Best in the World 2018
Date: June 29, 2018
Location: UMBC Event Center, Cantonsville, Maryland
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

It’s pay per view time and even though I’ve already seen the next TV show, none of that matters as we have a few weeks to spare because of Ring of Honor’s wacky TV schedule. The main event here is a triple threat between World Champion Dalton Castle, Cody and Marty Scurll but the real highlight should be the Young Bucks challenging the Briscoes for the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

It’s a pretty simple opening video with a look at the matches and a discussion of people wanting to be the best in the world. It works fine and it’s not like Best in the World is something that can give you a lot of directions.

The announcers run down the card in case you came in a few minutes late.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Kingdom

The Kingdom (Matt Taven/Vinny Marseglia/TK O’Ryan) is defending. O’Ryan and Evil start things off and a hard shoulder to TK means it’s already time for Sanada vs. Taven. That doesn’t last long either as it’s quickly off to Marseglia and Bushi but everything breaks down before that can go too far. The ring is cleared and Taven does the Tetsuya Naito pose. That’s a pretty high level call out, even for a rising star like Taven.

Things settle back down with Evil (somehow a face in this match) getting beaten into the champs’ corner. The fans are behind Evil as he hands O’Ryan’s boot to the referee so he can get in a kick to the thigh. Sanada comes in off the tag and ties Taven up but O’Ryan can’t do the same. Fans to O’Ryan: “YOU ARE STUPID!” That means O’Ryan gets tied up as well for a double kick to the back. Marseglia comes back in but Rockstar Supernova is broken up.

Everything breaks down again and Sanada dropkicks Taven’s knee out. Bushi hurricanranas Taven and O’Ryan at the same time but Marseglia makes the save. A German suplex/springboard elbow drop combination gets two on Bushi but he manages to mist Marseglia. That’s about it though as Rockstar Supernova retains the titles at 11:09.

Rating: C-. It was a little too chaotic at times for my taste but that’s how almost every indy style tag match is going to go. This was a good choice for an opener as the Six Man Titles can often be. You get a fast paced matched with some big spots and a title match always feels at least somewhat important. It’s also nice that the Kingdom is getting some traction as champions, which the belts need given how weak the “division” has been since its inception.

We recap Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon. Ray doesn’t like smaller guys who haven’t earned their spot, turning himself into a real bully. He even attacked Gordon after offering him a handshake for being in the military. Gordon is standing up for himself and his generation tonight.

Gordon is ready to be the young boy that beats up the old man.

Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon

Gordon comes out draped in the American flag. Ray tries to jump him during the entrances but gets superkicked and speared. A big slingshot dive drops Ray again as the announcers are treating Gordon like the biggest underdog ever. Gordon follows up with a springboard forearm to the floor and Ray is rocked in the early going.

They get back in with Gordon’s running shooting star into the middle rope moonsault connecting for two. Ray runs him over for a breather and you can feel the confidence rise. The Vader Bomb (with a Vader pose in a nice touch) misses but the Star Spangled Stunner is blocked with a low blow to give Gordon the win at 5:23.

Rating: D. Gordon was showing fire here but this felt like another angle disguised as a match in this long story. I don’t know if it’s because Ray can’t work a full match anymore or if it’s just playing to his brawling style but these short matches that keep leading to something else are rather weird choices for pay per views. At least it’s going somewhere and isn’t Cheeseburger though.

Post match the beatdown continues until Eli Isom and Cheeseburger come out for failed save attempts. Ray beats all three down with a chair until Colt Cabana makes a save with his own chair.

Riccaboni wants someone to destroy Ray.

Sumie Sakai/Jenny Rose/Mayu Iwatani/Tenille Dashwood vs. Hazuki/Kelly Klein/Hana Kimura/Kagetsu

Kagetsu is the Stardom Champion and we get a staredown over the titles. Sakai wants to start for the team and gets kicked in the face by Kugetsu. Well that’ll teach her. Kimura comes in and wants Dashwood, meaning the brawl is on. Before that has a chance to go anywhere, it’s Klein coming in to throw Jenny around. Of course the fourth pairing comes in with Iwatani Sling Blading Hazuki. I might be a bit more excited if you didn’t know the tags were coming as soon as the sequence started.

The villains (Klein’s team in case you get confused by the teams with a bunch of names thrown together because you don’t do your Stardom homework) come in and triple team Sakai with three boots on her face at once, allowing Kimura to hold up the Oedo Tai (stable) sign for a cute visual. Sakai DDTs Klein and the hot tag brings in Dashwood to clean house, including a double Taste of Tenille in the corner.

A high crossbody gets two on Dashwood and Sakai comes back in with a missile dropkick. Everything breaks down again and Sakai gets a guillotine choke on Kimura. That’s muscled into a delayed suplex for two on Sakai but Kagetsu hits Kimura with the sign by mistake. Sumie dives onto a pile and hits a dragon suplex for the pin on Kimura at 10:27.

Rating: C. I say this a lot and I’m going to keep saying it until it’s no longer a problem: I have no idea who these people are and I don’t know why I’m supposed to care about them. It’s a bunch of Stardom talents and some names from Ring of Honor, who I don’t know either for the most part. The division does exist, but it’s not going to go far if I have to do outside research to figure out who these people are or what they’re doing here. Give us some quick videos or translated promos if necessary, but find a way to let us know what’s going on.

We recap Austin Aries vs. Kenny King. Aries had the TV Title won but King’s interference turned the win into a DQ. That sent Aries over the edge so he beat King down, setting off a feud. King is tired of being seen as Aries’ lackey and wants to prove that he’s an equal, plus more.

Austin Aries vs. Kenny King

None of Aries’ multiple titles are on the line. Feeling out process to start with a lockup not giving either of them an advantage. Aries’ headlock works a bit better and they shove each other around until King gets backdropped to the floor. Back in and the brainbuster doesn’t work as King slips out and slaps him in the shoulders, which hurts more than you would expect. King sweeps the leg a few times (with no Karate Kid reference) and they head outside again with King knocking him down for a third time.

They go inside again with Aries dropkicking King down to break up a springboard, setting up a top rope ax handle. The slingshot hilo gets two and Aries adds his middle rope elbow to the back for the same. Aries’ chinlock doesn’t last very long as King is right back up with a springboard Blockbuster.

Aries grabs the rope too (he must have been watching King) and then grabs his titles to leave but King dives onto him in a big crash. King picks up one of the titles and gets brainbustered (suplexed but fair enough) on the floor. Fans: “YOU KILLED KENNY!” Ok that was funny. Another brainbuster back inside is good for the pin at 15:33.

Rating: C. Aries’ time in Ring of Honor hasn’t been the best in the world (hey….) but maybe it’s been his time with King. I liked the setup for their feud but it wasn’t the most thrilling match. To be fair though, King has never exactly been one to have a great match on the big stage. Aries is good for an upper midcard role, but I don’t know how much further he’s going to get around here.

We recap Jay Lethal vs. Kushida. Lethal is trying to get back towards the World Title picture and to do so, he’s facing everyone who has beaten him in recent years. Kushida has traded wins with Lethal and tonight it’s the rubber match.

Kushida vs. Jay Lethal

This should be fun. Kushida won’t shake hands so Lethal cranks on the wrist, only to be wrestled down to the ground for an early standoff. The fans are split here (well duh) as the grappling continues with Lethal’s headlock working a bit better this time around. Lethal misses a basement dropkick but Kushida shows him how to do it properly. Three straight running flip dives have Lethal (who likes to use three straight regular dives) in more trouble.

Back in, a top rope ax handle, complete with the Randy Savage finger wag, gets two on Lethal and we hit the chinlock. They’re certainly moving fast so far. Back up and neither guy can hit a suplex so Lethal kicks him in the back and then the leg. Said leg is taken down with a shinbreaker as Lethal has shifted into Flair mode, though he does add a handshake to make up for earlier.

Something like a Texas Cloverleaf (without Lethal reaching through the legs) keeps Kushida in trouble until a rope is grabbed. The Figure Four doesn’t work so Lethal dropkicks him to the floor and NOW the three dives connect, only to have the third countered into a Fujiwara armbar. The arm is fine enough for the Lethal Combination and Lethal counters the handspring into a torture rack (Ian: “He’ll be your hero.”).

Since no one keeps a torture rack on that long, he goes up for the elbow, which is countered into a cross armbreaker. Lethal spins out and gets the Figure Four, which is broken with another rope break. They kick it out with Kushida rocking Lethal and shaking his hand for a nice callback.

Lethal enziguris him down but the Lethal Injection is countered into the Hoverboard Lock. It doesn’t last long so Kushida tries Back to the Future, which is reversed into a rollup into the Figure Four, which is reversed into a small package to give Kushida two and a nice ovation from the crowd. Lethal kicks him in the knee again and now the Lethal Injection is good for the pin at 17:34.

Rating: B+. Shocking that two of my favorites around here have easily the best match of the night so far. Lethal wanted to win no matter what and the announcers were right there to talk about how much more aggressive he was being compared to the other matches. The leg vs. the arm work was a good story and they were both working hard to have a great match. Lethal is on fire right now and Kushida is always good for a strong performance. Very good match.

We recap Punishment Martinez vs. Adam Page for the TV Title. Martinez, being the slightly psychotic guy that he is, attacked Page a few weeks back for reasons for general evil. Page then cost him the IWGP United States Title so Martinez cost him the TV Title. Martinez went on to win the title himself and is defending it tonight.

Page doesn’t care about Martinez injuring his head because he’s ready for tonight.

TV Title: Punishment Martinez vs. Adam Page

Martinez, who walks out of a casket and has some….I guess ghouls with him, is defending and Silas Young is on commentary. This is also a street fight so Page jumps him at the bell to start things in a hurry. They’re on the floor in a hurry and fighting through the streamers because Ring of Honor fans love their traditions. A suicide dive sends Martinez into the barricade and Page whips him into it a few more times.

Martinez gets in a shot to the back so Page pelts a chair at his head. Well that’s kind of upping the violence in a hurry. The chair is wedged into the corner and for once, the person who sets it up doesn’t go into it as Martinez goes back first into the chair. A table is set up against the post but Martinez is fine enough to hit a Last Ride onto the apron. Back in and Martinez hits a rather good chair shot before throwing Page into the barricade.

A table is set up but Page breaks the zip ties and knocks Martinez outside. Martinez gets speared through the table and a moonsault drops him again. Page takes too much time posing though and gets kicked onto the pile of chairs (which the camera misses). Back in and Martinez pours out the thumb tacks but gets backdropped onto them. Again though he’s fine and a chokeslam through the table ends Page at 15:07, though all four shoulders seemed to be down.

Rating: B. Heck of a fight here, even with Martinez’s questionable at best selling. Page has become one of my favorites around here as what you see is what you get, though in a good way. These guys beat each other up and it felt like they wanted to hurt each other. I had a good time with this and the ending leaves the door open for a rematch. Good stuff.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. the Briscoe Brothers in a battle of two of the three best teams ever around here. The Briscoes are the heels vs. the face Bucks for a change and this is about as much of a guaranteed great match as you’re going to get around here. A few weeks ago, the Briscoes beat the heck out of the Bucks and Cody during a title match to set this up.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are challenging and it’s Nick vs. Mark to start. It’s an early standoff until Nick gets in Mark’s face and knocks Jay off the apron. A low bridge sends Nick outside but he’s fine enough to kick Jay in the head. Everything breaks down and the superkicks are blocked (the Briscoes must be psychics), setting up double face to face staredowns. The Briscoes hit the ropes though and NOW the superkicks connect.

Nick dropkicks them both and a double basement dropkick has Jay in trouble. A Razor’s Edge/neckbreaker combination gets two on Matt and we settle down to a more standard formula. The fans are split here (again, well duh) as Mark stomps away and Jay gets in a choke behind the referee’s back. Matt tries to slide to the floor and run around but has to stop for a superkick, allowing Mark to stomp him down again.

Another superkick is enough for the hot tag off to Nick, who wastes no time with the springboard flip dive. Nick knees Jay in the face but Mark pulls him off the ropes into a rear naked choke of all things. Matt gets Blockbustered and it’s the neckbreaker into the Froggy Bow for two on Nick. The super crucifix bomb is broken up by Matt and a double clothesline takes the champs down. An exchange of superkicks actually goes to the Briscoes and the Jay Driller plants Matt with Nick having to make a save.

The Doomsday Device is broken up by a springboard cutter and a victory roll gets a rather close two. With Mark knocked to the floor, the Bucks hit a springboard Doomsday Device for another near fall on Jay but Mark takes out the referee. Mark brings in a chair, which is promptly superkicked right back into his face. The Meltzer Driver gets two on Jay as Mark makes another save.

Another Driver is loaded up but Mark pelts a chair at Nick’s head (that looked BAD, in a painful way) and the Jay Driller on a chair gets two on Matt. An elevated piledriver on a chair can’t get a pin? Now the super Razor’s Edge/neckbreaker combination is enough to put Matt away at 17:00. That last move looked great but they didn’t need to do that and the Jay Driller.

Rating: A-. Yep this was awesome and that’s really not a surprise. The Briscoes are an awesome team and can put on a great match with just about anyone. When you have the Bucks with their heads on straight and they’re being serious, they can carry their end of an excellent match too. This was the best thing on the show so far and that tends to be the case with the tag matches.

Post match the Briscoes continue the beating until…..So Cal Uncensored makes the save? That’s very out of character for them and the Bucks look confused. They stare each other down but there’s no violence.

Ring of Honor World Title: Marty Scurll vs. Cody vs. Dalton Castle

Castle is defending and Brandi, Bernard and the Boys are all at ringside. On top of that, Castle has pretty much every injury you can imagine coming into this. Actually Cody ejects Bernard and we’re ready to go. The champ is knocked to the floor with a Disaster kick but he pulls Cody outside for a whip into the barricade. Marty gets hurricanranaed down and Castle hammers away as well as he can with one good arm.

Cody comes back in with a Downward Spiral but Castle pulls him outside, only to get superkicked by Marty. Back in and Cody begs off from Marty but pulls him into a release suplex. All three are in again and it’s Castle throwing Marty into Cody. Marty gets knocked to the floor and Castle hits a kind of super judo throw (started as a superplex) but Marty is back in with a chickenwing on the champ.

Cody gets back up and adds a Figure Four at the same time, but Marty and Cody get in a fight that breaks up both holds. That’s the only way you could have Castle survive that so it makes sense. Castle rolls to the floor and Brandi has to save Cody from Shattered Dreams (nice touch). The distraction lets Cody get in the low blow instead and it’s time to put on the Ring of Honor. This is of course REALLY STUPID as you don’t let Marty that close to your fingers.

The snapping ensues and Marty takes the ring, only to walk into the Bang A Rang for two as NWA World Champion Nick Aldis pulls the referee. Cody dives out onto him, allowing Marty to hit a belt shot for two as Brandi saves. The referee throws out all of the seconds, leaving us with a three way slugout.

A right hand puts Cody on the floor so he pulls out some powder, which of course is knocked back into his hands. It doesn’t seem to matter as he hits Cross Rhodes on Marty with Castle stealing the two. The chickenwing goes on but Cody is back in for the save, only to take Cross Rhodes from Marty. A quick Bang A Rang to Scurll gives Castle the surprise pin at 13:16.

Rating: B-. The ending actually didn’t surprise me as it was almost too obvious that Castle was losing. It wound up being fine enough as he would lose the title at the TV tapings the next day but still, nice moment there when it was almost a guarantee that he would lose. Marty is likely dropping back down the card after this, which is probably the best idea as I’m not sure how strong of an option he is near the top.

Cody on the other hand will be fine as he’s going to be pushed to the moon almost anywhere he goes and is winning the NWA World Title in September anyway. Good main event, but nothing compared to the other matches, which has been a calling card of Castle’s title reign.

We’re off the air less than 45 seconds after the fall.

Overall Rating: B. I don’t remember the last time I saw a show that went from so lame and middle of the road to awesome in such a short amount of time. Everything after Aries vs. King was anywhere from good to great but everything before then felt like a lifeless house show with a budget. As luck would have it, they split things right down the middle and the really good stuff easily outweighs the weaker parts. Rather strong show, even if it took me this long to get through it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: August 21, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the final night in Brooklyn and things have gone rather well so far. Summerslam was a lot of fun and now we can move forward towards Hell in a Cell. It’s pretty clear that AJ Styles will be facing Samoa Joe again and that’s something that I can look forward to. Other than that, we’ll be seeing Miz bragging about beating Daniel Bryan. Let’s get to it.

Here are Sunday’s results if you need a recap.

Miz and Maryse open things up with Miz looking rather serious until the Daniel Bryan chants start up. Miz says he was able to close his eyes and feel that in a way he never could before. Two nights ago, something happened at Summerslam and now he has a family to think about. Maryse is hugging Miz as he looks near tears and says that with a heavy heart….hang on as he needs to cry some more. He announces his retirement and there’s a YES chant.

Actually it’s his retirement of ever facing Daniel Bryan again because Sunday was a satisfying conclusion. Miz did exactly what he promised to do when he beat Bryan in front of a sold out Barclays Center. The 100 punches from Bryan didn’t equal one Miz punch because he has the hardest punch in this entire arena. Bryan promised to punch him but when Miz did it, he got the pin. Miz praises Maryse and plugs Miz and Mrs. but here’s Bryan to interrupt.

