WrestleCon Supershow 2017
Date: March 31, 2017
Location: Wyndham Orlando Resort, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Marty DeRosa, Excalibur

This is something I’ve heard about for a few years now and when I saw the card, there was no question about taking it in. Basically this is a HUGE indy show with talent from all over the world working one show tied together with the incredible WrestleCon convention. I was in the crowd for this show and I’m really curious to see if it holds up on a second viewing. Let’s get to it.

No real intro for the show, likely because the show was already starting late.

Michael Elgin/Mascarita Dorada/ACH vs. David Starr/Trevor Lee/Caleb Konley

This is under Lucha Rules, meaning tags aren’t required. ACH is billed as “Mr. I Paid My Bills With This Booking” in a funny bit. It should also be noted that a lot of these matches weren’t announced in advance so these teams were total surprises. Dorada is better known as El Torito. The announcers talk about this being the fifth of Elgin’s TEN matches over the week (it was his second of the night) compared to John Cena only wrestling one. Oh yeah it’s going to be that kind of a show and that’s a good thing here.

ACH and Starr run the ropes to start and it’s already time for the dropkicks with all three heels (Starr and company) getting knocked outside. Starr offers ACH a free chop but gets hit low for his efforts with Konley getting one of his own. Lee blocks it though and a double superkick puts ACH on the floor. That means Dorada can come in for a triple armdrag and we have some heel miscommunication. Lee: “WHAT IN THE F****** F*** WAS THAT???” You can imagine the laugh that line got.

None of the villains can do a thing with Dorada, who grabs a headscissors on Konley but spins around him ten times before sending him down. Elgin takes a lap around the ring as Dorada collapses, finally allowing Lee to get in a hard shot on Dorada. I believe Dorada takes a thumb to the eye (the camera work is shaky at best and the arena is already dark so it can be a bit difficult to follow some of the action) and all three villains come in for some rhythmic clapping and a triple crotch to the face.

That actually doesn’t have any effect on Dorada so it’s a triple low blow and a hot tag to Elgin. Konley and Lee get suplexed at the same time and a Falcon Arrow gets two. That’s not enough strength so he German suplexes Konley and Lee at the same time for a bonus. ACH, now in a hat, remembers that he’s in the match as everything breaks down. Dorada is launched over the top onto all three but ACH’s followup dive is countered with a superkick. Not that it matters as ACH grabs a brainbuster, setting up Dorada’s moonsault for the pin on Konley at 11:53.

Rating: B. About halfway through this match, I knew this show was going to be a blast. This was the perfect choice for an opener with the heels really just being there to give the fun good guys something to do, which made this feel a lot more fun than serious. That’s likely to be the case with everything tonight and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The winners dance post match with Elgin doing the Worm.

Shane Strickland vs. ???

Strickland is better known as Killshot in Lucha Underground. The lights go out and we’ve got a surprise opponent with……Low Ki. This was a punch to the stomach for me as I’m REALLY not a fan of Low Ki so hopefully this one doesn’t last too long. The announcers basically say Strickland is screwed here and I can’t imagine we’re in for much of an upset. Feeling out process to start with Low Ki working on the arm and kicking Shane away. I have a feeling you’ll hear that more than once tonight. Say ten to fifteen times for a low number.

Strickland starts cranking on both arms to take over as the announcers praise Laycool with Low Ki’s success. DeRosa: “Somewhere in a parallel universe Killshot is wrestling Kaval.” We go to a test of strength with Strickland being driven down into a bridge. That just earns himself a hard kick to break things up, followed by even more kicks for two. Things slow down as Low Ki grabs a headscissors before chopping the heck out of Strickland’s chest.

Back up and Low Ki flips him into the ropes, setting off one heck of a counter sequence capped off by Strickland spinning around Low Ki and nailing a dropkick. Strickland has to bail out of a flip dive but lands on his feet, only to eat a hard dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Strickland easily counters a waistlock (likely because it’s a waistlock) into a catapult but Low Ki bounces right back off the ropes into a middle rope double stomp. Strickland won’t stay down though and comes back with a 619, followed by a jumping cutter (Strickland: “GOTCHA!”) for two.

A slingshot double stomp to the back gives Shane two and the announcers seemed stunned that Low Ki is in trouble. Both guys head up top at the same time and there’s no way this is going to end well. Strickland gets knocked down into a Tree of Woe over the apron, setting up a HUGE double stomp to the chest (think Del Rio’s bad finisher done well) onto the apron. Low Ki throws what used to be Strickland back inside for the pin at 13:03.

Rating: C+. Like I said, I’m certainly not a Low Ki fan but this was a VERY hard hitting match and the ending looked awesome. Strickland isn’t someone you see very often (save for Lucha Underground of course) and he got to show off quite a bit here. You knew there was going to be a kick based match on the card somewhere and this is as good of a place as you’re going to get.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Jeff Cobb vs. Lashley

Lashley is defending and the fans IMMEDIATELY break into a F*** THAT OWL chant. Cobb is better known as Matanza in Lucha Underground but he’s just a big athletic monster here. Now for the oddest part of the show, Lashley is announced and a country song comes on. There’s no Lashley so they hit his entrance again and he’s still not here. Fans: “F*** THAT OWL!”

Lashley appears through the crowd and we’re ready to go. I actually got to talk to Lashley the next day at WrestleCon and there was a very simple explanation: they didn’t have his song for some reason so he came to the ring anyway, knowing he was going to be the heel no matter what. Apparently it’s a BIG offense if you come out to someone else’s music so Lashley wasn’t about to make his entrance to the country song.

We get some Big Match Intros and Cobb holds up the title to really rub it in. Fans: “F*** THAT HEADBAND!” The good thing is that Lashley is really soaking it all in and relishing the whole thing, as he almost has to do. Lashley goes for a single leg takedown but Cobb muscles him up onto his shoulders to block. A hard shoulder drops Cobb and it’s time to slowly pound away in the corner.

Cobb gets in a clothesline to send Lashley outside but the champ whips him into the barricade, only to stop to argue with a fan. Back in and a neckbreaker sets up a chinlock as this is going really, really slowly. Lashley shows off a bit with a delayed vertical suplex, only to have Cobb muscles him up with a throw of his own.

It’s off to a triangle choke on Cobb….who lifts him up for a powerbomb to break. That’s the kind of thing they needed to do all match. Cobb gets athletic with a standing moonsault followed by a standing shooting star press for two. A deadlift German suplex gives Cobb two more but the spear just ends him for the pin at 10:45.

Rating: D+. This was ok but really felt like a major disappointment. It was billed as and should have been a battle of two monsters hitting each other really hard but instead it was more of a technical power match. You don’t see those very often and it made for a pretty slow match which didn’t work very well. Not horrible by any means but it could have, and should have, been better.

Sammy Guevara/Flip Gordon vs. Angelico/Jack Evans

I actually hadn’t heard of Guevara and Gordon, both of whom are apparently pretty talented guys from the northeast. Angelico might be my favorite guy from Lucha Underground so this was one of the matches I was looking forward to the most. Gordon and Angelico start things off with Angelico handling the early flipping. A roll through into an ankle lock sends Flip over to the ropes so it’s time for some handstand dancing. As is so often the case you see.

Gordon won’t shake his hand but he will bring in Guevara to face Evans. Jack wants a mic but can’t get one that works. Instead he just shouts a lot, saying that he can’t believe he’s getting to wrestle Justin Bieber (who Sammy resembles). Evans even offers to lay down if Sammy will sing a bit. That just gets him a superkick because it’s been too long since we’ve had one.

Sammy and Flip start stomping away in the corner, followed by a standing moonsault followed by a standing shooting star for two. Guevara gets a running start and flip dives onto Angelico and Evans for a nice pop despite being the heels here. Back in and we hit some fireman’s carry squats on Evans, who quickly reverses into an ankle lock.

Sammy shouts that he has a good one and grabs a crossface chickenwing. That goes as far as it’s going to go without Marty Scurll involved so Evans goes up top for a double Blockbuster. The hot tag brings in Angelico for the long legged knee shots as everything breaks down. Everyone kicks everyone until Evans does a ridiculous flip dive to the floor, leaving Angelico to hit the Fall of the Angels for the pin on Gordon at 13:02.

Rating: B-. Gordon and Guevara looked GREAT here and I could easily see them being a heel team in either NXT or TNA. Evans and Angelico were the bigger names coming in and while I’m a fan of the latter, I thought they were out shined here. Good match and I had a lot more fun watching it the second time around.

Hands are shaken post match.

Team Ricochet vs. Team Ospreay

Ricochet, Jason Cade, Sami Calihan, AR Fox, Desmond Xavier

Will Ospreay, Lio Rush, Drew Galloway, Ryan Smile, Marty Scurll

The ten man tag has become a staple of WrestleCon weekend and this might have been the most anticipated match of the show, if not the entire weekend. It’s fallout from the infamous match earlier in the year that saw the captains do an incredible match with all kinds of choreography. Just a hunch but I have a feeling that it’s going to be a lot more of the same here. The teams were only partially announced in advance and the members weren’t announced in the arena so this was a bit confusing.

Ricochet charges at Ospreay and they’re on the floor less than three seconds in. Everyone other than Scurll and Calihan join them less than fifteen seconds in before it’s off to Smile and Xavier for a double headbutt. They’re FLYING in and out of here so I’m not even going to be able to try to call everything here. Cade DDTs Smile to the floor but Galloway comes in and launches the much smaller Cade into the corner for some chops.

Fox tries some springboards on Galloway but gets thrown down in a big crash. Rush comes in to speed things up even more with those rapid fire kicks of his, only to have Sami come in with a cat mask on. Apparently it’s called space cat and as Rush says, “I F****** HATE SPACE CAT!”. Ospreay comes in and rips the mask off, only to have Ricochet come in as well. Now, I don’t usually do this, but I flat out admit I can’t do the following justice. Therefore, just watch.

And the version I filmed myself for a bit of a different angle.

Some of you might not get this and that’s fine but that’s for you Sally. I wish you could have seen it.

Anyway, we’re down to Ricochet vs. Scurll in the ring (for the second time tonight after their great match at the Rev Pro show) for all of five seconds before Cade and Smile come in for HUGE dives to take out a pile of people each. Ospreay gets superkicked by Cade and Xavier who follow it up with stereo flip dives out to the floor.

Fox goes even crazier with a springboard imploding 450, thankfully not killing himself when his head bangs into the barricade. Now it’s Galloway with a running flip dive (Marty: “He can dance! He can fly!”) but the captains won’t be outdone, meaning it’s Ospreay taking Ricochet to the top. Me from the crowd: “Oh they’re going to die.” Ospreay hits a HUGE C4 onto the eight others and everyone is of course out cold.

Back in and it’s Cade being put on top of a Tower of Doom with the superplex sending him into a sitout powerbomb from Galloway. Marty gets all fired up for the chickenwing on Calihan….who punches him in the face instead. Team Ricochet gets up first and puts four opponents in a corner each, only to charge into four stereo boots. They come back with superkicks but they all get stuck on top with their heads tucked on the buckles.

That means stereo superkicks, followed by everyone missing charges and taking similar superkicks of their own. We’re still not done yet though as Team Ospreay is down in front of a corner as four members of Team Ricochet goes up top. We get a completely ridiculous quadruple dive off the top (shooting stars and 450s you see) with Calihan hitting something like a package Tombstone on Galloway for a quintuple near fall and a huge gasp from the crowd.

The announcers talk about how Dave Meltzer is in the crowd tonight and needs another notebook from Walgreens, which is probably the fourth plug of the night for the store. Seriously it’s a great Walgreens. With nothing else left, it’s time for a long exchange of strikes, starting with six straight superkicks just because they can. Then they upgrade things a bit with a series of Diamond Cutters, including Smile blocking ones by just putting his hands out.

