Gringo Loco’s The Wrld On Lucha
Date: April 1, 2023
Location: Ukranian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Emil J, Nick Knowledge

This is a themed show as we have nothing but lucha libre on the show. That alone should make this something interesting and hopefully it can live up to the concept. I’ve seen the previous version of this show and it went well so they do at least have an idea of what to do. Let’s get to it.

Mago vs. Willie Mack vs. Shane Mercer vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Bobby Flaco vs. Jack Cartwheel

We get the six way test of strength to start….and now let’s have the dance off. The fans seem to favor Mack but Flaco snaps off a hurricanrana to get things going. Mago gets to clean house, including a suicide dive to take out Cartwheel, followed by a springboard tornado DDT to Cartwheel back inside. Flair gets to clean house, including a top rope cutter to Mago.

Mercer, the strongest guy here, suplexes tosses Flaco over the top and down to Mack, who powerbombs him onto the apron. Back in and we get the Mack vs. Mercer showdown, with Mack changing his mind to dive onto the pile. Mercer’s springboard moonsault is broken up but we get a few more dives to make up for it.

Mercer cuts off Cartwheel’s dive and knocks him down, allowing Mercer to Asai moonsault onto a bunch of people. That leaves Cartwheel to hit the big Sasuke Special before some people get back inside. A bunch of people get to knock someone else down, with Mercer planting Flaco but walking into Mack’s sitout powerbomb. Mago drops Mack but Cartwheel hits a Red Arrow to finish Mago at 9:50.

Rating: C+. It’s the scramble match so you can only get so much out of the thing. This was about having a bunch of people in there so they could get in as much as they could in about ten minutes. The winner here is pretty much a footnote, but Cartwheel was getting to show off enough that a win is fine. Nothing that hasn’t been done a bunch before, but they did it well enough.

Sexy Star vs. Dulce Tormenta

They take their time to start before fighting over wrist control and then exchange rollups for two each. Back up and they go toe to toe until Tormenta sends her outside for the dive. Back in and Star hits a dive of her own as this is even so far. Dulce is whipped into some chairs and Star takes her, plus a door, back inside. They trade spanks until Star sends her….into but not through the door in the corner.

The Death Valley Driver through the door rocks Tormenta and it’s time for some thumbtacks. Naturally Torments fights out and slams Star into the tacks instead. The running knees in the corner rock Star but she’s right there for a slug out. They trade release German suplexes and both of them are down. Tormenta rolls Two Amigos until Star rolls her up for two. There’s a flapjack for two on Star and Tormenta adds Three Amigos. A package piledriver finishes Star at 12:35.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t a classic but it was a hard enough hitting match between two women who are capable of doing well. What mattered here was beating each other up as well as they could and thankfully they got some time to do their thing. I’ve seen both of them before and they were at their bests here. I’m not sure where, but I could go with seeing them on a higher level.

Aramis/Komander/Rey Horus vs. Arez/Black Taurus/Latigo

It’s a brawl to start with Taurus getting superkicked out to the floor. That leaves Komander and company to do the big stereo flip dives and the fans approve. Back in and Latigo knees Aramis in the face and kicks him in the back of the head to send him outside. Komander takes Latigo down with a headscissors. The double springboard hurricanrana sends Latigo flying but Arez dropkicks Komander into the corner.

Rey comes back in and runs the ropes before hitting a discus clothesline to Arez in the corner. Taurus is back to reverse Sling Blade Horus, leaving commentary in awe of what he is doing. Aramis tries to fight back but gets caught with a cheap shot from behind. Komander gets chopped hard in the corner and Aramis gets the same. Latigo hurricanranas Aramis into the corner and Taurus hits a hard running shoulder to the ribs.

The villains even tease going after Aramis’ mask before a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination plants Horus. Komander gets stomped down in the corner so Taurus goes for the mask. Aramis is back up, allowing Komander to stand on the villains’ shoulder and moonsault down onto Taurus on the floor. Latigo strikes away at Aramis into Roderick Strong’s End of Heartache.

Taurus’ double crucifix bomb hits Komander and Hours, setting up Arez’s step up Lionsault. One heck of a backbreaker drops Horus but Komander Canadian Destroyers Taurus. Latigo kicks Aramis in the face and all six of them go down. Back up and they slug it out until Arez is left alone. Horus and Aramis dive onto the other two as Komander hits a rope walk shooting star press for the pin at 14:07.

Rating: B-. They went with the insanity style here again but this one didn’t quite get to the next level. What mattered was having a bunch of people, including some who don’t get a ton of coverage, in the match at once and they pulled it off. The finish looked good and there was enough action throughout so this did what it was supposed to do.

Post match money is collected and respect is shown.

Los Macizos vs. La Familia de Tijuana

That would be Ciclope (not the WCW one)/Miedo Extreme vs. Bestia/Damian. Ciclope and Damian run the ropes to start without getting anywhere so it’s off to Bestia vs. Miedo. That’s enough wrestling so let’s go outside and grab some chairs. The fight goes around the arena (thank goodness for split screen) with Damian throwing a trashcan at Ciclope.

Back in and Los Macizos fight back with superkicks but Damian whips out a kendo stick to clean house. Bestia runs the ropes for a wristlock/headscissors combination and it’s time to set up a door over the chairs. That takes too long though and Bestia is sent through said door for two.

A German suplex drops Ciclope though and everyone is down. Damian (apparently 61 years old) kendo sticks Miedo and walks the rope before taking Ciclope down. Bestia loads up a chopped door but Miedo grabs him for something like a Blue Thunder Bomb. Damian makes a save but it’s something like a Doomsday Device through the door to give Ciclope the pin at 12:22.

Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this one quite as well as some others, but it was cool to see someone Damian’s age doing all of this stuff. It was a bunch of violence and brawling without much in the way of wrestling, but sometimes you can throw that stuff in there to make it interesting. Pretty good stuff, but it was only going to be so strong all things considered.

Respect is shown post match.