Bryan calls Miz a coward over and over again as Miz hides behind Maryse. It doesn’t matter what Bryan calls him because the record books will always say that Miz got the win at Summerslam. Bryan asks him to shut up for once because Miz is just hiding behind things, like the makeup he’s wearing right now. On Sunday, Bryan got to do what he wanted: expose Miz as a wannabe Hollywood star cosplaying as a wrestler.

Maryse tells Bryan to change his name to Daniel Bella but here’s Brie to punch Miz in the face. Miz and Maryse bail and Bryan announces a mixed tag for Hell in a Cell. Good thing Maryse chose now to bring Brie into it. I can go with this as A, Brie was always less annoying than Nikki and B, this isn’t the kind of match that should be in the Cell so having it move forward in another way is the right idea.

Post break Miz yells at Paige, calling her a worse GM than Bryan. Paige: “Well you got punched in the face by Brie Bella.” The tag match stays.

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Orton shoves him into the corner but Hardy will have none of that and comes out with right hands of his own. Jeff gets caught on top though as Orton hits him in the back, sending him into the post and then onto the steps for a nasty crash. Back from a break with Jeff getting out of a chinlock and hitting Whisper in the Wind. The legdrop between the legs and a basement dropkick set up the Twisting Stunner but Orton is ready for the Swanton. Jeff gets crotched. It’s the finger through the ear again but Hardy is fine enough to block the hanging DDT. An intentional low blow is enough to disqualify Hardy at 7:11.

Rating: D+. This was about the storyline instead of the action and that’s perfectly fine. The ending (as well as the ads from the arena) would suggest a rematch inside the Cell, because Hardy hasn’t been banged up enough yet. Still though, this can be a good first big win for the new Orton character and if everything goes well, they can beat the heck out of each other in style.

Post match Hardy throws him over the announcers’ table and into the crowd. They fight towards the production area where Hardy blasts him with a few chair shots. A camera to the head knocks Orton silly and there’s the Swanton through Orton through a table in a scene very similar to Kofi Kingston’s big boom drop from about nine years ago.

The Bar challenges the winners of tonight’s title match to a future title shot but here are the Good Brothers (with Gallows in a suit and speaking in a weird accent and Anderson in big glasses) to say they should get a shot. Anderson: “Now back to Karen in the studio.” They’ll meet next week.

Naomi vs. Peyton Royce

Corey says he’s followed Peyton and Billie since NXT and they’ve never looked better. He’s quite the observer. Before the match, Billie insults Brooklyn and Naomi as only she can. Joined in progress with Naomi hitting a splits legdrop for two and baseball sliding Royce down. A Billie distraction lets Peyton kick Naomi down as Corey says some people on social media can’t take a joke and read too much into everything. Back in and the long legged boot choke sets up the chinlock as Naomi is in trouble. That doesn’t last long but Naomi has to go after Billie, allowing Peyton to hit a quick fisherman’s suplex for the pin at 3:32.

Rating: D. This felt like a match to build Peyton back up after a pretty ridiculous week. It’s not like Naomi is doing anything anyway and a win over her still means something. Billie and Peyton can play some nice roles in the division and if they get over with their annoying characters, good for them. Graves was hilarious ripping on Meltzer here too, which you had to know was coming.

Big E. has taped up ribs so he’s eating some fresh ones. Xavier Woods talks about this being the birthplace of Francesca and about how this is where they’ll become five time Tag Team Champions.

Video on Charlotte winning the Women’s Title and getting laid out by Becky Lynch after the fact.

Here’s Becky to say that she should be Women’s Champion but Charlotte stole it. The night was supposed to be about her and no one else. The fans chant for Becky but she talks over them, saying it was her time to get out of Charlotte’s shadow. Sure the people are acting like they’re with her now but where were they all along? There was no Becky hashtag but there was no boycott when Charlotte was added to the match.

Then the people applauded Charlotte when she won the title so they weren’t really that upset. For some reason Becky isn’t considered the best of all time and is now seen as the afterthought. A few nights of praise doesn’t work because this is a generation of all talk and no action. The third count on Sunday was like bringing her out of a trance. It was then that she knew Charlotte was holding her back and now it’s her time. Not because the people say it is but because it’s her time, period.

No one can tell her differently but here’s Charlotte to interrupt. The fight is on with Becky trying to get out through the crowd but Charlotte drags her back. Paige sends in the women’s locker room and they’re finally broken up. That lasts all of a few seconds until they’re dragged apart again, only to have Charlotte dive off the apron to get in a few more shots. Heck of a segment here and Becky sold the heck out of the promo, but it wasn’t going to work in front of this crowd. Their Cell match should rock.

Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega vs. Rusev/Lana

Rematch from the Kickoff Show. The guys start with Rusev hitting a hard clothesline to take over earlier on. A quick armbar over the ropes doesn’t do much good on Rusev as he kicks Almas away and brings in Lana. Another kick puts Vega on the floor and the double scream takes us to a break.

Back with Vega choking Lana on the ropes and putting on a crucifix hold. Lana kicks her away and brings in Rusev….who is quickly taken into the corner for the running knees. The hammerlock DDT is broken up and there’s a clothesline to send Almas outside. Vega goes after Rusev and gets speared down as Aiden English appears to take a chair away from Almas. The Machka Kick sets up the Accolade to make Almas tap at 7:28.

Rating: D+. There’s your 50/50 booking in 48 hours as they trade wins, leaving everyone right back where they started. I wouldn’t have Almas taking a fall at the moment but odds are this leads to him beating Rusev at HIAC. You would think Lana beating Vega would have made more sense but sometimes WWE does these things without the most thought going into them.

Shinsuke Nakamura talks about the poem on the Statue of Liberty and says this is now the United States of Nakamerica.

Video on AJ Style vs. Samoa Joe at Summerslam.

Renee Young brings out AJ for an interview on the platform. AJ isn’t happy with what happened at Summerslam but he wouldn’t change a thing. He has a promise for Joe: the next time Joe mentions his family’s name, he’ll rip Joe’s heart out. Joe trips AJ from behind and pulls him down off the platform for the Koquina Clutch knockout. Joe: “OH WENDY!” AJ can’t come home and tuck in the kids because he’s already gone to sleep.

We recap the opening sequence.

Carmella comes in to see Paige, who says Carmella has lost ten pounds. A rematch is demanded but here’s R-Truth to say she’s been dodging him for weeks. All he has to do is pin her to get a title match. Paige says no (Truth: “You got lucky this time.”) and Carmella gets her rematch next week. Moon walking ensues but Truth picks Carmella up despite Paige’s protests.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Bludgeon Brothers

The Brothers are defending and this is No DQ with no Big E. at ringside due to his rib injury. Rowan certainly has a lot of padding around his arm. The fight is on to start with Woods and Kofi both being taken to the floor. Woods dropkicks Harper over the announcers’ desk but gets a chair thrown at him as we take a break.

Back with Woods sending Harper face first into the announcers’ table and Kofi kicking Rowan in the face. It’s time for a ladder but the delay lets Harper take them both out with a suicide dive. Some chairs are thrown inside and Woods gets whipped hard into the steps. A big boot gets two on Kofi but he kicks the chair back into Harper’s face. Kofi gets a tornado DDT near a chair for two as Rowan pulls him to the floor.

Rowan headbutts Kofi against the post before grabbing the mallet. Harper hits him three times in a row but misses a charge (Why did he need a mallet for a charge?) through the barricade. Back in and a mallet to Harper’s ribs sets up the rope walk elbow through the table to give Woods the pin and the titles at 15:23.

Rating: B. It’s not exactly a surprise given Rowan’s injury but they did it in a good match. Sunday’s ending left this as an option so it’s not like it came out of nowhere. New Day can keep the titles warm until someone can take them away and that’s a perfectly fine place to be. The mallet was a nice callback to the previous match and it made for a good ending with Woods getting the win.

Big E. comes out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. It’s full speed ahead to the Cell and that’s perfectly fine. This show was much more about moving forward with everything and they did a pretty decent job with that. It was no secret that some of the matches would be set up for next month and WWE didn’t hide that. I liked the straightforward storytelling and the good main event helped a lot. Not a great show as the bad wrestling in the first half hurt things, but the angle advancement made up for a lot of it.

Results

Randy Orton b. Jeff Hardy via DQ when Hardy kicked him low

Peyton Royce b. Naomi – Fisherman’s suplex

Rusev/Lana b. Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega – Accolade to Almas

New Day b. Bludgeon Brothers – Rode walk elbow to Harper

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Lucha Underground
Date: August 15, 2018
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

Where else can you find a wrestling show where the question is who dies this week. Somehow it tends to be multiple cases every single week, which isn’t exactly a normal wrestling promotion. That being said, it’s still a pretty fun idea and they’re getting ready of one low level person who may or may not be leaving after another in a pretty creative way. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at the Mack getting on Mil Muertes’ bad sign, the destruction of the White Rabbit Tribe, the Gift of the Gods Title and the Trios Champions’ issues.

Antonio Cueto gets an invitation to Johnny Mundo and Taya’s wedding (“It’ll never last.”) when Kobra Moon comes in. She wants the Reptile Tribe to become the new Trios Champions so, after something close to flirting, Antonio makes the match.

Paul London and Saltador are in the ring when Antonio comes in to say it’s time for a sacrifice. London volunteers Saltador to show what a real rabbit can do. Oh dear.

Saltador vs. Matanza

Saltador’s right hands and dropkick have as much effect as you would expect. The Wrath of the Gods gets rid of Matanza at 36 seconds.

Mack and Son of Havoc are getting ready for later when Killshot comes in. He doesn’t like Havoc but he’ll help defend the titles after he wins the Gift of the Gods Title. Violence seems imminent but it’s ok for now.

Next week: Pentagon Dark vs. Cage in a Last Man Standing match for the Lucha Underground Title.

The camera keeps showing a guy in a priest’s collar in the crowd.

Gift of the Gods Title: Killshot vs. El Drago Azteca Jr.

Dragon is defending. They start fast with Dragon flipping around, including spinning into a hurricanrana to take Killshot down. A slide to the floor means we need a slide back in but this time Killshot is waiting on him with a slingshot double stomp to the back. The running no hands dive takes Dragon down again and Killshot rolls him around into a modified Rings of Saturn. Azteca catches him with a kick to the head though and a hurricanrana off the apron gets two.

The fans are split (well duh) and it’s time to hit hard running forearms in the corner. Dragon starts a chase and catches Killshot with a guillotine legdrop to the back of the head. They head back to the apron and for some reason Azteca charges at him, meaning it’s a Death Valley Driver to knock the champ silly. The Killstomp is only good for two and Killshot can’t believe it. The customary exchange of strikes doesn’t go anywhere so Killshot whips him in, only to have Dragon snap off the spinning DDT to retain at 6:53.

Rating: C+. I’ve become a much bigger fan of Killshot over time as he’s so smooth in the ring. He knows how to make these matches look easy and when you put him in there against someone like Azteca, the matches get that much better. This was a very fun little match and I had a good time with it. If Azteca gets over with matches like this, I’m certainly fine with that.

Drago is on the roof of the Temple when Aerostar comes up. Aerostar asks why Drago hasn’t been around since last week but Drago says he did things as part of the Reptile Tribe that can’t be forgiven. That doesn’t work for Aerostar, who says they’re still friends. They shake hands but Drago isn’t sure and turns into a dragon to fly away.

Trios Title: Reptile Tribe vs. Killshot/The Mack/Son of Havoc

The Tribe (Kobra Moon/Daga/Jeremiah Snake) are challenging. The fight is on in a hurry with Snake being annoyed at Havoc’s standing backflip into Ricochet’s pose. As that happens, we cut to that priest again for some reason. Mack comes in to knee Snake in the face but takes too long doing a headstand in the corner, earning himself a loud superkick. Killshot grabs a triangle choke on Snake but Moon puts the same thing on him at the same time.

Son of Havoc and Daga do the same and then Mack grabs a Boston crab on Snake for the big visual. Daga gets to the rope for the break and everyone heads outside, allowing Mack to hit the big flip dive. We cut to the priest again and he has a name: Father Rick O’Shea. Clever. Anyway Havoc hits an Asai moonsault onto everyone, followed by Snake saving Moon from Killshot. A tornado DDT plants Killshot but Havoc is back in with a Lethal Injection to Daga and a double stomp to Snake.

It’s time for the parade of secondary finishers with Mack not being able to hit a Stunner. Unfortunately that means a bad Austin impression from Striker, who at least hasn’t been as annoying this season. Mack gets powerbombed out of the corner into a Stretch Muffler but it’s Havoc coming in with another double stomp for the save. Havoc loads up the shooting star but Killshot intentionally shoves him off, setting up Snake’s double underhook shoulder breaker for the pin and the titles at 8:53.

Rating: C. Good. I’m tired of the fighting champions motif around here and it’s a relief to see an actual team get the belts for a change. You can only do that idea so often and this was somehow the second time that Son of Havoc has been involved. The Reptile Tribe has been given a much bigger focus around here this season and it makes a lot of sense to give them the titles.

Post match Killshot yells at Havoc and says he can’t get up now or when he lost the titles. Killshot hits the Killstomp to Havoc’s bad shoulder and gets in Mack’s face before leaving.

Here’s Cage for a chat but before he can get anywhere, Pentagon Dark comes in with a superkick. The fight is on with Pentagon taking him up the steps and grabbing the house band guitar….for a shot to the guitarist. Cage beats up security and we look at the priest again. They fight on the roof of Antonio’s office before coming down and landing in front of the priest. He tries to bless Pentagon and gets his arm broken as a thank you. The fight continues as the credits roll.

We go to Antonio’s office when the Mack comes in. He wants Killshot next week but Antonio has a better idea: a Haunted House match against Mil Muertes. Mack: “Trick or treat mother….”

Overall Rating: B-. I had a good time with this show and that’s what matters most around here. They set up some stuff for next week and had something interesting with the title change. The priest idea was a funny joke and I could see that being a character going forward, though a one off appearance is fine too. I liked the show and the show next week should be a lot of fun too. Well done, as is becoming more common around here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 20, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman, Michael Cole

We’re starting a new stretch for the company as Summerslam has come and gone. The big story from last night is Roman Reigns taking the Universal Title from Brock Lesnar to finally end his ridiculously long reign. Other than that, Braun Strowman still has the Money in the Bank briefcase, which likely means at least one title shot going forward. Let’s get to it.

Here are last night’s results if you need a recap.

Here’s Reigns to open the show, receiving exactly the kind of reaction you would expect him to get. After a little booing, Reigns says he’s a man of his word because he beat Brock Lesnar last night. He also said that when he won the title, he would be a fighting champion, which starts tonight. There’s a man who won the Universal Title right here in Brooklyn and never got a one on one rematch. Finn Balor can come out here and have a title match tonight. Now that’s a little more interesting.

Balor does indeed come out and the title match is official, but here’s Baron Corbin to say this doesn’t work. Last night, Balor breached his contract by fighting as the Demon and due to all of the smoke and lights, Corbin couldn’t even hear the bell ring. Therefore, the match never even happened. Reigns laughs him out of the building and here’s Kurt Angle to say the title match is on. Oh and Corbin can have a match right now.

Baron Corbin vs. Bobby Lashley

Corbin is already in trouble early on as Lashley wrestles him down and sends Corbin face first into the corner. That’s enough to send Corbin bailing to the floor but Lashley throws him back in, only to clothesline him right back out. Corbin gets in a ram into the barricade and puts on a chinlock but Lashley fights up and clotheslines him down. Someone is bleeding as Corbin sends Lashley hard to the floor (nearly getting hurt hitting the ropes/apron so hard), followed by a clothesline as we take a break.

Back with Lashley hitting a spinebuster but getting popped in the jaw with a right hand. The fans find this boring (that’s a little unfair) as Lashley knocks Corbin off the top but dives into a chokebreaker for two. Corbin’s slide underneath the ropes is broken up and Lashley loads him up for a Dominator before spinning Corbin down face first for the pin at 12:48. Was the spinebuster really that bad?

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as Corbin’s offense really doesn’t work very well. They were smart to keep this at least somewhat shorter than Corbin’s most recent Raw outings. Lashley is someone they could easily build up for a title shot down the line so giving him a win here is the right idea. Not terrible, but too much from Corbin.

Paul Heyman comes in to see Angle and asks about a rematch for Lesnar. Angle says no, so Heyman says it can be at Hell in a Cell. That’s a big no as well, as Angle says he wants a fighting champion and not someone who shows up when they feel like it. Something tells me we’re not done with this yet.

Corbin comes in to yell at Angle about not being fair. Angle doesn’t think much of it, but Corbin says Stephanie is here tonight and he’s going to tell her about it. So tonight, we have three authority figures here and they’re arguing about the chain of command.

Video on HHH vs. Undertaker at Super Show-Down in October. They’re really going long term with the hype to these fall shows.

HHH is here tonight. There are now FOUR authority figures on this show.

Bayley/Sasha Banks/Ember Moon vs. Riott Squad

Banks is fired up to start and hammers on Riott before handing it off to Moon for a kick to Logan’s face. Everything breaks down and the Squad bails to the floor, allowing a series of dives to take them out, with Moon’s being left about a foot short. Back from a break with Riott sending Bayley to the floor for an STO to take over. Logan gets in a cheap shot to give Morgan two and it’s off to the chinlock.

