IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 27, 2019
Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

This is going to be an interesting show but that might be the case without the show actually being interesting. It’s the first show after the rather great Double Or Nothing event, meaning WWE might be trying to show that they still have it. At the same time though it’s also Memorial Day, meaning the effort might not be there. On the third hand, there are only two shows left before Super ShowDown and some building could be useful. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the traditional long Memorial Day video.

Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar are here for the cash-in announcement, despite a four way #1 contenders match being announced for tonight.

Here’s Kofi Kingston to open things up, seemingly fine six days after the big beating from Dolph Ziggler, which we see in video form. Kofi is here because he’s a fighting champion but also because he wants to deal with Mr. Money In The Bank. He’ll fight anyone anytime and he wants Brock to cash in right here right now.

Instead he gets Seth Rollins (Seth: “I know I’m not Brock Lesnar. I’m better.”) to say he wants to know what Lesnar is doing with the briefcase too. The champs are here so get Lesnar out here right now. This brings out Lesnar, who has different music because he’s actually turned the briefcase into a boom box, complete with speakers and DANCING.

The box starts playing New Day music and Kofi is in but it switches over to Rollins’ music, complete with Heyman playing air guitar. Rollins leaves and the music stops with Heyman accusing Seth of ruining the Brock Party. Heyman and Lesnar leave and Ziggler comes out to jump Kofi, including a Zig Zag on the ramp. Xavier Woods runs out for the save as we’re already three fours of the way done with Wild Card entries tonight.

Post break Kofi is being helped out and Ziggler jumps him again, triggering another brawl with Woods. They fight into the crowd with Woods getting the better of it and throwing a trashcan at Ziggler. It heads back to ringside with Ziggler getting in some chair shots on the floor and in the ring. The chair is wrapped around Woods’ head but Kofi runs out with his own chair for the save.

Back from another break with Kofi and Woods still in the ring and Ziggler coming back out and saying he wants Kofi to enjoy the time he has left. Kofi is the best WWE Champion Ziggler can remember but it still should have been him. For years, Kofi has had two friends to help his popularity, but what happens when he loses the title? At Super ShowDown, Ziggler is taking the title.

There’s a Memorial Day party in the back with most of the lower card around and the Usos have brought in a DJ. First up though, Happy Birthday Natalya! Everybody is invited, aside from the Revival of course. More on this later I’m sure.

Shane McMahon comes out for a match….and then changes his mind.

Video on Randy Orton vs. HHH.

Here are Shane and Drew McIntyre (who were in the ring before the video played) to talk about the history of the McMahon Family vs. the Samoan dynasty, which has been going on since before either Roman Reigns or Shane were alive. It all comes down to respect though, which is not something that Reigns has shown.

Shane talks about the members of the Samoan wrestling family, but the Wild Samoans might have been the most insane of them all. Now Shane isn’t going to run down the Wild Samoans, but the reality is that Vince was always there to clean up their mistakes. Tonight, he’s facing a member of the Samoan dynasty, which seems to be an official name.

Lance Anoa’i vs. Shane McMahon

Lance is a real member of the Anoa’i Family. Hang on though as Drew pulls Lance to the floor and drives him into the barricade and steps. Shane says that’s enough and Lance is thrown inside so the real beating can begin, with the first match of the night starting at 8:52. The fans declare this awful as Lance makes the comeback and hits a dropkick but the superkick is countered by an elbow to the face. The triangle choke makes Lance tap at 1:36.

Post match Drew knocks Lance out again and the choke goes on again, with Shane saying Lance screams like Sika. This finally draws out Roman Reigns, who gets his hands on Shane until Drew gets him out of trouble. Shane and Drew run through the back as Reigns helps Lance up.

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 entetaining thing on the show so far.

As Rollins leaves, Carmella and R-Truth run in with the 24/7 Title and it’s time for the rollups as the mob can’t get out of their own way. The running continues.

AJ Styles, who is too injured to be in the four way #1 contenders match, has been replaced by Baron Corbin. That’s not cool with AJ, who injured his back at Money in the Bank. He isn’t taking anything away from Seth Rollins who won the match fair and square but AJ wanted one more shot at the title. Corbin comes in and hits Styles in the face for a knockout.

Becky Lynch/Nikki Cross vs. IIconics

Non-title because the IIconics never defend the things. Nikki gets all fired up to fight both IIconics so Peyton headlocks her down. A rollup gives Nikki two and it’s off to Billie as a lot of shouting ensues. Nikki crossbodies both of them from the apron and we take a break. Back with Kay kicking Becky’s hand away from a tag and missing a charge at Nikki in the corner.

Peyton can’t stop the hot tag to Becky so house can be cleaned. Becky’s middle rope legdrop gets two with Kay making the save, setting up the bulldog onto Billie’s knee for two. Peyton gets out of the Disarm-Her so it’s a Rock Bottom (the Man Handle Slam) to give Becky the pin at 9:52.

Rating: C-. At this point I’ll take a match that gets cut in half over everything else we’ve been saying. The Women’s Tag Team Titles already need to be retired as they’ve become less interesting than the 24/7 Title in just a few months. At least Becky and Nikki didn’t take the fall, though I doubt this leads anywhere.

Post match Lacey Evans comes out for her old school cameo.

Back to the party with Naomi hugging Tamina when the Revival comes up to argue with the Usos. Naomi invited them to end this and there’s a tense handshake, with Naomi suggesting hot dogs.

Ricochet vs. Cesaro

Rematch from last week. Ricochet starts fast with a hurricanrana but a knee to the ribs cuts him off. An enziguri sends Cesaro tot he floor and it’s the big twisting flip dive to take us to a break. Back with Cesaro hitting a choke suplex for two, followed by a double stomp for two. Ricochet flips out of the corner and nails a superkick that seems to open Cesaro’s sinuses. A springboard clothesline into a standing shooting star press gets two but Cesaro uppercuts him on top.

Ricochet knees his way out of a superplex attempt though but the 630 misses. One heck of a running uppercut sends Ricochet bouncing out of the corner but the Neutralizer is countered. Cesaro sends him to the floor but makes the mistake of laying against the ropes, allowing Ricochet to flip forward from the floor to the apron into a hurricanrana driver (as in he basically got a running start and did a 450 from the floor into the ring) for the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C+. If I had a pen in my hand for that finish, I’d have thrown it in the air and been at a loss. That’s the kind of video game special move that some programmer comes up with because a normal human shouldn’t be able to do it. Ricochet is scary athletic and I’m glad he got to win a match for a change.

The Usos and the Revival play cornhole.

Miz talks about how he used to think he deserved to be Universal Champion but things have changed since then. Now he wants to earn it, and that’s going to be awesome.

Braun Strowman promises to give everyone these hands. Oh and congratulations to Miz for expecting another baby girl.

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”.

Scott Dawson cheats at cornhole but here’s R-Truth before anything else can happen. Rollups ensue and the mob chases him off.

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.

And now, here’s Sami Zayn to sit in an electric chair to answer questions from the audience. First up: when is your retirement date. Sami asks if the fan’s parents are related. A kid asks if Sami misses the Ginger Snaps from Mixed Match Challenge. Sami says the kid’s parents have failed at their jobs.

Third: how does it feel when Braun Strowman destroys you? Sami threatens to beat up the fan but since we’re in America, he won’t do it for fear of getting sued. Sami is amazed that the questions are this stupid and laughs off a question about not winning the Universal Championship. He could win the title any time he wants but he’s not interested in doing so right now. Sami: “You could have asked me about anything. You could have asked me about AEW.” As the fans gasp, here’s Seth Rollins again and let’s have an impromptu main event.

Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn

Non-title. They don’t waste time in getting to the floor with Rollins sending him into the barricade to take over. Back in and Rollins gets distracted for a second, allowing Sami to punch him in the face. A drop down onto Rollins’ back sets up the chinlock with forearms to Rollins’ jaw. Some rapid fire kicks to the face keep Rollins rocked and a clothesline gets two.

Rollins gets in a jumping knee to the back to send Sami outside but Sami posts him as we take a break. Back with Rollins escaping a suplex and nailing a superkick for a double knockdown. The Sling Blade connects and Sami bails to the floor, meaning it’s time for the suicide dives. Seth tweaks his knee on the second though and Sami goes after it, including a Figure Four.

Rollins turns it over for the break but the damage has been done. The knee is fine enough for an enziguri but the ripcord knee is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Sami’s superplex attempt is broken up and Seth tries the frog splash, which hits raised knees. Rollins pops back up and hits a quick Stomp but can’t follow up. A second stomp is good for the pin at 20:13.

Rating: B. That’s one of the better matches from both guys in a nice little while but after the show that came before it, it’s not like that means much. Rollins fighting through the injury was a good story and the action was the usual nice stuff, though it’s not like this is anything more than just another match for both of them.

Despite being shown to still be here, Lesnar does not appear again to end the show.

Overall Rating: T. People keep talking about how WWE is becoming more and more like WCW every single day and I can’t see that being the case. What I can see though is the company becoming more and more like TNA every day. TNA used to run these miserable shows with barely any wrestling for the first three quarters and then one good match to try and make up for it. That was the case here and the show was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.

This was far from the worst show WWE has ever run and it’s not even close to being in that discussion. There was some good action and storylines were advanced so it certainly accomplished things and had some moments, so it’s certainly out of the race for all time worst or even a complete waste of a show. The first hour was all time levels of bad but after that it got a lot better, bringing it all the way up to adequate.

What I saw tonight was WWE throwing out stuff and not caring if it made for a good show or not. We had more Shane, more Corbin, more Ziggler and two more bait and switches (Lesnar not making his decision and Corbin replacing AJ) while there was a big party in the back that only served as a backdrop for the 24/7 Title segment, followed by Sami sitting in an electric chair so he could take scripted questions from the audience.

We’re coming up on the second major event since Wrestlemania and it feels like they’re still stumbling around trying to figure out what to do next. After Super ShowDown, it’s Stomping Grounds, which isn’t likely to be anything more than a one or two match show either. It feels like they’re lost and can’t figure out what to do so they started running random stories and hoped people would keep watching.

Raw and Smackdown (to a lesser extent) just feel like a bunch of stuff that happens week to week with some unfocused bigger stories on top. Next Friday we get Reigns vs. Shane, Corbin vs. Rollins and Ziggler vs. Kingston in three of the main singles matches. So we have the boss’ son, a middle management goon and a guy who hasn’t wrestled in four months as the major villains. That’s really the best they can do for this show? Or for any show for that matter?

WWE needs to fix some of these things in a hurry. Maybe it’s time to go back to the very basics or restart things (AGAIN), but what they’re doing isn’t working. Pushing Shane and Corbin hasn’t exactly been inspiring and there isn’t much on either show worth seeing. It’s like they’re trying to go in too many directions without having a direction and it’s overwhelming them. I don’t know how to fix it, but something needs to change in a hurry.

Results

Shane McMahon b. Lance Anoa’i – Triangle choke

Becky Lynch/Nikki Cross b. IIconics – Man Handle Slam to Royce

Ricochet b. Cesaro – Hurricanrana driver

Baron Corbin b. The Miz, Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman – End of Days to Miz

Seth Rollins b. Sami Zayn – Stomp

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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 24, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

You knew this was coming at some point and there was no way around it. This week’s show is headlined by an ECW tribute match between Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer. They’re both somewhat regulars around here, but I still can’t stand it when the promotion stops what they’re doing to praise a promotion that went out of business nearly twenty years ago. How many times have they done this over the years? Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap of last week’s pretty good show.

Opening sequence.

Sami Callihan vs. Fallah Bahh

Sami is on his own but Bahh has Scarlett Bordeaux. Callihan goes straight at him in the corner so Bahh is back with a clothesline and running splash. Some running clotheslines don’t do much to Bahh, who slams Callihan with little effort. Bahh’s spinning elbow gets two and the toe goes into Sami’s mouth.

That earns Bahh a bite and Callihan is knocked outside. They head outside with the spit chop having Bahh in even more trouble. A middle rope clothesline knocks Bahh down again and it’s back to the toe. Some shots to the head anger Bahh, but he gets taken right back down into a chinlock. Bahh fights up again and screams his name a lot, meaning it’s time for some chops and a belly to belly.

The Banzai Drop is loaded up too early and Sami knees him down for two. The Samoan drop (he likes drops) plants Sami to set up the Banzai Drop but here are the Crists for the save. Jake superkicks Dave by mistake so Scarlett takes Jake down, leaving Bahh to plant Sami. Bahh hits the suicide dive onto the Crists but a hanging Cactus Special finishes Bahh (with feet on the ropes) at 10:47.