Negro Casas vs. Tony Deppen

Casas, 63 years old, takes him down to start and works on the arm but has to slip out of a leglock. Deppen bites his way out of a chinlock and flips Casas off before grabbing a modified abdominal stretch. That’s fine with Casas, who sweeps the leg and cranks away, sending Deppen over to the rope. Deppen bails to the floor and holds his neck before coming back in with a clothesline.

Back in and Deppen takes him down to start cranking on the arm. The arm is fine enough to hit a running boot in the corner before cranking on Deppen’s arm as well. Deppen fights back and mocks Casas, who pulls him into an STF. With that broken up, Deppen hits a jumping knee, only to get caught with a lariat. Casas’ signature rolling cradle finishes Deppen at 11:35.

Rating: C. Given that Casas is 63 and not exactly full time anymore, he looked just fine here and even got to showcase himself a bit. Deppen is the kind of heel who can lose over and over but get right back by being such a jerk. Sometimes that’s all you need and this was a nice treat with such a legend in the ring.

Post match, Casas addresses the crowd and thanks God for letting him work this match. In English, Casas says Deppen can be a great wrestler. After finding some of the money Deppen picked up from the mat, Casas seems to sing a bit before leaving.

Gringo Loco vs. Psycho Clown

Falls count anywhere and Psycho has Mini Clown (possibly his son but he’s No Dink) with him. Loco shoves Psycho off the apron to start but Psycho is back with a chair shot. They trade chair shots until Loco hits a suicide dive. Psycho crotches him against the post though and hits his own dive to take over (for probably ten seconds). Loco sends him into the chairs, earning himself a bunch of drinks to the face.

They brawl around ringside with Psycho getting the better of things and smashing a chair around Loco’s ankle. Psycho goes up but gets chaired in the head, allowing Loco to go after the mask. Another chair to the head has Psycho busted open as the fans are apparently calling Loco a male hooker. Dang that’s worse than a shooter. The alleged hooker grabs some scissors to stab Psycho in the head and now it’s time for a ladder. Psycho gets suplexed into said ladder so Loco grabs a door.

More scissoring to the head ensues so Psycho, tired of being stabbed by scissors, sends him through the table. A moonsault onto the pieces of the table onto Loco connects and there’s an Alabama slam onto a chair. Loco is sent outside for the big running flip dive and now Psycho has the scissors (life tip: always run when a psycho clown comes after you with scissors).

This time it’s Loco getting carved up and they head to the top, where Loco’s super Spanish Fly drops Psycho. Let’s bring in the big ladder, with Loco’s dive only hitting the mat. Psycho sets up a door over some chairs on the floor but the big splash only hits Loco’s knees. It’s Psycho up first (as he logically should be) and he whips out some cinder blocks (commentary is confused about why they’re under the ring).

Loco has managed to bandage his head as Psycho makes another door bridge in the ring. Psycho gets knocked onto the door and Loco puts the blocks on his head/neck before going up. Believe it or not, that takes too long too and Psycho belts him on top. Now let’s put thumbtacks on the blocks so a Spanish Fly can drive Loco through everything….but Loco rolls him up for the pin anyway at 23:23.

Rating: C-. Yeah I know what they were going for here but egads this was long. It wasn’t exactly good in the first place and then it went into the weapons and hardcore stuff, which wasn’t exactly interesting. I get that this is a big feud (at least it seemed to be) but they needed to cut out about eight minutes stop with the spots that take forever to set up.

Laredo Kid vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

The AAA Mega Title isn’t on the line. They start fast with the exchange of armdrags and Vikingo bails to the floor, where Kid hits a big dive to take him down. Back in and Kid cuts off a roll with a dropkick before sending him outside again. The chase is on and this time Vikingo hits a spinning kick to the face.

The running knees send Kid outside and the running shooting star press off the apron crushes Kid again. Back in and the springboard 450 gives Vikingo two but Kid grabs a poisonrana. Some moonsaults hit Vikingo and Kid kicks away at him even more. Vikingo is back up and goes to the post for a Canadian Destroyer onto the apron.

The suicide dive sends Kid into the chairs but Kid is back with a powerbomb for two. Kid catches him on top for something like a reverse (as in they both face the same way) super Spanish Fly. The fans want to see it again but have to settle for Vikingo grabbing a super swinging Rock Bottom. That’s enough to set up the 630 to give Vikingo the pin at 12:35.

Rating: B. After this weekend and the Dynamite appearance, you know what you’re going to get from Vikingo but he seems to be wearing down a bit after such a schedule. At the same time, Kid is someone who has always shown a ton of potential and absolutely has the talent to back it up. This was another way to showcase the flip and high flying, with Vikingo eventually lasting longer and surviving.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show for the most part here, though having the same style over and over again can be a bit exhausting. There was more than enough in the way of high spots here to keep things interesting and some of the matches were quite good. It also had some names you don’t see elsewhere so the show is worth a look if you’re a big fan of this style.

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NXT LVL Up
Date: March 31, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Byron Saxton

It’s the show before Stand & Deliver and much like last week, there is a good chance that this is going to be an abbreviated show. Last week only had two matches instead of the usual three and I don’t know how much of a difference it really makes. Either way, let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Lash Legend vs. Valentina Feroz

Legend knees her in the ribs to start so Feroz goes up instead. A high crossbody is pulled out of the air so Feroz grabs an armbar while still in the air. Cue Elektra Lopez to watch as Legend slips out and kicks Feroz in the face. Feroz falls out to the floor, where Lopez can’t send her into the steps. Legend misses another kick and gets rolled up to give Feroz the fast pin at 3:35.

Rating: C-. This was actually part of a story for once and I’ll take that over what we usually get around here. It’s one of the most minor stories in NXT at the moment but it’s better than nothing, with Lopez being frustrated at not being able to take Feroz out. Feroz is still a work in progress but at least she has something to do.

Nathan Fraser is ready to prove Javier Bernal wrong because he is a fraud.

Dani Palmer knows she is new at this but she isn’t going to be scared by all of the people around here. She became a success in college athletics while having no experience so she’s ready to do it here too.

