IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 23, 2019
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Samoa Joe, Vic Joseph

We’re taped this week and that’s quite the good idea as there is no need to have the talent working so close to Christmas. That being said, one of the big ideas over the last two weeks has been to make Seth Rollins into a bigger heel, despite the show taking place in his home state. Tonight he gets a US Title shot because even though he beat Brock Lesnar twice this year and now has the AOP behind him, Brock doesn’t exist until we get closer to the Royal Rumble. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Kevin Owens to get things going. We see a video on Seth Rollins and the AOP joining forces to attack various people. Owens is ready to say something but Mojo Rawley cuts him off. Mojo wants an explanation for Owens Stunning him but Owens wants to start their No DQ match right now. That’s fine with Mojo.

Mojo Rawley vs. Kevin Owens

Owens runs him over to start and throws in a bunch of chairs. Back in and Mojo manages a fireman’s carry faceplant onto said chairs for two. The chairs are set up next to each other and Mojo actually slams him onto them for two more. Since being slammed onto opened chairs doesn’t really hurt, Owens hits a superkick into the Swanton for two of his own. A table is brought in and it’s a Stunner into the Pop Up Powerbomb through the table to finish Rawley at 6:30.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure what to think about this one. They were smart to keep it short because no one was going to buy Mojo as a threat to Owens, but it wasn’t interesting in the first place and the match was just an annoyance for Owens. The No DQ part was just a detail and a way to increase the violence, but it never got interesting or really close to it.

Post match, Owens calls out Rollins and the AOP for a fight. Post break here are Rollins and AOP with Rollins saying a lot of things without having a microphone. He offers a handshake but Owens superkicks him down. That means a beatdown from the AOP though and Rollins is back up for the Stomp. This sends Samoa Joe into a rant about how those aren’t men because they’re just thugs. Someone needs to strike first so you can tell one story.

Over the weekend, R-Truth was in New York City. After being told about the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, Akira Tozawa rolled him up to win the 24/7 Title. That’s his reward for all of the great performances over the last few weeks?

Cedric Alexander vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley starts throwing him around to start but Cedric manages to roll away. The spinning back elbow rocks Lashley and a headscissors into a dropkick puts him on the floor. A moonsault off the apron drops Lashley again but hold on because Lana says whoa a lot. She gets in the ring and asks Cedric who he thinks he is. How dare he attack Lashley a week before they’re getting married? The invites are going out and Lashley needs to look great, so let’s have a classic Greco-Roman match.

Back from a break with the match continuing as usual, including Alexander kicking Lashley in the face from the apron. The fans chant for Rusev as the springboard Downward Spiral is broken up. A hard clothesline turns Alexander inside out and a neckbreaker gets two. Lashley hits a rather high in the air Downward Spiral for two more but Alexander gets in a dropkick.

The springboard clothesline connects and there’s the suicide dive for a bonus. The big running flip dive makes it even worse and the Neuralizer connects for two. Lashley is right back with the spinning Big Ending but the spear is cut off with a dropkick to the knee. Another springboard misses though and it’s the spinebuster into the spear to finish Alexander at 13:22.

Rating: C. This was your match that was extended to stretch the show out. The Lana/Lashley stuff is as painful television as you can find and I’m almost scared to see how bad the wedding is going to be next week. I would say at least it’s getting closer to a conclusion but there is no reason to believe that any such ending is coming. The match was back and forth but it ran long and the Lana announcement in the middle could have come before or after.

Rollins doesn’t get what Owens is trying to do.

Tozawa (in a 2K19 jacket because even WWE wrestlers don’t want to support the new game) runs into R-Truth again and they bump into someone, causing him to drop his food. The chase continues.

Zack Ryder vs. Drew McIntyre

They trade slaps to start and McIntyre pounds him down in the corner. Ryder sends him outside for a dropkick through the ropes, only to get blasted with a clothesline. Back in and the overhead belly to belly sends Ryder flying and the Claymore finishes Ryder at 2:09. That’s how it should have gone.

Post match Drew beats up Ryder and Curt Hawkins. McIntyre even handles their congratulations to him before saying 2020 is his year.

Here’s Becky Lynch for a chat. She’s a little more serious this time and talks about how things go better when she takes things into her own hands. This company has been trying to protect her but she needs to face Asuka next. Asuka is the only woman that Becky can’t beat so it’s time to collect on one last debt. Cue the Kabuki Warriors to say they are the champions. Asuka calls herself Asuka Two Belts and Becky shouts back in Japanese. The match doesn’t seem to be confirmed yet.

Aleister Black vs. Deonn Rusman

Black vs. Murphy II is set for next week. Leg sweep, jumping knee, Black Mass at 38 seconds.

Buddy Murphy vs. Joeasa

Jumping knee and Murphy’s Law (complete with Buddy pulling him up ala Black for Black Mass) finish Joeasa at 33 seconds.

Post match Black comes back in to hit Black Mass.

Rey Mysterio is ready for Seth Rollins tonight. It’s the first time they’ve ever met, but it’s going to be Rey vs. Seth/AOP. Rey is ready for the AOP to see Seth take the 619 and for him to leave still US Champion.

Tony Nese vs. Ricochet

Nese starts dodging with the flips so Ricochet shows off his own flips. A necksnap across the top rope sets up a bodyscissors to slow Ricochet down some more. Back up and Ricochet kicks him in the face but a springboard is broken up. Not that it matters as the superkick into the Recoil puts Nese away at 2:33. It was energetic while it lasted.

Akira Tozawa hides behind a Christmas tree but then runs away as soon as R-Truth shows up.

Charlotte vs. Chelsea Green

This is Green’s main roster debut and she does the Tessa Blanchard look over the shoulder pose in the ring. They lock up to start with Charlotte going after the arm to start, only to get taken down for a basement dropkick. The chinlock goes on for a bit but Charlotte fights up with the chops. A big boot drops Green and the Figure Eight is good for the tap at 4:06.

Rating: C-. Green looked good and intense but there was only so much you’re going to do with Charlotte. I can’t imagine this is anything more than just a one off match and that’s fine for something like this. They have to fill in the time with something so doing it this way is as good as anything else.

Santa Claus punches Tozawa and wins the title. He runs off so Truth and Tozawa are going to work together to get the title back.

Liv Morgan talks about being young, impressionable and anything but typical.

Randy Orton/Viking Raiders vs. OC

Fallout from last week’s main event. Ivar shoves Anderson into the corner to start and it’s off to Erik for a slam of his own. An Ivar knee gets two on Anderson and Erik slams Ivar onto him for two. Gallows comes in for a change of pace and kicks Erik in the head to put him on the floor. AJ gets in a cheap shot and it’s Erik in trouble for a change. The jumping knee gives AJ two and it’s Anderson grabbing the chinlock.

This one doesn’t last long though as Anderson goes with the spinebuster for two instead. Erik gets in a forearm to AJ though and the hot tag brings in Orton. Gallows doesn’t waste time in backdropping him to the floor though and Orton’s already banged up knee is hurt again. The big staredown on the floor takes us to a break and we come back with Gallows working on the knee some more.

Orton fights up and brings Erik back in for the tag so house can be cleaned. Ivar is in rather quickly for a side slam and basement crossbody. Erik drives Ivar into Anderson in the corner and the Viking Experience gets two with Gallows making a save. Orton comes back in off a blind tag as AJ sends the Vikings outside. The RKO is broken up so Anderson takes one instead. Gallows goes after the knee though and it’s the Phenomenal Forearm to put Orton away at 14:01.

Rating: C. This was a bit boring but it tied into last week and gives us a reason to see both matches again. I could go for more AJ vs. Orton as their match last week wasn’t too bad but the Vikings vs. the OC isn’t exactly thrilling. As long as the AOP is walking around, it’s hard to buy anyone else as a major threat to the titles. At least we had something to fill in some time here though, which was part of the point.

A sleigh race breaks out in New York before Santa runs away on foot again.

Erick Rowan has a present for the camera in his cage.

The Street Profits don’t know why they haven’t gotten their wedding invitations. They could go for the bachelor party though. On top of that, they aren’t sure what’s in Rowan’s cage.

Erick Rowan vs. ???

The jobber offers a candy cane before going after the cage. Rowan takes part of the covering off of the apron and drops him face first onto the exposed….canvas. A crossbody sets up the Iron Claw which sets up the Iron Claw for the pin at 2:21. Same as always.

Rowan gives the candy cane to whatever is in the cage.

R-Truth gets the title back so here’s Tozawa….but the referee is sick of this and goes home. They agree to a truce and to go find the Big Apple.

Here’s Rusev for a chat. Yeah he lost at TLC and he’s upset about it. He’s not upset about Lana and Lashley getting married though because it’s the greatest day of his life. Marrying Lana is the greatest punishment he can give Lashley and the wedding is on RUSEV DAY.

Rusev vs. No Way Jose

The Machka kick gives Rusev the pin at 36 seconds.

Post match Rusev busts out a Spinarooni and leaves with the Conga Line. Rusev even gets some kisses, sending him into more dancing.

Seth Rollins is going to win the US Title and establish dominance.

US Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins

Mysterio is defending and Rollins has the AOP. Side note: Rollins no longer has BEASTSLAYER on his Titantron (not sure how long it has been gone but it was there the night after Survivor Series). Good, as that had nothing to do with what he is doing at the moment and involved one feud that hasn’t been active since August. Rollins starts fast but Rey slips out of a suplex attempt. A discus forearm knocks Rey silly so he’s right back with a headscissors.

The 619 misses though and Rey is sent shoulder first into the post. He’s also thrown hard to the floor as we take a break. Back with Rey fighting out of an armbar and sending Rollins outside. That means a sliding sunset bomb into the barricade, setting up the springboard seated senton. A tornado DDT gives Rey two but Rollins scores with the buckle bomb and a low superkick for his own two. The Stomp misses though and Rey hits the 619, only to have the AOP interfere for the DQ at 9:53.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of action that you would expect from these two but the ending saves the big match for another date. It might be an annoying way to end the show but that was the right way to go here. Mysterio can fight Rollins another day, perhaps when he has some more backup. I could go for more and that’s what they were trying to get the fans to want.

