IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 3, 2005
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New York City, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the first show of a new year and also the go home show for New Year’s Revolution. That doesn’t leave us very long to finalize everything but since so much of the card is tied up in the Elimination Chamber, you can probably guess where things are going this week. Other than that, we probably need some more matches to be added to the card at the last minute. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s Beat The Clock Challenge which saw Batista earn the right to enter the Chamber last. Oh and Shawn Michaels is going to be guest referee.

Eric Bischoff is in the back with the World Title and makes tonight very simple: three singles matches between the six Chamber participants. Nothing wrong with that, mainly because it’s once.

Batista vs. Chris Benoit

Batista goes with the power to start so Benoit gets in a dragon screw legwhip to take him down. A backbreaker cuts Benoit off but Batista goes for a turnbuckle pad, allowing Benoit to roll some German suplexes. Batista catches him on top and hits a Muscle buster of all things for a delayed two. The half crab with a knee on Benoit’s head has him in more trouble and Batista even picks up Benoit’s hand to make him tap.

The spinebuster gives Batista two more but Benoit scores with an enziguri, followed by the hard German suplex. Benoit hits the Swan Dive (or at least seems to after a quick camera cut) for two more and the Crossface goes on, though Benoit is almost on top of Batista’s back instead of off to the side. Batista powers up without much effort and drives Benoit head first (several times) into the exposed buckle. Now it’s time to get fired up and the Batista Bomb finishes.

Rating: C+. It’s so frustrating watching WWE stumble through the dark as they try to get monsters (or anyone) over these days when it’s this easy. Batista has been protected for months, says things that makes him look smart and then wins big matches. If they have the talent and intelligence to do the rest, which Batista did because he was well trained down in OVW, you’ll have a star on your hands.

Ric Flair is very pleased with what happened when Batista comes in. Flair says all they have to do is have HHH survive until the end when Batista can destroy everyone so HHH can get the title back. Batista says HHH can count on him, but he wants the $100 from last week’s bet. Flair looks terrified at what this could mean and HHH tells him to give Batista $100.

That’s fine with Flair, who wants to keep the peace. Batista wants HHH’s money though so HHH pulls out $100. Batista laughs and tells HHH to get a sense of humor. Again: treat him like someone with a brain to go with his physical dominance and there is no way he won’t be awesome.

We look back at Snitsky Pillmanizing Kane’s neck.

Snitsky is surprised that Kane is coming back and whispers something to Maria, who runs off. He has a surprise for Kane on Sunday.

Edge still doesn’t get why Shawn Michaels is guest referee on Sunday because it won’t be fair. Bischoff says this is because Edge hurt Shawn even worse and cost Raw revenue. He’s trying to make up for some of it on Sunday, but for now Edge needs to worry about his match.

Edge vs. Chris Jericho

They trade waistlocks to start with Jericho taking him to the mat by the leg. Back up and Edge punches him in the face but gets backdropped to the floor. Jericho follows him out and it’s a double clothesline to take us to a break. We come back with Edge working on the arm for a change, including a DDT on the arm for two. It’s off to a different armbar because Edge is good enough to mix up the holds he uses instead of doing the same things over and over.

Jericho fights up and hits a shoulder with the bad arm, which doesn’t seem to do much damage. A hurricanrana sends Edge flying but he’s right back with a heck of a big boot for two. Jericho’s northern lights suplex gets the same so he kicks Edge hard in the ribs. Edge catches him on top and tries a superplex, which is tossed down for a crash. A missed high crossbody misses Edge but he can’t get the spear. Jericho tries a rollup but Edge sits down on it and grabs the rope for the pin.

Rating: C. It wasn’t quite as good as the opener but Edge cheating to win gave him a victory that he needed. Edge is one of the weaker options in the Chamber so having him cheat to win is a good way for him to catch up. It’s not like Jericho losing is going to do any serious damage to him anyway.

Randy Orton is ready for his long awaited one on one match with HHH before he wins the World Title on Sunday.

JR and King thank the British fans for watching the show live but King cuts him off to say Happy Birthday.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Sylvan Grenier

Non-title with Maven coming out to do commentary. The distraction lets Grenier get in a cheap shot before the bell as Maven starts to gloat. Grenier stomps away in the corner as Maven talks about how he wants the Intercontinental Title match on Sunday. The chinlock goes on, followed by a full nelson to mix the holds up a bit.

Shelton fights up and drives him into the corner for the break and the comeback is on. Rob Conway offers a distraction, allowing Shelton to hit the Dragon Whip. The referee just stops counting at two because Grenier doesn’t kick out and the fans are not pleased. The exploder is good for the pin. Too short to rate but that ending hurt what was already a bad match.

Video on the Elimination Chamber.

And now, the debate between Muhammad Hassan/Daivari and Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler. Hassan goes into the same speech he’s had every time about how America is racist and it got even worse since 9/11. Lawler says that there are racists and idiots in every country. Hassan has every right to complain about that but when he called the troops cowards, he took it too far.

The reason people don’t like Hassan and Daivari is they’re loudmouth jerks. Daivari goes into a rant but Hassan calms things down. Hassan doesn’t like most Arab Americans because they don’t showcase their heritage. He doesn’t like JR shaking his head at this because Hassan is as American as Mickey Mantle and the Oklahoma Sooners. JR won’t do anything about it though because he’s just like America: angry behind his back but a coward face to face.

JR says America isn’t a perfect place but Hassan and Daivari can love it or leave it (erg). Hassan turns over the podium and punches JR in the ribs, followed by a double team beatdown of Lawler. JR gets choked with a belt but the bloody Lawler takes off his own belt and chases them off, collapsing in the process. This could have been worse, but not that much worse. The RAH RAH AMERICA stuff is wearing thin and WWE knows how to lay it on very thick.

Coach is now doing commentary for the rest of the show. On his own. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Trish Stratus vs. Victoria

Trish wastes no time in taking her down for some forearms and knees to the face. A hair pull takedown gets two as Victoria is looking like a full on jobber here. Trish chokes her in the corner and a throat first catapult into the bottom rope makes it even worse. Victoria gets in a side slam and rollup for two, followed by the clothesline comeback. The dancing moonsault hits raised knees though and the Chick Kick gives Trish the pin.

Rating: D. What happened to Victoria? She’s one of the best options they have in the division but she’s losing a match like this in a match that is just a step above a squash. It’s not like these two can’t have a good match if they’re given the chance but Trish might as well have been facing Stacy Keibler.

Post match Trish promises to do the same to Lita, so here’s Lita for the slugout. This brings out Snitsky for the save, allowing Trish to hit the Chick Kick. Snitsky grabs a chair but Kane returns to let her escape. Kane and Lita have a bit of a moment.

Video on the Elimination Chamber match from Summerslam 2003. Egads do I really have to think about that one again?

Coach explains why he’s out here alone.

Hassan vs. Lawler is set for Sunday.

Pay per view rundown.

Christy Hemme is doing a photo shoot when Eugene shows up to sing Lindsay Lohan to her. Believe it or not, this is actually dumber than it sounds. Thankfully William Regal comes in for the save with Christy escorting Eugene to the ring. It turns out Regal likes Lohan as well, meaning singing and dancing ensues. This is instantly more entertaining than anything Eugene just did.

Christian vs. Eugene

Christian/Tomko vs. Eugene/Regal for the titles on Sunday. Eugene shoulders him down to start and even shows off some power with the gorilla press into a Warrior Splash (with rope shake of course). Christian finally gets in a shot of his own and a quick distraction lets Tomko drive Eugene back first into the apron. We hit the required neck crank for a bit before Eugene comes back with a Rock Bottom for a very delayed two. Tomko comes in so Eugene forearms him to the floor, leaving Christian to grab a sunset flip (and a rope, since he must have been watching Edge’s match earlier) for the pin.

Rating: D. It’s not a good sign when you’re using the same finish twice in about an hour. This was a perfectly acceptable way to build towards the Tag Team Title match on Sunday, which was announced earlier in the show so it’s not like they can have any less of a story going on. The match was nothing to see of course, but it did what it was supposed to do as well as it could have been asked to.

Evolution (since we haven’t seen them in awhile) is ready for tonight but HHH wants Batista to stay in the back. He only has to beat four guys on Sunday but tonight it’s one on one. Tonight, he needs to show the world that Orton was just a tag along. Flair is all for this while Batista doesn’t seem convinced. He’ll only come out if Orton starts beating HHH up….but that won’t happen.

HHH vs. Randy Orton

Thank goodness JR rejoins commentary for this one. They stare each other down for a good while until Orton snaps off the dropkick to take over early on. A clothesline gives Orton two and it’s time to slug it out. The backdrops has HHH in trouble again and we take a break. Back with HHH being thrown outside again as he hasn’t had any major offense so far. HHH finally manages to snap Orton’s throat across the top to take over and a running knee nearly knocks Orton over the barricade.

Of course that means Flair can get in some stomping because he knows how to cheat properly. Back in and HHH drives shoulders in the corner, followed by another trip to the floor. Flair even gets inside this time for no apparent reason as HHH doesn’t cheat, but Orton manages to send him into the post.

Back in and the powerslam gives Orton two, followed by the backbreaker for the same. The high crossbody gets two more and it’s time to reverse some sleepers. That’s broken up and the ref gets bumped, allowing Flair to slide in the ring bell. Orton takes it away though and blasts HHH, drawing in Batista to hit the big clothesline. That brings in Benoit to cancel out Batista but here’s Shawn to take over as referee.

Edge comes in as well but Jericho stops him from spearing Shawn in some good pre-match sucking up. Jericho dives onto Edge and Batista so Shawn starts counting HHH and Orton as the match is still going. It’s HHH up first but his yelling at Shawn lets Orton….miss the RKO. The Pedigree is countered into a rollup for two and now the RKO gives Orton the pin.

Rating: C-. It was dull until the insanity began, but they might as well just give HHH (who is up against COMPLETELY insurmountable odds) the title now. As usual, Orton wins the match that doesn’t matter and it only took a ring bell, a second referee and half a dozen people getting involved. But hey, HHH certainly put him over here and that’s what mattered.

Overall Rating: C-. The big story here continues to be Batista, who is about to break through the glass ceiling and become the biggest thing on the show if the indications are correct. This show was all about building to the Elimination Chamber as Sunday is a total one match show. That’s perfectly fine and something that has been done before, though there is only so much you can get out of a two hour and forty five minute show with only the main event mattering. They didn’t hide that here, but what they were focusing on got the right amount of attention.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: June 4, 2019
Location: Sames Auto Arena, Laredo, Texas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home show for Super ShowDown and that means it’s time to really crank up the build towards….wherever Jeddah happens to be. In this case that means Goldberg making his Smackdown debut, along with whatever the WWE Champion (and arguably the fifth, at most, biggest star in the company) is up to. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to open things up. Kofi talks about being here for so long and how many things he’s accomplished, including becoming champion, having friends and of course, pancakes. We see a video of Kofi going back to Ghana for the first time in 26 years as a national hero. He even got to meet with the President, which is a pretty cool accomplishment.