Rating: C-. Not too bad here with a lot of stuff going on to make it a little better. Scarlett and Bahh’s Beauty and the Beast thing is an easy way to go, though Scarlett seems to be destined for something a lot bigger. Bahh has been putting in the effort recently though and has slimmed down a bit. I still see potential in OVE, but they never really break through to the other side for some reason.

Tommy Dreamer talks about wrestling Rob Van Dam in this building in 1996 (first match I can find for them there was in 1997). Then they headlined Madison Square Garden to unify the Hardcore and Intercontinental Titles (that match didn’t headline the show) and then Hardcore Justice (Dreamer and Van Dam were never involved in a match together, either working with or against each other, at any Hardcore Justice event, nor did Dreamer ever main event one of those shows). They’ll bring it against each other and make it extreme one more time. Or for the first time since he isn’t the most accurate narrator.

Johnny Impact has the red X from United We Stand that makes him #1 contender to the X-Division Title. He insults Michael Elgin, who is right behind him. Impact backpedals and suggests that they team up against Rich Swann and Willie Mack.

Knockouts Title: Madison Rayne vs. Taya Valkyrie

Taya is defending after losing to Madison in a series of non-title matches. Madison chases her outside and then back inside so the punching can begin. A middle rope crossbody gives Madison two and we take a break. Back with Madison getting two off a cutter to send Taya outside. Taya suckers her to the floor and gets in a kick to the leg to take over. With Don making some subtle references to Josh being Madison’s husband, Taya starts in on the leg. That means we stop for some posing before it’s off to the half crab.

The rope break gets Madison out of trouble so it’s the swinging Rock Bottom to take her down again. The limping Madison forearms back, only to walk into a spear. Madison is right back with her own half crab (which she used to win last time). Taya evens up the rope grabbing score and grabs the referee for a distraction, setting up the Road to Valhalla to retain the title at 14:07.

Rating: C. This was a good way to wrap up the story which didn’t overstay its welcome. Madison might not be the most interesting talent in the world but she’s more than capable of having a match like this. Taya winning when she had to makes her seem especially dangerous, though you can feel the showdown with Tessa coming from here, as should be the case.

Post match here’s Rosemary with the chained up Su Yung so Taya bails in a hurry.

The Deaners eat and talk about getting in shape. Their solution: beers and cheese steaks.

Rosemary and Yung run into James Mitchell, who isn’t happy with them. He wants Yung back but Rosemary tells him to go back and cower at his father’s boots. Rosemary wants the title now and Yung is going to die.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon from last year’s Slammiversary.

Eddie Edwards talks about his highs and lows with Kenny by his side. Next week, he’s getting back at Killer Kross for breaking Kenny in half.

The Rascalz hate training and argue with each other so the smoke starts up again and everything is calm. We get a fresh training montage, which goes far better than last week.

The North vs. LAX

Non-title. Santana works on Alexander’s arm to start and it’s quickly off to Ortiz for a rollup. Page comes in and takes LAX’s rapid fire double teaming, setting up a suicide dive onto Alexander. Back in and Alexander takes Ortiz down for a top rope elbow from Page as the villains take over. A suplex out of the corner gives Alexander two and Page grabs the chinlock.

That’s broken up in short order and Santana comes in off the hot tag to clean house. A dropkick through the ropes sends Page up the ramp and it’s time for some kicks to Alexander’s head. Page comes back in for a knee to Santana’s head to give Alexander two of his own and a double Neutralizer is good for the same on Ortiz. LAX has had it though and their rapid fire kicks into the double belly to back faceplant finishes Alexander at 8:19.

Rating: C+. Nice match here, despite the North being one of the least interesting teams this side of the Desi Hit Squad. I know Don Callis is booking but is that really the best idea they have? They’re the tag team version of Petey Williams with the main sticking point of their characters being that they’re from Canada. At least the match was pretty good though, which does help a lot.

Here’s Glenn Gilbertti for a special exhibition. He hates women’s wrestling and wants to prove how worthless women are so here’s Ashley Vox to challenge him. Gilbertti asks which of the boys she’s dating because she must have been fired from Hooters.

Glenn Gilbertti vs. Ashley Vox

Gilbertti shoves her down to start and talks trash on the mic while sending her into the buckle and grabbing a hard headlock on the mat. Gilbertti: “I know this isn’t a five star match but it’s not my fault!” More trash talk lets Vox get in a rollup and some dropkicks so Gilbertti hits the Chartbuster. That’s good for two with Gilbertti pulling her up and shouting that Vox kicked out of his finish. Cue Tessa Blanchard to chase Gilbertti off for the no contest at about 3:30.

Rating: F. I get what they’re going for (it’s not exactly subtle) and Gilbertti is good at what he’s doing, but this feels like it’s out of 1984. This was going to be Eli Drake and that would have helped with the blowoff, because there is no reason to believe that this is going to end with anything other than Tessa beating him in ten seconds. They spent months building up Tessa for Gail Kim and this is the best they have for her? You can’t just have her slaughter some jobbers for a few weeks until she has something else to do? It’s not the worst, but it certainly feels like a bottom of the barrel storyline.

Rohit Raju vs. Petey Williams vs. Ace Austin vs. Dezmond Xavier

They start fast with Austin hitting a springboard spinning kick to Raju’s jaw. Petey’s slingshot Codebreaker staggers Austin and a running bulldog drops him onto Raju. Austin breaks up a very early Canadian Destroyer attempt and it’s time to cut Raju’s finger with the playing card. Dez comes in and fires off the strikes, plus a suicide dive onto Raju. Austin adds his own dive and kicks some people in the head. Petey comes back in with a Canadian Destroyer to Austin but Raju stomps on his back to break up one on Dez. The backflip kick to Raju’s head gives Dez the pin at 3:49.

Rating: C-. Was there really a need to not even give them four minutes? This was entertaining while it lasted but it felt like the first third of a fun match that never got the chance to get going. The X-Division could use some fresh blood and there are some viable challengers in here, with the Rascalz being great candidates along with Austin.

Next week: Impact/Elgin vs. Mack/Swann, Eddie Edwards vs. Killer Kross in a street fight and Gilbertti vs. Blanchard.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Rob Van Dam

Rob grabs the chair instead and skateboards it into Dreamer’s face in the corner. Dreamer is right back by putting Rob in the Tree of Woe for the running dropkick (after the ECW chant of course). Rolling Thunder misses and Dreamer hits the DDT on the chair for two more. The fans want the table but settle for Rob’s spinning legdrop on the chair. Dreamer is right back up with the piledriver and a flipping sell from Rob. An elbow hits the chair and Rob is right back with a drop toehold into the chair ala Raven. The Five Star finishes Dreamer at 9:23.

Rating: D. It wasn’t terrible and they didn’t embarrass themselves, but is there a reason that these two are getting almost ten minutes and the X-Division guys, who are going to be here in a few years and could be stars of the future, are stuck cramming in everything they can into less than four minutes? Are Van Dam and Dreamer really the best this company can do for a draw to a TV taping? The guys were trying, but it just makes you realize that their heyday was twenty years ago. That’s the best you have?

Post match the North runs in to beat down Van Dam and Dreamer with Moose coming in to make it even worse. The lights go out and freaking Sabu is here with the chairs for the save. A Van Daminator lets the ECW guys pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. There are two big issues sticking out in this show and it hurts everything else. The booking goes from fine to “we’re really doing this?” far too often and that’s going to become an issue. It’s still a watchable show, but they seem to force these things in for the sake of some short term booking which could be used on much more valuable stuff. I don’t need to see Gilbertti, Van Dam and Dreamer (though he’s on every show anymore) in 2019, though Impact seems to think they’re the best options. What does that say about how they view their own talent?

Results

Sami Callihan b. Fallah Bahh – Hanging Cactus Special with feet on the ropes

Taya Valkyrie b. Madison Rayne – Road to Valhalla

LAX b. The North – Double belly to back faceplant to Alexander

Glenn Gilbertti vs. Ashley Vox went to a no contest when Tessa Blanchard interfered

Dez b. Rohit Raju, Petey Williams and Ace Austin – Backflip kick to Raju’s head

Rob Van Dam b. Tommy Dreamer – Five Star Frog Splash

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Double or Nothing
Date: May 25, 2019
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Alex Marvez

It took long enough. This is the first show for All Elite Wrestling and the question is….egads there are a lot of them actually. The biggest of them all though is can they live up to the hype. All In certainly did, though that’s not exactly the same thing this time around. I don’t know if the show is going to be good (though it probably will be), but it’s going to be important. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Casino Battle Royal

Sonny Kiss, Brandon Cutler, Ace Romero, Glacier, Brian Pillman Jr., Sunny Daze, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Joey Janela, Dustin Thomas, Billy Gunn, Jimmy Havoc, Michael Nakazawa, Jungle Boy, Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, Luchasaurus, Shawn Spears, Orange Cassidy

Those are all the announced entrants. This is a special kind of battle royal with five people starting and five more coming in every three minutes until we get to twenty. The final entrant, number 21 (the Joker, which is better than a Wild Card), gets to enter on his own. Nakazawa, Thomas, Friedman, Daze and Cutler (the clubs) start things off with Friedman stomping on Thomas in the corner. This is a true heel move because Thomas has no legs.

Friedman keeps up the yelling by stomping on Cutler, saying he is just a Young Bucks favor. Nakazawa busts out some baby oil (a trademark) and uses it to slip out of a waistlock from Daze. Cutler gets thrown over the top but isn’t all the way out, allowing him to springboard back in to take Friedman down. There are no eliminations yet and here are the Diamonds: Pillman, Kassidy, Janela, Havoc and Spears (Tye Dillinger) with Janela and Havoc beating Pillman up on the ramp.

Spears is the only one of the group to get in as Kassidy was beaten up on the floor as well. A poke to the eye drops Friedman and Spears hits the TEN pose. The clock speeds WAY up with the Hearts coming in next: Gunn, Jungle Boy, Glacier, Quen and Romero. Pillman, Janela, Kassidy and Havoc still aren’t in the ring. Friedman takes Gunn down and does the Karate Kid pose on Glacier. Daze knocks Glacier through the ropes (not an elimination) and then knocks Nakazawa out for the first elimination.

Janela is in with a cigarette as Glacier uses the mist to freeze Daze and get rid of him. Friedman dumps Glacier as Havoc puts the cigarette on Janela’s head. Pillman gets in to take Janela down and the spades are in: Luchasaurus, Marko Stunt, Sonny Kiss, Tommy Dreamer and….I’m assuming Cassidy, who wasn’t announced here. Dreamer gets knocked off the apron so Romero (weighing about 400lbs) dives onto him and Luchasaurus. Romero and Luchasaurus slug it out as Cassidy is on the floor.

Dreamer brings in the weapons and hits a bunch of people in the head with the trashcan lid. There’s a cutter to Havoc and a double chokeslam from Luchasaurus to Quen and Kassidy (the combined team of Private Party). The Joker is here….and it’s Adam Page, who limps to the ring. The fans are very pleased as he cleans house, including a fall away slam on Jungle Boy. Janela is waiting on him for an All In rematch and the fight is on. The Dead Eye (over the shoulder kneeling piledriver, formerly known as the Rite of Passage) plants Janela but there’s no elimination.

Page tries to pick Romero up but hurts his knee again. That means it’s Jungle Boy and Stunt going after Romero to no avail. Romero Pounces Stunt out onto Private Party for a heck of an elimination. Jungle Boy dropkicks Romero in the back and gets rid of him on his own for a heck of an upset. Thomas comes back up with the 619 to Janela (WHICH THE CAMERA MISSES), followed by a springboard 450. Friedman puts Thomas on top so Thomas can DDT Spears out.

A slingshot DDT is blocked though and Friedman gets rid of Thomas. Cutler dumps Gunn but gets eliminated by Friedman as the ring is starting to empty out. Luchasaurus chokeslams Janela through a well placed table for a great bump that makes Janela’s girlfriend Penelope Ford scream. Kiss does his weird Stink Face variation to Dreamer in the corner and gets tossed for him.

Cassidy comes in (billed as the twenty second man, even though he was announced in advance) for his slow motion kicks so Dreamer punches him down. Cassidy keeps his hands in his pockets and nips up, only to get thrown out anyway. Havoc’s staple gun between the legs gets rid of Dreamer, leaving us with Friedman, Page, Jungle Boy, Havoc and Luchasaurus, assuming there are no more hanging out on the floor.

