IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 11, 2018
Location: Verizon Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

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

We open with all eight Money in the Bank participants in the ring on ladders (with Braun Strowman WAY in the air). Cue Kurt Angle to explain the Money in the Bank concept but here’s a now bald Baron Corbin to interrupt. He threatens Angle with Stephanie McMahon and the eight participants start to bicker over who is going to win.

Natalya insists that she’s healthy to go and Owens goes on a rant about how unfair it is for Strowman to be so tall. Roode: “Owens, do you want the briefcase lowered to your height?” Owens: “That sounds like a great idea!” Strowman cuts them off and says he’s going to win. Bliss screeches a lot and the women start saying their Mixed Match Challenge partners are going to win. Strowman says someone is going to get these hands on Sunday. This was a big waste of time, but so is most everything else they do around Money in the Bank time.

Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya vs. Ember Moon vs. Sasha Banks

Sasha flips onto Natalya but Moon hits a SCARY suicide dive to drive Banks into the barricade. Bliss steals the near fall and we take a break. Back with Bliss clearing the ring and working on Natalya’s knee until Banks comes back in for some clotheslines. Moon is back in for some knees to the face but Bliss gives her a Code Red for two. The Meteora gives Banks the same and we go split screen for a Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax video. This show really is everything I can’t stand about modern WWE wrapped together.

Back to full screen with Twisted Bliss hitting knees as we take a break. We come back with Natalya breaking up the Bank Statement on Bliss but hurting her knee in the process. She’s fine enough to put Banks in the Sharpshooter until Moon makes the save with a superkick. The Eclipse drops Natalya but Bliss makes another save. Banks comes in and gets knocked out again, leaving Natalya to make Bliss tap to the Sharpshooter at 20:39.

Rating: C+. The match was the same batch of diving saves and near falls that they all are, which means it was at least entertaining. What it wasn’t though was meaningful in any way as this has nothing to do with giving you an advantage in a ladder match. Then again, that’s never stopped WWE before because they came up with this blueprint years ago and haven’t changed it a bit since.

We run down the pay per view card.

Owens comes in to see Balor and brings some olives (Owens: “I didn’t have an olive branch.”). He wants an alliance on Sunday because someone like Strowman could hold the title forever. Maybe the two of them and Bobby Roode could take out Strowman tonight so he doesn’t even make the ladder match. Owens: “Enjoy the olives.”

Breezango vs. Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre

Ziggler jumps Breeze, who has a beard for some reason, as Cole tries to say that he thinks Ziggler and McIntyre can be former Tag Team Champions. McIntyre comes in for a hard shot to the face but an enziguri gets Breeze out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Fandango, who gets dropped in short order. McIntyre powerbombs Breeze onto Fandango and brings Ziggler back in for the superkick. The Zig Zag/Claymore combination ends Fandango at 3:17.

Rating: D+. Just a squash win for Ziggler and McIntyre, even if Ziggler still doesn’t need to be there. I’m hoping this team is split up before too long as every day that McIntyre isn’t pushed as a single star is a waste of time. He’s a top level star in the making and he’s stuck with Ziggler, who hasn’t been able to make anything stick for years.

Post match McIntyre says this is the proof of how great they are. This isn’t just hype so every team in the bank can know what’s coming. They’re here to make the tag team division right, and they’ll do that by winning the titles.

Roman Reigns says Jinder Mahal has earned this whipping by being stupid. Tonight it’s time to deliver a receipt. It’s almost eerie that he’s a little more tolerable with Mahal just because he’s not chasing the title again.

Jinder Mahal vs. Roman Reigns

Before the match, Mahal talks about wanting to see Reigns laying on the mat this Sunday with Mahal’s hand raised in victory. Reigns comes out but hang on because Mahal has Singh get in the ring too. See, Mahal challenged Reigns to a match, but he never said it would be with him, so it’s Singh instead. I had that written down before Mahal even came to the ring because it would be the most annoying, cliched thing they could do.

Roman Reigns vs. Sunil Singh

Superman Punch and spear in 1:11.

Post match Mahal gives Reigns the Khallas.

B Team vs. Rhyno/Heath Slater

Axel and Slater start with Bo dropping some knees for an early two. That means we’re already in the chinlock until Slater fights up in short order. Rhyno gets knocked off the apron and a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination is good for the pin on Slater at 1:42.

Post match Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy appear on screen to say they’re here. By that they mean on the stage where they know the B Team is scared. Matt threatens to eat them.

Here’s Elias for the song. This is the last performance before he wins the Intercontinental Title so he needs to be able to concentrate. The song mocks Seth’s nicknames and his training (“Seth Freaking Rollins. Am I supposed to think that’s cool? And I get it, you do CrossFit, so I definitely know that you are a tool.”), going on longer than any other song he’s ever done. Elias even has a special guitar, painted up like the Intercontinental Title. It was given to him by John Mayer and next week it’s going to look great with his new title.

Cue Rollins to chase him off and yells about everything Elias has done in recent weeks. Rollins thinks Elias is cool with the spotlight and the guitars….as he looks at the custom guitar. He teases breaking it but instead says this seems like the perfect time for a charity auction. Elias offers to bid on it so Rollins puts the guitar on the mat and gives it the Stomp. Coach: “That was from one of the greatest hip hop artists of our generation!” Corey calls him out for stupidity so Coach says that John Mayer and Jay-Z (I guess he thinks Jay-Z plays guitar) are the same thing.

Owens tries to get Roode on his side tonight too.

The Riott Squad makes a big mess in the back on their way to the ring.

Ruby Riott vs. Bayley

Back with Bayley being sent face first into the middle buckle and Riott grabbing an armbar. Thirty seconds after a full break, we go to a split screen for another MITB ad. Bayley fights up with a whip into the corner but a running knee bangs up her bad shoulder. The top rope elbow missing makes things even worse and Ruby rolls her up for two. Back up and the Squad offers a distraction, allowing Riott to send Bayley shoulder first into the post. The Riott Kick is good for the pin at 11:28.

Rating: D+. That missed slide in the corner was a big problem, along with how there wasn’t much of a reason to have these women fight. This one was more about filling in time on a show where they don’t have much else to do. It’s sad to see how far Bayley has fallen in about a year, but never let it be said that WWE can’t turn someone with potential into one of their standard performers.

Post match Ruby draws an R on Bayley’s stomach with a marker.

Natalya tells Ronda Rousey to look out for Nia Jax tonight.

Here’s Coach to moderate a face to face showdown between Rousey and Jax (the second time since the match was announced). Nia says they’re both elite athletes and she’s purposely pushed Rousey’s buttons over the last few weeks. Rousey has a lot of great things about her but she’s still very new in WWE. Her success came from outside of WWE and there are some different rules around here. Nia lists off some things in MMA that you can’t do around here and promises a demonstration on Sunday. Rousey says she improvises and on Sunday she’ll improvise Nia’s arm off.