Back in the arena, Kofi talks about how amazing of a feeling it is to be able to tell the children that they can do whatever they want to do….and here’s Dolph Ziggler to interrupt. Ziggler, who sounds like he has a sore throat, talks about how inspirational Kofi is before showing us a video about….himself. The video asks about Ziggler’s story and how he has been silenced over the years.

After everything he’s done, he has gotten nothing in return. Ziggler says it should have been him because he should have been the hero of the story. Kofi talks about all the times Ziggler has beaten him and how he knows what it’s like to be overlooked. There was something Ziggler left out, so can we see that footage please (So Kofi was surprised that Ziggler interrupted him but already had a rebuttal video ready to the video Ziggler showed him???).

That would be Ziggler vacating the US Title in December 2017 and walking out (which was never addressed). At Super ShowDown, it won’t be Ziggler and as long as Kofi is champion, it will never be Ziggler. Hang on because Ziggler has ANOTHER video, showing him attacking Kofi two weeks ago. Ziggler says on Friday, it will be him. As Ziggler leaves, here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for their tag match.

This was pretty terrible and a great example of so many of WWE’s problems at the moment. Not only was it a lot of talking, but the story barely makes any sense. So Ziggler is jealous of Kofi’s popularity, even though he’s had the chance to be the star multiple times and has blown it every time? Why am I supposed to want to see Ziggler have another chance to blow it when he’s done so this many times? I know he’s the heel in the whole thing, but it’s still Ziggler. Did they have no one else to plug into a one off title match?

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods

Sami pounds away on Xavier to start so Woods goes with an armbar for some success of his own. It’s off to Kofi to take Kevin down for some right hands both on the mat and in the corner as the fans aren’t exactly thrilled. Sami comes back in and gets stomped down in the corner as we get a two man Unicorn Stampede. A slingshot dropkick has Sami in trouble so it’s time for a breather.

Of course Kofi hits a dive, with Owens barely catching him as it’s all New Day so far. Woods gets sent into the barricade though and there’s the backsplash to make it worse inside. A short clothesline sets up another backsplash and we take a break. Back with Woods shoving Owens off the top and diving over for the tag to Kofi so the pace can pick up again. Everything breaks down and Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise to finish Sami at 10:26.

Rating: C. I know they haven’t done this match very often but it feels like something I’ve seen a dozen times. It was the same formula, the same story, the same ending and the same everything. There just wasn’t much going on here and I still have no desire to see Kofi vs. Ziggler, but at least they got through a full fourth of the show without addressing anything else.

Post match Ziggler comes in and superkicks Kofi and Woods.

Shane McMahon shows us a clip of last night’s beatdown of Roman Reigns. Anything Reigns can do, Shane can do better because he’s the Best in the World. He’ll be calling Reigns out soon and wants to know which dog is showing up.

It’s time for a Moment of Bliss with Bayley as this week’s guest. Hang on though as Bliss needs to complain about her coffee and we have to wait for a replacement to get out here before Bayley is going to be asked a question. Bliss talks about how awesome she was as Women’s Champion and all of her accomplishments before asking if Bayley thinks the title means anything now.

Hang on though as Bliss needs to get her coffee. Bayley slaps it out of her hand and a brawl is teased but here’s Carmella to interrupt. You can’t just show up from Raw and challenge the champ because we need…..and here’s Charlotte because of course she’s here. She’s been talking to Shane and tonight it’s a triple threat between Carmella, Bliss and Charlotte with the winner getting to face Bayley at Stomping Grounds.

The announcers talk about Goldberg and Undertaker as Charlotte’s music keeps playing.

Carmella finds R-Truth and is trying to get in touch with Shane McMahon. Carmella’s phone rings and it’s Shane, because R-Truth has been using her phone. R-Truth takes the phone and asks who it is. The title is ruining his life and he apologizes for ruining Shane McMahon Appreciation Night. Tonight it’s going to be a title defense with standard rules….and that’s right now.

24/7 Title: R-Truth vs. Elias

R-Truth is defending and it’s a lumberjack match with the usual mob of challengers around the ring. Elias throws him outside for a quick beating and it’s a jumping knee to the face for the pin and the title at 26 seconds.

The mob gets up and Elias gets beaten down but manages to slip away from the rather dumb mob. R-Truth chases him under the ring and pins him under there to get the title back. Drake Maverick dives after R-Truth and completely misses as the champ gets over the barricade. Both title matches took less than two minutes combined.

Aleister Black says no one has taken him up on his offer for a fight, even though he’s not a hard man to find. He’ll be waiting until someone comes to knock on his door.

Here’s Shane McMahon to call out Roman Reigns, but he has the Revival with him (and that only counts as one Wild Card entry, as if WWE suddenly cares about that making sense, despite having several Raw names in the previous match alone). After the big introduction and the CM Punk chants, Shane talks about how awesome the Revival is.

We see another clip of Reigns’ beatdown from last night before Shane talks about training dogs. Most of them are fine, but then there’s one dog where you have to take it to another level. That’s Roman Reigns, who Shane will neuter on Friday. Cue Reigns, who beats down the Revival and goes for Shane but gets Claymored by Drew McIntyre. Shane gets in another spear.

Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte

The winner gets the title shot at Bayley at Stomping Grounds. It’s a brawl to start with Bliss sunset flipping Charlotte for two. Bliss is sent outside and it’s the Code of Silence to Charlotte, who powers out of it and drops Carmella. Now it’s Bliss coming back in but getting kicked in the face as Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose come down the ramp. The distraction lets Charlotte chop away at both Bliss and Carmella but she stops to point at Sonya and Mandy.

Back from a break with Carmella hurricanranaing Charlotte off the top for two with the fans being surprised by the kickout. Charlotte gets the Figure Eight on Carmella but Bliss dives in with Twisted Bliss for the save. Carmella gets knocked to the floor so Bliss grabs a rollup with trunks for two on Charlotte. That’s broken up so Carmella superkicks Charlotte but gets pulled down by Mandy and Sonya. The DDT gives Bliss the pin on Carmella at 8:48.

Rating: C-. Totally run of the mill triple threat match here though I’m very, very glad to see someone fresh getting in the title hunt (yeah Bliss has been champion several times before, but it’s been a long time). They need something to get away from Charlotte for the time being and Bliss has shown she can hang in the ring.

Here’s Lars Sullivan for his first interview. When asked why he does what he does, he asks why lions methodically stalk their prey before viciously ripping it apart. Lars has come to realize that he is no man. He has been described as one word, but he wants Kayla Braxton to say it. The word is freak, which doesn’t fit. A lion kills prey and is called a lion, but when he hurts people, he’s called a freak. With that out of the way, Lars recites his own version of Three Blind Mice, which involves destroying the mice like he’ll do to the Lucha House Party on Friday. Sullivan sounded nervous and he would have been better off not talking.

Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

And never mind as Andrade jumps Crews before the bell and hits the hammerlock DDT. No match.

Finn Balor runs in to brawl with Andrade, who gives him a hammerlock DDT as well.

We run down the Super ShowDown card.

We look at HHH and Randy Orton calmly ranting at each other last night.

Here’s Goldberg for the first time ever on Smackdown. He thanks the fans for their chants and says it’s time to get down to business. He’s been waiting over twenty years to face the Undertaker one on one. Last night he heard Undertaker say he didn’t want the family man Goldberg. That statement made a light go off in Goldberg’s head and he knows he wants the same Goldberg to face Undertaker as well.

The announcers talk about Super ShowDown for the last few minutes to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Are they giving the wrestlers the time off before this weekend’s big trip? I could go for more than three matches, with one of them being thirty seconds long, to fill in two hours, but at least the ending segment was very good. The talking being a little bit shorter (along with the rest of the show) helps here but it’s still not worth seeing most weeks. Super ShowDown just needs to be done already because the build has been terrible, but then we have less than two weeks to get to Stomping Grounds and three weeks later it’s Extreme Rules. Happy summer everyone!

Results

Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods b. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn – Trouble in Paradise to Zayn

Elias b. R-Truth – Jumping knee to the face

Alexa Bliss b. Charlotte and Carmella – DDT to Carmella

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: National Wrestling Alliance

NWA Polynesian Championship Wrestling
Date: August 9, 1986
Location: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Commentators: Ripper Collins, Dunbar Wakayama

How in the world could I not do a show like this? We’re back in the territory days and way out in Hawaii, where you don’t get a lot of wrestling. I have no idea what to expect here and that’s one of the fun things about watching a show like this. From what I can tell this is part of a big show, as Aloha Stadium holds 50,000 people. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence with the announcers welcoming us to the show in narration.

National Anthem, so you know it’s a major show.

A sign says this is A Hot Summer Night II. Good enough.

House show ad.

Robert Toronto vs. Joe Solo

Someone named Mighty Hilo was announced to face Solo here so Toronto is a replacement. Not a good sign less than three minutes after the previous match was announced. Having maybe 50 fans on camera isn’t a good sign either. Feeling out process to start with a few clean breaks, which commentary insists that the fans enjoy.

They botch….I think a backdrop with Solo taking a headbutt to the ribs instead of being backdropped. It’s off to a headlock to slow things down instead and avoid any more mistakes. Back up and Solo tries his own backdrop but falls down onto Toronto as they’re not exactly working smoothly. Toronto goes with a suplex instead and gets the pin at 2:36. That’s one of the worst short matches I can remember in a long time.

Kini Popo #1/Kini Popo #2 vs. Keith Hart/Smith Hart

The Harts are billed from Los Angeles because….I have no idea really. The commentators then say they’re from a Canadian family just to make sure the confusion reigns. The Popos jump them from behind to start and get sent into each other so the Canadian Californians can clear the ring. Back in and the announcers talk about the Popos being billed from all around the world without seeing the irony.

#2 starts with Keith as the announcers ignore the match to talk about a wrestling journalist coming to Hawaii for a celebration. The Popos take Keith into the corner for their first advantage. Keith gets in a shoulder and armdrag as the camera is WAY too zoomed in, to the point where they lose the action when anyone runs. Thankfully they zoom out as #1 takes over with some knees in the corner.

We get an inset interview from a woman named Spicy, who has been training for a match against a woman named Killer Tomato. With that out of the way, we come back to Smith cranking on #1’s arm before it’s back to #2. A chinlock on Smith takes us to a break and stops the announcers from talking about wrestling in Atlanta even more. Back with everyone brawling on the floor and the Popos getting the better of it as the announcers call Smith Owen.

We settle down to Keith dropping a knee on #2 as the announcers say that’s Owen again. Is it really that hard to say the right name? Keith gets caught in the corner but comes back with a knee to #2’s ribs. It’s starting to rain as Smith comes in and gets caught in a leglock. Everything breaks down again and the referee throws it out at 12:13.