Havoc sends Jungle Boy over the ropes and bites his fingers for the elimination. Friedman gets caught in the corner and triple stomped to send him through the ropes for a breather. Havoc’s Acid Rainmaker hits Luchasaurus and there’s a Death Valley Driver to Page. Another Acid Rainmaker is blocked and Luchasaurus kicks Havoc out. The fans are split as Luchasaurus shrugs off Page’s strikes to the face and hits the reverse powerbomb. Page low bridges him anyway for the elimination and the bell rings but Friedman comes back in….and takes the Buckshot Lariat to give Page the win at 23:55.

Rating: C+. Page was a bit of a letdown as the Joker but I can understand the idea of bringing in someone bigger for later on in the actual show. What we got here was good and a nice representation of how unique the roster can be. I had fun watching it and the match certainly didn’t feel like twenty four minutes, though the Joker winning was just kind of there after a parade of quick eliminations near the end.

Pre-Show: Kip Sabian vs. Sammy Guevara

Sabian is British and Guevara wears what looks like a panda skin to the ring. Sammy’s headlock doesn’t get very far as Kip takes him down into a headscissors for a nipup escape. Back up and Sammy starts flipping around to set up the dropkick, followed by another nipup. That’s enough for Guevara to take a bow but Sabian sends him to the floor for a kick to the face and a springboard flip dive.

Back in and Sammy hits a kick to the spine, followed by an Andrade double moonsault into a standing shooting star press for two. Sabian nails a springboard dropkick to the back, followed by a penalty kick to the chest for the same. Sammy suplexes him over the top and goes down with him, meaning it’s another suplex on the floor for a cool crash. Sammy drapes him over the barricade for a shooting star to the back and Sabian is in trouble. The 630 hits knees though and the Deathly Hallows (torture rack into a reverse Samoa driver) finishes Sammy at 9:41.

Rating: C. Sammy is a great heel but he didn’t get to showcase a lot of his usual stuff here, which is what makes him that much better. What we got was fine, though this was much better served in the pre-show. It’s the kind of a match that you can see on a bunch of indy shows and it was really nothing that I’ll remember in a few minutes. Still though, it’s probably a good idea to have a regular match instead of just the battle royal to get things going.

Some people from a charity called Kulture City sing the National Anthem.

The opening video looks at the rise of AEW, including the press conferences and media events, which are really all they have to go on at the moment. Well aside from Being The Elite.

So Cal Uncensored vs. Strong Hearts

The Strong Hearts (El Lindaman/T-Hawk/Cima) are from Oriental Wrestling Entertainment, a group out of China. Before the match, SCU does their usual spiel about this being the worst town they’ve ever been in, but it’s their favorite worst town. Of note: wrestlers now have ten seconds to get out of the ring as opposed to five in most promotions. Daniels and Cima start things off with a pair of missed dropkicks as the feeling out process begins. T-Hawk comes in to face Kazarian for a chop off.

Kazarian hits a dropkick of his own to possibly draw a little blood. The rather small Lindaman comes in to throw Sky around but a takedown lets SCU start with the revolving elbows. Excalibur talks about cutting off the ring at the hypotenuse, marking the debut of that word in wrestling. Daniels gets caught in the corner though and Cima drapes him over the ropes for a top rope double knee to the back.

T-Hawk chops Sky off the top as everything breaks down. SCU takes over again and it’s Lindaman getting caught in the wrong corner. Sky comes in for a running double stomp to the back but Lindaman manages a bridging German suplex for two. It’s back to Kazarian for two off a northern lights suplex on T-Hawk, leaving Daniels to suicide dive onto Cima. Back in and Cima plants Daniels but walks into a slingshot cutter from Sky.

Lindaman dropkicks Sky down but walks into Kazarian’s slingshot DDT. Daniels and Cima clothesline each other for a double knockdown. Back up and they slug it out with Daniels hitting Angel’s Wings but Lindaman comes in off a blind tag for a deadlift German suplex. Cima’s Meteora gives Lindaman two more and Kazarian hurricanrana T-Hawk to the floor, setting up Sky’s running flip dive. That leaves Lindaman inside to the Best Meltzer Ever for the pin at 13:08.

Rating: B. Heck of an entertaining match here with everyone moving and looking good. SCU is a heck of a team and they’re the kind of people you can put into a match anytime you need a good performance. Strong Hearts looked great as well and that’s a very bright sign for the future. You need some people you can just throw in there for some interchangeable matches and that might be what they’ve found here.

Allie joins commentary for the dreaded four person booth.

Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae vs. Britt Baker

Actually hang on as here’s Brandi Rhodes to make it a four way.

Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae vs. Britt Baker vs. Awesome Kong

Well that’s a wild card. Kong and Rose go straight for the staredown but all three go after Kong instead. That’s shrugged off and Kong hits the swinging backfist to send her to the floor. Kong misses the running splash on Baker and Rae though and gets low bridged out to the floor. The very smiley Rae runs Baker over but misses a low superkick, allowing Baker to grab a suplex for two, setting up a smile of her own.

Kong is back up though and Baker dives on her for no logical reason. That means a suicide dive from Rae to take both of them down as Rose is back up. Rose can’t chokeslam Rae, who tries some forearms to the back to no avail. Instead Rose plants her with a spinebuster for two with Britt coming back in for a Sling Blade. A Samoan drop takes Baker down but Rae is right back with a Code Red for two of her own on Rose.

Back up and Rose starts cleaning house before heading up top, which of course means the Tower of Doom from Kong. Kong takes Baker outside for the spinning backfist but Baker fights out of a powerbomb on the apron. Rose spears Kong into the steps, leaving Kylie to hit a low superkick on Baker.

That’s fine with Britt, who comes back with a swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker for a two that is so close that JR isn’t convinced. Rae is right back with a dead lift German suplex for two more and it’s time for Rae to get serious for the first time. Baker hits her in the face though and the Last Shot (Adam Cole’s old finisher) finishes Rae at 11:14.

Rating: C+. This felt like two matches going on at once with Kong and Rose having one match while Baker and Rae had the other. It was entertaining though and that’s the best thing that could happen. Baker and Rae aren’t very well known and having Baker win the match over Kong, who is a known name, is a good sign. Nice match too, though a singles match would have fit better.

Best Friends vs. Jack Evans/Angelico

Evans bounces off Trent to start and a bigger shoulder takes him down. It’s time to load up the big hug but Angelico and Evans break it up in a hurry. Evans starts cleaning house with JR declaring him “like a deadly…..wasp.” Everything breaks down with Evans elbowing Trent in the face.

The Friends get caught in the corner but a kick to the face sets up the Falcon Arrow with Excalibur getting in all of his usual shtick. A double stomp from the apron takes Angelico out so Evans starts his variety of odd kicks, including a backflip kick to Trent’s head. Soul Food sets up the big hug and it’s a reverse Razor’s Edge to send Evans into a cutter from Trent for two.

Angelico comes back in for an assisted Code Red on Trent, followed by an assisted cyclone knee to the head. Trent charges into a knee to the face in the corner and the Fall of the Angels (running crucifix buckle bomb) sets up Evans’ 630 for two with Chuckie breaking it up. Chuckie hits the running flip dive onto Angelico and the spike Strong Zero finishes Evans at 12:16.

Rating: B-. I’m not a big Best Friends fan but they went with the serious stuff here to make it work that much better. Evans and Angelico have a spot going forward as well as the spot fest guys and there’s nothing wrong with that. Best Friends winning makes sense though as the company is looking to be based on tag teams and having a bigger name team is the right call.

Post match they load up a hug….and the lights go out. They come back up with a bald guy and a masked guy in the ring. The lights go out again and it’s…..a bunch of masked men around the ring to pull Angelico, Evans and the Best Friends to the floor for a beating. The fans don’t recognize the bald guy and the masked guy as they destroy the four of them. The team is better known as the Super Smash Bros, though they’re not named here.

All Out is coming to Chicago in August. They do have some decent pay per view names.

Aja Kong/Yuka Sakazaki/Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida/Riho Abe/Ryo Mizunami

Kong is a legendary monster. Shida and Sakazaki start things off for a missed running knee to the face, meaning it’s off to Mizunami vs. Kong. A power battle easily goes to the much larger Kong until some kicks to the head work a bit better. Sakazaki comes back in for a top rope seated senton on Riho and a slam, followed by the tag off to Sakura. The surfboard goes on for a bit before it’s back to Kong for the loud kick to the back.

Kong’s partners hold the other two in the corner as Kong hits a piledriver for two, with a pair of diving saves breaking it up. Riho is mostly dead but a shot to the ribs allows the hot tag off to Ryo. Everything breaks down for the big brawl until it’s Kong vs. Mizunami. The power game goes nowhere so it’s off to Riho as everything breaks down.

Knee strikes abound and it’s Kong suplexing Riho and Ryo (They couldn’t call one of them Earl?). A suicide dive takes both of them down and it’s a brainbuster to Shida. Sakura adds a moonsault for two that is so close that the bell rings and music starts playing. The fans aren’t pleased with the kickout but settle for Shida hitting a running knee to Sakura’s head for the pin at 13:09.

Rating: B-. It was a pretty wild brawl with a lot of physicality, but it was one of those cases where the people involved felt like they were interchangeable outside of Kong. The match was good and that’s all you can ask for and the majority of the match is all about having these people featured. That worked quite well and as long as you get a taste, everything should be fine.

We recap Dustin Rhodes vs. Cody. They’re brothers who don’t get along and it’s a personal feud this time. Dustin is much older and Cody wants to take him out for good. Dustin isn’t ready to be put out to pasture/taken out behind the barn/whatever other Texas saying they can think of.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Cody

Cody has a flashy robe and discount HHH throne, plus Brandi in his corner for a rather nice bonus. In case you didn’t get the idea from the cross and skull throne, Brandi hands him a sledgehammer to destroy the throne. ARE THEY BEING TOO SUBTLE FOR YOU??? Dustin has half of his face painted because, again, he isn’t much without the links to Goldust. Cody’s weight belt says Attitude Killer because we need to get that in there too.

We get a DUSTY chant for a nice touch (Dustin looks near tears) and the fans declare this awesome. Did they see their WWE matches? Cody trips him down and throws in a cartwheel for the early pose. Dustin gets sent outside for a suicide dive and it’s a bit of a botch as Dustin isn’t ready for something like a 619 on the apron. A running flip dive off the apron drops Cody and the bulldog connects back inside.

Ten right hands in the corner set up some snap jabs and Cody bails again. Fans: “NEVER LOST IT!” Cody grabs some water and Brandi gets in a cheap shot so Cody can hit a fireman’s carry gutbuster for two. A powerslam gives Cody two but Dustin hits his kneeling uppercut. Dustin loads up Shattered Dreams but Cody pulls the buckle pad off and throws it at Dustin, who charges anyway. That earns him a drop toehold into the exposed buckle for a trip to the floor.

Brandi adds a spear, with JR wondering what kind of family this is. That earns Brandi an ejection and Diamond Dallas Page makes a cameo to help get rid of her. Dustin is busted WAY open so Cody rubs the blood on his own chest. Cody punches at the cut and Dustin can’t see through the blood. A curb stomp gives Cody two and he adds a top rope ax handle. The scoop powerslam gives Dustin (who is now reaching an all time amount of blood) two but Cody takes him down into the Figure Four.

That’s powered over until Cody lets it go, so it’s time for a whipping with the weightlifting belt. Dustin grabs a Code Red (third time tonight) for two and the fans are on their feet. The top rope superplex is a near crash as Dustin slips off the top but he’s fine enough to hit Cross Rhodes for two. A low blow gets Cody out of trouble and the Disaster Kick sets up the real Cross Rhodes…..for two.

There is blood EVERYWHERE, with Earl and Cody both having it all over them and the mat is covered. Dustin hits another Cross Rhodes for another two and it’s time to trade kneeling uppercuts. Cody grabs something like a Vertebreaker (more like a backbreaker though as Cody was sitting before Dustin’s head started going down) but pulls Dustin up at two. Cross Rhodes finishes Dustin at 22:28.

Rating: B+. I had no expectations for this one and while I’m still not sure exactly why they’re fighting (I get the story but I’m not buying it), this was a heck of a war and far better than most people would have guessed. They beat each other up and had the best match they could have, which was also the best match tonight.