Nia points out that Rousey’s one match was against a businesswoman who competes part time (and HHH, who Stephanie has apparently absorbed) and it’s clear that Nia isn’t ready. That’s too much for Rousey, who lists off all the times where she’s been told she wasn’t ready and all the times she’s proven them wrong. Rousey: “I am Ronda Rousey and I was born ready.”

Curt Hawkins vs. No Way Jose

Roode and Balor aren’t sure who to trust in the four way.

Video on a Special Olympian who does powerlifting. Nothing wrong with that.

Back from a break and we’ve got an obstacle course, which Sami Zayn has set up to prove that Bobby Lashley used to be in the army. Simply put, if Lashley can complete the course faster than Sami, he’ll prove himself. Sami goes over the entire course and has heard that Green Berets can do this in about two minutes. He did it in a minute and a half earlier today, with a bad hand and no warmup.

Lashley comes out and promises to win because we’re actually doing this. Renee Young flips a coin and Lashley gets to go first. Lashley finishes with ease in 42 seconds, even though the clock keeps going. Of course Sami jumps him from behind and hits a Helluva Kick as soon as Lashley gets down. I can’t begin to fathom how the meeting went when this was set up.

The trio keeps planning when Strowman comes in and tells them to team up on him.

Finn Balor vs. Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman clears the ring to start and we take an early break. Back with Strowman getting triple teamed and Owens asking who the monster is now. Strowman fights them off again as the announcers make their picks for Sunday. For some reason Owens tries a cheap shot on Strowman and then bails to the floor, which has gone so well for him with Strowman for months now. Strowman shrugs off Balor and Roode so he can chase Owens to the back. The chase doesn’t last long as Strowman throws him back through the entrance and it’s monster time.

Balor joins them on stage and gets sent into the set, leaving Strowman to load up the announcers’ table. Roode is back up with a ladder and some shots to the ribs have Strowman in trouble. They put Strowman on the table and Owens climbs a table for a big frog splash. Back from another break with Owens and Strowman down, leaving us with the not very thrilling Roode vs. Balor match.

Both guys go down so let’s hit that split screen Rousey vs. Jax ad. Balor kicks him out to the floor before hitting the Sling Blade back inside. Owens is back in to break up the Coup de Grace but Balor knocks him off the top. The required Tower of Doom puts everyone down and Strowman is on his feet. Roode and Balor get knocked down so Strowman catches Owens going into the crowd.

Back at ringside, the injured Strowman runs them all over but Balor manages to get some boots up in the corner. A top rope double stomp to back staggers Strowman again so he shoulders Balor down to get a breather. Roode and Owens get back together on Strowman until Owens rolls him Roode up for two. Balor hits the Sling Blade on Strowman and there’s the shotgun dropkick. There’s the Coup de Grace with Roode making the save because this just can’t end.

Roode hits the Glorious DDT on Strowman but Owens makes the save. Another frog splash gets two on Strowman so let’s bring in a ladder. Well if Owens could do this before, why did he wait so long? Strowman absorbs two shots to the ribs and chokeslams Owens (Owens: “I’M SORRY!”). The powerslam onto the ladder ends Owens at 25:57.

Rating: C-. The Balor vs. Roode part really hurt this but the bigger problem is the booking of Strowman. Looking at what happened to him in this match, why in the world would I believe that anyone can beat him in a singles match? Brock beat him clean but unless Lesnar returns from his spring and summer vacation early, there’s nothing for Strowman to do and with no one who could beat him (save for Roman of course), we’re stuck sitting around waiting on something for Strowman to find something to do or for him to cool off. What a great way to use a guy who only gets over like this every few years at best.

Overall Rating: D. This felt like a sandwich with the ladder matches as the bread and whatever else they could find filling out the middle. It’s not a bad show but it’s really, really boring as it was as much talk about Money in the Bank as I can handle. That’s how you’re supposed to do a go home show but it doesn’t have the same effect when they’ve been doing the same thing for five weeks now. This show is dying for something fresh but odds are we’re just stuck waiting around until the build to Summerslam at this point. At least Sunday can get us on to something different and I’ll take what I can get right now.

Results

Natalya b. Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon and Sasha Banks – Sharpshooter to Bliss

Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre b. Breezango – Zig Zag/Claymore combination to Fandango

B Team b. Heath Slater/Rhyno – Belly to back suplex/neckbreaker to Slater

Ruby Riott b. Bayley – Riott Kick

No Way Jose b. Curt Hawkins – Pop up right hand

Braun Strowman b. Finn Balor, Kevin Owens and Bobby Roode – Powerslam onto a ladder to Owens

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

It’s not like he shouldn’t have another nickname.

So a few years ago, Mick Foley did a stand-up comedy special for the Network where he jokingly said that he was Mr. In Your House. Since a few years had passed, that popped into my head and I started to wonder who that would be. As it turns out, this isn’t really up for debate and, again, it’s another item on someone’s long list of incredible accomplishments.

As you might have guessed, it’s Shawn Michaels, by a pretty wide margin. Think about what he did at that show alone.

In Your House II – Jeff Jarrett. Great match.

In Your House VII – Diesel. One of the best brawls ever in the WWF.

In Your House X – Mankind. Instant classic, still praised today.

In Your House XVII – Undertaker. Incredible brawl that felt like it was a war.

In Your House XVIII – Undertaker. Inside the Cell, absolute masterpiece.

That’s a rather nice DVD on its own and you could add a few more matches to the list. Maybe Foley is up there with him, but for overall match quality it’s pretty easily Shawn’s show, again, which tends to be the case more often than not.

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #8
Date: June 8, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

Things are starting to change a bit as evil manager Salina de la Renta is coming after World Champion Shane Strickland. At the same time, Tom Lawlor is still a jerk and tonight he gets to face the rather talented Fred Yehi. We’re still at the point of having people debut here fairly regularly around here so we might be seeing some new faces again. Let’s get to it.

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

Video on Shane Strickland. Is there a reason to have this if he’s not here to start the show?

Opening sequence.

Tom Lawlor vs. Fred Yehi

Lawlor has Team Filthy, including Simon Gotch and the still unnamed third man (though his jacket says Sanders), with him. Yehi takes him down to the mat and grabs a front facelock but Lawlor spins back up for a standoff. Now it’s Lawlor’s turn to wrestle him down but Yehi spins out and grabs him again, sending Lawlor to the ropes. This time Yehi stomps on Lawlor’s hand but Lawlor pulls him down by the leg.

