Main Event
Date: April 22, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Byron Saxton

The Wrestlemania fallout continues and that means we are on the way to Wrestlemania Backlash because now we have something else called Wrestlemania. I’m not sure how much you can expect from this show, but you can almost guarantee who you are going to see doing it. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Mansoor vs. Akira Tozawa

Tozawa takes him down into a chinlock and then switches over to a headlock. That’s reversed into a cradle so they get back up and run the ropes, with Mansoor dropping down three times in a row. Tozawa eventually trips over him but is right back with a Shining Wizard for two. The backsplash gets the same and, with both of them sitting, they chop it out. It’s Tozawa getting the better of things and grabs a chinlock but Mansoor fights back up with a spinebuster. The DDT gives Mansoor two so Tozawa sends him to the apron, allowing Mansoor to come back with the slingshot neckbreaker for the pin at 5:33.

Rating: C. Just another Mansoor win here as the winning streak continues as we move towards another Saudi Arabia show. I’m not sure if it is going to be anything noteworthy in the end but Mansoor is having good enough matches against decent opponents. It would be nice if that meant something before they go overseas again, but I would be stunned if we saw that.

Quick look at Roman Reigns retaining at Wrestlemania.

From Smackdown.

Here is Roman Reigns, flanked by Jey Uso and Paul Heyman. After looking around for a bit, Reigns has Heyman explain the kind of competition he had to face. Heyman explains who Daniel Bryan and Edge are, allowing Reigns to talk about how no one is on his level. He has done everything he was asked to do and stacked up the competition to pin them both at once. With that out of the way, cut the check and fire up the jet. Reigns goes to leave but here’s Cesaro to interrupt, which gets Reigns’ attention. He leaves anyway as Cesaro stares him all the way to Wrestlemania: Backlash.

From Smackdown.

Cesaro vs. Jey Uso

Uso sends him into the ropes to start but Cesaro gets in a quick slam to take over. Cesaro takes him to the apron and goes after Cesaro’s hand but gets knocked to the floor. The dive off of the apron drops Uso and we take a break. We come back with Uso work working on the arm to try and keep Cesaro down. Uso goes up but gets caught with a dropkick.

A gutwrench superplex gives Cesaro two and he cartwheels out of an armdrag. Cesaro nails a springboard uppercut and McAfee is rather impressed. Uso is back with a pop up neckbreaker for two but Cesaro nails a discus lariat. The Swing goes on but here is Seth Rollins to jump Cesaro for the DQ at 11:10.

Rating: C+. Good enough while it lasted but they telegraphed the ending the entire night with the UFO clip. That isn’t a terrible thing, but it also didn’t give us the most drama. Cesaro is looking primed for a one off shot against Reigns, but it also might be better to have him beat Rollins again first. Reigns isn’t going to lose to Cesaro, so building him up a bit more first is a good way to make Wrestlemania not seem like a fluke.

Post match Rollins lays him out and shouts that Cesaro got lucky. The sooner Cesaro figures that out, the better it is for him.

Quick look at Drew McIntyre winning a triple threat to become the new #1 contender to Bobby Lashley but getting laid out by Mace and T-Bar.

From Raw.

Here is Drew McIntyre to get things going. We get a recap of him winning a triple threat match last week to become #1 contender to Bobby Lashley. After the win, he was attacked by Mace and T-Bar, with MVP looking on in approval. With the recap of last week out of the way, McIntyre recaps last week. McIntyre gets to Mace and T-Bar, but he doesn’t believe that they are the masterminds here. That would be MVP, which has McIntyre wondering if Mace and T-Bar are going to start wearing those nice suits.

Cue MVP, who implies he didn’t know anything about it, causing Drew to mock him for suggesting he didn’t know anything about it. MVP says Lashley is expecting McIntyre to be a worthy challenger at Wrestlemania Backlash. As for Mace and T-Bar, Lashley recently decided to downsize the Hurt Business, so why would he need those two after he already beat McIntyre at Wrestlemania? Mace and T-Bar have ZERO affiliation with the Hurt Business. McIntyre doesn’t seem to buy it but here are Mace and T-Bar to jump him again. The double sitout chokeslam drops McIntyre and the two walk past MVP, who doesn’t really respond.

From Raw.

Drew McIntyre vs. Mace/T-Bar

No partner for McIntyre, who charges at T-Bar and hammers away to start. A kick to the face sets up a battle over a suplex with McIntyre pulling it off for two. MVP is watching in the back as Mace comes in to unload on McIntyre in the corner. Some running knees put McIntyre down and we hit the chinlock….and go to a wide shot to show off the Thunderdome for some reason (ala Vince McMahon in the mid 90s pay per views). Mace suplexes him for two but McIntyre hits T-Bar with a spinebuster for two. The Glasgow Kiss slows T-Bar down but Mace’s distraction lets the double teaming begin. The referee throws it out at 5:57.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to go very far but at least Mace and T-Bar didn’t get pinned right out of the box. It isn’t a win, but they lost because they were beating McIntyre up instead of a result of the opposite. I’m still curious about where this goes, though I have next to no confidence in it going anywhere positive for them in the long term.

Immediately after the bell, here’s Braun Strowman to clear off not Retribution. Load up the tag match.

Braun Strowman/Drew McIntyre vs. T-Bar/Mace

Yeah you knew it was coming as soon as the music hit. Strowman powers out of a headlock to start and then runs Mace over with a shoulder. Drew certainly likes that and Braun forearms Mace down. T-Bar comes in and is pounded down into the corner as well. A Mace distraction lets T-Bar get in a chop block though and we hit the reverse chinlock.

T-Bar knees him in the back and grabs another chinlock but Strowman backdrops his way to freedom. The hot tag brings in McIntyre to pick up the pace, including an overhead belly to belly to Mace. There’s a jumping neckbreaker into McIntyre’s nip up….and there goes Mace’s mask. Commentary doesn’t seem to recognize him as a former member of their family, even as McIntyre hits him with the mask for the DQ at 5:24.

Rating: C-. Just a tag match here but losing the mask might get rid of a little bit of the Retribution stigma. Again, this is better than the team getting pinned, though it still isn’t exactly the best way to make them seem like big stars either. They went with another tag formula match here and that was fine, though it would be nice to see Mace and T-Bar pin someone. Like, ever.

Post match Strowman rips off T-Bar’s mask and knocks him outside as well. The start of non Retribution’s theme sounds like Neville’s NXT music.

Stills of Bianca Belair winning the Smackdown Women’s Title at Wrestlemania.

From Smackdown.

Here are the Street Profits to take part in Bianca Belair’s championship celebration. Back from a break with the Profits talking about how Wrestlemania was a night to remember but there was one match that stood out about the others. We get a video on Belair beating Sasha Banks to win the SmackDown Women’s Title, including the media attention that followed. Montez Ford talks about how special that was and brings out Belair to for the big presentation as champion.