Post match Cody gets back in the ring and says Dustin doesn’t want to do this just yet. Instead, Cody has an upcoming match against the Young Bucks with a partner of his choosing. He doesn’t need a partner or a friend though because he needs his older brother. That gets a big hug in a scene reminiscent of Dusty Rhodes saying something similar to Dustin back in 1994 (that’s not a bad thing).

We look at the battle royal again as things are set up for the title presentation.

Here’s BRET HART of all people to put over the event and talk about how important the title is. He brings out Hangman Page, who will be facing either Kenny Omega or Chris Jericho “Next month…..or in a few months. Sorry it’s been a little while.” Page comes out but here’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman to interrupt. He does his usual…..Friedman: “BRET LOOK OUT! A FAN!”

After Friedman is done laughing, he talks about how he’s going to be the future of this company because a horse like Page certainly can’t be its face. Friedman talks about taking horses out back and shooting them before telling Page to give him the title shot. He demands that the old man look at him because he’s going to be the best there is, was and ever will be. Actually scratch that because that catchphrase sucks.

Page comes after him so Friedman drops to the floor. Friedman: “Easy Seabiscuit, easy.” Cue Jungle Boy to stop Friedman on the ramp and Jimmy Havoc to cut him off again. Page, Jungle Boy and Havoc surround Friedman, who wants to talk about this. The beatdown is on as Bret unveils the title, which is rather large with AEW in the middle. Not bad at all, with a pretty simple design.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. the Lucha Bros. The Bucks showed up in AAA and won the titles from the Brothers, who had won them earlier in the night. This is the only title match all night and it’s an actual dream match….which has happened before.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros

The Bucks are defending and come out in Elvis style jumpsuits. Matt and Pentagon start things off with a staredown and Matt breaks up CERO MIEDO. An early Pentagon Driver attempt is broken up so it’s already off to Fenix. Nick comes in off a blind tag but the Bucks get caught in a double wristdrag to the floor. Everyone winds up outside and it’s Fenix and Nick both trying dropkicks at the same time for a standoff.

Back in and it’s a chop off with Fenix getting the better of Nick. The rolling dropkick puts Nick down again and the double superkicks make it even worse. The assisted wheelbarrow splash gives Fenix two but Nick is back up with a springboard wristdrag/headscissor takeover combination. Matt comes in to pick up the pace and it’s a gorilla press to Fenix, followed by a spear to Pentagon. Nick’s top rope double stomp hits Matt’s back by mistake but Nick takes Pentagon down to keep control.

Pentagon is right back with a monkey flip to send Nick into Matt in the corner. Fenix comes in and plants Matt on his head for two. It’s already back to Pentagon, who gets caught in a top rope flipping Stunner (nearly a neckbreaker) from Matt. Rolling northern lights suplexes set up a Sharpshooter but Fenix makes a quick save. Nick comes back in and it’s time for the rapid fire offense, including a kick to Fenix and a slingshot X Factor to Pentagon. Back in and the Bucks grab stereo Sharpshooters but ropes are grabbed in a hurry.

Nick hits the top rope 450 to a draped Fenix with Pentagon making the save. A powerbomb/super Sliced Bread #2 gets two on Fenix and we need a breather. Pentagon comes back in to start firing off the superkicks and everyone is down. Matt and Pentagon head to the floor to trade kicks to the legs. Kicks to the face give us a double knockdown but it’s the Bros up with back to back slingshot Canadian Destroyers for two on Nick.

Fenix’s middle rope flip dive takes out both Bucks, followed by the Fear Factor into the Swanton for two on Nick. It’s back to Matt and the Bucks superkick Fenix out of the air. A Helluva Kick into a brainbuster onto the buckle gives us the Sami Generico special on Fenix. More Bang For Your Buck gets two on Pentagon, followed by a spike package piledriver for two more.

Fenix breaks up the Meltzer Driver though and Pentagon snaps Matt’s arm. The Pentagon Driver gets two on Matt as Nick is down near the top of the ramp. That leaves Fenix to start kicking Matt in the arm but in true Bucks fashion, Matt is suddenly fine and Nick is suddenly back, meaning it’s the Meltzer Driver to retain at 24:59.

Rating: A-. This was the best match of the night, even if it had that rather annoying Bucks tendency to get destroyed and then pop up and win in about two seconds. I liked the idea of the Bucks using moves from their past rivals to to make sure they could beat the Bros, though I’m not sure who is supposed to beat the Bucks now. Either way, it’s a heck of a match, though both teams are capable of doing better.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega. Jericho needs to win the match to avenge his loss in Japan. Omega knows that Jericho might be the best of all time but also that Jericho needs this win.

Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho brings out the List of Jericho, the light up jacket and….finally the hat because he’s Evil Jericho this time around. They trade slaps in the face to start with Jericho hitting a running shoulder. The early V Trigger misses so Omega tries a hurricanrana, which is countered into the Walls. Omega bails to the rope and gets knocked outside where Jericho rings the bell. This time Jericho throws him into the crowd and grabs a camera for some filming (with Excalibur calling him Generico twice in a row).

That earns him a soda to the face and they go back inside for a Regal Roll into the middle rope moonsault from Omega. Jericho is right back with a dropkick and some chops to bust Omega’s chest open. For some reason Jericho stops to flip off a fan and throw in some yelling, allowing Omega (who might have a broken nose) to snap off a hurricanrana. Jericho goes outside and finds a table, which Omega dropkicks into his face. Omega isn’t done though as he hits a big running flip dive to knock the table into Jericho again.

The table is set up on the floor but Omega takes him back inside for the jumping Fameasser for two. Omega hits the first V Trigger to the back of the head, followed by the belly to back superplex for the huge crash. Another V Trigger is broken up but the Lionsault hits knees. Now the second V Trigger can connect and Jericho adds a release German suplex. The second and third Lionsaults connect (the second to Kenny’s head) for two but Omega is right back with another V Trigger.

Jericho backdrops him to the floor through the table though and they’re both down. They slug it out with Omega on the apron so Jericho breaks up a springboard with a dropkick. Omega breaks up a superplex but dives right into the Codebreaker for two. The Walls are broken up again and a tiger driver gives Omega another near fall. Another V Trigger is countered into the Walls with Jericho even turning it into the Liontamer.

Omega slips out again and hits one heck of a V Trigger (that’s about seven total) but the One Winged Angel is countered into the deformed cousin of a DDT. It was so bad that they do the same sequence again so the DDT can work as designed. The Codebreaker drops Omega for no cover and it’s the Judas Effect (a spinning back elbow to the face) to give Jericho the pin at 27:37.

Rating: B+. It’s a strong main event and I completely understand the idea of putting Jericho on top but it never felt epic. It came off like they were just trading big finishers until we got to the ending. Jericho winning is fine as you can either have him as the first champion or have him put Page over for the title, both of which would work. Still though, rather good, just not great.

Post match Jericho rips on the fans, saying he doesn’t care what they think and calling them marks. It’s his time now though and this is his company. This company is all about him and he’s the reason for this building, the logo and the TV deal. With all that done and Omega defeated, it’s time for a thank you.

Instead, he gets Jon Moxley coming through the crowd to hit Dirty Deeds on Jericho and the referee but Omega fights one off and the brawl is on, all but guaranteeing the next main event. They fight into the crowd and onto the poker chip set, with Moxley hitting Dirty Deeds on top of the pile. An AA off the pile of chips plants Omega to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. It was very good and that’s what matters most here. They had some rather good matches (the last three all delivered) and while it felt a little long near the end, I liked just about everything they put on. It wasn’t a blow away show or an instant classic, but what we got was very good and I’m curious to see where they go with the next show.

The important thing to remember is that this is a first step. Most of the matches didn’t have much of a backstory and they didn’t need to. This show was much more about letting these people get in the ring under the AEW banner and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a very good debut and while I liked All In more, this is a good way to go for the first step on a long road.

So what does this mean for their long term future? Not much really, as they’re still several months away from having their weekly show, which is what really matters. They’re not going to have the Rhodes blood bath or the crazy Bucks vs. Bros match or a Jon Moxley coming through the crowd every single time. What matters is getting people to watch when that hype is gone and while this doesn’t show much about that ability (as it’s something completely different), it showed that they can put on a very good and entertaining show.

Another good sign was Jim Ross, who sounded motivated and energized for the first time in a long time. His New Japan run just made me sad as he clearly didn’t care and wasn’t trying, but he can still bring it when he needs to. Let him be a guiding light behind the scenes and things will be great. This show wasn’t quite great, but it was a very strong start and that’s a nice sign.

Results

So Cal Uncensored b. Strong Hearts – Best Meltzer Ever to Lindaman

Britt Baker b. Kylie Rae, Nyla Rose and Awesome Kong – Last Shot to Rae

Best Friends b. Jack Evans/Angelico – Spike Strong Zero to Evans

Hikaru Shida/Riho Abe/Ryo Mizunami b. Aja Kong/Yuka Sakazaki/Emi Sakura – Running knee to Sakura

Cody b. Dustin Rhodes – Cross Rhodes

Young Bucks b. Lucha Bros – Meltzer Driver to Pentagon

Chris Jericho b. Kenny Omega – Judas Effect

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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 23, 2004
Location: Camp Speicher, Tikrit, Iraq
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It worked the first time so let’s do it again. This is the second annual Tribute to the Troops and since this is in the earlier years, it means they’re actually going to put in a little more effort. The show is outside in Iraq, meaning it’s going to be a bit warm. We even have a big match announced this time around with Undertaker vs. Heidenreich. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Vince McMahon to get things going. Vince talks about how the wrestlers have volunteered to come back for the volunteer military because they want to say thank you. They’ve come over here to boost the military’s spirit but it’s been the opposite because the soldiers are that inspiring.

Back home all you hear are all the negatives from Iraq and all the progress they’ve made around here. When he gets back to America, he’ll be telling some of those negative media personalities where they can go. For now though, on with the show, including Lilian Garcia as the attractive Mrs. Claus style ring announcer. Vince: “TEN HUT! I’ve always wanted to say that.”

Lilian sings the National Anthem, which she knocks out of the park as always.

Video on the roster arriving.

Rene Dupree vs. Booker T.

Expect to see a lot of America vs. foreigner matches tonight. The announcers are all over Dupree with the anti-French jokes because if you disagree with anything the military does, you’re a horrible stupid person. Feeling out process to start as the announcers list off a bunch of military personnel who made this possible.

Booker hits some hiptosses and a clothesline to take over as the fans are very into the raise the roof pose. I mean, that’s a few years old but points for trying at least. Dupree avoids a charge in the corner and drops an elbow setting up the French Tickler (Tazz: “IN IRAQ???”). The chinlock goes on for a few seconds with Booker popping up and hitting the flapjack. A Spinarooni into the ax kick gives Booker the pin.

Rating: D+. These matches are going to be on a sliding scale here as there is no point to suggest that the wrestling is what matters. Having the American beat the foreigner is as old hat as you can get on a show like this and that’s perfectly fine. Booker is someone who can fire up a crowd so this was a good choice for the opener.

A solider talks about getting to go home to see her husband.

Wrestlers meet troops and think Iraq isn’t as bad as it seems. They were even under fire at one point and we see a piece of a mortar that hit them. That’s enough to make them honorary Steel Tigers and they get a coin.

Here’s Santa Claus, who seems to be looking a little hardcore legendish this year. It might not be Christmas yet but he’s making a special trip here. As luck would have it, he brings out some WWE Divas to help him. That would be Torrie Wilson, Dawn Marie and Jackie Gayda, who seem to be rather popular. Lilian joins them in the ring and they throw out presents to the crowd.

They include in some hugs as a bonus but Santa invites them back inside. He has a gift for all of them in the bag, which of course would be lingerie. Well actually Dawn gets a half empty bottle of Gatorade. Santa: “Santa developed quite a thirst and felt the need to quench it.” The catfight is on and Dawn is sent outside. Torrie thinks something is up and realizes that Santa is in fact Mick Foley. The voice, the hunched walk, the being 6’4 and BEING SANTA CLAUS didn’t give that away?

We see a soldier reenlisting.

A soldier misses her family.

Undertaker vs. Heidenreich

No Heyman here with Heidenreich and no hat/coat/slowness for Undertaker. The smoke does come up though, which is kind of a weird visual without everything else. Undertaker slugs away to start and takes over without too much trouble. Could it be because he’s facing Heidenreich? Old School into a reverse DDT gives Undertaker two and it’s already time for a breather. A slugout on the floor goes to Undertaker and there’s the apron legdrop.