That goes nowhere so Yehi gets two off a great looking fisherman’s suplex. Lawlor is right back up and grabs a seated abdominal stretch to slow things down again. It’s off to a butterfly lock on Yehi and we take a break. Back with Lawlor stomping away and getting two off a suplex. Lawlor grabs a dragon sleeper with a hammerlock (allowing Tony to talk about the Andersons, which had to make him smile) and then a guillotine, which is countered with a hard slam.

Yehi’s dragon suplex gets two so he fires off a long string of knees to the face. A layout powerbomb gets two more and Lawlor is rocked, which doesn’t happen very often around here. With the referee checking on Yehi, Lawlor takes off his forearm pad and knocks Yehi cold with the metal forearm. A rear naked choke finishes Yehi off at 13:41.

Rating: B-. Lawlor is one of those guys that MLW owner Court Bauer hyped up to a nearly ridiculous degree when he was promoting the show but he’s turned into one of the best things around here. He really is one of those guys who lives up to his building and the Filthy name suits him perfectly. Yehi is someone who could hang with him on the mat and I had a good time with this one. Well done.

We look back at Maxwell J Friedman attacking Joey Janela last week. He’s been fined $5,000.

Friedman really doesn’t think much of the fine and doesn’t want to talk about it but Janela’s manager Aria Blake comes in to yell at him. This goes nowhere and Friedman is out.

We look back at de la Renta threatening Strickland last week.

De la Renta has put out a $20,000 bounty on Strickland’s head. It’s worked before and it should work again.

Jimmy Yuta and Jason Cade, a fairly unsuccessful tag team, are at a photo shoot where Cade won’t let Yuta get much of the spotlight.

Leon Scott vs. MVP

Scott, the big bald guy who has been following Sami Callihan, is named for the first time here and has Callihan and (Sawyer) Fulton in his corner. MVP goes right at him to start but Callihan comes in for the DQ at 47 seconds.

Post match MVP tries to fight them off but gets caught by Fulton, whose presence seems to surprise Tony, even though he was present and active during Callihan’s match last week. The beatdown is on but Kotto Brazil, who Callihan attacked last week, comes in for the save. That doesn’t last long but he did try. Callihan beats them both down with the baseball bat.

Strickland doesn’t think much of the bounties on his head because it comes with being the World Champion. Low Ki comes in and, in a very low key voice, offers some help dealing with de la Renta and hands Strickland a business card. Shane isn’t interested and Low Ki walks away.

Rich Swann and ACH meet and might be a team in the future. So I guess Swann is just a cocky face? That’s hard to pull off, though not impossible.

ACH vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix is part of de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado but is still rather popular and fan friendly. ACH takes him to the mat and we’re back up to the standoff almost immediately. They take turns flipping around to another standoff but ACH gets in a double stomp to the back, followed by a sliding dropkick to put Fenix outside. You don’t do that with a flier like ACH so there’s the first dive. Fenix is right back up with a dropkick to the floor and the suicide dive takes ACH down as well.

Back from a break with a high angle Swanton giving Fenix two. They trade loud strikes with Fenix getting the better of it and ACH almost looking surprised that Fenix would kick him in the face. ACH is right back with a backbreaker and a snap German suplex for two of his own. Fenix snapmares him down and rolls into a frog splash, followed by a missed moonsault. That’s fine with Fenix, who keeps rolling and catches ACH with a cutter. Cool spot, albeit incredibly contrived. A chop to ACH’s chest makes me cringe and another puts ACH down.

Fenix jumps up top and tries a high crossbody, which ACH rolls through into a Death Valley Driver for two more. That’s enough of ACH on offense so Fenix knocks him to the apron and kicks him in the head. Back in and ACH returns the favor to knock Fenix off the top in a heap. ACH doesn’t exactly have the same prowess with the chops, to the point that Fenix sticks his chest out and tells him to do it. Fenix kicks the heck out him but charges into a superkick to keep ACH strong. The frog splash misses though and Fenix grabs a Muscle Buster driver (egads) for the pin at 14:44.

Rating: B. While maybe not the most classically formulated match in the world, this was a lot of fun with both guys flying around and hitting a variety of big moves, which is more than you get in a lot of matches like this. ACH isn’t likely to win much around here, but he’s regularly putting in entertaining performances on TV. Fenix needed the win a lot more though and that’s what matters most here.

Post match they stare each other down and shake hands after a few seconds to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. After last week’s really weak effort, it’s a good sign that they can still pull off something like this. You had two good matches and angle advancement up and down the show. That’s a good way to use your hour of TV time and even though there’s only so much to draw from, this was definitely one of the best episodes of the series so far.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #7
Date: June 1, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

With Pentagon out of the way, it’s time for Shane Strickland to find a new challenger to the World Title. I’m not sure who that can be as Tom Lawlor would seem to be one of the best options but he’s busy with Jimmy Havoc at the moment. Other than that, you never can tell what you might see on this show, which can be both good and bad. Let’s get to it.

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

The backstage interviewer is outside Jeff Cobb’s (Lucha Underground’s Matanza) locker room when the Stud Stable comes in with Colonel Parker promising to put Cobb on a stretcher tonight.

Opening sequence.

Jake Hager vs. Jeff Cobb

Hager is better known as Jack Swagger and is part of the Stud Stable. Cobb, who the fans seem to like, is a fellow wrestling machine but is built more like Samoa Joe. Hager wastes no time in taking Cobb into the corner and tossing him across the ring in an impressive power display. A German suplex gets Cobb out of trouble for a few seconds but a clothesline to the back of the head takes him right back down. It’s too early for the ankle lock so the announcers start talking about the rest of the card instead of what’s going on here. Dang it MLW not you too.

Cobb fights out of a chinlock and forearms away in the corner but charges into a pair of boots. The Vader Bomb gets two but Cobb is fine enough to hit an Oklahoma Stampede for two of his own. Cobb can’t hit the Tour of the Islands and misses the standing shooting star press as well. The second Vader Bomb hits boots but Hager reverses into the ankle lock for the tap at 6:40.

Rating: C. Hager is someone who could be a player around here as he has the WWE pedigree and still looks like a killer. The Stud Stable could use a singles name like him too as just being a tag team isn’t going to get them very far. Cobb is a good choice to have around as well but given a loss like this, which was mostly one sided, I’m not sure how big he’s going to be around here.

Cobb is taken out on a stretcher and after a break, goes into an ambulance with a fractured ankle. That’s a great way to get the ankle lock over early on.

Quick look at Strickland retaining last week.

Shane says that was a hard match last week and is glad that the title is still around his waist. He runs into Salina de la Renta, who says it’s not over. Shane isn’t intimidated but she says be careful what you wish for. She has someone in mind for him.