Belair takes her time soaking in a loud EST chant and says she can’t believe she got here. If you told her she would be here with this title….well she probably would have said yes, because that is who she is. You should never apologize for being the b-e-s-t because if you can dream it, you can do it. Then there is Sasha Banks, who pushed her like no one ever has and both of them made history. They both did, but Belair is the champ. The title is for everyone who believed in her and they are just getting started creating history. They all hug but Belair tells Ford to get back to business, because it’s time to get some more gold.

Lince Dorado vs. Drew Gulak

Gran Metalik is here with Lince. They go to the mat to start and get nowhere so let’s have a standoff instead. Gulak takes him down by the leg and grabs a hammerlock. That’s broken up so Gulak takes him down into a chinlock instead. Dorado is back up again and snaps off a running hurricanrana so Gulak plants him with a side slam.

We take a break and come back with commentary explaining that there is a wager on the match: if Gulak wins, he gets $1000 but if he loses, he has to wash the House Party’s laundry. I’m not sure if I should be more amazed by there being an actual angle or by commentary forgetting to mention that until a few minutes into the match.

Anyway, Gulak hits a sitout powerbomb for two and we’re back in the chinlock. Dorado fights up and gets two off a backslide, followed by a Lionsault press for two more. There’s a faceplant for the third two in a row but Gulak electric chair faceplants him into something like an STF. With that broken up, Dorado hits a superkick into the shooting star press for the pin at 10:46.

Rating: C+. Good stuff here, which shouldn’t be surprising. Ignoring the match though, while it was a low level idea, just having SOMETHING on this match made it feel more important. I can’t imagine this took more than ten seconds to put together and if they throw in a quick vignette or promo to pay it off next week, great. I can’t imagine it is that hard to ask the wrestlers to come up with some idea like this one and it at least made the match feel a tiny bit important. No it probably won’t last but I’ll take it.

We recap Charlotte’s return, followed by her costing Asuka a title shot against Rhea Ripley.

From Raw.

Here is Charlotte for a chat. She is tired of the lack of respect from the women’s locker room. Wrestlemania was taken away from her and that just wasn’t fair. She can beat Asuka and Rhea Ripley on the same night, so tonight Asuka is getting taken out as Ripley sees what Charlotte can do.

Cue Asuka and Ripley, with the latter being willing to take Charlotte up on her offer, even though Asuka is beating her tonight. Asuka goes to say something but Charlotte cuts her off and condescendingly reminds her of the Wrestlemania match. Asuka promises to beat her tonight, “b****”. I would pay a good bit of money to come up with any new way to present Charlotte other than the “I’m better than all of you” heel.

And From Raw.

Asuka vs. Charlotte

Rhea Ripley comes out to watch as Charlotte grabs a headlock. They fall out to the floor in a heap though and it’s off to an early break. Back with Charlotte hammering away but Asuka scores with a knee to the face. A Shining Wizard (leg kick according to Virk, as the completely understandable learning curve continues) drops Charlotte but what looked like a Codebreaker completely misses. Thankfully commentary doesn’t try to hide it as they slug it out from their knees.

Charlotte is up with a spear for two and then heads to the apron. Asuka’s kick to the ribs is blocked and Charlotte wrenches on the knee as long as she can. Back in and the Asuka Lock sends Charlotte to the ropes so she takes Asuka’s bad leg out again. The Figure Eight goes on but Ripley breaks it up, meaning the fight is on. Asuka kicks Charlotte in the arm and crucifixes her for the pin at 9:16, though Charlotte’s shoulder was a bit off the mat.

Rating: C+. I know Charlotte loses here and it seems to set up Asuka vs. Ripley II, but come on. You know Charlotte is getting in that title match because that is what Charlotte does almost every single time. It’s going to happen no matter what and it wouldn’t shock me to see her win the title again. I would certainly hope not, but it isn’t like it would be unprecedented.

Post match Charlotte yells at the referee and beats him down, even continuing as other referees come out to yell at her.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the original stuff more than usual (because it had a little bonus for the first time in….well years) but the rest of the show just brought up how dull Raw has been. The big Charlotte features at the end were hard to watch and the only saving grace is that it isn’t Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke vs. Nia Jax. Reigns and Cesaro could be interesting though and that alone puts Smackdown above Raw. It’s a bad time in WWE right now, and given that Wrestlemania was less than two weeks ago, that should be rather scary.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT UK
Date: April 29, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

It’s time for a cool but also odd match as Meiko Satomura will be facing Aoife Valkyrie. That could go in a few different directions but it is a great test for the so far impressive Valkyrie. Other than that, we could be a long way off from the next main event story around here, but you never know with NXT UK. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Rohan Raja vs. Teoman

This is Raja’s, who previously wrestled as Gursinder Singh in Impact Wrestling, debut. Raja takes him down to the mat to start so Teoman is straight over to the rope. Back up and Teoman starts cranking on the arm but a neckbreaker gets Raja out of trouble. There’s a slap to Teoman’s face so he elbows Raja down and kicks him in the face.

The neck crank doesn’t last long and Raja is back up with more shots to the face. Teoman dropkicks the leg out though and a quick DDT sets up the Crossface. They roll back into the middle and Teoman cranks on it even harder, eventually snapping Raja’s arm. That’s enough for the referee to stop it at 6:03.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have the time to go very far but it did a good job of making Teoman look like a bigger danger. Raja was built up a bit to make him seem like someone worth beating, which is better than having Teoman in there beating up a jobber. I’m curious to see more of Teoman, who has a long way to go but this helped him a bit.

Post match we see the replay and you can hear the snap when Teoman cranks back on the Crossface.

Video on Flash Morgan Webster, Mark Andrews and Dani Luna, all of whom enjoy skateboarding and being around graffiti. Their new name seems to be Subculture, though I’m not sure they need their own name.

Dave Mastiff interrupts an Ilja Dragunov promo and a match seems to have been made.

Sid Scala brings out Kay Lee Ray for a chat. Ray wants a better introduction than that, because she has beaten everyone Scala and Johnny Saint has thrown at her. Scala agrees, so it is time to have a gauntlet match for the #1 contendership. That will include Jinny, Isla Dawn, Xia Brookside, Dani Luna and Emilia McKenzie. Ray says it doesn’t matter because none of them are beating her. This was less than three minutes. If it had been on Raw, it would be pushing fifteen.

Video on Pretty Deadly making media appearances as champions.

A-Kid is ready to defend the Heritage Cup against Tyler Bate in their rubber match in three weeks.

Levi Muir vs. Sha Samuels

Muir actually shoves him away to start and a crossbody cuts Samuels off again. Samuels isn’t having this and runs him over, setting up some arm cranking. The Butcher’s Hook is broken up and Muir makes the clothesline comeback. A torture rack is loaded up so Samuels rakes the eyes to escape, setting up a spinebuster to finish Muir at 3:58.

Rating: C. Muir got in a lot more than I was expecting here and that was nice to see for a change. Samuels winning is a good way to get he and Dar back on track but it was a surprising change to have him actually break a sweat her for a change. It wasn’t competitive, but it was entertaining in the short form.