Rush jumps into his and does Orton’s pose on the ropes. Calihan flashes the Diamond Cutter sign and pulls Rush down (Marty: “Calihan yoga classes tomorrow morning!”), only to eat a Stunner, complete with middle fingers, from Galloway. It’s back to the Diamond Cutters, capped off by Ricochet going to the top but getting caught in a crazy springboard cutter from Ospreay.

Everyone goes after Ricochet with Galloway hitting a piledriver to set up a dog pile pin. Four people dive in for a save at two and this somehow keeps going. Fox and Ospreay slug it out until Scurll snaps AR’s fingers. You really can hear the noise in the arena and it’s impossible to not cringe. Calihan powerbombs Smile but gets dropped by Galloway.

It’s back to Ospreay vs. Ricochet with their series of counters until Will hits the Stundog Millionaire (spinning Stunner) into a springboard cutter…..for two. Excalibur: “Why would that be it? We’re having too much fun!” Ospreay hits a 630 but walks into a Canadian Destroyer from Cade. Jason follows it up with a West Coast Pop to FINALLY put Ospreay away at 22:05.

Rating: A+. Much like the match, this might be a bit long. I’ve been accused, and probably accurately so, of being a bit of a wrestling snob at times. It’s certainly true that I do tend to go a bit too hard towards the artistic side of wrestling where I need things to make sense and follow a logical progression or I get a bit annoyed at it. During and after this match, I started thinking about something.

In addition to being obsessed with wrestling, I’m also something of a movie geek (by last count I’ve seen I’ve seen just shy of 1400). I love old movies with the big sets and big performances but I’m also never going to miss a James Bond movie or anything from Marvel. Of course there’s stuff in there that doesn’t make a bit of sense sometimes but that’s completely missing the point. Those movies mainly exist to entertain and just be awesome. Now why can’t that be the case with wrestling as well?

I loved this match and after watching more live wrestling over the course of about a week than I had in my entire life, this was the match that stuck with me the most. This was incredible stuff with ten guys doing everything from action to comedy to emotion in more time than almost anything else got all night.

Of all the shows and all the matches I’ve ever been to in my life, I have never had more fun watching a single match that this one, including anything from any Wrestlemania I’ve ever been to. I got completely lost in this match and I nearly collapsed when it was finally over. Outstanding stuff here and a total blast, which is a lot more than I was expecting from what looked to be just another spot fest. Find this match if you can and just have fun watching some wrestling.

The fans chant ALL THESE GUYS as all ten sit in the ring and shake hands. Ricochet gets the mic and says that one year ago today, a British wrestler named Chris Travis passed away. That was a big deal at the Rev Pro show and it clearly meant a lot to them. As for this match, the captains actually got to pick their guys and it’s clear who is on Ricochet’s team because all of his guys are black (not quite) and all of Ospreay’s guys are British (Rush, from Baltimore: “Ello governor!”). Ricochet thanks everyone, including Vader, who he certainly loves.

Intermission, during which I met most of the people on the card so far, plus several who haven’t been on the show yet. I also ran to the fabled Walgreens and bought two big bottles of water because there were well over 1,000 people in a hotel conference room. That and the fact that a can of soda was SIX DOLLARS at the concession stand. I also saw Donovan Dijak watching the show as a fan, which is something you almost never see outside of something like this. The video actually includes intermission, which is just a still shot of the ring with no sound.

Ironman Heavymetalweight Title: Battle Royal

Now THIS was a treat. I’ve heard of this title for years but it’s almost always been in Japan. Basically it’s a parody of the Hardcore Title as it’s defended in battle royals but someone always jumps the champ after it’s over to win the title. Now I know that sounds like something you would see in WWE but oh not quite.

The belt has changed hands well over 1200 times (including once via dream sequence) with champions including a sex doll, a cameraman, a baseball bat, a ladder, the title itself, a young girl with the power to chokeslam adults, Vince McMahon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (someone was in a hold and tapped out on it, which meant that they tapped out to the star) and of course Joey Ryan, who is defending here.

This is basically a Royal Rumble with one minute intervals and the title can change hands via pinfall or submission. However, pins and submissions don’t count as eliminations and the only way to be eliminated is by being thrown over the top. Got all that? Good as I want to see Joey come out to the Pina Colada Song because it fits him so perfectly.

Colt Cabana is in #2 and we have one minute intervals. Here’s how this thing starts: Bell, Joey: “Touch my d***!” Instead Cabana pulls out some chest hair, which you can see fall out of his hand. A low blow has no effect on Joey so the fans chant KING OF DONG STYLE. Thankfully Kikutaro, a Japanese comedy character, is in at #3 and tries to go in slow motion. A Shining Wizard gets two on Joey and they take turns kicking Joey low, only to keep hurting themselves.

The Underground Luchador is in at #4 and there’s no hiding the fact that it’s Matt Striker. Luchador rolls Ryan up for the pin and the title before revealing himself to be, in fact, Matt Striker. Kikutaro grabs him low and spins around so Joey can eliminate him, meaning he’s the new champion. The Manscout Jake Manning is in at #5 and goes to the corner to read his scout manual. Everyone charges at him but he raises his boot every time without looking away.

It’s time for #6 and Welcome to the Jungle starts playing. Excalibur: “This could literally be any indy wrestler from twenty years ago.” It winds up being George South of all people and the fans…..don’t seem to care. For those of you who don’t know, South is a former NWA jobber who Ric Flair thought he could have a classic with if they were given time. That never happened but South is kind of a mini legend as a result.

Suicide (apparently played by Caleb Konley) is in at #7 and the fans don’t like the owl again. As you might be able to guess, there’s nothing to the wrestling here as this is all about the entrances and wondering who comes out next. Speaking of which, Mr. Hughes is in at #8 with no music and missing about 140lbs. South is eliminated off camera and it’s Zane Riley in at #9. He’s a big guy named Mr. 305 Live and grabs various people by the tights. 2 Cold Scorpio (one of the reasons I wanted to go to this show) is in at #10, thankfully rocking the Flash Funk gear.

Billy Gunn of all people is in at #11, complete with his most famous song. Riley takes a Fameasser and gets tossed, followed by Kikutaro, Manning and Cabana. Moose is in at #12 and we have Moose, Gunn, Hughes, Scorpio and Ryan at the moment. We get something of a bizarre staredown between Gunn and Moose, which Marty describes as the staredown he never knew he wanted.

Nothing happens until Swoggle is in at #13 as I wonder if this counts as a DX reunion. Swoggle is shoved down so Moose and Gunn can fight with Moose scoring off a dropkick. Shane Douglas, unfortunately not in a Target uniform and thankfully not in gear, is in at #14. Gunn gets rid of Hughes and Swoggle low bridges Suicide out. Kevin Thorn is in at #15 to scare Swoggle half to death. Shannon Moore is in at #16 but Gunn drops him with a side slam.

Hurricane is in at #17, complete with the full WWE entrance, to a huge reaction. That means chokeslams, including one to get rid of Thorn. Another one plants Gunn but he can’t lift up Billy’s dead weight. Abyss is in at #18 to get rid of Shane as Gunn was tossed off camera. Another chokeslam is enough to get rid of Scorpio before Hurricane’s chokeslam is swatted away.

Gangrel is in at #19, complete with that still rocking entrance music. Moore and Helms use the power of 3 Count to get rid of Abyss as Gangrel spits the liquid. A clothesline actually gets rid of Hurricane as Swoggle hits a pop up powerbomb on Moore. Marty Jannetty is in at #20 and Jake Roberts might be passed on the “how out of it can you be while still working a match” scale. I actually got to shake Marty’s hand in the lobby during intermission and mentioned that we had the same birthday. He didn’t actually say anything but just walked away….without letting go of my hand.

Anyway we have a final group of Ryan, Gangrel, Jannetty, Moore, Moose, and Swoggle. Marty starts dancing as Moore is tossed out. To make sure you know how bad it is, Jannetty takes Gangrel down and the announcers can’t keep straight faces over how gone he is. The fans think Marty is wasted (DeRosa: “That chant was true twelve hours ago.” Excalibur: “We’re going to have to have Sting come out here and give him a DDT to pin him.”) and Gangrel throws him out to get us down to four. Moose gets rid of Gangrel and starts the pump jabs on Ryan.

I’m not going to try to spin what happens next so here’s as literal of a play by play as I can give: Joey grabs Moose’s hand and puts it on his crotch, which causes Moose extreme pain. Moose goes down, tries to Hulk Up, gets cranked right back down, and is tossed out of the ring, all due to the power of Joey’s crotch. Swoggle runs up and throws Joey out for the win and the title at 25:00.

Rating: D. I think you can grasp (like Moose grasped Joey) that this wasn’t about the wrestling or the action but just getting some older wrestlers (I hesitate to call most of these people legends) out there and wondering who was coming through the curtain next. The anticipation here was outstanding and I really did have a great time finding out who they were dragging out of mothballs for each entrance. It doesn’t hold up but this is the definition of a thousand times more fun live than watching it later.

Joey grabs a rollup to get the title back less than thirty seconds later. Since we need something else to get fired up about, Joey makes the mistake of saying he’s the greatest champion of all time and issues an open challenge. In a moment that actually made me jump to my feet in shock…….ENTER SANDMAN starts up and we get the full on ECW entrance, complete with beer, cigarettes and the fans singing the song. I wasn’t a huge ECW fan but I LOVED the Sandman’s entrance so this was one of the coolest moments of my entire weekend.

Sandman drinks a lot of beer with the announcers ensuring us that he has personally checked every ID in the building. Excalibur gets to the obvious question: WHY IS RYAN STILL IN THE RING? Now it’s off to the other side of the arena with Sandman actually holding a full twelve pack of beer. At least you know it’s going to be a long entrance. Excalibur: “This entrance has lasted longer than Marty Jannetty’s sobriety!” Sandman gets in the ring, offers Joey a beer, and canes him in the head for the pin and the title.

And of course a fight breaks out as Sandman leaves.

Brian Cage vs. Johnny Mundo

This is a TLC match for no apparent reason with Melissa Santos and Taya Valkyrie as the respective seconds/girlfriends (both looking great). Melissa even does Cage’s entrance for a little Lucha Underground flavor. The announcers immediately start making fun of Lucha Underground’s, shall we say, hit and miss taping schedule as Cage misses a charge to start. Mundo misses a dive but hits the Flying Chuck for two.

We get the first chair but Cage snaps off a release German suplex instead. Something like a Van Daminator knocks Cage outside so Johnny can spit on a fan. Taya gets in a few stomps of her own as Johnny goes over to find a ladder. Mundo throws it at Cage to send him into the chair as we’re somehow five minutes into this.

The ladder is laid across the middle rope so Johnny can jump over it, only to have Cage dropkick it into his ribs. A backdrop sends Mundo into the ladder again and it’s FINALLY time for a table. Cage takes too long going up though, allowing Taya to grab his foot. Mundo gets knocked to the floor so Taya tries a hurricanrana…..right in front of a table. One heck of a superbomb ends Taya so Mundo, without checking on Taya for very long, completely misses Starship Pain onto the ladder onto Cage.

We get another table set up in the corner but Cage is up and holding a chair. Ever the villain, Mundo grabs Melissa for a distraction so he can kick Cage low. For the first time that I can ever remember, Melissa gets physical with a kick to the head, earning herself the safest spear through a table ever as Johnny turns around, basically driving himself through instead. Cage is livid and basically murders Johnny with a Steiner Screwdriver onto the chair for the pin at 14:05.