Rating: D+. This was a hard one to get into and I can’t say I’m all that surprised. Some of the Hart Brothers are a bit of an acquired taste and that was certainly the case with Keith. It didn’t help that they had a run of the mill set of opponents and there was nothing that made me care about the match in the slightest. Much like the entire show so far.

Post match, the brawling continues with the Harts clearing the ring.

Killer Tomato, the California Women’s Champion, has faced Spicy before and she’ll be ready tonight.

Super Sakalia vs. Richie Magnet

Magnet is said to be the 1984 Rookie of the Year and he’s not happy because his original opponent has been replaced. Magnet shoulders him down and grabs a headlock takeover but Sakalia fights up without much effort. A clothesline sets up Sakalia’s own chinlock for a few moments as this isn’t exactly thrilling.

Magnet fights up and starts kicking at the leg because it’s the 80s so he uses a Figure Four. Some forearms put Magnet down again and it’s back to the chinlock. That’s broken up as well and Magnet kicks at the leg again, this time taking Sakalia down for the Figure Four. Cue another Samoan named Superfly Tui to attack Richie for the DQ at 7:00.

Rating: D-. Can we please just end this show already? I know it’s the mid 80s but this would be considered boring by any generation. This was one chinlock after another until the ending and I need a lot more than that. It would be nice if it felt like someone was either trying or had the slightest bit of energy in one of these matches but I haven’t seen it yet.

Post match the beatdown is on until someone whose name sounded like Jeff Magruder makes the save.

A guy whose name sounds like Al Harrington (seems to be a comedian) tells people from the east coast to come to Hawaii in what seems like filler between matches.

Uncle Elmer vs. Hans Schroder

Yes it’s the same Uncle Elmer from Wrestlemania II. Elmer comes in and dances a bit before talking about how many pigs he owns. Oh and he’s from Mississippi not Arkansas. They get in an argument over which state he’s from as I’m pretty sure the bell has already rung. We finally get going with Elmer grabbing a headlock and then letting it go for a standoff.

Schroder’s top wristlock doesn’t work at all and Elmer shoves him down again. Hang on though as we go to an inset interview with Magnet and Magruder swearing revenge. As Magruder talks about how much he can lift, Elmer wins a test of strength….and we take a break. IN AN UNCLE ELMER MATCH??? Back with Schroder on the floor and getting counted out at 3:47. The stuff after the break was less than ten seconds.

Rating: F. Oh come on with this nonsense already man. They really went to a break so they could come back for seven more seconds? In a comedy match? This show is one of the worst things I’ve seen in a long time and this somehow might have been the worst part of the whole thing.

Post match Schroder yells about how unfair that was because Elmer sent him over the top. Not that we saw it or anything.

Superfly Tui wants Magruder and doesn’t care how much he can lift. They’ll beat up a cockroach or an elephant if they have to.

The Lieutenant Governor is here.

And now, A CLIPPED VERSION OF ELMER VS. SCHRODER! The announcers want to see Elmer vs. Andre the Giant because it would be good and clean wrestling. Then they just stop showing the clips and talk about how awesome Elmer is.

The announcers sign off.

House show ad.

The announcers sign off again.

Overall Rating: F. This was one of weakest shows I’ve seen in a long time and somehow it was part of their big show. The wrestling was bad, the stories (Can I even make that plural?) were as low rent as you could get and there was no one in the big stadium. I’m not sure what to think of a show like this but I really hope this was just an off night for them because it was a completely terrible show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 3, 2019
Location: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s time for another big show as we have a combination of the go home show for Super ShowDown and apparently a guaranteed Money in the Bank cash in. After last week with Brock Lesnar not knowing the rules of the briefcase, Stephanie McMahon was angry and that means we MUST do the cash in this week. Or another bait and switch. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Roman Reigns for an opening chat but Shane McMahon cuts him off. After getting his traditional introduction, Shane talks about being a fine wine who gets better with age. He promises to hit Coast to Coast and then pin Reigns, or make him tap out for the first time in his career. The referee will tell Shane to make him let go of the triangle choke but he’s going to keep it on so Reigns’ eyes pop out as Shane is announced as the Best in the World.

Reigns tells him to shut up because he’ll powerbomb Shane through the mat at Super ShowDown. He’s tired of hearing about how great Shane is because Shane always needs help. Once Reigns gets done with Shane on Friday, he’ll beat Drew McIntyre at Stomping Grounds. As for right now though, the two of them are ready for Reigns. Cue the Revival to jump Reigns from behind, drawing out the Usos for the save in a preview for tonight’s six man tag. It looks like we’ll be having that match after the break.

Usos/Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre/Revival

Nine minutes into the show is better than the fifty five from last week. The Usos start fast with the stereo dives and we’re off to a break less than a minute in. Back with Jimmy coming in off a tag but getting caught by McIntyre, who starts pulling on the arm. Reigns breaks up a cover off a belly to belly but Dawson keeps Jimmy down in the corner.

The chinlock goes on until Jimmy powers up, only to have Wilder cut off the hot tag attempt. Back from a break with Reigns knocking McIntyre to the floor. Reigns goes after an interfering Shane though and eats a Claymore, leaving Jimmy to take the Shatter Machine on the floor. The Claymore finishes Jey at 14:22.

Rating: C. This was a little messy but I liked having a fast paced match to open the show instead of waiting for two and a half hours in. Having the show start with a twenty minute promo doesn’t help the show out whatsoever so this was a nice change of pace. Now don’t have Reigns or Shane show up for the rest of the show so we can let something fresh get in.

Post match Reigns takes a Shatter Machine, the Claymore and a spear from Shane.

Matthew McConaughey and Lance Armstrong are here.

It’s time for MizTV with Miz starting off with a McConaughey impression. He wastes no time in bringing out his guest for the week: Seth Rollins. Miz talks about Rollins facing Baron Corbin for the title at Super ShowDown but Brock Lesnar has promised to cash in Money in the Bank tonight. Seth says Miz is assuming that Lesnar will even show up tonight because Paul Heyman has a tendency to lie. True but STEPHANIE ordered it so it must be true.

Actually Rollins wants Lesnar to cash in so he can have a little relief, because he has a major title defense on Friday. No one likes Corbin but he is the #1 contender and Rollins needs to focus on stomping Corbin’s head into the mat. We cut to the back where Heyman and Lesnar arrive. Heyman says let’s cash it in and Lesnar hands him the briefcase before seriously walking towards the ring. They get to the entrance to the arena….and then walk down a hallway instead.

Here’s Lucha House Party for a match but Lars Sullivan comes out instead. The brawl is on until the luchadors manage to clear the ring.

Nikki Cross is upset so the IIconics mock her for teaming with Becky Lynch. Alexa Bliss comes in and asks if they have a Blooming Onion to eat somewhere. Billie calls Peyton her wifey and they’re ready to win a match tonight. Alexa: “Wow. That happened.” Alexa offers Cross coffee because she’s used to having no one like her. They seem to strike up a friendship.

Here’s Becky Lynch for a chat. She’s been doing some thinking and it’s time to make some changes. She was home for the first time in 63 days and it’s been a hectic schedule. Since then, she’s switched brands, won titles, made appearances and main evented Wrestlemania. Becky is content, but that’s the worst thing that can happen to a fighter like her. It makes them get passed over or beaten but that’s not happening.

That’s why she’s been woken up and it happened when Lacey Evans cost her the Smackdown Women’s Title. Becky swears revenge and here’s Lacey to cut her off. Lacey says Becky is like a dog chasing a car so Becky imitates her accent and promises to rip Lacey’s arm off. Lacey doesn’t like the idea of Becky representing the division but here’s Charlotte to interrupt.

Charlotte talks about taking the title from Becky, who asks where that title is now. Lacey calls Charlotte a daddy’s girl who needs attention so she’s out here like a peacock. Charlotte laughs it off by saying she’s more than halfway to breaking her dad’s record. On the other hand, Lacey has been here for about four minutes and all she’s done is make tea. Lacey sees the lack of titles for Charlotte at the moment so she can run along back to Smackdown. She decks Charlotte and it’s time for a match.

Lacey Evans vs. Charlotte

Charlotte goes straight at her as Becky watches from the floor. Lacey gets knocked next to Becky on the floor and it’s time for a breather. She gets back in for some power grappling until Charlotte sends her outside again and we take a break. Back with Charlotte stomping away in the corner and cutting Lacey off with some chops.

Charlotte knocks her to the apron but runs into a knee to the face, only to have Lacey miss a slingshot elbow (with Charlotte moving before Lacey ever jumped). The Figure Eight attempt is broken up and they collide in the middle of the ring for a double knockdown. Charlotte slowly gets up and Becky pulls her to the floor for the DQ at 10:12.

Rating: D+. Not much here and with Becky around on the floor, it was clear that she was going to be involved in the finish. I’m still not entirely sure why Lacey is getting this kind of a push aside from a lack of anyone else to get it, but she already lost to Becky once so it’s kind of hard to buy. At the same time, it’s getting harder and harder to care about Charlotte when they’re trying to get her to seventeen titles so fast. She hasn’t even been here four years yet so maybe they could slow down a bit?

Here’s the injured Rey Mysterio to vacate the US Title. After a quick talk about wrestling being in his blood and hoping his son will do the same, here’s Samoa Joe to cut Rey off before he can actually vacate the title. Joe says he heard the word champion and thought it was his cue. He knows what’s going on here: Rey is vacating the title because he knows Rey is scared and never actually beat him (the replays showed Joe’s shoulder was up). Rey says he’ll be back and vacates the title to Joe. That’s good for Joe, who jumps Rey and chokes him out before leaving with the title.

Cesaro is ready for Ricochet tonight because he’s not losing again.

Ricochet knows he can beat Cesaro and he’ll do it again.

And now, arm wrestling between Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman. Lashley slaps him then pulls his hand out before losing the regular match. That’s not cool with Lashley, who throws powder in Strowman’s face and suplexes him.

We look at Jinder Mahal attacking R-Truth on a golf course and winning the 24/7 Title. Then R-Truth rolled him up as well and ran off, being dragged along by the golf cart.

Carmella is looking for R-Truth with Drake Maverick and EC3 following her, knowing she’ll lead them to the title.

Nikki Cross vs. Peyton Royce

Alexa Bliss is in Nikki’s corner. Nikki gets sent into the corner to start but Peyton comes right back with a right hand to take over. A double arm crank over the ropes has Nikki in more trouble and it’s off to another arm crank on the mat. Peyton sends her head first into the mat and starts pulling on the arm some more. Nikki finally fights up but misses a high crossbody as this boring match continues. Hang on though as Bliss has coffee delivered. Peyton kicks it out of her hand though and Billie shoves Bliss, in white pants, into the coffee. Nikki uses the distraction to hit the hanging swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 5:58.