Post match the beatdown is on and they go to the announcers’ table. Joe stays in his seat though and doesn’t like being told to move. If he gets up, it isn’t going to be to move. Joe gets up so Rollins gets in his face, meaning the jacket comes off. Rollins walks away but tells the AOP to finish him. The beatdown is on and Joe gets taken out as Rollins Stomps Rey. The AOP puts Joe through the table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I could go for more of these squash heavy shows. You can only get so far with the long matches as a lot of fans are going to get sick of the matches that feel like they’re going on forever. If nothing else, how many people are going to stick around because “oh well it’ll be something different in a minute”? It’s a change of pace and that’s what Raw has been needing for a long time. We also get some fresh blood on the show and maybe something can click. Not a great show, but the format made it feel a lot faster and that’s a good thing.

Results

Kevin Owens b. Mojo Rawley – Pop Up Powerbomb through a table

Bobby Lashley b. Cedric Alexander – Spear

Drew McIntyre b. Zack Ryder – Claymore

Aleister Black b. Deonn Rusman – Black Mass

Buddy Murphy b. Joeasa – Murphy’s Law

Ricochet b. Tony Nese – Recoil

Charlotte b. Chelsea Green – Figure Eight

OC b. Viking Raiders/Randy Orton – Phenomenal Forearm to Orton

Erick Rowan b. ??? – Iron Claw

Rusev b. No Way Jose – Machka Kick

Rey Mysterio b. Seth Rollins via DQ when AOP interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: December 18, 2019
Location: Express Live, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
Host: Ian Riccaboni

We’re at the end of the year now and that means things are going to be….well pretty much just a placeholder show. With Final Battle out of the way and the holidays upon us, this is going to be an unrelated show, which likely means a bunch of stuff from their multitude of Honor Club shows. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Everything tonight is from Unauthorized.

Clips of Jefe Cobbo/El Villainisto vs. Delirious/Mini Delirious with Mini Delirious taking the fall to get unmasked as Swoggle. Yeah Unauthorized wasn’t the most serious show. Colt Cabana: “It’s Little John Studd!”

Ian welcomes us to the show and explains the idea of Unauthorized: it’s a comedy show, though he doesn’t actually use those words.

Cheeseburger/Bouncers vs. Dalton Castle/Flip Gordon/Kenny King

That would be Cheeseburger/Double Cheeseburger/Triple Cheeseburger vs. Dalton White Castle/Burger Flip Gordon/Kenny Burger King to give you an idea of what we’re doing here. Gordon tags himself in to start with Beer City Bruiser, with the waistlock going as badly as you would expect. A big chop puts Gordon down and it’s time for the snap jabs into the toothless bite. Castle and King get the lack of teeth as well so it’s off to King vs. Cheeseburger (with the hat).

Some armdrags make Cheeseburger lose the hat so King takes bite out of the thing. Back up and Cheeseburger takes King’s leg out and climbs onto his back to bend the arm a bit. We take a break and come back with Cheeseburger in trouble and Castle drawing in Milonas so a lot of stomping can ensue. Gordon does the same thing to Bruiser and Milonas and it’s a triple stomp because the Bouncers aren’t that bright.

Actually the referee catches them and in the argument, Cheeseburger crawls through the legs and makes the tag to Milonas. Eh point for a clever idea. Gordon dives into a swinging sitout Boss Man Slam, setting up Bruiser’s middle rope splash for two. The Bouncers help Cheeseburger on a Canadian Destroyer to Gordon but a rope grab breaks it up. We get the big fight over the superplex until the Bouncers suplex all three of them at once.

King hits an Arabian press onto a bunch of people on the floor and it’s Cheeseburger, Bruiser and Cheeseburger fighting on the stage. Cheeseburger gets thrown onto the pile and Gordon teases a dive, only to flip off the crowd. Bruiser does the dive instead and it’s Cheeseburger hitting a palm strike on Castle, only to get rolled up by Gordon for the pin at 14:05.

Rating: C. Yeah this isn’t something that hasn’t been done better before, but doing this at a show like this is fine. It’s designed to be a comedy match and they weren’t hiding that, which helps a lot. This is something that’s ok to do when you’re in on the joke and that was the case here.

Clips of the ten man tag, which included Ian Riccaboni, a referee, a cameraman and Gary Jester teaming with Colt Cabana to win a glorified handicap match.

Brian Zane’s Top Five of the week looks at the best managers with Truth Martini at the top. Makes sense as there aren’t a lot of big managers to pick from around here.

TK O’Ryan comes out in street clothes and talks about being hurt by Vinny Marseglia and Matt Taven. They’re not his friends but he’s been associated with them for a long time. Last night Marseglia put an end to the team and he wasn’t brought in to the party. A few years ago, O’Ryan was brought in cold with no fanfare and two months later, he was a Six Man Tag Team Champion. He loves this company and there is a better way.

The last few weeks have been very difficult for the three of them but if you go back a few months, there is something he never told anyone in wrestling: he had a head injury and people started passing him by. He feels like a horse without a stable and he isn’t sure if he’ll ever wrestle again. It’s true that he hasn’t been the nicest guy but people can change. He has been receiving a bunch of messages from fans, who are the biggest supporters in the world and he’ll never forget that.

This may be his only chance to say thank you and that is what he wants to do right now. If he’s ever able to wrestle again, he’ll be back as a man that everyone can be proud of. This was clipped but it was a heck of an emotional speech and after having no feelings about O’Ryan ever, I want to see him come back. It sounded legitimate and that’s hard to take no matter who you are. Hopefully he gets better soon.

Clips from some Unauthorized matches.

Brian Johnson is tired of failing and promises to make 2020 a year of change.

Lifeblood vs. Dragon Lee/Rush

Mark Haskins/Tracy Williams for Lifeblood (Is there anyone left for the team?) and this is under Lucha Rules. Lee and Haskins start things off and go to the mat early on with Haskins not being able to get the full cross armbreaker. A standoff sends us to an early break and we come back to Rush coming in to face Williams. The missed flips begin until Rush dropkicks him out to the floor.

Haskins won’t let him down though, allowing Lee to hit his own dropkick. Everything breaks down and it’s Haskins vs. Lee, as the lack of tags makes sense. Haskins and Williams fire off knees to Lee’s chest and a double kick gets two. Haskins starts working on the arm in various painful ways, including a YES Lock. That’s switched into the Rings of Saturn, sending Lee’s leg onto the rope.

The slugout is on until Lee hits a hard dropkick, allowing the hot tag to Rush so everything can break down. Lee and Rush load up stereo dives but roll into double Tranquilo instead. Back from another break with Lee biting Williams’ ear and Rush coming in for a half crab. Lee grabs a leg of his own and we hit the posing hold. Haskins makes the save but gets sent outside, only to have Williams get kicked down again, requiring a second straight save. Williams fights back and kicks both of them to the floor, setting up a double Lifeblood dive to the floor.

Back in and Lee chops the heck out of both of them until the strikes get the better of him. A Death Valley Driver into a Samoan Driver/powerbomb combination gets two with Rush having to make the save. Williams hits an elevated DDT onto the top on Rush but Lee comes in with a top rope double stomp for the save. Lee brainbusters Haskins and jumps over the top to hurricanrana him off the apron. The Bull’s Horns hits Williams for the pin at 16:01.

Rating: B+. This was all action and I had a blast with it. Lee and Rush are two of the best around right now and you got a great example of the in-ring talent that they have around here. That’s where Ring of Honor keeps its reputation: when you strip away everything else, you get a heck of a match with four talented guys going out there and tearing the house down. I had a great time with this and it’s one of the best things Ring of Honor has done in a long time.

Overall Rating: B. I know it’s a special show and not something you can do every week but this was a lot of fun and the kind of show that they needed to do. Sometimes the solution to the problem, at least in the short term, is to have a fun wrestling show and that’s what we got here. The main event was a blast and worth your time, with the opener being entertaining as well. Good stuff all around here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 17, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re about a month away from Hard To Kill and the top of the card is already set. I’m not sure how interested I am in Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan again but the Tag Team Title match sounds good. What matters most is that they have something to shoot for and that is more important than a lot of things. Like Acey Romero vs. Joey Ryan as Ryan’s Wrestler’s Court punishment. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Jordynne Grace vs. Tenille Dashwood

Dashwood still works here? She takes Grace down with a headscissors and then switches to a quickly broken armbar. They trade some standing switches until Dashwood’s crossbody is caught and muscled up into a suplex for two. Grace is sent to the apron and Dashwood gets in a kick to the face, plus a neckbreaker over the ropes for two.

The Tarantula goes on, setting up a reverse DDT for two more on Grace. That’s enough for Grace who busts the heck out of Dashwood’s spine for her own two, plus two more just in case. Dashwood fights out of the Grace Driver so Grace blasts her with a clothesline. Somehow Dashwood is right back up with the Taste of Tenille and a butterfly suplex for two more. Dashwood tries la majistral but Grace drops down onto her for the pin at 7:50.

Rating: C. They did some back and forth stuff here but I’m not sure how much Grace should be going up before the big title shot. Then again I’m not sure how much ODB needs to be in that title match and she’s there anyway. Dashwood has just stopped mattering over the last few months and I don’t see that getting much better.

Post match they shake hands but here’s Taya Valkyrie to jump Grace. Dashwood makes the save though and Taya is sent bailing.

Moose runs into Rhino and tells him that he could have given him some pointers against Rob Van Dam. Rhino decks him, likely setting up a match later tonight.

The North comes up to Willie Mack and actually doesn’t want a fight. Since Mack is hurt, they should let Rich Swann go off and be a singles star. Swann comes up to say tell them to get out of here before a fight breaks out.

The announcers preview the card.