Rating: D. Easily the weakest match of the night here, mainly because it was billed as a TLC match. This would have been better off as a street fight or something like that as the ladder was barely ever used (not climbed once) and the rest of the weapons were just kind of there. It wasn’t so much bad as much as it was really disappointing, which is often a much worse case scenario.

We pause to clean the ring a bit before the main event with the broom guy getting a nice ovation. He even poses a bit because everyone is a ham at this show.

Hardys vs. Lucha Bros

That would be Pentagon El Cero M (Pentagon Dark in other words) and Rey Fenix, another pair of real life brothers and the PWG Tag Team Champions. The Hardys get an incredible reaction (as incredible as you’re going to get at nearly 12:30 at night) as they might not be playing the Broken Hardys…..but they’re playing the Broken Hardys. The anti-owl chants begin again as we have the Big Match Intros. This turns into dueling DELETE/CERO MIEDO (zero fear, Pentagon’s catchphrase) chants and for a little while, Cero Miedo is actually a bit stronger.

The dueling chants continue after the bell until the Lucha Bros take over with some kicks to the face. Pentagon picks Fenix up in a wheelbarrow slam but gets flipped forward into a 450 onto Matt in a cool spot. A double low blow gets two on Jeff but Fenix eats a Side Effect for the same. Matt and Pentagon clothesline each other and all four are down. Pentagon heads outside but Fenix misses a dive and takes his brother out by mistake.

That means a dive from Jeff to take both of them out and all four are down again. Back in and stereo Twists of Fate give the Hardys two before Pentagon loads Fenix up in a Gory Bomb but jumps forward for a backsplash/splash combo. There’s the Twist of Fate to Pentagon, followed by another to Fenix to bring him down onto his brother. The Swanton to both Brothers gives Jeff the pin at 7:22.

Rating: D+. The time killed this one and there’s no way around it. The show was pushing four hours at this point, meaning it was almost 1am. Couple that with the ten man tag and the battle royal and there was almost no way that anyone, even the Hardys, could make this work. They were probably smart to keep the match short as I don’t think the fans would have been able to handle anything that much longer.

The announcers sign off but Matt grabs the mic and say these are the fans that make wrestling great. They come here to get good wrestling and that’s what they get. Matt says the future of tag wrestling is safe with teams like the Lucha Bros, the Young Bucks and the Briscoe Brothers. If companies try to get rid of teams like them, they’ll fade away and classify themselves as obsolete. Fenix thanks the crowd and the Hardys to finally end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is a show where the right expression is “you got what you paid for”. The Supershow isn’t about angles or stories, but rather bringing together some of the top indy talent in the world for one show in a series of dream matches. I can easily get why this show wouldn’t be for every wrestling fan but if you just love having fun with wrestling, there’s almost no way you won’t have fun with this. I’ll definitely be taking this in every year and it was a major highlight of the weekend. Go out of your way to see the ten man tag and just have a good time watching the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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 1, 2017
Location: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves

We’re past Payback and that means things can finally start settling down around here. The big story continues to be Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman with Strowman beating the injured Reigns clean last night. Extreme Rules is in just over a month and an ambulance match would seem to be the next logical step. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The women’s division is in the ring with a pedestal in the middle and here’s Alexa Bliss for her coronation as the new champion. Bliss thanks everyone for being here tonight, even if Kurt Angle forced them to be here. The Queen is gone is gone but not to worry because the Goddess is here. These women are an inspiration, including Mickie James, despite her contemporaries Mae Young and Fabulous Moolah having moved on to a better place.

As for Sasha, she’s the woman that Alexa beat to get where she is today. Sasha glares at her and Bliss backs into Nia. Bliss: “We’re good. We’re good.” Alexa gets on the pedestal and laughs at Bayley for losing in front of all her family last night. At least now Bayley’s nephews will have someone to look up to. The brawl starts in a hurry and we take a break.

Alexa Bliss/Nia Jax/Emma/Alicia Fox vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks/Dana Brooke/Mickie James

Alexa hides from Bayley to start so it’s Emma forearming Bayley in the back instead. Mickie comes in and starts on the arm before it’s off to Alicia vs. Dana with Brooke scoring off a running cartwheel splash. Bayley works on Alicia’s arm as they’re tagging in and out at a very fast pace.

Fox sends Banks outside and it’s a big staredown on the floor. Back with Nia throwing Sasha around and dropping an elbow for two. Bliss comes back in for some boot choking but Sasha avoids a charge. The hot tag brings in Bayley to take Alexa down and send her into the buckle ten straight times. Everything breaks down with everyone brawling to the floor, leaving Bliss to rake Bayley’s eyes, setting up a DDT for the pin at 14:03.

Rating: C-. There’s only so much you can do when you have eight people in there at the same time. With so many people floating around, especially people who don’t have anything to do at the moment, you’re not going to be able to really showcase anything other than a single feud. Bliss pinning Bayley is a good idea and I’m really glad they didn’t go with the lame idea of the champion losing her first match after winning the title.

Enzo Amore vs. Luke Gallows

Enzo says they have bags underneath their eyes (they’re Gucci) because their real life is better than their dreams. Anderson and Gallows jump them from behind though and we take a break before the bell. The match is joined in progress with Gallows working on the arm. Enzo avoids a charge in the corner though and scores with some kicks to the face, only to uppercut Amore’s head off. Another shot staggers Gallows and Amore goes up, only to have Anderson offer a distraction. The flapjack gives Luke the pin at 5:30.

Rating: D. I am so bored with this feud as I can’t even remember why they’re fighting in the first place. Enzo and Cass aren’t exactly the most thrilling team in the world at this point and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. The Enzo schtick is starting to get old in a hurry as we have to wait a few minutes so he can say the exact same thing every single week. Then again the fans still react to it so at least it does serve a purpose, unlike this feud that doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to end.

Neville tells TJ Perkins to stay focused.

Here’s Seth Rollins to talk about how he’s persevered through everything and is doing everything he’s wanted to do. Now though, he wants the Beast. Cue Finn Balor to say while Rollins has done a lot, he’s the one armed man who became the first ever Universal Champion. Remember that Seth?

Dean Ambrose comes out to say he wants part of the fight but here’s Miz to say he’s awesome and Balor is a coward. Miz talks about being a threat until all three tell him to shut up at the same time. Dean asks who wants to see someone beat up the Miz and pulls out his phone to call Kurt. With the call over, Dean says Kurt has made Miz vs. Balor vs. Rollins with the winner getting an Intercontinental Title match.

We look back at last night’s main event.

Tony Nese/Brian Kendrick/Noam Dar vs. Rich Swann/Akira Tozawa/Jack Gallagher

The good guys all have umbrellas for their entrances. Tozawa kicks Kendrick in the face to start but Nese runs him over without much effort. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the villains are sent outside, leaving everyone else to pose. Back with Tozawa in trouble at the hands of all three heels.

Tozawa finally gets in a kick and makes the hot tag off to Swann. Rich speeds things way up and hits a running flip ax kick (Booker: “Like a Harlem Hangover!”) followed by a running 450. Everything breaks down with Gallagher and Kendrick being left alone in the ring. The Captain’s Hook is broken up and Jack hits the running dropkick for the pin at 10:34.

Rating: C+. This got MUCH better after the commercial and made me less annoyed after thinking it was the old “throw them into one match” concept. At this point 205 Live needs something to be built up other than the main event so having six guys go out there looking good is one of the best things that can be done.

We look back at Sheamus and Cesaro turning heel last night.

Here are Sheamus (who Graves correctly identifies as looking like Travis Bickle) and Cesaro for their explanation. Sheamus is tired of living in a fog where he had to pretend to like the fans. They were ready to take their titles back at Wrestlemania but then the Hardys were thrown in for the nostalgia reaction.

That moment didn’t last long though because it was just a novelty. Now they’re ready to dominate again, as only they can. Cesaro and Sheamus go to leave but here are the Hardys to cut them off. Matt talks about being banged up from last night’s post match ambush but their response is DELETE. The champs chase them off.

Miz is ready to get his Intercontinental Title back but Ambrose comes in to ask if Miz’s hair gel gets in his eyes when he wrestles. Miz leaves so “Mean” Dean Ambrose throws it back to Bobby and Gene at ringside.

Heath Slater vs. Apollo Crews

This is over Titus being annoyed that Slater gave Crews advice on being a new father. Crews takes him to the mat to start and Slater is already in over his head. A headscissors doesn’t get Heath anywhere as Crews nips up for a staredown. Crews misses a charge in the corner though and we get a Titus vs. Rhyno staredown (Perhaps over Main Event issues from last week? I know you know what I’m talking about.). Back in and Crews hits an enziguri, followed by the Toss Powerbomb for the pin at 3:46.

Rating: D+. This was exactly what you would expect from these two and that’s not a good thing. I know Titus seems like a death sentence for Crews but you have to go somewhere with him so it’s not like he has anywhere to go but up. Not a good match or anything but it’s getting Crews on TV, which is a good thing for him.

Here’s Angle to talk about Reigns vs. Strowman. Last night’s matches had consequences with Reigns re-injuring his ribs and Strowman tearing his rotator cuff. Kurt has been thinking about this all day but here’s Bray Wyatt to interrupt. Bray is here as a savior after rising from his own ashes with burnt wings. Angle says this is his ring but Bray says it’s his world.

Dean interviews Rollins because there are cameras in the locker room and therefore there must be an interview. After listing off some potential names, Dean asks if Rollins would like an Intercontinental Title shot. Tensions are teased but Dean throws it back to Gorilla before it goes too far.

Austin Aries vs. TJ Perkins

They trade shots in the corner to start until Aries hits one heck of a shot to the jaw. Perkins comes right back by tying him in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick to the knee to put Aries in trouble. Back from a break with Perkins putting on a butterfly lock, followed by a springboard spinning forearm for two. Aries’ knee is too banged up to be thrown across the ring and his shoulder hits the post to make it even worse.

TJ doesn’t even let him fall down before he grabs a half crab in the ropes. Aries comes right back though by kicking TJ to the floor for the suicide dive. The middle rope elbow to the back gets two but the knee gives out again. TJ tries the Detonation Kick, only to have Aries reverse into the Last Chancery for the tap at 11:20.

Rating: B-. The wrestling was good but the important thing was building up the Last Chancery as a potential finisher. If you’re just going to have Aries use the move over and over, at some point it has to actually beat someone. Even if he only wins one or two matches with it, the idea is that he can do it again, which makes it an effective finisher.

Post match Perkins puts Aries in the kneebar to leave him laying.

Ambrose interviews Balor and suggests eating a carb. Balor takes a bite of a doughnut before heading to the ring but is replaced by the Drifter, who seems to confuse Ambrose.

Golden Truth’s request for a Tag Team Title shot is turned down as they don’t have the best win/loss record. Angle will however put them in a Tag Team Turmoil match next week, which seems to work fine.

Last night, Angle said goodbye to Chris Jericho after he won the US Title, sending him to Smackdown.

Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz

The winner is #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title. Miz heads to the floor like the coward he is so it’s Balor vs. Rollins to start. Neither of them seem that interested in fighting though as they keep looking at Miz before finally heading out after him. He finally gets caught and tries to fight, only to be kicked out to the floor.

We get Rollins vs. Balor again but Miz pulls Finn to the floor and hides Maryse so Seth can’t hit a dive. All three get back inside, only to have Miz shoves Seth off the top for a big crash as we take a break. Back with Balor elbowing out of Miz’s chinlock until Rollins tries a high crossbody but lands on his head. Thankfully he’s right back up but Miz sends him into Balor to put Finn down on the floor.