Bayley’s comeback is cut off by a headbutt from Logan (makes sense for her to use something like that) and it’s another chinlock to keep up the quota. The jawbreaker doesn’t get Bayley far enough out of trouble as Logan forearms Moon off the apron. It’s off to Riott, who gives up the hot tag to Banks a few seconds later as everything breaks down. Bayley gets dropped with a clothesline on the floor, only to have Banks take Logan down with a Meteora. Back in and the Riott Kick finishes Banks at 10:11.

Rating: C-. Cool, now next week Bayley and company gets their win back and we keep going for weeks on end. I really don’t get where any of this is supposed to go but that hasn’t stopped WWE yet. There’s not much of a story here other than a trio is better than Banks/Bayley and whomever they have have with them that week. Lucky for us.

Here’s HHH for a chat. The fans chant for NXT and HHH talks about them blowing the roof off the place. He was on the edge of his seat Saturday night because he’s been a fan his entire life. Weekends like this give him the itch though and he wants to lace up his boots one more time. HHH got a call about facing the Undertaker in Australia and at first he said no. The truth is because he can’t forget the moment at the end of the Cell match where he, Undertaker and Shawn Michaels all hugged on stage.

That moment is as real as it gets in this business and none of them will ever forget it. That moment changed all of them because they knew it was the end of an era. Right after that, Shawn was gone, the Streak was dead (two years later), the Undertaker would leave his hat in the ring and disappear (five years later) because everything changed. They’ve talked about that and everything has changed since then. Their era was something special and now he’s saying yes to face Undertaker. In Melbourne, Australia, the feeling and the era are back, and it’s happening one last time.

That was….long, as HHH continues his tradition of taking forever to get his point across. I’m sure the match will be good though as the big, one off show matches have tended to be, though I hope they wait a little while before plugging this again. I don’t think I can take six weeks of HHH putting himself and the old days over like this.

Stills of Reigns vs. Lesnar from last night.

Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler

Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre are at ringside because this feud is continuing. They actually go to the mat to start with a headlock keeping Ziggler in trouble. A shoulder knocks him to the floor and things slow down a little bit. Ambrose chops away but McIntyre grabs the leg, meaning it’s time to have a big staredown, allowing Ziggler to score with a dropkick.

Back from a break with Ambrose fighting out of a chinlock and hitting his string of clotheslines. Dean is limping a bit but uses the bad knee to take Ziggler down. The Zig Zag is countered into a fall away slam of all things but Dean gets knocked to the floor. The four way fight is on until Dean sends Ziggler back inside. The running DDT is countered into Dirty Deeds for the pin at 9:48.

Rating: C. This had two benefits as they get Dean back with a bang and help continue the feud for a likely tag match at the pay per view. Of course your individual miles on the feud continuing may vary, but at least it’s a logical continuation. I’m more curious about the teams splitting, but we’ll get to that in time. A very long time given the nature of this feud, but you can probably guarantee both of the splits.

Elias yells at his helpers, saying he’s the special one and to not steal his spotlight.

Braun Strowman comes in to see Balor, saying he won’t cash in as a surprise tonight. He wishes Balor luck but holds up the briefcase. Balor gets serious and nods.

Here’s Elias for a song. After a little guitar, he talks about how he knows someone is trying to sabotage him. He’s already fired three of his assistants and knows it can’t be the quality Fender guitar. His doctor has warned him to not come back to Brooklyn because these people are bad for his health. Elias starts playing….and here’s Curt Hawkins to interrupt.

Hawkins knows that Elias wants to be #1, but maybe he can be the first guy to lose to him in a long time. Elias doesn’t think so because Hawkins is a loser just like everyone around here. He tells Hawkins to get out and Hawkins starts walking up the ramp, but stops to say Elias is hiding behind the guitar and a goofy scarf. The match is on.

Curt Hawkins vs. Elias

Hawkins gets two off an early rollup but Elias is right back with a great looking jumping knee to the face. Elias drops an elbow but gets rolled up for two more. The fans chant what sounds like YOU CAN DO IT….and Drift Away ends Hawkins at 1:36. I want to see Hawkins win eventually but putting him over Elias would have been nuts so this was the right call.

Titus O’Neil comes up to Dana Brooke and Apollo, who seem to need a quick excuse to hide whatever they were talking about. Dana has an idea for the Authors of Pain.

Titus Worldwide vs. Authors of Pain

Joined in progress with Titus being driven into the corner, followed by Akam forearming him in the back. A suplex gets Titus out of trouble and Apollo comes in, only to be front facelocked in short order. The side slam/middle rope stomp combination gets two but Rezar charges into an elbow in the corner. Rezar slaps the jumping enziguri away so Apollo goes with a middle rope moonsault press. A standing shooting star gets two as everything breaks down. Apollo can’t roll Rezar up and the Last Chapter is good for the pin at 5:01.

Rating: D. Egads how has WWE screwed the Authors up this badly? First they can barely get on TV, then they can’t get away from these two schmucks. I have no idea why we’re coming up on the third month of these teams feuding, especially when the story seems to be about Titus Worldwide instead of the Authors.

The women’s division is around the ring (including the Bellas) for the presentation to Ronda Rousey and here’s Stephanie strutting to the ring to soak in their applause. After putting over Evolution, we see a package on Rousey destroying Alexa Bliss last night to win the title. Stephanie is proud of Rousey because this never would have happened without Stephanie’s business prowess. She shined Rousey up like a diamond and now everyone around the ring wants to be like Stephanie and Ronda.

Here’s Rousey but Stephanie wants to know why the fans aren’t chanting for her. Rousey says this isn’t about Stephanie for once and wants to know why the women aren’t all in the ring. They get on the apron and Rousey cuts Stephanie off again, saying that this is about everyone instead of just one person. Rousey puts over Natalya as the cornerstone of the division and the Banks vs. Bayley match from Takeover a few years back. She’s not Brock Lesnar because she’s going to be a fighting champion.

Stephanie says it’s true that Rousey isn’t Lesnar because this isn’t the Rousey who wanted to break people’s arms. Just look at poor Alexa Bliss, like in this clip where Rousey dislocated her elbow. Rousey wants to break everyone’s arm and take all of the spotlight. Actually that’s not true as Rousey is only going to break the arms of those who deserve it.

Stephanie gets her arm barred again (with the elbow being regularly bent, meaning it shouldn’t hurt that much) and since it’s not Wrestlemania, it works just fine. The face women, including the Bellas, pose with Rousey and it’s a big group hug because they’re all sisters or something. I’m not sure why this was necessary but at least it ended well.

We recap the opening segment.

Bo Dallas vs. Scott Dawson

Before the match, Dallas talks about how crazy life can be. Until a few weeks ago they had never won a single match but then one single letter changed everything. Tonight, these singles matches are dedicated to the fans, because the B in B Team stands for Brooklyn. Dawson wastes no time in snapping Dallas’ throat across the top rope and catapults him face first into the bottom buckle. A neckbreaker is reversed into a backslide to give Dallas two and the fans hit the Wave. The hanging swinging neckbreaker is broken up and a fisherman’s DDT gives Dawson the pin at 2:28.

Dash Wilder vs. Curtis Axel

Well at least they’re not waiting for next week. Axel challenges Wilder to a match right now, even though he himself announced it three minutes ago. The announcers laugh at Curtis as we take a break. Joined in progress with Wilder getting two off a backbreaker and bending Axel’s back over his knee. Axel gets out and stops a charge in the corner with a raised boot. The middle rope elbow misses though and a Gory Bomb gives Wilder the pin at 2:17.

Post match Dallas says they’re still champions.

Reigns isn’t worried about Balor or Strowman tonight because he’s going to defend his yard.

Stephanie is getting her arm looked at with Corbin and Bliss in the trainer’s room with her. Angle comes in and Stephanie yells at him, saying he needs a vacation. Stephanie makes Corbin the new acting General Manager. If that means one less boss, fine. I’m so sick of this story anyway that I’ll take any change at this point.

Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor

Reigns is defending and runs Balor over to start. Balor does his jump over the top to avoid a charge but gets punched in the face to send us to a break. Back with Balor fighting out of a chinlock (good grief come up with something else) and kicking Reigns into the barricade. The running apron kick is broken up and Reigns drops him onto the apron. A hard whip sends Balor into the corner and Reigns yells at him a bit.

Balor takes him down though and scores with the double stomp to the chest. That’s all for the comeback as Reigns takes him into the corner for the clotheslines but Balor knocks him to the floor again. A good looking running flip dive has Reigns in trouble and we take a break. Back with Reigns hitting an uppercut but getting caught by a Pele. Balor gets all fired up and stomps away with an aggression you don’t often see from him. Reigns is right back with a sitout powerbomb for two but the Superman Punch is countered into an Eye of the Hurricane for a very hot two as the fans are completely into this one.

Rating: B+. The fans helped carry this one and they had me believing that a title change might happen. I mean, that went away as soon as Cole kept saying “HE’S GONNA DO IT!” but they had me for a few seconds. Reigns needs a win like this and as usual, when he’s putting in the effort, the match was very good. Really strong main event and the post match stuff is going to be a big deal.

Post match Strowman is in the ring and kicks Reigns down as the cash-in is…..hang on a second as we’ve got Shield music (and no bell, meaning the cash-in didn’t take place). Cue Rollins and Ambrose in the Shield gear as the fans are VERY pleased. Strowman goes after Reigns but the triple beatdown is on. The trio knocks Strowman outside but he fights off the TripleBomb, only to get speared down. Now the TripleBomb connects to end the show.

I’m not sure what the thinking here is, but Strowman looked like a face with the cash-in and Shield looks like heels by thwarting the cash-in, but since Shield won’t be booed, they’re going to wind up being the faces no matter what. It should be fun seeing WWE try to twist Strowman into a heel, especially when he was willing to fight Shield on his own and Reigns welcomed the challenge of a cash-in.

Overall Rating: C+. They did a good job with the followup to last night’s huge show and that’s a positive sign for things going forward. There were some bad moments on here (the B Team vs. Revival, feuds that just keep going and the rotating bosses) but they did another good job of (mostly) keeping the fans from taking over the show. It’s another case of trying to escape from Brooklyn without the crowd doing whatever they want with the show and on that front, well done.

Results

Bobby Lashley b. Baron Corbin – Spinning over the shoulder faceplant

Riott Squad b. Bayley/Sasha Banks/Ember Moon – Riott Kick to Banks

Dean Ambrose b. Dolph Ziggler – Dirty Deeds

Elias b. Curt Hawkins – Drift Away

Scott Dawson b. Bo Dallas – Fisherman’s DDT

Dash Wilder b. Curtis Axel – Gory Bomb

Roman Reigns b. Finn Balor – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Summerslam 2018
Date: August 19, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Jonathan Coachman

It’s the second biggest show of the year (I think) and that means we’re in for a stacked card. The big matches include Roman Reigns challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title, AJ Styles defending the WWE Championship against Samoa Joe and, in the match that I think should close the show, Daniel Bryan vs. the Miz. Tonight has some promise so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Zelina Vega/Andrade Cien Almas vs. Rusev/Lana

Thankfully they waited a little longer before starting the first match this year, allowing some more fans to get into the arena. Last year was embarrassing looking but it’s a little better this time. The men start and it’s an early double tranquillo pose, earning Almas and Vega some Bulgarian roaring. We settle down to a RUSEV DAY chant and Rusev hitting a suplex. A missed charge sends Rusev shoulder first into the post and it’s an armbar to send us to a break.

Back with Almas getting two off a reverse tornado DDT. A second attempt is countered with a shove off the top and the hot tag brings in Lana. Vega has to come in as well and Lana kicks her down, setting up a Spinarooni of all things. A kick to the face cuts Vega off again but Lana stops to slap Almas, allowing Vega to roll her up for the pin at 6:55. They botched that one pretty badly as Vega was supposed to put her feet on the ropes but she’s so short that they couldn’t reach. Lana was barely struggling either and it didn’t look good.

Rating: D. I was really disappointed here as this could have been something very fun. What we got was a short match between the guys and then a bare bones match from the women. I don’t know if the stage got to Lana or what but this was the bad match that a lot of people have expected her to have. The finish was even worse though and made the match feel like a joke.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak

Gulak is challenging and everyone else is banned from ringside. Alexander has held the title since Wrestlemania and Gulak has been on a roll, making everyone tap out. Gulak takes him to the mat and then into the corner to start but it’s way too early for the Gulock (dragon sleeper). Instead Alexander rolls out and dropkicks Gulak down so it’s time to go to the floor. Back in and Alexander’s springboard is blocked with a big boot, followed by a neckbreaker onto the knee.

We take a break and come back with Gulak staying on the neck with a clothesline for two. Gulak cranks on the neck but Alexander is right back up with a bottom rope springboard Downward Spiral. Some right hands keep Gulak in trouble and Cedric followed him to the floor with a big flip dive.

Back in and Alexander catches him on the ropes, setting up a short form Gulock to really mess with the neck. A spinning elbow to the jaw gets Cedric out of trouble for the time being but Gulak smacks him in the face. Gulak reverses the Neuralizer into an ankle lock but gets reversed into a cradle. Back up and Cedric hits the C4 but Gulak turns it over into a rollup for two more. Another rollup gives Gulak two but that’s reversed into a stacked up rollup for the pin on Gulak at 10:42.

Rating: C+. They had a hot finish here with the rollups and I was actually surprised by the finish. That being said, I’m not wild on having Alexander keep the title and would have bet on Gulak picking up the belt here. There’s not much of a reason to keep the title on Alexander as he’s far from the most interesting guy in the world. At least the match was pretty good though.

Kickoff Show: Raw Tag Team Titles: Revival vs. B Team

The B Team is defending and get taken down in the very early on with a dragon screw leg whip to Dallas. A Shatter Machine puts the illegal Axel down as well and it’s Dawson starting on in Dallas’ knee. Back from a break with Wilder staying on the knee and handing it back to Dawson, who gets kicked shoulder first into the post. Axel is still down from the Shatter Machine though and there’s no hot tag to be had.

Dallas’ knee is fine enough for the hanging swinging neckbreaker and now the hot tag brings Axel in. Axel cleans house and loads up the PerfectPlex but gets small packaged. The referee is with Dallas and Wilder though until Wilder snaps Dallas across the top. Dallas falls onto Axel and Wilder to turn the small package over for the pin on Dawson at 6:14.

Rating: D+. How can you not at least chuckle at these two schmucks? They’ve embraced the clueless putz characters and that’s all you can ask for. As ridiculous as they are, it’s not like the Raw tag division has anything else going on. Revival is a great team, but that doesn’t matter if they can’t get more than five minutes and a bunch of nothing opponents. This was the right call, which is better than I was expecting.

By the way, the total wrestling time on this year’s Kickoff Show: about 24 minutes, or just over half of last year’s. That’s a BIG improvement as there’s no need to have so much wrestling on a bonus feature before we get to the four hour pay per view.

The opening video features actor Terry Crews outside the arena, rhyming about what it means to be the best on the big stage. This was released earlier in the week.

There’s a big digital Empire State Building over the ring. That isn’t likely visible in the arena.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler is defending and has Drew McIntyre in his corner while Rollins has the freshly returned Dean Ambrose in his. The fans are very hot for Rollins here, especially BURN IT DOWN. Feeling out process to start with Seth being driven into the ropes but Dean is right there to cut Drew off. Back up and they run the ropes with Rollins nailing a hiptoss, sending Ziggler outside for a breather.

Seth follows him and it’s time for another big staredown. Rollins gets sent to the apron but stops to stare at Drew, allowing Ziggler to grab two off a neckbreaker. With Rollins seeming to favor his knee, Ziggler talks trash to Ambrose and then sends Rollins into the corner for a Flair Flip to the floor. Back in and the chinlock keeps Rollins in trouble for a good while. The comeback is cut off as Rollins grabs a vertical suplex over the top, only to fall out with Ziggler for a big crash.

Rollins hits a Sling Blade for two back inside and the middle rope Blockbuster gets two more. Ziggler rolls away from the threat of the frog splash so Rollins hits him with the suicide dive. The springboard clothesline sets up the ripcord knee for two and they’re both down for a minute. Ziggler’s sleeper is thrown off so they head to the apron with Ziggler saying this is it. Rollins gets shoved into the post and a jumping DDT drives him head first into the apron. That’s only good for a nine count as Rollins comes back in for the low superkick.

The frog splash hits knees though and Ziggler rolls him up for two more. Ziggler heads up top but Rollins is right there for a reverse superplex into a reverse inverted DDT (now that’s how you mix it up) and a near fall of his own. McIntyre sends Dean into the steps though, allowing Ziggler to hit the Zig Zag for the nearest fall yet. Dean is back up with Dirty Deeds to McIntyre and the bloody Rollins to avoid the superkick. The Stomp gives Rollins the title back at 22:01.

Rating: B. I know it won’t be, but I really could go for this feud ending already. It started a little over two months ago and feels like it’s been going on for a year now. At least Rollins has the title back and that’s all well and good, especially with the prospects of Ziggler and McIntyre being able to split up for good now. If nothing else, it’s nice to start the show with a good, long match for a change after last year took forever to get going.