TJP vs. Daga

Fallah Bahh is here with TJP and we get an early handshake. They go to the mat for an early standoff until it’s back to the mat for some grappling. TJP dropkicks him into the corner and we stop for some staring. Back up and Daga armdrags him into an armbar and then does it again for good measure. TJP is right back with his headscissors to spin Daga over but Daga spins out of another attempt and pulls TJP down by the arm.

They trade some flips to maintain arm control, trade rollup for two each, and miss stereo dropkicks as we take a break. Back with Daga hitting some shots in the corner but getting sent out to the floor in a hurry. The springboard slingshot dropkick rocks Daga again and the slingshot hilo gets two back inside. Daga’s headscissors sends TJP into the corner for a change and there’s a forearm to the back.

Daga runs down the ramp for a sunset flip into a double stomp to the chest for two and that means frustration time. TJP spins out of a tiger bomb but his bridging rollup is countered into a superkick. That’s fine with TJP, who hits a jumping spin kick to the face for another double knockdown.

They slug it out until TJP snaps off a hurricanrana into a cross armbreaker but Daga stacks him up for two. A double clothesline puts them both down again and the real frustration is setting in. Daga knocks him down and goes up, earning himself a superplex back down into the Detonation Kick. The kneebar sends Daga to the rope so TJP switches to an STF to make Daga tap at 16:39.

Rating: B-. This got some time and was quite the technical display. TJP can go with anyone and has put in one nice performance after another. I could go for either of them getting a nice push but for some reason I don’t exactly buy that as being the most likely case. At least we got a good match out of the whole thing though.

Post match the Desi Hit Squad runs in to beat down TJP and Bahh. Daga makes the save but Shera comes in to plant him with a chokeslam. Good thing we got to push the important guys.

Brian Cage runs into the very combined forces of Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes. Rob isn’t worried about their match at Hard To Kill because he knows how to counter his own moves.

Here are Van Dam and Forbes for a chat. Katie introduces him and more kissing ensues. Rob isn’t sure why he’s getting so much attention as of late but he’ll take it while he gets it. After more Katie time, Rob says he’s taking a stand against everyone trying to steal all of his awesome moves. Cage is the biggest Van Dam mark of them all, so here he is in person. The fight is on with Cage getting the better of things until Katie gets in a low blow. Rob plants him with a middle rope Fameasser but won’t give the fans the Van Terminator. Instead he dropkicks the chair into Cage’s head and has some more of Katie.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me from Final Resolution 2010.

Susie runs into Rosemary, who warns him about James Mitchell, who comes in and gets Susie away from her. Havok comes in to choke Rosemary. The lights go all colorful and Rosemary disappears as Susie seems…..pleased?

Taya interrupts Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan, who don’t seem pleased. They’re not friends because Taya is rather rude but she needs help. She asks them to help a Knockout in need but they don’t buy it. Maybe if they get a title shot after Hard To Kill? Taya thinks about it.

Ethan Page vs. Rich Swann

Page headlocks him to start so Swann shoves his way out and hits a good dropkick. Swann slugs away but Josh Alexander grabs his foot, allowing Page to get in a thumb to the eye. Page slugs away until Swann grabs a small package for two. That means a change of pace with some stomping in the corner instead of slugging, because Page is that versatile. A kick to the face keeps Swann down but he rolls forward into a clothesline to Page.

Swann gets two off a cartwheel splash but Alexander’s distraction breaks up the 450. Page’s Neutralizer gets two, only to have Swann come right back with some kicks to the head for his own two. Swann has to bail out of the 450 so Page hits a middle rope slam. The Swanton gives Page two but Swann is back with a kick to the face. He dives onto Alexander though, leaving Page to go after Mack. You don’t do that to Willie though and he chases Page back in and decks him for the DQ at 10:02.

Rating: C+. This was all about the mind games at the end and there is nothing wrong with that. Swann and Mack feel like almost guaranteed title winners so going with some doubt is a good idea. I could go for them winning the titles but I could also go with them fighting each other for months in a great feud.

Post match Swann isn’t happy with Willie.

Rhino and Moose get in another fight in the back.

Joey Ryan vs. Acey Romero

Johnny Swinger is on commentary and Joey starts fast with the baby oil down the trunks. Acey won’t touch it but does hurt his knee on an atomic drop. As the announcers talk about Joey killing territories, Acey crushes him with a crossbody and gets two off a spinebuster. They hit heads and Acey falls face first onto Ryan’s crotch, which brings Ryan back to life.

The lollipop goes into the referee’s mouth by mistake (I’m surprised it doesn’t give him superpowers) and it’s time for Acey to grab it. Swinger makes the save and has Acey grab his fanny pack, which has no such powers. Joey is right back up with the Flip and Sweet Tooth Music finishes Acey at 3:54.

Rating: F. Something about me not having fun or not getting wrestling. I think I’m to the point where I don’t need to rant about Joey anymore. He really does seem like a nice guy (including being nice to me on Twitter before) but this isn’t for me and that’s ok. I could go with not seeing it but I know there’s an audience for it. I’m just not part of it.

Tessa Blanchard isn’t worried about Sami Callihan exposing her. She’s going to take the title from the most vile champion the company has ever seen.

Michael Elgin takes Eddie Edwards’ trophy.

Ace Austin vs. Petey Williams

Non-title. Petey elbows him in the face to start and ducks a springboard kick to the face. A headscissors sends Ace into the corner, setting up the slingshot Codebreaker. The Sharpshooter attempt doesn’t work so Petey hits the slingshot hurricanrana to the floor. Ace is right back with a superkick from the apron and we take a break.

Back with Ace hitting a spinning kick to the head for two and then stopping to stare at the crowd. Ace can’t get the paper cut with the card so Petey snaps off a release German suplex. There’s the Russian legsweep but Ace’s Bang-a-Rama gets two. The Canadian Destroyer is blocked but so is Ace’s superplex. Petey powerbombs him instead but the Canadian Destroyer still can’t connect. Ace is right back with the Fold for the pin at 9:40.

Rating: C. That was one of Petey’s better matches in awhile and it was a good bit better than I was expecting. Ace winning wasn’t in doubt but they were both working and got a nice match out of it. I’m liking the Fold more each time I see it and while Ace’s character has changed a lot, I still like what I see out of him.

Post match, Ace dedicates the win to Trey Miguel’s mom. He even blows her a kiss.

Post break Trey Miguel gets in Ace’s face and one more line about Trey’s mom starts the fight. Reno Scum breaks it up.

Hard To Kill rundown.

Here’s Sami Callihan to “expose” Tessa. She’s a fake and a phony, just like everyone sitting here today. People are saying this is something about gender but Sami should be looked at as a hero for spitting in her face, just like he’d do to any man in the back. The fans cheer for Tessa but they have more in common with him. Tessa is the daughter of Tully Blanchard and was raised by Magnum TA.

Sami earned everything he has and became the face of the company by winning the World Title. His dad never got him a tryout so here’s a livid Tessa. Mad Man Fulton jumps her from behind though, meaning the beatdown is on. Ken Shamrock makes the save but Fulton goes after his bad ribs. Sami and Tessa fight to the back where they brawl in front of some fans. Sami punches one of them by mistake before sending Tessa face first into the production truck.

Tessa shrugs that off and they brawl on the sidewalk. Another ram into the truck rocks Tessa and Sami chokes her with some caution tape. Tessa gets in another shot though and they brawl down the sidewalk with Tessa diving out of the back of a truck. Sami chokes her down and Tessa goes after him until referees FINALLY break it up to end the show. This didn’t do much to make Tessa seem like she could hang in a fight with Sami, but the smoke and mirrors will help a lot at the pay per view.

Overall Rating: C+. They were all working hard here and we got a nice show as a result. As usual, it helps a lot to have a goal to move towards and they have that here. It makes things that much easier and you could see the show improving now that a lot of the card is either set or ready to be set. I’m digging most of the show, though there are a few elements I’d like dropped for good. That isn’t going to happen, but you can only hope. Anyway, good show this week and a positive sign as we head towards the pay per view.

Results

Jordynne Grace b. Tenille Dashwood – Rollup

TJP b. Daga – STF

Ethan Page b. Rich Swann via DQ when Willie Mack interfered

Joey Ryan b. Acey Romeo – Sweet Tooth Music

Ace Austin b. Petey Williams – Fold

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

Fusion #88
Date: December 14, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: AJ Kirsch, Rich Bocchini

It’s tournament time as MLW is dusting off the Opera Cup. Now you may not have heard of the Opera Cup but that could be because it hasn’t been around in about seventy years. Stu Hart was the most recent winner but Davey Boy Smith Jr. had possession of the trophy and is willing to put it up in this tournament. Tonight starts the opening round so let’s get to it.

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

We open with Injustice in the ring ranting about something but their microphone gets cut. Apparently they’re mad about not being in the Opera Cup tournament, though they are alternates. They have a seat in the ring in protest but here’s King Mo, scheduled for the opening match, to interrupt. With Mo’s manager Dan Lambert on commentary, Mo is ready to fight here’s ACH to even things up a bit and I think you know where this is going.

ACH/King Mo vs. Injustice

It’s Jordan Oliver/Kotto Brazil for the team. Injustice jumps them from behind to start in a hurry but ACH sends Brazil into Oliver as we settle down into something a little more structured. Some dropkicks have Injustice in even more trouble and a double hiptoss to Brazil makes it even worse.

ACH comes back in but gets pulled to the floor so Injustice can take over for the first time. Oliver holds ACH in the corner, setting up Brazil’s running shot to the face. A front facelock cuts off ACH’s charge to the corner and things slow back down a bit. Brazil grabs a Sharpshooter to send ACH over to the ropes and it’s a hard clothesline to drop Oliver. The hot tag brings in Mo and it’s time to clean house in a hurry.

Brazil is smart enough to cut that off in a hurry with a hurricanrana into an enziguri from Oliver. Not that it matters though as Mo spears both of them at once as everything breaks down. ACH kicks away, including a basement dropkick to Brazil. A Stinger Splash/enziguri combination sets up a sitout gutwrench powerbomb to Brazil. Mo slaps on a kneebar to make Brazil tap at 10:35.