Both good guys take kicks to the chest until Finn throws Miz at Rollins for a DDT but dropkicks Seth down at the same time. They head outside with Balor hitting some HARD kicks to the face (Graves: “Who knew that in twenty four hours the Irish would revolutionize dentistry?), followed by 1916 for a near fall on Rollins. Balor gets crotched against the post and Miz’s low DDT gets two on Seth. Miz starts kicking at the bad knee to set up the Figure Four on Rollins but Balor makes the save.

They trade kicks to the face with Seth getting a near fall of his own. A double Blockbuster sets up a frog splash on Balor and Seth can’t believe the kickout. Rollins runs the corner for the superplex into the Falcon Arrow on Miz but here’s Samoa Joe to Rock Bottom him on the floor. Not that it matters as Balor is up with the Sling Blade and Coup de Grace…..but here’s Wyatt to shove him off the top. Sister Abigail lays Finn out and Miz steals the pin at 22:25.

Rating: A-. Now that’s how you book a match. With the World Title scene basically on hold until July, this set up the Intercontinental Title as a much bigger deal that three former World Champions are fighting over. It also helps set up Balor vs. Wyatt and Rollins vs. Joe, which should be two major headlining feuds over the next few weeks until Reigns and Strowman are back.

Overall Rating: C. This show suffered from two problems. First of all is the lack of anything on top as the champion is gone and the two main eventers are both out selling injuries. While that’s a good idea and necessary, it makes for a very, very long night. It’s not helping when this is the night after a pay per view, which automatically makes things feel long. We’re looking at seven plus hours of wrestling in two days and that’s a bit much to take. Couple that with a show where they were clearly filling in a lot of time and it’s still good enough but it felt like it went on for about four days.

Results

Alexa Bliss/Nia Jax/Alicia Fox/Emma b. Dana Brooke/Bayley/Sasha Banks/Mickie James – DDT to Bayley

Luke Gallows b. Enzo Amore – Flapjack

Rich Swann/Akira Tozawa/Jack Gallagher b. Tony Nese/Brian Kendrick/Noam Dar – Running dropkick to Kendrick

Apollo Crews b. Heath Slater – Toss Powerbomb

Austin Aries b. TJ Perkins – Last Chancery

Miz b. Seth Rollins and Finn Balor – Pin after Sister Abigail from Bray Wyatt

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

Payback 2017
Date: April 30, 2017
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves

And now, the most oddly booked, unnecessary and likely meaningless pay per view of the year! We’re four weeks removed from Wrestlemania and somehow it seems like a far more distant memory. This was going to be your run of the mill rematch pay per view but the Superstar Shakeup has rendered a lot of the top matches worthless. Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt is now non-title while Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho haven’t interacted in weeks. Fun for everyone you see. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Anderson and Gallows

Enzo and Cass talk about Chinese food and say that Anderson and Gallows’ fortune cookie will call them sawft. Amore pounds on Anderson to start and hits a running kick to the ribs. The offense doesn’t last long though as Gallows kicks him down and works on the arm until we go to a break.

Back with Anderson breaking up a hot tag attempt at the last minute, only to have the second attempt work a few seconds later. Cass starts cleaning house with the corner splashes, only to have Enzo make a blind tag. Gallows pulls him off the apron a second later for a big crash but Cass breaks up the Magic Killer. A small package finishes Gallows at 6:39.

Rating: D+. This was only there so Enzo and Cass could fire the crowd up and there’s nothing wrong with that. What there is something wrong with is how lifeless this feud has been over the last few weeks that it’s dragged along. Enzo and Cass really could have used the Revival for their next feud but instead we’re stuck here thanks to injury. Not bad but really not interesting.

We’re not done on the Kickoff Show as we have MizTV with special guest Finn Balor. Miz asks what the deal is with the long entrance and Finn says it’s the Balor Club. That doesn’t quite make sense as Miz wants to know what it takes to get into the Balor Club. Finn puts it up to the crowd who approve of Maryse but not so much of Miz.

We hear about Balor’s success worldwide but Miz thinks Finn might feel like a failure. Balor mentions all the injuries he suffered in a match that he still managed to win and become the Universal Champion (my goodness imagine where his career would be if he didn’t win that match). Miz mentions all the time away and asks what’s next for Balor. Finn makes it simple: he wants his title back.

Miz brings up Lesnar being the Beast but Balor is ready to fight a bigger man, just like he has for his entire career. A fight is about to break out but Miz hides behind Maryse. Miz isn’t worth the beating so Finn goes to leave, only to have Miz call him out. One Sling Blade later and Miz is quickly shut up as Finn destroys the set.

The opening video is a simple look at the matches with a theme of retribution. Nothing special but it’s all it needed to be.

US Title: Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens

Owens is defending after taking the title from Jericho at Wrestlemania. The story would call for a big violent gimmick here but nah, let’s just let it be a standard rematch instead with IT’S RAW VS. SMACKDOWN serving as the gimmick instead. Kevin bails to the floor to start and gets sent into the announcers’ table to let Jericho take over. Owens has to roll away from a Jericho dive to the floor but makes the stupid decision to roll back inside, allowing Jericho to hit a top rope elbow to the jaw.

The springboard dropkick is broken up (which should be attributed to Owens being such a big Jericho fan) and Owens nails the Cannonball against the barricade. We hit the chinlock (Owens: “ASK HIM!”) as Cole continues running down both guys’ resumes. One heck of a clothesline drops Jericho again and it’s right back to the chinlock. Back up and Jericho misses a charge but gets in a quick enziguri for two of his own.

A superkick out of the corner gives Owens two more and the Cannonball is good for the same. The Pop Up Powerbomb is countered with a hurricanrana into the Walls. Owens gets to the ropes by a finger again so Jericho crushes the hand beneath the steps. The bad hand means Owens can’t hit the Pop Up Powerbomb so it’s back to the Walls….for the tap out and the title at 14:06, sending Jericho over to Smackdown.

Rating: C. The ending helped it a lot (shock value can indeed do good things) but this felt like it was a long stretch of house show level stuff until Jericho started to go after the hand. Changing the title is a good idea though as they needed to do something to get off to a good start instead of having Owens beat a huge crowd favorite. Odds are Jericho loses on Smackdown anyway so it really doesn’t mean that much.

Jericho signs a kid’s List on the way up the ramp.

Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Austin Aries

Neville is defending in another Wrestlemania rematch where Neville raked the eyes to retain the title. An armdrag and a running shoulder in the corner have Neville flummoxed early on and it’s time to lay on the top rope. It’s way too early for the 450 though as Neville dropkicks the rope for the break.

We’re already in the chinlock for a bit before Aries fights up and hits the middle rope elbow to the back. Aries sends him outside for a suicide dive, followed by a suplex back inside. A running forearm in the corner looks to set up the 450 but Neville bails out to the floor for safety. Not that it matters as Aries grabs a sunset bomb to set up the Last Chancery. Neville is in trouble but grabs the referee for the DQ at 11:19.

Rating: C+. This was getting good until the ending. I’d assume this sets up a third match at Extreme Rules but they’re to the point where Aries almost needs to win the belt. It’s still a good feud but this one didn’t have anywhere near the steam that the previous one did. I’m not sure they can really drag it out another month but that’s never stopped WWE before.

Aries post-match protests don’t get him anywhere.

Tag Team Titles: Sheamus/Cesaro vs. Hardys

The Hardys are defending after winning the titles at Wrestlemania in a ladder match. Cesaro and Matt start things off as an OBSOLETE chant starts up. Jeff comes in for a BROTHER NERO chant and it’s almost immediately back to Matt. So much for that chant. Cesaro and Sheamus start in on the arm but it’s right back to Jeff to speed things up. The legdrop between the legs and a seated dropkick set up the splash for two. Why does no one else ever do that?

Not that it matters as Sheamus sends him hard out to the floor and it’s time for the heat segment. Sheamus’ middle rope knee gets two and it’s off to the chinlock. Back up and Sheamus kicks him in the face with Corey calling him the “alabaster gladiator”. It’s right back to the chinlock as Jeff seems to have lost a tooth somewhere in there. He’s still able to kick Cesaro away and make the hot tag though as things pick up.

A DELETE middle rope elbow sets up the Side Effect for two. Matt’s moonsault misses though and it’s the Cesaro Swing into the Sharpshooter. A rope is quickly grabbed so Sheamus comes back in for a super White Noise in a great crash. Jeff makes a last second save but Sheamus breaks up the Twist of Fate. Sheamus powerslams Matt but Jeff makes a blind tag and hits the Swanton for the pin to retain at 12:48.

Rating: C. Another Raw match here with the Hardys still needing a real team to feud with, at least until Revival gets back to take the titles away. As has been the case both times tonight, the match was fine though it’s nothing that I’m going to remember tomorrow. Matt and Jeff are still good in the ring but they don’t quite have the same spark from when they made their return. It’s not early enough for a big change, but the Broken stuff needs to happen before it goes too long.

Post match the Hardys shake their hands, only to have Sheamus and Cesaro turn on them and beat them up. If that doesn’t set up a rematch with the Broken Hardys at Extreme Rules, nothing is going to.

Braun Strowman promises to hurt Roman Reigns.

Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley

Bayley is defending in her hometown. Bliss gets slammed to start and a knee drop gets two, followed by a long series of rams into the buckle. Alexa comes right back with a HARD shot to the head and the slow beating begins. As is normally the case, Alexa beats on Bayley and looks extra annoyed while doing so. She gets so much mileage out of her facial expressions. The chinlock is quickly broken so Bliss clotheslines her back down. Bliss spends a bit too much time trash talking though and gets caught in a Stunner over the ropes.

A belly to back suplex gives Bayley two but she takes too much time going to the ropes and gets sent hard into the buckle. Bayley can’t get the super Bayley to Belly and gets pulled down with a Code Red for two. Bliss gets kneed in the face though and the Macho Elbow gets two more. A rollup gives Bayley two but the kickout sends her into the post. Bayley is so stunned that a DDT gives Bliss the pin and the title at 11:19.

Rating: C+. So to clarify, Bayley is NOT Naomi and is no better than anyone else that loses in their hometown. Bliss winning is fine but it really does seem that these hometown losses are just there to show that WWE is still in charge. The match was good enough and proof that playing a character well is far more important than what you can do in the ring. Bliss’ in-ring work might not be the best but it’s passable enough to be carried by her great mannerisms.

We recap the House of Horrors match, which means we’ll finally get to know what the heck it is. The match is non-title due to the Superstar Shakeup but that gives Bray a slight chance of winning, perhaps due to some Jinder Mahal interference. Randy Orton beat Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania for the title and this is the (meaningless) gimmick rematch.

Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt

Non-title. The match is going to start in Bray’s House of Horrors and will wind up in the ring where it’s pinfall, submission or forfeiture. We go to the inside of a limo where Orton is firing himself up and wearing pants. The House of Horrors is an actual house….and a tractor goes by with no one on it. The door is locked so Orton kicks his way in and we start the rapid camera cuts.

Bray’s voice says run and he jumps Orton from behind. Randy is thrown into various things as the House of Horrors looks like a not great house that is being renovated. Bray disappears but reaches through a wall to choke Orton for a second and a half. The next room has baby dolls hanging from the ceiling in various mutilated forms and we hear babies talking.

Cue Wyatt for another attack but Orton throws him through a wall. They head to another room with more dolls and some weird structure made of sticks. That goes nowhere so it’s off to a kitchen (the refrigerator says WE’RE HERE) with Orton getting the better of it. Bray tries to climb onto a counter and gets in a low blow. The refrigerator is shoved down onto Randy so Bray walks outside and steals Orton’s limo. We’ll come back to this later.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe. Rollins was injured at Joe’s hands earlier this year so tonight is really just about payback. As is often the case, the simpler ideas work best.

Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe

Joe punches him up against the ropes to start and they’re quickly on the floor with Rollins chopping away. Seth hits the big suicide dive and a second one does just as well. The big guy gets smart and goes after the knee before hitting the suicide elbow to send Rollins over the announcers’ table. Graves: “Like a flying school bus!”

A backsplash onto the knee has Rollins screaming and his comeback is cut off almost immediately. The Knee Capper sets up the kneebar until Seth scrambles to the ropes. Joe grabs a powerbomb into a half crab into the Texas Cloverleaf but Joe is at the ropes again. Seth comes back with a Sling Blade, followed by a superkick to the neck for two of his own.

For some reason Seth tries the Buckle Bomb and the knee gives out, though it’s fine enough for a Falcon Arrow a few seconds later. That great looking frog splash bangs the knee up even more so the cover is only good for a delayed two. The Koquina Clutch is countered with a quick rope climb but Joe grabs the hold again, only to have Seth roll over for a cradle and the pin at 16:03.

Rating: B+. It’s definitely the match of the night so far which was what most people had coming in. Rollins winning is the right call as it would have been really stupid to give him the win last time and then job him here. Joe dominated the match until the ending where he got caught (ignore his shoulder being up) so this was about as well done as they were going to get.

Wyatt arrives back at the arena and stumbles into the ring. Cue Orton from behind with a chair (no word on how he got back) to start the beatdown, including sending Wyatt over the announcers’ tables. There’s the Elevated DDT off the table and Orton follows it up with another chair to the back. Back in and the RKO is loaded up but here are the Singh Brothers to go after Orton. They’re dispatched just as quickly and there’s the RKO to Wyatt. Now it’s Jinder Mahal with the belt to Orton’s head twice in a row, setting up Sister Abigail for the pin at 4:22 shown in the ring, not counting about ten minutes in the House.

Rating: D. The house stuff was more stupid than bad and that’s a major improvement. They would have been in big trouble if it had been stuff like they did at Wrestlemania so it was more just there instead of anything all that terrible. Wyatt winning might be a stretch but I’d much rather him actually get a win than lose all over again with the RKO being the great vanquishing force. Not the best concept here but it’s going to be a more forgettable idea than on a list of all time horrible concepts and that’s a major victory.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns. Strowman destroyed Reigns in an incredible segment but has since gone 0-1-1 against Big Show and Kalisto for reasons that aren’t clear. Tonight Reigns is back for revenge.

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

Reigns is very banged up coming in. He goes right after Strowman and hits a clothesline off the steps to drop the monster on the floor. The apron kick is pulled out of the air and Strowman chokeslams him onto the announcers’ table. A powerslam gets two and Reigns is getting some sympathy for FINALLY being an underdog.

The bad shoulder is sent hard into the steps and it’s off to a waistlock back inside. Strowman misses a charge into the corner and Reigns somehow hits a Samoan drop for two. They head outside with Reigns charging at Strowman and managing to send him into the post twice in a row.

The spear gets two back inside (giving us a reaction from a young girl that we’ll likely see weekly from now on) but the second attempt hits boot. Two Superman Punches drop Braun but a third is caught in that head and arm choke. The powerslam only gets two so Strowman does it again for the pin at 11:20.

Rating: B+. This was WAY better than I was expecting and Reigns losing is probably the right call. I mean, I really don’t need to see him vs. Lesnar at Wrestlemania XXXIV but if that’s where we just have to go, you have to take Reigns down a few pegs first. Really good power match here and that was easily the way to go.

Post match Strowman throws in some steps (Fans: “THANK YOU STROWMAN!”) and drops Reigns ribs first onto the steel in a big crash. Braun lifts the steps over his head and brings them crashing down onto his ribs in a cringe inducing landing. Strowman is as over as free beer in a frat house and Reigns is bleeding from the mouth (Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!”) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The really low expectations helped this a lot, as did having Jericho win and not having the House of Horrors match be a disaster. The ending was really good and Joe vs. Rollins was quite the match as well. Raw is looking strong, or at least it would if there was anything for these guys to be fighting over. Good show here, though I still wonder how long they can stretch things out with Lesnar not likely wrestling until July.

Results

Chris Jericho b. Kevin Owens – Walls of Jericho

Austin Aries b. Neville via DQ when Neville grabbed the referee

Hardys b. Sheamus/Cesaro – Swanton Bomb to Sheamus

Alexa Bliss b. Bayley – DDT

Seth Rollins b. Samoa Joe – Cradle

Bray Wyatt b. Randy Orton – Sister Abigail

Braun Strowman b. Roman Reigns – Powerslam

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

I’ve seen every pay per view WWE has ever produced and this is one of the most worthless they’ve ever put on. The Superstar Shakeup has changed the entire company and that means we have a bunch of pointless matches due to either the title not being on the line, people potentially switching shows and feuds that already have their followups started. Let’s get to it.

Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

Normally I do the Kickoff Show match first but I’m going with this just so we can get it out of the way and forget about it. Remember back in 2000 when Mike Awesome defended the ECW World Title against Tazz and it was a WCW wrestler facing a WWF wrestler at an ECW show? That might be less complicated than what we have here. Here we have the Smackdown World Champion facing off against a “Monday Night Raw” wrestler who had no chance of winning the belt back at first and now that this is non-title, the odds are even lower.

The winner here? The audience, as this feud is going to be OVER, meaning we can move on to…..Jinder Mahal. Three months ago AJ Styles and John Cena were tearing the house down over this title and now we have Wyatt looking like the weakest champion in years, Orton drawing reactions of “Him AGAIN?” and Mahal wondering what kind of a saint he was in a past life to be in this spot. I’ll go with Orton winning here, presumably by being the first person to figure out what a House of Horrors match is.

Kickoff Show: Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Anderson and Gallows

These teams are somehow still feuding for reasons that I have no idea how to comprehend. There’s really not much of a reason for them to be fighting anymore so here they are on pay per view. This is a feud where they started fighting at one point and are still fighting because that’s all WWE knows how to do.

I’ll go with Anderson and Gallows here, as WWE doesn’t seem to like Amore and Cass winning. Then again they don’t like Anderson and Gallows winning either, but the Hardys are likely going to need some more challengers going forward and the big balds have only lost to the champs once so far. This match really does belong on the Kickoff Show and it’s very clear that there isn’t much of a reason to have it other than Amore warming the crowd up.

Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss

This is a natural feud with Bliss looking down on everyone that she’s in the ring with and Bayley as the hometown girl who is living the dream. The question here is how important the hometown aspect is going to be. Earlier this month Naomi won the Smackdown Women’s Title at “Wrestlemania XXXIII” seemingly on the strength of being from Orlando, Florida. The show is in Bayley’s hometown so the question is will they let the hometown girl win twice.

I think they will as it seems that the big match on the horizon is Bayley defending against Sasha Banks in a battle of (former by then) best friends. As good as Bliss is (and she’s awesome), there’s some real money in Bayley holding the title for several months before losing it to Banks in a big showdown. Bliss will have her day and she’s still rolling on the momentum that came with her two Smackdown Women’s Titles.

Cruiserweight Title: Austin Aries vs. Neville

They had the Match of the Night at “Wrestlemania XXXIII” and it’s not out of the question for them to do it again. These two have an amazing chemistry together and they’re going with a different story this time around. In Orlando it was all about Aries being able to hang with and potentially beat Neville, but the last few weeks have been a much more personal feud built on Neville attacking Aries and the hunt for revenge.

This time around though, I think they’ll switch the title. Neville hasn’t lost a singles match since October and the company has been mentioning that far too often as of late. That suggests to me that they’re about to have him lose, which is going to be a huge moment for Aries. He’s been treated as the biggest star in the division save for Neville and it’s time to bring him all the way to the top.

US Title: Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho

Now we hit the first match with next to no drama. It also doesn’t help that these two have barely interacted since “Wrestlemania XXXIII” due to the Superstar Shakeup sending Owens over to “Smackdown Live”. These two had one of the hottest feuds in the company just a month ago and now it’s nothing more than something that exists. Owens has completely moved on and is already looking at a title defense against AJ Styles later in the month.

Of course I’m going with Owens as Jericho is already booked to head off with Fozzy again almost immediately. Barring a last minute switch to Jericho and then dropping it back to Owens two days later, there’s no reason to believe that Owens is dropping the title here. This match feels like filler and that’s a real shame given how much effort they put into the build to its predecessor.

Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Sheamus/Cesaro

While Jericho vs. Owens feels like it has no steam because of a lack of build, this one feels like it has no steam because it was never anything special in the first place. The Hardys made their huge return earlier this month and….that’s about it. Without the Broken characters they’re really just a nostalgic act and that’s not the most thrilling idea in the world, at least not for too long.

That being said, I’m certainly taking the Hardys to retain here. As much steam as they’ve lost, Sheamus and Cesaro have all the steam of a frozen lasagna. The only way I can see them winning here is through a good bit of cheating which would send Matt Hardy over the edge to set up a certain gimmick change to set the promotion on as much fire as it could possibly reach in the current environment.

Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe

This is the Match of the Night if they’re allowed to let it all hang out. I’d assume this match was scheduled for “Fastlane 2017” before Rollins got hurt (though I’m not sure he actually was, especially given how fast he’s gone from nearly crippled to just fine) and now it’s going to feel a bit bigger as Rollins actually got a big rub off his win over Triple H. Then again Samoa Joe has been on fire since his main roster debut and there’s a real chance he could get the biggest win of his career here.

I think I’ll go with Samoa Joe, likely thanks to some interference by a returning Triple H. Why would he return? Well that would be because STEPHANIE MCMAHON MUST BE AVENGED and that means the feud must continue for the next three months or so. So yeah, Rollins is about to win with the Rainmaker knee but Triple H interferes to give Samoa Joe the win, setting up a rematch at whatever the next “Monday Night Raw” pay per view is.

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

The last two weeks have made this interesting as WWE has decided that the way to follow up on Strowman’s amazing destruction of Reigns is to have him go 0-1-1 against Big Show and Kalisto. There was no way Reigns should have been on TV in the last two weeks and thankfully they’ve kept him away from TV, though I’m more amazed that him RETIRING THE UNDERTAKER has been forgotten a mere four weeks later.

I’ll take Strowman as he seems to be the challenger at “Great Balls of Fire 2017” and…stop laughing at the pay per view name. Anyway, Strowman seems to be the next challenger for Lesnar because we need to wait for a year to set up Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar and that would suggest starting with a major loss here.

Overall……I think you get the idea. I have no idea why they didn’t do the Superstar Shakeup this coming week for the sake of avoiding all of the messes that have come from the whole thing happening eight days after “Wrestlemania XXXIII”. Almost none of the matches on this show mean anything as we’re already setting up everything for later, making this show all the less important. I’m going to have enough issues staying awake during this show, let alone actually making sense of it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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Ring of Honor
Date: April 26, 2017
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

We’re FINALLY on a new taping cycle and that means we’re finishing off the Top Prospect Tournament once and for all. This taping mess continues to be annoying and I’m not sure what we have to expect here as it could be anything from World Title developments to a midcard feud getting TV time. Let’s get to it.

We see stills from Supercard of Honor XI, now only three weeks old.

Opening sequence.

Christopher Daniels is in the ring to get things going. He defeated Dalton Castle at Supercard of Honor and now it’s Matt Taven getting his chance. After that he’ll face the winner of a four way next week at War of the Worlds, but first up it’s the American Nightmare Cody. Daniels would love to face Cody anytime so let’s make that match as soon as possible.

Here’s Cody right now but the match isn’t happening tonight. It’s not worth it for Cody to compete for the match in Baltimore but New York City doesn’t sound too bad. That sounds great to Daniels so let’s add Cody to the War of the Worlds match and make it a three way. Cody thinks Daniels brings integrity to the title but imagine if a part timer like him took the title away.