Nathan Frazer vs. Javier Bernal

Bernal snaps off an armdrag to start so Frazer is back with a headlock. Back up and Frazer tries a springboard but Bernal breaks it up. Bernal hammers away and snaps off a DDT for a fast two. The count doesn’t please Bernal so Frazer cuts him off with an enziguri. Some running forearms set up a neckbreaker to drop Bernal and the Phoenix splash finishes for Frazer at 6:44.

Rating: C. This was short and to the point here as there wasn’t much of a reason for it to be anything else. Frazer is someone who could wind up being a player at some point in the future while Bernal is a good comedy guy. It wasn’t much to see but Frazer was enough of a name to make it work.

Overall Rating: C. Not much to see here as this was just a show that had to happen before we could get to the important stuff over the weekend. I liked the idea of advancing even a smaller story, but having the show be twenty minutes isn’t exactly a way to make it feel even remotely important. Just a quick show here that didn’t change anything, as tends to be the norm around here.

Results
Valentina Feroz b. Lash Legend – Rollup
Nathan Frazer b. Javier Bernal – Phoenix splash

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Nervous Breakdown
Date: March 31, 2023
Location: Globe Theater, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Brian Zane, Jordan Castle

This is from Prestige Wrestling (out of the Pacific northwest), which I’ve seen once and that was a show from three years ago. I know nothing coming into this show but the card and lineup look good and that’s all you need a times. Wrestlemania Weekend has had a lot to offer so far this year and maybe this can join the good side. Let’s get to it.

Note that I am coming into this mostly blind so I apologize for not knowing history, character backstories etc.

Sonico/C4 vs. Clark Connors/Kevin Knight/Yuya Uemura

C4 is Cody Chhun/Guillermo Rosas. Knight and Chhun start things off with Knight taking him down by the arm and driving in a knee. A splash misses for Knight so he snaps off an armdrag, only to be reversed into a headscissors. Uemura and Sonico come in with the latter running Uemura over. Rosas comes in for the power but has to slug it out with Connors (who he replaced in C4). Back up and Connors Pounces Rosas down as Connors and company clear the ring.

Chhun tries to come in and the choking ensues in the corner. It’s back to Knight to take Rosas into the corner as the beating continues. A sunset flip gets Rosas out of trouble and the hot tag brings in Chhun to clean house. Chhun’s DDT gets two on Knight but he pulls a springboarding Sonico out of the air with a cutter. Chhun tries his own cutter so Knight dropkicks him out of the air, allowing him to get over for the tag to Connors. Everything breaks down and Sonico green mists Uemura, leaving Chhun to hit a dive to the floor. AMF (appears to be a fisherman’s DDT) gives Sonico the pin on Uemura at 9:55.

Rating: C+. Nice opener here as they kept the pace up and let most of the people involved get a chance. That is the kind of thing that can put the show on the right foot and they did well enough here. The ending came a bit out of nowhere though and it felt like it needed a few more minutes to really get everything together. For what it was though, not too bad.

Post match respect is shown and Chhun does a Spinarooni.

Vinnie Massaro vs. Calvin Tankman

Hoss fight and Massaro is a “nice guy” who comes out to That’s Amore. They chop it out to start with the bigger Tankman running him over with a shoulder. The fight goes to the floor with Tankman destroying Massaro’s chest with chops. Back in and Massaro’s chest is fine enough to hit a dropkick into a pose before his own chops drop Tankman. A backbreaker and clothesline give Tankman two as the back and forth continues.

Tankman charges into the corner to knock him silly but Massaro’s forearms just get on Tankman’s nerves. The strike off ensues (they’re required these days) until a half nelson slam of all things drops Tankman. With that not working, Tankman hits a discus elbow into another HARD elbow to the face to finish Massaro at 8:11.

Rating: C. This was exactly what they were advertising it as being, with a pair of big guys hitting each other until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. Tankman is someone who can move a good bit quicker than you might expect but still has the power that makes up for it. Massaro was a good sized guy as well, but Tankman felt like more of a force, which is what someone of his size is probably looking to be.

West Coast Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title: Michael Oku vs. Titus Alexander

Oku is challenging and has Amira with him. They go with the grappling to start with Alexander taking him up against the ropes, only to get switched over for some hard chops. It’s way too early for the half crab though as Alexander bails straight to the ropes. Oku sends him to the floor and tries the Fosbury Flop, only to have to land on his feet when Alexander moves.

That takes too long though and Oku gets dropped onto the apron to cut Oku off for a change. Alexander is smart enough to stay on the back with a backbreaker but Oku elbows his way out of the corner. A DDT gives Oku two of his own and the penalty kick sends him to the floor.

That means the running flip dive to the floor, followed by a splash for two back inside. Oku’s hurricanrana is blocked so he grabs a dragon screw legwhip to work on the leg some more. Alexander is fine enough to send him into the ropes, setting up a brainbuster for two. A half crab sends Oku to the ropes for a change and he’s back with a Shining Wizard.

There’s a Lionsault for two but Alexander knocks him back again. Amira tries to come in with a mirror but the distraction lets Alexander get in a low blow. That’s enough for Amira to grab the referee, allowing Oku to hit a poisonrana. The frog splash gets two so it’s time to go after Alexander’s leg, only to have him roll Oku up and retain at 17:14.

Rating: B. This was the kind of back and forth match that will always work. Oku has grown on me a good bit over the last few times I’ve seen him as he really is smooth in the ring and capable of having a solid match with anyone. Alexander did well too and while the ending wasn’t great, it was a match that I got into and wanted to see where it went. Good job here from both.

The ring announcer is ready to introduce the next match but here is Alan Angels to interrupt. Angels talks about how the fans were saying he would be great when he left AEW but then they turned on him. Why? Is it because he dropped the Dark Order? Or because he doesn’t wrestle like the indy favorites? He can’t even get booked on this show, but he’s going to take Prestige Wrestling by storm. After a bit more insulting the fans, Angels beats up a stage hand who tries to cut him off and finally leaves.