Rating: C. I’ve never been a fan of Mo but he has looked great so far in MLW, mainly because he is coming off as a mixed martial artist who is learning to wrestle rather than a mixed martial artist who is doing wrestling between fights. ACH looked good as well, but that’s always the case when he’s in the ring and not ranting about various things.

Here are the Opera Cup brackets:

Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Low Ki

Alex Hammerstone

Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Timothy Thatcher

Richard Holliday

Brian Pillman Jr.

TJP

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Konnan and Gino Medina had a meeting.

The Dynasty has some coffee but it’s GIFT TRAIN time! They are ready for the greatest Hanukkah SLASH Christmas ever. MJF has actually gotten Holliday the giant Air Pods and Holliday is in tears. They’re not connected to Blu-Tooth but Holliday has a present for MJF: Max Mini, as in a miniature version of MJF (not a mini luchador cameo alas). MJF isn’t pleased and has Hammerstone get rid of him. These guys are still gold together.

Video on the Opera Cup.

Opera Cup First Round: Timothy Thatcher vs. Richard Holliday

Holliday shoves him in the face to start and that’s just not a good idea as he’s quickly suplexed down. Thatcher starts pounding away but a suplex into a swinging neckbreaker (the 2008, because it’s a recession for Thatcher) gives Holliday a breather. Thatcher shrugs off some shots to the head though and grabs a half crab. That’s switched into an ankle lock so Holliday rolls him into the corner.

Some forearms to the chest rock Holliday again but he scores with a quick DDT. A backbreaker and spinebuster give Holliday two more and he’s getting frustrated. Thatcher grabs a spinning butterfly suplex for two of his own and he takes Holliday up. That means a spinning 2008 to drop Thatcher….but he pulls Holliday into a Fujiwara armbar for the fast tap at 10:03.

Rating: C+. This took some time to get going but what matters is Thatcher winning while Holliday also looked good. I know MJF has the talking abilities and Hammerstone looked great with all the power, but Holliday is a very polished performer of his own. I could go for more of him on his own, along with more Thatcher wins.

Salina de la Renta talks to Gino Medina as well.

Mance Warner wants a Prince of Darkness (blindfold) match with Jimmy Havoc. Fine, just END THIS already.

Zero Hour ad, featuring Jimmy Havoc vs. Mance Warner in a barbed wire match. So yeah we have at least two more matches.

The Von Erichs vent to their dad about Tom Lawlor. Kevin says he’s been there with a bunch of people turning on him over the years and it’s always about money. Go get revenge in the ring.

Josef Samael says Ikuro Kwon is on a special mission in Japan so Contra soldiers around the world are rising up.

The Strong Hearts are coming from OWE and want Contra. Remember when these people were supposed to be a big part of AEW?

Opera Cup First Round: TJP vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Pillman works on the arm to start so TJP spins around a lot and grabs an anklescissors to take over. A headlock takeover works a bit better for Pillman, so TJP gets on his own shoulders….and crawls out to make Pillman look a little foolish. They both miss big kicks to the head and that means a standoff for some applause from the crowd.

A headscissors puts Pillman on the floor and a springboard slingshot dropkick knocks him silly. Back in and TJP starts some rapid fire kicks to the chest, setting up a Muta Lock to make it worse. That’s quickly countered into a chinlock so TJP lets go in a smart move. TJP slips out and cranks on the arm but Pillman grabs a powerslam for two of his own. A tornado DDT plants Pillman but TJP can’t follow up.

Air Pillman is broken up with a kick to the floor and the kneebar has Pillman in even more trouble. With Pillman getting too close to the ropes, TJP switches over to an STF but that’s broken up as well. Some kicks to the arm and ribs have Pillman rocked again so he comes back with a superkick. TJP grabs the Detonation Kick but Pillman ducks, setting up the Dire Promise for the pin at 13:24.

Rating: C+. That’s one of Pillman’s best singles matches to date, though some of that is likely due to being in there against TJP. What matters is the fact that he had the match he needed to have and it looked pretty good in the process. Pillman is still very young in his career and getting in ring time against quality competition like this is the best thing that he can do. The athleticism is there and if he can get everything else going for him, he’s going to be more than fine.

Overall Rating: B-. This is one of those matches where they set things up and just had some nice wrestling throughout. Yeah it helps when you have a tournament, but in addition to the wrestling, you also have various factions and groups lining up. Some of them seem interested in going after Contra too, which is the point of a show: going after the World Title. I know that sounds simple, but sometimes going simple is the best thing they can do. Nice show here, and one of the better they’ve had in some time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Great American Bash 2005
Date: July 24, 2005
Location: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s their patriotic show, which isn’t likely to mean much in regards to anything more than the name. The official main event is Batista defending the World Title against JBL but the real main event is Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio over the secret that Guerrero wants to tell Rey’s son Dominic. I’m not seeing a great show here, but it could be lot worse. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about America being a land of opportunity, with each match being tied into the theme. Actually not too bad of an idea.

Tag Team Titles: MNM vs. Animal/Heidenreich

Animal/Heidenreich are challenging. Heidenreich and Mercury start things off with the latter being shoved outside in a hurry. Mercury gets thrown down again and let’s make it a third time for good measure. Animal throws him back inside and then comes in legally for a good reaction. A charge hits raised boot but Animal is fine enough to suplex both champs at the same time.

Nitro gets backdropped onto his shoulder and it’s off to Heidenreich. That means the champs can take him down by the knee with both of them getting a chance to pull on it. A missed charge in the corner allows the tag to Animal so house can be cleaned. Animal runs into a belt shot in the corner but Heidenreich breaks up the Snap Shot. The Doomsday Device is good for the pin and the titles.

Rating: D. It wasn’t very good and it was annoying to see the hot new act lose to a half nostalgia/half garbage team but the fans reacted well and this isn’t likely to be a long term deal. The biggest problem here is having MNM lose, but they’ll probably get the titles back sooner rather than later. At least the crowd got a nice pop to open the show.

Post match, Animal dedicates the win to Hawk.

Eddie Guerrero is happy to be addicted to manipulation. Tonight’s manipulation is that Dominick will be watching from ringside. After the match is over, Dominick can hear a bedtime story.

Christian vs. Booker T.

Sharmell is here with Booker. Christian gets chased to the floor to start so Booker throws him back inside and elbows away. That means the chase continues up the ramp with Booker getting the better of it again. A catapult into the corner gets two but Christian is right back with a reverse DDT for two. The DDT on the arm sets up a chinlock, followed by what would become the Anaconda Vice.

That’s broken up with a foot on the rope and Booker grabs a side slam. Christian sends him into the corner again so Sharmell gets on the apron and slaps Christian in the face. The Book End gets two and a spinebuster plants Christian again. Booker Spinaroonis up and hammers away in the corner, only to get rolled up with a foot on the rope for two. They go outside with Booker sending him into the barricade and post. Back in and Booker hits a super ax kick for the pin. Yeah it’s that quick.

Rating: C-. I don’t know what it was but this was rather boring. It was two guys doing moves to each other until Booker got the win in the end. Uh, great, now he has his revenge. What do they do now? This was a rather nothing match and while it was technically fine, I was never interested in anything they did.

Melina is upset about the loss so she’ll make up for it by beating Torrie Wilson.

US Title: Orlando Jordan vs. Chris Benoit

Jordan is defending and got punched down by Benoit earlier today. They lock up to start with Benoit getting the better of it and kneeing away in the corner. Some kicks to the knee get Jordan out of some of the trouble so Benoit dropkicks him in the knee to show him how it’s done. Benoit sends him outside but misses a baseball slide, allowing Jordan to get in a ram to the barricade.

Back in and Jordan tries to unhook a turnbuckle pad, only to get suplexed a few times in a row. Jordan starts working on the arm with a bunch of cranking and an armbar, but does have time to spell OJ in the air. Benoit gets a double leg takedown and hammers away but Jordan goes right back to the arm by wrapping it around the leg. A seated armbar makes it worse and Jordan’s swinging neckbreaker (Cole: “That works on the neck!”) gets two.

After more arm cranking, Jordan goes up top but gets crotched, setting up Benoit’s top rope superplex. Benoit suplexes him down again and hits the Swanton for two. Jordan gets sent into the corner again and gets the pad off, allowing him to send Benoit face first to retain the title.

Rating: C. And so yes the reign continues, but they set up a rematch if need be. Jordan has held the title for months now and for some reason he still has it, presumably because we need to have the title change on the big stage. The one good thing is they aren’t Jordan as some great champion just because he’s held the title for a few months. Benoit got cheated here and that should set up a title change sooner rather than later. Just get rid of Jordan as soon as possible, for everyone’s sake.

Post match Benoit gets the big hero’s ovation. It’s just an Orlando Jordan match people.

We recap the Undertaker vs. Muhammad Hassan. Muhammad claimed that he was being discriminated against because he couldn’t get a fair shake. He was put in the six way elimination match for the Smackdown Title but Undertaker chased him off. Then Undertaker beat up Daivari, only to have Hassan bring in some men in masks to attack Undertaker (the word terrorist was never said but that’s what they were going for). Since this took place on the day of the London bombings. It did not sit well with a lot of people. Hassan was basically blackballed from UPN, putting his future in jeopardy.

Undertaker vs. Muhammad Hassan

For the #1 contendership and Hassan is carried to the ring by the masked men on a sedan. Before the match, Hassan talks about how unfair everything is and how he’ll prove himself tonight. The masked men surround the ring after Undertaker shows up and the dodging is on in a hurry. Undertaker finally grabs him by the throat and throws Hassan into the corner for the right hands.

A clothesline drops Hassan for two and a Downward Spiral is good for two. Daivari shouts a lot so Undertaker stares down at him, followed by another glare to put the referee on the floor. The distraction lets Daivari pull Hassan away from a big boot and one of the masked men gets in some shots on the floor.