Next week: Fred Yehi vs. Tom Lawlor.

Team Filthy doesn’t think anything of Yehi because he’s a little guy (“About yay high.”).

Sami Callihan and his big bald (and still unnamed) friend say they’re still taking over everything. Thanks for the update on that one.

Maxwell J Friedman is having some champagne at ringside.

The MLW Top Ten:

10. ACH

9. Jake Hager

8. Joey Janela

7. Barrington Hughes

6. Jimmy Havoc

5. MVP

4. Sami Callihan

3. Rey Fenix

2. Pentagon Jr.

1. Tom Lawlor

So Lawlor is #1 contender. I guess that should do it for Havoc’s deal, at least for now.

Rich Swann vs. Kotto Brazil

This is Swann’s MLW debut and he’s dancing, despite not having the fastest music in the world. We get a CAN YOU HANDLE THIS chant to start and the dancing continues, so at least Swann still has some holdover appeal from WWE. They trade headlocks to start before switching to a long pinfall reversal sequence into a standoff. A jumping Stunner from Brazil cranks the pace up a little bit and a springboard forearm makes Swann hold his face.

Brazil grabs a chinlock (needs more grabbing of the chin) to keep things in control as Friedman doesn’t seem impressed. Swann is back up with a dropkick and the pace actually slows a bit. A SHH chop is loaded up in the corner but Swann punches him in the face instead. Something like a torture rack with Swann on one knee and bending Brazil down a bit has him in more trouble as Swann is being very, very cocky here. Like, to the point where he’s almost a heel which….isn’t the worst idea in the world.

A missile dropkick gets two on Brazil and now it’s an abdominal stretch with Swann picking up the leg off the mat. With that going nowhere, Swann goes up and dives into….I think it was supposed to be a dropkick but was kind of a leg to the ribs instead. A Blockbuster (which actually connects) gives Brazil two but Swann comes back with a Lethal Injection. Brazil pulls him down into a reverse Rings of Saturn (Naomi used it for a bit last year) and then a Crossface for good measure. Swann makes a rope and they slug it out with Brazil going down, setting up the Phoenix splash to give Swann the pin at 12:59.

Rating: C-. What in the world was that? Like really, what were they going for here? If you’re bringing in Swann, a former champion in WWE and someone who got a strong reaction, as a heel (which is doable), don’t have him go move for move with someone who has never actually won a match around here. If you’re bringing him in as a face, which seems to be the idea with Friedman not being pleased, don’t have him being so cocky and having so many problems. This should have been about seven minutes shorter and more of a squash, so I’m really not sure what they were going for here.

They shake hands post match to make things even more confusing. Swann leaves but here’s Sami Callihan to hit Brazil with a baseball bat.

Sami Callihan vs. Joey Janela

Sami has two monsters with him, one of whom is the bald guy we’ve seen before but the other is an even bigger guy with messy hair (who appears to be Sawyer Fulton from NXT). If nothing else, Sami has a cool nickname with the Worldwide Desperado. Joey has Aria, who apparently used to be a backstage interviewer around here, in his corner as usual. Friedman is still at ringside so maybe we’re not done yet.

Janela knocks Callihan into the two monsters (with Fulton being seen on the jacket of the guy with hair, meaning we at least have one person confirmed) and the fans are rather pleased. Back in and Callihan clotheslines him down but Joey forearms away with reckless abandon. That just earns him a piledriver on the apron (they use that way too much) and we take a break. We come back with Janela hitting a sunset bomb for a breather and a Death Valley Driver gets three….but there’s a boot on the ropes.

So we keep going with the fans still behind Janela, though they oddly quiet down when he scores with some superkicks. Sami’s piledriver is no sold (erg) and he hits a fifth superkick before going down. A slugout goes to Janela but he misses a moonsault for a big crash. They head outside with Janela being sent into Friedman, who beats the heck out of him for messing up the champagne. Back in and Sami’s double underhook shoulder breaker is good for the pin at 9:03.

Post match Friedman beats up the bloody Janela even more and pours champagne on him to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This was the first real miss of the series with only one debut hitting and two matches being ranging from badly booked to just not being interesting in the first place. Maybe it’s me not liking some of the people on this show but it’s not a good sign when the Stud Stable and Colonel Parker were the best things on the show. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt until next week but I really hope this isn’t the way they’re heading most of the time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #6
Date: May 25, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

It’s title week as Shane Strickland is defending the World Title against Pentagon Jr., who misted Shane in the eyes and had to defend his #1 contendership as a result. Other than that it’s hard to say what we might see around here as it could be anything from established names to fresh talent. Let’s get to it.

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

Shane Strickland and Barrington Hughes arrived in a very nice car earlier today with Shane telling reporters that Pentagon should be worried. Salina de la Renta comes up to say that the title is rented just like the car. Hughes calls her a witch in Spanish.

Opening sequence.

The announcers chat for a bit.

Santana Garrett vs. Chelsea Green

Santana has been in NXT and TNA while Green is better known as Laurel Van Ness. They shake hands to start with the announcers talking about how close friends they are. A battle of the wristlocks doesn’t get either of them very far and neither can hit a right hand. Some rollups get two each and Chelsea goes mean with a slap to the face. The fans DON’T like that one so Chelsea takes her into the corner….and finds some lipstick? She shouts about that for a bit before a running knee to the face gets two.

The lipstick goes on and seems to make Chelsea a little nuts (I’ve seen this somewhere before) and she sends Santana head first into the buckle. Something like a curb stomp into the corner rocks Santana again and we hit the chinlock. As usual that triggers a comeback but Chelsea forearms her to the apron. Garrett is right back with a kick to the chest and a Russian legsweep (nice one too) for a near fall of her own. Back up and Santana spins out of a suplex, setting up a MickieDT for the pin at 7:56.

Rating: C. This was a perfectly acceptable match with both women doing some good things but very little spark or fire. They had something of a story with Chelsea attacking her friend and going psycho with the lipstick but it never got past a certain level. I’ll certainly take safe over a complete gamble though so this could have been much, much worse.

Tom Lawlor “apologizes” for what happened with Havoc two weeks ago. As usual, Lawlor nails the complete jerk promo.

Simon Gotch vs. Danny Santiago

This is Gotch’s Open Challenge and if Santiago can last five minutes, he makes $250 (which makes the fans laugh). A capture suplex and piledriver end Santiago in 48 seconds. That’s all this should have been.

Joey Janela and Aria Blake have no explanation for why they’re leaving Maxwell J. Friedman’s locker room.

Post break, Friedman freaks out because he finds cigarettes and domestic beer in his dressing room. This is NOT ok!