Video on Marty Scurll retaining the TV Title at Supercard of Honor.

Kazarian is ready to replace the chip on his shoulder with the TV Title.

Lio Rush vs. Shane Taylor

Speed vs. power and Rush is basically the hometown boy. Taylor recently joined the Rebellion, who Rush has been dealing with for months now. Before the match, Caprice Coleman says this is Rush’s punishment for defying the Rebellion. Lio slaps Shane in the face to start but his strikes have as much effect as you would expect on someone twice his size. A low bridge sends Shane outside but he easily blocks a hurricanrana. Instead Rush tries some kicks to the head, only to be slammed back first into the post.

Back from a break with Rush hammering away and getting swatted away again. Yet another strike sequence works a bit better and he kicks Taylor in the head a few times. The tornado DDT gets two but Coleman offers a distraction, meaning Rush has to dive out onto him. Rush misses the Dragon’s Call though and a sitout spinebuster gives Shane the pin at 7:25.

Rating: C+. Taylor is just huge (especially in the thigh region) and there’s only so much that someone Rush’s size is going to be able to do against him. It’s also pretty clear that Rush is heading to WWE or at least out of ROH in the near future so this isn’t the most surprising result in the world.

Post match the Motor City Machine Guns come out to prevent a post match beatdown, which takes place anyway as the Rebellion destroys the Guns.

We look at Josh Woods and John Skyler before the tournament finals. I believe this is the same video as last week.

Top Prospect Tournament Final: John Skyler vs. Josh Woods

Bob Evans is on commentary and Woods gets some rare pyro. Woods takes it to the mat to start and it’s already off to the arm work. A running knee stuns Skyler but he grabs a quick hot shot anyway. John shouts a lot and we take a break with the fans not all that interested so far. Back with Skyler working over the ribs with some stomping and a backsplash for two.

A second backsplash is countered into a quickly broken triangle choke, followed by a series of strikes. Some suplexes give Woods two and he slips out of Southern Salvation (super Regal Roll). Skyler comes right back with a spear on the apron, followed but a slingshot spear for two more. For some reason Skyler tries another spear, only to dive into something like a GTS of all things. John tries a charge in the corner but gets caught in a Rolling Chaos Theory. Woods floats over into a kneebar for the tap and the tournament at 9:28.

Rating: C+. This was just a few steps above a squash as Woods was obviously the best option in the whole tournament from the start of his first match so there was no reason to believe he wasn’t winning here. Skyler was fine but no one I’m going to remember after this. Woods might not be great but he’s someone who should fit in well on the roster, which is more than I was expecting coming into this tournament.

Post match David Starr (Who is David Starr? Someone you’re supposed to know in advance because ROH doesn’t feel the need to explain.) runs in and lays him out before listing off his fifteen or so nicknames. Starr: “I am really good at professional wrestling.”

Adam Cole wants to make up with the Young Bucks and get back to being the Bullet Club again.

TV Title: Marty Scurll vs. Kazarian

Scurll is defending. They trade wristlocks to start and it’s a very early standoff, as is often the case. Kazarian switches things up a bit and blasts Marty with a right hand to the face before hitting a slingshot DDT onto the apron (read as it missed the apron by a good foot, though to be fair it was basically the same as being thrown over the top so there would still be impact) as we take a break.

Back with Scurll working on the arm until Kazarian hits a cool hiptoss into a brainbuster/neckbreaker (could have been either really). An inverted exploder gets two on the champ but he kicks Kazarian’s knee out to take over again. It’s too early for the chickenwing (Kazarian: “NO CHICKENWINGS ON THE MENU!”) so Scurll settles for two off a brainbuster instead.

Scurll goes outside for his umbrella but stops to snap Kazarian’s finger instead. The fingers are fine enough that Kazarian can grab the umbrella, but the distraction lets Scurll grab some powder. That goes into the referee’s face though, meaning the Ace of Spades gets no count. Cue Hangman Page to hit Kazarian with a chair, giving Marty a rollup to retain at 8:12.

Rating: C-. It’s never a good sign when you can take out a major plot point and have the same match. This is identical with or without the powder spot and that’s not good. They could have done the exact same story with Page chairing Kazarian into the chickenwing for the submission, which makes Scurll look strong but keeps the Kazarian vs. Bullet Club going. Instead though, just throw powder as an unnecessary bonus.

Post match, Scurll makes the eternal mistake of saying he’s out of competition. Cue the returning Matt Sydal to say he wants a shot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s amazing how much better a show can be when the stories are from the same month instead of several weeks beforehand. The wrestling being good was a major plus as well and now they have a few weeks before the War of the Worlds show, which already sounds like it could be a fun show. Granted it’s not going to matter if they just throw the New Japan guys onto the card in a bunch of random matches and expect everything to work without putting in the effort.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: November 28, 2002
Location: Carolina Center, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Ernest Miller

It’s time for a special Thanksgiving show with guest star Scott Steiner. I’m not sure how wrestling is supposed to have guest stars but in theory it’s because Steiner isn’t on the Smackdown roster. I mean, he’s not on the Raw roster and wasn’t guest starring there but continuity isn’t WWE’s strong suit. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar from last week, which somehow focuses on Stephanie McMahon. WWE could produce a documentary on the tag team scene in the Nebraska territory back in the 1940s and somehow she would be there to comment on it.

Opening sequence, still prominently featuring the Rock, who hasn’t been here in…..six months?

Speaking of the devil in a sweater, here’s Stephanie to open things up. She’s not sure if she should suspend Brock Lesnar and actually says she doesn’t speak to hear herself talk. That must be her attempts at comedy. See, she’s multi-talented. We know she can dance so maybe we’ll get a song later on.

We do get Lesnar’s song as he comes out to get in Stephanie’s face because he should be here while she talks about his career. Stephanie bails to the ramp and has security escort Brock out. Lesnar is officially suspended indefinitely and Stephanie orders him out of her arena. So was that a heel turn? Not that it matters as Stephanie plays a villain on TV, as per her Twitter page.

Post break, here’s Stephanie’s announcement again. Not that she likes hearing herself talk of course.

Lesnar is escorted out and drives away.

Edge/Rey Mysterio vs. John Cena/Matt Hardy

Matt has been to Plymouth Rock and thinks Thanksgiving is boring. Cena now has B Squared with him and the announcers make Vanilla Ice jokes. Edge and Mysterio dropkick Cena down to start and Edge adds a flapjack to make things even better. A missed charge gives Cena two though and it’s time to stomp away. The Side Effect gives Matt two and we hit the cravate. B Squared: “COME ON DAWG!”

Edge fights back and hits a middle rope dropkick on Cena and it’s Rey time. Things speed way up with the springboard seated senton to Matt and a drop toehold to send Matt’s head between Cena’s legs. Sounds like something Stephanie would find funny. Matt takes the 619 and Edge dives onto the rap duo. Rey tries a hurricanrana but Matt powerbombs him down and grabs the ropes for the pin.

Rating: C. Is there a reason Hardy was in this and not just Cena and Buchanan? I like the idea of making a new team and having two guys who have been working hard in the last few weeks get a win is always a good thing. Edge and Mysterio are a made team for the moment, though I’m not sure how much longer they’re actually going to be together. Not a bad little match.

Kurt Angle asks Stephanie if she’s ok. So she’s funny, a song and dance woman, bossy and in need of attention? Anyway she doesn’t like this town and thinks they should love her for bringing them Scott Steiner. Angle brings up his Tag Team Title match tonight when he teams with Chris Benoit. Stephanie asks if everything has to be about him and then brings up her monthly issues (Aunt Flo is mentioned). Kurt doesn’t get it and, again, THIS WASN’T FUNNY.

Lesnar has been rumored to be seen coming back to the arena. He left in an SUV so Marc Lloyd goes up to a limo, thinking it’s Brock. It’s actually Steiner, who flexes instead of talking.

Tajiri vs. Chuck Palumbo

Uh…..sure. Tajiri kicks him in the head as Miller talks about his Aunt Flo visiting as well. Chuck’s right hand has no effect so Tajiri kicks him in the head again. A chinlock doesn’t get Tajiri very far and the handspring is countered into something like a belly to back suplex. Why has no one ever tried just stepping to the side and letting him crash? Palumbo gets smart and takes the knee out before grabbing a reverse Boston crab. Tajiri makes the rope and uses the mist, setting up the Buzzsaw Kick for the pin.

Rating: D. I always liked Palumbo and the reverse Boston crab could have been a decent finisher but you’re only going to get so far as Chuck Palumbo: guy in trunks. This was one heck of a random match but maybe there’s a big chuck of the roster gone due to the holiday. Nothing match but at least Tajiri won.

Stephanie fixes herself up for Steiner but gets the Fabulous Moolah again. The boss insults Columbia until Moolah, who Stephanie calls Lil, comes in. I guess this is like when she was BEST FRIENDS with Andre the Giant and she made sure to tell us about it. Why do I have a feeling she was front and center in anything they put out about Andre too? For reasons of something stupid later on, Stephanie puts Moolah in a match.

Lloyd asks a ticket scalper if he sold Lesnar a ticket but can’t get anywhere. This show is really, really stupid so far.

Matt stops Paul Heyman and Big Show and says he’s the reason Lesnar got suspended.

Torrie Wilson is dressed as an Indian for a fashion show when she runs into Kidman. She doesn’t know what a pilgrim fashion show is but will do whatever it takes to get closer to hurting Dawn Marie.

Miller emcees the fashion show in the role that would usually be filled by Tazz (off due to a family emergency). There’s a table of food behind him and I might as well hit fast forward already. Torrie is dressed as an Indian and Dawn is…..a stereotypical hot secretary who is supposed to look like a pilgrim because her outfit is black with white trim. A person in a turkey suit comes out and of course it’s Al Wilson. Al starts talking about how much he loves Thanksgiving so Cole literally screams for help. Wilson talks about “my little pookins” but Miller calls him a jive turkey.

Torrie takes off her coat to reveal a bikini and Dawn just dances. The catfight ensues and food goes into various faces. Torrie puts a pumpkin on Dawn’s head and we get a REALLY obvious fake Torrie chant. You know, it’s impressive but they’ve managed to make a feud involving gorgeous women in swimsuits/lingerie a nightmare to watch. I’m not sure who could possibly make that happen but it’s certainly not Stephanie.

Tag Team Titles: Kurt Angle/Chris Benoit vs. Los Guerreros

Eddie and Chavo are defending. Benoit starts with Chavo and elbows him into the corner as they seem to have a lot of time. The champs bail to the floor but Angle and Benoit argue instead of following up. Eddie comes back in to headlock Angle, who snaps off a powerslam. Benoit grabs a German suplex on Chavo but Angle doesn’t like him getting in the ring. With the argument ensuing, the champs walk up the ramp for the countout, only to have the referee say the match isn’t ending that way. How dare he take the match into his own hands like that. What a maverick.

Back from a break with Eddie putting Benoit in a seated abdominal stretch as the pace has slowed a lot. Benoit sends Chavo into his uncle and grabs a Crossface, only to have Eddie make a quick save. We hit the chinlock The fans want Angle as the champs hit a double suplex. Eddie’s slingshot hilo doesn’t quite work as Benoit throws him to the side and suplexes Chavo. Now it’s off to Angle for the suplexes, only to have Benoit tag himself back in for some rolling German suplexes of his own.

The Swan Dive only gets two but Eddie hits Angle low. The frog splash only hits mat and it’s back to back Angle Slams to drop the champs. Benoit Crossfaces Eddie but Angle breaks it up and puts on the ankle lock instead. Finally they compromise and put on a double submission, which is broken up by the overzealous referee. That means a ref bump, allowing Chavo to put Benoit down. Chavo’s frog splash gives Eddie two so he belts Benoit in the head for the pin to retain.

