205 Live
Date: October 3, 2017
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

Things are rapidly changing around here as we have a new member of the roster with Kurt Angle, who apparently is in charge of 205 Live as well, signing Kalisto. That probably means we’ll be seeing Kalisto as Amore’s first failed title challenger and that’s not the worst idea in the world. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the end of last night’s show with Kalisto debuting. Thankfully most of Enzo’s insults to the members of the division are included because that’s about all he’s good for.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Kalisto with something to say. He’s here to take over the cruiserweight division and he can’t wait to become the new Cruiserweight Champion. Cue Enzo with the fans still doing his entrance along with him. Enzo says Kalisto is the lucky luchador leprechaun to be on the Zo Show but he should be scared to donate his outfit to the Salvation Army. Until tonight though, you couldn’t give away a Kalisto mask but now sales are going to shoot up because Kalisto is talking to Enzo.

Kalisto says Enzo talks too much (expect to hear that line a lot in the coming months) and we see a clip of Enzo kicking Neville low to win the title. Enzo doesn’t care because he won the match and calls Kalisto centimeter. Sure Kalisto went toe to toe with Braun Strowman but he wound up in a trashcan. Kalisto used to be the US Champion but he’s been a huge letdown ever since he lost the title. Enzo talks about being a big star who signs autographs at airports. Tonight though, we’ll be seeing the first loss for Kalisto on 205 Live against the biggest Persian thing since the Kardashians.

Kalisto vs. Ariya Daivari

Daivari wastes no time in slugging away in the corner but a nice headscissors takes him down. Kalisto’s modified springboard (he intentionally lands shins first on the top rope) flip dive to the floor drops Daivari on the floor. Back in and Daivari slams the rope into Kalisto’s head (that’s different) to take over.

A big boot in the corner drops Kalisto again and we hit the chinlock. Kalisto fights up and hits the corkscrew headbutt, followed by the hurricanrana driver for two of his own. Daivari grabs a spinebuster though, followed by the frog splash for two, which pretty much seals his fate. He takes too long getting up and the Salida Del Sol gives Daivari the pin at 4:46.

Rating: D+. Daivari got in WAY too much offense here and it hurt the match a lot. Kalisto should have been a lot more dominant in his debut and it looked more like he won off a fluke than anything else. The Salida Del Sol is a great finisher but he needs to do more than sell all match and then hit one move to win.

Enzo isn’t impressed.

Recap of Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick joining forces to torment Cedric Alexander.

Here’s Drew Gulak to talk about how he’s wanted to change 205 Live long before anyone else did. Therefore, tonight we’ll be seeing slides 8-277 of his POWERPOINT PRESENTATION! Proposal #8: No Flipping! If you’re constantly flipping up and down, how will you know your left from your right or your right from your wrong? Unfortunately the words of wisdom are cut off by an interruption and it’s time for a match.

Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali

In addition to Ali, here’s Akira Tozawa to have a seat on the stage. Drew takes Ali down by the wrist but stops to look up at Tozawa. It’s bad enough that Drew heads outside, starting up the Tozawa war chant. Of course Gulak grabs his NO CHANTS sign and marches around the ring, allowing Ali to flip him over. A sloppy hurricanrana takes Gulak down again and a high crossbody gets two.

Gulak reverses a tornado DDT and gets in a knee to the chest to take over again. We hit a chinlock and then a cross arm choke with Tozawa’s war chant having no effect on Gulak this time. Ali fights up and scores with a dropkick followed by a neckbreaker fir two, Gulak reverses a whip though and suplexes Ali into the corner but the war chant makes Gulak miss a charge (which we almost miss because of the FREAKING CROWD REACTION SHOTS). The 054 ends Gulak at 6:44.

Rating: C-. That crowd reaction shot actually got on my nerves as Drew was running, then we went to the crowd, then we came back for him hitting the crowd. Is the director that jittery that he can’t even sit still long enough for someone to run across the ring? As usual, Gulak needs to actually win a match or the blowoff isn’t going to mean anything. Then again, I said the same thing about Kendrick and he did fine.

Tozawa gets in and does the war chant.

Kendrick feels responsible for what happened to Enzo. He fell victim to the mob mentality and stands with Daivari at the champion’s side. Brian can’t stand next to Cedric Alexander though because his generation is too soft. Tonight, Gallagher is going to drink Cedric’s milkshake. Cue Cedric to attack Kendrick and take out his ankle.

Jack Gallagher vs. Cedric Alexander

Gallagher is wrestling in a suit. Cedric sends him hard into the corner to start and scores with a dropkick, only to get tossed outside. Back in and Jack stomps on his head before grabbing a facelock. Gallagher fires off some hard kicks in the corner and cranks on the ankle. A double knee stomp gives Gallagher two with Cedric screaming in pain.

Gallagher gets two more off a dropkick (with some hard shoes) but it just seems to fire Cedric up. They head outside with Cedric hitting a hard suicide dive and unloading on Gallagher with right hands. Jack is sent hard into the barricade so he hides underneath the ring, allowing him to get in a cheap shot. It’s William III time but Cedric takes it away and BLASTS Gallagher over the back with it for the DQ at 6:35.

Rating: C+. I can always give someone credit for wrestling in a suit. Gallagher needed the change in appearance as there’s only so much you can look with that much pale skin showing. Alexander was his usual self here, but again he’s not going to be near the title for several months to come. Nice, hard hitting match though.

They keep brawling post match with Cedric getting the better of it and adding a springboard kick to the chest. Kendrick limps out to stand over Jack to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. As usual, there’s just not much to say when it’s not about Enzo. I know he’s annoying but he’s right when he says almost nothing else matters but him. The show was fine enough, but you really can feel the lack of star power. Then again that might be because these feuds are all just personal and Kalisto is getting the title shot, likely at the next pay per view. I’m not sure how they’re going to handle none of the regular roster getting a shot but it’s really not doing their statuses any favors.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 5, 2017
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Jeremy Borash, Josh Matthews

We’re closing in on Bound For Glory and fresh off another show that ended in chaos with the American Top Team guys cleaning house. World Champion Eli Drake actually got to do something though as he and Chris Adonis got to beat down Johnny Impact and Garza Jr., who is now involved in the main event scene for some reason. Let’s get to it.

In Memory of Lance Russell.

We get a Pray For Vegas graphic.

We open with a recap of Johnny Impact vs. Eli Drake last week with Impact getting cheated out of the title. Johnny wants a fair rematch.

Opening sequence.