Rating: D-. Sweet goodness what a waste of time. Did they really just do this for a sight gag of Bliss slipping into coffee? It’s one thing if it leads to a face turn that sticks, but I’m not sure I can imagine that actually happening. The match itself was a disaster but face bliss has some serious potential.

Post match Bliss is ticked and DDTs Peyton until Nikki pulls her off.

Here’s Seth Rollins for Lesnar’s cash in. Brock’s music plays but he doesn’t come out so Rollins calls him out again. Instead he gets Baron Corbin, who promises to crush Rollins’ dreams on Friday. The fight is on with Corbin getting caught with an enziguri to the floor. Rollins hits a suicide dive and there’s Lesnar’s music again. Corbin hits End of Days though and NOW it’s Lesnar with a chair. Lesnar kicks Rollins low and unloads with the chair, followed by a German suplex.

Heyman wants him to cash in but instead Lesnar throws Rollins outside. Lesnar hits an F5 on the floor (with Rollins bouncing), followed by more chair shots. Heyman starts swearing about how this is the time but Lesnar suplexes Rollins again. Lesnar: “FRIDAY!” And they leave with no cash in, come back to hit Rollins in the back with the briefcase and chair, and leave again with Lesnar doing the boom box thing with the briefcase. Rollins does a stretcher job. As long as this doesn’t lead to more Stephanie promos, I can live with this.

Post break Rollins is put in an ambulance with Becky Lynch going with him.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with a very special episode. This time around, Bray wants to talk about….exercise. Wyatt introduces us to a new character: Huskus the Pig. Bray talks to him about his bad health habits but promises that one day, everyone will tell him that he’s a genius with the whole world in his hands. Then a Vince McMahon puppet with devil horns pops in and threatens to fire Huskus. This leads to a dance workout called the Muscle Man Dance, with Huskus, Vince and Bray all dancing. Now Huskus is in shape.

We recap the opening match and post match beatdown.

Here’s HHH for a chat. After he hears the NXT chants, he says he’s here to talk about Randy Orton. Before Orton can say anything, HHH says he knows what this is about: building up interest and maybe even getting in a fight. After twenty years together, what else is there left to say though? Orton says he’s not Batista so this isn’t going to be so easy. HHH says fair enough and talks about their early history together.

It’s true that Orton is one of the best ever but a lot of people have tried to put HHH down. They’re all gone and he’s still here, so Orton won’t do it either. HHH goes to leave but Orton tells him to retrieve his balls from Stephanie’s purse before Friday. HHH likes the idea, but they’re so big and hard to get out. Orton wouldn’t know though because he doesn’t have any. See you in Jeddah. This was as good as they were going to get for a thrown together match.

Corbin is ready to leave….so he can celebrate facing a beaten up Seth Rollins on Friday.

Ricochet vs. Cesaro

Cesaro starts fast with the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and it’s time to slowly stomp at the ribs. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Ricochet pops up with a very spinning headscissors to send Cesaro outside. A barricade walk (or stumble) sets up another hurricanrana sets up a middle rope moonsault to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Ricochet fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught with the apron superplex. Ricochet heads to the floor and tries the same thing he did last week but gets blocked this time. Instead it’s a Code Red attempt, which is countered into the Swing. Cesaro uppercuts him for two and rolls through a springboard high crossbody for two. Ricochet gets the same off a rollup, followed by another rollup for the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C+. A few botches held this back and HAHA CESARO LOSES AGAIN. That’s all he does around here and I don’t know why anyone was expecting it to be anything different this time around. If only there was a title that was being vacated earlier tonight that could have been on the line here. Or say a title being vacated earlier in the night that the winner could have fought Samoa Joe for instead of just handing it to him. Oh well. Why go with something when you can go with nothing?

Post match Cesaro decks Ricochet again and goes under the ring for a ladder. For some reason he throws that away and finds a table….with R-Truth on it. Ok that actually got me. The chase is on but Cedric Alexander flip dives onto the mob for some reason, allowing R-Truth to get in the ring. Drake Maverick is ready for him but Carmella superkicks him down. The chase is on again.

Here’s Undertaker with five minutes left in the show to address Goldberg. Undertaker asks if you ever think about what happens when you face death every time. Do you choke at the stench of the souls that are already gone? Goldberg will find out on Friday and Undertaker doesn’t want the family. Undertaker wants the unstoppable icon GOLDBERG. If Goldberg brings anything less, their first match will be his last. When the reaper beckons, you answer his call, because Undertaker will claim his soul for all eternity. Goldberg is next. And we’re off the air less than a second after Undertaker finishes talking.

Overall Rating: D. Maybe I’m just getting numb to how terrible things are around here but this one wasn’t as terrible. They didn’t waste as much time getting to the first match but they certainly wasted time getting to everything else. The biggest problem here was they just spent SO much time talking. They really can’t trim a few minutes from some of those segments and let someone get in a five minute match so they can at least be on television for a change?

They could sum up some of those promos with a few lines from commentary but instead it’s just people standing there talking for seven or eight minutes at a time and get something a little more interesting on the show. At least some of the talking with the build towards Super ShowDown served a purpose, but it doesn’t make for a better show. This show still needs a completely fresh direction and that clearly wasn’t the case this week.

Results

Drew McIntyre/Revival b. Usos/Roman Reigns – Claymore to Jey

Charlotte b. Lacey Evans via DQ when Becky Lynch interfered

Nikki Cross b. Peyton Royce – Hanging swinging neckbreaker

Ricochet b. Cesaro – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: May 31, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re going back in time again tonight with the further adventures of the ECW stars in modern times, plus what should be the destruction of Glenn Gilbertti at the hands of Tessa Blanchard. Last week’s show wasn’t the kindest thing in the world so hopefully this one is a lot better. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Moose/The North vs. Rob Van Dam/Tommy Dreamer/Sabu

Maybe we can just get it out of the way early on. Dreamer and Page start things off with Dreamer getting in an armbar before handing it off to Sabu. Alexander comes in as well and the fans declare this awesome less than a minute in. Sabu’s legbar doesn’t work so he sends Alexander into the corner for a YOU STILL GOT IT chant. So apparently the fans here have no idea what IT is.

Moose and Van Dam come in for the pose/chant off before Van Dam kicks him in the face. The combination of Rolling Thunder/slingshot legdrop get two on Moose and it’s back to Dreamer, who gets kicked low. Back from a break with Moose trying his own Rolling Thunder but getting a chair pelted at his face instead. That’s enough for the warm tag to Van Dam, who hits the split legged moonsault for two on Alexander.

Everything breaks down and Sabu hits Air Sabu on Alexander. Sabu’s manager Super Genie hits his own, followed by another dive to the floor to drop the North. Moose hits No Jackhammer Needed on Dreamer but walks into the Van Daminator, leaving Sabu to bring in the table. An Arabian facebuster through the table, with the referee casually watching, sets up the Five Star to finish Page at 10:09.

Rating: D+. It’s not the worst match in the world or even close to it, but there are so many problems with this. The biggest thing is that, again, they’re catering to the live audience instead of the masses. What if you weren’t around for ECW’s heyday? Unless you’re at least thirty years old, odds are you weren’t a fan of the original ECW. Or what if you just didn’t like it? Yeah the fans in the arena are going to cheer, but outsiders see a bunch of old guys (with Dreamer being the youngest at 48) having a not very good match while the fans chant for another company. They didn’t have anything else to put in these spots?

Brian Cage is still banged up but he’s been cleared to train. He’ll meet Michael Elgin at Slammiversary.

Moose is tired of these people messing up so he’ll do things himself.

Glenn Gilbertti vs. Tessa Blanchard

Gilbertti drops to the floor and says that Tessa is one of the best female wrestlers in the world, though that doesn’t count very much. The road to superstardom is paved with potholes and you know how women drivers are. It’s clear that Tessa has daddy issues so tonight, Gilbertti will be her daddy. Tessa hits a bunch of forearms and a big forearm finishes Gilbertti at 2:59. Exactly how it should have gone, but it still feels like the most random detour for Tessa, who just got done with a huge feud against Gail Kim.

The Rascalz invade LAX’s clubhouse with the smoke and set up a match for later. Trey drinks a lot.

Rich Swann and Willie Mack are ready to get revenge on Michael Elgin and Johnny Impact tonight.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Deaners

For the love of all things good and holy make it short. Cody works on Raju’s arm to start but Raj pulls Raju to the floor for a breather. The big dives take them down though and we seem to be in near squash territory. Raj trips Cody and the Squad takes over with a dropkick to the back getting two.

That doesn’t last long though as it’s back to Jake as everything breaks down. The Squad hits a faceplant/top rope double stomp combination for two on Cody with Jake making the save. Jake posts himself though and Cody gets shoved off the top. Cody is fine enough to send them into each other though and a rollup finishes Raj at 6:05.

Rating: D+. Again, not that bad of a match but it felt like filler. Are we really supposed to believe that the Desi Hit Squad or the Deaners are going to move up towards the Tag Team Title picture? LAX and the Lucha Bros just had a blood feud for the titles that headlined a pay per view. I’m not buying the redneck cousins as being a serious threat.

Killer Kross is ready to hurt Eddie Edwards tonight. Kenny has been broken and Eddie will be next.

Elgin is ready to take the World Title at Slammiversary. Johnny Impact comes in to say he’s taking the X-Division Title at Slammiversary, so he’s ready to hurt people tonight. That’s cool with Elgin. Johnny plugs the upcoming special including the Great Muta, which is also cool with Elgin.

Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards

Hardcore. Kross is wearing a flack jacket but Eddie dives onto him anyway to start fast. A belly to back suplex drops Kross on the apron and it’s time for the weapons. That takes too long though and Kross takes over by sending him into the barricade. A trashcan shot and a suplex on the floor make it even worse for Eddie and they get inside for the first time. Eddie gets in a Blue Thunder Bomb onto a trashcan but Kross won’t stay down.

Some trashcan lid shots to the head get one and it’s time to bring in a small ladder. The Krossjacket Choke has Eddie in trouble so he hits a few metal sign shots to the head to escape. Kross kicks him in the head though, allowing him to load up some chairs. A chokebomb through the ladder on the chairs breaks Eddie in half but there’s no cover.

Instead more chairs are brought in but Eddie manages a sunset bomb onto all of them for two. Two more chairs are set up and Eddie loads up a tiger driver. That’s countered with a backdrop, which was supposed to be a belly to back piledriver but didn’t really come close. Kross loads up some lead lined gloves but here’s Sandman with a kendo stick to Kross, allowing Eddie to hit the Boston Knee Party for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: C. Eddie is one of the better performers Impact has ever had, winning everything there is to win around here, including the World Title. But what he really needed was Sandman’s endorsement. Yeah that guy who only ever succeeded in ECW? That’s the ticket for Eddie. I thought Sandman was cool back in the day and he certainly had his place, but come on with the ECW stuff already.

Post match Sandman gives Eddie Kenny II and beers are consumed. And yes, the fans are chanting for ECW instead of Eddie or Impact. That seems to be the plan all along.