Back in and Hassan gets two off a DDT and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and a single right hand puts Hassan down. Undertaker stops to go after some masked men though and gets beaten down again as they desperately try to give Hassan a chance. The camel clutch is broken up in a hurry but one of the masked men comes in and gets beaten up as well. Snake Eyes drops Hassan, Undertaker beats up all of the masked men and the chokeslam is good for the pin.

Rating: D. At this point, I’d take anything that was even pretty good or had anything resembling life. Another bad and dull match here with Undertaker beating up six people with no real trouble. Hassan was dead in the water as soon as the terrorist angle took place and this was just a matter of time. At least they kept it short enough, but I still feel horrible for Hassan. He did his job and had his career derailed because of all of these things out of his control.

Post match Undertaker beats up the masked men, Daivari and Hassan. With that out of the way (after a long time), it’s a Last Ride through the stage to write Hassan off for good. I know he wasn’t great, but he should have had a chance to fail on his own instead of being thrown out for the company’s bad idea. They do show Hassan laying on the concrete and convulsing a bit, just for some bonus effect.

Torrie Wilson promises to give the troops something special tonight.

As Hassan is taken out on a stretcher, it’s time for the next match.

Blue World Order vs. Mexicools

It’s the big wheels vs. the lawnmowers, though the Mexicools have rakes so they…..win? I think? Juvy dances away from Nova to start and everything breaks down early on. The blue guys clear the ring and pose, until Juvy hits a springboard spinwheel kick to the back of Nova’s head. Crazy knocks Nova down for two and it’s back to Juvy for a seated abdominal stretch. Nova finally kicks him away and brings in Stevie to the silence you might have expected. Everything breaks down and Stevie misses a charge in the corner, setting up Psicosis’ guillotine legdrop for the pin.

Rating: D-. Were you expecting anything else? The match was thrown onto the card to give the fans a breather after seeing Hassan murdered on television. The wrestling was basically non-existent and the right team won, but this would have felt out of place on Smackdown, let alone on a pay per view.

We recap Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio, which is all about the fact that Eddie can’t beat Rey. Therefore, Eddie has snapped and gone insane with jealousy, eventually dragging Rey’s family into the whole thing. He has some kind of secret over Rey’s head and if he wins tonight, the secret is out. If Rey wins though, the secret is locked away forever. Or until next week in wrestling logic.

Rey tells his son Dominick that it’ll be ok.

Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero

Rey’s son Dominick is at ringside. Before the bell, Eddie demands a handshake to show Dominick what kind of a man Rey is. The bell rings and the beating is on in a hurry with Rey hitting a clothesline but getting knocked down without much effort. Rey gets two off a backslide and stops a charging Eddie with an elbow to the jaw. An atomic drop cuts Rey off and Dominick is looking nervous.

Rey evens things up with a crotching on top, setting up a super hurricanrana for two. Another hurricanrana sets up a 619 to the ribs and the springboard seated senton gets two more. Eddie has a breather on the floor and hides behind Dominick, which goes as well with Rey as you might expect. Even Tazz thinks that’s too far as Eddie gets in a cheap shot and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker plants Rey back inside.

Eddie goes back to ringside to glare at Dominick some more, followed by a hard whip into the corner to work on Rey’s back again. Another backbreaker gives Eddie three straight near falls and the frustration is on in a hurry. Rey counters another backbreaker into a rollup for two so Eddie grabs the Gory Stretch. With Rey down, Eddie goes to check on Dominick again, allowing Rey to kick him in the face for some near falls.

A tornado DDT gives Rey a delayed two and the comeback is on. The 619 connects to set up the West Coast Pop but Eddie powerbombs him out of the air. Rey rolls out of frog splash range but he can’t do anything else. Two Amigos into a brainbuster let Eddie look down at Rey again and the frog splash connects….but Rey reverses into a crucifix for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: B-. Dominick destroyed whatever they had going here as you can only cut back to him so many times before I never want to see him again. We reached that point about five minutes into the match so they kept doing it over and over again. It’s the best match of the night so far, but given the low bar that has to clear, it isn’t exactly an accomplishment. The story took a bad turn here and I don’t know if they’re going to be able to get anything back.

Post match, Eddie is stunned and looks to swear more revenge.

JBL isn’t happy with Batista embarrassing him so many times lately and promises to teach Batista a lesson like never before.

Melina vs. Torrie Wilson

Bra and panties match with Candice Michelle as guest referee for reasons of three instead of two. They brawl to start and Torrie grabs an abdominal stretch to pull off Melina’s shirt. A try for the pants gets Torrie kicked to the floor so Melina throws her back in and evens the score. Candice yells at Melina for choking so Melina drops an elbow instead. Torrie makes the comeback with some clotheslines but still can’t get the pants. A hot shot lets Melina get the rather easy win.

Rating: F. Yeah we get it. These matches just do not work in a world where Torrie has already been in Playboy so it’s not like this has any reason to exist other than to hook teenagers without good internet access. This was everything you would expect it to be and then even less.

Post match Melina jumps Candice so it’s a stripping for Melina as well. Oh and Candice strips as well.

We recap Batista vs. JBL. John Cena and the WWE Championship went to Raw in the Draft so we needed a new champ. JBL won the inaugural Smackdown Championship but Batista moved over, meaning JBL was just a #1 contender. That wasn’t cool with JBL, who yelled at Batista a lot and bragged about being a real American. It’s a feud where they have done everything well enough but the lack of drama has hurt things a lot.

Smackdown World Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Batista

Batista is defending. They circle each other to start until JBL gets shoved away off a lockup. Another shove lets Batista pose as they’re not exactly starting fast. JBL knocks him into the corner and hits a right hand, only to get clotheslined outside in a hurry. Back in and Batista’s side slam gets two but JBL runs him down with a shoulder out of the corner.

Another clothesline puts JBL on the floor though as this has been mostly Batista so far. JBL tries to dive off the apron and gets rammed back first into said apron for his efforts. Back in and Batista gets sent shoulder first, followed by a big boot right back to the floor. They go over the announcers’ table in a heap and JBL hits a jumping right hand off the table for a knock down.

That’s good for two back inside, followed by choking and an elbow for two more. Batista’s comeback is countered into a long form sleeper until Batista suplexes his way to freedom. They head outside for about the 14^th time and Batista is sent knees first into the steps. The big running clothesline puts both of them over the barricade though and Batista hammers away again.

Back in and the ref gets bumped, because that’s what this match needed. The spinebuster plants JBL but Orlando Jordan comes in with a chair to Batista’s back. That and a big boot give JBL a very delayed two and the Clothesline From JBL gets….nothing as that referee really can’t take a hit. Batista grabs another spinebuster, backdrops Jordan to the floor, and hits the shoulders in the corner. Jordan tries to come in again so Batista grabs a chair and blasts them both for the DQ, because THIS needs a rematch.

Rating: D-. Another lifeless match with Batista being better than JBL at everything JBL does. Then I had to put up with Jordan in another match and more JBL promos are coming as we probably take this to Summerslam. Batista didn’t even look that dominant and the match was long, sluggish and felt way too similar to the same story of Batista vs. HHH/Ric Flair.

Post match Batista doesn’t like the decision so he Batista Bombs JBL to end the show. Oh wait as Cole has to thank the troops. If this is their gift, it would seem that WWE hates them very much.

Overall Rating: F. This seems appropriate as I’m rather tempted to say various words that start with an F over and over after watching this show. This was HORRIBLE and one of the worst shows I’ve seen in a very long time with nothing showing any energy, some complete wastes of time, some questionable booking decisions and a terrible main event that dares to suggest we might want to see it again. It’s a complete disaster on almost every front and I can’t imagine it actually going worse. Horrible stuff here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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: July 21, 2005
Location: First Mariner Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 3,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for the Great American Bash and that means things are mostly set in stone. There are a lot of things that can be built up a bit better though and Sunday’s show could use a bit of that. The show isn’t looking too bad aside from the main event, which is little more than a way for Batista to get his first title defense as Smackdown Champion. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video is paid for by Friends Of JBL. Everything started for him last year and now it’s time for him to get the title back. Tonight, we get his victory celebration for Sunday’s title victory.

Opening sequence.

Rey Mysterio vs. Super Crazy

Back from a break with Eddie on commentary and Rey hammering away in the corner. Eddie uses the time to explain that he’s just doing all this because he loves Rey. Crazy sends Rey out of the corner and the waistlock goes on. As Eddie gets angrier and angrier, Crazy grabs the Rocking Horse to work on all the limbs. That’s broken up so Crazy puts on a seated abdominal stretch.

With that not lasting long, they chop it out as Eddie talks about being the man of the house. The springboard spinning crossbody gives Rey two and a headscissors into the corner is good for the same. Another springboard is broken up though and Crazy gets two off a springboard moonsault. Rey is right back with a headscissors into 619 position, drawing Eddie in with a rake (stolen from Psicosis) to Rey’s back for the DQ.

Rating: C. This was long but they did the smart thing by not having either of them take a fall. They seem to have plans for the Mexicools so having them lose this early would be a bad idea. Eddie was going even crazier on commentary and it makes the heel turn work that much more. He can be all sinister in his regular promos but now he’s breaking down into just pure obsession and madness.

Post break Eddie is going to leave but Theodore Long says not so fast. Eddie is wrestling tonight against a mystery opponent.

Christian brags about beating Booker T. last week and promises to beat him again on Sunday. If Josh Matthews doesn’t like it, go back to his parent’s house and his basement room and complain about it on the internet. Booker is going to be a two time two time loser.

Heidenreich reads Animal a poem about feeling Hawk’s presence and how big of a chance this is. Animal says Heidenreich is more like Hawk than he thought. Heidenreich: “What a rush.” Oh give me a break.

JBL is a Great American. Like Neil Armstrong.

Animal/Heidenreich vs. Nick Berk/Julio Dinero

Powerslam and Doomsday Device finish in thirty seconds. MNM is shown panicking in the back.