Here are Drake and Adonis to open things up. Drake talks about driving down Victory Road last week and pulling straight into Slam Town. He turned the ghetto into a parking lot and built Eli’s Cakes on top. Eli: “YUMMY! YEAH!” Johnny isn’t here tonight and there’s a good chance he won’t get back after that Gravy Train he took last week.

Drake turns his sights to Jim Cornette, whose golden boy couldn’t get the job done. Cornette has brought up every challenger he can and next week he’s sending the champ to Japan. Since he has to go halfway around the world next week, he’s getting the night off tonight. As for Adonis though, he wants to fight so let’s get an opponent out here right now.

Chris Adonis vs. Garza Jr.

Adonis is in street clothes and Drake joins commentary. Garza scores with a series of kicks for two but Adonis takes over on the arm. Back up and a hurricanrana takes Adonis out to the floor but he drops Garza onto the barricade as we take a break. We come back with Garza fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in a butterfly suplex.

Adonis cranks on both arms as this match just keeps going. Seriously it’s Chris Masters vs. the local luchador. Why is this getting ten minutes? A spinebuster plants Garza but we cut to the back where Johnny Impact arrives. The Adonis Lock doesn’t work as Garza sends him into the corner. Drake bails to feed the parking meter and THERE GO GARZA’S PANTS!!! The Lionsault misses and Impact runs in for the DQ at 12:00.

Rating: D-. We just sat through Chris Masters vs. the luchador whose big spot is taking his pants off for twelve minutes with a run-in DQ. That’s the best thing they have to open the show? Horrible stuff here as Adonis really isn’t interesting and hasn’t changed a bit since he was in WWE. Find something more interesting than this.

Post match Impact beats up Adonis but gets in a fight with Garza. Cue Jim Cornette to make Impact vs. Garza Jr. for next week (yay). He throws in a bonus: the winner will be facing Drake for the title at Bound For Glory. So Garza goes from a midcard tag guy to possibly #1 contender for the World Title in the main event of the biggest show of the year in a few weeks? Even Jinder Mahal would think that’s extreme. Garza and Impact brawl some more. By the way, the total time between Cornette coming up and the music playing after his announcement: 87 seconds.

Recap of Moose vs. Bobby Lashley, which of course features the American Top Team guys. Good grief why do they think we care?

Moose is in a parked car looking for Lashley. He’s heading for the American Top Team headquarters.

Wrestlers are ready for Bound For Glory.

We look at OVE winning the Tag Team Titles last week.

Konnan yells at LAX for losing so Santana gets in his face. The card table is turned over.

OVE vs. Jon Bolen/Trey McGill

Non-title. Jake starts with Bolen but gets waistlocked for his efforts. A high crossbody and neckbreaker drop Bolen and McGill is sent outside as well. Jake drops both of them with a double suicide dive, followed by Dave’s Asai moonsault. Back in and OVE kicks McGill in the head a few times and let’s plug those Pop TV sitcoms. A High/Low puts Bolen away at 3:38.

Rating: D+. Just a quick win here to further establish OVE as stars. It would be nice if they established some other teams though as I’m not sure who OVE is supposed to feud with after they presumably defeat LAX in the rematch at the pay per view. The tag division is one of the company’s weakest points and that’s really covering a lot of ground.

We recap James Storm/Ethan Carter III vs. the AAA guys, who completely hate this company because the script tells them to.

Here are KM and Sienna with the latter complaining about not having a match on Bound For Glory. No one has a match on the show yet you nitwit. She says she’s going into the Hall of Fame this year so here’s Gail Kim to interrupt. Gail wants her show at the Knockouts Championship Title (still such an odd way to word it) at Bound For Glory.

Cue Taryn Terrell to say she was the longest reigning Knockouts Champion in history and wants a chance to get the title back. Now it’s Allie coming out with Josh seemingly liking her look this week. The other three might be former Knockouts Champions but she’s Allie and deserves another chance to become champion. Cue Karen Jarrett to say Sienna isn’t going into the Hall of Fame. Yes, they actually felt that we needed that explained to us. It’s also a four way for the title at Bound For Glory.

Joseph Park has a meet and greet scheduled for Grado but Grado thinks the prices are a little high. Park says you can charge these marks anything. He pays Grado what seems to be a small amount of money but Grado again seems happy with it.

Caleb Konley/Andrew Everett/Trevor Lee vs. Sonjay Dutt/Petey Williams/Matt Sydal

Remember like three weeks ago when Sydal was getting a World Title shot? Or remember like fourteen years ago when people cared about Petey Williams? I mean you should, as it’s the only reason he’s in this spot at the moment. Everything breaks down just a few seconds in with the villains taking over early on, only to be sent into each other. A triple dropkick sends them outside, followed by an apron moonsault and a double suicide dive.

Back from a break with Dutt and Sydal legsweeping Lee and Konley to set up stereo standing moonsaults. Dutt gets kneed in the back and kicked in the face as the beating begins. Konley works on the arm as the announcers talk about the villains’ unity for wearing all black gear. Or they want to make sure no one recognizes them on this show.

Dutt grabs a tornado DDT while dropkicking everyone else, setting up the hot tag to Petey so house can be cleaned in a hurry. Everything breaks down and Sydal’s top rope double knees takes Lee down. Matt throws Lee into Everett on the top, followed by the shooting star to end Everett at 14:31.

Rating: C. I’m not even going to bother with the sarcasm here. It was a completely watchable cruiserweight match that means a grand total of nothing because they’re going to be thrown into an Ultimate X match for the title where no one gets to showcase any individuality and the whole thing is about crazy spots that we’ve seen before and we hear about how important the X-Division is despite it never getting any focus. We’ve heard the same thing for the better part of ten years now and I’m tired of pretending it’s going to change.

Dutt wants the title shot at Bound For Glory and the winners get in an argument over who should have the chance. Just announce Ultimate X already so it can be over hyped.

Here’s this week’s Global Forged.

Laurel Van Ness is back in the audience looking a husband.

Moose arrives at the gym and shoves Dan Lambert away. He gets in a cage but a fighter punches him in the face so the beatdown can be on. They throw Moose out of the building.

Ethan Carter III/James Storm vs. El Hijo de Fantasma/Texano Jr.

In what is becoming a trend, this is getting nearly half an hour. Storm takes Texano down to start as JB hypes this as main eventers vs. main eventers. Carter and Storm get in an argument over a tag though and it’s Fantasma sneaking in for a cheap shot to take over. Storm slips over and makes the tag to Carter for a flapjack on Texano.