Back in and Snake Eyes connects but the big boot is countered with a swinging Boss Man Slam to give Heidenreich his own two. Heidenreich hammers away so Undertaker does the same, followed by the jumping clothesline for two more. Now Snake Eyes into the big boot connects and it’s a legdrop to make things even worse for Heidenreich. The soldiers want a Tombstone but settle for a broken up chokeslam so Heidenreich can bail to the floor and take the countout.

Rating: D. Good grief how is this feud continuing??? Does WWE really think that much of Heidenreich that they need to keep going with him here? His matches are terrible and his promos are far from anything special, but we get to see these two fight AGAIN because WWE can’t just let something go.

A soldier misses his newborn son. He gets to come home n Christmas Day though, which is a surprise to his wife.

Wrestlers talk about how awesome the trip has been.

More clips of the wrestlers doing military stuff. There isn’t much to say on these things as they’re just meeting troops and shots of events and equipment. The wrestlers want to come back.

Booker T. and some soldiers wish us a five time Merry Christmas.

Before the show, a General thanked the troops.

The same General thanked the wrestlers and gave them a special coin. Seeing Undertaker in street clothes is still bizarre.

Hardcore Holly vs. Kenzo Suzuki

I can’t complain about the repetitive formula here. Suzuki is wrestling barefoot here and hits an early hiptoss. Holly isn’t having that and chops Suzuki in the corner until a hot shot puts Holly in trouble. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Holly fights up and hits the dropkick. Holly’s top rope clothesline sets up the Alabama Slam for the fast pin.

Another soldier says hi and misses his family.

Video on the arena being set up. Some of the soldiers got to mess around in the ring for a bonus.

Here’s JBL in the Hummer, now with longhorns. JBL however is in a hazmat suit because….well because he’s a hard guy to figure out. After popping up the mask on the suit, he complains about the conditions here, including saying that the food has no exit strategy and the toilet paper is rather abrasive. JBL talks about how good things happens when he comes over here but he’s getting tired of bringing the good luck. Oh and where is the booze? We could call this place Rehabistan.

He’s happy to be our American hero and knows the fans want to chant his name. This time though, just whisper it so the enemy doesn’t know where they are. JBL leaves, promising to see us when the next war starts somewhere else. Cue Big Show to say he doesn’t like JBL making this all about himself. Show makes fun of the suit and knocks JBL to the floor with a right hand. As usual, when JBL is being over the top and goofy, he’s all kinds of fun.

Video on last year’s Tribute to the Troops and the thought process in setting this up.

Wrestlers, troops, troops, wrestlers.

Kurt Angle/Luther Reigns vs. Eddie Guerrero/Rey Mysterio

Call me crazy, but having Kurt Angle, the American hero, as the face might not work on this show. Angle tries to explain why he doesn’t such but Eddie cuts him off. Eddie and Rey drive out in a Hummer, with Tazz thinking Eddie stole it. Rey even has a camouflage mask. Rey and Angle start things off with Kurt easily taking him down and working on the arm. An armdrag into an armbar keeps Rey down for a bit and it’s Reigns coming in for a backbreaker.

Angle’s snap suplex gets two and Reigns hits another backbreaker for two of his own. Rey finally spins out and hits a tornado DDT to drop Reigns, setting up the hot tag to Eddie. The rope walk headscissors/wristdrag take the villains down but Angle reverses Three Amigos into the ankle lock. That’s broken up in a hurry but Reigns breaks up the 619. Eddie takes Angle down and now the 619 hits Reigns. The frog splash gets two with Angle making the save so Eddie sends him outside. Rey Drops The Dime to finish Reigns.

Rating: C+. Not a bad main event here with the three best guys doing everything they could and Reigns getting in his stuff at the right times. Much like the rest of the show, the wrestling wasn’t the point here but at least we got a good match out of it. That’s pretty impressive when they only had six minutes.

One more video of the wrestlers with the troops wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to say on this one. The whole point was about making the troops feel important with some wrestling included. They did that to the letter but the wrestling was just there for the most part. To be fair though, that’s exactly what you knew was coming. It’s exactly what it’s supposed to be and while it might not mean much, it was a cool thing to do and the show flew by.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: January 25, 2001
Location: Mobile Civic Center, Mobile, Alabama
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

This is the first of two shows that someone asked me to review in a row and since I’ve gone nuts covering stuff in advance this week, I might as well get to the first of them. We’re just past the Royal Rumble and coming up on No Way Out, meaning Wrestlemania is just around the corner. Things are getting awesome again and hopefully that’s the case here. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look back at last week, where Steve Austin cost HHH the WWF Title. HHH was ready to blast Austin with the sledgehammer but WWF Champion Kurt Angle came out to say he cost HHH the title. A fight was teased with Angle calling him monkey boy. Trish Stratus came out and challenged Stephanie McMahon for a bonus. After some, ahem, convincing from Trish, Vince agreed to make a mixed tag. Stephanie and Trish beat each other up until HHH Pedigreed Trish to give Stephanie the pin. Austin came out and beat up HHH to end the show. And now you’re caught up on the main event, which you never get today.

Opening sequence.

Undertaker vs. Rikishi

Ah the days of main event heel Rikishi. The brawl starts on the floor with Undertaker sending Rikishi head first into the steps but stopping to glare at the referee. They get in for the first time with a running clothesline in the corner rocking Rikishi again. Old School connects but Rikishi runs him over and drops a big leg. Undertaker is right back up with the jumping clothesline for two of his own before it’s back to the right hands. There’s the running DDT but Haku (Rikishi’s partner) comes in for the DQ.

Post match the beatdown is on with a double headbutt dropping Undertaker. Rikishi sits on his chest but here’s Kane for the save. Undertaker isn’t sure what to think of Kane before raising his hand.

A ticked off Vince arrives in the limo and yells at the driver for making him 20 minutes later. That’s early around here. Vince fires the driver anyway.

Here’s Vince in the arena to blow off some steam. Notice something here: we’re about 20 minutes into the show and we’ve had a long recap (longer than necessary but fine) and a match. We didn’t spent fifteen minutes settling into the show and kill the buzz right off the bat. Why is that so complicated? Anyway Vince complains about the driver again and says that believe it or not, there is intelligent life here in Mobile.

Now it’s time to complain about the dental situation but Vince stops to listen to the fans booing. With that out of the way, Vince talks about the mixed tag from Monday and isn’t happy about Angle manhandling Stephanie. Then to make it worse, Trish was driven CHEST FIRST into the mat by a Pedigree, all followed by Austin interfering again. To make sure that doesn’t happen again, Austin and HHH have the night off. Instead they’ll face off at No Way Out with the contract signing taking place on Monday.

As for tonight though, Angle needs to get out here RIGHT NOW. Angle comes out and talks about how much he respects him and even throws in a salute. We get an official apology for what happened to Stephanie and Trish but that’s not good enough. That’s why tonight, Angle is defending against Kane. And they’re out without some big explanation. Keep this stuff moving.

Jeff Hardy/Bradshaw vs. Matt Hardy/Faarooq

Well ok then. This is fallout from the Hardys brawling in the Rumble so they start against each other here. Jeff punches him to the floor but misses a dive as Lita and Jacqueline are watching in the back. Back in and Jeff jumps over Matt in the corner and dropkicks him in the back to take over. Jeff gets shoved off the top to set up the screaming legdrop and there go the shirts. The jawbreaker takes Matt down so it’s off to Bradshaw who gets two off a slam….with Faarooq making the save.

Now it’s the battle of the APA (King: “We’re about to experience Bar Wars!”) with Faarooq nailing the powerslam. They fight to the floor and Bradshaw gets sent into the steps. The ref has to take a chair away from Faarooq so it’s a spinebuster to drop Bradshaw instead. There’s no cover though, allowing Bradshaw to hit the Clothesline for a double knockdown. Jeff tags himself in and the Hardys double team Faarooq, with Matt hitting the Twist of Fate into the Swanton for the pin. King: “Are the Hardys drunk?”

Rating: D. Well that’s a thing that happened and actually it made me want to see the APA have a one off hoss fight. It’s likely to be more entertaining than the various Hardys matches over the years. The ending at least made sense as the Hardys are going to be more about each other than themselves so everything is fine. Well not the match but everything else.

Tough Enough video auditions in the days before digital cameras. Included: Justin Roberts.

Vince is on the phone with someone (presumably Trish) and tells her to just stay in bed and get better. Linda’s doctor calls in and Vince tells him to double her medication. Vince sees HHH arrive and gets off the phone.

Post break Vince wants to know why HHH is here. HHH thinks Austin will be here because things happen. Like what happened to a certain lady on Raw. HHH wants to know which lady Vince is more worried about. Vince throws him out.

We look at the still incredible Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho ladder match from the Rumble.

Here’s the Rock to do commentary on the next match.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Big Show

Jericho is defending while being very banged up after winning the title on Sunday. It’s weird seeing Show slim after his stint in OVW where he lost a ton of weight. Jericho charges in to start and is gorilla pressed onto his face for a crash. Show goes after him and gets his throat snapped across the top rope to give Jericho an opening.

A ribs first ram into the post keeps Jericho down as the fans chant for Rock. The bearhug goes on (well duh) for a bit until Jericho slips out and goes for the knee in a smart move. A Walls attempt is easily blocked by a hand around the throat and the Final Cut (Eye of the Hurricane)….draws in Chris Benoit to go after Show for the DQ.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and Jericho couldn’t do much against someone that big. What we got wasn’t too bad though and they could have done something better with the right amount of time. That being said, Jericho wasn’t about to lose the title so soon after winning it in such a great match just a few days earlier.

Post match Show gets rid of Benoit and goes after Rock, who hits him in the head with the title. Jericho’s forearm off the apron sets up the Rock Bottom on the floor to leave Show laying.

Austin is here. I’m shocked too.

HHH looks around the room where Austin just was but no one has seen him. Threats ensue.

K-Kwik vs. Tazz

That would be R-Truth, who is basically the same person he would be about eighteen years later (minus the insanity). Kwik starts fast (quickly you might say) and kicks Tazz in the face, followed by a missile dropkick for two. Tazz is right back with a t-bone Tazplex for two of his own, followed by a hard clothesline. Some slaps (called punches) have Tazz in trouble and there’s a powerslam, but here’s Kaientai for the overdubbed voices (those still make me laugh). They’re impressed by Kwik’s funky hair and the distraction lets Tazz grab the Tazmission for the win.

Post match Kaientai admits that they distracted Kwik on purpose, due to reasons of EVIL.

We look at Drew Carey’s time at and in the Royal Rumble. Still one of the best celebrity cameos ever.

Austin is outside drinking beer.

Post break HHH goes to find him but there’s no Austin. The beer cans are still there though.

European Title: Test vs. Christian

Test is defending. Before the match, Christian says Edge is out with a stomach ache after eating the food here in Mobile (which he pronounces incorrectly). Since Alabama is stupid, Christian gives us a quiz: Test is either A, a Reekazoid, B, has more teeth than everyone in this city or C, is about to become the shortest reigning European Champion of all time. It’s D, all of the above (it always is).

Christian jumps him at the bell and bumps the referee, allowing him to miss a belt shot. Test gets in a shot to put him on the floor and there’s the full nelson slam but the ref is still down. Now the belt shot can connect for a slow two and frustration is upon up. Test’s always cool looking tilt-a-whirl slam sets up a faceplant for two more as they’re certainly moving out there. The pumphandle powerslam is broken up so Christian heads up, only to get backdropped down. Test’s big boot retains the title.

Rating: C. This was another short one (more on that later) but rather entertaining as I really liked Test at this point. He had the look, the power game and the athleticism to make himself something entertaining but after last year, there wasn’t anything else for him to do. This was as good as he was going to get and that’s not the worst place to be.

HHH sees Austin having a beer with Kaientai. Since there is no Austin after the break, HHH beats both of them up. Since they’re EVIL, does that make HHH a hero?

We look at Chyna injuring her neck in a match against Ivory at the Royal Rumble. That earned her a stretcher job and a ride in an ambulance. She currently has bone fragments in her neck, which have to be removed.

Hollys vs. Right To Censor

That would be the same Right To Censor (Goodfather/Bull Buchanan for the team here) who were very pleased with what happened to Chyna. The hometown Hollys have Molly with them to counter Steven Richards and Ivory. Crash gets taken into the wrong corner to start and the beating is on in a hurry. A powerslam takes him down again and Buchanan does his awesome rope walk clothesline (unfortunately that was the only thing he could do).