Raw Rebound.

Eddie Guerrero vs. ???

It’s…..Chris Benoit, because that’s as much of a guaranteed good match as you can get. Before the match, Eddie tries to run so Benoit calls him in, saying they’ve been close friends for years. Eddie gets back in and decks Benoit to start in a hurry. A chair is brought in but the referee takes it away, only to have Eddie kick Benoit low for an early two. Eddie’s boot rake over the face but Benoit snaps off a German suplex as we take a break.

Back with Eddie wrapping the knee around the post and sending him face first into the announcers’ table. Eddie cranks on the leg and puts on a leglock, sending Benoit rolling over to the ropes. Benoit fights up and tries the Sharpshooter but the knee gives out. That means the leglock goes right back on so Benoit makes it to the ropes again, though a bit more slowly this time.

Eddie goes up but gets headbutted and superplexed back down, with Benoit busted open after the headbutts. Being the smart villain, Eddie kicks at the cut but Benoit snaps off the rolling German suplex for a double knockdown. The Swan Dive gets a delayed two with Eddie getting a boot on the rope. Back up and Eddie tries the Three Amigos, only to get reversed into the Crossface. Eddie is in the ropes within about two seconds….and takes the countout.

Rating: B. That’s about the standard for these two as they don’t know how to have a bad match. They’re one of the best pairings you can find and it was no exception here. This was the second match in a row where you don’t want either of them taking a fall so it was the right way to go. I could get used to this thinking things through concept.

Post match Rey jumps Eddie and beats him up on the stage.

We look back at Undertaker beating up Muhammad Hassan’s attorney last week.

Here’s Candice Michelle for a special announcement: the Great American Bash will be available for free to the military. Yeah we already knew that. Cue Melina, who isn’t happy that Candice is guest referee for Melina vs. Torrie Wilson on Sunday. Melina doesn’t like Candice and goes for her clothes, only to have Torrie run in for the save. Candice is so humiliated that she dances a bit.

Video on the Great American Bash press conference.

Booker T. vs. Simon Dean

Simon says Sharmell goes to the buffet line five times, five times, five times, five times, five times and the beating is on in a hurry. Booker doesn’t waste time and punches, kicks and kicks some more, setting up the ax kick for the pin in a hurry.

Post match Booker says Christian is just like that Richard Simmons Tae Bo wannabe.

JBL is a Great American. Like Ronald Reagan.

The Boogeyman is coming.

Long video on Guerrero vs. Mysterio.

Great American Bash rundown, with the Blue World Order vs. the Mexicools added.

It’s time for JBL’s victory celebration, meaning the ring is covered in red, white and blue. Orlando Jordan handles the introduction and the confetti cannons go off. JBL looks like Uncle Sam/Apollo Creed and comes to the ring in an open topped Cadillac just to complete the visual. He talks about some great Americans and brags about how awesome America is.

We take over countries because we can and because we should, since might has always been right. We do give to the poor nations who need a handout, but some Americans are weak. Like Batista, who ran away from JBL at Wrestlemania like a coward. JBL isn’t happy about Batista being on the cover of Smackdown Magazine. This is his show, but don’t worry because next month, there will be a new issue on the newsstand.

We see a new cover, with JBL holding the title over a fallen Batista. On Sunday, Batista is getting put down because there are legends and Hall of Famers, but there is only one wrestling god. Cue Batista to call JBL out for looking like an idiot. Batista calls him a phony and a bully so on Sunday, JBL is getting exposed. The fight is on and Batista cleans house, including putting on the Uncle Sam hat and jacket to end the show. They’re trying to do something with this, but JBL is little more than target practice for Batista and Guerrero vs. Mysterio is the real main event and they aren’t trying to hide it.

Overall Rating: C-. This show ran into the problem of not being able to do anything else with Mysterio vs. Guerrero. The story has been set up for a few weeks now and there isn’t anything left for them to do with it. Batista vs. JBL isn’t doing anything for me, but Christian vs. Booker should be good and…..yeah two matches are enough to carry a show, right? Not a great show here, but Eddie vs Benoit got us far enough.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: December 19, 2019
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James

What happens when you try to recap a week where they were barely doing anything in the first place? This is the holiday edition of the show and really, there was hardly much worth talking about this week. Maybe they can have something special around here, but there is also a chance that it is going to be a shorter show as Monday was a double taping, meaning the Main Event material might not be as strong. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening sequence….is a recap of Seth Rollins/AOP vs. Kevin Owens. I don’t remember the last time this show hasn’t opened in the same way. It’s probably been years at this point so this is quite the switch.

From Raw.

Here’s Rollins to open things up and he wastes no time in bringing out the AOP. Rollins talks about how this has been his year because he’s beaten Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title twice. That made people think he was the future but then the mood changed, with people questioning his leadership.

Being a leader is about making decisions for the sake of progress and he’ll make decisions some people don’t like. Rollins is a leader and visionary who will lead this brand and this business into the next decade. He will drag you into 2020 and if you resist, the AOP will enforce his will. That brings him to tonight, and he has a score to settle, whether people like it or not.

From Raw.

Viking Raiders vs. OC

Non-title rematch they went to a double countout last night. Hold on though as the OC needs to talk about how dominant the Vikings are. That being said, only one team has beaten the Vikings and that would be the OC. Erik knees Anderson into the corner to start and it’s off to Ivar, who gets slammed down onto Anderson for a bonus.

Some forearms from Ivar set up Erik’s delayed vertical suplex into an armbar. That goes nowhere so it’s off to Gallows, who is knocked to the floor in a hurry. The suicide dive is blocked and Gallows hits a fall away slam into the barricade. Back from a break with Erik still in trouble as Gallows hammers away in the corner.

A big boot sets up the chinlock, followed by Anderson’s boot to the face for two. Erik gets up and shrugs Anderson away for the hot tag to Ivar so the pace can pick up. The Bronco Buster in the corner connects but a charge into another corner misses, allowing the belly to back neckbreaker to hit for two.

Ivar’s double handspring elbow takes both of them down and the Vikings hit stereo suicide dives as we take another break. Back with Ivar coming in off the second hot tag as everything breaks down. Ivar gets driven into Gallows in the corner for two and Erik adds a spinebuster to Anderson. In what can only be a bad idea, Ivar goes up but misses a moonsault (which would have barely made contact in the first place), allowing Anderson to kick Erik off the apron. The Magic Killer finishes Ivar at 19:26.

Rating: C+. Well it was better than last night due to the clean finish, but at the same time it was a clean pinfall over the Vikings. If you’re setting up for the eventual showdown with the AOP (as you should be), the Vikings should be unbeatable. There’s nothing wrong with pushing the OC, but it’s not exactly helping the Raiders at the moment. At least cheat to win here somehow.

From Raw.

Here are Bobby Lashley and Lana for their celebration. Lana explains what happened last night when Lashley beat Rusev in the tables match. After swooning over how beautiful Lashley is and telling the fans that they’re the ones who suck, Lana pulls out a ring….so Lashley can propose. That’s a no though, because Lashley doesn’t like being told what to do….except her, so he proposes. Lana is so happy that it went like they rehearsed and she says yes a lot.

Quick look at Daniel Bryan returning at TLC.

We look at the end of the gauntlet match, plus Seth Rollins attacking Rey Mysterio after the ending, setting up next week’s title match.

And from Raw one more time.

Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

Orton wastes no time and the early RKO attempt sends AJ bailing to the floor. Back in and Orton starts in on the leg but AJ hits him in the face for a breather. The springboard is cut off but the hanging DDT is countered into the Calf Crushes. Orton makes the long crawl, only to get dragged back into the middle to slap the hold on again. This time Orton makes the rope, though he certainly looked to be tapping when he was missing. Orton bails to the floor but AJ chop blocks the leg out again as we take a break.

Back with AJ still on the knee and kicking Orton down in the corner. Orton drops him onto the buckle though and gets himself a breather. The powerslam plants AJ and the backbreaker out of the corner does the same but Orton hurts the knee even more. Orton’s superplex attempt is broken up and there’s another chop block to take the knee out again.

AJ scores with a Lionsault for two and we’re into an overrun. Orton breaks up another springboard forearm and hits the hanging DDT but the RKO is countered into the Calf Crusher. That’s broken up as well so AJ tries the Phenomenal Forearm, only to dive into the RKO for the pin at 16:32.

Rating: C+. These two work well together and I liked the slower pace for a change. It’s ok to mix things up a bit and while their feud over the last few weeks hasn’t exactly been thrilling, this felt like a fresh match and something that they had put some effort into. Nice main event, with the leg stuff being a focal point to hold things together.

Post match the OC runs in to beat down Orton but the Viking Raiders come out for the save. The OC gets the better of it and it’s a Magic Killer to Erik to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. There is something to be said about being done with Main Event in five minutes, which is what happened here. It makes sense to not show any Smackdown for a week, but that doesn’t make it any less odd. It’s even more skippable than usual, but there is something to be said about not having the original matches. They rarely add anything and it just slows down a show that doesn’t need to exist most of the time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: December 20, 2019
Hosts: Aiden English, Tom Phillips

It’s the end of the year and that means it’s time to look back at the Best of 2019, which will be the case for the next two shows. I know that might sound like a joke but there has been a lot of good things for 205 Live this year, at least as far as in ring work goes. That has never been a big weakness for 205 Live so this is kind of perfect for the show. Let’s get to it.

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

Note that since this is a Best Of show, I’m going to be copying and pasting the full versions of the matches. There is a chance that the matches shown are going to be clipped so what you read might not match up entirely with what you see.

The hosts welcome us to the show and introduce the concept: the top eight matches of the year. Simple enough.

8. Royal Rumble

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto vs. Hideo Itami

Murphy is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Everyone goes for rollups to start but can’t get anywhere so Tozawa puts Murphy in a Black Widow. Kalisto makes a save and snaps off a hurricanrana to send Murphy outside. Itami starts cleaning house and wins a strike off with Murphy, followed by knocking Kalisto outside.