The TK3 gets two but Fantasma gets the same off a dropkick. Carter is taken into the heel corner for some stomping, followed by a hard kick to the chest for two. It’s off to the chinlock for a bit until Carter fights up, only to have Pagano come strolling down. Back from a break with Carter still in trouble via some more choking on the ropes.

Texano adds in a jawbreaker and shouts in Spanish for Fantasma to go up. That means a missed splash though and a cutter allows the hot tag to Storm. Everything breaks down again and Storm starts to clean house. It must not be a very big house though as Fantasma superkicks him down, only to get crotched on top. He hasn’t had much luck up there.

The Tower of Doom takes everyone down and thing slow a bit. Carter is thrown outside and then into the post by Pagano as Eddie Edwards not being here to even things out is likely going to be a plot point. Storm loads up a suplex, only to have Pagano trip him up and hold the leg so Fantasma can get the pin at 19:50.

Rating: D+. This one boils down to whether this story interests you or not. It doesn’t in my case as I still have no reason to care about any of the AAA guys, nor do any of them have any motivation to be heels other than they’re from another company. That’s not enough of a story for my taste and I really didn’t need to see a completely average at best tag match going on for twenty minutes.

We go back to the LAX club house where Konnan has a big idea: a street fight at Bound For Glory. Everyone leaves to party and Low Ki is shaking his head.

Overall Rating: D. The show still feels completely flat as almost nothing interesting happened all night long. A big part of that is the roster being filled by so many outsiders, be they from MMA or AAA. It’s one thing if the matches are tearing the house down or something (like the lucha libre in ECW where they were a bunch of outsiders but stealing the show in a way no one had seen in America before) but that’s not what we’re getting here.

Instead it’s a bunch of average matches with very weak stories that aren’t drawing in any special interest. Odds are the MMA guys get in the ring at Bound For Glory, which hasn’t been interesting before and won’t be this time either. Either way, I’m sure we’ll be told that it’s the most thrilling thing we’ve ever seen and how the company is changing wrestling.

What GFW doesn’t seem to get is that changing wrestling isn’t always a good thing and just being different for the sake of being different doesn’t work. They need a focus and I really haven’t seen that in a long time. Figure out what you want to be and go with it, but just bringing in a bunch of people from another promotion whose entire characters are “this person is from this promotion and they’re awesome” isn’t enough. The show wasn’t terrible by any stretch but it also was one of the least interesting ones they’ve done in a good while, which is the case way too often around here.

Results

Chris Adonis b. Garza Jr. via DQ when Johnny Impact interfered

OVE b. Jon Bolen/Trey McGill – High/Low to Bolen

Matt Sydal/Sonjay Dutt/Petey Williams b. Trevor Lee/Caleb Konley/Andrew Everett – Shooting star press to Everett

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

So we have this Shield reunion.  How can this be used to benefit Roman Reigns?

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-still-eerily-like-diesel/

This really is awesome.As announced tonight, WAR GAMES will make its WWE debut at Takeover: Houston in a three team, nine man double ring match.  As usual, NXT continues to get me fired up about wrestling while WWE just kind of keeps going along.  So excited for this one.

NXT
Date: October 4, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a big night this week as NXT Champion Drew McIntyre is putting the title on the line against Roderick Strong. There’s a good chance that this is going to be more about the post match issues as you can almost guarantee that the Undisputed Era will be getting involved. Let’s get to it.

We open with a We Stand With Las Vegas graphic.

Quick recap of Strong vs. McIntyre which was just announced by William Regal two weeks ago.

Opening sequence.

Mauro gives a quick voiceover tribute to the late Lance Russell. That’s very classy.

Ruby Riot vs. Billie Kay/Peyton Royce

Nikki Cross was supposed to be Ruby’s partner here but is nowhere to be seen. Ruby sends Billie into the corner to start before working on Peyton’s arm. It’s back to Billie to send Riot into the corner and hammer away before Peyton comes in to do the same. The slow beating continues but here’s Cross through the crowd to stand in the corner.

Peyton grabs a chinlock for a bit before a double faceplant puts both women down. Riot crawls over and makes the reluctant tag to Cross to clean house. A reverse DDT gets two on Billie with Peyton making the save. Peyton bulldogs Nikki onto Billie’s knee but Riot pulls Peyton outside. Ruby comes back in with a double missile dropkick, followed by something like a Pele to end Billie at 7:03.

Rating: C+. Billie and Peyton are much better as a team than on their own but they shouldn’t be beating a pairing like Cross and Riot. You could easily see the two of them in the four way for the Women’s Title and it would be cool to see the two of them as focal points of the division, at least for a short time.

We look back at Lars Sullivan destroying Oney Lorcan until Danny Burch made the save.

Sullivan says everyone should be afraid and warns Burch to not face him next week.

Zelina Vega isn’t worried about Johnny Gargano getting a rematch with Andrade Cien Almas. Gargano’s lifeline is dead.

We look at Adam Cole defeating Eric Young last week with some distractions at the hands of the Undisputed Era. In two weeks, it’s a six man tag.

Lio Rush vs. Aleister Black

This is Rush’s in-ring debut. Hang on a second though as Velveteen Dream comes in and drops Rush before going up top. After a quick hip swivel at Black, Dream drops the Purple Rainmaker on Rush. Black flips into the ring and Dream bails. Dream: “Hey Aleister. WHAT’S MY NAME! ACKNOWLEDGE ME!” No match of course.

Kairi Sane vs. Aaliyah

Sane rolls around to start before blasting Aaliyah in the face for two. Back up and Aaliyah bends Sane over her knee to work on the back, followed by a hard whip into the corner. A hard spear gets Kairi out of trouble and the sliding corner clothesline rocks Aaliyah again. The top rope elbow gives Kairi the pin at 3:12.

Rating: C. Just a squash here and that’s all Sane needed to do. Aaliyah may not be the most successful woman on the roster but she’s a name that people are familiar with, which is all you need in a moment like this. If nothing else that huge elbow is going to get Sane all the attention she needs.

Next week: Liv Morgan vs. Peyton Royce vs. Nikki Cross for a spot in the four way title match.

Also next week: Andrade Cien Almas vs. Johnny Gargano.

NXT Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Roderick Strong

Strong is challenging and headlocks the champ to start. That’s thrown off by raw power and we take a break. Back with McIntyre kicking him in the ribs and LAUNCHING him with an overhead belly to belly. Strong is right back up with a running knee from the apron as they’re trading big shots. He’s not done either as it’s a big backbreaker onto the steps to really stun McIntyre for the first time.