The Bellas are here and are asked about their chances of appearing at Evolution. It turns into a list of plugs for their various projects before Nikki says they want to see Ronda Rousey win the Raw Women’s Title tonight. They’ll be ringside for the match tonight. And so it begins.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Bludgeon Brothers vs. New Day

New Day, Big E. and Xavier Woods here, are challenging after having won a tournament. Rowan runs Woods over to start and gets two each off a big boot and splash. It’s off to the fists around the head crush, followed by a pumphandle backbreaker to keep Woods down. Woods finally kicks Harper to the floor and makes the hot tag to Big E., who drops to the floor to throw some suplexes.

Back in and the Warrior Splash gets two on Harper, who comes right back with the Michinoku Driver. The double spinebuster doesn’t work though and Woods dives over the top onto Rowan. Everything breaks down and Big E. is sent into the steps, though the Brothers look a little banged up. They’re fine enough to hit the double spinebuster for two on Big E. with Woods making the save and getting the tag. Kofi gets taken down so Rowan eats the Big Ending on the floor.

A blind tag brings in Big E. but Harper stuns him with a superkick on the apron. Big E. tries the release Rock Bottom off the apron into the Codebreaker from Woods but the timing is off and it’s more like Harper just landing on Woods. Harper is fine enough to roll away from Woods’ top rope elbow so Woods hits it on the floor instead. The pain is immense but Woods throws him back in for the tag to Big E. UpUpDownDown is imminent but Rowan uses the mallet for the DQ at 9:36.

Rating: C+. They were getting somewhere before the ending to set up a rematch either on Smackdown or in the Cell. It’s a good idea to make the Brothers seem vulnerable against a top team like New Day, who couldn’t quite finish them off. At the moment the Smackdown tag team division is all of four teams so it’s a good idea to not change the titles just yet, along with keeping this match going for another month. Nice match, with an understandable ending.

Jon Stewart is here.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens, which started back in June. Strowman threw him off a ladder at Money in the Bank and then won the briefcase, so Owens tried to be nice to him. Then Strowman destroyed his car, threw him in a portable toilet and off of a cage, meaning it’s time for a rematch with the briefcase on the line.

Money in the Bank Briefcase: Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman is defending and can lose the briefcase by any means. The bell rings and Owens is knocked into the corner a few seconds later, followed by the run around the floor to shoulder him down. Strowman has so much fun that he does it again and a superkick just annoys him. A chokeslam onto the ramp knocks Owens silly and the running powerslam ends him at 1:56. Total and complete squash.

There was a Be A Star rally earlier in the week.

We recap the Smackdown Women’s Title match. Becky Lynch beat Carmella to earn a spot but then Charlotte returned and did the same thing, earning her own shot. Charlotte and Becky then got in a bit of a passive aggressive fight over Becky being jealous of Charlotte being added. Fair enough, but WWE loves itself some triple threats.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte

Carmella is defending and gets double teamed to start. In a smart move, she slaps Becky in the back of the head and blames Charlotte. The wedge doesn’t last long as Becky hiptosses Carmella to the floor and tries an early Disarm-Her on Charlotte. That goes nowhere as Charlotte escapes but gets pulled to the floor. Carmella sends Becky into the steps and reminds us that she is in fact the champion.

Back in and we hit the chinlock on Charlotte for a good while as Graves sings the champ’s praises. Becky has to be knocked off the apron, allowing Charlotte to start her comeback with the chops. Some suplexes make it even worse but Becky is back in with a double missile dropkick. Charlotte gets knocked outside and there’s the Bexploder to the champ. She crotches Becky on top though and gets two off a loose super hurricanrana. Charlotte comes back in with a spear to take them both down for two each and grabs a Walls of Jericho of all things on Carmella.

The Figure Four goes on instead but Becky makes the save with a guillotine legdrop. Carmella is back up and sends Becky outside for a suicide dive, only to have Charlotte miss the corkscrew moonsault (she slapped Carmella and completely missed Becky) to put them bot down. Back in and Carmella has to break up the Disarm-Her, followed by a superkick for two on Becky. Charlotte gets knocked to the floor and the Disarm-Her goes on, only to have Carmella grab the rope. The hold is slapped on again but Charlotte runs in with Natural Selection to Becky for the pin and the title at 14:35.

Rating: C+. Much better than I was expecting here and they better turn Becky heel after that ending. Thankfully they took the title off of Carmella, but at this point either she or Charlotte has been champion since November. They need some fresh blood in there, which hopefully is a ticked off Lynch.

Post match Carmella leaves so Becky and Charlotte can hug, only for Becky to turn on Charlotte and beat the fire out of her to a HUGE YES chant. Becky throws her over the table, leaving Charlotte to take a YOU DESERVE IT chant. That was the only way to go as A, Becky has a legitimate complaint about Charlotte being put into the match and stealing her title and B, there isn’t anyone else for Charlotte to fight.

We recap the Smackdown World Title match. AJ Styles has been champion since November, becoming the longest reigning World Champion in Smackdown history. Joe signed the contract to face him, partially because there was no one left aside from maybe Miz. After the match was set, Joe started talking about how AJ was sacrificing his family to be champion. AJ tried to keep things calm, but Joe read a letter supposedly from AJ’s wife Wendy, saying Joe was completely right. In other words, AJ isn’t happy.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is challenging and even introduces AJ’s wife and daughter at ringside. It’s a feeling out process to start as AJ is a little more calm than (erg, especially after Joe’s comments) he should be here, even as the fans chant TNA. AJ grabs a headlock to slow Joe down but a heavy shoulder cuts him off. Some leg kicks have AJ in even more trouble but he’s right back with some forearms. The sliding forearm sends Joe outside and AJ tries to follow him, only to get kicked in the knee to take him off the apron.

A hard suicide dive sends AJ into the announcers’ table and one heck of a clothesline takes his head off back inside. We hit the chinlock, which makes you wonder why Joe doesn’t turn around just a hair and make it the Koquina Clutch instead. AJ gets up and knocks Joe’s block off with a right hand to the floor, followed by the slingshot forearm. Joe charges into an enziguri and the Phenomenal Blitz sets up another running forearm. The moonsault into a reverse DDT gets two on Joe and AJ puts him on top.

That doesn’t go well for the champ, who gets shoved down for a middle rope knee to a standing AJ for two more. The running big boot into the backsplash gets the same but AJ is right back with the fireman’s carry backbreaker. AJ is limping a bit and misses the Phenomenal Forearm, allowing Joe to snap him over with the powerslam for two more. A one armed Styles Clash gives AJ the same and they’re both down. Back up and they slug the heck out of it until a Pele sends Joe into the corner.

AJ makes the mistake of charging into the release Rock Bottom but is still able to put on the Calf Crusher. Joe’s solution: slam AJ’s head into the mat over and over. Joe slips over into the Koquina Clutch but AJ gets his foot on the ropes. It’s Muscle Buster time but AJ forearms him in the head. That’s fine with Joe, who hits one of the loudest enziguris I’ve ever heard to knock AJ outside. Joe sends him into the steps and grabs the mic. He tells Wendy that AJ isn’t coming home but he’ll be her new daddy. A suddenly bloody AJ tackles Joe off the table and through the barricade, followed by a chair to the back for the DQ at 22:46.

Rating: A-. You have to imagine that the Cell awaits these two and for once, the story would seem to fit that. AJ being able to do whatever he wants to Joe fits, but it would also seem to play much more into Joe’s hands. Anyway, of course these two had a great match because that’s all they know how to do. They were beating the fire out of each other and I want to see it again, which is the sign of a well done match. Really good stuff here, as expected.

Post match the beating continues until Wendy says that’s enough. AJ goes over to his family and his incredibly cute daughter says “daddy you’re bleeding”. AJ apologizes and hugs her before walking away with his family. Joe is TICKED as he leaves.

Here’s Elias to plug his album and talk about how awesome his songs are. He even has a new song, which he’s debuting right here in New York City. And then his guitar breaks. That’s too much for Elias, who throws the pieces around and storms off without saying anything.

Miz runs into the B Team and says if Bryan had followed his example, he might have lived off of Miz’s success like they had. For old times sake, they can fetch his limo for the celebration after. Actually they have their own celebrating to do because they’re the B Team and the B stands for Daniel Bryan. Dallas likes Miz and Mrs. (which he pronounces Mers) but they have their own show: Total Fellas. Dallas: “But with a B! Total Bellas!” Miz is stupefied as they leave.

We recap the Miz vs. Daniel Bryan. This one is over eight years in the making as Bryan came into WWE as Miz’s NXT rookie, despite being a top independent star. Bryan eventually defeated Miz a few times but they went on their own paths. Miz won a WWE Title while Bryan became the top star in the company, only to have injuries take him away for a few years. Now he’s back and healthy though, meaning it’s time for these two to FINALLY have the big match on the grand stage.

They’ve done a great job of setting up the culture clash here as Bryan is all about the love of wrestling and Miz is about becoming a star. Those worlds don’t jive and it’s made their feud that much better. The crowd reaction should be interesting, though Bryan is going to be the biggest face that ever faced around here.

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

Maryse is in the front row with a baby carriage. Miz hides in the corner for a bit before scoring with some YES Kicks. The running dropkick connects but Bryan grabs him by the throat and hammers away. The real YES Kicks rock Miz and a big one to the chest puts him down. Miz gets in a knee to the ribs and the surfboard goes on. Of course Bryan knows how to get out of that and starts kicking at Miz’s legs.

The REAL surfboard goes on and Bryan even bends back to get two off a bridge. Back up and Miz catches him with a hard clothesline, followed by a cravate with bonus trash talk. Miz starts firing off some knees to the head but Bryan is right back with right hands of his own. The moonsault over Miz sets up the running clothesline and the running corner dropkicks connect. A backdrop sends Miz to the floor and Bryan follows with two boots through the ropes and a top rope clothesline.

Back in and Miz gets caught in the Tree of Woe, which of course means more YES Kicks. One heck of a top rope belly to back suplex puts Miz down for two more but he’s right back with the short DDT. With Miz’s chest blood red, he fires off some NO Kicks of his own, which bring Bryan back to his feet. Bryan dragon screw whips Miz’s leg and hits the big kick to the head but can’t get the YES Lock. Instead a catapult into the post sets up the Skull Crushing Finale for two but Miz charges into another kick for another two.

They head to the apron with Bryan firing off kicks until the last one hits the post. That means a Figure Four back inside and Bryan is in big trouble. As usual, the solution is to punch Miz in the face and then turn the hold over. Miz lets it go and tries the Finale but Bryan kicks him in the back (the leg shouldn’t be able to do that) and goes with the heavy elbows to the head.

The YES Lock goes on and Bryan punches Miz in the back of the head as the aggression continues to come out. Miz makes the rope though and bails to the floor, only to get kneed in the head. That knocks Miz right in front of Maryse, who hands him something. Whatever it is knocks Bryan silly when he tries a suicide dive, giving Miz the pin at 23:30.

Rating: B+. I liked this one as much as I expected to and the ending does set up a rematch. You have to imagine that Bryan is sticking around given that finish as there’s a wide open door for the feud to continue. It was a nice, long match and got the attention that it deserved, but it didn’t feel like the final match throughout. The ending takes care of that though and everything is fine.

Replays confirm the object, with Graves going into full Bobby Heenan mode to talk his way around the cheating.

Video on Undertaker vs. HHH for Super Show-Down in their final match. To be fair they haven’t been ridiculous with the plugging tonight.

Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor

THE DEMON IS BACK! FOR THIS MATCH??? This is the rubber match after Corbin started being mean to Balor for being small. It’s been a horrible story but the Demon makes up for some of it. Cole gets his Demon history wrong, saying it last appeared two years ago. It was last year Cole. You called the match.

The fans are VERY pleased and Corbin is told he has to face him. The bell rings and it’s the shotgun dropkick into the Sling Blade to put Baron on the floor in the smoke. Balor adds a flip dive and it’s another Sling Blade on the floor. Back in and Balor hits a top rope double stomp to the back, followed by the Coup de Grace for the pin at 1:29. NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!

Bryan is ticked off when Brie finally remembers that they’re married and comes in to see him in his moment of need. He calls his comeback a bust but she gives him a pep talk which seems to work well enough.

US Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy

Nakamura is defending after taking the title from Hardy last month. Feeling out process to start and of course Nakamura is over like free beer in a frat house in New York. Nakamura dodges a few early shots and tells him to COME ON. Jeff does exactly the same and sends Nakamura into four buckles in a row. That earns him a quick takedown and Nakamura slaps on a chinlock.

Nakamura hammers on him a bit more until Hardy, to the tune of a BROTHER NERO chant, comes back up with a Sling Blade. An atomic drop sets up the legdrop between the legs and a basement dropkick gets two. Jeff slips out of the reverse exploder but the slingshot dropkick is countered into Nakamura sitting him on the top. The running knee misses though and Jeff gets two off a Whisper in the Wind.

Nakamura is fine enough to catch him with another kick to the head, followed by the sliding knee for two. Kinshasa is countered into a failed Twist of Fate attempt but Hardy is ready for the low blow. Now the Twist of Fate sets up the Swanton Bomb for a delayed two as Nakamura grabs the bottom rope. A second Twist of Fate sends Nakamura bailing to the apron, so Jeff climbs the post and Swantons the apron because he’s that freaking crazy. Back in and the Kinshasa finishes whatever is left of Hardy at 10:55.

Rating: C. I have no idea how Hardy is still walking and I don’t think he does either most of the time. The match was fine enough and Hardy gave it a run but Nakamura needed this way more than Hardy did. If nothing else Hardy already has Randy Orton sitting around for their big pay per view match so the loss was the only option here. Not a bad match, but nothing great, especially on a long shot.

Post match Orton comes out, smacks himself in the head, and leaves without even getting in the ring. Ok then.

We recap Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss. Rousey was about to win the Raw Women’s Title last month but Bliss interfered for a DQ and cashed in her briefcase to win the title. Bliss then made Rousey snap and got her suspended for a month. Rousey’s reward: a match for the title tonight.

Raw Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss

Rousey is challenging and before the match, here’s Natalya in the same jacket her dad wore at Summerslam 1990. Bliss comes out and sneers at the Bella Twins, who are sitting in the front row. Rousey now has eye paint and her name on her shorts as she does the power walk to the ring. Bliss hides in the corner to start (smart) and a single right hand puts her on the floor. More stalling ensues so Rousey even turns her back and sits down so Bliss can come in with no problem.

Rousey closes her eyes and Bliss grabs a chinlock, meaning it’s time for the scary Ronda face. The hold is broken (Bliss: “No no no no no!” Rousey: “YES!”) and there’s the swinging Samoan drop. A chase lets Bliss get in a forearm and Rousey is just made angrier. Bliss gets flipped on her face and Rousey unloads in the corner, followed by some judo throws. Another swinging Samoan drop (Rousey: “ARE YOU READY???”) connects and it’s armbar time. The arm is twisted in a variety of angles (including Bliss popping it in and out of joint) and one hard crank makes Bliss tap at 4:39.

Rating: C+. What do you want me to say? That was exactly what it should have been as Rousey should be able to destroy Bliss in short order. I’m not sure who is supposed to take the title off of Rousey, but if she can hold it until Wrestlemania (which she likely will), there’s a heck of a dream match to be had with Charlotte. Total squash here and, again, Rousey looked like she’s been doing this for years.

Post match Natalya comes in for the celebration and the Bellas join them because reasons. Rousey goes into the crowd and kisses her husband for the nice moment.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (again). As is usually the case, Reigns is whining about how Lesnar is lazy and doesn’t like the fans so he should get another title shot. Also as usual, the fans don’t seem to buy it and Reigns isn’t likely to be cheered here. There are a few options for the finish and that makes the ending a little more interesting than usual.

Raw World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

Brock is defending and gets no reaction (That HAD to be muted. No New York crowd has ever been that quiet). Hang on though as here’s Strowman with the briefcase. He’s not cashing in behind anyone’s back because he’ll be waiting on the winner. The bell rings and Reigns hits two Superman Punches and a pair of spears but the third is countered into a guillotine choke. That’s broken up with a spinebuster but Lesnar puts it right back on.

Another spinebuster breaks the hold again and they’re both down. Lesnar takes his gloves off and it’s Suplex City time. Three straight German suplexes draw a YOU BOTH SUCK chant and Reigns can barely stand. Reigns is back up with a missed charge that hits Strowman so Lesnar goes outside and gives Braun an F5 on the floor. With Reigns back in, Lesnar beats on Strowman with the briefcase, which he then throws from ringside all the way to the entrance, breaking part of the LED board. Strowman gets chaired down but Lesnar walks into a spear to make Reigns champion at 6:16.

Rating: C+. I know they repeat moves and I know the ending isn’t the most popular move in the world, but these two know how to make the matches feel big. I was wanting to see what happened and that’s more than you can say about a lot of matches. Reigns finally getting rid of Lesnar is a good thing, but I really wish they would just get rid of the briefcase already so it doesn’t have to be around.

Reigns poses to end the show with no cash-in.

Overall Rating: A-. That was a heck of a show and above all else it was about the pacing. They did a GREAT job of making this show stay at a steady pace with some hot matches and then a quick match to let the fans get back into it. That took place throughout the night and did wonders for the show, which never felt like it dragged. Compare this to Wrestlemania, which felt like it dragged every few minutes.