Adam Brooks/Warhorse vs. Midnight Heat

The Heat is Ricky Gibson/Eddie Pearl while Brooks and Warhorse are teaming for the first time. Gibson and Warhorse start things off with Warhorse being rather intense and Gibson not being sure of what to do. They trade running of the ropes and Warhorse gets the better of things without much trouble.

Brooks comes in for some forearms against the ropes and a suplex into the corner. Everything breaks down and stereo dives take out the Heat, followed by a double backdrop for two on Pearl. Gibson gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Pearl knocks him to the floor.

The whip into the corner rocks Brooks again but he kicks Heat into each other and the big tag brings Warhorse back in. A brainbuster onto the knee gives Warhorse two and Brooks is back in with a top rope Meteora. Warhorse hits a Codebreaker but accidentally gets caught by Brooks’ Swanton. A Russian legsweep/Backstabber combination finishes Brooks at 11:55.

Rating: C+. This was a very formula style tag match and it still worked well. Midnight Heat feel like a pretty polished team and they did well against a team working together for the first time. It wasn’t a match that felt like some big showdown but it was a completely competent and even exciting at times match that took up some time. Sometimes, that’s one of the best things you can do.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Miyu Yamashita

Taya takes her down to start but it’s a clean break and a bow of respect. The sliding German suplex drops Yamashita and it’s a running hip attack/running knees in the corner for two. They go outside with Taya chopping her in a chair but a missed charge sends Taya reeling. Back in and a bunch of kicks to the back give Yamashita two and she sits Taya on top for the big kick to the head. Taya knocks her off the top though and they slug it out until Yamashita hits a German suplex. Another kick to the head gets two but the Skull Kick misses, allowing Taya to hit Road To Valhalla for the pin at 7:34.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have a ton of time here and went with the hard hitting, smash mouth style that these two can do. Taya has a great mixture of the fun charisma stuff to go along with the power game while Miyu Yamashita is more about kicking your head off. I liked this one and Yamashita continues to make a nice impression over the weekend.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Robert Martyr

This is described as Martyr’s final test, as he has been fighting various other people to try to prove himself. We get a display of respect to start until Thatcher takes over on the arm. Thatcher’s cross armbreaker is blocked so they go with the standing grappling instead. A springboard spinning crossbody gives Martyr two as Thatcher is getting even more serious than he was before.

Thatcher takes him down and knees him in the ribs but Martyr is back up with some hard forearms. A hard suplex sets up a quickly broken surfboard from Thatcher, who ties him in the ropes for a forearm to the chest. Martyr backdrops his way out of a guillotine but misses a top rope splash.

Thatcher slaps on the STF and Martyr has to go to the ropes to escape. Martyr’s falcon arrow gets two and a piledriver drops Thatcher again. Thatcher is done with this and grabs a sleeper, lets go and chops him down hard, then sleepers him again for the hard hitting win at 15:37.

Rating: B-. Thatcher isn’t going to be a top star in a major promotion but he is the kind of person who will always have a place on a roster because he knows how to do the submission and grappling stuff like few others. What matters is he makes it look realistic and his style is unique enough to stand out. Watching him do this stuff is cool and Martyr was there with him for most of the match for a nice rub.

Martyr gets some respect as he leaves.

Kevin Blackwood vs. Shigehiro Irie

This is another hoss fight with Irie taking over early. Blackwood gets knocked down and a sitdown splash gives Irie a fast two. Blackwood is right back up with a missile dropkick, setting up a kick to the back. That just makes Irie glare at him so Blackwood grabs a chinlock. Irie manages a suplex and sends him to the apron for a running body block to the floor.

A top rope splash gives Irie two back inside but Blackwood is fine enough to fire off chops in the corner. That’s not going to work for Irie, who comes back with a cannonball. Blackwood kicks him in the head though and they’re both down. Irie catches him on top though and it’s a super Samoan drop for two. Blackwood’s Tombstone only gets one but a top rope double stomp to the chest finishes Irie at 12:04.

Rating: B-. Solid stuff here again as Irie is another hard hitter who can do some rather violent things. At the same time, Blackwood was moving well enough to feel like an underdog who had to overcome the odds. It felt like a big win for Blackwood and that is how you boost someone up against a guest star.

What seems to be a company boss announces that this is the new So Cal home for Prestige Wrestling. Cool.

Aja Kong vs. Masha Slamovich

Slamovich forearms away to start and that just seems like a bad idea. Kong gives her a running shoulder and strikes Slamovich down without much trouble. They head outside where Kong hits her with a chair and throws Slamovich into a variety of things. Another chair to the back has Slamovich in more trouble, setting up a crossface back inside.

Slamovich manages a few kicks to the face for two but Kong blasts her with a running clothesline for two more. The spinning backfist sets up the hard suplex but Slamovich German suplexes her down. A Shining Wizard gives Slamovich two, only to have Kong run her over again. The spinning backfist finishes for Kong at 8:54.

Rating: C+. This was about getting Kong in the ring to knock someone silly with that backfist as she has done for years. A legend beating a young star isn’t a bad thing, especially on a show like this. Slamovich might have gotten in a bit more offense, but for what it was, they had a good one here.

Kong helps Slamovich up post match.

Time Splitters/Ultimo Dragon vs. Team Filthy

That would be Alex Shelley (the reigning Prestige Champion, having taken the title from Lawlor)/Kushida/Ultimo Dragon vs. Tom Lawlor/Royce Isaacs/Jorel Nelson. Royce starts with Kushida to start but says he wants Dragon, which is exactly what he gets. Dragon gets shoved into the corner early on and then loses a test of strength.

Somehow he flips out of it though and takes Royce down, only to be shoved away again. A running shoulder manages to drop Royce so it’s off to Kushida vs. Lawlor. They go to the mat with Kushida getting the better of things, allowing Kushida to bring Shelley in. That sends Lawlor SPRINTING across the ring to bring Nelson in but the Time Splitters clean house. All three good guys take turns twisting Nelson’s arm and a double suplex gets two.

