and Stephanie makes Ambrose vs. Jericho for the main event. Over the weekend I made a comment about how Smackdown is worthless because the matches mean nothing and there’s a good chance that they’ll just repeat a match on Monday anyway and I had a feeling it would be this one because it’s the one that didn’t need to happen again.

Paige vs. Charlotte

Natalya and Becky Lynch are at ringside. Non-title and the second match of the show starts an hour and twenty one minutes in. Paige runs her over with a knee to start but gets small packaged for two. Charlotte yells at Natalya and walks into the Rampaige for the pin at 2:31. I’m not even going to bother getting mad about this.

Cesaro is about to talk about Money in the Bank when Sami Zayn comes in to give the real answers. Cesaro is ticked off and says Sami is acting like a child but Sami says Cesaro can’t talk down to him like this. Apparently they’re in the same match tonight so Cesaro says he’ll see him out there.

Charlotte yells at Dana for failing and implies that Dana is her assistant. Dana is of course mad but Charlotte says her payment is to be part of Charlotte’s legacy.

Sheamus vs. Zack Ryder

This is the second match in a row with no entrances, likely for the sake of more backstage stuff. Sheamus attacks early to start but gets caught by a quick dropkick and the Broski Boot. The Elbro gets two but the Rough Ryder is easily blocked. The Brogue Kick puts Ryder away at 1:53.

Sheamus beats him up even more until Crews runs out for the save.

We get a video of Kane winning Money in the Bank in 2010 and cashing in the same night.

Kevin Owens interrupts Kane and Shane’s talk but he wants to talk to Stephanie. Apparently Alberto Del Rio just arrived twenty minutes ago and should be taken out of the Money in the Bank match as a punishment. Del Rio, already in his gear, comes in to blame Owens for calling airport security to get him delayed for five hours. They start yelling in Spanish and French until Kane cuts them off with an idea. How about a tag match against the Lucha Dragons with the winners getting the spot in the ladder match? Shane likes the idea and makes the match.

Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro

Feeling out process to start with Cesaro nipping up out of a wristlock but getting armdragged right back down. A nice tilt-a-whirl backbreaker plants Sami for and Cesaro sends him into the post as we take a break. Back with Cesaro hitting a corner uppercut and stomping on Sami’s chest for two. A quick Michinoku Driver gets two for Sami but he takes too long going to the top, allowing Cesaro to power through the apron superplex for another near fall. Back up and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets two, followed by the sunset bomb for…..actually for three on Cesaro at 8:06.

Rating: C+. That’s one of the few booking ideas I’ve seen tonight that I really like. Sami (and a lot of other people) have those big moves that never win anything so it’s a really good idea to have one get a pin every now and then to make you believe that it could get another one later. The loss doesn’t hurt Cesaro either as none of these wins really mean anything heading into the big gimmick match.

It’s time for the contract signing between John Cena and AJ Styles as moderated by Michael Cole. Cena hypes up Money in the Bank as a show bigger than Wrestlemania with a match fifteen years in the making. For years, the WWE bosses had told AJ Styles that he didn’t belong here. That’s nonsense because from PWG to New Japan to Ring of Honor, AJ Styles has been the best everywhere he’s gone. Sidebar: Is there any real reason why they won’t say TNA? Ring of Honor is arguably bigger and New Japan is definitely bigger but TNA isn’t allowed? Unless there’s some legal reason, I see no logical justification for not saying it.

Anyway Cena tells Cole to leave because this is going to get rowdy. AJ comes out and says he’s turned Cena’s world upside down. Cena agrees that it’s been done but there’s something up his sleeve. There are two contracts here, one of which says John Cena vs. AJ Styles and the other which says John Cena vs. AJ Styles w/The Club. Cena would love to sign the first one so we can have one heck of a fight on Sunday but if they sign the second one, AJ will win on Sunday and then start complaining the very next night when he doesn’t get the same respect.

AJ thinks Cena is so confident because of all the things he’s won but Styles wants to know what would have happened if AJ had been here fifteen years ago. My guess is not much because he still would have been a nothing tag guy but I get his point. AJ says he would have been the one on the covers of magazines and in all the movies. Cena cuts him off and says he’s heard this before and AJ doesn’t get it because he has the chance to prove it on Sunday.