On top of that, the wrestling was solid all night long with good to very good wrestling, logical booking decisions and stuff being set up for the future. This was a very entertaining night and notice the crowd not taking the show over at all. That’s a nice change of pace and made the evening that much more enjoyable. Really good stuff here and the best WWE pay per view in a long time.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Dolph Ziggler – The Stomp

New Day b. Bludgeon Brothers via DQ when Rowan used the mallet

Braun Strowman b. Kevin Owens – Running powerslam

Charlotte b. Becky Lynch and Carmella – Natural Selection to Lynch

Samoa Joe b. AJ Styles via DQ when Styles used a chair

The Miz b. Daniel Bryan – Left hand with a foreign object

Finn Balor b. Baron Corbin – Coup de Grace

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Jeff Hardy – Kinshasa

Ronda Rousey b. Alexa Bliss – Armbar

Roman Reigns b. Brock Lesnar – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Isn’t this supposed to be a party? Summerslam has really taken a fall in the last few years and a lot of that can be attributed to how much is on the show. Last year’s event had the big problem of being too packed of a show and this year’s show has the same amount of matches. I’m not sure why WWE thinks that’s the way to make the matches feel big and important but it doesn’t seem to be stopping them anytime soon. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Rusev/Lana vs. Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega

In a way I’m glad this is on the Kickoff Show because it’s going to get some more time. I’ve liked this story way more than I ever would have expected and that’s a great sign for everyone involved. Rusev has turned into a full on face while Lana continues to be some Russian/American hybrid. On the other hand though you have the outstanding package of Vega and Almas, who could go straight up to the top of the card in a hurry.

Therefore, I’m taking Almas and Vega here with Almas pinning Rusev. I know there’s more value in Rusev than in Lana, but this is a place where Lana and/or Aiden English could cost Rusev the match to protect him. Almas seems ready to move up towards the main event picture and if that’s the case, pinning Rusev is a good start. They’ve got something with that pairing and there’s not much of a reason to wait on it.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander(c) vs. Drew Gulak

This one has been building for a long time now and there should be one ending to the whole thing. Alexander won the title on the Wrestlemania XXXIV Kickoff Show and has beaten everyone who has come against him since. He hasn’t actually lost a match this year and that makes him a very interesting target for someone as dangerous as Gulak.

That’s why I’m taking Gulak to win here. At the end of the day, Alexander is someone who just isn’t interesting enough to carry the division. His matches are good and he’s someone who has been good for the title, but he can’t carry it much further. Gulak has been awesome in the role as the submission master and he even has goons with Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher. There’s no reason to not change the title here and I think WWE understands that.

Kickoff Show: Raw Tag Team Titles: B Team(c) vs. Revival

Now we have our first questionable one as the B Team isn’t someone you can have lose anytime soon as their first loss takes away the magic. Their whole run is built around the improbably winning streak and to take that away is basically a death knell for the team. When your entire tag division might be four teams deep, that’s really not a good idea at all. So what do you do?

I think you keep the B Team rolling for now. What’s the point in taking away the steam that is still there before you have to? The B Team is popular at the moment and there’s no reason to take away what they have going for them at the moment. As much as I hate to say it, the Revival will just have to wait. At the end of the day, the depth problems are still around and the B Team is the best thing in the division at the moment, meaning there’s no reason to cut them down.

Money In The Bank Briefcase: Braun Strowman(c) vs. Kevin Owens

It’s very rare to see this thing defended and I couldn’t be happier about the idea. I’m not sure how long it’s going to be before someone cashes the briefcase in (PLEASE be sooner rather than later) but if it takes a long time, it’s a good idea to have them defend it here and there, just for the sake of keeping them a little warm rather than losing over and over again and then “oh I’m champion now”.

As for the first defense of the briefcase in a long time, I think I’ll go with Strowman holding onto it. They’ve done a good job of setting the match up with the idea of Strowman being able to lose the briefcase via countout or DQ, but it seems like a problem being set up so Strowman can overcome it. There’s nothing wrong with that but above all else, Strowman losing here would be cutting his legs out. Just let Strowman win and keep going, if nothing else for the sake of his future.

Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin

Let’s get this one out of the way. This has been one of the least interesting/entertaining feuds I can remember in a good while on WWE TV and I’m really hoping that it’s done after Sunday. Corbin being a bully who keeps saying he’s bigger and better than Balor was stupid at first and now it just keeps going, which is a lot worse than what it even was to start with. They’ve traded wins, including Corbin winning a pretty meaningless 18+ minute match on Monday Night Raw. This is the rubber match, though I’m hoping more for the rubber hardening and neither of them being able to move.

I’ll take Balor to win because WWE is going to need something to get the fans to cheer. I know they like the idea of pushing Corbin, but there aren’t a lot of people he can want to fight. Corbin will still have his job as Constable so there isn’t much of a need to give him a win here, especially not when Balor needs it a lot more. That’s pretty sad given where Balor should be at the moment, but it’s true.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Bludgeon Brothers(c) vs. New Day

This is a situation where I’m not sure what else is supposed to happen. You can have the Brothers hold the titles for a long time, but at some point someone has to beat them. The problem though is who else is supposed to? The SmackDown tag division is pretty much these two, the Bar and the Usos, unless you count Sanity, who aren’t a traditional tag team. Therefore, who else is supposed to take the titles from the Brothers?

I’ll go with the Brothers retaining here, though outside of a team being thrown together in the next few months, I’m really not sure who else is going to take the titles. New day are in the running, but it’s not like they need them to be a popular team. The Brothers can keep them here and lose them later on, though it’s not like they’re flush with competition at the moment.

Raw Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss(c) vs. Ronda Rousey

Here we have a match that should be a layup on paper but that’s never stopped WWE before. This time around Rousey is getting another title shot after Bliss interrupted her title shot against Nia Jax and took the title for herself. Bliss has been champion for most of the last year plus and there isn’t much left for her to do with the title. I think you know what this means.

Of course Rousey should get the title here and in reality, the match should be about ten seconds. I can live with Alicia Fox offering a distraction, but Bliss should get taken out in a hurry here. That’s what Rousey has been missing and it fits her matches perfectly, at least in some situations. Bliss is a rather small woman and there’s little reason to believe that Rousey will have trouble with her. Then again, see the Jax vs. Bliss matches. Either way, Rousey wins and wins handily.

US Title: Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs. Jeff Hardy

I could go either way on this one. First of all, it’s pretty clear that Hardy is moving on from this to continue his feud with Randy Orton. The question though is whether or not that feud is over the US Title, which Hardy would have to win here. Really, I’m not sure why that needs to be the case, as Nakamura failed so badly during his Smackdown World Title chase that he needs the US Title to rehabilitate him.

I’ll go with Orton costing Hardy the title and Nakamura moving on to face someone else (a face Rusev could be interesting). It opens up two doors instead of one and keeps Nakamura strong, which is what you want to do. Nakamura pinning Hardy, even with some assistance from Orton, would give him a nice boost and hopefully WWE realizes this instead of having Hardy win another title he doesn’t need.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Carmella(c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte

I was getting into the idea of Lynch vs. Carmella one on one for the title but since WWE is WWE, they went with the tried and true “champion loses to multiple challengers to set up a three way” instead of having an actual fresh story. Why I would want to see that isn’t clear, but then again a lot of things about WWE’s creative decisions elude me these days. So we have Charlotte and Lynch kind of sort of arguing over who should be champion while Carmella is all loud voices and trash talking.

Since it’s WWE, I’ll go with Carmella retaining. That would be the worst option they could pick as well as the easiest, making it the most likely. I can’t imagine them actually picking Lynch or Charlotte over the other, so we’ll go with something that gives Carmella another talking point. That’s what WWE creative tends to do best these days: come up with things to talk about rather than actual things. Then in two weeks Carmella can brag about having the longest reign of a title that has been around about two years. Lucky us.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler(c) vs. Seth Rollins

I’m not sure what to think on this one as you’ll likely see a good performance from both guys, but man alive I’m sick of seeing these two fight. This will be their fourth singles match in about two months, not counting the tag/handicap matches. At least Dean Ambrose is there to mix things up a little bit this time around, which should at least keep the crowd more under control.

I’ll take Rollins to get the title back, likely setting up a tag match next month where Ambrose turns on him to get the title for himself down the line. Either way the match should be good, but I’m still wanting to see more of Drew McIntyre than anyone else. It’s so great that they’ve managed to turn him into a better than average lackey instead of the star he should be, but that Ziggler man, he’s got to be going places this time around.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles(c) vs. Samoa Joe

Styles is now the longest reigning Smackdown World Champion of all time, which you might expect to hear…oh half a dozen times tomorrow or so. I’m actually interested in this one, which I’d assume has something to do with it having a personal touch instead of being about the title like it almost always is otherwise. I love seeing how far a title reign can go and Styles has an outside chance at making it into the rare air of a year long reign, this this is big hurdle to get over.

And I don’t think he does. Samoa Joe is someone who should have been World Champion already (that tends to happen to him a lot in bigger promotions) and with Styles having held the title for such a long time already, it’s probably time to get someone fresh in there. The good thing is this should be a heck of a fight, which hopefully ends in a pin/submission one way or another. That being said, Styles snapping and losing his cool for a DQ wouldn’t shock me, especially with Hell in a Cell next month.

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

If it was up to me, this would be the show’s main event. It’s been built up for over eight years and it’s received the best promo time of the show’s build. I understand why it won’t, but it’s the show’s big match. The question though is whether or not it’s the final match in the feud. I can’t imagine that’s the case, but if Bryan is leaving the promotion next month (unlikely but possible), things are up in the air.

I’ve said it since it was clear that this feud was announced: Miz should win. What better way to show that Bryan has lost a step or needs to get back up the card than to have Miz beat him with a fast cradle for a clean pin? While you risk the fans rioting over the result (though to be fair, having Roman Reigns in the main event is risking it enough), it’s the right way to go and what I actually see going down.

Raw World Title: Brock Lesnar(c) vs. Roman Reigns

We’ll wrap it up here, in a place we’ve been in all too often. For the life of me, I can’t imagine WWE having Reigns lose to the same person three times in a year. This has dragged on for the better part of ever and the fans are so sick of hearing about it that something has to give. Above all else, it’s a case of “if not now, then when”, and that’s not something you want taking place.

Reigns wins here, and…..you know what? Let’s go full speed: Strowman cashes in and Reigns pins him too. I expect Lesnar to be back in WWE some day down the line as he’s not exactly getting old. Just have Reigns win the freaking title already though, just for the sake of giving us something fresh. WWE might go with the dumb route of having Lesnar go over again and leave Reigns in an even worse place all over again, but let’s go with Reigns winning, for a change that is.

Overall Thoughts

What does it say when WWE has turned one of the biggest, most important shows of the year into something that feels like a chore? As is usually the case, there is too much going on here and the card is feeling overloaded. There are some matches that stick out to me and the card doesn’t look terrible, but I’m fully expecting it to be so bogged down that nothing can really get the time it needs, aside from Reigns vs. Lesnar of course.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Takeover: Brooklyn IV
Date: August 18, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for the biggest show of the year and as usual, there are multiple options for most of the card. The key to tonight though is going to be the live crowd, who are going to be over the top for a show like this. If Gargano vs. Ciampa III is anything resembling the previous matches, we’re in for a major treat. Let’s get to it.

Here’s this week’s TV if you need a recap.

The opening video focuses on the main event, talking about Ciampa winning the title due to Gargano’s actions. The rest of the card gets a focus as well, but not as detailed.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain

The Era’s Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly are defending after having traded the titles with the Brits over the summer. It’s an early slugout with Mountain getting the better of it off the sucker punches. We settle down to Seven getting two on Strong as the fans are split (well duh). O’Reilly comes in for the knees to Seven’s face and a kick to the head takes him down. Seven gets over to the corner for the tag though (way too early to consider it hot) and a hurricanrana has Strong in trouble.

Bate gets the swing/airplane spin at the same time but O’Reilly jumps on his back for a choke. That’s fine with Bate, who German suplexes Strong with O’Reilly still on his back (sometimes, there are no words) to take the champs down again. The running corner clotheslines have Bate in control again until O’Reilly scores with a running clothesline of his own. The champs start in on Bate’s knee with Kyle kicking him down and slapping on a leglock.

A Flair cannonball onto the leg keeps Bate down but he kicks Strong to the floor. O’Reilly is sent outside as well and there’s the hot tag to Seven. Suplexes abound until Strong kicks him in the head, setting up a brainbuster from O’Reilly for two. There go the dueling chants again and Strong’s Olympic Slam gets two more. Strong grabs the Stronghold on Seven and O’Reilly triangle chokes Bate. That’s fine with Bate, who lifts O’Reilly up with one arm and slams him into the other two for the break.

Bate wins a slugout with Strong to knock him outside, setting up the crazy no hands dive. The Tyler Driver 97 gets two on Strong (not a move that many people get to kick out of) so Bate goes up. After shoving Strong off for a crash, O’Reilly is back up to take out Bate’s knee. That means a heel hook with Bate screaming as he crawls across the ring. Seven starts coming in, allowing Strong to pull the two of them back to the corner. That’s enough for Seven to get the towel…..which he throws into the crowd before screaming for Bate to come on.

Bate keeps crawling and actually makes the tag while still in the hold, allowing Seven to hit the Seven Stars Lariat for a very close two on O’Reilly. Bate comes back in for the Burning Hammer/top rope knee (how they won the titles) for an even nearer fall and the fans are WAY into this all over again. It’s back to Seven for a full nelson so Bate can try something, only to be kneed in the face. The High/Low to Seven retains the titles at 18:06.

Rating: A-. And somehow, that’s probably the most controlled and tamest of their matches. I liked this one a little better than the previous two but you can’t go wrong any way. Bate is SCARY good for his age (or any age for that matter) and with some more time could be one of the best in the world. This was a blast and a great choice for the opener, though you could have gone with any possibility. Really hot match, as expected.

Post match the War Raiders come in and wreck the Era, which you knew was coming at some point. That might make things more interesting for the North American Title match as Cole might not have backup.

The announcers talk about someone attacking Aleister Black with results being promised at some point. A whodunit story could be rather interesting.

We recap Velveteen Dream vs. EC3. Both of them want to be in the spotlight and they both want to claim it in their own ways. They were a team in London but Dream walked out on him, which didn’t sit well with EC3 (Dream: “The Dream has no memory of that.”). Apparently EC3 didn’t bask in the experience, so now he has to learn the hard way.

EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream

Dream rises out of a hole in the stage and is wearing a crown, plus “Notorious D.R.E.A.M.” tights. On the back: “Call Me Up Vince.” EC3 shoves him around to start, including a second shove to the floor. Back in and Dream gets caught on the top for some kicks to the ribs, which bounce him up so high that he gets crotched on the top. Dream’s sunset flip is countered with a hip swivel so Dream tries to pull him down, meaning the trunks go a little low.

Some shots to the jaw (EC3: “TOP ONE PERCENT”) look to set up the 1%er but instead it’s the headlock driver (the old 1%er) for two. Dream slaps him in the face and that means the beating is on until Dream hits him in the throat. EC3 muscles him up for a sitout powerbomb and a top rope superplex drops Dream again. The delayed cover only gets two and Dream is back up with a superkick. A Dream Valley Driver gets two so Dream hits a second onto the apron. The Purple Rainmaker, again on the apron, is good for the pin on EC3 at 15:05.

Rating: B. Another typically very good Dream match. The neck played throughout the entire match and of course Mauro was RIGHT THERE to make that clear. Dream needed this more than EC3 did as he’s turned into one of the guaranteed need to see performances. I’m scared about him getting the call up as Vince not getting his character could kill his career dead. EC3 will be fine based off of his look and mic skills alone so the loss doesn’t hurt him all that much.

Matt Riddle is here. That’s going to be a big deal.

We recap Adam Cole vs. Ricochet. Cole debuted a year ago and has taken NXT by storm. He knows Ricochet is very good if not great, but Ricochet isn’t special like Cole. Ricochet just wants to be the best, and happens to be a crazy good high flier. Cole won the North American Title in New Orleans with Ricochet getting close to it. Tonight he wants to take it home.

North American Title: Ricochet vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending and comes to the ring on his own. The fans are behind Cole here but the Ricochet chants are there too. Feeling out process to start with Cole shouting about how Ricochet isn’t special. A headlock keeps Ricochet in trouble until he dropkicks Cole to the floor. That means a backflip into the superhero pose but Cole takes him down inside again.

More slaps to the head and more YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL’s tick Ricochet off but the fireman’s carry backbreaker takes him down again. Ricochet fights up from another chinlock and sends Cole to the floor for a no hands spinning dive. Back in and a springboard European uppercut gets two, followed by a standing shooting star and a middle rope corkscrew moonsault for two more. Mauro: “This guy’s a cheat code!”

An exchange of hard (and loud) strikes to the head gives us a double knockdown with Cole landing on top for two more. Ricochet is back up with his reverse hurricanrana but doesn’t cover, instead going up top, allowing Cole to roll outside before Ricochet can dive. A running hurricanrana brings Cole off the apron and to the floor (Mauro: “MAMA MIA!”), setting up the 630 for the pin and the title at 15:24.

Rating: B+. Egads Ricochet is fun to watch. That kind of flipping just isn’t normal and he makes it look way too easy every single time he’s out there. I’m fine with them changing the title as Cole is the kind of guy who can be a star no matter what he does. Ricochet winning the title gives him some more legitimacy and whoever gets to beat him will be an awesome heel. Awesome match, again.