Everything breaks down and Royce takes Shelley outside for a suplex….which he walks around the ring. That leaves Lawlor to take down his jean shorts to reveal jegging shorts but Royce misses a middle rope splash back inside. The hot tag brings in Dragon to clean house and Kushida adds a top rope chop to Royce’s head.

With some blood on his chest, Kushida has his Hoverboard Lock broken up and Team Filthy hits a sweet triple team sequence into an STF on Kushida. Everything breaks down and Dragon grabs a reverse Figure Four on Royce, which has to be broken up. The Time Splitters kick Royce down and Dragon grabs a rollup for the pin at 19:43.

Rating: B. Much like the previous match, this was about getting a legend in the ring but the match was better. They had the time to build things up and Dragon more than held up his end out there. Royce felt like a heck of a monster who can do a few things, while Lawlor and Nelson didn’t get to do much. Pretty awesome main event, with the good guys sending the fans home happy.

Post match Dragon leaves but Sami Callihan leads a Pro Wrestling Revolver invasion as we have a promotional war. The Prestige locker room runs out for the save and the challenge for the war is on.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a good show as Prestige does some more nice work. The wrestling was strong, they had a nice mixture of long and shorter matches, nothing was bad and I liked most of what I saw. All in all, you can tell there is a history here and they have put in the effort to make their stuff work. It’s one of the better non-one off shows of the weekend so check these people out if you get the chance.

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Joey Janela’s Spring Break 7
Date: March 31, 2023
Location: Ukranian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Lenny Leonard, Veda Scott

This is the show where you just get to have fun and that is one of the best possible options. With this show, you’re going to see some insanity, some surprises and probably a lot of carnage, which should make for an entertaining night. It’s almost always a fun show and now we get the Los Angles version. Let’s get to it.

Gringo Loco vs. Shane Mercer vs. Tony Deppen vs. Cole Radrick vs. Komander vs. Billie Starkz vs. Blake Christian vs. Alec Price vs. Jack Cartwheel

It’s a Grab The Brass Ring DLC (Doors Ladders and Chairs, winner gets a future title shot of their choice) ladder match, which is at least a step above a scramble (I think). Christian comes out after the introductions and seems to be adding himself to the lineup. Then they call it a ladder match but also a scramble, as apparently the ceiling is too high to put up an actual brass ring so it will be pin or submission. That’s…..a way to go.

Deppen gets in the rather large Mercer’s face to start and the big brawl is on with most of them heading outside. Loco hits a springboard double armdrag on Deppen and Christian. Komander comes in and we get a showdown with Loco, who is hurricanranaed out to the floor. It’s Mercer taking Loco’s place with a backbreaker before Cartwheel is back in to pick up the pace. Cartwheel hits the big flip dive to the floor but Price comes in to clean a few rooms.

Mercer isn’t having that and throws Price over the top to send him outside. Loco is in with some chairs to Mercer’s head, followed by a top rope Canadian Destroyer. The first ladder is brought in as Christian gets to take Deppen down so he can ride the ladder down onto him. Loco is back in with a piledriver to Christian before bringing in a giant ladder. Starkz is back in to kick Loco in the head before going up top with Price.

That goes badly for Starkz, who gets put on and driven through a table for two. Deppen climbs the big ladder but another big ladder is bridged into it. Everyone comes crashing down and Cartwheel dives over the top to put Radrick through another door. Mercer takes Cartwheel up a ladder and hits a moonsault World’s Strongest Slam for two, with Loco using a chair to make the save.

Another door breaks rather quickly and the fans are NOT pleased. Mercer is laid on a door and it’s Loco going up the ladder, with Price on the bridged ladder to meet him (while Komander chills on the top turnbuckle). Price opts to dive on some people, followed by Komander walking the ropes to take out more people. Loco’s flip dive takes out Mercer and Starkz clears out a bunch of the weapons. Radrick comes back in and gets caught with a running forearm in the corner. Starkz plants Radrick but Christian comes in with a Stomp to pin Starkz at 14:07.

Rating: B-. The rules and setup were a little weird but at least they had the more interesting person win. Christian was announced as one of the more controversial/hated stars in the company so giving him the title match is a good idea. It was a pretty wild match, though cutting out two or three people (at least) would have helped.

Video on the Motor City Machine Guns vs. the East West Connection for the Tag Team Titles.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. East West Express

The Express (Jordan Oliver/Nick Wayne) is challenging and the Guns jump them to start with the fight heading outside. Sabin goes after Wayne’s face, which was cut open badly in a match earlier today. The Express gets back in and hits stereo dives though, even as Wayne’s face is bleeding again.

Back in and Sabin gets caught with running boots in the corner but Shelley comes in for the save. Shelly sends the Express into the corner for a hesitation dropkick. The Guns get violent by tying the Express together and pulling on both of them at once. Oliver fights up and hits a running clothesline to Sabin, allowing Wayne to come in off the tag. Sabin is back up with a running boot to cut Wayne off in the corner but he sticks the landing out of a sunset bomb.

Everything breaks down again and Shelly Shell Shocks Wayne for two. The Border City Stretch has Wayne in more trouble and Sabin grabs a Texas Cloverleaf on Oliver. Both of them are broken up so the Guns hit Oliver with the Dream Sequence. Sabin kicks Shelly by mistake to send him to the floor, leaving Sabin to get Stunned into a German suplex. The corner cutter gets two on Sabin and a double cutter out of the corner gets a double two. Another double cutter hits Sabin for the pin and the titles at 12:28.

Rating: B-. It was an energetic match and the title change felt like a big deal, but the ending was a little flat. They just kept hitting the same move until it got a pin, which isn’t exactly a hot ending to a match. The Express winning the titles is a big deal and it’s cool to see the Guns as heels, but this didn’t quite get to the next level.

Here is DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion (comedy 24/7 title from DDT in Japan) Yoshihiko (a female sex doll) for an interview. She is rather silent about being a champion and her title defense earlier today, but will be back in GCW. Cue Charles Mason, with Parrow, to interrupt. Mason jumps Yoshihiko and says she isn’t real before calling this whole thing dump. He whips out a knife and threatens to cut the throat, but Yoshihiko’s handler makes a save. It’s Jimmy Lloyd, who is going to be forced to watch the destruction….until Yoshihiko fights back and chases off the intelligen….er, heels.