AJ can sign one contract and prove how great he is or sign the other one and be put on a bullet train back to Japan because that’s where he left his balls. AJ grabs a pen and looks at the contracts before signing the one on one version. Styles says after Sunday, Cena’s time is up. As usual, this was AWESOME stuff.

We see Randy Orton winning Money in the Bank in 2013 and cashing in on Daniel Bryan at Summerslam.

Kevin Owens/Alberto Del Rio vs. Lucha Dragons

The winners are in Money in the Bank. Del Rio beats on Kalisto to start before it’s off to Owens who isn’t happy with the way Alberto is acting, only to calm down at the threat of a DQ. Owens teases walking out but comes back in when Alberto is rolled up for two. Kevin and Alberto get in a shoving match and get dropkicked to the floor, setting up a double dive from the Dragons as we take a break.

Back with Kalisto eating a clothesline but Del Rio won’t tag out. Owens and Alberto get in another argument, allowing Kalisto to hit a quick Salida Del Sol to send Del Rio outside. Kevin throws his partner back in and it’s off to Sin Cara for the Swanton, only to have Owens breaks it up at two. The Pop Up Powerbomb ends Cara at 8:15.

Rating: C. I liked the idea of having something on the line here. Of course it wasn’t going to happen but it was nice to have a reason to care about the match. The Dragons are just so nothing these days and it’s sad to see the promise that Kalisto showed wasted as much as it has been.

Del Rio superkicks Owens post match.

Back from a break with Owens telling Stephanie that Sami Zayn is going to be on commentary for the main event. Stephanie is furious because that’s something so horrible so she makes Owens a commentator as well. Del Rio comes in and says he wants to be out there too so Stephanie makes him guest timekeeper.

Stephanie yells at Shane about his decisions so Shane makes Cesaro guest ring announcer. On another note, Kane isn’t getting the job running Smackdown. Kane comes in and asks if this is about electrocuting Shane’s testicles with a car batters. Shane tells Stephanie they’ll keep running Raw but he’ll run Smackdown on his own. This is getting old in a hurry and it’s only going to get worse.

Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose

All of the other Money in the Bank participants are at ringside. Dean chops him down to start and scores with a quick suplex. Jericho is sent to the floor for a suicide dive before Dean knocks Owens’ headset off. Back in and Dean flips out of a Walls attempt but eats an enziguri. The corner dropkick puts Dean on the floor and it’s time for the announcers, timekeeper and ring announcer to stare at each other.

We come back from a break with Dean fighting out of a chinlock. Some clotheslines stun Jericho but he counters the top rope standing elbow drop into the Walls. Owens: “I taught him that!” Dean grabs the ropes but can’t get Dirty Deeds. Instead Jericho takes him down for two off the Lionsault, only to have Dean get up top for the elbow.

Byron asks how Kevin would handle not winning Sunday. Owens: “I would handle it the same way: I would come out here and slap your face.” Dean tries to put on the Walls but settles for a catapult out to the apron. Jericho runs to the top but dives into a kick, only to have the Codebreaker countered into Dirty Deeds for the pin at 11:58.

Rating: C. This would be the standard reversal of the match we saw on Smackdown because that’s what Smackdown is for: a dry run for the following Raw without any mention of the first match. It doesn’t help that these two have fought WAY too many times and it’s getting less and less interesting every single time.

Everyone brawls after the match with Owens bringing in a ladder, only to have Sami flip dive off the top onto the pile of people. Jericho wasn’t in that group though and goes up the ladder to pull down the briefcase to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling (and lack thereof at times) brings down what was an otherwise very strong show with two excellent talking segments. I’m more invested in the pay per view than I was coming in and that’s the point of a go home show. The Cena vs. AJ stuff was excellent as Cena is still the best hard seller in the business and the Shield segment made things feel more personal, especially with Dean at the end to add some flavor. As has been the case so many times, if this was a two hour show, it would have been one of the best in a long time. As it is though, it’s still good enough.

Results

The Club/Vaudevillains b. New Day/Enzo Amore/Big Cass – Magic Killer to Kingston

Paige b. Charlotte – Rampaige

Sheamus b. Zack Ryder – Brogue Kick

Sami Zayn b. Cesaro – Sunset Bomb

Kevin Owens/Alberto Del Rio b. Lucha Dragons – Pop Up Powerbomb to Cara

Dean Ambrose b. Chris Jericho – Dirty Deeds

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