Rating: B+. This is still the go to match for Smackdown and that’s still a very good thing. Benoit and Angle bickering needs to go somewhere soon though as you can only have them fight so many times before it stops meaning anything. Eddie and Chavo stealing another win fits them so well, though I could go for something other than the belt shot for the pin.

Nidia is glad Jamie Noble didn’t call his cousin Nunzio when Scott Steiner comes up. Scott won’t shake his hands but will grab a good sized piece of Nidia’s, shall we say, hip area.

Post break Nidia and Noble are in the ring with Jamie calling out Steiner. A posedown ensues and Noble is subsequently destroyed. Steiner makes sure to get another grab of Nidia before saying he hasn’t decided on Raw or Smackdown.

It’s time for MORE STEPHANIE with Heyman coming in to say Show will defend against Lesnar tonight. Stephanie already has a title defense for Show tonight though, against someone of championship status. Normally that would interest me but tonight it means he’ll be facing Moolah because that would be the dumbest thing they could do.

Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman vs. Crash

Billy is defending but gets pulled to the floor to start for an elbow to the face. Back in and Kidman scores with the fireman’s carry into a backbreaker, only to have Crash roll through a high crossbody for two. Kidman’s headscissors is countered into a reverse powerbomb (always thought that could be a solid finisher) and a Bodog gets two. Not that it matters as Kidman pops back up with a quick BK Bomb. The shooting star retains the title.

Rating: C+. I liked the match but not so much on the booking. Crash looked better than he has in a long time, which really doesn’t do much for Kidman. This was your standard “let them do moves to each other for a few minutes because we don’t have time to let them have a longer match”, which isn’t exactly the most thrilling thing in the world. Good enough match but as usual, it doesn’t mean anything for either guy.

Big Show and Moolah (good thing she brought her gear) are coming to the ring because OF COURSE this is what they’re doing.

Smackdown World Title: Big Show vs. Fabulous Moolah

Moolah, challenging here (in case you’re REALLY slow) and hides in the corner to start. Heyman jumps on the apron and talks about how awesome Moolah is before saying Show sees her as Brock Lesnar. Moolah is grabbed by the throat but Lesnar comes through the crowd for the save. An F5 through the table knocks Show cold so Lesnar can go after Heyman. Actually never mind because STEPHANIE IS HERE AGAIN, this time with security to stop the suspended Lesnar to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. The tag match and Torrie in her costume alone save this thing as they were clearly putting it in the deep freeze due to the holiday. Big Show vs. Lesnar is a really weird feud as they’re still feuding but can’t actually have a match together due to whatever their reason is at the moment. Somehow that leaves us with Big Show vs. Moolah because that’s as good as it gets around here.

That leaves us with the major problem: WAY too much Stephanie. I have no idea who thinks we need to see this much of her, let alone hear about her various physical issues. How does that make me want to watch next week, buy a pay per view, or go to a show? This felt more like Stephanie vs. Brock which went to a draw at worst. Really weak show this week and just being Thanksgiving isn’t enough of an excuse.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

Main Event
Date: April 27, 2017
Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

I’m not even sure what to say about this show anymore. It comes and goes with a few interesting highlights and the rest is just a bunch of matches between the standard batch of regular people and then a cruiserweight tag. I could certainly go with a little change of pace but those are very few and far between around here. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Rhyno vs. Titus O’Neil

It’s about time Rhyno and Heath Slater actually appeared in the arena. They start with the power exchange before a clothesline puts Titus on the floor. That’s fine with Titus who unloads on him with a right hand to the jaw, followed by his own clothesline for two inside. Another clothesline (because Titus isn’t very skilled) gets the same and it’s off to the chinlock. Rhyno comes back with some shoulders and a spinebuster for the pin at 5:29.

Rating: D. Just long and slow here with Titus not being able to do anything other than hit really low level offense. Also what’s up with the spinebuster for the finish instead of the Gore? Rhyno’s offense is basically two moves and he only hit one of them. Then again he’s still getting some of the most consistent pops of the show so he’s doing something right.

Video on Roman Reigns.

From Raw!

Braun Strowman vs. Kalisto

It’s a dumpster match, which means you have to put them inside but don’t have to close the lid. Before the match, Braun says everyone here is trash and putting Kalisto in the dumpster will be like putting everyone in there too, including Roman Reigns. In the back, Kalisto tells Angle he has to fight like a man.

Kalisto starts with some kicks but his flip dive is caught in a suplex, only to have Strowman throw him across the ring. A front facelock over the ropes has Strowman in some trouble but he throws Kalisto down again. Strowman loads up a press slam but Kalisto slips out and dropkicks him into the dumpster for the win at 6:13.

Rating: F. I know WWE’s official line is that wins and losses don’t matter but you’re trying to build Strowman up as an opponent for Lesnar. Two weeks ago, Strowman absolutely destroyed Reigns in one of the coolest segments in years. In the two weeks since, he’s gone to a draw with Big Show (But he stood up and that makes up for it!) and now he’s lost to Kalisto. He’ll probably beat Reigns on Sunday and that’s supposed to make up for this right? I’m sure no one will EVER reference this loss again and Strowman will be forever awesome.

Post match Strowman destroys Kalisto and puts him in the dumpster. He locks it shut and pushes the dumpster off the stage for what must have been a full two and a half foot fall. If this is how they want to build up Strowman, they have a LONG way to go.

Video on the House of Horrors match.

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

Nese and Dorado get things going with Tony’s strikes not having much effect, allowing Dorado to wristdrag him out of the corner. Drew will have none of Dorado’s high flying though and shoves him to the floor in a big crash. Back from a break and it’s off to Gulak legally now, meaning we hit the mat wrestling in the form of a leg crank. Not that it matters as Nese comes back in and gives up the hot tag to Metalik.

That means it’s time to hit the ropes in a variety of ways, which really is a great way to get yourself over. I mean, it won’t get you onto 205 Live or anything but at least it looks cool here. A handspring takes Gulak down and a top rope elbow gives Metalik two. There’s the handspring Stunner from Dorado to put the villains on the floor, followed by double moonsaults from the top. Back in and the Metalik Driver ends Gulak at 10:28.

Rating: C. This one got a lot better after the break when they just let the high fliers fly all over the place like they’re supposed to be doing. Metalik really should be on 205 Live but they really do seem happy with leaving him around here where almost anyone else could fill in his spot. Then again I doubt anyone has actually thought about that, much like everything on Main Event.

And from Raw again.

Dean Ambrose/Chris Jericho vs. The Miz/???

And it’s…..someone who has some issues with being on time as he’s not here. Miz says the match is canceled and goes to leave but here’s Angle to say the match is on. Jericho takes off the replacement jacket and chops Miz in the corner, setting up some double teaming. Miz gets clotheslined out to the floor and we take a break.

The match is joined in progress with Miz still alone and Jericho’s arrogant cover getting one. Ambrose comes in and Miz begs off, earning himself a chase on the floor. Maryse offers a distraction though and Miz gets in a boot to the face to take over for the first time. Back in and the Reality Check gets two but the YES Kick is countered into a rollup. Jericho comes in with the Lionsault but the Codebreaker is blocked.

Miz goes to leave so Ambrose follows him up the ramp. Dirty Deeds is loaded up on the stage but here’s Bray Wyatt to knock Dean off. Sister Abigail sends Dean into the wall and a second one plants Jericho in the ring. Miz poses with Wyatt….and takes Sister Abigail as well. Bray kneels down to end the show and we’ll say the match was thrown out at about 8:30.

Rating: D. So that happened. I’m assuming this was just a way to set up Orton vs. Wyatt as Miz and Ambrose have nothing to do on Sunday, save for hosting a talking segment on the Kickoff Show. Wyatt is an interesting choice for a partner and it’s nice to have him actually show up but…..yeah this didn’t work.

Overall Rating: D. This really is a case of as Raw goes, so goes Main Event. The highlights just made me remember how bad Raw was and that’s not a good thing, especially with the bad first match and the only watchable second one. I’m not sure why this show is such a dumping ground, especially when there are a lot of people on the roster who don’t get to do anything on Raw. Just pull names out of a hat and let them have a match here. Why is that so far fetched?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

205 Live
Date: April 25, 2017
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re closing in on Payback and that means the upcoming title match is starting to run out of steam. One of the problems with 205 Live is you can only get so much mileage out of a single title match and it seems that we’ve reached that point. Austin Aries vs. Neville is entertaining but they’re running out of things for them to do. Let’s get to it.

We open with the traditionally long recap of the main feud, which includes TJ Perkins and Jack Gallagher getting involved with the title participants to add some fresh blood.

Opening sequence.

The announcers chat as the ring is set up because this show MUST air right after Smackdown and couldn’t possibly be on earlier, thereby letting the fans go home a bit earlier and not resulting in a horribly empty arena.

Rich Swann/Akira Tozawa vs. Noam Dar/Brian Kendrick

Take two feuds and put them into one match. The brawl is on before the bell with the good guys sending them outside for running dives. That’s one way to wake the crowd up after spending eight minutes getting to the opening bell on a match that only lasts about fifty minutes in the first place. Swann and Kendrick start things off with Dar kicking Rich’s legs out to take over.

That means it’s time for the required arm work with Dar cranking and stomping. Kendrick grabs a chinlock before doing a cool midair takedown to stop Swann’s dive to the corner. Swann finally kicks Brian in the face and brings in Tozawa to clean house. With Kendrick being knocked to the floor, Tozawa grabs a Saito suplex on Dar, followed by the Shining Wizard for the pin at 5:24.

Rating: C. They kept the energy up here with Tozawa continuing to look like one of the better performers on the roster. The problem is they’re only on lesson #4 and that means this feud could go on for six more weeks, despite the feud already being done for the most part. Swann vs. Dar needs a little bump as there’s only so much you’re going to get out of the Alicia Fox breakup, especially when she doesn’t seem to be involved anymore.

Tozawa says lesson #4 is always choose wisely, such as picking the right partner.

Neville is ready to destroy Aries on Sunday because everyone must bow to the king.

Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali

During the entrances we go back to last week where the Caucasian Drew Gulak held up a sign saying NO FLY ZONE during a match between two wrestlers of Middle Eastern descent. Leave it to WWE to either miss that subtlety all together or just be that stupid. Speaking of which, here’s Gulak to hold up his sign and join commentary.

Feeling out process to start with Nese running him over and stopping to pose. Ali comes right back with the same thing in a nice touch as we hear about all the unnecessary high risks for the sake of pleasing the audience. You can hear the politician character in Gulak and that’s an interesting way to go. I believe he did the same thing in CZW and it’s smart to go with something that worked once before.

We hit a neck crank on Ali as Gulak analyzes the potential damage it could do. You know, like an analyst is supposed to do but hasn’t done in about ten years. Mustafa comes back with a Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog and a moonsault press for two. Gulak is VERY displeased because that was so dangerous. The rolling neckbreaker sends Nese to the floor so Ali runs the apron and flips over the corner for another dive. That should set up the inverted 450 but Gulak pulls Nese to the floor for the DQ at 7:28.

Rating: C+. They’re getting somewhere with this Gulak character, which is what he’s been needing for months now. The guy isn’t interesting on his own so you give him a character and let the natural talents take over. Why is that something that WWE can’t get with the majority of their characters? I’m sure Vince likely having nothing to do with 205 Live isn’t connected whatsoever.

Ali dives on Gulak to get some revenge.