Some forearms are cut off by Goodfather’s elbow as King worries about Angle facing Kane tonight. The Ho train misses and it’s off to Hardcore for the house cleaning. The hanging kick between the legs (to the stomach of course) keeps Buchanan in trouble and Richards gets taken down. Buchanan is right back with a DDT on Hardcore but Ivory’s Women’s Title hits Buchanan by mistake, allowing Hardcore to get in the dropkick for the pin.

Rating: C-. See, now why is that so much to ask? The hometown guys get a win to make the fans happy and it’s a protected loss for the RTC as they have something going on. This is the kind of thing that can be done without ticking the fans off and it’s not like anyone outside of the live audience is going to remember this in a week.

HHH has been ordered to Vince’s office.

We recap the night, which seems a bit like filler.

HHH comes up to Vince, who didn’t send for him. They figure out that Austin is waiting in the office so Vince keeps talking as HHH looks behind those see thru screens that serve no purpose. Now given that they are see thru, Austin would be able to see HHH motioning for Vince to keep talking, but that’s beside the point, mainly because Austin followed them in. HHH accidentally hits Vince with a metal tray and Austin beats both of them up.

And now, here’s the same thing again.

WWF Title: Kurt Angle vs. Kane

Kane is challenging and Angle is scared to death. Before the match, Angle calls Kane out for his short title reign back in 1998. If Kane thinks he’s winning it back, his brain is more burned than his face. Angle insists that it is NOT a knock against burn victims, because he has a lot of fans who are burn victims! Angle’s belt shot misses (there have been a lot of those tonight) and the fight starts on the floor before the bell.

Kane throws him halfway inside for the bell and some elbows to the chest keep the champ in trouble. The threat of a chokeslam sends Angle to the ropes but we cut to the back to see Haku and Rikishi beating Undertaker down. Back in the arena, Kane doesn’t notice and hits a clothesline. Some suplexes just make Kane sit up a few times and a clothesline does the same. A backdrop sends Angle flying as he can’t do anything with the monster. Angle finally goes with a front facelock to slow him down but that doesn’t work either.

Instead Angle grabs a chair, which Kane kicks straight back into his face. There’s the side slam top drop Angle again and the top rope clothesline connects. Cue Haku and Rikishi though with the referee somehow not calling for the DQ. With the referee yelling at Rikishi, Haku chairs Kane twice and superkicks him down so Angle can retain.

Rating: C+. Not bad at all here and they even covered why Undertaker wasn’t out there. This was another protected loss and that’s the right move with someone as hot as Kane was coming off the Royal Rumble. Angle escapes with the title, which fits him perfectly, and the match was fine enough. It was well booked instead of being great, which is an acceptable way to go.

Post match Kane gets beaten down so here’s a beaten up Undertaker for the save. Another beatdown lets Rikishi and Haku stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. So why did this work so well? A lot of it would be how fast they kept things, which yes, does mean they kept the matches short. It’s ok to have a long match every now and then but when you’re having multiple fifteen minute matches every week, the fans aren’t going to keep paying attention. This show moved around very well and the big stories held it together. Of course the talent helped, but they kept thing flowing and that’s almost as important. Very fun show here and the followup should be good too.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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 23, 2019
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Sam Roberts

I’m officially no longer sure what to expect here as last week’s didn’t include anything from Smackdown and that makes the show a lot harder to understand. If the point of the show is to have highlights from the main two shows, having material from the main two shows could be advised. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tamina vs. Natalya

Renee says Tamina is a locker room leader. No wonder the company is in trouble. Natalya’s headlock doesn’t work very well to start as Tamina starts cranking on the arm. That earns her a beating in the corner and Tamina misses a charge into the post. The Sharpshooter isn’t happening yet as Tamina kicks her away and nails a clothesline. We’re already in the chinlock and the fans aren’t exactly pleased. A rollup gives Natalya two as watching Tamina isn’t the most entertaining thing in the world.

Sam talks about how Tamina doesn’t feel the need to talk about her last name all the time like Natalya does. True indeed. I can’t remember the last time Natalya didn’t bring up the Wilsons every chance she had. Natalya can’t slam her and a superkick cuts off the discus lariat for two. Not that it matters as Natalya is right back with the Sharpshooter for the tap at 5:47. Score one for the Wilsons!

Rating: D+. This wasn’t terrible actually, though watching Tamina made me feel depressed all over again. I’m really not sure what WWE sees in her, especially with the whole Jimmy Snuka being excommunicated thing. It could have been a lot worse, but Natalya can only carry Tamina so far.

We look at Brock Lesnar winning the Men’s Money in the Bank match.

From Smackdown (what a concept).

Here’s an excited New Day to announce that Big E. is back. Someone is brought out under a sheet and it’s….not E. Whoever it is is smaller that Xavier Woods and he is promptly thrown out. The real Big E. comes out and there’s a party ready for him in the ring, complete with blocks and a WELCOME BACK sign. Oh and lots of pancakes of course.

Big E. asks if he can smell the other two, with Woods saying that Big E. is medically cleared to sniff. Big E. brings up Becky Lynch’s mother but Woods cuts him off, though he does agree that she’s rather attractive. Kofi gets them back on track and talks about Brock Lesnar winning Money in the Bank and Kevin Owens losing on Sunday, which brings out Owens and Sami Zayn.

Sami talks about Big E. being gone for six weeks when he was gone for nine months. Big E. thinks they should get Sami something, with the team deciding on getting him nothing. Owens leaves and Sami rants about the fans being toxic, only to be cut off by the trombone. Sami promises to beat Kofi tonight, which Kofi says he’ll take seriously.

And from later on Smackdown.

Kofi Kingston vs. Sami Zayn

Non-title. Hang on though as Big E. has been attacked and says it was Owens. Kofi is aggressive to start and runs Sami over on the floor. Back in and Sami sends him over the top and then into the steps before giving himself some jumping applause. Kofi hits a dropkick for a breather and we take a break. We come back with Sami hitting a top rope superplex for two as we hear about Woods going with Big E. to a hospital. Sami misses a kick to the face but Trouble in Paradise misses as well. The second Trouble in Paradise connects for the pin at 8:14 to finish Zayn.

Rating: C. This had some big spots but they were packed into a short match. It’s still annoying to have Sami losing after cutting such great promos but I’ll take what I can get in a pretty action packed match. If nothing else, how bad of a sign is it that the former World Champion not losing is that big of a relief?

Post match here’s Paul Heyman with the briefcase to tease Kofi, saying it’s the perfect time. Cue DOLPH ZIGGLER from behind to attack Kofi, including wrapping a chair around his neck and sending him into the announcers’ table. Ziggler even Pillmanizes the neck and Kofi does a stretcher job….before getting up on the stage and limping off. So, again, how many people can’t get to TV or can’t get off the upper midcard treadmill as they bring in ZIGGLER for a likely World Title match?

We look at Bayley winning and cashing in Money in the Bank.

From Raw.

Here’s Mick Foley to debut the new title. He thinks there is something missing from Raw and it’s time to revisit those three letters: R-A-W. As the cover is falling off the new title, Foley says it takes a lot to be a champion in WWE (get with the times buddy). It’s something that you should sacrifice teeth and an ear for and fight 24/7 to achieve. The new title is the 24/7 Title, with a big 24/7 as the center plate.

This title can be defended anytime, anyplace, anywhere. The fans rightfully boo this out of the building and Foley seems a little shaken. You could get pinned going down the slide at Chuck E. Cheese or even in the shower, as long as there is a referee present. We are going to crown a new champion right here in the form of a scramble, with any every superstar from the Raw, Smackdown, 205 Live, NXT, NXT UK and maybe a legend being eligible to win the title. The title is laid in the ring and whomever retrieves it achieves it.

24/7 Title: Scramble

The lower card runs to the ring to get the title with Eric Young even making an appearance. We get the classic idea of fighting instead of running into the ring to get the title. Eric Young and Cedric Alexander get in the ring but get pulled out, allowing Anderson and Gallows to pick it up. That doesn’t count because it’s not one (But the Usos are one Wild Card entry?) so No Way Jose and EC3 break that up. Drake Maverick and Titus O’Neil go after it next with Titus throwing Maverick over the top and picking up the title to win at 2:37.

And then Robert Roode runs out and rolls Titus up on the ramp to win the title. Everyone gives chase, which I’m sure is what passes for entertainment around here.

Post break Roode hides as the mob runs the other way.

Roode runs for the parking lot and hides in R-Truth’s trunk. The mob comes up and Truth says he went that way. They run the other way and Truth gets Roode out of the trunk. Roode opens the door and finds…..a referee. Truth sends him into the side of the car and gets the pin and the title before driving off. At least Truth can bring some funny stuff to the title.

Super ShowDown rundown.

EC3 vs. Cedric Alexander

Yes this is getting a rematch. Cedric grabs a headlock and spins out of a wristlock counter. EC3’s headlock doesn’t work either as Cedric hits a dropkick for two so frustration can set in. One heck of a clothesline takes Cedric’s head off and we take a break. Back with Cedric fighting out of a chinlock and getting stomped down in the corner for his efforts.

An elbow to the face cuts off Cedric’s comeback attempt and EC3 gets one off a running flip neckbreaker. The front facelock goes on, followed by the EC3 Elbow, only to have Cedric get two off a small package. The springboard clothesline gives Alexander two but EC3 gets in his forward DDT for the same. Back up and Cedric grabs the Lumbar Check for the pin at 10:43.

Rating: D. This wasn’t working with EC3’s offense not being great in the first place and Cedric never feeling like he was in jeopardy. I’d still love to know what EC3 did to ruin his career in WWE as this is one of the most confusing removal of a wrestler’s legs that I can remember seeing in a long time. Bad match, though Cedric actually appearing on Raw would be nice.

And from Smackdown to wrap it up.

Roman Reigns vs. Elias

Shane is in Elias’ corner and handles his introduction. Reigns starts fast with the apron dropkick to rock Elias. Hang on though as he has to glare at Shane, allowing Elias to kick the rope for a low blow. A DDT gives Elias two and he sends Reigns shoulder first into the post. Back from a break with Reigns hitting the corner clotheslines but Shane breaks up the Superman Punch, allowing Elias to hit the jumping knee in the corner. An electric chair is broken up and Reigns hits a good right hand.

Another keeps Elias in trouble but he elbows out of a super Samoan drop. Now the electric chair into a powerbomb gives Elias two and it’s time for the slugout. The Superman Punch gets two with Shane putting Elias’ foot on the ropes. That earns Shane an apron dropkick but Elias sends Reigns into the post and then the steps. Back in and Elias drops a top rope elbow for two so Shane tells him to take off a buckle pad. The distraction lets Shane put the guitar in the corner but Reigns spears Elias for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C. This feels like an old NWA style angle where if Reigns wins he gets five minutes with the annoying manager, but the manager happens to be the final boss and the biggest threat to actually beat him. Shane was portrayed as the evil mastermind here but he’s the kind of evil mastermind who can win a big match as well. That’s quite the heel power for someone who can’t get through a five minute match without needing oxygen.

Post match Shane grabs the guitar but Reigns takes it away. Cue Drew McIntyre to Claymore Reigns to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. What does it say that the best part of Raw, as in the part that deserved to be presented twice, was a “match” where you ran in and literally picked up a belt to win the thing? That’s as good as they had this week? The Smackdown stuff was fine, but Smackdown was a much better show. WWE is crawling around in the dark right now and this show didn’t seem like there is any hope of finding a way out soon.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: Fite TV

It’s about time. Nearly nine months have passed since All In and that means it’s time to finally move forward. A lot of fans, myself included, have been wanting to see how Double Or Nothing goes as it could be the start of something that changes the future of wrestling. I’m not sure how things are going to go, but they have their work cut out for them. The talent is there though and that gives me some hope. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Casino Battle Royal

Earlier this week, the announcement came down that the winner of this will be competing for the World Title against the winner of Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega. Now that makes things a lot more interesting as the match suddenly goes from the get everyone on the card to a #1 contenders match. At the moment there are seventeen out of twenty one entrants named, meaning the big one at the end is going to be a major surprise.

I know the money move would be Jon Moxley, but I just don’t think it’s going to be him. He would be the big ace, but wouldn’t it make more sense to have him show up at the end of the show as the big surprise? I’ll go with someone who would serve both as a surprise and as someone with some star power and pick John Hennigan (probably Johnny Elite this time around). He’s a former Impact World Champion and has made a name for himself in recent months. It’s a safe bet and getting him back on the big stage would be a good way to start the show. Most of the rest of the field is immaterial, which is the case in most battle royals.