Video on Mike Bailey vs. El Hijo del Vikingo.

Mike Bailey vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

Vikingo’s AAA Mega Title isn’t on the line. Believe it or not, they do trade flips around to start and shake hands once neither can get anywhere. An exchange of kicks doesn’t get anyone very far so Vikingo goes up top, loses his balance, jumps back up and mostly hits a super hurricanrana. Vikingo hits a dive to the floor but Bailey kicks him down and nails a middle rope moonsault to the floor.

Back in and a kick to the back gets two on Vikingo as this is already more grounded than anything I’ve seen Vikingo do. A dragon screw legwhip takes Vikingo down and Bailey does it again out of the corner (oh the irony). The leglock goes on so Vikingo crawls over to the rope for the break. Back up and they trade chops (Bailey’s aren’t as loud due to Vikingo’s chest being covered).

They take turns offering their backs to the other for chops….until Bailey kicks him instead. Vikingo is back with some running knees to send Bailey outside, where the shooting star from the apron connects. Back in and the middle rope Phoenix splash gives Vikingo two and Bailey is outside again. The slide takes too long though and Bailey is back up for a top rope moonsault.

Back in and Bailey kicks him down for two but the tornado kick misses. Vikingo’s imploding dragon rana only mostly works and they head to the apron for the exchange of kicks to the chest. Vikingo gets the better of things and climbs to the post, setting up a crazy Canadian Destroyer onto the apron to leave them both on the floor. Back up and Bailey blocks a shooting star with raised knees, setting up a floatover fisherman’s superplex for two (that was cool). Bailey’s Flamingo Driver is blocked though and Vikingo takes him up top for a super swinging Rock Bottom. That sets up the 630 to finish Bailey at 16:57.

Rating: B. This was what you would expect from these two as they were doing all of the crazy flips and dives, though in this case they did slow down a bit between some of the spots. Bailey going after the leg made sense, but ironically enough, Bailey’s opponent didn’t bother to sell the knee for once. It was entertaining, as Vikingo’s monster weekend continues.

Post match money is thrown into the ring and they put it into Vikingo’s helmet to split up later.

Bussy vs. Maki Death Kill

That would be Effy/Allie Katch vs. Nick Gage/Maki Itoh and….egads I have no idea what this is going to be like. As you might expect, the fans go nuts for Gage. The women start things off with a lot of posing and yell at each other a bit but then we have to stop for some Itoh posing. Allie isn’t having that and poses as well, though hers is a bit more suggestive compared to Itoh’s cute stuff.

That’s enough for Allie, who kicks her in the ribs but gets taken down. A falling headbutt is enough for Allie to bring Gage in to face Effy. They have some problems with a leapfrog so Effy drops to his knees. That means he has to slip out of a piledriver attempt so Gage slams him instead. A splash puts Gage down and it’s Allie coming back in to send Gage into the corner. Gage neckbreakers his way out of trouble and hits a suplex, allowing a somewhat reluctant tag to Itoh.

Some horrible right hands in the corner stagger Effy but a tornado DDT works a bit better. Gage whips out the pizza cutter so Allie, who has stolen his bandanna, wraps a chair around his head and sends it into the post. Effy uses the pizza cutter to carve up Itoh’s head and Allie gets in some carving of her own as the violence begins. Gage is back in with a DDT to Allie and a spinebuster to Effy. With Itoh safe…..Gage pulls out a SPECIAL pizza cutter, complete with a bow tie that matches Itoh’s gear.

Bussy both get cut at the same time (via split screen) and Effy is rather busted open. Back up and Allie and Gage hit stereo piledrivers to give us a bit showdown. The chokebreaker gives Gage two but Effy is back in. That earns him a chair shot from Itoh but Effy chairs both of them down. Itoh is so upset that she is about to cry, but flips Allie off for trying to kiss her better. That has Allie crying much harder until Gage is back up. Gage hits something like a One Winged Angel on Allie and Itoh’s diving DDT are good or double pins at 16:11.

Rating: C. It’s Nick Gage so this is only going to be so good in the first place. Save for the pizza cutter, they didn’t get too nuts with the violence, but it was still hard to sit through some of this stuff. Itoh’s gimmick is all around cuteness and that worked well enough, though it was nowhere near as over the top as she was in AEW. Bussy has been around all weekend and while Effy is hard to take at times, he was far less annoying here. Katch is always worth a look so this was a very weird mixture that could have been a lot worse.

Post match Gage and Itoh hit the catchphrase but Matt Cardona (in a Cody Rhodes jacket) and Steph De Lander run in with chairs to beat them down. Cardona calls it BS that they aren’t booked on this show or Wrestlemania. They both mock Gage and Itoh but here is World Champion Masha Slamovich to interrupt. Gage is up to take out Cardona and they fight to the back, so let’s do the impromptu World Title thing.

GCW World Title: Steph De Lander vs. Masha Slamovich

De Lander is in street clothes and challenging. Slamovich starts fast and hammers away but gets knocked hard into the corner. A suplex gives De Lander two but Slamovich gets in a kick to the head. It’s time for a really big door and some chairs, with Slamovich being dropped down onto the latter. Slamovich is fine enough to Air Raid Crash her through the door but here is Cardona to jump Slamovich. Gage and Itoh run in to break up a chair shot to Slamovich and Itoh hits some Reboots on Cardona in the corner. Slamovich chokes De Lander out to retain at 6:23.

Rating: C. This was rather quick and to the point, which is what something set up this way had to be. There is only do much that De Lander can do in street clothes and it more of a “hey we’re here too” deal than anything else. Slamovich hasn’t been champion long so getting her some title defenses piled up isn’t a bad idea. The match was a bit of a mess but it got out before it went too far.

Joey Janela vs. Kota Ibushi

This is Ibushi’s second match since 2021 due to an injury. Feeling out process to start and they go to the mat with Ibushi taking over. Janela grabs a headscissors but has to duck a big kick. Back up and Ibushi dropkicks him to the floor but won’t dive out there too. Janela chops away back inside, with Ibushi telling him to chop harder.