Tozawa’s dive takes Murphy out but Kalisto gets back in to clean house, including monkey flipping Tozawa off the apron onto Murphy. This time it’s Tozawa heading back inside to take over, capped off by the suicide headbutt on Itami. Buddy is back up with the running flip dive to the floor onto all three. Kalisto is up first with a hurricanrana driver for two on Murphy as the all over the place offense continues.

Murphy powerbombs Kalisto out of the corner for the same with Tozawa having to make a save. The Salida Del Sol gets a VERY close two on Itami but Murphy takes over again. It’s Itami hitting an enziguri on Murphy so Tozawa and Kalisto break it up with stereo superkicks. Murphy is right back up and countering whatever Itami’s finisher is supposed to be, setting up Murphy’s Law to retain at 12:07.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what it was supposed to be with a bunch of spots and all kinds of entertainment going on. It didn’t need to be anything more than a fast paced spotfest and that’s what they did here. Murphy retaining is fine and I liked the match well enough. It also didn’t overstay its welcome, which is often a problem with a match like this. Good stuff here.

7. Elimination Chamber

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa

Murphy is defending and they start fast with a battle over the wristlock. The fight heads outside with Tozawa ducking a chop to send Murphy’s hand into the post. Murphy is fine enough to drop him on the floor for an eight count and let’s go to the back for an interview with Kofi Kingston. Well actually with Xavier Woods and Big E. as Kofi is undergoing a maple syrup massage.

Tozawa gets caught in a backbreaker and a chinlock as Xavier talks about Kofi being a legend before the three of them ever got together. Dancing ensues and we go back to a full screen with Tozawa hiptossing his way out of an abdominal stretch. A running boot in the corner hits the champ, followed by a Shining Wizard for two. Murphy gets caught on top and what looks like a super gorilla press is countered into a super hurricanrana for the second near fall.

Tozawa gets pulled into a fireman’s carry facebuster, followed by a hard knee to the face to give Murphy two of his own. They chop it out until Tozawa’s bridging German suplex gets two more. A kick to the face sets up a middle rope inverted hurricanrana to send Murphy outside. That means a pair of suicide headbutts, followed by Murphy getting caught in the rope for the top rope backsplash to the back. Tozawa’s Iron Octopus has Murphy in trouble so he muscles it up into Murphy’s Law to retain at 13:21.

Rating: B-. The extra time helped this one a lot and that’s a good sign for the division. Tozawa was little more than the challenger of the month but he made the most of it and that’s the best thing possible. Murphy is almost destined for a major title match at Wrestlemania, though I’m not sure who could serve in that role.

6. Wrestlemania XXXV

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Tony Nese vs. Buddy Murphy

Nese is challenging after winning a tournament and wastes no time in trying a jumping knee. Murphy gets sent outside but is fine enough to drop Nese ribs first onto the turnbuckle as we go split screen for an ad. Well at least they didn’t do this during the TV build. Back to full with Nese fighting out of a chinlock and suplexing the champ into the corner. Murphy gets tied in the ropes for a Lionsault but catches Nese with a superkick. A spinning faceplant gets two and some knees to the face have Nese in more trouble.

Nese is fine enough to hit a reverse hurricanrana and they trade a series of strikes to the face. Nese’s kneeling over the back piledriver gets two, followed by the 450 for the same. Murphy is right back up with Murphy’s Law but Nese gets a foot on the rope. With nothing else working, Murphy tries Nese’s running knee in the corner but walks into a superkick. A German suplex into the corner sets up the real running knee to give Nese the pin and the title at 10:43.

Rating: C+. Pretty good stuff here, even if I can’t imagine Nese holding the title very long. He’s the New York guy so it makes sense to have him win the title for a feel good moment. It wasn’t the most surprising thing in the world but it’s a good idea to open the night with a mostly short but effective match. Not bad at all, though Nese is a short term champion at best.

5. May 7

Akira Tozawa vs. Mike Kanellis

No DQ. Tozawa wastes no time in taking it to the floor and sending Mike into the set on the stage. The Black Widow on the floor has Kanellis in more trouble but the fall doesn’t count out there. What does count is Kanellis escaping and side slamming Tozawa onto the stage. It’s time for some weapons, including three chairs and a table this time around. Mike sets up a table on the floor, slams Tozawa down, and puts a second table next to the first.

Back in and Tozawa snaps off a hurricanrana to send Mike right back to the floor, but the suicide headbutt is superkicked out of the air. Now it’s time for the chairs with Kanellis setting up two face to face, but after nine reversals in a row, Tozawa hits the suplex to drive Kanellis through the chairs. The Shining Wizard sends Kanellis outside and a whip sends him over the announcers’ table as things are getting more violent.

In a rather stupid move, Tozawa puts a trashcan over Kanellis’ head and hits the suicide headbutt, knocking himself silly in the process. Back in and Tozawa grabs a Samoan driver through a trashcan and they’re both down again. They chop it out with Tozawa hitting the right hand, setting up an exchange of kicks to the face. A snap German suplex gives Tozawa two more as the fans want tables. I love the Dudleys but I want to smack both of them for making that a thing.

Tozawa gets in another German suplex on the apron and now it’s time for the tables. Kanellis rolls off before Tozawa can launch the top rope backsplash and scores with a superkick. That lets Mike go up top but Tozawa pops up and snaps off the super hurricanrana to drive Kanellis through the tables instead. Back in and Tozawa piles the chairs onto him, setting up the top rope backsplash for the pin at 16:05.

Rating: B. The thing that got my attention here was how the fans went from not caring at the start to actually being into the match by the end. That’s a very impressive accomplishment and they pulled it off here. Both guys worked hard here and the match was violent enough to validate the gimmick. Rather good match that felt like the blowoff the feud needed.

Maria and Kendrick come out to check on the people you would expect them to check on to end the show.

The hosts wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B-. I never know how to rate something like this, but one thing jumped out at me: three of the four matches took place on Kickoff Shows, as they couldn’t even make the main shows. The Cruiserweight Title has never meant a thing in WWE and they never even hid it. I was lucky enough to be in the crowd for the No DQ match though and that is more than worthy on this list. It was a heck of a match and the fact that almost no one saw it is as telling as you can get. Good show here, but it tells you a lot about where the show is right now.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: December 13, 2019
Location: Firsev Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Aiden English

We’re back to this show and it’s really hard to know where things are going to go from last week. It doesn’t help when the Cruiserweight Title changed hands on Wednesday instead of on this show, which is becoming less and less important every single week. One of the biggest deals coming out of the last two weeks was Jack Gallagher snapping so maybe we can get somewhere else with that one. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Angel Garza becoming NXT Cruiserweight Champion by making Lio Rush tap.

Opening sequence.

Ariya Daivari vs. Raul Mendoza

It’s a bit distracting watching them walk past the tables, ladders and chairs during the entrances. They talk trash to start until Mendoza shoulders him down a few times. Daivari avoids a charge and puts him on the middle rope so Mendoza jumps up to the top for a crossbody in a nice move. A baseball slide puts Daivari on the floor but he’s back up to post Mendoza.

Back in and we hit the expected chinlock, followed by a reverse chinlock to mix things up a bit. Mendoza fights up and hits a running forearm to knock Daivari silly. Some right hands rock Daivari and a dropkick puts him into the corner. It’s a fine comeback but the crowd is so silent for the whole thing that it’s rather depressing. Daivari is sent outside for a big flip dive and a suplex gets two back inside.

Mendoza runs into a superkick in the corner though and Daivari hits a heck of a Persian splash for two more. A hurricanrana gives Mendoza two more but he has to bail out of a Phoenix splash. That means Daivari can hit a Rock Bottom for two but they collide on stereo crossbody attempts. They slug it out and Daivari tries the hammerlock lariat, only to get reversed into a rollup for the pin at 11:05.

Rating: C+. Thank goodness. They had me worried that they would do the idiotic thing here and have Daivari, the heatless wonder, get the win. Mendoza is someone who has been used to put over a lot of names (there’s nothing wrong with that) and at some point you have to give him a win or two, which is what they had to do here. Daivari is a failed experiment so go with someone who could get something out of the win.

Video on Joaquin Wilde, who nearly died in a match in 2017.

Joaquin Wilde vs. James Tapia

Wilde starts with the air horn sounds and spins around Tapia without much trouble. A jump over Tapia sets up an armbar and Wilde sends him into the corner, setting up a nip up. Tapia tries a superplex but gets powerbombed out of the corner instead. Wilde kicks him into the air so Tapia lands face first on Wilde’s feet (the Wilde Thing) for the pin at 2:53. Wilde looked ok here.

We look at Angel Garza proposing to his girlfriend after winning the Cruiserweight Title last week.

Danny Burch vs. Tony Nese

Feeling out process to start as they fight over a test of strength. Burch gets the better of a wristlock so Nese slips out, only to get taken down with a headlock takeover. Nese fights to his feet and gets put right back on the mat as they’re taking their time to start here. Another comeback is cut off as Nese’s leapfrog is pulled out of the air for a faceplant. Burch goes up but gets pulled out of the air for a crash and Nese finally gets in a few shots to the face to take over.

The Lionsault gives Nese two and the bodyscissors goes on to stay on the ribs. That’s broken up as well and Nese hits a middle rope dropkick to put them both down. An enziguri sets up a heck of a right hand to give Nese two but he’s able to flip out of a release German suplex. A double stomp to the chest gives Nese two, only to have Burch come right back with the Tower of London out of the corner.

The Crossface goes on but Nese gets his foot on the rope in a hurry. Burch gets sent to the floor so Nese hits the big flip dive. The 450 misses inside though and Burch slaps on the Crossface again. This time Nese just muscles out of it and hits a running buckle bomb. The running Nese finishes Burch at 12:58.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable match and that’s all it was going to be. What else were you expecting out of a cold match between Nese and Burch in the last match of the year? It’s kind of a perfect way to wrap things up: two people having a fine enough match to no reaction as a lot of the fans have gone him. Sums up 205 Live rather well, no?