Jack Gallagher vs. Neville

Non-title. Gallagher works a headlock as we hear about Neville not losing a singles match since October. That’s a great example of someone who benefits from not dealing with the 50/50 booking, though it might have something to do with being on a show that only lasts an hour a week. Gallagher kicks the champ in the face to knock him outside but Neville grabs William III and throws it up the ramp. That earns him a rare dive from Jack but the champ comes back in with a missile dropkick.

We hit a headlock on the mat before Neville just stands on Jack’s head. That’s quite the simple way to be a heel, which is often the best possible option. Gallagher gets in a headbutt and a dropkick but Neville nips up. He shouts at Gallagher, earning himself one heck of a headbutt for two. Jack can’t get in a belly to back superplex though as Neville palm strikes him in the face. Some kicks to the back of the head send Jack into the buckle, followed by the Rings of Saturn for the tap at 10:49.

Rating: B. They’re letting Gallagher get closer to finally beating Neville but I can’t picture that happening until after the title change. Gallagher is still great between the bells but there’s only so much that he can do when you haven’t won a singles match outside of Main Event since February.

Neville puts Gallagher in another Rings of Saturn on the ramp, drawing out Aries for the save (including a discus Fivearm that COMPLETELY missed) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was one of the better shows they’ve done in a good while with three solid matches and story advancement throughout. I’m not sure what they can do with the upcoming stories as this is the only place to blow them off, though there’s no way they can do a special with the limited amount of stories and talent they have. Good show though and that’s something they haven’t had enough of recently.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 27, 1993
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jacques, Pierre

It’s the final show of the year and that means….well nothing really as one of the major matches announced for this week is Marty Jannetty vs. Johnny Polo. I have no idea why that’s supposed to make me want to stick around and watch the show but no one ever accused 1993 of making sense. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Yokozuna/Ludvig Borga vs. Lex Luger/Tatanka in what should have been a pretty hot house show feud. I don’t think it ever happened on TV, even though it should have been a layup.

The announcers preview the show and it’s as weird as it would seem to be.

Lex Luger vs. Barry Horowitz

Luger sends him into the ropes as the announcers speak a lot of French for the running joke of the show. I mean, it’s not a funny joke but it is in fact a running joke. Barry pokes him in the eye to get out of some arm work as we hear about Bret and Owen Hart getting a Tag Team Title shot at the Royal Rumble. Horowitz actually gets in some offense as the Quebecers switch over to Spanish. Lex shrugs it off and grabs a powerslam before finishing with a superplex.

Rating: D+. Better than I was expecting here with Barry getting in a good amount of offense. The superplex was a good option for a finisher instead of the Rack, which I believe Borga was using at this point. It’s always cool to see a simple move used as a finisher and it’s not like it’s hard to do. Just let the move get some pins and it’s instantly a finisher. Why is that so complicated?

We look back at Johnny Polo interfering in a match between the 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty, causing a double countout.

Polo brags about beating both the Kid and Jannetty at the same time so tonight it’ll be easy to beat Jannetty on his own.

Marty Jannetty vs. Johnny Polo

Polo actually gets a takedown to start (Jacques: “Isn’t that two points? Call the Steiners!”) and scores with an armdrag for good measure. Marty comes back with an atomic drop for the funny selling and it’s off to the arm. A missed charge sends Marty outside in a heap though and Johnny does a fairly scary scream into the camera. Back in and they collide as this is already going longer than I was expecting. Can you imagine Ricky Steamboat vs. Mr. Fuji going this long? Then again that was a Kung Fu Challenge and not a match so it’s not the fairest comparison.

Marty’s jumping back elbow sets up a high crossbody for two. Polo gets dropkicked outside so Pierre goes to check on him, earning himself a baseball slide. A second distraction fails and Marty gets in a superkick but opts to dive onto Pierre like a villain would do. Back in and Marty grabs a sunset flip but Pierre holds Polo’s hands to give him the pin.

Rating: D+. That’s quite the long match but I always like Polo as he was just having a blast making fun of everyone. It’s always cool to have a manager who can wrestle a match if the need arises as it can add a lot of options to the stories. Not a terrible match here but WAY longer than it needed to be.

Pierre is ejected….from commentary. Can a referee do that? Isn’t that taking your job a bit far? Especially when it’s not even in a match.

Yokozuna dreams about being Santa Claus and wakes up, realizing it was only a nightmare.

Doink the Clown vs. Spike Gray

It’s clearly no longer Matt Borne playing the character as he’s taller and skinnier than he was a few weeks back. Before the match, Dink gives Doink some gum. Spike gets some as well but it’s something like a mini-mousetrap. Dink kicks him in the shin, which isn’t a DQ because the referee is probably too busy ejecting the popcorn vendor from section 138 because he’s a power mad nutjob. Dink punches Gray in the face, setting up a German suplex for the pin. How in the world are these two supposed to be faces? I mean, clowns are evil by definition and now they cheat? Think this stuff through Vince.

The Royal Rumble Report fills up time. The only new stuff here is the Hart Brothers saying they’ll win the Tag Team Titles.

Crush vs. Mike Moraldo

Crush knocks him down without much effort to start as the announcers talk about the Quebecers vs. the Hart Brothers. Talk about a match that would really set the company on fire down the road. The head vice ends Moraldo without too much effort.

Undertaker is still making that casket. I had no idea it took that much effort to put one of those things together. Or maybe Undertaker is just really bad at his job and should take up something else. Like motorcycle maintenance.

Bret tells us to not drink and drive.

We look at Alundra Blayze defeating Heidilee (yes it’s one word) Morgan for the Women’s Title. This looked like every bad women’s match you would have seen in this era.

Kwang is coming. Hopefully he leaves even faster.

Razor Ramon vs. Derek Domino

Non-title and non-gold chains for Ramon. Razor start with the driving shoulders but Derek makes the mistake of slapping him in the face. Domino (whose singlet is half down for some reason) gets sat on the top rope for a super fall away slam. Razor slaps him in the back of the head a few times and grabs the abdominal stretch. That goes nowhere so it’s the super belly to back into the Razor’s Edge for the pin.

Rating: D. Yeah fine as Razor continues to be one of the best midcard acts of all time. The belly to back superplex is something that doesn’t get the credit it deserves as Razor just tosses people around with the thing. You can hear all the talk about Shawn Michaels and the Intercontinental Title and that’s only going to lead to good things all around.

Overall Rating: D+. It wasn’t the kindest month to Raw but since the show debuted less than a year ago, it’s not like they have a lot to compare it to. The longer matches were a bit better this week though and there was no Men on a Mission or Jeff Jarrett so we’ll call this a slight improvement over last week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 20, 1993
Location: Westchester County Civic Center, White Plains, New York
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels

We’re getting close to wrapping up the year and that means it’s time to get ready for the Royal Rumble. Last week focused on setting up the casket match which will see Undertaker challenge Yokozuna for the WWF Title and we’ve heard rumblings of Bret Hart vs. his brother Owen. At least one of them is awesome. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Ludvig Borga beating Tatanka back in October, ending his two plus year undefeated streak. Borga then helped put him on the shelf so tonight it’s all about revenge. Tatanka: “Tonight, I’m out for revenge!” Well that makes things pretty clear.

Vince and Shawn chat about tonight’s show.

Jeff Jarrett vs. PJ Walker

Two future World Champions, which would have made the audience shake their heads in 1993. Now it makes me want to cry as my head shakes but that’s just me. Jeff struts away from an Irish whip but gets hiptossed down. That’s about it for Walker at the moment though as Jeff gets in a dropkick. The announcers talk about Jack Tunney being up for Secretary of Defense as Jeff misses a kneedrop, only to grab a running DDT for the pin.

Rating: D. Sweet goodness Jarrett was dull. I’m not a fan of country music and now I have to hear about it every single time Jarrett is in the ring. The running DDT was fine for a finisher but DANG the rest of him was someone who was only going to work in Memphis. It’s such a simple style of offense and that’s not going to make it on the main stage.

Spend your money to tell the WWF that Lex Luger should be in the Royal Rumble!

Men on a Mission vs. Duane Gill/Barry Hardy

Mo takes Gill (with hair here instead of his better known bald look) down with an armbar and actually manages to avoid any major injuries. It must be a good night. Mabel comes in and drops the big fat elbow as the announcers talk about someone dying from eating pigs. Michael Cole doesn’t even sound this awkward. Vince isn’t done yet as he suggests that the Royal Rumble could come down to Mo vs. Mabel. Imagine that: Mabel as a main eventer. That’ll be the day. More slow paced arm work continues as Shawn sounds a bit “under the weather”. A reverse DDT and the middle rope splash end Hardy.

Rating: F. I used to love Men on a Mission but WOW they haven’t aged well. Mabel was acceptable enough for the big fat monster but Mo might be the most worthless wrestler I can remember from this era. You could even say that Hardy and Gill were more valuable as they give me flashbacks to Gillberg and Barry gives me imagines of Broken Barry Horowitz.

The Royal Rumble Report runs down the card and the nine names in the Rumble.

Ludvig Borga is ready to crush Tatanka again.

Tatanka vs. Ludvig Borga

Tatanka chops away and we get a graphic listing the announcers. In case you’re flipping through and hoping to avoid Rio Rogers I guess. Borga is in early trouble and gets sent into the post, meaning it’s WAR PATH time. A high crossbody gets two but Borga gets in a clothesline for his first offense over two minutes in. The former boxer starts hammering away in the corner and gets two off a bad looking powerslam. Tatanka starts the comeback but here’s Yokozuna for the DQ.

Rating: D+. I always liked Borga but time haven’t been the nicest to him. He has a good enough look and was a solid character but the in-ring work wasn’t exactly strong. On the other hand, Tatanka is a good example of someone who lived WAY beyond his expiration date and turned a one note character into a pretty nice career.

Tatanka gets double teamed but Lex Luger makes the save with a slam on Yokozuna.

The announcers bicker about what we just saw. Shawn doesn’t like Luger using the forearm, which sounds like the start of a feud that never happened.

Lou Albano is presented to the crowd for no apparent reason.

Adam Bomb vs. Mark Thomas

Bomb shoves him around and rips at Thomas’ face. Vince: “Thomas is a big Barney fan!” That’s the topic of the match with Shawn accusing Barney of charging 427% interest for a personal appearance. As you digest that brilliance, Thomas is powerbombed for the pin.

Thurman Plugg is coming.

We look at Owen Hart challenging his brother last week.

Bret says no way.

Owen Hart vs. Mike Bell

Bell actually wins a fight over the arm to start so Owen hits something like a headscissors driver (he does have a tendency to drive people’s heads into the mat) to take over. Shawn accuses Bret of getting more Christmas presents than Owen as Hart drops a middle rope elbow. A belly to belly sets up the Sharpshooter to make Bell tap.

Rating: D+. Bell got in WAY more offense than I was expecting to see here and that makes Hart’s win mean just a bit more. The announcers also made sure to point out the fact that Owen got in a lot of original offense instead of just using Bret’s stuff. They’re trying to show the difference between the two and that’s going to set up the feud even better.

We go to Undertaker’s shop (complete with a sign, meaning it’s an official registered business, which is quite the departure from what you would expect from Undertaker) where he’s working on Yokozuna’s double sized casket.

Headshrinkers vs. Phil Apollo/Jerry Seavey

Apollo would wind up playing Doink a few years later. Samu hammers away on everyone as we hear about Donald Trump’s upcoming wedding. Their conclusion: Trump is no Heart Break Kid. Seavey gets beaten from one side of the ring to the other and a double Stroke sets up a top rope splash for the pin.

Overall Rating: D. Nothing to see here but it’s a long way towards the Royal Rumble. The Bret vs. Owen stuff is starting to go somewhere though and that’s one of the best feuds the company has ever put together. Unfortunately the rest of the stuff was as boring as you could imagine with Jarrett being a major low point for the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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