Kevin Owens and Mark Henry are here.

We recap Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane. Kairi beat her in the finals of the Mae Young Classic but Baszler has rocketed up the card ever since. She won the Women’s Title and has been the classic bully, with Sane being one of the only people who has figured her out. Baszler beat her in the rematch but this is the rubber match for Shayna’s title. Sane has been extra aggressive as of late, which could be an issue for the champ.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane

Baszler is defending and the rest of the MMA Four Horsewomen are in the crowd, meaning the fans all look at Ronda. Shayna is extra cocky here but Sane starts more aggressive, going after the leg and trying an early Stretch Muffler. The champ bails out to the floor and Sane is right there with a shot off the apron to take her down again.

Back in and Shayna gets in a shot at the knee and bends it back while throwing some MMA style strikes to the head. The knee gets bent backwards before Shayna stands the leg up and stomps on the ankle, bending it at a VERY scary angle. Sane gets all fired up and hammers away with Shayna not being able to keep up with her. A spinning backfist sets up a slow motion Walking the Plank and Sane goes up.

The delay is getting worse though and Baszler catches her with a gutwrench superplex for a big crash. Baszler gets in a knee to the face for two but the Interceptor cuts her down. A middle rope Insane Elbow to the back has Shayna down and she rolls to the floor before Sane can hit the big one. Instead it’s a high crossbody to drop Shayna again and the Insane Elbow gets two back inside.

Sane puts on the Anchor but Baszler spins around and snatches her into the Kirifuda Clutch. The arm begins to fade until Sane pops up and grabs the rope for the break. Baszler goes for the heel hook but gets reversed into the Anchor. Sane puts it on again in the ropes and goes up for the Insane Elbow, which hits knees. The Kirifuda Clutch goes on again, only to have Sane backflip into a rollup for the pin and the title at 13:46.

Rating: A-. My goodness they’re on a roll tonight and who cares if my predictions are through the floor. Sane winning actually surprised me and that’s a great way to end the match. They can have a fourth match down the line if you absolutely have to, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Baszler on the main roster pretty soon now. She’s clearly gotten the hang of this in a hurry and putting her on the main roster isn’t the craziest idea in the world.

We recap Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. Johnny has been driven mad by Ciampa, who is the embodiment of evil. After defeating Gargano in Chicago, Ciampa set his sights on Aleister Black and the NXT Title. Gargano cost Black the title by mistake so Black blamed Johnny for Ciampa being champion. That looked to set up a triple threat match but Black was attacked in the parking lot, meaning it’s a Last Man Standing match for the title instead.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa is defending in a Last Man Standing match and still comes out with no music. Even the New York fans are all over Ciampa and Johnny jumps him during the entrance to get things going in a hurry. They head outside with Ciampa shoving him into the steps but Johnny whips him into the barricade and pulls the floor mat up. Johnny slips out of a hanging DDT from the barricade and hits a flip dive off the apron. With Percy saying HERE WE GO, Johnny tosses Ciampa at him for another crash.

Ciampa is fine enough for a running White Noise through the Spanish announcers’ table but Johnny is up at eight. They head inside with Ciampa grabbing a chair for some choking in the corner. Ciampa tries a charge but gets a chair pelted at his knee instead. The chair is wedged in the corner but Ciampa slaps on a sleeper in a smart move. The referee says 22 as Ciampa puts his feet on the rope, which is perfectly legal here.

We get the dueling chants as Johnny fights up and Lawn Darts him face first into the chair. It’s table time with Johnny stacking up two of them with one upside down on top of the other. Not wanting to die off a suplex through the tables, Ciampa reverses into some rolling German suplexes, followed by chair shots to the back. Three straight Project Ciampas have Johnny mostly dead and Ciampa sits down to watch the count. That’s such a heel move. Johnny somehow pulls himself up for a superkick and they’re both down.

A slugout goes to Gargano and he rolls over for the kick to the head. The slingshot spear is countered into the Fairy Tale Ending (Angel’s Wings) but Johnny reverses that with a hurricanrana. Now it’s Johnny’s turn for a German suplex and a double clothesline puts them both down again. They’re up at ONE and slug it out again until Johnny hits a clothesline but can’t follow up. Ciampa rolls outside and Gargano is up at nine for another superkick from the apron.

The Cannonball misses though and Gargano lands with a thud. The Fairy Tale Ending on the steps knocks Gargano silly again for nine, though he’s down again at nine and a half. Gargano can’t remember what planet he’s on so Ciampa starts cutting up the ring mat, which is how he won in Chicago. That takes too long though and Gargano sprays him with a fire extinguisher before pulling out the faithful old crutch. That’s broken over Ciampa’s back and Gargano hits his own hanging DDT onto the exposed wood.

Ciampa slides out at nine again so Gargano suicide dives him onto the announcers’ table. A superkick hits a production worker by mistake so Ciampa hits a running knee to drive a chair into Gargano’s head. Ciampa isn’t done yet though as he buries Gargano underneath everything he can find, including the barricade, a bunch of chairs and the unconscious production worker. That’s only good for nine and Ciampa falls down in disbelief.

With nothing else working, Ciampa tries to handcuff Johnny but gets punched in the face instead. Now it’s Johnny trying to handcuff him, only to get elbowed right back. Instead they fight over towards the tables set up a long time ago and a superkick puts Ciampa through the wood. Johnny can’t even look at Ciampa uses the crutch to get himself up (smart move). Ciampa tells him to follow up the ramp so Gargano does just that, eventually locking on the Gargano Escape to make him tap. With that not working, Gargano cuffs him to a piece of the stage.

Ciampa begs off but Johnny grabs him by the beard and superkicks him in the face again. Johnny yells that Ciampa did this as Ciampa keeps getting to his feet at seven, though he can’t stay up due to the cuffs. The knee pad comes down and Johnny hits the running knee but goes flying off the stage and into a bunch of equipment, injuring his knee in the process. Ciampa comes off the stage and lands on his feet to retain at 33:55.

Rating: A. It’s very good, but it’s not quite up to the level of their previous matches. To be fair though, that’s not exactly something you can ask them to do given how incredible the first two were. The other problem is having three straight incredibly brutal and violent matches in a row was pushing it a bit too far. It’s still a great match though and when this was just below the masterpieces they did the first two times, they’re in pretty awesome shape.

Overall Rating: A+. What does it say when these shows have figured out how to be so good for so long in a row that the surprise and shock factors are just gone? It’s an amazing show and one of the best of the year, but that’s what you expect from these things anymore. That’s the kind of place that almost no wrestling company has ever been to and I have no idea how to react to something like this.

It’s another outstanding show with Dream vs. EC3 lagging behind in a match that was only a solid “good to very good”. Come on guys, pick up the slack already. The formula NXT has figured out should be required reading (possibly omitting the sections about the budget and having WWE hand pick all this talent) as they know how to get the most out of everyone they have. These are compelling stories with insanely great matches to blow them off. That’s great wrestling, and this was another instant classic show.

Results

Undisputed Era b. Moustache Mountain – High/Low to Seven

Velveteen Dream b. EC3 – Purple Rainmaker

Ricochet b. Adam Cole – 630

Kairi Sane b. Shayna Baszler – Rollup

Tommaso Ciampa b. Johnny Gargano – Gargano couldn’t answer the ten count

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: March 18, 2004
Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the first show after Wrestlemania and, much like this week’s Monday Night Raw, the level of importance of this show might be pretty low. Eddie Guerrero is still Smackdown World Champion, having vanquished Kurt Angle, meaning he now needs a new challenger. There aren’t many options though and that makes things a little more complicated. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Wrestlemania if you need a recap.

Here’s hometown boy and new US Champion John Cena to open things up. Cena is glad to be home and talks about how he used to buy tickets for the old Boston Gardens. Back at Wrestlemania, he put Big Show on an FU diet and Show came out ten pounds lighter. Cena brings championships home like he’s Tom Brady. The FCC is getting on him and they suck just like the Yankees. It’s time for Cena’s first match but here’s Paul Heyman instead.

Heyman confirms that Brock Lesnar is gone from Smackdown and WWE as well, so maybe Cena can be the new face of the show. This Monday though, Cena might be getting sent over the Monday Night Raw. If Heyman was one of the superstars in the locker room, he would be on his knees praying to be drafted to Raw. Everyone left on Smackdown will be suffering Heyman’s wrath and that includes Cena. Heyman slaps him and gets knocked down but here’s Rhyno to start the title match.

US Title: John Cena vs. Rhyno

Cena is defending and takes an early spinebuster for two. He charges into a hard elbow in the corner to make it worse but the fans are still behind him, despite his tendency to charge in too soon. The real comeback (after being on defense for all of a minute) starts with some shoulders and the Shuffle, complete with pumping up the shoes. The FU retains the title in a hurry. Cena has taken about three giant steps forward into stardom since winning the title and you can see that fire in his eyes.

Edge is coming back. Still no date given.

Heyman is upset by what happened but runs into the APA, who laugh at him over what they saw. Therefore, if they don’t win the Tag Team Titles tonight, they’re fired.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Scotty 2 Hotty/Rikishi vs. APA

Rikishi and Scotty are defending. Bradshaw starts with Scotty, who tags out for the showdown with Rikishi. A slugout goes badly as Rikishi takes over with a headbutt and now it’s off to Scotty for some right hands of his own. Scotty’s middle rope crossbody goes as badly as you would expect and Faarooq comes in to slowly punch away. Bradshaw comes back in for a torture rack (still would be a great finisher for someone) and Faarooq puts on the chinlock.

Faarooq starts jumping onto Scotty’s back but eventually lands on raised knees, ala Arn Anderson. A tornado DDT to Bradshaw gets Scotty out of trouble and it’s off to Rikishi for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Faarooq breaks up the Worm with a right hand. Now why did no one else ever think of that? Not that it matters as Rikishi superkicks Bradshaw to retain.

Rating: D. Pretty bad match here and that’s not exactly a surprise. Why would you expect the APA to do anything more than bad at this point? They haven’t had a good match in a long time and it’s way past their expiration date. Scotty and Rikishi aren’t very good champions but with the rest of the available options, they’re about as high a level as we’re reaching right now.

Post break the APA storms into Heyman’s office so he can fire them to their faces. The thing is, they didn’t listen to Heyman because only Faarooq is fired (Heyman did say that if Faarooq and his partner didn’t win “you are fired”) because Bradshaw has too much value. Faarooq says they’re both out of here but Bradshaw stays, turning himself heel in the process. It should be noted that Faarooq was fired earlier in the day so this wasn’t the most shocking result.

We see Vince’s Lottery announcement from Raw.

Dawn Marie has gathered Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Billy Gunn and Rey Mysterio in a locker room. Heyman comes in to talk about the Smackdown locker room being united against him last week so tonight, they’re going to play Divide and Conquer. He can’t control what happens on Monday, but he can control what happens tonight. The four of them are running a gauntlet and the winner gets a WWE Title shot tonight. Haas and Benjamin aren’t interested in fighting each other so Heyman makes them the first part of the gauntlet.

Video on Wrestlemania.

Gauntlet Match

Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin get things going, showing off their blue and gold singlets. To the shock of no one, they go straight to the mat for a fight over arm control. Charlie gets the better of it for all of a few seconds before they get back to their feet where Shelton takes over with a headlock. That takes us to a standoff until they fight over a top wristlock. This time it’s Haas taking him down into a leglock, which is reversed into another headlock.

Shelton tosses him down and taps Charlie on the jaw, meaning it’s time to get serious. After a trip to the floor, they’re right back inside with Shelton hooking a front facelock. Shelton slaps him in the jaw again and Charlie isn’t having any of that. Back in and Haas gets two off a suplex (you would have expected more than that), followed by a bridging German suplex for the same. Shelton jumps over him in the corner though and the Dragon Whip (to the chest) is good for the pin.

Back from a break, Faarooq tries to leave but gets stopped by Bradshaw, who begs him not to leave. Bradshaw is a freaking one man conglomerate and he can’t be fired just because Faarooq said something stupid.

Now back to the match with Billy Gunn in third to face Shelton. Gunn takes too long getting in so Shelton stomps away in the corner. A running clothesline drops Gunn again and they head to the floor. This goes a bit better for Gunn as Shelton is whipped into the barricade for two back inside. Shelton doesn’t seem to mind as he elbows Gunn in the face and knees him hard in the head. Gunn gets out of a reverse chinlock with a jawbreaker and catches a charging Shelton with a raised boot. The good looking tilt-a-whirl powerslam gets two but the Fameasser misses. Shelton grabs a rollup (and the rope) for the upset (Maybe?) pin.

Before we get to the next name, here’s Big Show to say he’s not happy about losing the US Title to a cheater like Cena and is entering the gauntlet as the last man.

Back to the match again with Mysterio as the fourth man. They trade some rollups to start until Shelton snaps off an exploder suplex to take over. A delayed belly to back suplex gets two and some knees in the corner have Rey in even more trouble. Shelton whips him hard into the buckles and it’s off to a cross armbreaker. That switches over to a regular armbar, which Rey reverses into the sitout bulldog. Shelton is right back with a powerslam but Rey slips out of a German suplex. The 619 lets Rey Drop the Dime for the pin in the best section of the gauntlet so far.

Hall of Fame video. Why are they doing all of these breaks in between the matches?

So it’s Mysterio vs. Big Show for the title shot with Rey getting smart early on by rolling to the floor. Back in and Rey dives between Show’s legs but gets backed into the corner, allowing Show to toss him around. Show stands on Rey’s head but Rey snaps him throat first across the top. A springboard missile dropkick rocks Show, who kicks Rey in the face for two as the comeback is cut off in a hurry.

Show standing on Rey’s back has Mysterio bailing outside again, this time with a good bit more pain. Back in and Show gives him a rather impressive gorilla press drop, launching Rey into the air so the crash is even bigger. Cue Cena for a distraction though with Show going outside to get him, allowing Rey to hit a 619. The referee yells at Rey, allowing Cena to get in a belt shot to bounce Show off the post for the countout.

Rating: D-. This was a bunch of lame matches and while the most interesting choice won, it felt like they were doing the least interesting thing they possibly could have, which made this a very long match with almost nothing standing out as good. Mysterio vs. Benjamin was passable, which is probably why it was the shortest section of the whole thing. At least the title match has serious potential though.

Smackdown World Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

Mysterio is challenging and they shake hands to start. An exchange of wristlocks and armdrags give us a standoff with Rey holding his arm. Eddie trips him down and puts on a headlock, only to have Rey snap off a heck of a headscissors to send the champ outside. Rey motions that he wants the title as Eddie looks stunned. Back in and Rey slaps him in the face for some reason so Eddie sends him arm first into the buckle to stop Rey cold. An armbar goes on but Rey realizes he’s next to the rope for a fast break.

Eddie, having a brain, takes him down into another armbar but Rey, being Rey, spins out and monkey flips Eddie down. Mysterio pulls him to the floor for an Asai moonsault and we take a break. Back with Eddie hitting a top rope superplex for two and staying on the back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. To really crank things up, Eddie puts on a cross between a Gory Stretch and a chickenwing (egads that looks painful), making Rey tap twice. Why these taps (with Tazz and Cole saying Rey is tapping, as he’s clearly slapping his shoulder) don’t count isn’t clear but Rey reverses into a small package for two.

Eddie takes him down again and twists the arm even more, followed by some stomping to the arm. Rey fights out of another armbar and tries a springboard moonsault to Eddie’s back, driving him face first into the mat for two. The springboard seated senton gets the same as the pace is picking up. There’s a tornado DDT for two more but Rey is spent. Two rolling verticals connect but Rey reverses the third into a rollup. Eddie finally hits the third and tries the frog splash, which only hits mat. Rey hits the 619 and Rey Drops the Dime but Eddie rolls away. La majistral retains Eddie’s title.

Rating: B+. Oh come on like these two were going to have anything short of a great match. They know each other so well and it was no surprise that they were able to tear it up out there. Mysterio wasn’t likely to win but he’s good enough to make you believe that a miracle could happen to give him the title. That’s a valuable asset and Mysterio can do it as well as almost anyone else ever.

Post match Heyman comes out to say he didn’t know Spanish was the new language around here. He hopes Eddie and Rey’s families get deported because they have no place on his Smackdown. Next week he’s the only person guaranteed to be on Smackdown….and the gong strikes. Heyman decides to get back in the ring with Mysterio and Guerrero as Undertaker takes off the coat and hat (revealing a bandanna for a weird look). Eddie shoves him into a Tombstone to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. It says a lot when a really good Eddie vs. Rey match can’t save your show. This was as much of a punt of a show as you could imagine and unfortunately that’s not the biggest surprise in the world. They could have done something better than this, but I guess Shelton Benjamin vs. Billy Gunn was one of their best available ideas at the moment. Really lame show, but I can kind of understand why it happened.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

You can tell it’s serious when you get to part four. This show has become NXT’s flagship event of the year, even beating the annual Wrestlemania weekend show. They’ve had to change the main event around due to an injury, but since NXT is the charmed/prepared promotion, they’ve managed to switch the match up into something that may work even better. Imagine that: a promotion actually having a backup plan and making it a good one. Let’s get to it.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Kairi Sane

The more I think about this one, the less sure I am about anything. In theory, Baszler is holding onto the title for the sake of eventually dropping it to a fired up Dakota Kai. However, Kai hasn’t exactly done much as of late and that part of the story seems to be over. Maybe they’re going with the long game, but every week that goes by makes it seem less likely. So where do we go from here instead?