Back in and Strong stays on the back before just hammering away at the head. Another suplex gets Drew out of trouble though and we take a second break. Back again with Drew scoring with a reverse Alabama Slam for two of his own. Strong’s tiger driver is countered with more power and a spinebuster gives Drew another near fall.

Drew puts him on top but has to block a sunset bomb. Instead Strong settles for a corner enziguri and a superplex for the closest two yet. The fans are starting to get into these kickouts too. Now the tiger bomb gives Roderick two more but Drew is right back up. A super Celtic Cross still can’t put Strong away so it’s Claymore time.

That’s blocked by three straight jumping knees to the face, followed by the Sick Kick for a very close two. They head outside with Strong trying a hurricanrana off the apron but getting powerbombed into the post. Strong is done so there’s the Future Shock, followed by the Claymore to retain Drew’s title at 23:44.

Rating: B+. Heck of a performance from both guys here, which is exactly what Drew needs. He’s the guy who has been a bit left behind in this big Undisputed Era vs. Sanity feud so tearing the house down is a great way to remind us that he’s still here. Strong is going to be around as well and would fit in as a fourth member of the Undisputed Era if they want a fourth member.

Strong leaves but runs into the Undisputed Era. They talk to him with Cole patting him on the arm. We couldn’t hear what was said but Strong looks a bit confused.

Overall Rating: A-. Well that worked. Matches made for next week, Sane makes her debut and a heck of a title match to close it out. That’s how you present an hour of wrestling television and I had a great time with the whole thing. I’m also curious to see where they’re going with Houston, which has a lot of options at this point. Great show this week.

Results

Ruby Riot/Nikki Cross b. Billie Kay/Peyton Royce – Pele to Kay

Kairi Sane b. Aaliyah – Top rope elbow

Drew McIntyre b. Roderick Strong – Claymore

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 5, 2003
Location: Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s another new era as Steve Austin is the new co-General Manager, working with and likely tormenting Eric Bischoff, who has been abusing his power as of late. Other than that we have the slow build towards HHH vs. Kevin Nash while Goldberg is stuck doing almost none of the things that got him over in WCW. Let’s get to it.

In Memory of Miss Elizabeth. That’s still horribly sad.

We open with a recap of Bischoff suddenly trying to use his power to sleep with Trish Stratus and Lita, causing Linda McMahon to show up and name Austin the co-boss.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Austin with a briefcase to get things going, likely in the form of a list of things he’s doing as boss. Austin starts by thanking Linda (with a bunch of WHAT’S included, as it’s spread to Canada) for offering him the job and getting him out of the house. To celebrate, tonight we’re having the biggest beer bash in the history of Monday Night Raw.

As for the business end of things, there were some stupid things that happened while he was gone, including the Intercontinental Title being abolished. Therefore, at Judgment Day, there’s going to be a battle royal and the winner will win the Intercontinental Title, which Austin pulls out of the briefcase. That earns a big AUSTIN chant as he says that all former champions are eligible to enter the battle royal. He has another announcement but here are Bischoff and Chief Morely to cut him off.

Eric reminds Austin that they’re partners and a decision like the return of the Intercontinental Title should be a mutual decision. Austin says he was trying to make the show better and he’s been known to step on some toes. Bischoff brings up that he was the one who abolished the title in the first place and doesn’t seem happy. He eventually agrees with bringing the title back but he has an idea of his own. Therefore, at Judgment Day, HHH will defend the World Title against Kevin Nash.

Austin likes the idea and they actually say they like each other but Austin has one more idea. Actually he’s hired someone and it happens to be one of his best friends. The fans immediately get the idea and cheer the heck out of Austin as he announces the return of Jim Ross. Bischoff fires JR almost immediately and it turns into a Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck (works for me) routine until Austin puts his hand over Eric’s mic. He says he’s trying very hard not to lose his temper, drawing perhaps the only LOSE IT chant in wrestling history.

Austin has an idea: let’s settle it with a match between himself and Bischoff with JR’s job on the line. Eric says no because Linda wouldn’t like it and it’s Bugs and Daffy all over again over whether or not Bischoff is scared. Morely steps in and is willing to wrestle on Bischoff’s behalf….against JR. Austin to Morely: “I think you’re extremely stupid.” JR isn’t a wrestler anyway, so who could Austin get to do it? Lawler stands up and offers his services so the match is on right now.

Jerry Lawler vs. Chief Morely

Coach is now on commentary on his own. Lawler takes Morely (in street clothes) down with some clotheslines and a dropkick. A quick piledriver gives Jerry two but he misses a middle rope elbow. Morely rolls some suplexes and hits his own middle rope elbow for two. Jerry fights back again but Eric trips him up, drawing the referee outside to prevent Austin from killing him. The Money Shot is loaded up but JR shoves him off, setting up the middle rope fist to get JR’s job back.

Rating: D. This was all about the story and there’s nothing wrong with that. There wasn’t any doubt to this one and they kept it short enough to not get too bad. JR is a far better choice on commentary than Coach so let him be back where he belongs. If nothing else it shows Bischoff up, which is where Austin is going to shine.

Post match, Eric slaps Morely and storms off. Austin calls Coach to the ring to congratulate JR and then Stun him off the team. Eh it’s not like anyone cared about him in the first place. JR and King really don’t care and celebrate anyway.

In the back, Bischoff fires Morely. Austin comes up and says Bischoff can’t do that without his permission. Morely: “Then I’m still here!” Austin: “No you’re fired.” Ok that was funny.

We recap Goldberg destroying everyone in sight last week. He gets Christian tonight.

Scott Steiner and Test have a pose off in the back until Stacy Keibler comes in to say chill.

Tag Team Titles: Rob Van Dam/Kane vs. Test/Scott Steiner

Steiner and Test are challenging. Scott chops away at Rob in the corner but a spinning kick to the face takes him down. The split legged moonsault gets two and there’s another kick to put Scott on the floor. Back in and Scott grabs a powerslam to almost no reaction. The elbow drop into the push-ups has Stacy’s eyes glowing and it’s off to Test, drawing a Stacy chant.

We hit the chinlock for a bit until a dropkick allows the hot tag to Kane. House is cleaned in a hurry, including the top rope clothesline to Test. Steiner makes the save though, allowing Test to grab the pumphandle powerslam. Kane takes the full nelson slam and drops his top rope elbow with Van Dam having to make another save. Test kicks Steiner by mistake though and it’s a chokeslam into the Five Star to retain the titles.