Video on Shane Strickland vs. Pentagon Jr., which has been well built up for the last few weeks.

MLW World Title: Shane Strickland vs. Pentagon Jr.

Strickland is defending and Pentagon has Salina de la Renta. Hang on though as de la Renta brings in a mariachi band to sing the Mexican national anthem. Shane’s eyes seem fine after the misting that helped set up the match. They circle each other to start until Shane shrugs off a superkick to the ribs and knees Pentagon in the face. That’s enough to start a fight in the crowd with Shane getting the better of it, only to springboard into a superkick back inside.

Pentagon gets creative by tying Shane’s arms to the rope with a camera cable and it’s time to chop away. We take a break and come back with Low Ki sitting in the aisle as Pentagon stops to dance, much to de la Renta’s annoyance. There’s a kick to Shane’s leg but he’s fine enough to knee Pentagon in the head. A 619 to the ribs sets up the rolling cutter for two more and Strickland isn’t sure where to go next.

Shane takes the kneepad down but misses a running knee. Instead he stands on his hands and gets kicked in the ribs for one and they’re both down again. It’s Pentagon up first but he can’t break the arm. Instead he has to save his own arm and you can see de la Renta getting a little nervous. An exchange of kicks to the head puts them both down and we take another break. Back again with the fight on the floor again until Pentagon takes him to the apron for a Canadian Destroyer.

That doesn’t even warrant a cover as Pentagon would rather kick him down instead. The Pentagon Driver gets two and it’s chair time. Of course Shane puts him in the chair instead but dives into a powerbomb while Pentagon is still seated. The Fear Factor (Tony really needs to get the names straight) gets two and a big reaction on the kickout. Salina, looking angrier and more emotional than I’ve ever seen her, gets up and takes the mist from Pentagon by mistake (seems fine). Shane knees Pentagon down and hits the top rope double stomp (Swerve Stomp) to retain at 21:58.

Rating: B. This felt like a big match with both guys working hard and that’s all you can ask for here. Strickland is feeling like the biggest thing around and having him pin Pentagon clean is all you can ask for here. Pentagon can claim that he was distracted or whatever and de la Renta can come back with someone else later on. Good main event and it felt important.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure how smart it is to give one match thirty minutes on an hour long show but I can appreciate them trying something big on a newer series. Strickland is coming off like a more important deal every single week and the women coming in for the first time was a good idea. They did some good enough stuff on here and we can move on to a fresh challenger for Strickland. Another nice effort as the show is starting to find its footing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: January 8, 2004
Location: Van Braun Civic Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Attendance: 3,100
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the second show of the year and hopefully it’s an improvement on the first. We’ve got less than three weeks before the Royal Rumble and the card is finally starting to take some shape. The Royal Rumble itself should be a lot of fun by definition, though we still need some more people being announced for the match. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s show, focusing on the split of Los Guerreros and Kurt Angle saying it was due to a breakdown of family values.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Angle to open things up. Last week was supposed to be the start of a great year but he saw one of the greatest tag teams ever self destruct. Angle calls Chavo out to fix this right now so here he comes, now with his own music instead of the Los Guerreros theme. Angle thinks Chavo should want to do what’s right for his family but hang on because we need an EDDIE chant.

Chavo goes with the classic heel response of it was for Eddie’s own good and wants to slap Eddie for good measure. Maybe he’ll even slap Kurt too! Cue Eddie to chase Chavo off (I like that it took him a second to get there as it feels a bit more natural) but Kurt again plays peacekeeper. Things settle down a bit with Angle saying Chavo was the one person there when Eddie needed help the most (implying his drug issues). We get a very shaky handshake.

We look back at Hardcore Holly attacking Big Show with a chair last week.

Big Show can’t wait to get his hands on Holly in a street fight tonight.

Chris Benoit is here for a match but Paul Heyman, with a broken finger thanks to last week, makes it a mini Royal Rumble instead with Benoit vs. the FBI.

Mini Royal Rumble

Benoit is in at #1 and Johnny Stamboli is in at #2 with two minute intervals. Benoit wastes no time in elbowing Stamboli in the face but it’s too early to get him out. Stamboli can’t get Benoit out either though (well duh) and the Sharpshooter makes Stamboli tap as Chuck Palumbo is in at #3. As this goes on, Tazz rips Cole apart for saying various dumb things and says he has to be him. I could go for a heel Tazz.

Benoit fights off the double team and gets rid of Stamboli. There’s a Crossface to Palumbo and, as you might have guessed, he’s still tapping as Nunzio is in at #4. Reality sets in quickly for Nunzio as Benoit is waiting him but Palumbo is back up. Benoit dumps Nunzio anyway and the fans are WAY behind Benoit here. Well either that or the canned audio is. Palumbo misses the superkick and gets backdropped out to give Benoit the win.

Rating: D. This was just a workout for Benoit, which is entirely the point of having the FBI around. The good thing though is they’re pushing the heck out of Benoit, who has gone through a bunch of stuff in the last year and deserves to be in the main event. He and John Cena feel untouchable right now and it would be great to see him finally move up to the main event where he’s belonged for a long time now.

Heyman isn’t happy.

Tag Team Titles: Basham Brothers vs. Rikishi/Scotty 2 Hotty

The Bashams are defending….or at least that’s the plan as they jump Rikishi and Scotty from behind and beat them down. Scotty takes a belt shot to the head and there seems to be no match. Hang on a second though as here’s Kurt to say he’s just left Heyman’s office. We have a replacement team and the title match is on. So in the span of two minutes, Angle ran to Heyman’s office, knew that Rikishi and Scotty weren’t ready to go, and convinced Heyman to make the match? That’s Olympic speed.

Tag Team Titles: Los Guerreros vs. Basham Brothers

The Bashams are still defending. Danny shoulders Eddie down to start so Chavo comes in for a double back elbow. The announcers argue a lot more than usual as Chavo gets two off a small package. It’s already time for some cheating with Eddie choking in the corner and clapping his hands in place of a tag. As usual, the fans eat it up like fried yak knees. Ever the nice uncle, Eddie makes a blind tag and jumps behind Doug, who punches the heck out of Chavo until Eddie taps him on the shoulder for another right hand.

Danny pulls Doug out to the floor to avoid a Frog splash though and a low bridge sends Eddie outside in a big heap. Back from a break with Eddie still in trouble and we hit the half crab. A double slingshot suplex drops Eddie again and we actually get a CHAVO chant for a change. Shaniqua adds some choking (must have learned it from Eddie) as Tazz tries to figure out if a world of hurt is like a planet of pain.