Rosemary has the still chained up Su Yung when James Mitchell comes in. He recaps their entire feud, including Allie’s involvement and death. Mitchell wants Su back and blames Rosemary for Allie’s death. Rosemary chokes Jim and says she’s keeping Yung.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin/Kazarian/Christopher Daniels vs. Sanada/Great Muta/Yasu from Lockdown 2014.

OVE isn’t happy with Scarlett Bordeaux and Fallah Bahh. Next week, the Crists will take care of them.

Michael Elgin/Johnny Impact vs. Willie Mack/Rich Swann

Johnny Bravo is in Elgin/Impact’s corner. Mack and Swann hit the stereo flip dives to start us off in a hurry, which is probably their best idea. We take a break thirty seconds in (erg) and come back with Impact in trouble in the corner thanks to the reverse Cannonball from Mack. Johnny slides between his legs though and scores with an enziguri before handing it off to Elgin. Mack elbows his way out of trouble and manages to drag Elgin over to the corner for the tag off to Swann.

A powerbomb attempt is countered with a hurricanrana and Elgin almost punches Impact. Swann sends them into each other and rolls Elgin up for two. Elgin drives Mack into Swann for a crotching though and it’s a Death Valley Driver for two on Mack. Back from another break with Swann still in control until he ducks the Flying Chuck to the face. The hot tag brings in Mack for some rolling Wastelands to Impact but Elgin tags himself back in.

That means a slingshot elbow to Swann’s face and a big running flip dive to take out Mack and Impact. Johnny isn’t happy so Swann adds his own running flip dive dive onto all three. Back in and Elgin hits a heck of a superkick on Swann with Impact adding a knee to the head for two. The Moonlight Drive gets two and Elgin breaks up the handspring elbow to make things even worse.

Mack comes in for the Samoan drop and standing moonsault for no count as he isn’t legal. A Rock Bottom/neckbreaker combination gets two on Impact, who is fine enough for a middle rope Spanish Fly on Mack. Swann kicks Impact in the head and everyone is down. Elgin and Impact hit stereo superkicks but Impact hits Elgin by mistake, sending Elgin up the ramp. Swann kicks Impact in the face and hits the 450 for the pin at 22:58.

Rating: B+. This was a blast and I was actually surprised by the finish here. I was thinking they would go with the monster heels winning in the end but they kept both teams in there until I wasn’t sure who was winning in the end. Swann and Mack have something and I could see both of them going a lot higher up the card. Very good main event here after a very good Elgin vs. Swann match from a few weeks ago.

Overall Rating: C. It’s kind of amazing how this show can go from feeling like a bad indy promotion to having an awesome main event in the span of two hours. If nothing else, the main event shows what this company is capable of doing while they go with whatever else for the sake of either the easy way out or popping the audience in the arena. This company is capable of better and they showed that in the main event. Do more of that and less of the 50 year old crowd.

Results

Rob Van Dam/Tommy Dreamer/Sabu b. Moose/The North – Five Star Frog Splash to Page

Tessa Blanchard b. Glenn Gilbertti – Forearm

Deaners b. Desi Hit Squad – Rollup to Singh

Eddie Edwards b. Killer Kross – Boston Knee Party

Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Michael Elgin/Johnny Impact – 450 to Impact

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Superstars
Date: June 20, 1992
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Mr. Perfect

This one might seem random but it’s a more personal option for me. In this case, it’s because a four year old KB was in the audience for this show and since my best friend’s dad used to run the Rupp Arena box office, I was on the aisle in the front row. Therefore, it’s going to be a rather fun night of looking back and seeing how many times I can see myself. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The announcers talk about…..National Pest Control Week? Perfect makes a bunch of bug jokes and goes off to find a can of Raid.

Legion of Doom vs. Barry Hardy/Tom Bennett

It’s so strange to wonder how many people I might know in the crowd shots. Hawk runs Bennett over with ease and hands it off to Animal for the powerslam. The Beverly Brothers pop in to call the Legion of Doom the Legion of Sissies because they’re mamas boys in makeup. Hardy comes in and gets clotheslined in the corner. The Doomsday Device completes the destruction.

UPDATE! With Gene Okerlund! And brought to you by WWF Ice Cream Bars!

WWF Champion Randy Savage can wrestle or brawl and is willing to do whatever he has to do to beat Ric Flair. He’s living on the edge of a lightning bolt and won’t apologize for that. Savage will even consider BREAKING THE RULES to retain the title.

Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair say Savage is living on borrowed time in Flair’s shoes. It is Flair’s destiny to be champion again.

Papa Shango vs. Chris Hahn

Shango TERRIFIED me back in the day and the same is true for Hahn. Ask my mom, who can be seen as he walks to the ring. Actually hang on as Hahn’s hand is suddenly on fire so there’s no match as he gets medical attention. Well yeah he probably should.

EVENT CENTER! With Sean Mooney!

Crush (Crush: “Hi. I’m Crush.”) likes to crush things but he’d rather thank the fans for sticking by him. He’s not nice or friendly but he’s fair, which wrestlers will find out when they face him. There is no Hawaiian accent to speak of here and it would do a lot of good, just for the sake of personality.

The Nasty Boys want competition. There is no point to this other than reminding us that they exist and

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Red Tyler

And there I am, with Papa KB holding me up for possibly my first ever high five from a wrestler. At another show, I would get Slaughter’s helmet so this one means a bit more to me than it should. Slaughter hammers and chokes away in the corner to start as we hear from the Mountie and Jimmy Hart, who are ready for the mother of all battles, even on Father’s Day. The Slaughter Cannon sets up another Slaughter Cannon for two with Slaughter pulling him up. Instead it’s the Cobra Clutch for the easy win.

Buy WBF Magazine, with an article on the long term effects of steroids.

Repo Man vs. Brian Costello

Repo Man, who apparently rode over on a repossessed ten speed bicycle, chokes on the ropes to start as we get the inset promo from British Bulldog, who is coming for Repo Man. A kick to Costello’s leg sets up a half crab for the submission. AHA! So Repo Man is Lance Storm!

Post match Repo Man ties his feet together with the rope for a pull around the ring.

EVENT CENTER! WITH THE NERVE TO HAVE A THIRD OF THESE THINGS ON ONE SHOW!

Bret Hart has been under a lot of pressure since becoming Intercontinental Champion but he likes the heat. He even likes it from Shawn Michaels, who can have a title shot, just like anyone else.

Rick Martel is a model, and he’s even better now that he has Tatanka’s buffalo feathers. Everyone is wearing them because he’s a trendsetter. I love how clear they make the gimmicks back in the day. How many people today can you explain almost in full in one sentence? Not everyone can be like that but it helps to have some of them around.

Crush vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Hey there we are again. Crush gets reversed into the corner and punched a bit, only to have the power game get him out of trouble. Perfect wishes his dad a happy Father’s Day as Vince talks about how awesome Perfect’s dad was. A torture rack backbreaker sets up the head vice to finish Brawler in short order.

Gene brings out Shawn Michaels and Sherri, carrying the mirror, for a chat. Sherri doesn’t think it’s vain because Shawn deserves this much attention. Shawn can’t blame anyone for wanting to look at him because he’s the hottest thing he’s ever seen. Gene: “Oh it’s on fire all right.” In addition to the best looking man in the company, Shawn sees the next Intercontinental Champion. He’s surprised that they didn’t beef up security for Bret because Shawn is still in the building. That’s enough for right now though because Shawn is worried about the women rushing the barricade. Here’s looking at you kid.

We go down to Miami, Florida where Razor Ramon pulls up in a custom made Cadillac to talk about how people in the Caribbean are living like pigs with people telling him what to do. No one tells him what to do though and he’s coming to the WWF. No one is going to tell him what to do there either because he is el jefe.

Undertaker vs. Dwayne Gill

Undertaker slowly knocks him down and hits the chokeslam with some additional choking. Old (When was it new?) School sets up the jumping clothesline and the Tombstone completes the greatest hits squash.

Post match, Gill gets the body bag treatment. Vince wants to see Mr. Fuji and the Berzerker get the same treatment. Can’t he just fire them instead?

Shawn Michaels has LEFT THE BUILDING.

Money Inc. vs. Rock Werner/Butler Stevens

Non-title and we get one final shot of the three of us during Money Inc.’s entrance. Stevens gets kicked in the face and double clotheslined early on as we go to a Money Inc. inset interview. It’s Father’s Day and they like the Founding Fathers, or at least hose on 50s and 100s. The Write Off (jumping clothesline) finishes Werner in a hurry.

ONE MORE EVENT CENTER! IT’S LIKE THIS SHOW’S WRESTLING ISN’T ENOUGH TO FILL OUT A SHOW!

High Energy want the Nasty Boys. They call them the Fat Boys, but it’s not ok for the Beverly Brothers to call the LOD the Legion of Sissies?

Tatanka wants his feathers back. Now that’s a unique complaint.

A preview for next week wraps us up.

This show is certified 100% Grade A Ground Beef. That’s the best branding they can come up with?

Overall Rating: D+. This is what you had until Raw came on the air and really, there are a lot of elements from this era that I’d like to see come back today. How many people got a thirty second promo to let you know that they’re still here? It’s not much and a lot of them didn’t advance anything but it lets you know that they’re still there. That’s better than having people go weeks and weeks without making an appearance. I get that you can’t have two minute long squashes throughout the show, but cutting the match lengths down to get more people involved would be a good place to start.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: SHIMMER Women’s Athletes

SHIMMER Volume 113
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: La Boom, Woodside, New York
Commentators: Lenny Leonard, Dave Prazak

I’ve seen one Shimmer show in my day and that was about nine years ago so I’m virtually coming in blind. Women’s wrestling has come a very, very long way since then and there’s a good chance that I’ll actually have an idea what I’m watching this time around. If nothing else, it almost has to be better than some of the matches I’ve been watching this weekend. Let’s get to it.

Shimmer Title: Nicole Savoy vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

Nicole is defending. Feeling out process to start with Matsumoto getting nowhere off a shoulder and having to escape an early headscissors attempt. A hurricanrana gives Savoy two but she spends too much time posing on the ropes and gets powerbombed down. They head outside with Matsumoto getting the better of the fight as the announcers describe her as sexy Godzilla. A running kick from the apron rocks Savoy again and we hit the neck crank back inside.

That’s broken up with a roll thru and it’s time to chop it out with Matsumoto taking over again. Savoy is right back with a powerslam and the first of what commentary suggests should be several suplexes. The cross armbreaker doesn’t last long either so Savoy switches to a Fujiwara armbar for a change. Savoy’s triangle choke is countered into a Boston crab, sending Savoy straight to the ropes. A Vader Bomb gives Matsumoto two, which brings Savoy to her feet for the screaming forearms.