Well I think it’s going on to find someone else to take the title from Baszler, because I don’t see Sane doing it. Sane has defeated her before in a good match last year, but I don’t think she wins the rubber match. Baszler is awesome at the moment and whoever takes the title from her is going to get a heck of a rub. The thing is Sane is already over and doesn’t need the title, though she does need something. I just don’t think it happens here as Baszler retains the title.

Velveteen Dream vs. EC3

I know I’ve said this a lot, but Dream needs to win this match. The problem is, you can only say that so many times before it stops mattering. At least that’s the case most of the time, but Dream has a special kind of charisma where his wins and losses almost don’t matter. He’s at the point where he’s the gatekeeper to the higher levels of NXT and while that’s a good spot to be in for the sake of security, you can only be there for so long without winning something of note.

That being said, I’ll take him to win here in the upset. EC3 is still pretty new around NXT and that would make him the likely candidate to pick up the win, but I think Dream finally gets the big win (beating Kassius Ohno seven months ago doesn’t count). You can easily make this a cheating win for Dream, who needs to do something to cut off all of the face reactions he’s receiving. EC3 can bounce back and even win the rematch, but Dream has to get something and soon.

North American Title: Adam Cole(c) vs. Ricochet

It’s kind of amazing how similar Ricochet and Dream are, especially when they’re so different on the surface. It turns out that they’re in a similar situation though as Ricochet needs a win as well, but it’s not as bad as Dream’s situation. Ricochet is clearly destined to be a big star on the roster (both developmental and main) but in a way it’s the Andre the Giant syndrome: if you put the title on him, you have to take it off of him. Having him lose clean would be a bad idea but here, you have the option of the Undisputed Era helping Cole retain.

That’s what I think happens here. Ricochet can have his day later on (and you know that’s coming, perhaps against Tommaso Ciampa should he retain) but for now, Cole retains and loses to someone else in a few months. Just have the Undisputed Era help him (Bobby Fish doesn’t have a match later in the night) and everything falls into place. This is the one that I’m the least sure about, but it’s going to be a fun match regardless of the finish.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era(c) vs. Moustache Mountain

Speaking of the Undisputed Era, they’re defending in the match that is likely to blow the roof off of the Barclays Center. These two have had two rocking matches already and there’s a great chance that they’re going to do it again on the biggest stage they’ve had yet. They’ve already traded the titles so a title change is certainly a possibility.

That being said, I don’t think it’s going to be a reality. Moustache Mountain is a great team but they’re going to be over no matter what they do. Undisputed Era is a team that is defined by the amount of gold that they have and keeping the North American and Tag Team Titles would be a great way to show that off. Throw in some cheating and everything will be fine, including a prodigy like Tyler Bate. The question here is how great can this match be and the answer, much to my delight, is likely quite.

NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa(c) vs. Johnny Gargano

Last Man Standing and EGADS there are some possibilities here. This was originally going to be a triple threat match also including Aleister Black, but that left you with the pretty obvious ending of Ciampa retaining by pinning Black. Now though, you have SO MANY CHOICES. Do you have Gargano lose and join up with Ciampa? Do you have Gargano finally win the title to end the feud? Do you go to a double knockout and allow them to do the triple threat later? Does Candice LeRae turn on Gargano and join Ciampa? Any of these is a very possible and rather interesting option.

I’m going with….Ciampa retaining but you again I’m not even remotely sure. There are too many ways to go to know something like this for sure and that’s what makes this so much fun. The one thing I know for sure is that these guys are going to beat the living heck out of each other than that’s what they specialize in doing. Throw in the possibility of it tying into whoever attacked Black and this is the most interesting thing on the show by a wide margin.

Overall Thoughts

This is another show where the card looks great and there isn’t a single thing on there that makes me think it’s going to be bad. NXT knows how to tear the freaking house down and I have no doubt that they’re going to do it all over again here. This show should be a complete blast and if the previous Brooklyn events are any indications, we’re in for a fun night all around.

Oh and no Matt Riddle. Just a hunch that is likely to be wrong.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Summerslam 2016
Date: August 21, 2016
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,974
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, John Bradshaw Layfield

A year has passed since I saw this show and I can barely remember much about it. That’s very telling when you look at how stacked this show really is. There are multiple top level matches here and it really wasn’t clear what was going to close the show until the night of the event. Hopefully that means that this SIX HOUR show holds up. Let’s get to it.

So here’s a quick plug. I’m going through the pre-show and there’s a three expert panel of Booker T., Jerry Lawler and Lita. Earlier this year, I met all three of them at WrestleCon. If you’re ever at a Wrestlemania weekend, treat yourself to an amazing time and GO TO WRESTLECON. I met over 120 wrestlers in about four hours. Where else are you going to get to do something like that? Anyway, on with the show.

Pre-Show: American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos vs. Breezango/Ascension/Vaudevillains

Who would have thought that Breezango would be the most entertaining out of all these teams? This is pretty much the still titleless Smackdown tag division at this point as they had to bring in the Headbangers and throw together Heath Slater and Rhyno to be able to have a tournament. This is also a rematch from Smackdown, which shows how little effort they were putting into the tag division at this point.

Gable and Breeze start things and the fans are WAY into Gable. Chad twists around as only he can to escape a wristlock and it’s off to Jey, who is quickly driven into the corner. English comes in and says that he’s what a man is. That earns him a right hand to the jaw and it’s off to Mojo to work on a wristlock. Ryder comes in to quite the reaction as Mauro says the Hype Bros have more chemistry than the Periodic Table.

Everything breaks down (What took them so long?) and Ascension clears the ring, only to have American Alpha come off the top (the same corner) with double clotheslines (that’s pure Steiner Brothers). English posts Ryder though and we take a break. Back with Gotch putting Ryder in a chinlock, followed by Viktor doing the same. The other heels take turns stomping on Ryder until Breeze grabs his own chinlock. Fandango adds a slingshot legdrop as this is going WAY longer than it needs to.

JBL thinks cold beer uniting the APA is more effective than furry selfie sticks uniting Breezango but maybe he’s wrong. Ascension knocks the good guys off the apron but Viktor misses a charge in the corner, allowing Ryder to get in a neckbreaker on Konnor. The hot tag (with a limited reaction) brings in Jimmy to clean house.

Jordan gets the real hot tag and does his fired up sequence (which he really is awesome at) with a belly to belly getting two on Breeze. We hit the parade of secondary finishers as the referee is imploring them to tag. Mojo powerbombs Breeze and Viktor out of the corner and the Usos add stereo superkicks to set up stereo dives. Back in and Grand Amplitude plants Gotch, only to have Jey tag himself in for a Superfly Splash and the pin at 14:31. Gable is really not cool with that. Eh just wait until your team is split up for a pretty lame story where Jordan is Kurt Angle’s son.

Rating: B-. If you cut out a few minutes from this, it’s a heck of an opener. There are too many people in the match of course but they kept it moving fast enough (for the most part) to really get something fun out of it. Jordan’s house cleaning spot is a heck of a way to fire the crowd up and it made the match more fun than it should have been. Tweak this a bit (eight/ten man tag or shorten the match a bit) and it’s even better.

Pre-Show: Dudley Boyz vs. Sami Zayn/Neville

Sami works on D-Von’s arm to start and it’s off to Neville for more of the same. Both of them get in more shots as we hear about the rivalry over the NXT Title. I do appreciate the history, especially when Graves should know about that match very well. Bubba is sent outside but D-Von breaks up a springboard dive, allowing Bubba to nail Neville from behind to take over. The fans want tables but a back elbow to Neville’s jaw cuts them off in a hurry.

Back from a break with Bubba hitting his neckbreaker out of the corner. Things slow down even more as Bubba is talking even more than he usually does in a match. Bubba: “COME ON ENGLISH BOY! O-LAY! O-LAY!” The middle rope backsplash misses though and the hot tag brings in Sami. D-Von takes the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but the reverse 3D gets the same. Neville escapes the regular version though and we get some heel miscommunication. The Helluva Kick sets up the Red Arrow to put Bubba away at 7:55.

Rating: C-. That would be it for the Dudleys in WWE as they would have one more segment tomorrow night where Anderson and Gallows sent them packing. It’s also pretty much it for Sami and Neville as a team, which is quite odd as you would think they would be a fine choice for a team. The match was nothing you wouldn’t expect on Raw.

Pre-Show: Cesaro vs. Sheamus

You know, because two matches just weren’t enough for the pre-show. This is the first match of the Best of Seven Series, which really wasn’t too well received. After Cole says Cesaro is facing Cesaro and both Cole and Saxton say this is about establishing physical dominance, we’re ready to go. Sheamus misses a very early Brogue Kick but the spinning springboard uppercut is blocked as well.

Cesaro charges into an uppercut but comes back with a dropkick for one. The ten forearms to the chest are broken up so Sheamus clotheslines him onto the apron instead. It’s off to an armbar on Cesaro’s chronically taped up shoulder but Cesaro lifts him up into that kind of reverse Angle Slam of his. They’re certainly hitting each other hard here, which is pretty much the draw of the whole feud.

Sheamus hits a tilt-a-whirl slam and it’s off to a break. Back with Cesaro fighting out of a chinlock because that rule even applies on pre-shows that will never end. The Irish Curse gives Sheamus two as Cole runs down the pay per view card, which only makes me think that there are FAR too many titles in WWE. They fight over a suplex and fall out to the floor in a heap. Back in and Cesaro starts firing off the running uppercuts in the corner, capped off by a dropkick to knock him off the ropes.

The apron superplex (which wasn’t from the apron) gets two but Sheamus counters the Neutralizer into White Noise for two. There’s the super Regal Roll for two more and frustration is really setting in. Another Brogue Kick attempt is countered by one heck of a clothesline though and Cesaro adds a high crossbody for two of his own. Cesaro tries the Sharpshooter but Sheamus gets to the ropes. Back up and a poke to the eye sets up the Brogue Kick to give Sheamus the pin at 14:11.

Rating: B. They beat the heck out of each other and it was a fun match but it also brings up the problem: I’m not going to want to watch them fight six more times. No matter how good things are, having them happen so many times in a row over several weeks is going to get tiresome. It happens in all these series and it’s happening here too.

And now, after more wrestling than you get on an average Smackdown, here’s the actual pay per view.

The opening video looks at New York City, with the narrator telling you how AMAZING the city is. I’m not sure if New York City or Texas is worse about bragging about their home’s greatness. As usual, this switches over to a series of quick looks at the biggest matches on the card.

Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens

Well duh. That’s about as easy of a choice for an opener as you could ever find for this show. As you might expect, the crowd eats up the opening promo with a spoon and of course we hear a ton of New York City music references. Included are Frank Sinatra, Biggie Smalls and Jay-Z, plus more that probably go over my head. Cass adds in a few songs of his own as this is the only way this show could have opened. Since Graves is the best heel commentator in wrestling today though, he points out that Enzo is from New Jersey.

Jericho and Owens jump Enzo at the bell and the STUPID IDIOT chants start rolling. Enzo comes back with a crossbody and a running right hand to the jaw for two. It’s off to Cass, who drags Owens inside for a beal. That’s some scary power. Enzo gets launched into the corner to crush Jericho but the Canadians bail to the floor. That’s fine with Cass who tosses Enzo over the top onto them in a huge crash. I’ve always loved that spot as it just looks cool.

Back in and Enzo ax handles Owens but turns into a middle rope dropkick from Jericho. The Canadian violence begins with Owens kneeing Enzo from the apron and doing his dance on the apron in a rather funny visual. Owens’ comedic skills aren’t given enough credit more often than not. It’s back to Jericho for the Arrogant Cover and a chinlock with Owens telling Jericho to do it like he taught him.

Owens comes in and adds a gutbuster for two, followed by the running start for a chinlock. It takes real talent to turn a chinlock into an art form but Owens has somehow pulled it off. Enzo finally rolls away but Jericho is there to break up the diving tag attempt. Owens drops the frog splash for two and his stunned looked on the kickout is the usual awesome visual. Enzo gets pulled off the corner to make things even worse but, after blowing a kiss to Jericho, misses the Cannonball.

That means the hot tag to Cass and everything breaks down. Jericho dives into a big boot but Owens breaks up the Bada Boom Shaka Lacka. Cass gets posted on the floor and now the Cannonball against the barricade connects. Back in and Enzo scores with his top rope DDT on Jericho with Owens making the save. A pop up Codebreaker (didn’t look great as Jericho was too far away) ends Enzo at 12:09.

Rating: C+. Odd choice for an ending aside (not surprising of course but odd), this was a good way to get the crowd going. I could have gone for another hope spot from Enzo and more of Cass cleaning house but that pop up Codebreaker could have been a heck of a finisher if done right. Nice opener, though would it have killed them to put Enzo and Cass over in Brooklyn?

Smackdown bosses Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon run into Raw General Manager Mick Foley to brag about how awesome their shows are. Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart and his son come in to ask what Foley is thinking to work with Stephanie. He rants about abuse of power but realizes she’s right behind him. Stephanie yells at him about how great it is to abuse power but thankfully New Day comes up. As the Smackdown bosses and Foley much on cereal, New Day asks Jon if he’d like to do something. He gets out as fast as he can and Stephanie isn’t amused.

We recap Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks. Sasha won the Women’s Title on the first exclusive show after the Brand Split and tonight is the rematch. The other big idea here is Charlotte never loses singles matches on pay per view and Banks has to recreate the magic one more time.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Banks is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Some early WOOing sets up a slightly less early Bank Statement but Charlotte bails to the floor. Back in and Banks climbs the corner for a wristdrag before sending Charlotte face first into the middle buckle. Banks gets caught on top though and Charlotte basically drops her onto the ropes for a backbreaker which almost had to hurt horribly. The fact that Banks had a bad back coming in and Charlotte still did some rather sloppy moves like that got her in some hot water.

We hit a Gory Stretch on the champ for a bit but she comes back with a pair of running clotheslines. That just earns her another backbreaker and Charlotte stomps away at the back. The Figure Eight is broken up but Sasha misses a charge into the corner and gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Charlotte picks her up for a super Razor’s Edge but since that would, you know, kill Sasha, she reverses into a hurricanrana to put them both down.

Back up and a WOO earns Charlotte a string of slaps before Sasha avoids a charge in the corner and hits the double knees to the back for two. Charlotte kicks her in the leg to break up a charge but gets knocked outside again, setting up the double knees from the apron. Back in and the Backstabber doesn’t work but Natural Selection is countered into the Bank Statement (thankfully too as the Natural Selection clearly didn’t send Sasha’s head anywhere near the mat).

Charlotte makes the rope for the break and takes out the knee again. Natural Selection gives Charlotte two so she yells about being better than Sasha. Another Bank Statement goes on but Charlotte reverses into a rollup for the pin and the title at 13:52. Saxton: “Just like that?”

Rating: B. This was just a straight match and that’s the key to the whole thing. The women are getting to show that they can have a good match without the smoke and mirrors, which never would have been the case otherwise. If nothing else it got the kind of time that a title match deserves to develop the story of Banks having a bad back (which would keep her on the shelf for about a month). Strong match here and another of many to come for these two.

Doctors Anderson and Gallows (oh man I had forgotten how stupid this was) run into AJ Styles for a Club reunion. Finn Balor comes up and doesn’t think much of it. Somehow, this has still never gone anywhere.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is defending after winning a triple threat match. Miz comes out wearing a glittery Phantom of the Opera mask while Maryse is basically in a one piece swimsuit. In a sign of the changing times, Mauro talks about Miz’s look instead of Maryse. Miz stomps away in the corner and gets two off a running kick to the chest. Crews gets the same off a rollup, only to walk into the short DDT as it’s almost all Miz to start. We’re already in the reverse chinlock before Miz sends him into the apron to cut off a comeback. Miz takes too long coming off the top though and dives into a dropkick to put both guys down.

A crossbody into a nipup has Miz in trouble as JBL rants about Otunga calling Crews a Jackrobat (jacked acrobat). The Toss Powerbomb is countered so Crews gets two off a tilt-a-whirl powerslam. An overhead belly to belly sets up a standing moonsault, which Otunga sums up perfectly: “A man with that kind of size and that kind of muscle should not be able to do that.” Miz teases taking a walk but Maryse cuts him off, allowing Miz to post Crews. The Skull Crushing Finale retains the title at 5:36.

Rating: D+. Standard Smackdown match and something that could have been cut, or at least put in the Kickoff Show in the place of the Dudleys match. Crews felt like an easy obstacle to overcome because there was nowhere near enough build to set the match up. Put some more effort into the title already people, as it’s just not working.

We recap John Cena vs. AJ Styles. They set up the first match when Styles and Cena were in the ring together, only to have Anderson and Gallows interfere to turn Styles heel. Styles went on a great rant about how Cena was a fraud who couldn’t hang in the ring with someone like him. Cena went into a great speech about how he’s here out of love because it never gets old. AJ beat him at Money in the Bank with assistance from Anderson and Gallows, setting up a rematch between the two here.

AJ Styles vs. John Cena

This just feels big. AJ grabs a waistlock to start but is easily knocked away. The announcers go out of the way to put over how AJ has been on big shows before but nothing this big. Oh I don’t know. I remember him being at that Wrestlemania thing earlier in the year. The dueling chants begin and the AJ STYLES side is pretty clearly stronger.