With that not working, Janela slaps on a figure four neck lock until the rope is reached. A hurricanrana sends Janela to the floor and now the springboard moonsault takes him down. Back in and a rolling suplex gives Ibushi two but Janela superplexes him down for a crash. They slug it out on the apron with Janela getting dropped hard to bust him open.

The slugout goes to Janela, who manages a DDT on the apron. Janela takes a good while bridging some doors over some chairs at ringside and Ibushi is back up. What looks to be a German superplex through the table is more a fall through them and Janela is mostly done. Back in and Janela snaps off a Death Valley Driver and then does it again for one.

Another slugout goes to Janela and the rather bloody Janela snaps off a German suplex. Then Ibushi gets his own German suplex, followed by the double clothesline for the double knockdown. Back up and they slap it out until Janela plants him with the package piledriver for two. A bunch of superkicks rock Ibushi but he’s back with a pair of running knees for the pin at 24:19.

Rating: B. This was a weird one as it went from just an ok match to a hard hitting bloodbath. Ibushi isn’t about to lose in his first regular match back (after his first was in Bloodsport) so this was more of a big homecoming. Janela still isn’t exactly great in the ring, but he knows how to put in a match like this and make it work well. Solid main event.

Respect is shown post match. Janela gets the mic and talks about the things that have been going on in recent years. He finally got his first contract with AEW but everything fell apart. He wasn’t sure what he was doing and he had to watch his ex-girlfriend be with someone else. After saying he’s cool with Penelope Ford and Kip Sabian, Janela talks about Kota Ibushi deciding to stay away from WWE and AEW. Janela calls him the embodiment of Japanese wrestling and hugs him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I’m not sure what to think of this one as it was much more a regular show and a good one, but I was expecting something more in the way of over the top. There was a ladder match, a Nick Gage match (take that for what you will) and the rest is straight wrestling. It’s more or less a GCW show and while it’s good (very good actually), it’s not exactly what I was expecting. Heck of a show, though not in the show’s traditional sense.

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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https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/breaking-endeavor-officially-confirms-wwe-purchase-vince-mcmahons-new-job/

This is one of those stories that is going to need a lot of time to see the fallout, but this is interesting in a few ways.

First and foremost, it’s not Saudi Arabia, so that’s a plus.

Second, the sale process is over, and there is no longer hanging over our heads.

Third, Vince McMahon is still the Executive Chairman Of The Board, though creative is still to be determined.

I have no idea where this is leading, but if WWE is allowed to operate mainly as it has been, things should be fine.  That being said, a lot of cuts are likely coming as Endeavor will be trying to get its costs down.  Either way, we’re in a brand new world and that could be fascinating.

Wrestlemania XXXIX Night Two
Date: April 2, 2023
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
America The Beautiful: Jimmie Allen

It’s time to finish the story with the second half of Wrestlemania. That should mean a lot of good things but egads they have a lot to live up to after last night’s great show. The card is stacked again but the big deal is going to be the main event, with Roman Reigns defending the World Title against Cody Rhodes. When a match inside the Cell feels secondary, it’s quite the lineup. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

Jimmie Allen sings America the Beautiful.

Kevin Hart handles the intro again, talking about how in Hollywood, if the first one is a success, a bigger sequel is following. That’s what we’re getting tonight, and the card is stacked.

Miz and Snoop Dogg are in the ring to welcome us to the show, with Miz recapping Night One and giving us a nondescript preview of tonight.

Omos vs. Brock Lesnar

Omos throws him around to start and then does it again for a bonus. A bearhug goes on and Lesnar isn’t sure what to do here. Lesnar fights out and tries to get something going but gets bearhugged again. A chokeslam gives Omos two but he misses a charge in the corner. Lesnar manages the first German suplex (the crowd approves) and the second one looks better. The F5 is loaded up but Brock’s back gives out. The chokebomb is blocked as well though and the F5 finishes Omos at 4:51.

Rating: C+. They kept this short and that is what they should have done. Omos is not going to be able to be out there very long before things get bad so get your stuff in, pop the crowd, head out. That’s all it needed to be and they made it work here, with a match that might not have been good, but it was fun, which is the best they could hope to do.

Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Natalya/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

Morgan gets knocked around to start and Natalya adds a basement dropkick. A running hurricanrana gets Morgan out of trouble and it’s Rodriguez coming in for a splash in the corner. Green comes in with a missile dropkick but Shotzi comes in for a hip attack. Baszler breaks up the cover and throws her outside to Rousey but a triple powerbomb plants Baszler inside.

Everything breaks down and Green is left to pose…until Rodriguez is waiting on her. Instead of fighting, Green would rather dive onto the pile, followed by Rodriguez powerbombing Morgan onto everyone. Back in and Green and Deville take Rodriguez down but Natalya helps Shotzi with a double standing Sliced Bread. The Hart Attack hits Deville for two with Green making the save. Natalya’s double Sharpshooter is broken up and Liv hits Shotzi with the Oblivion but Baszler (who has taken a boot off and seems to be limping) breaks it up. Rousey gets the armbar to finish Shotzi at 8:18.

Rating: C. This was a thing that happened and there isn’t much else to say about it. Rousey and Baszler were barely factors (likely due to injuries), leaving the other six to run through their stuff. As usual, the teams have no history together so you more or less just have random things going on until the finish. It was energetic, but this didn’t look like a good idea when it was announced and it didn’t get much better.

Bobby Lashley, with the Andre the Giant battle royal trophy, is here.

UpUpDownDown previews the Intercontinental Title match.

We recap the Intercontinental Title match. Gunther is the unstoppable champion while Sheamus and McIntyre want to fight each other and to be the champion. Big fight is on.

Intercontinental Title: Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and Titus O’Neil is on commentary. Gunther tells the other two to fight before they all start hitting each other rather hard. McIntyre is knocked to the floor and Gunther gets to chop Sheamus hard against the ropes. The Boston crab goes on Sheamus but McIntyre comes in for the chop off. McIntyre actually knocks Gunther into the corner but Sheamus is back up to fight both of them.