Rating: C-. Test and Steiner were a bit better than I was expecting here but at least they didn’t do something stupid here. Kane and Van Dam still have some more time with the titles and they’re the best option to hold them at the moment. Well until La Resistance debuts of course because they’re the kind of real life idea that WWE would want to push.

Austin hangs up a picture of himself in the office and has a few hundred beers delivered. Bischoff says we can’t afford this but Austin doesn’t want to hear it. He has a desk being brought in and shoves over Bischoff’s couch to make room. Oh and Bischoff isn’t invited to the beer bash. I still love the idea that it’s the same office every week and it just travels from arena to arena.

It’s Highlight Reel time (no longer Hi-Lite) and Jericho is instantly beloved in Canada. Jericho wastes no time in entering himself in the battle royal, which he promises to bring home to Canada. He also takes credit for winning the six man tag at Backlash and here’s a clip of the ending. Then we see Kevin Nash chasing HHH off last week and shattering the limo window with the sledgehammer.

This brings out the guest, which of course is Nash himself. Nash gets all serious and shouts that HHH is a dead man. That brings out the second guest: HHH. Nash tosses Jericho without much effort but Chris sneaks back in for a low blow. A loud chair shot to the back looks to set up a Pedigree onto the chair but Nash backdrops his way to freedom. They slowly brawl to the floor as this just kind of keeps going. Nash misses a chair shot but sends him into the steps instead.

The steps go off of HHH’s head to bust him open and there’s a belt shot to the head for good measure. Nash beats up some referees but HHH hits him in the ribs with a pipe. An electric light to the back keeps Nash down but he’s up fast enough to take the fight into the back. Even more slow right hands keep HHH down until a monitor shot drops Nash.

Some agents come in but Nash sends HHH into the side of an ambulance. HHH staggers across the street and steals a car to escape. If you start the clock when HHH first touched Nash, this was over eight minutes long, which will actually be longer than their pay per view match. It wasn’t even a horrible brawl, but it felt like it was in slow motion and it’s still designed to set up HHH vs. Nash on pay per view. That’s about as hard of a dead end as you can run into.

Post break Jericho is smirking at the chaos when Austin comes up behind him. Austin sees Jericho as a main event player and gives him Nash next week.

We recap the opening segment.

Booker T. vs. Lance Storm

Storm takes him down in a hurry and it’s off to an early Sharpshooter, making Storm the most popular man in the world for about ten seconds. Back up and Booker scores with some forearms and the side kick. The Spinarooni is broken up with a superkick for a very close two but the ax kick gives Booker the fast pin.

La Resistance hits on Stacy and tells her to watch their match tonight.

La Resistance vs. Tommy Dreamer/Spike Dudley

Spike starts in on Dupree’s arm and armdrags Grenier for a bonus. A low bridge sends Spike outside though and we hit the chinlock. The fans are WAY behind Spike and Tommy as Spike fights up and gets in a headbutt to the ribs. A DDT/neckbreaker combination takes the French guys down but Dreamer gets sent outside, setting up something like a double spinebuster to end Spike.

Rating: D. Another dull match but it helps to get La Resistance an actual win. It’s not like the division has any kind of depth so even a lame team is better than nothing. If nothing else it lets us see Spike get beaten up, which means some of his normally impressive looking selling.

Post match La Resistance beats on Dreamer until Steiner and Test make the save.

Eric calls Linda and wants to change things. He doesn’t want to resign but does hit on her for some reason. Linda hangs up on him to get away from this really weird new character.

Christian doesn’t want to hear about Goldberg because it’s Canada night. Tonight, Goldberg’s losing streak begins.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Jazz

Jazz is defending and drives her into the corner to start. JR: “Jazz may be a female of a different kind.” Somehow Jerry doesn’t jump on that line. A slam and a legdrop give Jazz two but Trish is back up with a quick Thesz press. The Stratusphere is broken up and it’s Teddy Long getting on the apron with his shoe off, only to fall on his face. The Stratusfaction connects but Victoria comes out to offer a distraction, allowing Jazz to get in a belt shot to retain.

JR and King hype up Austin’s beer bash, though the graphic says beer party. It’s not a big deal but why is that different? It’s always been a beer bash with Austin.

Christian vs. Goldberg

Goldberg is in the bad looking half black half white shorts. Hang on a second though as here are Rico and 3 Minute Warning. Rico says the three of them are going to come down there, one by one of course, and take Goldberg out. Christian just kind of disappears as the trio hits the ring and gets beaten down. Goldberg spears the Samoans down and Jackhammers Rico for the pin. That was a match?

Christian pops back up and chairs Goldberg in the back before running through the crowd. Goldberg grabs the mic but Austin interrupts. Austin is ready to drink but Goldberg has a problem. He wants to get his hands on Christian so Austin makes another match between the two of them for next week, this time inside a cage. A ton of beer is brought out and a bunch of fans surround the ring to drink as well. This just keeps going for a few minutes until the show ends.

Overall Rating: D. I didn’t hate the show but my goodness those long segments were insanely long. They were really cranking up the Canadian content this week and I get the idea of not having Goldberg face Christian here for fear of having Goldberg booed, but why book the match in the first place? Just do what you did with Rico and 3 Minute Warning and then do the post match stuff as it went. Why create a problem that doesn’t need to be there in the first place?

Austin is a nice breath of air for the show but Goldberg is already completely overshadowed by both Austin and Nash vs. HHH, which is going to be treated as a big deal no matter what. Goldberg is going to be fine in the long run but I haven’t been as uninterested in a big new character in quite a while. The show wasn’t great but it was far less boring than recent weeks, which is an important change of pace.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: October 3, 2017
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home show for Hell in a Cell and that means it’s time to really hammer in some of the stories. The main event of Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens inside the Cell is pretty much set but it would be nice to have some of the other matches get some attention of their own. Let’s get to it.

We open with another moment of silence for the Las Vegas shooting.

The opening recap looks at Shinsuke Nakamura beating up Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers last week.

Renee Young brings out Nakamura for a chat. In regards to Mahal’s recent insults, Nakamura says sticks and stones may break his bones but words will never hurt him. He’ll take the title from Mahal on Sunday but here are the Singh Brothers to interrupt and mock his entrance. Mahal follows them out and the three on one beatdown is on in a hurry.

Carmella/Natalya vs. Charlotte/Becky Lynch

Becky slaps Carmella to start and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Charlotte and Becky take the villains down with a double baseball slide and we take a way too early break. Back with Becky in trouble until Becky rolls her up for two, allowing the hot tag off to Charlotte. A running knee to the head drops Natalya again and a suplex gives Charlotte two. The spear looks to set up the Figure Eight but Natalya hides in the ropes. Carmella hits Becky in the back with the Money in the Bank briefcase and the Sharpshooter puts Charlotte away at 6:58.