Trent Seven says he is a founding father around here but Sam Gradwell pops up to say they signed on the same day. So why is Gradwell not as revered around here? Seven isn’t on Gradwell’s level.

Meiko Satomura vs. Aoife Valkyrie

Valkyrie is undefeated and bows to Satomura to start. The lockup sees Satomura driven into the ropes so she grabs a headlock and they roll around on the mat a bit. Satomura works on the arm but Valkyrie pulls her into a rollup for two. This time it’s Valkyrie working on the arm but getting sent into the corner for a running elbow. Valkyrie is back up with an enziguri to the floor, setting up a quick dive. Back in and Valkyrie slaps on a full nelson with her legs but Satomura slips out and starts kicking at the leg.

A reverse Figure Four sends Valkyrie very slowly to the ropes so Satomura kicks her in the head. Back up and Valkyrie nails another enziguri, followed by a sunset bomb for two. Satomura suplexes the heck out of her for another two but the Scorpion Kick is countered into a kick to the face. The moonsault gives Valkyrie two but Satomura is back up with a DDT. A running moonsault knee to the back rocks Valkyrie again and Scorpion Rising finishes Valkyrie at 10:37.

Rating: B. I’m not sure if Valkyrie should have been losing here but it was a heck of a match as Satomura continues to get the best out of people. Valkyrie is someone who has been built up well and if she isn’t going to win or even for the title, feeding her to Satomura for the first big win is not a bad idea. It isn’t like losing to someone built up as the best ever is going to hurt her, so this was more a delay than anything else, assuming there are plans for Valkyrie.

Video on Kenny Williams vs. Amir Jordan before their Loser Leaves Town match last week.

Symbiosis vs. Gallus

Symbiosis would be Eddie Dennis/Primate/Tyson T-Bone. Dennis bails away from the idea of having to fight Joe Coffey so it’s off to Primate. Joe is taken into the corner and the alternating beatdown is on, including a few shots from Dennis. An elbow to the face cuts him off though and Wolfgang comes in to work on the arm a bit. T-Bone tags himself in though and drives shoulders into Joe’s ribs in the corner and Primate adds a springboard ax handle.

The rapid fire stomping is on and it’s back to Dennis for a boot to the face. Joe manages to kick Primate and T-Bone down but Dennis is back in to cut him off. The Severn Bridge is escaped and Joe grabs a neckbreaker for a double knockdown. Wolfgang comes in off the hot tag and it’s time to clean house.

T-Bone manages a fall away slam so it’s Mark Coffey coming in to wreck a lot of people. Primate escapes a chokeslam and clotheslines Mark in the back of the head, allowing Dennis to grab a lifting Downward Spiral and spin him into a slam. Everything breaks down and Wolfgang spears T-Bone to the floor, leaving Joe to hit All The Best For The Bells to pin Primate at 9:27.

Rating: C+. Nice job of getting Gallus back here, though having Symbiosis being called Symbiosis and then losing was a little weird. Either way, I’m not sure I can imagine them being as big of a deal as Gallus so putting them over to build them back up makes more sense. It helps that Gallus is a good trio, with Joe becoming one of the most reliable people around here.

Overall Rating: B-. Good grief this show is fun and easy to watch. When you consider what Raw puts us through every week, this is absolutely awesome by comparison and I had an easy time sitting through the hour plus show. The women’s match was very good and then the main event gives Gallus a nice boost back up. Another nearly great show, which is taking place more and more around here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: April 21, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Now we have a special event as it’s the 500^th episode. That means we have a major card, as it’s a double main event of Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Briscoe, plus Jay Lethal challenging Jonathan Gresham for the Pure Wrestling Title. In theory there is almost no way this show won’t work. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a pretty cool montage of the history of the TV show. I know it might not have the best history but there have been some huge stars on this show over the years.

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and thanking us for being with them for so long. We run down the card, as picked by the fans.

Jay Lethal can’t believe he is here and is happy with the fans choosing his team with Jonathan Gresham face off. Lethal loves facing Gresham but then again, Gresham has almost broken his arm. Tonight, it would be disrespectful to not bring everything he had here. No matter what, the Foundation stays strong.

Gresham praises Lethal for everything he has done so far and knows what the World Title means around here. Well now the Pure Title might mean a bit more, because it means you are the best wrestler in the world. Tonight, it is time to see who really is the best in the world and Gresham is ready.

Pure Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Jay Lethal

Gresham is defending and the two of them, plus the rest of the Foundation, come out together. Feeling out process to start with Lethal taking him down by the leg. With that broken up, Lethal goes with a test of strength to take Gresham to the mat, only to be kicked away for a standoff. Back up and they go with some grappling with Gresham headlocking him down four or five times in a row. Lethal tries to roll away and has to avoid a running kick to the arm as we take a break.

We come back with Lethal working on the arm, including driving a knee into the arm to soften it up a good bit. Gresham takes him down for a change and kicks at the arm, meaning the hammerlock goes on. Back up and they hit stereo shoulders, meaning they’re both in pain again. Gresham gets in another armbar and cranks back on the hand before switching into a cradle for two. Lethal manages a quick cutter for two more, with a rope break being used to get him out.

We take another break and come back with Lethal grabbing a Boston grab to make Gresham use another rope break. With that broken up, Lethal slaps on a Crossface into the Rings of Saturn so Gresham uses his final break for the escape. Back up and Gresham grabs a headscissors so Lethal tries to kick out….but Gresham cradles him to retain at 16:38.

Rating: B. Yeah this was what you would have expected from these guys and that is the kind of match that you should have seen on this show. I wasn’t sure who was winning until the finish and that is a nice feeling to have. Gresham has turned into an absolute beast and it is going to take something special to take the title from him. Heck of a match here on a special show.

Respect is shown post match and the Foundation is strong.

We look at the main event of the first show.

Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe

They take turns driving each other into the corner to start as commentary talks about the people who helped get us here. The pace picks up a bit with Mark snapping off a hurricanrana and it’s an early standoff. Jay takes him down into a front facelock which lasts all of three seconds. A chop puts Mark on the floor and Jay dives onto him as we take a break.

Back with Mark hitting a running dropkick through the ropes, setting up a Cactus Elbow off the apron. Mark suplexes him on the floor and grabs a Michinoku Driver for two back inside. Jey slugs away but walks into a high collar suplex to put him down again. They head to the apron with Mark knocking him to the floor, setting up a running neckbreaker (Mark: “NIGHT B****!”). They throw a chair in so Jay can hit a Death Valley Driver onto the chair, followed by a neckbreaker for two.

We take another break and come back with Mark hitting his own Death Valley Driver into the Froggy Bow for another near fall. Back up and the Jay Driller gets two so Jay (wisely) hits a second but the mostly done Mark rolls outside. They fight over a table with Mark putting Jay onto it and the elbow drives him through the wood. Mark is the only one to beat the count and win at 15:14.