Matsumoto gets the better of it again and hits a sliding lariat for two, only to get pulled into a guillotine choke. That’s broken up so Savoy goes with a snap suplex and it’s a double knockdown. Another sliding lariat is countered into a crucifix for two more and it’s time for another slugout. They trade German suplexes and Matsumoto elbows her in the face for another near fall. Savoy has had it and snaps off another German suplex. A bridging dragon suplex retains the title at 12:23.

Rating: B. Nice hard hitting match here, with Savoy’s year and a half long title reign continuing. This is definitely more of a workrate based promotion as there were no stories mentioned here and the match was a bunch of heavy shots with the women going back and forth. Savoy didn’t exactly come off like the top star, but the match was quite good.

Post match Savoy is a little banged up.

Veda Scott vs. Brittany Blake vs. Brandi Lauren vs. Allie Recks vs. Hyan vs. Shotzi Blackheart vs. Indi Hartwell vs. Leva Bates

Lucha rules with no tags and one fall to a finish. I don’t know who most of these people are but Blake comes out to the Charmed theme song so she’s already a favorite. Then Bates (Blue Pants) tops that with Oops I Did It Again and the full red outfit from the song’s video, plus a Britney Spears style dance. This gets Big Match Intros, which is only extending things far longer than necessary.

Hyan and Shotzi trade armdrags to start until Shotzi goes for the strikes to the face. The enziguri misses Hyan, but she misses a running knee in the corner as well. Shotzi misses a charge though and falls out to the floor, allowing Blake to come in with Leva following a few seconds later. Blake sends her into the ropes for the 619 to the floor, which doesn’t count as a tag for some reason.

Back in and Bates grabs a Stunner to send Blake outside so Veda comes in for a neck snap across the ropes. An Indian Deathlock doesn’t go long so it’s off to Recks vs. Lauren as the fast changes continue. The fans don’t like Lauren so they go with Indi during the slugout. Everything breaks down and it’s a parade of strikes to the face until Veda rope walks into a dive onto a bunch of people at ringside.

Shotzi dives onto the bigger pile, followed by Blake and Recks diving onto everyone else. Back in and it’s a Human Centipede of submissions, which thankfully is broken up in a hurry. Hyan missile dropkicks Scott but gets kicked in the face by Leva. Shotzi gets in a Codebreaker on Recks, followed by a reverse Cannonball in the corner. Hyan breaks up something off the top though and it’s a 450 double knees to Recks for the pin at 8:10.

Rating: C-. This was the indy style that can bring an energetic match down: too many people trying to get in too many spots in a limited time and it hurt things a lot. No one really got to stick out and that’s kind of defeating the purpose here. Now I want to go listen to some Britney Spears.

The ring announcer welcomes us to the show again. After two matches.

Allysin Kay vs. Kris Statlander

Kris has been around a lot this weekend and is an alien. After trying to eat the streamers, Kris bends over like Bray Wyatt to walk on all fours upside down. The test of strength goes nowhere so Kris rolls her around into a rollup for two. A hot shot gets Kay out of trouble and she clotheslines Kris out to the floor. Kay rams her into the barricade for two and we hit the chinlock.

Rating: C-. Both of them worked well, though Kay definitely comes off as the bigger star than a lot of the roster, which is perfectly fine. This was a perfectly watchable match and Kris continues to look good, though some more seasoning will probably help her more than anything else. That and the alien gimmick either being more pronounced or dropped, as it’s just kind of a detail at the moment.

Due to time, there is no intermission (good), though the ring announcer does ask us to grab a t-shirt after the show. I’m assuming paying is implied.

Su Yung vs. Shazza McKenzie

Someone who might be Veda Scott is on commentary. Yung is exactly the same as she is in Impact and I’ve seen Shazza several times on Wrestlemania weekend shows. The fans remind Yung that she killed Allie, showing that they are up on their Impact (someone has to be). Shazza fires off some early kicks and gets two off a series of rollups. Yung gets tied in the rope for some kicks to the chest but is right back with a backbreaker onto the apron.

A middle finger to the crowd sets up Su’s flip dive off the apron as Shazza is in some trouble. Yung ties her in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the back and a hangman’s neckbreaker out of the corner for two. That means a quickly broken chinlock as Shazza fights up and gets in a hurricanrana out of the corner. A hurricanrana driver gives Yung two more but Shazza is right back with some kicks to the face for a breather.

They forearm it out with Shazza getting the better of it to set up some running knees to the back. A high crossbody gives Shazza two more but she gets anklescissored into the corner. The Panic Switch is reversed into a northern light suplex so Yung goes for the kendo stick. That’s broken up as well so they go to the middle rope at the same time, setting up a super Stunner to finish Yung at 11:07.

Rating: C. Does Yung ever win a bit match? This was a nice back and forth effort with Shazza getting to showcase herself for a change. More often than not she’s in some multiwoman match and doesn’t get to show how good she is. The match wasn’t great, but I haven’t seen many great performances from Yung in the first place.

Tag Team Titles: Twisted Sisters vs. Cheerleader Melissa/Mercedes Martinez

The Sisters (Holidead/Thunder Rosa) are challenging. The rather happy Melissa chants delay the Big Match Intros for a little bit. Martinez and Rosa start things off to fight over a wristlock. Mercedes has to flip out of a headscissor attempt and it’s a standoff with Rosa….I think dancing at her? That earns her a shot to the face but Rosa gets two off a victory roll. The Sisters start some double teaming with a tossed splash hitting Martinez for two more before it’s off to Melissa for an elbow/side slam combination.

Holidead gets stomped down and Melissa dances at Rosa to even things up. The distraction lets Holidead get in a neckbreaker for two but Martinez gets in a cheap shot from the apron, meaning it’s a German suplex into a running knee from Martinez for two more. It’s off to a dragon sleeper with some forearms to Rosa’s chest as I’m not entirely sure who I’m supposed to cheer for here.

Rosa finally kicks Mercedes away though and it’s Holidead coming in to clean house (so the evil twins are faces). Everything breaks down and Holidead is sent outside. That leaves Martinez to hit Three Amigas (superplex, snap suplex and spinning suplex) but Holidead makes the save to put everyone down.

The champs are up first for a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Holidead with Rosa making another save. An ugly Code Red puts Martinez down but Melissa is right there with a Samoan drop to Rosa. Since Holidead isn’t legal, Melissa hammers away on Rosa, allowing Holidead to come back in with a backbreaker. Mercedes brings in a title but drops it when the referee yells at her, allowing Melissa to hit the Air Raid Crash (White Noise) on Rosa onto the title. An assisted top rope curb stomp retains the titles at 14:45.

Rating: B-. Good but not great here as it took me a bit to figure out what they were going for here. The Twisted Sisters have been around Ring of Honor for a bit but it was nice to have them against some more seasoned opponents. Martinez and Melissa worked well as heels together and once everything broke down, this got a lot better.

Britt Baker vs. Tessa Blanchard

This could be interesting. Tessa tries for a very early Buzzsaw (hammerlock) DDT but Baker shoves her away for an early standoff. The power game lets Tessa drive her into the corner so Baker grabs a rollup for two. That earns Baker a posting and a second one gives Tessa two. A running kick to the back gets the same as Tessa starts in on the spine. A Codebreaker out of the corner sets up a chinlock, which commentary politely calls a submission attempt.

Baker fights up and hits a superkick. The slugout goes to baker, who scores with a Sling Blade into a DDT for two. The Rings of Saturn send Tessa over to the ropes but she’s right back with a jumping cutter. A top rope backsplash and Batista Bomb get two each and Tessa is getting frustrated. She even steals a move from Britt with the Rings of Saturn, which is broken up just as fast.

Baker grabs a brainbuster for two of her own but Tessa hits a faceplant. Magnum (top rope Codebreaker) gives Tessa two more but Baker is right back with a Canadian Destroyer. Baker hits her own Magnum for her own two and it’s back to the Rings. This time Tessa just muscles her up so Baker hits a superkick, only to get pulled into the Buzzsaw DDT to give Tessa the pin at 12:27.

Rating: B. As usual, Tessa looks like the most complete package the women’s division of any company has seen in a long time. Baker is someone who is going to be treated like a star in AEW and performances like this against top talent is going to help her on the way. Tessa was too much for her here though and it’s not like this is going to hurt Baker in any way.

Post match Tessa shows respect and Baker gets a warm reception.

Blue Nation/Zoe Lucas/Steph De Lander vs. Solo Darling/Sea Stars/Kris Wolf

Blue Nation is Charli Evans/Jessica Troy and the Sea Stars are Ashley Vox/Delmi Exo. Wolf seems to be a little insane and VERY popular. Troy and Vox start things off as the announcers say they’re going to be a bit confused as well. Vox slips out of the corner and hits a hard dropkick so it’s off to Troy vs. Darling with the latter hitting some hard kicks to the chest. A snap suplex gets two on Lucas and it’s off to De Lander for some power.

De Lander gets caught in the corner for a Codebreaker and it’s Wolf coming in to fire things up, including a bunch of right hands to Evans. We settle back down to Wolf putting a wolf’s head on De Lander so Vox can hit a running Meteora in the corner for two. A cheap shot from Evans lets the villains take over on Vox with Troy starting in on the arm. Evans works on an armbar to do her part and De Lander gets two off a side slam.

Lucas’ running X Factor gets two more and it’s back to Evans for a rather hard chinlock. Troy gets smart by pulling on the arm again, followed by a legdrop to the arm from Evans. Vox finally manages a double middle rope dropkick and it’s Exo coming in to clean house. It’s back to Darling for the kicks and suplexes, followed by a modified Sharpshooter on Lucas.

That’s broken up as well and this time it’s Darling in trouble in the corner. Darling, the smallest in the match, manages a pumphandle slam on the rather large De Lander and it’s the real hot tag to Wolf for the real house cleaning. Everything breaks down and we get the chained fish hooking until Vox flips them all over. The heroines load up a quadruple dive but Wolf just throws the wolf head at everyone instead.

De Lander is thrown back inside for a bunch of running knee strikes but the dog pile cover is broken up. That means the big parade of strikes with everyone knocked down for a major breather. Lucas’ running ax kick gets two on Wolf but everything breaks down again, leaving Wolf to hit a top rope Meteora to finish Evans at 19:59.

Rating: C+. I think this was supposed to be the big showcase match and while the extra time helped it a lot, it certainly feels like a match where you’re supposed to know the people and their characters before coming in. Wolf certainly stood out but she seemed to be the star coming into the match in the first place. This is a case where the backstory would have helped, but the action was good enough to carry things.

Heart of Shimmer: Samantha Heights vs. Dust

This is the midcard title and Dust is defending but doesn’t have her usual manager, Rosemary, here, due to Rosemary causing a DQ in their previous match. Heights is billed from the Second Star to the Right and straight on to Cincinnati, Ohio. Dust send her into the corner for two but has to escape a fireman’s carry. They head outside with Heights big booting her over the barricade, followed by a running dive.