Pre-Show: Kip Sabian vs. Sammy Guevara

This is the first match where you might not have heard of the wrestlers and hopefully you’re in for a treat. Sabian is a British wrestler (and not to be confused with the one from CZW who occasionally wrestled in TNA as Sabian) who was on World of Sport (not everyone is perfect) and Guevara is one of the most easily hateable wrestlers in the world today. He’s obsessed with pushing his social media channels and will often stop his matches to plug them.

I’ll go with Guevara here as he’s one of the best heels going today and someone who could get over very well in a place like AEW. Let him get out there and annoy the crowd so much that they want to see him get beaten up. The most important thing AEW needs to do is build up some stars and Guevara is the kind of person who could be a nice name for them going forward.

Best Friends vs. Angelico/Jack Evans

You knew the Best Friends would be on here somewhere. I’m not their biggest fan as some of their bits seem to be old jokes that they’ve done before and if you weren’t there at first, you might not get what they’re doing. Their matches are usually pretty good though and they’re crazy popular with that big hug being one of the most over spots around today. It makes sense to have them here, even if I’m not wild on them.

And of course the Best Friends win here, as Evans and Angelico are a nice team but nowhere near as important as the Best Friends could be. With the promotion seemingly putting a priority on tag wrestling, having another team like the Best Friends built up is a smart move. The match should be entertaining too so hopefully this will be more positive than I’m expecting.

So Cal Uncensored vs. Strong Hearts

The Strong Hearts are Cima, T-Hawk and El Lindaman and are part of the Oriental Wrestling Entertainment contingent. These guys seem like the cruiserweights from the early days of Nitro and that’s not a bad group of people to have around. This place needs some talent that fans aren’t familiar with but need to go out of their way to see. If that’s the case with the OWE guys, so be it and maybe it can work.

I’ll go with the Strong Hearts to win here as there is little reason to have them lose. So Cal Uncensored are already a known group (well more known than the OWE group) and there is almost no reason to have them lose. Let them do their shtick and get the crowd going and then lose a hot match. It gets both sides over with the fans and hopefully the masses while showing that they can both go somewhere.

Aja Kong/Yuka Sakazaki/Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida/Riho Abe/Ryo Mizunami

This is another match designed to throw something different on the card, which makes sense as Japanese women’s wrestling is certainly a strong niche product. The stars can become big deals in a hurry, such as Asuka who took both NXT and WWE by storm in a hurry. Much like the OWE stars, this could work very well if done right and there’s a real chance it could happen here.

I’ll go with Kong’s team as Kong is a legend and the kind of star that the promotion would like to push for a one off appearance. This feels like an old vs. new match and at some point the old has to win something. If nothing else it gives us an excuse to see the spinning backfist from Kong, which is always worth a look. It’s going to be a fine showcase though, and that’s what matters most here.

Britt Baker vs. Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose

This is an interesting one as Rose is the first ever trans woman to be wrestling for a major company. Baker is best known for being the wrestling dentist and Adam Cole’s girlfriend. Rae on the other hand caught my attention over WrestleMania weekend and is basically the original Bayley combined with Dakota Kai. That can make for an interesting match as the women’s division starts up.

I’ll take Baker to win here but none of them are exactly running away with the thing. Rae is such a gimmicky character and Rose is an unknown, leaving Baker as the talented yet not exactly thrilling best option. It should be a fun match with a good look at some of the female wrestlers, though I’m not expecting to be blown away based on past experiences.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Cody

I know this one is getting some hype as of late and I’m really not sure why. They had a few matches back in WWE and none of them were anything more than ok at best. Maybe this one will be a little bit better as Rhodes doesn’t have the WWE shackles on him anymore, but I’m really not getting my hopes up for this one. It’s not a match that I care to see as the idea of battling brothers feels both cliched and forced.

I’ll go with Cody winning here as he’s the most important guy in the company and is going to be around a lot more than Rhodes going forward. At the end of the day, Rhodes is fifty years old and hasn’t wrestled in a little while due to an injury. Maybe the match will be fine, but Rhodes as himself hasn’t been an interesting thing to see in about twenty five years. I get what they’re going for here, but that’s not exactly something that is guaranteed to work.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs. Lucha Bros

The Bucks showed up Rey de Reyes and took the titles from the Bros the night the Bros won them. It gives the match something on the line since the AEW Tag Team Titles aren’t around yet, which is as good of an idea as anything else. This is all but guaranteed to be the show stealer as these are two of the best teams in the world, even though the Bucks have only wrestled twice this year and not in over two months.

We’ll flip a coin here and go with the Bros winning, though I could see this being a match that we see again for the AEW Tag Team Titles not that far down the line. These guys are going to tear the house down and that’s the kind of thing the show leaves. I believe I heard something about this headlining the show, which makes sense as it’s the only title match on the card. The place is going to be bananas for the Bucks in the first place and the Lucha Bros will be right there with them. It’s going to be awesome though and that’s what this place is built on.

Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho

So that leaves us with this one and I’m not sure where they’re going here. Omega won the first match between the two and in a normal wrestling promotion, you would go with Jericho winning here to even the score, but AEW doesn’t seem to be a normal wrestling promotion. That being said though, this is for the #1 contendership to the World Title and that makes things more interesting.

I’m going with Jericho, who seems to be the right choice to have in the World Title match. If the company is building towards the future and the masses, having someone beat Jericho for the title is the right way to go. Omega can become the star later on with his show stealing abilities, but until he becomes a bigger name, this should go to Jericho and I believe that it will.

Overall Thoughts

I was more excited for All In but this show is more important (I think). The company needs to get off on the right foot and now it’s going to be interesting to see where things go when they’re on their own. It’s also going to give you an indication of where things are going as the next show is taking place in about a month. They’re starting to do this regularly and the path has to start somewhere. That’s where we are on Saturday and I’m curious to see where things are going. Hopefully it’s in the right direction.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: May 21, 2019
Location: Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Aiden English, Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back stateside now and we’re past Money in the Bank, meaning it’s time to start finding the next challenger to the Cruiserweight Title as Tony Nese defeated Ariya Daivari. It’s time to find someone new and odds are we’re going to be slowly getting there over the next few weeks. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Nese retaining on Sunday.

Opening sequence.

Here are the Singh Brothers for a match but first, they declare it BOLLYWOOD TIME. Therefore, it’s NOT Lucha Time, partially because Lars Sullivan has destroyed the Lucha House Party twice in a row. Therefore, they’ll take the forfeit win. Instead here’s Drake Maverick to say we have some replacements.

Singh Brothers vs. Jack Gallagher/Humberto Carrillo

Sunil shoulders Carrillo down to start and let’s hit that dancing. Back up and Carrillo flips over Sunil and knocks him into the ropes. The springboard spinning headbutt from Carrillo gives Gallagher one and it’s time to work on the arm. Jack ties up Sunil’s arms and legs (Sumir: “THAT’S MY BROTHER!”) and sits on his back as the psychological games/comedy are in full swing.

Back up and a blind tag brings in Sumir so Carrillo can get double stomped in the corner. The chinlock goes on for a bit with Carrillo quickly fighting up, earning himself a dropkick. A reversed whip sends Sumir into the buckle and Gallagher comes in to clean house (Aiden: “Gallagher like a well dressed tiger!”).

The very delayed vertical suplex gets two on Sumir but another blind tag lets Sunil come back in. A double superkick gets two with Carrillo making the save as everything breaks down. Sunil’s spinwheel kick is good for two more but Gallagher escapes a double suplex and brings in Carrillo. A very quick Aztec Press finishes Sumir at 8:41.

Rating: C. This felt longer than it actually was and I’m not sure what that means. Gallagher and Carrillo as an oddball tag team could be fine, though I’m not sure what they’re supposed to do. That’s the problem with tag teams on this show: they just move on from one mini feud to another, which is fine enough but it gets a little repetitive without them being able to move up to anything else.

Mike and Maria Kanellis are ready for the fatal five way as a means to get on track after the No DQ match against Akira Tozawa. It’s time to prove that he is better than the best.

Oney Lorcan sees tonight as a way to prove he should get a Cruiserweight Title shot. He pauses so long that Vic starts hyping up the match before Lorcan keeps going.

Ariya Daivari calls Money in the Bank a fluke and doesn’t like being stuck in this five way to prove his greatness again.

Akira Tozawa vs. Oney Lorcan vs. Mike Kanellis vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Ariya Daivari

One fall to a finish and Maria is at ringside. Kanellis heads straight to the floor and it’s Lorcan vs. Daivari to start. They’re knocked to the floor and it’s the friendly showdown between Kendrick and Tozawa. Kanellis is right back in so Tozawa and Kendrick take out all three others in a row without much trouble. That gives us Kendrick vs. Tozawa, with the latter not shaking hands. Daivari and Kanellis come back in to break that up again though and the villains take over for a bit.

Lorcan gets back up and low bridges Kanellis to the floor before chopping away at Daivari. That’s fine with Daivari who takes him to the floor for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Tozawa hits the right hand to Daivari, who is fine enough to superkick a returning Lorcan. Kendrick is back with a Captain’s Hook on Daivari but has to flip out of Lorcan’s half and half suplex. That means the Captain’s Hook on Lorcan with Kanellis making the save this time, setting up a superkick for two on Lorcan.

Since people don’t stay down long in these matches, Lorcan pops up for a chop off with Kanellis. The spinebuster gives Kanellis two but Lorcan is right back up again with the half and half on Kendrick. A double Blockbuster takes down Daivari and Kanellis, followed by the running flip dive to drop them again. Tozawa adds a dive of his own and there’s the missile dropkick to Daivari back inside. The German suplex gives Tozawa two as everyone else comes back in.

Kanellis catches Kendrick on top and the Tower of Doom is launched with Kendrick getting the worst of it. Daivari nails the Persian Lion splash for two on Kendrick but Tozawa sends him outside. Tozawa grabs the Octopus Hold on Kanellis so Maria gets on the apron for some LOUD screaming. Daivari takes Kanellis’ place so Tozawa kicks him in the chest. The top rope backsplash is broken up and it’s a lot of spot calling until Tozawa can break up a superplex attempt.

Tozawa has to deal with Kanellis, who takes a German suplex on the apron (THUD). Daivari gets punched in the face and the top rope backsplash gives Tozawa two with Kendrick making the save. Kendrick offers an apology but gets into a slugout with Tozawa instead. Stereo crossbodies put both of them down until Kendrick can get up for a Sliced Bread. The parade of finishers is on with Daivari hitting a heck of a hammerlock lariat on Lorcan, only to have Tozawa roll him up for the pin at 16:33.

Rating: C+. This was firmly in the “two in, three out” system for a long time and that’s not the most thrilling thing in the world. Tozawa winning is the best option they had as he’s by far the most charismatic on the show and could give Nese a heck of a match (if not take the title). After that No DQ win a few weeks ago, this was the only real option they had.

A bunch of highlights wrap us up.

Overall Rating: B-. Tozawa is a breath of fresh air here and that’s the best thing that could happen on this show. Nese is someone who could become a player for the long term in WWE and a match against someone like Tozawa is only going to help that. They need some more help around here though and having most of the bigger names on the roster in the main event didn’t exactly prove to be the most positive showcase. Good show overall, but I’m not sure how bright their future is.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #58
Date: May 18, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jim Cornette

We have to be coming up to the end of this taping cycle already. The big story tonight is the other semifinal match in the National Title tournament, which isn’t the most interesting thing in the world so far. The good thing though is that the shows have enough going on that it keeps things moving. Let’s get to it.

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

Bocchini gives us a quick rundown of tonight’s show.

Opening sequence.

Earlier this week, Sami Callihan was in a Bobcat because he wants to wreck things. Mance Warner came up and said he understood things and offered him half of a light beer. They get in the Bobcat and head to the liquor store.

Earlier today, Salina de la Renta didn’t want to talk about Low Ki’s contract status.

Promociones Dorado vs. Mance Warner/Sami Callihan

Hijo de LA Park/Ricky Martinez for Dorado here. It’s a brawl to start (well duh) with Cornette not being sure what to do here as he likes Warner but hates Callihan. They fight by the barricade with Callihan hitting a beer can to the head. A lot of spitting ensues and Park stomps on Callihan’s chest. The weapons are brought in to little avail and Sami starts whipping people. This includes a whip to Warner by request, because Warner is a little nuts. Sami and Warner’s spitting high five allows Dorado to hit double superkicks.