Rating: B. Another match with two people beating each other up and having a good match as a result. These two know each other as well as anyone and it feels like one of the bigger matches you could get around here. That’s the kind of match that this show needs and the countout keeps Jay from taking another loss, though I could go with seeing Mark beat him for a change.

We get a quick graphic thanking the fans and the people who have been involved for 500 shows. That’s very nice.

Overall Rating: A-. This was really good with a pair of awesome matches and a feeling of celebration for making it this far. I haven’t been around for the show’s entire run but Ring of Honor has turned into a rather nice weekly show with a pretty deep history. It might not be the highest level these days, but when you have everything going so nuts everywhere else, it’s nice to have a much more down to earth show like this one.

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More On WWE’s Backstage Shakeup, Including Huge Promotion.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwes-backstage-shakeup-including-huge-promotion/

WWE Drops Major Hints About Top Stars Of Every Show.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-drops-major-hints-top-stars-every-show/

Mickie James Opens Up On WWE Release, Trash Bag, More.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/mickie-james-opens-wwe-release-trash-bag/

Released WWE Star Set For Huge Independent Match.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/released-wwe-star-set-huge-independent-match/

VIDEO: Wild Return Takes Place On AEW Dynamite (A Bus Is Included).

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-wild-return-takes-place-aew-dynamite-bus-included/

SmackDown Star Vents On Recent WWE Releases.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/smackdown-star-vents-recent-wwe-releases/

THIS From Monday Night Raw Had Never Happened Before.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/thing-monday-night-raw-never-happened/

Major Update On WWE Bringing Back Fans, Already Making Plans.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/major-update-wwe-bringing-back-fans-already-making-plans/

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 27, 2006
Location: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re done with Survivor Series and we’ll close out November on Raw with this one. There weren’t many changes coming out of last night for the red show as the good guys dominated the elimination tags. The most significant change might be Mickie James defeating the retiring Lita to win the Women’s Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Ric Flair to get things going (with JR saying he went 2-0 last night, which I don’t quite get). Flair talks about how he shouldn’t be out here, as even though he won, he got beaten up by a bunch of male cheerleaders. This is ending tonight, so Flair has challenged the Spirit Squad to come face him right now, because he has partners with him. Before we find out who they might be, here is the Spirit Squad to call him the Nature Toy and mock Flair’s robe. Well in theory at least as they spent a good bit of the cheer adjusting the microphone. Cue Flair’s partners and we have a handicap match.

D-Generation X/Ric Flair vs. Spirit Squad

Before the match, HHH says he’s not ready because he’s sick of the Spirit Squad. If the Squad loses tonight, HHH promises that they’re gone. The Squad is cleared out to start so HHH stomps on Mikey in the corner, setting up a running clothesline. Flair comes in for the backdrop and, after very little from Shawn, it’s back to Flair for a shoulder. Kenny gets in a cheap shot from the apron and everything breaks down to far less of a reaction than you might have expected.

The Squad is cleared out again and Shawn adds the flip dive to take them down again. A triple strut takes us to a break and we come back with Shawn belly to back suplexing Johnny but Nicky comes in to cut off a tag attempt. Kenny slams Shawn and hits some clotheslines before talking a lot of trash. Mitch’s suplex gives Kenny two but Mikey’s splash off of Kenny’s shoulders from the middle rope only hits mat. HHH comes in and starts cleaning house as everything breaks down. Triple Figure Fours finish the Squad off.

Rating: D+. This is about as fitting of a loss as you could have had for the Squad as they were dismantled with DX and Flair never even breaking a serious sweat. The team has been little more than a bunch of goons since their debut, even including their Tag Team Title reign. Not a terrible match, but it was the same beatdown of the team that we’ve seen time after time.

The Hardys are back together tonight and getting a Tag Team Title shot against Rated-RKO so here are some home movies of them wrestling as kids.

During a break, HHH grabbed the sledgehammer and chased the Spirit Squad to the back.

Post break, DX throws most of the Spirit Squad into a crate and slapped a “DESTINATION: OVW, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY” on the side. They’re also shipping it OPS because the other guys are too expensive. Just make sure it gets there in the next 3-4 weeks and there is no point in insuring it because the content isn’t worth a thing. Shawn signs for the delivery as Mr. McMahon.

Mock tears are shed, though I mainly feel bad for the Squad. They put in the effort and became stars in OVW but they were saddled with this dead end gimmick. That’s on the company/creative instead of the wrestlers, but other than Nicky, none of them were ever able to become stars on their own. It’s also why Jim Cornette didn’t forgive WWE for how they treated OVW for several years and in this case, I can’t blame him. Why bother with developmental if this is what you’re going to do with them?

The Hardys have issued an open challenge for December To Dismember so MNM has reunited and accepted. That could be good, though it is only the second match set for the card.

Battle Royal

Victoria, Maria, Melina, Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson

The winner gets a shot at Mickie James, on commentary. Most of them get their own entrance and Mickie is almost stunned at how close Melina is at falling out of her top. We start with the awkward brawling until Victoria clotheslines Torrie and Candice down. Mickie talks about how she would love to face any of them as Victoria turns on Melina and tosses her out. As Lawler talks about how he would like to have Maria’s legs wrapped around him, Victoria dumps Torrie and then Maria. Victoria survives a Candice elimination attempt and then knees her hard in the face for the win and the title shot. This was Victoria dominating throughout.

Post match we get the staredown so Victoria gives Candice a Widow’s Peak for the proverbial message.

We see the Hardys’ debut on the September 27, 1998 Sunday Night Heat. That’s not exactly their debut in the company, but it was their first match where they were treated as a team that mattered.

Eugene vs. Jim Duggan

JR and King reference a recap before the match that is nowhere to be seen. Eugene hides behind the referee and then slaps Duggan in the face, earning himself some right hands. Duggan returns the slap and starts the USA chant so Eugene bails to the floor. That makes Duggan reach out for him and gets sent head first into the post for his efforts. A neckbreaker gives Eugene the pin.

Post match Eugene demands that we don’t make fun of him because he’s special. Egads this is going to be a rough one.

DX comes up to Dusty Rhodes and Arn Anderson in the back. Dusty knows they don’t respect anyone but what they did for Flair was cool. Shawn says there is a big party planned for Flair tonight, complete with ginger ale, soda, chips, dip and, as a surprise, A KARAOKE MACHINE! DX leaves but HHH comes back to promise the two of them “booze and broads”. Ron Simmons comes in and they’re off to the party.

This Week In Wrestling History: the Test and Stephanie McMahon wedding, which really was kind of awesome. Completely insane and doesn’t quite make sense, but awesome.

Here is Edge for the Cutting Edge. He congratulates DX on beating the Spirit Squad for the millionth time, but it pales in comparison to the amount of times he has beaten up the Hardy Boyz. Tonight he’s doing it again and dedicating it to Lita, the greatest Women’s Champion of all time. For now though, let’s bring out his special guest….and no one is here.