Cena’s headlock is countered and AJ scores with the dropkick but the bragging earns AJ a right to the jaw. A hard whip into the corner sends AJ down for a bit with Cena doing some rare trash talking. They head to the floor and the fans start belting out JOHN CENA SUCKS, only to have AJ turn it into some gasping with a suplex onto the apron. Cena is right back with a dropkick for two and it’s time for some more right hands to the head.

AJ comes back with a forearm to the face, earning himself Cena’s finishing sequence. It’s way too early for the AA though as AJ hits a Pele, followed by the Styles Clash for a close two. The fans were actually more into the near fall than I was expecting as you would think they’d know better this early. The AA gives Cena two of his own and both guys are down again.

Styles slips out of the super AA and grabs the torture rack for the spinout powerbomb. They’re trading bombs at this point and it’s the only way they should be going here. Something like a Big Ending gives Cena two but he can’t get the STF. Instead it’s the AA neckbreaker for two on Cena (not the same as the AA JBL) but the springboard 450 only hits mat.

A faceplant puts Cena down again though and AJ can’t follow up. He manages the springboard forearm but Cena reverses into the worst STF I’ve ever seen. Thankfully AJ slips out and grabs a Crossface, which Cena powers out of as well. That’s reversed into the Calf Crusher which AJ is smart enough to twist away from the ropes. Cena reverses that into another horrible STF (AJ’s face is on the mat) so AJ is quickly up with the enziguri. A tornado DDT plants AJ and there’s the top rope Fameasser for two.

Cena heads up again and gets taken down with a super hurricanrana (Mauro: “MAMA MIA!”), followed by the Phenomenal Forearm for a VERY near fall (drawing Mauro to his feet). It’s Cena’s turn now as he takes AJ up for the super AA and….it’s two. NOW the fans know it’s on as I don’t think anyone has ever kicked out of that before. Cena is stunned and the AA is countered into another Clash. The Phenomenal Forearm puts Cena away clean at 23:10.

Rating: A. I know it’s not going to sound good but a lot of this goes to Cena. At the end of the day, the crowd completely lost it when AJ kicked out of that super AA. AJ wins here not because he got a pin but because he beat Cena clean. That’s a very, VERY short list and that’s what makes it feel so important. Think back to how big of a deal it was when Warrior pinned Hogan clean. That felt like an era changing win, and while this isn’t quite that big, it’s the same idea.

Oh yeah and it’s an outstanding match and possibly the Match of the Year. This was the heavyweight slugfest formula as they beat the heck out of each other with both guys hitting everything they could until one of them couldn’t get up. That’s a really hard match to pull off and these two did it in an incredible match. It belonged on the grand stage and gives Cena one heck of a mountain to overcome, which he somehow did in a better match at the Royal Rumble.

Post match Cena takes off his wristband and leaves it in the ring. He would do dark matches for a few weeks and then be back wrestling on TV in less than a month so this didn’t mean anything.

Some fans won a contest and got some stuff. In other words, let the fans have a breather.

Here’s Jon Stewart for your celebrity appearance. He makes fun of himself for interfering in Cena’s match last year and says the big lesson he learned was to tuck your shirt in when you’re taking an AA. As for tonight though, he’s here to be in New Day’s corner to help deal with Anderson and Gallows. In honor of the moment, he throws on a unicorn horn and does Big E.’s (out injured due to getting crotched against the post) entrance.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

New Day is defending of course and unfortunately Anderson and Gallows are still doing their stupid doctor nonsense, complete with jars for Kofi, Xavier and Jon’s testicles. I hear Paige can help you with one of those. Anderson headlocks Kofi down to start but he’s right back up with the jumping back elbow to the jaw. Kofi flips onto his feet and gets two off the standing double stomp. You can tell the fans are still recovering from the previous match and it’s off to Woods.

That goes badly as the he gets taken into the corner for a beating from Gallows. At least it does bring the fans back a bit with the rhythmic clapping. Gallows gets taken into the corner for the Unicorn Stampede (which they’ve kind of stopped doing in recent months) and the fans are really not responding. Woods sends him outside so Kofi can hit a running dive (while posing in the air) to take him down again. Back in and Gallows kicks Kofi in the head to take over for real this time with Anderson working on the arm.

That goes nowhere as the hot tag brings in Woods to clean house. Anderson sends him to the apron for an enziguri, setting up the rope walk elbow drop. Everything breaks down and Anderson kicks Kofi in the chest, setting up the Magic Killer. Stewart gets in though and it’s time to crotch him as well. Hang on though as he has to tuck in his shirt first. Cue the returning Big E. for the save though and that’s a DQ at 9:09.

Rating: D. I don’t know if it was the previous match or what but sweet goodness the fans did NOT care for this one. It’s not a good match in the first place as Anderson and Gallows aren’t funny in the doctor roles, but the bigger problem here was the focus being on Stewart at the end. Oh and the ending sets up a rematch, which really isn’t what they need to be going with here. Bad match but Big E.’s return did wake up the crowd.

Big E. drinks the fluid in the jar holding his “testicles”. Stewart dances with New Day and the fans…well they care when Big E. dances at least.

We recap Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler. Dolph won a six way match to earn the shot and then it all went nuts. Ziggler started talking about how he was tired of being told that he always either too good or not good enough. It was time to turn up the jets and become champion for the third time. Serious Ziggler was nice but I don’t think anyone was buying him as having a real chance here. You know, because he’s Dolph Ziggler.

Smackdown World Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean is defending and Shane and Daniel are here for no apparent reason. The fans are behind Ziggler and they trade some grappling on the mat with Ziggler getting the better of it (not exactly a surprise). The threat of a neckbreaker sends Ambrose bailing to the floor so Dolph splashes him against the barricade.

Back in and Ziggler’s jumping DDT is countered with Dean throwing him outside again. Ziggler escapes a super Dirty Deeds so Dean slaps on a half crab of all things. You can tell Dean is playing the subtle heel here as the smark crowd is always going to cheer for Ziggler. Dean heads up top and gets dropkicked out of the air but he’s right back with a double chickenwing facebuster.

Ambrose tunes up the band (which is now mocking Ziggler instead of anything involving Shawn Michaels) but shakes his head and tries Dirty Deeds instead. That’s reversed into the jumping DDT and both guys are down again. A double collision gives us another lay down period until Dean is up first and hammering away.

The top rope elbow gets two so Ziggler grabs the sleeper, earning them both a tumble out to the floor. Ziggler gets in the superkick on the floor but it’s barely two back inside. The Zig Zag gets the same but Dean pops back up with the rebound lariat. Ziggler catches Dean on top and pulls him back down, right into Dirty Deeds to retain the title at 15:22.

Rating: D+. And that people, is Ziggler choking again. This would lead to him saying he’s never won the big one, which would turn into him never holding the World Title that long because holding the title is more important than winning it. The match was nothing all that good as we were just waiting on Dirty Deeds, which only happened so Dean could keep it warm for AJ next month. That was completely obvious the second AJ pinned Cena again and that’s all this title needed to do.

Package on Summerslam weekend.

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Eva Marie vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

Dang I didn’t know the Glow was a year old. Actually hang on a minute as Eva Marie is suffering from exhaustion, anxiety and stress (likely brought on by reading too many Wellness Violation messages, which meant she would never wrestle again) so we have a replacement. At least we got that amazing entrance one more time.

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

So yeah, you know full well that Nikki is going to be all that matters in this match because IT’S HER BIG COMEBACK THAT EVERYONE TOTALLY CARES ABOUT BECAUSE WE LOVE HER SO MUCH! She does get one heck of a pop though, which is rather scary. During her entrance, Mauro declares her return “miraculous”. Oh man this is going to be a long one.

Bliss rolls Becky up to start and gets in a hard slap for good measure. Naomi comes in to scare Alexa off so it’s Natalya instead. A forearm puts Natalya down and the splits legdrop gets two. Carmella comes in for the Staten Island Shuffle before a missed charge sends Natalya outside. Back in and a powerslam out of the corner plants Carmella before it’s off to Nikki, the heel, for a strong face pop.

We hit the chinlock but hang on as we need some Nikki pushups. Alexa chokeshoves Carmella down for the moonsault knees to the ribs as the crowd is dead all over again. The abdominal stretch keeps things slow until Carmella finally rolls over and makes the hot tag to Becky. All three heels are send into the corner for the springboard kicks from Lynch, followed by a Bexploder on Natalya.

Becky’s top rope legdrop gets two with Nikki making the save. A blind tag brings in Naomi for the dancing kicks with the fans just not reacting at all. Bliss’ springboard splash hits knees so it’s off to Nikki vs. Carmella. A bad looking Bronco Buster gets two on Nikki and everything breaks down. Nikki’s big forearm sets up the Rack Attack 2.0 (Nikki: “I’m back.”) for the pin at 11:16.

Rating: D. This was all about Nikki’s return and that’s not enough to carry a dull match. Naomi’s Glow stuff wasn’t over yet, Becky was stuck around people who weren’t up to her level and Carmella was showing that she didn’t need to be on the main roster yet. The same was true for Alexa and Natalya was her usual self. Just not a good match and it showed the lack of depth to the division.

We recap Rusev vs. Roman Reigns. Rusev and Lana were married and so Reigns interrupted for no apparent reason to insult them and shove them into a cake.

Maria Menunos interviews Rusev and Lana, who don’t like her questions about Reigns. They won’t stand for this and Lana is sure that her husband will destroy Reigns.

We recap the Universal Title match. Basically we need a new title due to the Brand Split and Universal Title was the best they could come up with. Seth Rollins was put into the match as Raw’s #1 draft pick and Finn Balor earned his way in by winning a series of matches. Not much else to it as there’s no major animosity between them but it’s better than pulling the title out of a suitcase.

Seth did get in a great promo talking about how he’s done everything Balor has done but he’s done it a little bit better. He’s not wrong, though that’s not the best thing to do when you have someone so new to the main roster. Then Balor showed up as the Demon and scared Rollins to death.

Universal Title: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Anything goes and the title (which isn’t that well received due to a bad case of being hideous) is vacant coming in. Unless I’m forgetting something, to date this is the only time Balor has wrestled as the Demon on the main roster. We get the Big Match Intros and the title itself receives some hearty boos. Balor dropkicks him into the corner at the bell but it’s too early for the Coup de Grace.

Instead Balor hits a suicide dive to the floor, followed by some kicks to the knee back inside. They head outside again with Seth getting in his first offense via a suplex on the floor. Balor is right back with something like a Phenomenal Forearm off the barricade. Back in again and Balor hits a basement dropkick for two as this is almost one sided so far. Finn stays on the leg as the fans are singing something.

Balor jumps over the ropes but Rollins slides between his legs and powerbombs him into the barricade, completely destroying Balor’s shoulder and putting him on the shelf for the better part of eight months. We’re less than four minutes in though and you can see the shoulder looking all messed up. Back in and Seth gets two off a backbreaker, setting up a chinlock. The chants are still going and it sounds like THAT TITLE SUCKS to the tune of John Cena Sucks.

Seth starts the trash talk and cuts off a comeback attempt. A snapmare into a kick to the back has Finn in even more trouble but Seth would rather walk around than follow up. It’s back to the chinlock for a good while until the springboard knee to the head sets up Seth’s frog splash for two. What looks like a Rainmaker is countered into a DDT to give Balor his first major offense in a long time and he follows up with some forearms.

A basement dropkick sets up the Sling Blade but Seth kicks him down without much effort. An enziguri stuns Balor but he’s right back with the Pele, earning a very nice round of applause. If nothing else the chants about the title have stopped. 1916 (reverse implant DDT) gives Finn two but the Coup de Grace is countered into a triangle choke of all things. Finn falls outside because rope breaks don’t count (anything goes remember) and things slow down a bit.

Back in and the buckle bomb sets up the low superkick for two on Balor with Seth looking stunned on the kickout. A small package driver gets the same count and reaction so Seth goes up, allowing Balor to hit a very loud enziguri to put him on the floor. Balor adds a shotgun dropkick to send him into the barricade, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back of the head for two. The Coup de Grace misses and it’s a Pedigree for two. Finn counters a second Pedigree into a double stomp, followed by the Coup de Grace for the pin and the title at 19:23.

Rating: B+. When you factor in that shoulder injury, this is quite the impressive performance. Above all else though, how good is it that Balor won the title here? If he loses his first major pay per view match and then goes away until April, he’s lucky to come back to the cruiserweight division.

This was a heck of a match with both guys beating the heck out of each other. It took some time to get built up but once they finally got there, the fans really started to accept things, which is a very positive sign. Balor is someone who is going to get a very positive reaction no matter what and giving him the title here was entirely the right call.

Balor can barely move his right arm after the match but finally holds the title up. On his WWE 24 special, he said you could feel and hear the shoulder crunching and crackling as he lifted the title and it probably did more damage to the arm.

The pre-show channel chats a bit and throws us to a KFC ad with Dolph Ziggler dressing up as Colonel Sanders to beat up Miz dressed as a chicken. It’s actually dumber than you remember it being.

Here’s Lana to introduce Rusev, albeit while wearing half of a wedding dress, the bottom of which looks like a diaper. She’s one of the most beautiful women on the roster but she looks ridiculous here.

US Title: Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

Roman is challenging and the booing is strong with this one. Rusev jumps him before the bell and they fight out to the floor with Roman being sent into the steps. The fans chant RUSEV MACHKA because they’ve given up on America over their hatred for Reigns. Roman gets in a Superman Punch as the bell hasn’t rung yet. They fight over a chair with Reigns getting the better of it and destroying Rusev. Reigns finally leaves but comes back with a spear, all while the fans chant WE WANT SLATER. No match of course, likely due to time issues.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar. This match was announced as Orton’s return match from surgery and the build focused on Orton being able to hit the RKO anytime, including a sweet moment where Orton interrupted a Lesnar promo with an RKO. The hype video even includes some OVW clips as they came up through developmental together and debuted within a few months of each other. This had a heck of a build and felt like something important but the question was whether Lesnar would have an actual match or just do his usual Lesnar stuff.

Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar

Heyman handles Lesnar’s introduction, saying he’s conquering out of the University of Suplex City. Brock seems to get into his MMA stance to start before driving Orton into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Orton escapes the first German suplex attempt but can’t hit the RKO.

Now the first suplex connects (with Mauro knowing that it’s the 33^rd Lesnar has hit at Summerslam because he’s awesome that way) and Brock follows with two more. Orton is almost out on his feet so Lesnar suplexes him again. It’s nothing but suplexes at this point and it’s already getting dull. They head outside for a much needed change of pace with Orton being thrown over the announcers’ table.

Orton gets thrown from the front row through the table as this is dominance. The other table is loaded up but whatever Lesnar is trying is countered into the RKO onto (not through) the table. The hanging DDT plants Lesnar back inside and another RKO gets two. Orton realizes he has no choice and tries the Punt, only to have it reversed into the F5 (bad one) for two more.

That’s enough for Lesnar so he takes off the gloves and pads and hammers on Orton. An elbow to the head actually busts Orton open VERY badly. Lesnar just keeps hammering on him while the fans chant GOLDBERG until the referee FINALLY stops it at 11:47. I’ve heard a bunch of answers about what happened but I believe this was the planned ending and a hard way opening.

Rating: D. Yeah this didn’t work when it happened and it didn’t work again this time around. Lesnar suplexing Orton for five minutes then selling a few big moves doesn’t make me think it’s an awesome main event. This was everything wrong with Lesnar’s current WWE run in one match and that made for a really dull match, save for the odd finish that seemed designed to protect Orton. You know, after he was basically squashed.

Lesnar keeps hammering on him until the always intimidating Shane McMahon comes out, earning himself an F5 (which thankfully didn’t lead anywhere). Heyman panics as they leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. If you cut an hour (or more) out of this, it’s bordering on the classic level. As it is, this is just a good show that runs WAY too long. At some point you have to cut something out and WWE just refuses to do that. Cut out the Dudleys match or the women’s tag and give us some breathing room here because sweet goodness this show could use it.

Now that being said, there’s some outstanding stuff on here with the Styles vs. Cena match as an instant classic, the Women’s Title being very good, a great Universal Title match and really only the Tag Team Title match being without much value. The show is certainly good and the positives outweigh the negatives but unless the show is a masterpiece, fans are going to start losing interest near the end. It’s a solid show but cut out a good forty minutes to really make it great.

Ratings Comparison

American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos vs. Breezango/Ascension/Vaudevillains

Original: C

2017 Redo: B-

Dudley Boyz vs. Neville/Sami Zayn

Original: C

2017 Redo: C-

Sheamus vs. Cesaro

Original: B-

2017 Redo: B

Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens vs. Enzo Amore/Big Cass

Original: C+

2017 Redo: C+

Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Original: B

2017 Redo: B

Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Original: C

2017 Redo: D+

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Original: A

2017 Redo: A

New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

Original: D+

2017 Redo: D

Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Original: B-

2017 Redo: D+

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

Original: C

2017 Redo: D

Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B+

2017 Redo: D+

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

Original: C+

2017 Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: B

2017 Redo: B-

That’s quite the drop on Ambrose vs. Ziggler and Lesnar vs. Orton. Some of them are spot on though and that’s not the biggest surprise.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2016/08/21/summerslam-2016-they-didnt/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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