Rating: D+. Barely enough shown to rate here but twas your run of the mill tag match with Natalya getting a win to help set up the title match on Sunday. If nothing else hopefully we’ll knock out the briefcase soon as it’s still just a thing that exists instead of anything with any particular value.

Long recap of Shane vs. Kevin. The more I see of this feud, the less I care.

Mike Kanellis vs. Bobby Roode

A spinebuster and the Glorious DDT end Kanellis at 56 seconds.

Post match here’s Dolph Ziggler with a marching band drum to play for Roode. Dolph plays an air horn and throws some confetti too before asking if everyone likes him now. Roode has a great entrance but on Sunday, the bell is going to ring and he’ll be exposed as the fraud that he is. Bobby shows Ziggler how to do the proper entrance and strikes the Glorious pose.

Pay per view rundown.

Here are the Usos to read New Day their rights before Sunday. They explain that New Day is going to be walking into the Uso Penitentiary where there’s no trombone, no BootyO’s and no dancing. Maybe they can just throw every other tag team in there with them. This brings out New Day to shill their New Day underwear (a real thing) and to read some lefts because the Usos are reading the rights.

New Day has left everyone in the dust and no matter where they were on the card, they’ve left the fans knowing it was the best match on the night. Best of all though, the last time they met the Usos, they left with the titles. Short and to the point here as this segment needed to be. If the match is as good as their previous efforts, everything will be fine.

Mahal shows us a replay of what happened earlier.

Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin throws him around to start but a chase lets Tye score with a superkick to knock Corbin outside as we take a break. Back with Corbin elbowing Dillinger in the face and knocking him onto the steps. They head back inside and Dillinger grabs a small package for the clean pin at 5:52. Not enough shown to rate but it was angle advancement more than anything else.

Post match AJ Styles pops up on screen to say he’s going to show Corbin that taking shortcuts doesn’t pay.

Some breast cancer survivors are presented with pink WWE Championships.

Randy Orton vs. Aiden English

Fallout from Orton laying out English and Rusev last week during Rusev’s celebration. English throws him into the corner to start but has to avoid an early RKO attempt. No worries though as a pop up RKO puts English at 1:17.

Rusev tries to sneak up on Orton but Randy drops into RKO position to send Rusev bailing.

Sami Zayn tells Shane to be careful with Owens. Shane basically blows him off.

Here’s Shane to call out Owens but Kevin doesn’t show up. Shane calls him a coward and has a chance of pace for Sunday’s match: it’s now Falls Count Anywhere. So they’re not even bothering to hide the fact that the Cell is only going to contain them for a little while? Owens comes through the crowd, saying that the real money is right here. That’s all he’s doing though and starts to go back up the stairs, only pausing when Shane calls him a coward.

Owens leaves anyway and it’s Shane giving chase through the crowd. Shane gets into the concourse and the fight is on with Shane getting powerbombed through a merchandise table. Owens comes back to the ring to say that’s nothing compared to what he’s going to do to Shane on Sunday, where he’ll throw Shane off the Cell. Of course Shane staggers through the crowd to come back to ringside but Owens throws him over the announcers’ table. Fans: “THIS IS AWESOME!” I know weed is legal in Colorado but dang I didn’t realize it was that strong.

A headbutt drops Shane again and the Pop Up Powerbomb ends the show. I wasn’t wild on this match coming into this week and this segment REALLY didn’t do it any favors. It’s just Shane getting beaten up again and then basically guaranteeing that he’s going to do something really stupid on Sunday. I need a lot more than that and I’m getting a bad feeling that Shane will win and completely waste any momentum that Owens has built up.

Overall Rating: D-. My goodness this bombed and it bombed hard. With a grand total of 15:03 of wrestling and about half of that in commercials, the focus certainly wasn’t on the in-ring product this week. What it was on was Shane vs. Owens and the more I see of that, the less I can bring myself to care. As I said, they’re not even trying to hide the fact that it’s going to be a stunt show and Shane is only in there because he’s going to do something stupid. Shane gets less and less interesting every time he gets in the ring and one of these times he’s going to win, which would be about as dumb of an idea as they have.

Results

Carmella/Natalya b. Charlotte/Becky Lynch – Sharpshooter to Charlotte

Bobby Roode b. Mike Kanellis – Glorious DDT

Tye Dillinger b. Baron Corbin – Small package

Randy Orton b. Aiden English – Pop up RKO

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 2, 2017
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver Colorado
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Booker T.

We’ve got a title match on the card tonight as the Miz defends the Intercontinental Title against Roman Reigns. While a title change is always possible, there’s also the high likelihood that this is all helping to set up the Miztourage vs. a reunited Shield at Tables Ladders and Chairs 2017. Let’s get to it.

The roster is on the stage for a moment of silence in memory of the Las Vegas shooting. Even Vince and Shane are there.

Video on the Miztourage beating Reigns down last week and standing over him in the Shield pose.

Opening sequence.

Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman

Rollins kicks at the ribs to start but has to slip out of a running powerslam attempt. For some reason Seth slaps him in the face, setting off a chase. A kick to Braun’s head connects but Braun launches him into the air for a big crash. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Seth fights up and sends him outside. A suicide dive is knocked out of the air though and we take a break.

Back with Rollins getting tossed via a fall away slam but sidestepping a charge. Now the suicide dives connect, only to have the springboard knee to the face get two. A great looking superkick drops Braun but the wind up knee is countered with a clothesline. The running powerslam ends Rollins at 10:27.

Rating: C. Not a bad little match here but there was no question about Strowman winning. Rollins is great for something like this though as he’s legitimate competition for Strowman and makes him look great even in defeat. It was a fun match and a good way to open the show, which is all you can ask for.

Strowman gives him another powerslam for fun. He goes back for more but Dean Ambrose runs out for a save attempt, only to get chokeslammed for his efforts. Another running powerslam leaves both champions laying. Strowman leaves and here are Sheamus and Cesaro to pick the bones.

Breast cancer awareness video.

We recap Mickie James and Alexa Bliss’ issues.

Mickie runs into Alicia Fox and Emma, who say there’s a present in Mickie’s dressing room. She goes in to find a walker and adult diapers. Mickie goes to find Alexa but she’s hiding behind Nia Jax. A match is set for later.

Bray Wyatt is in his walking chair and rocking back and forth, going over things that Sister Abigail told him. She told him to fight the man and would never lie to him. He repeats the last line over and over.