Edge complains a lot so here is Randy Orton next to the stage. He wants Edge to come up here and confirm the guest so Edge heads up to the stage….and drags out a very bloody Ric Flair. Edge says DX should be here making a save but they’re too scared to do anything. Therefore, here’s a pair of Conchairtos to destroy Flair again. There is a long DVD set of times where Flair was taken out just like this.

Kane does things in See No Evil, on DVD this week.

Flair was taken out on a stretcher during the break.

Jerry Lawler vs. Chris Masters

Can’t grieve over Flair for…well about five minutes I guess. Masters takes him down to start as we get what sounds like a chant about being off steroids. A bearhug has Lawler in trouble so he bites the nose to escape. There’s a dropkick into three straight middle rope fist drops (and you thought Flair had it rough). Somehow Masters survives and drops Lawler with a right hand, setting up a suplex. Lawler is back up with the jabs to the face but the Masterlock goes on. Cue Carlito though and the apple being spat in the eyes lets Lawler grab a rollup for the pin.

Rating: D. I’m not sure where to start here, which is not something I would have bet on after a four minute Lawler vs. Masters match. So not only does Lawler survive in the Masterlock without a minute (and doesn’t even go off his feet) but the referee just sits there while Carlito spits apple in Masters’ face? This was a total mess and that shouldn’t be the case in such a simple match.

More Classic Hardys: the first ladder match against Edge and Christian. Yeah that qualifies.

Here are Umaga and Armando Alejandro Estrada for a chat. We see a clip of Umaga’s dominate at Survivor Series, followed by Estrada talking about everyone Umaga has beaten. Therefore, it is time for Umaga to become the new WWE Champion. Estrada puts John Cena on notice so here is Cena in person. The challenge is accepted and the long form staredown is on until Umaga bails.

JR and King show us a clip parodying the Michael Richards stand up incident (Richards was doing a comedy set and went into a crazed racist rant, shouting a variety of N words). Then Cryme Tyme shows up and steals his wallet and does their own joke. This was even dumber than it sounds.

Edge comes up to Jeff Hardy to tell him how much Matt Hardy is dragging him down. Jeff says the only thing that is going to be dragging him down is all the gold. Randy Orton and Matt come up for the staredown.

Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Rated-RKO

Rated-RKO is defending. Matt works on Orton’s arm to start before handing it off to Jeff. That works better with Orton, who forearms him in the back and brings in Edge. Stomping ensues but a double backdrop is countered into a double DDT. The hot tag brings in Matt but Orton catches him on top. Matt knocks him down but misses the moonsault, allowing Edge to hit the spear for two as we take a break.

Back with Edge holding a rear naked choke, followed by a flapjack for another near fall. Matt slugs his way to near freedom until a drop toehold pulls him down. Orton drops a knee and we hit the chinlock with a bodyscissors. Matt knocks Edge down again but Orton cuts off another tag attempt.

A belly to back suplex doesn’t work though as Matt flips out and dives over for the hot tag to Jeff. Everything breaks down and a Whisper in the Wind sets up a double Side Effect for two on Orton. The Twist of Fate sets up the Swanton but Edge comes in with the belt for the lame DQ.

Rating: C+. The ending hurt it a good bit but what we got worked out well enough. The Hardys vs. Edge/anyone feels like an important match and it helps that both teams can do their thing rather well. We got a good match here and while I could have gone for a better ending, they didn’t have much of a choice here as you don’t want the Hardys losing or a title change. At least it felt big.

The big beatdown leaves the Hardys laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The main event helped a bit but the rest of the show was pretty awful. Flair getting taken out worked but you had a bunch of stuff here that felt like little more than filler. You had a five person battle royal, a Jim Duggan match and a Michael Richards parody. If that’s the best that they have at the moment, we could be in for a very long end of the year.

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Dynamite
Date: April 28, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It is the go home show for Blood & Guts but we also have Double Or Nothing coming up in just over a month. That show certainly could use some build, or at least some matches announced, and there is a good chance we get at least one match announced here. You can probably guess a few of them, but the actual announcements would be a good idea. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page vs. Brian Cage

Page, who apparently got jumped by a high schooler, gets jumped by Cage here. The rest of Team Taz comes in for the beatdown and the Dark Order is here for the save. Page is ready for the match anyway so Cage drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. A toss over the top sends Page crashing onto the concrete, followed by a belly to back drop onto the apron.

Back in and Cage does the curls into the standing fall away slam, followed by the standing moonsault onto knees. Cage is fine enough to hit the apron superplex for two and they head back inside. Page manages to post him but Cage is right back with a powerbomb into a buckle bomb into the Drill Claw for the pin at 5:48.

Rating: C. Well that was surprising. It isn’t a clean loss so it isn’t like this crushes Page’s future or anything, but I’m not sure what this means for Page’s chances to go after the World Title at Double Or Nothing. Cage needed a win like this to get him back on track, though it is kind of a strange way to go. That being said, it’s also the kind of a story that can be adjusted in a hurry so we’ll have to see where it goes.

The Elite is all together in the back of a limo to celebrate Kenny Omega’s Impact World Title. They talk about Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston attacking their trailer last week, but Omega says they will be here every week because they are not afraid. The horn goes off and everyone freaks out, but the driver says it was his fault for hitting a wrong button. Omega says Kingston can fight….Michael Nakazawa tonight.

Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal vs. Young Bucks

Non-title and if the Sydals win, they get a future title shot. If they lose though, they don’t get another shot while the Bucks have the titles. Don Callis is here with the Bucks and then on commentary as the Elite is getting more official. Mike spins out of a wristlock to start but Matt does the same of his own. A legsweep takes Matt Jackson down though but a standing moonsault hits raised knees.

Matt Sydal comes in with an armbar and wraps his leg around Matt Jackson’s head to keep him down. Thankfully Mike comes back in but gets dropkicked down by Matt Jackson as we take a break. Back with Mike and Nick hitting a double clothesline but Matt Jackson switches places with Nick and the referee doesn’t seem to notice. Thankfully he does after Matt Jackson nips up, though he doesn’t actually do anything about it, as Mike hits an enziguri.

Matt Sydal comes in with a brainbuster for two on Matt Jackson before having to escape a Meltzer Driver attempt. A standing corkscrew moonsault gets two on Matt Jackson and a double standing hurricanrana takes the Bucks down. Another hurricanrana pulls Nick off the top but Matt Jackson slips out of a super hurricanrana to send Matt Sydal crashing down. With the referee distracted, Mike gets punched low (ala Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat, which thankfully commentary points out as I wasn’t a fan) and a double superkick puts Matt Sydal on the floor. The BTE Trigger finishes Mike at 10:04.

Rating: C+. Name issues aside, they did the right thing here by not having a bunch of unnecessary drama drawn out over too much time. The Sydals are not the most successful team and it is fine to have them put up a bit of a fight and then lose. It is going to take something special to take the titles from the Bucks and there is no reason to set up the title match that isn’t going to go anywhere.