A good powerbomb works on the back even more and this time Chavo makes a save. Eddie finally rolls out of a double arm crank and makes the hot tag so dropkicks can abound. The tornado DDT gets two on Danny with Doug making a save and the champs are knocked to the floor. Stereo dives have them in even more trouble and the fans are rather pleased at the moment. Back in and Chavo tries a sunset flip but Danny sits down on it with Shaniqua grabbing his hands to retain the titles.

Rating: B. If there was a story going on with Eddie and Chavo, they would have been nuts to not change the titles there. Eddie sold this to perfection and the match was a great time throughout. Odds are Chavo somehow blames Eddie for the loss and Angle stays involved, which is all the heel turn needs to be. Good match here and probably the best Bashams match ever.

Post match the Bashams beat Eddie down while Chavo sits in a chair. Shaniqua is pleased as the Bashams leave….and Chavo comes in to beat on Eddie even more for the full turn. More right hands bust Eddie open and Chavo is very pleased. As a bonus, he kicks Eddie in the head and steals the lowrider. The fans boo the heck out of him too because this is a story that has been told well and is a classic for a reason. You can run with the jealousy storyline for months and the fact that they’re family makes it even better. Really well done angle after a very good match.

A-Train vs. John Cena

Cena’s pre-match rap makes Star Wars references about A-Train so it’s at least good for a laugh. A-Train drives him into the corner but Cena punches his way to freedom. A butterfly suplex gives A-Train two and we hit a reverse chinlock with a knee in the back. Cena powers up, hits the ProtoBomb and a top rope elbow to the back of the head. The Shuffle and FU give Cena the fast and impressive win as he just shrugged off whatever A-Train hit him with and won without much effort. That’s what he should be doing too.

Angle checks on the bloody Eddie, who breaks down in tears as Angle talks about what Chavo did. Kurt apologizes because this might have been his fault. Thanks for that Kurt.

Akio vs. Rey Mysterio

Non-title and only Sakoda is here with Akio as Tajiri has a match later tonight. Rey armdrags him down to start and we’re off to an early headlock. That goes nowhere so Akio cranks it up in a hurry with a buckle bomb to rock Rey. A sliding legdrop to the back of the head gets two and it’s time for the Tree of Woe.

Akio tries to get a bit too fast though and slides low, crotching himself against the post in the process. Rey gets two off a springboard crossbody but Akio kicks him out of the air for the same. Sakoda tries to interfere again and gets caught on the ropes with Akio being knocked next to him for a double 619. With the other goon taken care of, the West Coast Pop finishes Akio.

Rating: C. Not a bad match at all for four and a half minutes with both guys looking good and working hard. Akio and Sakoda are very low on the totem pole at the moment but with enough effort (which they’ve shown so far), they could turn into something useful. Mysterio on top of the division is fine, though it’s only going to last for so long without a good challenger.

Billy Gunn has a Best of Billy Gunn countdown, ranging over the next three weeks until he returns at the Royal Rumble. #3: the Smoking Gunns win their first Tag Team Titles. So Billy Gunn and Hardcore Holly are both getting pushes. What a happy new year.

Hardcore Holly thinks Josh Matthews is a smart guy (oh dear) but Big Show shouldn’t challenge Holly to a street fight in Alabama.

Nidia tries to find Jamie Noble, who is on his way. Paul Heyman comes in and puts her in the match instead.

Wrestlemania recall: Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow.

Nidia vs. Tajiri

A few takedowns and an armdrag set up a legsweep for the pin to give Tajiri the title shot at the Rumble. Dang Tough Enough must have some really bad trainers.

Post match Tajiri loads up the big kick but Mysterio makes the save and helps Nidia until Jamie finally arrives. Noble decks Rey for reasons of general jerkishness.

Hardcore Holly vs. Big Show

Non-title street fight with Brock Lesnar on commentary. Cole: “What is Lesnar doing out here?” Doing commentary for a match involving his next challenger you moron. Tazz is right to insult him so often. There are weapons at ringside but Show brings out the chair that Holly used to bust him open last week. Did he steal that from whatever arena they were in?

Holly is in jeans and comes out to fight in the aisle but gets headbutted in short order. They get inside with Holly breaking a broom over his back, only to be thrown outside without much effort. Holly gets in a chair shot and goes after Lesnar, which just allows Big Show to get in a shot from behind. Back in and Holly gets beaten down again, only to get in some trashcan shots to the head for the first near fall. As you might expect, Holly can’t get the full nelson so he uses pepper spray and kicks him low. For a unique idea, Holly wraps a chair around Show’s neck and pulls back for a submission.

Rating: D. Well, I guess the one person in the world who wanted to see Hardcore Holly and Big Show have a street fight got what they had been waiting for. Other than that though, this was just two people hitting each other with weapons and a different kind of finish. The fact that it was Hardcore Holly beating up Big Show is almost too much to swallow though.

Lesnar runs away from Holly to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Smackdown is two different worlds at the moment as you can see the promised land of Cena, Benoit and Guerrero getting ready to take things over but we have to put up with Holly for a few more weeks because wrestling must make you suffer. Holly might be the most lame duck challenger of all time and all of the other prospective opponents for Lesnar make it that much harder to sit through. There’s some more good than bad though on here as you have the talented guys taking up a lot of the show and that makes it a lot easier to sit through. Just forget Holly already and the show is that much better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #5
Date: May 18, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for our first rematch but the good thing is that it’s a rematch of one of the best matches the promotion has put on so far. In this case we have Pentagon Jr. defending his #1 contendership against his old rival (and brother) Rey Fenix as a result of Pentagon spraying mist in World Champion Shane Strickland’s face last week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Strickland vs. Pentagon, which has been built up to the point where it almost has to take place at this point.

Opening sequence.

Kotto Brazil vs. Trey Miguel

Miguel is from the WWN and is a pretty standard high flier. They hit the mat to start with Brazil grabbing a headlock to keep things slow. Back up and they flip a lot with neither making much contact until Brazil smacks him in the face. One heck of a running European uppercut rocks Miguel again but he headscissors Brazil down without much effort. A springboard flip dive has Brazil in even more trouble and I’m rather surprised by how well Schiavone is calling a faster paced match like this. If nothing else the voice is still the same and that’s a good thing.

Back in and Brazil gets one off a snapmare from the middle rope (that’s uh, certainly new) of all things. A slingshot dropkick from the apron keeps Miguel in trouble as the smaller Brazil is continuing to show off here. Miguel gets rocked by a German suplex and a running Sliced Bread makes things even worse. Back up and Brazil misses a charge to get caught in the corner, setting up a 619. Miguel heads up top for a Meteora and the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C. This was a fast paced match with some good spots but it felt like so many indy matches: a bunch of moves and stuff but nothing that suggested a story or storytelling or any of that outdated stuff. Both guys need some more time to get the finer points of wrestling, but they have the athletics part around.