The champ is right back with a seated senton off the barricade and a double stomp to the back makes things even worse for Heights. Back in and Heights trips her down, setting up something like the Last Chancery. Dust makes the ropes and kicks away at the back, only to get kicked off the top. That means a series of suicide dives from Heights, followed by a high crossbody for two more.

There’s a running kick to the side of Dust’s head and the champ is dead weight on the floor. They slug it out on the apron with Dust hitting a DDT for a delayed two. A Backstabber gets the same and Dust kicks her hard in the face for another near fall. Heights is right back with a Blockbuster for two of her own, which is quick the kickout apparently. Dust ties her in the Tree of Woe for the Alberto Del Rio double stomp and now it’s her turn to be stunned. Another Backstabber is countered so Heights grabs the hand and runs the corner for what looked like a spinning Downward Spiral for the pin and the title at 13:53.

Rating: B-. The ending felt a bit rushed but commentary told a good story and made me want to see Heights win the title. I can see why they went with the feel good moment to end the show and Heights seemed to be rather likable from the limited time she was out there. Dust didn’t seem like the biggest star in the world but she was a villain to overcome and that’s fine.

Overall Rating: B. Given how little there seems to be for character development and stories, this is going to be more about the work and they did quite well in that department. This show flew by and the action was almost all at least fine if not strong, making this quite the event. It’s not something I would watch every day, but for a big special show, they did very well.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: May 30, 2019
Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton

It’s back to the recap show and as usual, that could mean a little bit of anything. Main Event has become one of the more interesting shows around, though not for the good reasons. What makes this show so interesting is seeing how much of a mess they can turn a simple recap show into, which doesn’t bode well for this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Cedric Alexander vs. EC3

THIRD TIME IN A ROW BABY! Renee: “The Age of Alexander has come to Main Event!” When did it ever leave? EC3 wastes no time in chopping away in the corner, as there isn’t much need to feel someone out when you’ve fought them for two weeks. Cedric kicks him in the face and heads to the apron but a springboard is broken up. A whip into the corner sets up a flipping neckbreaker for two on Cedric and we hit the chinlock.

Cedric fights up and gets two off a sunset flip before a double clothesline gives us a double knockdown. Some right hands and an elbow to the face have EC3 in more trouble but the springboard Downward Spiral is blocked. EC3’s forward DDT gets two and he crotches Cedric on top. The top rope superplex gets two….and Cedric flips out of a belly to back suplex, setting up the Lumbar Check for the pin at 5:51.

Rating: C. The worst part here is how nice of a match they can put together after so much time spent facing each other. I still have no idea why EC3 is stuck here, but I have less of an idea why Cedric is stuck here. There had to be some reason to call him up and I can’t imagine it was to be in the opening match of Main Event week after week. How can that be the best they can do with him?

From Raw.

Here are Lesnar and Heyman again because the announcement didn’t come earlier. There’s a referee out there this time too because Heyman says it’s time to make his announcement. Before that can go anywhere, here’s Rollins to cut him off. Rollins says the title is his life as Lesnar laughs about the briefcase. Lesnar makes a mockery out of the title because he’s a joke. Seth stomped Lesnar at Wrestlemania and he can do it again right now.

This is Lesnar’s chance so Seth implores him to cash it in. Heyman reads the contract to the referee but Lesnar covers the mic after hearing that he has a year. Brock: “I GOT A YEAR???” And he slaps Heyman with the contract. Heyman: “DIDN’T YOU KNOW?” Lesnar: “NO!” Lesnar actually takes the mic and says screw Rollins before walking away. Lesnar hitting him with the contract was funny, making it the only entertaining thing on the show so far.

From Raw.

The Miz vs. Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Baron Corbin

Elimination rules and the winner gets Rollins at Super ShowDown. It’s a brawl to start with Lashley and Strowman quickly clearing the ring to set up their big staredown. Lashley leapfrogs him but gets caught by the throat. That’s powered away but Strowman gets the grip back on his throat, only to have Corbin make the save. Miz comes back in and kicks Lashley and Corbin down, only to miss the big one of course.

Corbin belly to back suplexes Miz for two but a superplex attempt is broken up. Naturally that sets up the Tower of Doom with Strowman powerbombing everyone down and getting a bunch of two counts. Everyone heads outside with Lashley breaking up Strowman’s running shoulder around the ring. Strowman gets suplexed onto the ramp and we take a break. Back with all four still in and Miz getting double teamed this time around. Lashley chokes on the rope but Miz fights back, only to get caught in Deep Six for two.

Strowman is back in and hits the running splashes to Corbin and Lashley and it’s time to go outside. Lashley dives onto Strowman to take him out and they fight into the crowd. Corbin comes back in but gets sunset flipped to give Miz two. Miz fires off the kicks but charges into the End of Days for the pin at 16:14….which gives Corbin the win and the title shot because Strowman and Lashley were eliminated when they went into the crowd? Sure why not.

Rating: D+. They bring this stuff on themselves. WWE went out of their way to announce that this was a four way match and then mentioned there were no countouts or disqualifications. Apparently there is however an out of bounds rule, which has just never been mentioned until now. All you have to do to avoid this is not make it elimination rules, but apparently that’s too much to ask. I don’t understand this, but I’m sure the answer is “what difference does it make”.

We see Dolph Ziggler laying out Kofi Kingston on Smackdown and his post beatdown promo.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with Bray holding up a paper plate mask. He finds it hard to be brave sometimes but when he hides behind the mask, everything is ok. Abby asks why Bray is a sicko but Bray insists that it’s not true. Is Bray a doctor now? A light bulb literally goes off about his head and Bray is now in a doctor’s outfit so he can diagnose Abby as a bully. Abby doesn’t want to be stuck in this limbo anymore….so Bray breaks out a limbo pole and spider walks underneath it while saying his catchphrase.

Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins vs. Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson

Non-title, because the Raw Tag Team Titles are worthless. Ryder and Anderson start things off with Karl being taken into the corner so Ryder can hit a running knee to the chest. Hawkins comes in for and gets caught in the corner as the champs (Ryder and Hawkins, because you might need a reminder) are in trouble. Gallows adds some headbutts and we take a break with Ryder making the comeback as we seemed to have missed a good bit of the match.

The middle rope dropkick allows the hot tag to Hawkins for some middle rope dropkicks. The Michinoku Driver gets two on Anderson, who comes right back with a side slam for two of his own. Ryder is back in though, allowing Hawkins to hit an enziguri on Anderson. A Samoan drop/middle rope flipping neckbreaker finishes Anderson at 6:51.

Rating: D+. The Raw tag team division might be the greatest example of everything wrong with WWE right now. They put the titles on Hawkins and Ryder so the Wrestlemania fans would react. Then they wait two months and seem to forget that Hawkins and Ryder are champions, meaning the entire division, including the Viking Raiders, is completely forgotten. They don’t bother trying to do anything with the division or the titles, leaving fans wondering what the point is in even keeping the titles around.

Video on Randy Orton vs. HHH.

Roman Reigns/R-Truth vs. Elias/Drew McIntyre

Truth is banged up and the 24/7 Rules are suspended. Hang on as Elias, McIntyre and Shane jump Truth during his entrance. Reigns helps beat up Elias and McIntyre as Shane gets stared up the ramp. The bell rings and Shane offers a distraction so Elias can hammer away on Reigns in the corner. The neck crank has Reigns in early trouble until a Samoan drop breaks things up. Truth actually comes in so it’s a Glasgow Kiss to cut him off in a hurry. Drew whips him into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Truth still in trouble as Elias and McIntyre take turns beating on him. Truth manages to send Drew outside though and the diving tag brings in Reigns for a nice reaction. The corner clotheslines and a big boot drop Elias as everything breaks down. The apron boot hits Elias but Reigns has to punch Shane in the face. Drew misses the Claymore on the distracted Reigns and it’s a spear to finish Elias at 10:44.

Rating: D+. Just a main event tag here and there wasn’t exactly a lot of doubt in how things were going to be finishing up. If nothing else though, it was nice to have Shane be the pesky manager he should be rather than getting in the ring to have these matches. He’s fine in that role, but for some reason WWE would rather have him be competitive in major matches. I’m sure there’s no connection to that and the lack of solid, top heels in the company.

Post match Reigns has an idea and spears Elias again so Truth can win the title back. I mean, it is beneath Reigns to win it after all.

Overall Rating: D. This show accomplished two things: show how worthless the Tag Team Titles are and reminding me just how bad Raw was this week. WWE is a mess at the moment and it feels like there is too much going on at once. However, WWE seems to think that the solution is a comedy title for lower level wrestlers and more Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Baron Corbin. It’s going to take some time to get out of this, and I’m not sure how much longer fans are going to wait for them.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: May 29, 2019
Location: The Odeum, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re coming off last week’s pretty awesome 400th episode but their regular shows still need some work. A new taping cycle might help but more than that, it might be nice if we had something built up to the pay per view that is taking place later this month. That’s never stopped ROH before though and I can’t imagine it will be any different here either.  Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Karl Fredericks vs. Flip Gordon

Fredericks is from the New Japan Los Angeles dojo. Gordon gets taken to the mat early on and goes after Flip’s arm until an escape gives us a standoff. They trade headlocks until a hard shoulder puts Flip down. Flip’s hand walk into a headscissors sends Fredericks outside as we take a break. Back with the springboard tornado DDT being countered into a spinebuster from Fredericks as he starts in on the spine.

They strike it out with Fredericks getting the better of things and dropkicking Gordon down. Gordon heads to the apron this time for a kick to the head, followed by the springboard missile dropkick to get things more at his speed. A slingshot neckbreaker sets up the STF to make Fredericks tap at 7:04.

Rating: C-. Fredericks has been making some appearances of late and I’ve been liking what I’m seeing. He’s strong enough and has a good look, though he needs experience and a character, which he isn’t allowed to have as a young lion. Still though, not a bad match for a quick one on TV with that much time cut out.

Video on War Of The Worlds with Matt Taven retaining the World Title over PCO and Shane Taylor winning the TV Title in a four way match.

Video on Kenny King winning the Honor Rumble, faking blindness, revealing the fake blindness two weeks later, and attacking Jay Lethal.

Here’s Jeff Cobb for a chat. Things haven’t been great for him lately but Shane Taylor didn’t beat him to win the title. Cobb isn’t out here to ask for his rematch though, because he wants Matt Taven and the World Title. Cue Taven to call Cobb an adorable Hawaiian Buddha. Why should Taven be worried about Cobb winning this title when Cobb couldn’t hold his old title? The title match is teased but Taven uses the old “not tonight”. He does throw Cobb the mic though.

Kenny King says he was blinded and he used the chance to study Jay Lethal. Now it’s going to be a best of three series with Lethal and they should bust out the brooms for the sweep.

Lethal knows what King is up to because he’s going to have something up his sleeve. Match #1 is going to be the same as the other two: Lethal wins.