Post match here is SCU to interrupt. Kazarian talks about how they promised to split up when they lost again but that has not happened yet. They are the #1 contenders and now they are the big threats to the titles. So whenever the Bucks have the guts, SCU will be waiting. Simple and to the point here.

Jade Cargill knows that everyone wants to manage her but she is her own boss. And “that b****”.

Orange Cassidy vs. Penta El Cero Miedo

Orange breaks up the Cero Miedo shout but Penta won’t let him put his hands in the pockets. They do the gestures again as I’m wondering why no one is, you know, hitting the other. Penta throws the glove to the translator and does Cero Miedo for the third time. Cassidy takes the sunglasses off and tosses them to Trent, who doesn’t catch them. The hands go into the pockets and Cassidy does the lazy kicks, followed by an armdrag with his hands in said pockets.

A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker takes Cassidy down and Penta bites his fingers. Cassidy reverses that into a crucifix for two and knocks Penta outside….where he catches a suicide dive into a gorilla press. If that isn’t impressive enough, Penta switches to a one hand version and drops Cassidy onto the apron. Back from a break with Penta chopping in the corner and managing to block the tornado DDT. A brainbuster plants Cassidy for two and the Pentagon Driver gets the same.

Penta can’t snap the arm though as Cassidy tries to get his hands in his pockets. Back up and a Canadian Destroyer drops Cassidy again but he counters the Fear Factor into the Beach Break. Penta’s shoulders aren’t down though so no count, meaning Penta can come back with a superkick. Cassidy shoves him away from the top though and hits a top rope DDT, followed by the very tornado DDT for two. Hold on though as Alex the Translator gets on the mic to say something about Trent’s mom. Cassidy pulls him inside and, after a mic shot, hits a quick Orange Punch to finish Penta at 13:05.

Rating: B-. The opening was a bit annoying but then it went into a heck of a match with the two of them beating on each other rather well. I’m not sure I can get my mind around someone like Penta, who should be a huge star, losing to Cassidy, but at least it had some interference. It helps that they cut off the mom joke too, so we’ll call it a success.

Britt Baker brags about being #1 contender.

Tony Schiavone brings out the Pinnacle and the Inner Circle, who come out flanked by motorcycle riding security guards, for the final push towards Blood & Guts. Shawn Spears yells at Sammy Guevara to start, asking if he is ready for this match. Sammy takes the mic away from him, saying he doesn’t believe Spears. Guevara says he remembers Spears failing over and over again and he’ll fail at Blood & Guts.

FTR calls out Santana and Ortiz, saying that Santana has a new daughter at him. Uncle Dax wants her to know that her daddy isn’t coming back home. The fight is almost on but MJF calls them off so he can talk to Chris Jericho. It was Jericho that caused this company to be founded but next week, it is time for MJF’s family to take the Inner Circle’s place. When MJF is looking down at Jericho’s bloody body, he will thank him for the spot.

Jericho talks about everything he was doing when he was MJF’s age, including jerking the curtain in WCW and working in Mexico. These people have his back, including Jake Hager, who kept him from being assassinated in Abu Dhabi. MJF is going to have to kill him to make him quit, so next week the war is on and MJF is going to be looking up from the only spot he deserves. Intense stuff here, but they probably had one promo too many.

Eddie Kingston vs. Michael Nakazawa

Or not as Kenny Omega comes out for a distraction and Nakazawa hits Kingston in the back with a laptop. That doesn’t work and Kingston takes him out, meaning here is Omega to send out Brandon Cutler. Jon Moxley jumps Cutler and it’s time to Pillmanize Omega’s ankle. Cue Don Callis to say don’t do it and they can have whatever they want. That’s a tag match with Kingston/Moxley vs. Omega/Nakazawa next week. The deal is made and there is no match this week.

Taz is proud of Brian Cage for winning earlier tonight. Christian Cage comes in and says Taz talks a lot but can’t back it up. Taz is going to be right there basking in the glory of everything that his boys do. Christian represents everything Taz wishes he could do and now Christian isn’t going to let Taz leach off of him too. So send the tam one man after another and Christian will teach them the same thing: they would be better off without Taz.

Penelope Ford vs. Kris Statlander

Kip Sabian and Orange Cassidy are here too. It’s a slugout to start with Statlander grabbing a gorilla press to drop her hard. Ford rolls outside and pulls Statlander with her, only to miss some slingshot knees. Back in and Ford gets in a shot to the face, setting up the connecting slingshot knees.

We take a break and come back with Statlander hitting a running elbow in the corner, followed by a knee to the head. Statlander hits the Solar Eclipse (kind of putting herself in a Rocker Dropper and backflipping Ford onto her face) for two but Ford is back with a few shots of his own. The guys get in a fight on the floor and it’s the Big Bang Theory to finish Ford at 7:53.

Rating: C-. Not exactly a classic here but it got Statlander back on her own and that’s a good thing. She has one of the most unique looks in the company and it makes sense to want to give her a spot. I’m not sure if she is going to rise up the card anytime soon, but at least she is doing something here, even with the shenanigans at ringside.

10 talks about how important the TNT Title was to Brodie Lee. Tonight, he is winning it back in Lee’s honor.

Factory vs. Nightmare Family

That would be Nick Commarado/QT Marshall/Aaron Solow vs. Dustin Rhodes/Billy Gunn/Lee Johnson. The Factory comes in on a bus, because of course they do. It’s a brawl to start (because of course it is) and the very taped up Billy Gunn gets run over by Commarado. Dustin comes in and we take an early break.

Back with Dustin taking Marshall down and handing it off to Johnson to take over. Everything breaks down with Johnson cleaning house, setting up a bit corkscrew flip dive to take the Factory down on the floor. Hold on though as Nick Ogogo hits Billy and Johnson in the ribs. Back in and Marshall steals the pin on Johnson at 6:36.

Rating: C-. This match did a nice job of making Commarado seem like a beast and that’s about it. The rest of the people involved just aren’t very interesting and Marshall having a stable still feels weird. It makes sense from a creative standpoint, but it’s hard to find interest in a guy who is best known as being Cody’s friend. The action was fine, but seeing another group battle is a little tiring.

Post match Commarado cleans house with the cowbell but the Gunn Club runs in for the save. The brawl is on and Marshall bails from the bus, where you can see Cody Rhodes’ blond hair waiting. Cody breaks out of the door and they head up top, with Cody slapping on the Figure Four as Aubrey Edwards, who is there for some reason, tells him to stop. All well and good, but please stop trying to make me care about Marshall as a thing. It’s not working, no matter how much of a bus he has.

Kip Sabian runs into Miro, who annihilates him, including some choking with a chain and slamming his wrist in a door.

Here’s what’s coming in the next few weeks, including New Japan’s Yugi Nagata challenging Jon Moxley for the New Japan US Title on May 12.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. 10

Allin is defending and has Sting with him to counter the Dark Order. 10 powers him around to start, including spinning a headlock into a backbreaker. Darby’s chop block doesn’t do much as 10 throws him down again and we take a break. Back with 10 hitting a gutbuster but getting pulled into a Fujiwara armbar.