Here’s Elias to tell us how horrible this town is and how much he can’t stand Titus O’Neil.

Elias vs. Titus O’Neil

Elias headlocks him to start but gets shoved off for a crash. A big boot knocks Elias outside where he gets in a staredown with Apollo Crews. Back in and Drift Away ends Titus at 2:58. Nothing match.

The announcers preview Hell in a Cell.

Mickie James vs. Nia Jax

Alexa comes out to watch and the distraction lets Nia jump Mickie from behind. The beating is on in a hurry and Mickie is sent outside as we take a break. Back with Mickie slugging away but getting thrown down again, setting up a chinlock and bearhug. Nia tries a powerbomb but Mickie slips out, setting up a few running kicks. A bad looking tornado DDT (Mickie’s leg was underneath Nia) plants Jax, only to have Alexa run in for the DQ at 9:45.

Rating: D+. As I’ve said before, Nia needs to win something at some point. That being said, I’m very happy that Mickie is in this story as she’s the fresh blood the division has been needing. That being said, she’s now been in stories where she’s crazy, fat and old. What did she do to WWE over the years to deserve those?

Mickie kicks Alexa in the face.

Long recap of Enzo Amore winning the title and being destroyed last week.

Enzo has nothing to say.

Mickie James will get her title shot at TLC.

Matt Hardy/Jason Jordan vs. Anderson and Gallows

Jordan slugs away at Anderson to start but everything breaks down with the good guys (guys, not Brothers) cleaning house to send us to a break. Back with Anderson working over Matt in the corner but it’s quickly off to Jordan. A slam is broken up via a Gallows kick to the face and Jordan is back in trouble again.

Anderson slaps on an armbar as the announcers ask Booker why he’s always complaining about Jordan’s relationship with Angle. That’s broken up as well and the hot tag brings in Matt for a middle rope elbow. Anderson makes a save and knocks Jordan outside, leaving Matt to take the Magic Killer for the pin at 11:02.

Rating: D+. Not much to this one but were you expecting anything else? Jordan is a complete filler partner and while that makes sense in the short term, I don’t see this lasting too much longer. Hardy is more than capable of a singles run and that would be the best option for everyone at the moment.

Reigns says he’s keeping things simple tonight: destroy what’s in front of him, break Miz’s jaw, and leave with the title.

Some breast cancer survivors are brought out and presented with WWE Championships by Dana Warrior.

Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns vs. The Miz

Miz is defending and comes out ala the Shield with the Miztourage. Reigns wastes no time in bailing to the floor and beating the heck out of the Miztourage to make things even. Axel staggers through the crowd so Reigns follows him up for a chair to the back. Dallas gets one as well before Reigns just unloads on both of them with multiple chair shots. The bell rings after a break with Reigns headbutting the champ on the floor. Miz avoids a charge though and Reigns winds up in the crowd. That’s only good for a nine count but Miz catches him in a short DDT for two.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Miz switches to just choking on the ropes. Back from a break with Miz hitting the YES Kicks but getting caught in a sitout powerbomb for a very near fall. The Superman Punch is countered into the Skull Crushing Finale for the same and Miz is stunned. The second Superman Punch connects for an even closer two and it’s Reigns’ turn to be shocked. Reigns loads up the spear but Sheamus and Cesaro pull him out for the DQ at 10:47.

Rating: B-. This was good while it lasted but the ending hurt it a lot. They’re not hiding what they’re going for in the post match stuff and while there’s nothing wrong with that, I could go for it not being so heavy handed. There were some awesome near falls in this one and it was really entertaining at times, but the time factor and the storyline stuff isn’t great.

Reigns gets destroyed post match. The fans chant for the Shield as Reigns takes a TripleBomb. Miz, Sheamus and Cesaro do the Shield pose. That would be a heck of a lot better than Miz and the Miztourage.

Here’s Finn Balor for a chat. He’s heard Bray Wyatt’s talk for weeks now and he sees Bray for the coward he is. For all of Bray’s games, it boils down to him just being afraid that he can’t beat Finn Balor. If Bray wants another fight, come get one right now. Bray appears on screen, again in his rocking chair and saying that she never lied to me. Finn lied to him though and hid his true face behind the Demon. Sister Abigail is alive and dying to meet Balor.

Video on Asuka.

Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. Emma/Alicia Fox

Sasha takes Emma down and does Bayley’s roll over Emma’s back to take over. Bayley sends her into the corner for some rams into the buckle and we take a break. Back with Fox hammering on Banks before Emma comes in for a chinlock. Emma’s butterfly suplex gets two and Fox’s tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets the same.

Banks still can’t get over for the hot tag as Fox pulls her back one more time. This time around though Banks sends the villains into each other and the hot tag brings in Bayley for some right hands to Alicia. A jawbreaker cuts Bayley off….but Emma drops to the floor and says she’s out. The Bayley to Belly ends Alicia at 12:58.

Rating: C-. Kind of boring with all the chinlockery but it wasn’t too bad. The big problem here though was the lack of any question about who was going to win. Emma and Alicia are some of the lowest level women the division has had in a good while and there’s no reason to expect that they’re going to beat two of the bigger names. That made the long chinlocks feel even longer, though it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

We look at Amore getting destroyed last week.

Here’s Enzo Amore to talk about the beating he took last week. He’s now put the cruiserweight division in the main event two weeks in a row and you’re absolutely right that he deserves it. Enzo talks about all the money he makes and all of his star power, but carrying the division has made his back hurt. He brings up the No Contact clause from last week and says there’s a new one tonight: if anyone attacks him, they’re fired. Now he’s on top of the throne but he doesn’t have any opponents.

Cue the cruiserweight division to surround Amore but he insults every single one of them in turn. This brings out Angle to say that none of the cruiserweights at ringside can lay a hand on him. HOWEVER, there’s a new member of the Cruiserweight division: Kalisto. The fight is on in a hurry with Kalisto easily beating the heck out of Enzo.

A banged up Reigns is in the back when Ambrose comes in. They stare at each other a bit until Rollins comes in as well. Ambrose leaves with Rollins going the opposite way. Reigns thinks things over to end the show. No one ever said or did anything more than look at the others.

Overall Rating: C-. I’m really going to need more time to get used to this Saturday Night’s Main Event style layout for the shows. For the young ones out there, Saturday Night’s Main Event would load up the first third or half of the show and then the last part would be whatever else they had time to squeeze in.