Mance gets double teamed inside until a low blow slows Park down. And yes, now it’s time for an actual match! Dorado crotches Mance against the post as we’re firmly in the “DQ’s don’t matter here” portion of the show. Park gets two off a slingshot splash and we hit the hip swiveling. Warner hits a headbutt and falls onto Park’s crotch in the old Sting spot. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Callihan so house can be cleaned. A very quick Cactus Special finishes Martinez at 8:08.

Rating: C-. Warner and Callihan had to get a win at some point after losing or going to a draw so many times. I know LA Park has to be protected at all costs but you have to rebuild some challengers for the sake of facing him later on. Callihan and Warner can do that, but it doesn’t work if they don’t have something like this every now and then.

Post match the brawl is still on with Callihan going for Park’s mask. That’s broken up and they fight to the floor and then into the back. LA Park comes in to help out and Dorado stands tall (in a very small hallway).

Austin Aries, with his Avengers style logo, is coming.

We look at Avalanche’s dominance in Battle Riot II.

Daga vs. Minoru Tanaka

Tanaka’s GHC Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Feeling out process to start with Daga hitting a chop that seems to get Tanaka’s attention. Daga goes after the arm but Tanaka dropkicks him down and flips back to his feet. A cross armbreaker has Daga in trouble but he rolls out and gets most of a rear naked choke.

That’s broken up and Tanaka escapes a powerbomb attempt so Daga headscissors him to the floor. The required suicide dive hits Tanaka and a springboard corkscrew dive makes it worse. Back in and Tanaka rolls into a heel hook with some hard cranking until Daga makes the rope. Daga rolls outside and that means a middle rope moonsault from Tanaka.

They head in again with Daga’s knee being fine enough for a dropkick and low superkick for two, followed by an ankle lock. That’s broken up and Tanaka hits a hard kick to the chest to take over again. They forearm it out until Daga grabs a bridging German suplex for two more. Tanaka goes for the cross armbreaker again so Daga tries to roll out, which is reversed into a cradle to give Tanaka the pin at 10:19.

Rating: B-. This was a fun one with both guys working hard and showcasing themselves well. Tanaka is very smooth in the ring and Daga, while not someone I’ve liked in the past, has gotten a lot better in the last few months. Good match here and the kind of match that makes the Fusion concept make that much more sense.

The Von Erichs are coming.

MJF doesn’t want to hear about the Von Erich Dynasty because there is one dynasty in MLW and that is the Dynasty.

Fury Road Control Center, with announcements of Teddy Hart defending the Middleweight Title against Jimmy Havoc, Myron Reed vs. Gringo Loco and the National Title tournament final.

We look at Jacob Fatu beating Barrington Hughes last week.

Contra talks about their successes so far and promise more destruction.

Tom Lawlor isn’t worried about Contra because he’s ready to face everyone around the world. He’s ready for Avalanche next week.

We look back at Air Wolf defeating Fenix in a major upset. Air Wolf is up for a rematch but Fenix hasn’t said anything.

A fan poll says Davey Boy Smith would make a good challenger.

National Title Tournament Semifinals: Rich Swann vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

The winner gets Alexander Hammerstone for the title next week. Myron Reed is here with Swann while Pillman is here alone. Hang on though as we get a weapons check on Swann, who thinks the referee is biased against him. Swann finally agrees to get going so Pillman forearms away and grabs a powerslam for two with Reed pulling him off. A backdrop sends Swann into a 450 faceplant for another cover with Reed offering another distraction.

Swann finally gets in a superkick and a few forearms as things settle down. Pillman ducks a clothesline and dropkicks Reed through the ropes to take care of him, setting up a neck snap across the top rope. A high crossbody gives Pillman two and he hammers away in the corner until Reed trips him up. How this isn’t a DQ isn’t clear, as the “the bodies of the wrestlers blocked the referee’s view” explanation is quite the reach.

Swann throws him down by the head as we talk about the history of biased referees. A dragon sleeper doesn’t keep Pillman in trouble for very long so it’s a kick to the head into a DDT to give Swann two. Swann yells at the referee and gets shoved down for his efforts, allowing Pillman to roll Swann up for the fast counted pin at 6:44.

Rating: C-. This was almost all about the angle rather than the match and that’s not the worst thing in the world. Swann’s issues with the referee aren’t as important as the title and Pillman vs. the Dynasty so this was what mattered most. I’m sure Swann will be fine as his stuff is more than good enough while Pillman can move on to the title match next week.

Alex Hammerstone is cool with facing Pillman for the title because Pillman isn’t big. Pillman won’t be making his father proud at Fury Road.

Overall Rating: C. Fairly good show here though the very long taping cycle wrapping up couldn’t come sooner as still being in New York from Wrestlemania weekend makes the shows feel a little old. Hopefully the Fury Road special next week should be entertaining and a little pick up, though the shows are hardly terrible or even bad. I still don’t see the need for another title, but we’re way past the point of that being something that can be fixed in a hurry. Watchable enough show, but they still have a bit too much going on at once.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: Wrestle Square

Wrestle Square TV Episode 1
Date: May 13, 2019
Location: W Arena, India
Commentators: Unknown

So this is a promotion that got in touch with me and asked me to take a look at their show. I have no idea what to expect here but given how hard WWE and TNA have tried to break into India, it makes sense for some promotions to start up there. From what I can find, this promotion has been around since 2015 but this seems to be a new show. Let’s get to it.

As usual, I have no idea what to expect coming into this.

Opening sequence, featuring some decent graphics and highlights. I’ve certainly seen worse so we’re off to a nice start.

Promoter Vinayak Sodhi welcomes us to the show and thankfully there are subtitles as his accent is a bit hard to understand. He puts over the promotion and says he’s going on a business vacation to get some new projects ready. Some contracts are brought for his signature and he says to send them to the new General Manager. Three titles are on his desk and the camera gets a good look at them.

The titles are delivered via briefcase to another man at another desk. He opens the envelope with them and signs some papers, seemingly very pleased. The titles are admired and I’m guessing this is the new (unnamed) GM.

The unnamed man brings one of the titles into the arena (which doesn’t seem to have any fans) and introduces himself as RJ the Ring Master. He’s here to bring the action to India and that means people winning titles. One of those will be this Intercontinental Title and let the wrestling begin.

This brings out someone in sunglasses and a Jack Daniels shirt for a begrudging handshake with RJ. He introduces himself as Maxim Risky and apparently doesn’t think much of this place. Risky wrestled here two years ago and he beat up Middle Kingdom Wrestling Champion Black Mamba and Big Sam (hey I know those people), plus he superkicked the Great Angar, a big man, down. Risky is leader of the Curfew but he’s been out of action with a shoulder injury for two years.

That brings him to the title belt, which he promises to make prestigious. RJ….actually goes along with this and makes Risky the new champion. This brings out a masked man who yells at the camera in a speech I can’t understand. Risky and RJ don’t know who he is and the masked man asks how they don’t know. He is the hashtag vision of India, Indostar. Eh I’ve heard worse. He wants to know how Risky can be a champion without winning a match.

RJ agrees and the title match is made….but it’s not that simple. Indostar says that if Risky wins the match, he’s the champion. If Indostar wins though, the title will be decided in a tournament. That’s uh, rather noble of him and a little more complex than things need to be for a first ever match. This took some time but they got their point across.

Intercontinental Title: Indostar vs. Maxim Risky

The title is vacant coming in and only Risky can win it here. The unnamed announcers recap what just happened and their audio isn’t the best. Risky grabs a headlock takeover to start and a faceplant gets one. A slam gets two more but Indostar flips out of a snapmare and hits a dropkick. Indostar misses a moonsault and (after a rather quick camera cut) tweaks his knee to give Risky a target.

A sloppy rollup gives Indostar two, followed by another dropkick for the same as the knee seems fine. Some kicks in the corner have no effect and Risky throws him over the top without much trouble. They head outside and there are is almost no lighting whatsoever. Thankfully they head back to the apron where we can see things, including Risky breaking the count. The announcers (still need some names for them) aren’t happy with Risky being so arrogant so they’re certainly doing their job of painting him as the heel.

Back in and a backbreaker gives Risky two and a roundhouse kick to the head gets the same. Indostar gets two of his own off a sunset flip and a rollup gets an even closer two. Risky goes with another kick to the head, which has certainly worked well so far. The seemingly non-existent fans start an Indostar chant as one of the announcers wants to drink with Risky. Some corner splashes set up a big boot in the corner (Announcer: “That was a kick!”) for a delayed two.

Back up and Indostar hits a springboard elbow to the face, followed by a missile dropkick for another near fall. Something close to a Twist of Fate gives Risky two and it’s time to yell at the referee. With Indostar down in the corner and the referee checking on him, Risky raises Indostar’s leg to make him kick the referee low, which isn’t something you see every day. Another Twist of Fate gets no count (Announcer: “KARMA IS A B****!” Other announcer: “Karma is a girl?”) and it’s time for a chair. Indostar is up for a Van Daminator for a very delayed two as someone pulls the referee out for the DQ at 13:34.

Rating: C. Of course that’s on a sliding scale. The work wasn’t bad though there wasn’t much of a flow to the match and it took me a second to be sure if the ending was a pin or a DQ. Indostar is someone who could be a focal point of the show as he has a good look, albeit with some substandard work. Risky felt like a fine midcard heel, so this was a good way to introduce both guys. Not a great match, but it could have been much worse. And shorter too.

In the back, Risky and Skyler tell Indostar that he shouldn’t mess with Curfew. Skyler is ready to beat Shane the Insane because he breaks limits. That’s not the best threat in the world, though you can tell Skyler isn’t the most comfortable on the mic.

Skyler vs. Shane The Insane

Risky is here with Skyler. Shane has a large pectoral tattoo and some intense eyes. The lights go out for a second and we come back with Skyler uppercutting Shane to take over. A kick to the back gets two and putting on something close to Paige’s Scorpion Crosslock. We hit the chinlock with elbows to Shane’s chest, followed by a dragon sleeper as Skyler is certainly mixing things up.

Skyler’s running splash in the corner is countered into a side slam for two but Shane stops to yell at Risky. Shane chokes on the rope a bit and it’s time to trade strikes in the corner. Skyler legsweeps him down by the arm and it’s off to Tommaso Ciampa’s arm crank. That’s broken up and Skyler hits an atomic drop (called the Manhattan drop here as I guess they’re No Mercy fans) into the Sling Blade for two.

Not only do the announcers call that an AJ Styles move, but they declare Shane insane for kicking out. Shane is back up with an AA for two and a Sliced Bread (Salida Del Sol according to commentary) but Risky comes in for the DQ at 8:20. Ignore the referee having to stop his count because Risky was a bit late.

Rating: C+. I get that the Curfew is supposed to be the dominant force here, but that makes them 0-2 on the night. That’s not the best way to present them on the first show, but at least the match was more entertaining than the first. Skyler and Shane both looked more polished and experienced so the match was a lot more fun as a result. The shorter run time helped a bit too.

Post match the double beatdown is on until Indostar comes in for the save to send Curfew running. Hang on though as Shane beats Indostar down as well for an actual surprise. An unnamed wrestler, in a hat and face paint, comes in to take out Shane. The unnamed wrestler introduces himself as a member of the army named Major X and that he is here to show what honor and power are all about.

RJ is very happy with what happened and tells us to come back next week. Curfew comes in and says RJ wants them to be champion but Indostar keeps stopping them. Then you have Major X (Risky: “The guy with the dirty mask.”) interfering so now Risky wants another title shot. RJ won’t give him a rematch but he has something special planned for Curfew next week. A little yelling is enough for RJ to say that next week it’s Curfew vs. Indostar/Major X for the Tag Team Titles. Dude learn some patience.

Overall Rating: D+. Well….it could have been much worse. The best thing here is that they have some stories going and set up some characters, but it needs a lot more polish. The biggest problem with the show was that it felt long, with the show running about fifty minutes. The first match could have had a few minutes cut out and another story besides the Curfew stuff would have helped. What we got certainly wasn’t bad, but it feels like a show from people who aren’t the most sure with what they’re doing.

Now there is some good stuff here too, with wrestlers who look like they have an idea of what they’re doing in the ring, which is the best thing that you can have in a promotion like this. If your matches look like they’re just barely out of training school, you’re not going to exactly entice people to stay. So there’s passable action and some storytelling, but they need to slow down a bit and give us a little variety instead of throwing in so much of one story with two title matches in the first two shows. I’ve seen far worse though and there is definitely some stuff to grow off of, especially in a first show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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