Video on the first Pentagon vs. Fenix match.

We go to Salina de la Renta’s estate in Puerto Rico and Rich is in way over his head with someone as sharp as she is. She has the best collection of Hispanic talent and suggests that he’s intimidated by her. Rich winds up in the pool.

Backstage, Salina says she’s signed Pentagon and Fenix to Promociones Dorado.

We recap Jimmy Havoc’s issues last week, including defeating Joey Janela and getting beaten down by Tom Lawlor.

Team Filthy is in a hot tub and says bring Havoc on because they love easy paydays.

Dirty Blonds vs. Jimmy Yuta/Jason Cade

Elimination rules and the Blonds have Colonel Parker in their corner. Brien and Yuta trade slaps to the face to start and it’s Cade coming in with an ax handle to Brien’s arm. Patrick comes in and gets beaten up as well, setting up back to back dives to the floor to drop the Blonds again. Back in and Patrick rolls through a high crossbody and grabs the tights (good villain) for the elimination at 3:08.

Cade is left alone and punches away as much as he can but the numbers get the better of him in short order. The slow pace begins with Cade getting whipped into the opposite corner, though Patrick does throw in a strut for some real villany. A rollup (odd move for when you’re in control) gives Brien two but Cade does manage to use Patrick as a launch pad for a tornado DDT. Unfortunately a single foot to the chest doesn’t do much damage on Patrick, who puts Cade on top. A superplex is broken up though and Black Magic (a backslide driver) gets rid of Patrick at 7:06.

So we’re down to Cade vs. Brien and Cade is already spent after the long beating. Cade fights out of a chinlock without much trouble but Brien is way too big for Black Magic. Colonel Parker trips Cade though, drawing Yuta over to yell. That’s more than enough for Patrick to come back in for a double whip spinebuster and the pin at 9:03.

Rating: C. This was a little fast and while I can appreciate the different stipulation for the sake of some change, it’s not really working as Cade and Yuta aren’t the most thrilling team in the world. The Blonds are a good, old fashioned heel team (I love that they’re both big and overweight as it’s much easier to boo bigger guys) and that’s something that isn’t around often enough anymore.

Cade isn’t happy with Yuta.

Post break, Cade and Yuta say they’ll be on the same page for the upcoming Tag Team Title tournament.

Shane Strickland’s eyes aren’t back to normal yet but he’s ready for Pentagon. The attack only shows him that Pentagon is scared of Swerve. Pentagon can’t take his heart or the title and Pentagon should be afraid of that. Good, emotional promo from the champ.

Pentagon Jr. vs. Rey Fenix

The winner gets the title shot next week. Pentagon has Salina de la Renta with him, even though she said she has signed them both. They go straight to hitting each other in the face before a chop exchange goes nowhere. A pop up hurricanrana sends Pentagon to the floor and of course that means a big dive to take him out again. The fans are into this (as they should be) but Pentagon cuts them off by dropkicking Fenix out of the air on a springboard attempt.

Fenix’s leg gets wrapped around the post and it’s time for Pentagon to steal someone’s hat. I know he’s a rudo but come on now. A VERY loud chop wakes people up a bit more and a Sling Blade is good for two on Fenix. As has been a problem for him over and over again, Pentagon takes way too long setting something up and Fenix is right back with a rolling cutter. He’s fine enough to catch a powerbomb backbreaker for two more on Fenix and we take a break.

Back with Fenix getting two of his own off a nifty rollup and a spinwheel kick to Pentagon’s head puts them both down. The fans are nice enough to count to ten in Spanish so the guys won’t be confused. How polite of them. They fight to the apron and this is going to be painful. Fenix gets the best of it with a kick to the face and a double springboard stomp to the back.

Pentagon avoids getting German suplexed off the apron so he hits the Fear Factor on the apron instead. Geez and that’s his brother. What would he do to his Aunt Mabel? Naturally that’s only good for two back inside so Pentagon breaks his arm and hits the Pentagon Driver for two more. Of note: Tony has the names for the finishers backwards but that’s pretty normal in his case. Another Fear Factor gives Pentagon the pin at 12:40.

Rating: B. These two are incapable of having a bad match against each other so there was even more fun to be had here. Pentagon was pretty obviously the winner here as there was no way they couldn’t go through with the match after setting things up for Pentagon vs. Strickland for so many weeks. At least Fenix got to do his flippy stuff and that’s what he does best. Good match.

Overall Rating: B-. Another good episode this week and I’m looking forward to seeing Strickland again. They’ve built him up as a top guy who can take on almost anyone, including Pentagon who is one of the top villains around. They’re doing a lot of things right but they still haven’t had that blow away match or story that gets your attention so well. Then again with five hours of programming to their name on this show so far, there’s not much else you can do.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Earlier this week I asked for some questions that I could answer in a long form column.  Well, here you are.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/ask-wrestling-rumors-june-9-2018/

Thank you to all who asked me something and I’ll be doing this again for at least a few weeks.  I might use some more from here as you all come up with some good stuff.  Make sure to drop some comments on the Facebook page and ask any other questions you may want answered on there.

https://www.facebook.com/wrestlingrumors/posts/1762027177207264

KB

About seven months ago, I took a look at a new comic book called Invasion From Planet Wrestletopia #1 (Review right here). The premise is rather clever: a wrestler declares himself Galactic Wrestling Champion of the Universe and as it turns out, the message reaches a planet of wrestlers (I need to go there), setting off an accidental war.

Now it’s time for issue #2 and since this is a six issue miniseries, there’s no time to waste as the aliens arrive on Earth and want to fight in a hurry. The characters we were introduced to in the first book realize that things are getting bad and start to react to it, while also showing us a little more of their backstories so we can appreciate their actions just a bit more.

In almost any form of media, the hardest issue/episode/volume is the second. It’s a lot easier to put out a first premise than it is to keep people coming back again (see also: Russo, Vince) and that’s where this was a nice surprise. I read the first issue when it came out eight months ago and I didn’t have any problems remember who people were or what was going on. They give you a good idea of what’s going on while not explaining the concepts to you over and over again, which is very annoying most of the time.

In a continuation of something that I liked a lot about the first issue, this still isn’t a comedy. There are some wrestling jokes (the book opens in Gotch Harbor, Florida) and something the aliens do that I won’t dare spoil) but for the most part, this is a case of “oh dang aliens are invading and we might be in real trouble”. Wrestling can be a very serious art form and while there are some funny moments, this is a more serious book and that’s a good thing.

The other good stuff is there as well: the book is well written with the characters having motivations and a reason for doing the things they’re doing and the artwork is rather good. You can tell who and what you’re looking at and it’s never confusing or difficult to figure out what’s going on, which is a nightmare at times in much more established series.