Overall Rating: C-. And that’s it for the year’s new episodes, with a not very good one to wrap it up. The show has fallen a long way this year and I don’t see it getting much better in 2020. As usual, the talent is there but they’ve been left out in the middle of nowhere to rot and it shows badly. Such is life in 205 Live and WWE seems perfectly content to let it keep going like this.

Results

Raul Mendoza b. Ariya Daivari – Rollup

Joaquin Wilde b. James Tapia – Wilde Thing

Tony Nese b. Danny Burch – Running Nese

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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: December 20, 2019
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the first show after Tables, Ladders And Chairs and one of two shows left before the end of the year. That means it’s time for some fallout, which could be anywhere from dull to interesting, as tends to be the case around here. We also could start hear some rumblings about the Rumble. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Bray Wyatt defeating the Miz on Sunday, followed by the return of Daniel Bryan.

Here’s Bryan for an opening chat. Bryan talks about how he looked in the mirror after Bray’s attack on him a few weeks ago. His hair and beard were gone, but what he saw was the lack of the Daniel Bryan brand. Then he went home and when his daughter saw him without his hair and beard for the first time ever, she cried. Bryan sees something new in his face. He doesn’t see the man who main evented Wrestlemania, but rather the man who worked for years to get here. Bryan wants Wyatt out here right now but here’s the Miz instead.

Miz talks about how what happened to Bryan was terrible, but Wyatt attacked him personally. Bryan doesn’t know what it’s like to have his home violated so Miz wants revenge. He’ll be taking what Wyatt treasures most when he takes the Universal Title. Cue King Corbin to mock them for being bad fathers before playing a loop of the announcement that he won on Sunday.

Corbin says he’s next in line for Wyatt because the two of them have failed as wrestlers and fathers. The fight is almost on but here’s Dolph Ziggler from behind for the beatdown so Corbin can stand tall. So yeah Bryan is back and everything, but it’s Corbin and Ziggler to open things up again. I know you’ll hear this thrown around a lot, but this felt like WWE just trolled us by bringing out Corbin and Ziggler in another opening segment.

Heavy Machinery aren’t happy with the destruction of the ham last week. Cue Mandy Rose to give Otis a new ham because she’s her Secret Santa this year. She throws in a kiss on the cheek. Corey: “HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD???”

Heavy Machinery vs. Revival

Miracle on 34^th Street Fight with Heavy Machinery in Santa hats and coats. It’s a brawl to start (as it should be) with Revival taking over. Tucker gets dropped onto the announcers’ table and Otis gets some Christmas cookies shoved in his mouth. Dawson breaks up the presents and throws one of them at Otis’ head.

The cookie plate is destroyed but a suplex through the table is broken up but Otis gets slammed through it as we take a break. Back with Tucker suplexing Dawson on the ramp but Dawson hits Tucker with a present. There’s a bowling ball inside and it gets rolled between Tucker’s legs so they can head back inside. Dawson gets sent into a Christmas tree in the corner but Dawson hits tucker with a fire extinguisher.

A whip over the announcers’ table destroys the ham and Dawson smashes it in front of Otis. You do NOT do that to Otis so the beatdown is on, only to have Wilder bust out the candy cane kendo stick. That’s shrugged off with a slam through the table and Otis takes Dawson back inside for some throws. Otis busts out the Legos and slams Dawson onto them, followed by an electric chair/fall away slam at the same time. The shirt comes off to set up the Caterpillar and the Compactor finishes Dawson at 12:00.

Rating: C+. Yeah this is on a sliding scale as it was just a joke match that served no purpose other than being around for the holiday theme. It’s a perfectly harmless brawl and it’s not like Revival can fall much further through the floor. The fans love Heavy Machinery and there’s nothing wrong with giving them a win in something like this.

Post match, Otis licks the ham.

Post break, Otis has the ham and runs into Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Sonya leaves and Otis apologizes to Mandy for what happened to the ham. He gets a hug and smiles a lot, only to sweat all over Mandy’s dress.

The Revival are still in the ring and rant about how much of a garbage match that was. They want some serious tag team wrestling but here is Elias with the guitar to cut them off. His song is about how terrible it is for Revival, including saying that he showed his grandmother one of their matches and now she’s on life support.

Sami Zayn comes up to see Braun Strowman because Sami is his Secret Santa. Braun doesn’t like Santa because Sami doesn’t like Christmas, so here are Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. Sami asks Braun what he wants for Christmas (Braun: “You don’t get what secret means do you?”) so Braun asks for an Intercontinental Title match. That….doesn’t seem to be an option so the three of them leave.

Carmella vs. Sonya Deville

Cole during Carmella’s entrance: “There’s someone’s secret Santa!” Corey: “WHAT DO YOU KNOW???” Sonya chokes on the ropes to start and kicks away in the corner. A superkick to the ribs gets Carmella out of trouble and the Cone of Silence makes Sonya tap at 1:37. That’s two weeks in a row with a completely nothing women’s match.

Just in case the match wasn’t short enough, New Day comes to the ring as Carmella is still leaving so she dances with them.

Sheamus is still coming.

Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. New Day

Non-title and Cesaro’s entrance now looks like the Matrix. Kofi dropkicks Nakamura down for an early one so it’s off to Big E. to run Nakamura over as well. A spinning kick to the head drops Big E., so he’s right back with the Rock Bottom out of the corner. Cesaro makes the save so Kofi hits a big flip dive to take Cesaro down outside. A running clothesline drops Big E. though and Nakamura adds in a knee to the head.

Big E. gets sent into the steps and we take a break. Back with Nakamura kicking Big E. down but Kinshasa is blocked with a heck of a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Kofi to clean some house, only to get caught with Swiss Death. The Cesaro Swing gets two but the Neutralizer is broken up. A rather sloppy small package finishes Cesaro at 12:02.

Rating: C-. Pretty paint by numbers match which felt like it could have been on any house show. To be fair though, it’s not like they are going to do anything significant on this show and the champs won. Cesaro taking falls isn’t even worth getting annoyed over anymore either and that’s a sad reality….which we’ve been in for years now.

Post match the beatdown is on but Braun Strowman makes the save and hits the running shoulders around the ring.

Miz and Bryan argue about who hates who more but Miz wants to beat up Bray Wyatt.

Bayley vs. Dana Brooke

Hey look: the same match we saw last week for no logical reason. Sasha Banks is here too so why not have her fight Dana? Ah apparently Dana TWEETED about wanting a rematch and everyone’s hands were tied. Bayley takes her down to start and hits a running knee in the corner. The chinlock goes on but Dana fights up in a hurry. The Swanton and a cartwheel splash get two on Bayley but she’s right back with the headlock driver for the pin at 4:14.

Rating: D. Well I certainly feel better about seeing that one again. This is a situation where they would have been better off having Bayley and Sasha talk or beat up a jobber or something. Why do the same match with a longer time before the same result as last week? It just comes off as lazy booking as there’s no need to do the same thing again.

Post match the beatdown is on but here’s Lacey Evans for the save and the challenge.

Lacey Evans vs. Sasha Banks

Bayley and Brooke are still at ringside. Banks reverses her in the corner and hits the Meteora to the back. A suplex gives Banks two and we hit the armbar. Another Meteora, this one seated, gets two more but Sasha charges into a boot in the corner. Lacey kicks her to the floor but a Bayley distraction lets Sasha get in a posting. Corey gets in a good question by asking where Dana is during all this. Lacey’s daughter makes a terrifying face at Banks as the beating continues until it’s a double countout at 4:16.

Rating: D+. Well at least it was a fresh match. This was nothing to see again but it filled in some more time and furthered Lacey’s face turn. If they’re going in this direction, I still don’t see why they didn’t just go with swapping the opponents here but I’m sure there’s some complicated technical reason and not just “…..uh…..well we didn’t put that much thought into it”.

Post match Bayley and Brooke get involved and it’s a big brawl. Tag match next week more than likely.

Daniel Bryan/The Miz vs. King Corbin/Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler gets in trouble early and it’s the stereo YES Kicks to both villains. Bryan hits some YES chants and we take a break. Back with Bryan hitting the running corner dropkicks on Corbin but the Deep Six plants Bryan. Ziggler’s big elbow gets two and it’s back to the corner to keep up the beating. The trash talk is on and Ziggler hammers away in the corner.

Corbin hits a running clothesline but takes too long bragging, allowing Bryan to hit the missile dropkick. Miz comes in for a bunch of kicks to both and a rollup for two on Ziggler. The Skull Crushing Finale hits Corbin but Ziggler’s superkick is good for two. Another superkick is countered into the Figure Four though and, with Bryan taking out Corbin, Ziggler taps at 10:21.

Rating: C-. This had a little more energy than the other tag match but I’m not exactly buying Miz as a threat to anyone after he got beaten just five days ago. Corbin and Ziggler continue to be little more than villains who just happen to be here and I don’t see that changing. I mean, Ziggler does wear a hat now so he’s changing a little right?

The lights flicker and the Fiend’s laugh end the show, though we do get an announcement for next week: Miz vs. Bryan vs. Corbin in a #1 contenders match for the Rumble title shot.

Rating: D. Oh yeah the holiday season has started as there wasn’t exactly a lot of effort here but then again it’s not like many people are going to be watching anyway. This is their last big show for a few days so I can understand them not really doing much. It didn’t help that they treated it like a house show, which I can’t blame them for either. Really weak show, but more because they seemed to take the week off than anything else.

Results

Heavy Machinery b. Revival – Compactor to Dawson

Carmella b. Sonya Deville – Cone of Silence

New Day b. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura – Small package to Cesaro

Bayley b. Dana Brooke – Headlock driver

Lacey Evans vs. Sasha Banks went to a double countout

Daniel Bryan/The Miz b. Dolph Ziggler/King Corbin – Figure Four to Ziggler

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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