Video on the Briscoes vs. the Guerrillas of Destiny with the Guerrillas retaining the Tag Team Titles.

Here’s Silas Young with a rather skinny man for an exhibition. Silas introduces the other man as Baxter Bellafonte and says this is going to be a catch as catch can demonstration. Young shows some arm holds and demonstrates various cheating tactics, though he does let go before a five count. He adds a low blow, which would ALWAYS be a disqualification.

Jay Lethal vs. Kenny King

First of a best of three match series and King has an unnamed woman in his corner. We get a handshake to start and they take their time early on. King gets a fireman’s carry into a rollup for two and the fans seem fairly appreciative. Lethal is right back up so King bails to the floor for a breather and a break.

Back with King reversing the cartwheel hiptoss into a failed Crossface attempt for another standoff. They start slugging it out until Lethal’s signature dropkick is blocked. That’s fine with Jay, who knocks King to the floor anyway. The suicide dive is blocked as they have a firm story going here. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by a camel clutch. The rope gets Lethal out of trouble and we take a second break.

We come back again with King missing a splash and getting punched in his face for a penalty. King hits a springboard dropkick and teases his own suicide dive. That’s just a ruse though and the fans aren’t pleased by not getting what they wanted. That’s how you act like a heel people. King follows him out but gets dropped on his head so Lethal can take over back inside.

Now the springboard dropkick connects and Lethal hits the springboard dropkick for a bonus. Hail To The King gets two and the Lethal Injection is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb to give King the same. Lethal is right back with some Lethal Injection attempts but the referee nearly gets bumped, allowing King to get in a low blow. King hits his own Lethal Injection for the pin at 15:52.

Rating: B-. They had a nice story going here with King knowing what Lethal had coming because Lethal is the veteran with a signature style before going to the cheating in the end. You can imagine what Lethal is going to do in the second match, though I worry about them trying to push King again, when it hasn’t worked all the other times before.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was up and down here but it makes sense to have another two match show with some different talents getting their chance instead of doing the same things over and over. Couple that with the pretty entertaining Young segment in the middle and I had a good time with this show. It’s a solid effort, though not as good as last week’s awesome show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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 30, 2004
Location: Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’ll wrap up the year here as we’re back stateside after Tribute to the Troops. With that out of the way, it’s time to head towards the Royal Rumble, which hasn’t really been set up yet. It’s hard to say what we’re going to be getting tonight as Smackdown can go anywhere from one extreme to the other. Let’s get to it.

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

General Manager Theodore Long announces that tonight will be the Night of Champions with every champion defending their title against an opponent of their choosing. I think you know where this is going.

Opening sequence.

Here’s John Cena to get things going. Cena talks about the calendar changing but the champ is still here. His New Year’s Resolution is to start a revolution, meaning that from now on there is no such thing as a John Cena fan. From now on, you’re a part of the chain gang and the same of him. They all fight and ride together and since they’re so close, Cena goes out into the crowd. Back in the ring, it’s time for the US Title match so come get a shot.

US Title: John Cena vs. Rene Dupree

Cena is defending and say if you want some, come get some, making this the first ever US Open Challenge. Dupree comes charging in and gets caught in a fisherman’s buster, allowing Cena to put on his robe. That means a funny little dance before the Shuffle and it’s time for Dupree to bail. Cena won’t have that though and catches Dupree with some headbutts. Back in and Dupree manages to whip him into the corner and then avoid a high crossbody, setting up the French Tickler. Cena is fine enough to drop him throat first across the top rope and the FU is good for the pin.

Rating: D. This was pretty much a squash with Cena barely breaking a sweat. The important thing here though is that Cena looked like a star and a main eventer, though there has been no mention of him going after the World Title yet. You can see the confidence in his eyes and that’s a great sign for the future.

JBL and Amy Weber have some great idea when they run into Joy Giovanni. Amy calls her fat and Joy asks what is up with the weird skin hanging from Amy’s neck. JBL yells at Joy but Big Show interrupts. Show wants the title shot tonight, which JBL will take into consideration. Amy and Joy are acceptable in these roles, assuming you ignore that the roles don’t need to exist.

Here’s Kurt Angle for his open challenge. He wants the shot at JBL as well, because Angle made him tap out two weeks ago. First though, let’s get on with the challenge.

Kurt Angle vs. Matt Stryker

Not the well known Striker. Angle wrestles him to the mat and hits a few shots to the head. The ankle lock is good for the tap in less than a minute.

Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio go over possible opponents for tonight. Van Dam suggests Moolah and Mae Young when Eddie Guerrero and Booker T. come in. The challenge is thrown out and I think you know where this is going. Eddie and Booker get in an argument over what the team name should be, with Booker thinking his name should be first because it’s alphabetical. Eddie: “What alphabet is that? The ebonics alphabet???”

We look back at Undertaker vs. Heidenreich last week with Heidenreich walking out. They’ll meet again at the Royal Rumble and Undertaker gets to pick the stipulation. We really need to build to that?

Daniel Puder introduces himself to the locker room but knocks someone’s bag off the bench. That would be Hardcore Holly, who doesn’t want to hear about Puder training for eight weeks. Puder apologizes for Holly taking eleven years to get here but wonders why Holly has never been in the main event of Wrestlemania. That’s where Puder is going to go after he wins the Royal Rumble. Holly thinks Puder has a lot to learn.

Long has another random woman in his office when JBL, Weber and Orlando Jordan come in. JBL is glad about getting to choose his opponent and has everyone’s name in a fish bowl. He draws a name and wants to go again but Long says it’s whoever is on that paper. JBL reluctantly agrees.

Smackdown World Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Shannon Moore

Moore is challenging and takes the Clothesline From JBL for the pin in about twenty seconds.

Post match Long comes out because he knows something is up. He wants to see what’s in the fish bowl, which Amy tries to hide. JBL yells a lot and Amy tries to leave but Joy jumps her from behind and the papers fall on the floor. As luck would have it, Long finds every paper has Moore’s name. Since JBL got to pick tonight, Long will pick for the Royal Rumble. That would be Kurt Angle, who comes out and calls JBL a liar, along with BUCKO. Angle calls him out for beating up someone small, with JBL saying Angle does that every week. Long cuts it off with a surprise: it’s going to be a triples threat match, also including Big Show.

Carlito doesn’t like Long and has a New Year’s Resolution of his own: to get rid of Long as GM. You can feel the petition coming from here. Josh Matthews can also feel the apple landing on his face from the spit.

Here’s Heidenreich for a chat because it seems that they’re giving us a break from the wrestling this week. Heidenreich insists that he is NOT scared of the Undertaker and even tried to give Undertaker a way out last week. Now Undertaker wants more? The Royal Rumble will be his final resting place because Heidenreich does not fear him.

Undertaker’s voice is heard and he promises to make Heidenreich rest in peace. Cue the druids with the casket, which of course has Undertaker inside. Heidenreich freaks as Cole speculates that we could be having a casket match. This would be your weekly example of “we don’t need commentary here”.

Mark Jindrak and Luther Reigns say they should be getting the Tag Team Title shot tonight because they’re awesome. The Basham Brothers come in to say they’re the real competition because they’re former champions. Eddie and Booker come in to say they’re winning the titles.

Cruiserweight Title: Funaki vs. Spike Dudley

Funaki is defending in an Armageddon rematch. Spike starts fast with some slams to start but the top rope double stomp misses. That’s not good enough for Funaki to get away so Spike wraps the ribs around the post. Tazz starts singing Auld Lang Syne as Spike stomps away in the corner. Commentary switches to a discussion about Dick Clark as the audio is clearly being dubbed over something else. Funaki gets in an enziguri and a bulldog for two, followed by a sunset flip (with a pretty fast count) to retain.

Rating: D+. They barely had time to do anything here and I had almost forgotten that Funaki was champion. The Cruiserweight division is already looking like it could go away with nothing changing and that’s not a good sign so soon after a new champion. There are talented cruiserweights around, but if they’re never going to be featured, it doesn’t really matter.

Long video on Tribute To The Troops.

Michelle McCool, Rochelle and Lauren are in the back and hit on Cena as he gets coffee. He doesn’t like being interrupted but changes his tune very quickly when he sees who they are. Lauren: “Can we see it?” Michelle: “Can we touch it?” Rochelle: “Can we play with it?” They mean the spinner belt. Cena seems pleased.

Raw Rebound.

RVD thinks Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson should get the shot. Rey goes with the actual pick of Booker and Eddie (with Cole being shocked, as you knew he would be). Rey: “THEN we’ll face Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson.”

Tag Team Titles: Eddie Guerrero/Booker T. vs. Rob Van Dam/Rey Mysterio

Eddie and Booker are challenging and during their entrances, we hear about how awesome last week was. Rey and Eddie start things off with Rey hitting a quick headscissors for an early standoff. We’ll switch things up a bit as Eddie grabs a hammerlock but that’s broken up as well, meaning the second standoff. Booker comes in and muscles Rey into the corner until Rey pops up with a dropkick.

It’s off to Van Dam and the fans are rather pleased with the change of pace. A headlock slows Booker down so he suplexes his way out, only to have Rob grab it again on the mat. Rob slams him down and it’s the 4:20 for two more. Everything breaks down for a bit with Rey being sent outside so the champs can take a breather. Back from a break with Rey missing a charge into the post to put him in trouble.

Eddie comes in for some right hands and sends Rey into a spinning kick to the face from Booker. Rey fights back with forearms to Eddie and a tornado DDT to put both of them down. Van Dam comes in for some shots to the face which don’t appear to have the most effort behind them. A monkey flip sets up the Five Star to Eddie so Booker makes a save. This time it’s Van Dam going shoulder first into the post and Booker clotheslines him down to break up a tag attempt.

Eddie hits Three Amigos for two on Van Dam with Rey making his own save. Booker grabs the chinlock as things settle down a bit. Rey has to break up a cover off a Book End, this time allowing Rob to kick Booker in the face. It’s back to Rey for a super hurricanrana on Booker but the ref gets bumped.

The 619 hits Booker but Eddie breaks up the springboard. Booker kicks Rey and Rob kicks Booker, followed by a hurricanrana to take both of them to the floor. With no referee, Eddie is tempted to go after a title, which he throws to Rey for the old playing possum spot. The referee actually catches on this time and Rey grabs a victory roll to retain.

Rating: B. This felt like a match where they were getting ready to launch into a great one but they just never got to that other level. Either way, it’s very nice to end the year on a rather good match with four people who can go for a long time. Counting commercials, this was over twenty minutes, which you don’t see to often.

Eddie and Booker aren’t happy but seem to agree that it was fair to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event helped but it felt like a lot of the people were taking the last week of the year off. Aside from the main event, nothing got any serious time with two of the matches adding up to less than a minute and a half. That being said, it makes a lot of sense to have a lighter show like this as they can start the build to the Royal Rumble next week. This was basically a week off and that’s ok given that it wasn’t likely to be a show many people were going to be watching in the first place.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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