Allin cranks back on the fingers but 10 manages to send him outside. A drive sends Allin into the barricade and it’s time for Sting and the Dark Order to yell at each other. Cue Ethan Page to post Allin, allowing 10 to hit a slingshot wheelbarrow suplex for two. The full nelson goes on but Allin climbs the ropes and flips backward to retain at 12:08.

Rating: C+. Allin continues his roll and 10 did well in the Brodie Lee tribute match, which worked out fine for a main event that wasn’t quite as big as some of the others. Sting still feels a little weird as a manager but at least he served the purpose of evening things out here a bit. You can probably pencil in Page as the next challenger, which would at least give him something to do other than sit and watch.

Post match Allin holds up the Brodie armband in a nice moment but here is Page again. The distraction lets Scorpio Sky chop block Sting and put him in a heel hook while Allin has to watch. Lance Archer makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There was a lot, like a whole lot, on here and that was both a good and a bad thing. The good part is they set up a lot more for next week’s big show, which was looking like a one match card coming in here. It is great to see that there is going to be more next time for the sake of the main event not being an hour long, though that brings us to the down side.

This show was exhausting, with one thing after another happening, often in the same segment. AEW needs to work on its pacing, because it feels like a month’s worth of stuff is being crammed into every week. Nothing has a chance to sink in because it’s a match and then and angle or two in the aftermath probably twice a week. Just let things slow down and breathe a bit because this is getting tiring to watch. The show is still entertaining, but at some point people just get a little worn out for no necessary reason.

Overall, the show was fun and kept my attention, with a lot of people getting some focus that they usually wouldn’t. Granted that might be due to the President’s speech to Congress tonight, and is so that is the right move. People are more likely to be watching that so why bother wasting material? They still need to cool it a bit with having so much on the show, but it was still pretty good stuff.

Results

Brian Cage b. Hangman Page – Drill Claw

Young Bucks b. Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal – BTE Trigger to Mike

Orange Cassidy b. Penta El Cero Miedo – Orange Punch

Kris Stalander b. Penelope Ford – Big Bang Theory

Factory b. Nightmare Family – Punch to Johnson’s ribs

Darby Allin b. 10 – Rollup out of the corner

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VIDEO: WWE Legend Makes Surprise NXT Appearance.

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Big Words: Mustafa Ali Makes Bold Promise.

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NXT Announces Two Grudge Title Matches For Coming Weeks.

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Former AEW Star Announces Surprise Retirement.

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Confusing Report On Rhea Ripley In The ThunderDome.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/confusing-report-rhea-ripley-thunderdome/

RUMOR: WWE Roster Ready For Fans To Be Back.

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Where For Art Thou Champs? Update On AJ Styles And Omos.

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Update On Plans For Sheamus’ US Open Challenge.

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NXT
Date: April 27, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

The Tuesday escapades continues with the return of Adam Cole for the first time since his loss at Takeover. That could be interesting, though if nothing else it is kind of a relief that he is not heading up to the main roster. Other than that, we have a pretty big six man tag to fill out the wrestling side of things. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dakota Kai vs. Mercedes Martinez

Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai. Martinez gets taken to the mat to start but bounces out of a headscissors and slaps her in the face. Back up and Martinez hits a spinning spinebuster (it seems like we get three of those per show these days) for two but Kai grabs a Rock Bottom backbreaker for the same. The running boot in the corner misses though and Martinez hammers away.

Something like a Razor’s Edge Dominator out of the corner gets two but Martinez gets drop toeholded into the corner. The running boot sends Martinez outside and we take a break. Back with Kai sending her outside again and hitting a kick to the ribs on the way back in. A Codebreaker through the ropes drops Martinez again but she is back up with a running shot in the corner.

Martinez takes her down with a delayed butterfly suplex and cranks Kai down by the arm. Kai rolls outside so Martinez throws her back in, where Kai grabs the referee’s leg. That lets Gonzalez take a swing but Martinez knocks her down instead. Back in and Martinez puts Kai in a fireman’s carry but Gonzalez comes in for the DQ at 12:28.

Rating: C+. This was a fine way to set up Gonzalez vs. Martinez down the line as Martinez beat up Gonzalez’s friend. That should make for a fine big time TV match as Martinez can have a good enough match with anyone. She certainly did here too as the power was a good way to keep Kai from running around with all of her kicks. The wrestling was fine but the storytelling was more important, and better.

Post match the beatdown is on with Martinez being laid out.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon have to worry about the Robert Stone Brand tonight and then they can deal with the Way. Hold on though as here is a delivery woman with some flowers for both of them. Frankie Monet comes up and introduces herself before reading the card, which says they’re from Dexter Lumis. Moon and Blackheart try to give each other the flowers.

Earlier today, Cameron Grimes went to look at a ring (as in jewelry) for a special someone (Grimes: “ME!”). The jeweler says he has something special for him….and we’ll see it later.

Here are the Grizzled Young Veterans for a chat. They accuse MSK of ducking them in a regular tag match because the Veterans need the titles. Cue Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa to interrupt, with Ciampa says they’re grizzled and veterans. After dubbing himself Toothless Timmy, Thatcher mocks the IF YOU HATE GIBSON SHOES OFF chant and the fight is on, with the Veterans being cleared out.

Drake Maverick and Killian Dain are ready for their match tonight against Imperium, but Maverick is convinced that Dain is turning on him to join Imperium. Dain says you gotta have faith, and Maverick is stunned at the George Michael reference.

Quick Tian Sha vignette.

Shane Strickland says if Leon Ruff wants to play this game, they can play it for his life.

Toni Storm vs. Zayda Ramier

Before the match, Toni talks about how Zoey Stark is going to be a footnote in her legendary career. Tonight, every time she slaps this rookie, she is going to imagine that it’s Stark. Storm throws her around by the hair to start and Ramier is in early trouble. There’s a backbreaker with Ramier being bent over the knee, followed by a German suplex to make it even worse.

Cue Stark for a distraction though, allowing Ramier to get in a quick knockdown. A shooting star press (which lands perfectly despite Storm being in the middle of the ring, to the point where I though Ramier was going to leave it two feet short) finishes Storm for the huge upset at 3:27.

Rating: C-. This was a squash until Storm slipped on a banana peel at the end. Storm isn’t going to be hurt by a dirty loss and the angry promos on Stark should be good. It isn’t likely to lead to Ramier becoming a bigger star, though stranger things have happened in NXT. I’m not sure if she should try the shooting star from that distance again, but it worked out in the end.

Bronson Reed runs into Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae on the way to the ring. Austin Theory pops up and asks why they’re standing in the dark.

LA Knight saw a twinkle in the eye of Indi Hartwell and knows that means she had a twinkle in her loins. He has references and after Dexter Lumis lets her down, come talk to him, because that is just a fact of life. Knight leaves and Ever-Rise comes up to ask if the interviewer has a question about their social media event. She doesn’t.