Above all else though, this is one of those absurd ideas that only works in a comic book, which is why I like them. The same is true with wrestling. As Jim Cornette said, “These are crazy people.” One of the reasons I watch wrestling is because I like seeing larger than life people doing ridiculous things while keeping me coming back for more. Think about this for a minute: a 1970s wrestler accidentally starts an interplanetary war with a promo. That’s so over the top that it has to be cool.

I had a good time reading this and the concept continues to be a lot of fun. I’m glad that they’re sticking with a shorter form as this doesn’t seem like a story that should be stretched out for years (which is the case for a lot of stories). They get in, they set things up, they pay them off, and they’re done before they overstay their welcome. That’s a hard thing to do but one third of the way in, things seem to be well on that path. Check this out if you’re a fan of wrestling (as you should be), comics (as you may be) or just something fun (as everyone probably is).

Here’s where you can pick it up.

by clicking here.

Issue #1 is available at Comixology right here.

And they’re both available at Comixcentral here.

Also make sure to check out the publisher’s site at www.suspiciousbehaviorproductions.com.

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #4
Date: May 11, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

Things are starting to get interesting around here as we’re starting to see some names that we’ve seen before. They have a big enough roster to keep things fresh every week and that’s a good sign, though we are coming up on our third ACH match in four weeks. We’re also getting Jimmy Havoc vs. Joey Janela in an anything goes match, which should be fun if they can get violent. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Havoc and Janela’s issues, which includes a lot of brawling in various places.

Opening sequence.

We recap Team Filthy attacking ACH last night, setting up the following match.

Tom Lawlor vs. ACH

Before the match, ACH says this is wrestling and not mixed martial arts. Lawlor wastes no time with a takedown and kicks him in the back. In a change of pace, Lawlor offers ACH a free shot to retaliate but it hurts ACH’s own foot. ACH starts the flipping so Lawlor lays on his back and says bring it. This goes badly for ACH as well and a crucifix doesn’t get him very far either. Another rollup has Lawlor on the floor and we take a break. Back with Lawlor in control and working on the arm as so many MMA style wrestlers like to do.

With that going nowhere it’s a front chancery suplex for two instead. The Rings of Saturn continue the clinic on ACH and it’s off to a seated top wristlock. ACH finally gets up and hits a basement dropkick, followed by a middle rope cutter for two. We’ll try some wrestling now with a German suplex getting two on Lawlor. That just earns ACH more suplexes and a choke gets two arm drops. Cue Team Filthy for the distraction though, allowing Lawlor to hit him in the head with the steel forearm. A choke finishes the out cold ACH at 10:12.

Rating: C-. This was a glorified squash from Lawlor as he picked apart ACH and cut him off at every single turn. That’s the kind of match you need from someone like Lawlor who isn’t the most well known wrestler in the world. He plays a good heel though and taking apart someone that gave Austin Aries trouble was the right way to go. Nice performance here and Lawlor looks like a star.

Shane Strickland isn’t happy with the shrine he found in his dressing room last week and gets in Salina de la Renta’s face about it. Pentagon shows up and mists Strickland in the face. Salina looking cold and calm during the whole thing is a good idea.

Strickland gets his eyes washed out to little avail.

Maxwell J. Friedman vs. Fred Yehi

Yehi, a guy I don’t think I’ve actually seen before, is from Evolve but has recently wrapped up his time there. A headlock takeover annoys Friedman to start and Yehi stomps on his hand. The second attempt has Friedman thinking twice so Yehi gets in a running shoulder, which seems to hurt his own arm. A very hard German suplex (almost a German suplex driver) plants Friedman again and a request for time out is ignored.

Friedman is smart enough to hit a Codebreaker onto the arm and then just punches it for good measure. We hit a Fujiwara armbar but Yehi is back up with a running dropkick. Some knees to the head rock Friedman and rapid fire kicks to the chest make it even worse. A quick poke to the eye cuts Yehi off though and Friedman stomps on the arm again, setting up a rollup with trunks to pin Yehi at 8:24.

Rating: D+. This was a weird match with two very different styles not really meshing. Yehi is an athletic freak who was moving at a very fast pace and does all kinds of awesome looking things. Then you have Friedman, who isn’t the most thrilling performer in the world but knows how to play a heel with the limited set of actions. That makes for a hard match to pull off with Yehi moving fast and Friedman moving very slowly. Yehi could tear the house down under the right circumstances, but Friedman is a more interesting character.

Post match Friedman has a seat on the stage and talks about how sad it is that the loser’s purse isn’t enough for Yehi to go to Golden Corral the next three times. Friedman is jealous of the people because they don’t know how hard it is to go home to a perfect ten woman. Or how bad it is to have a sub par limo driver. He’s just better than us though and we know it.

We look back at MVP vs. Sami Callihan from last week.

Callihan says he talks when he wants to and he keeps going like “a machine gun of an enigma.” He’s creating an army of like minded individuals and here’s the big bald guy from last week to stand behind him, still without a name.

As a result of misting Strickland, Pentagon has to put his title shot on the line against Rey Fenix next week.

Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc

This is a Bogus Adventure match, meaning anything goes and there must be a winner. Janela has a good looking woman named Aria Blake with him. Back to back stereo bicycle kicks go nowhere so it’s Joey kicking him to the floor for a suicide dive. Janela pelts a chair at Havoc’s head and then suplexes him onto said chair on the floor to really knock him silly. Back in and they chop it out with the rather plain physiqued Janela getting the better of it but missing a moonsault.

With Janela sitting in a chair, Havoc tries a running monkey flip but slips and falls down in a heap instead. It’s time for more chairs and the required table but Janela’s chair shot to Havoc just wakes him up and he chairs Janela in the head. A package piledriver onto a pile of chairs gives Janela two and it’s table time. The top rope backsplash only hits table though and Havoc dropkicks him through the door. There’s a Death Valley Driver onto the chairs and the Acid Rainmaker gives Havoc the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C+. This one depends on your taste in violent matches, meaning it was good for what it was but not the best thing in the world otherwise. The problem here was the lack of selling to make the violence mean much as they kept popping back up like it was nothing. Just let them stay down a little bit instead and it will be that much better.

Post match Havoc leaves into the parking lot and literally bumps into Team Filthy, earning himself a beatdown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. That ending was an interesting way to go and a sign that things are getting better. They’ve set up some characters with Havoc and Lawlor and now those characters are interacting. That’s how basic booking works and I’m curious to see where that story goes from here. The rest of the show introduced a few more people and the fact that they’re moving forward with some of them is a good sign. Now just keep that up and give us some better matches in the process and things will be even better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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