That would make for a far less interesting ending, which is what WWE has been going for lately. I’m so used to Raw ending with a big moment and now it’s something that feels like it’s filler. I get why they’re doing it (the last hour doesn’t do well anyway so don’t waste big stories) but DANG it’s punishing to fans who watch the whole thing.

The rest of the show was fine enough with Cesaro and Sheamus being a VERY nice upgrade over Axel and Dallas. It’s made me somewhat more interested in a Shield reunion, even if they’re doing such a rushed job with the whole thing. The show wasn’t terrible, but aside from the Shield stuff, I’m having trouble remembering anything important on the whole thing. That’s not good, especially when we’re less than three weeks away from a big pay per view.

Results

Braun Strowman b. Seth Rollins – Running powerslam

Elias b. Titus O’Neil – Drift Away

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

Anderson and Gallows b. Matt Hardy/Jason Jordan – Magic Killer to Hardy

Roman Reigns b. The Miz via DQ when Sheamus and Cesaro interfered

Sasha Banks/Bayley b. Alicia Fox/Emma – Bayley to Belly to Fox

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

As was once said, the marquee says wrestling. While that’s always true, some wrestlers are more about the in-ring product than the others. For those wrestlers and fans of that style, the Intercontinental Title is one of the greatest gifts anyone could have ever asked for. It’s long been called the workers title as it has traditionally been more about the in-ring quality than the drama that follows the World Title. The championship has been around nearly forty years now and many of the best performers over that time have held the title.

Back in March 2016, I released the History of the Intercontinental Title e-book, but a lot of time and title changes have happened since then. Therefore, I’ve updated the book with seventeen new matches (two from the old days due to some updates on the WWE Network), polished things up and updated everything through the end of August 2017. The updated book is now available in paperback and still as an e-book.

The book contains over 420 Intercontinental Title matches dating from October 1979 thru August 2017 with every filmed title change and of course several title defenses ranging from pay per views to television to house shows to fan cam recordings you’ve probably never seen before. Each match is broken down with context, play by play and analysis.

It’s available from Amazon in full paperback form, runs 439 pages and is priced at $10.99. The book is available worldwide (only in English) from any country’s Amazon page. Here are the links for the US and UK versions:

US Version

UK Version

Or just search “KB Intercontinental Title” on Amazon.

All of my e-books and paperbacks (26 titles combined) are available here:

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

I hope you like it and please send me any questions you may have.

KB

Main Event
Date: September 28, 2017
Location: Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

It’s the post No Mercy stretch now as we’re heading towards Tables, Ladders and Chairs and then Survivor Series. Brock Lesnar retained the Universal Title over Braun Strowman and the question now is what do we do in the champion’s absence. I’m thinking we watch some lower midcarders and cruiserweights. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence, which I believe is new this week.

Dash Wilder vs. Rhyno

We hit the ECW chant as they stare each other down to start. Rhyno headlocks him for a bit before they trade arm work. A hard shoulder drops Dash but he snaps Rhyno’s arm over the ropes. Dash’s armbar has little effect and they collide again to put both guys down. A belly to belly gives Rhyno two and the Gore puts Dash away at 5:36.

Rating: I know he’s a tag wrestler but do they really have to have Dash lose three weeks in a row like this? I mean….I’m actually complaining about someone win/loss record on Main Event. If the rest of the year is any indication, Wilder is on the verge of winning a World Title ala Jinder Mahal.

Video on Strowman vs. Lesnar.

From Raw.

Here’s Alexa Bliss for a chat. She considers all of the fans her friends and she has to be honest with them: she is VERY disappointed with each and every single one of them. This morning she got up and looked at some messages about her title win but everything was about Sasha, Bayley or Asuka. Alexa has cleaned out the entire women’s division but here’s Mickie James to interrupt.

Mickie brings up Alexa insulting her on Raw Talk after last night’s show. Alexa says she’s been watching her since she was a little girl and Mickie was even on her top eight on MySpace. There are still some fans who say Mickie still has it but she’s worried about Mickie breaking a hip. Mickie brags about all the barriers and hearts she’s broken since Alexa was still in a training bra. Mickie: “And that seems to still be working for you.” Alexa calls her an old lady and gets slapped in the face, followed by a superkick for good measure.

Video on John Cena vs. Roman Reigns, including Cena on Raw Talk where he implied that his career is winding down.

Gran Metalik/Lince Dorado vs. Drew Gulak/Tony Nese

Metalik speeds things up to start and flips around until a headlock keeps Nese in trouble. Dorado comes in for a springboard crossbody and the villains are sent outside in a hurry. Gulak gets taken down by a Dorado dive but Nese clotheslines Metalik in half to send us to a break. Back with everything breaking down again with Metalik taking Nese down with an over the top flip dive. A springboard backsplash puts Gulak away at 7:54.

Rating: C-. So you remember how they do this match almost every week? Well this is the most recent version. There was no need for the commercial break in the middle of a match that was barely four minute of televised action. The dives were cool at least, though that’s the case with all of these matches.

Recap of Enzo Amore taking the Cruiserweight Title from Neville and the ensuing beatdown the next night on Raw.

We’ll wrap it up with this.

Miz vs. Roman Reigns

Non-title. Reigns pops him in the jaw to start and knocks Miz outside without too much effort. Miz stays on the floor long enough to get Reigns to chase him, allowing a few shots as he gets back in. An Axel cheap shot lets Miz boot him in the face and we hit a chinlock. Reigns powers out but gets taken down by the Miztourage again.

Back in and Miz scores with the running corner dropkicks but Reigns pulls him out of the air with a Samoan drop. Yet another Miztourage distraction lets Miz get in the running clothesline and the YES Kicks. Reigns has finally had it and punches everyone in the face, setting up the apron dropkick. Axel offers ANOTHER distraction though and Miz’s short DDT is good for two. Not that it matters as Reigns spears him down for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C. They weren’t exactly hiding what they were going for here and you can see the post-match stuff from here. However, as usual, they have no reason to have Miz job here when they could have just done a DQ. But hey, we can add Miz and the Intercontinental Title to things Reigns has conquered to the same level of reaction. Have I mentioned I’m REALLY not ok with the ending to last night’s match?

Reigns tries to fight off the trio but gets laid out with a chair. The Miztourage goes to leave but comes back for some more shots, including another big one with the chair. They throw in the Shield pose to really make this one clear.

Overall Rating: D. This was even more skippable than the usual Main Event if that’s even possible. Raw wasn’t great in the first place (though it had good moments) and the original content here was even less important than it tends to be. There isn’t much going on at the moment, but that could change as quickly as next week, as usual.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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