Austin Theory vs. Bronson Reed

If Reed wins, he gets another North American Title shot. The rest of the Way is here and Indi Hartwell is completely not in this. Barrett: “Don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts.” As commentary is astounded at the Billie Jean reference, Theory gets knocked to the floor with straight power. Back in and Theory’s jumping shoulder is swatted out of the air, followed by another shoulder to leave Theory hanging from the bottom rope by his feet.

Theory crashes to the floor as Reed goes after Johnny Gargano, allowing Theory to come back with a dropkick inside. Reed is knocked outside this time so Theory fakes an injury, leaving Gargano to add a superkick. One heck of a dive takes Reed down and a missed charge sends him into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Reed caught in a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Reed tosses him around again, setting up the splash in the corner. Theory is back with a neckbreaker for two as commentary points out Hartwell not being interested in the match. For some reason Theory tries a Samoan drop, which goes as well as you would expect. Reed’s version gets two but Theory manages a TKO for two of his own.

They’re both down so here is Dexter Lumis, with Hartwell walking away (because of the flowers to Blackheart and Moon). Lumis ges on the apron with Hartwell saying he talks too much. Lumis shoves Hartwell out of the way of a charge and takes the shot himself. Reed knocks Theory over and hits the Tsunami for the pin and the title shot at 12:24.

Rating: C. There was a lot going on here but what matters the most is Reed getting another shot. I was surprised when he lost the first time so giving him the title in the rematch could make up for things. That Tsunami looks great (and Barrett’s call makes it even better) and it should be enough to carry him to the title as it isn’t like Gargano needs the thing anymore. As much as I’d love to see Theory get a push of his own, he works well as the clueless moron who happens to be crazy athletic.

Johnny Gargano is nervous.

MSK thanks Kushida for his help and tonight they’re taking out Legado del Fantasma.

The Way blames Dexter Lumis, Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon for the loss. Indi Hartwell gets rather annoyed and storms off, with the team thinking she is going to deal with this.

Finn Balor is back next week after recharging in Mexico.

Imperium vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

Alexander Wolfe is here with the team. Drake refuses to walk in front of Dain out of the possibility of pain and agony. Dain starts fast with a clothesline to send Barthel outside. Back in and Maverick hits some dropkicks to Barthel’s leg but Maverick gets sent into the wrong corner. With Dain being held out of the corner, some double teaming puts Maverick down and we take a break.

Back with Maverick still in trouble as Barthel sneers down at him. Maverick kicks him in the leg but Aichner comes in to swing him around by the jeans. A shot into the corner gives Maverick a chance but Barthel pulls Dain off the apron, meaning there is no one for the tag. Maverick looks crushed and a kick to the back of the head makes it even worse. Dain comes in and starts wrecking things but gets knocked outside….where Wolfe won’t hit him with a chair.

Barthel doesn’t like the indecision but here’s Maverick to hit a dive. Dain throws Maverick at Aichner but Wolfe won’t let Dain send Barthel into the post. Instead Dain gets sent into the steps as Maverick hits a high crossbody on Aichner….who rolls through, setting up the European Bomb for the pin at 12:16.

Rating: C. Imperium as a whole is a great concept and something that works well. Imperium without Walter is a team that is good at everything they do but the interest and spark aren’t there. It has shown badly every time they are out there without him, including here as it just wasn’t that engaging of a match. They are more than fine with everything else, but it was hard to care at all about what they were doing.

Pete Dunne says no one is talking about him because he has everyone shaken. Kushida stepped to him and got taken out. If he wanted to be Cruiserweight Champion, it wouldn’t take long. Or maybe he gets on a plane and goes back to the UK to take his title back from Walter. The North American Title could be interesting too, and then there is Karrion Kross. Dunne isn’t scared of Kross because he doesn’t need smoke and mirrors to get the job done. Everyone should fear him. Rather awesome promo here, as Dunne can bring the intensity.

Back at the jewelry store, Cameron Grimes buys a watch, but it isn’t ticking (Grimes: “Karrion Kross would hate this!”). He’ll take it anyway, but here is someone with the same watch. That would be…..TED DIBIASE, who laughs at Grimes and leaves, causing Grimes to scream a lot. Yep that was great.

Jessi Kamea/Aliyah vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

Non-title and non-match as we get some more flowers and Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Roadblock: End of the Line
Date: December 18, 2016
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

Pre-Show: Rusev vs. Big Cass

Back with Cass hammering away and dropping the Empire Elbow for no cover. They head outside Rusev taking him out into the crowd, leaving Enzo to go after Lana. Rusev defends his wife while Cass checks on Enzo, leaving Rusev to beat the count at 4:33. Not enough for a rating but this was rematch bait.

The opening video has a police chase theme with the idea being that everything ends at the end of the line.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Cesaro/Sheamus

The slingshot shoulder gets two on Kingston and Swiss Death is good for the same. This has been completely one sided so far. Kofi breaks up the ten forearms and brings in Big E. for the spear off the apron. The Warrior Splash gets two on Sheamus and everything breaks down. Sheamus kicks Cesaro by mistake and Woods kicks Cesaro by design, setting up the Big Ending for a very close two.

Woods sacrifices himself to take the Brogue Kick and the SOS gets two on Sheamus. Cesaro comes in without a tag (though Sheamus was right next to him), meaning Kofi kicks Cesaro for no count. Instead Sheamus sneaks in and rolls Kofi up for the pin and the titles at 10:00.

New Day gets the big show of respect and we get the battle for the spotlight from the new champs.

Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman

Package on the UK tournament.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Seth Rollins. Jericho lost to Rollins several times but then started costing Rollins matches against Owens. This earned Jericho a Pedigree on top of a car and that means a match.

Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho

Rollins tries the Pedigree but Jericho powers out and gets in a hurricanrana, which transitions into the Walls. Seth counters that with a small package for two, followed by the frog splash. Cue Owens for a distraction, just as Jericho grabs a small package. The Pedigree is countered again but Jericho stops to yell at Owens, allowing Seth to get in the jumping knee. Rollins gets the Pedigree for the pin at 17:12.

Pre-show recap. Cass vs. Rusev II is set for tomorrow night.

Cruiserweight Title: Brian Kendrick vs. TJ Perkins vs. Rich Swann

Post match Neville makes his return to celebrate with Swann before turning heel (!) and destroying all three. Fans: “THANK YOU NEVILLE!” I can totally go for this, though the idea that Neville weighs under 205lbs is downright laughable.

We recap Owens vs. Reigns. Roman beat him a few weeks ago to earn another shot here tonight but the big story is about the drama between Jericho and Owens.

Universal Title: Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns

Rating: B. Good, though the waiting for Jericho took a little away from it. Unfortunately this shows the problem with Reigns being US Champion coming into this match: what good does it do to tie the title up in this match with no challenger for the title in sight? Yeah Owens vs. Jericho will be fine but sweet goodness enough with the champion vs. champion nonsense.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.