With nothing else working, Gunther gets tied in the ropes for the forearms from McIntyre and the chops from Sheamus until they fall to the floor. Back in and Sheamus hits 29 forearms to McIntyre’s chest (McIntyre fell down on #30) as the fans are VERY pleased here. Gunther blasts Sheamus with a clothesline for two but McIntyre hits a top rope shot to Gunther’s head. Sheamus gets knocked to the floor and Gunther’s powerbomb gets two on McIntyre.

Gunther goes up but Sheamus catches him with the super White Noise and the Celtic Cross gets two. McIntyre is back in to break up the Texas Cloverleaf so Sheamus knees both of them down. The Brogue Kick hits Gunther for two with McIntyre breaking up the pin. McIntyre isn’t done and hits the big flip dive to drop Sheamus (Cole: “Titus, I guarantee you have never done that!” Titus: “AND I NEVER WILL!”).

Back in and the Claymore is countered with the Brogue Kick for two (as the fans keep losing their minds on everything). The second Claymore drops Sheamus for two more and everyone is down. With Gunther on the floor, Sheamus and McIntyre slug it out until Sheamus hits another Brogue but Gunther comes off the top with a splash to break it up. Gunther powerbombs Sheamus onto McIntyre and then powerbombs McIntyre to retain at 16:36.

Rating: A-. I love a match where they don’t even pretend it is going to be anything but what it is. This was advertised as three big, strong men beating the fire out of each other until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That’s exactly what we got here and it was some awesome violence as Gunther racks up another huge title defense. Great stuff here and the next match is in trouble.

We recap Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s Title. Belair has held the title for a year and become a big star but now Asuka is a lot scarier and wants the title back.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair

Belair is defending. Asuka comes to the ring with a bunch of women in masks while Belair has a bunch of children from a charity who dance on stage before she comes out (cool). Belair strikes away to start and takes her into the corner, where Asuka shoves her away without much trouble. Some spinning strikes have Belair in trouble but she can get away before the Asuka Lock can go on.

They go out to the floor where Belair manages a sitout powerbomb (yeowch) but misses a charge into the post back inside. The ankle lock keeps Belair in trouble and a middle rope dropkick gives Asuka two. Belair gets in a shot on the apron and manages an apron superplex for two more. They trade rollups for two each until Asuka’s Codebreaker is blocked.

Belair hits a running Blockbuster into a handspring moonsault for two. Asuka knees her in the face but Belair is back with a running shoulder for another double knockdown. They go into the corner and a Codebreaker gives Asuka two. Belair manages a kind of Glam Slam onto the turnbuckle for two and ducks the mist. The KOD is countered into a cross armbreaker but Belair muscles her up into the KOD to retain at 15:55.

Rating: B. This was another good one, which is all the more impressive after such a lame buildup. The match itself being a success wasn’t really in question as they are too talented to have a bad one, but it went a bit better than I was expecting. Belair is running out of challengers though and outside of Charlotte, they’re going to have to try someone new sooner than later.

Miz and Snoop Dogg announce tonight’s attendance: 81,395 and a two night total of 161,892. With that out of the way, Miz is mad at Snoop Dogg for screwing up last night and getting him into a match. Snoop isn’t having this and brings out someone else. Cue SHANE MCMAHON (he looks blown up from the ramp) and let’s do this.

Shane McMahon vs. Miz

Shane punches away….and then gets hurt on a leapfrog. The referee checks on him and says this is a no go, so Snoop decks Miz and hits a People’s Elbow for the win at 2:12. If that was a work, it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen in years. If that was real, (minus Shane’s injury), it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen in years.

We recap Edge vs. Finn Balor inside the Cell. They’ve been feuding for months since Balor kicked Edge out of Judgment Day, so now it’s time for the final showdown. We get all of the evil/demonic stuff for the build and the Demon is all but guaranteed.

We get a quick trailer for the Devil’s Exorcist movie.

Russell Crowe, the star of said movie, talks about how demons can cause problems.

Edge vs. Finn Balor

In the Cell (No longer red!) and Edge comes out to the Brood entrance (featuring a Slayer song instead of the Brood theme) with a Titantron that says BROOD EDGE (that’s up there with “the JBL persona has never entered the Royal Rumble”). Balor is indeed the Demon again and the entrance loses a bit without the darkness everywhere. Edge punches him in the face to start for no effect so it’s time for the weapons to come in.

We get some colored chairs and kendo sticks, with the latter going over Balor’s back. Balor is tied up in the Cell with the sticks as Edge grabs a table. That takes too long as Balor gets out and sends him into the steps. Back in and Edge hits a quick Impaler but Balor takes him back outside. The beating stays on, including a shotgun dropkick to send Edge through the table against the Cell wall.

With nothing else working, Edge manages a Killswitch and then throws a ladder into Balor’s face. We now pause for the trainers to come in and check on a cut (with the camera staying away from Balor). Edge uses the time to grab all of the weapons he can find until Balor is ready to go again. Balor sends him into the ladder and hits a quick Coup de Grace for two so they climb a ladder in the corner.

A super Impaler brings Edge back down so let’s grab another table. Balor knocks him onto it though and unloads with the chair, only to climb the Cell onto a well placed platform. The Coup de Grace only hits table so Edge hits a spear for two. With that not working, Edge unloads with chair shots and hits the Conchairto for the pin at 18:08.

Rating: B. This was a weird one, with the match just kind of ending rather than building up to something. It felt like they were trying to have Edge be pushed so far and reach a level that Balor can’t touch but it just felt like the match stopped out of nowhere. It’s also weird to see Edge win if he’s probably leaving again, but that might mean giving Balor a big win and that doesn’t happen anymore. The match was violent (because it was a TLC match inside the Cell, as tends to be the case far too often anymore) but it hit a wall and didn’t get any further.

We recap the Hall of Fame ceremony.

The Hall of Fame Class is presented:

Stacy Keibler (yeah sure)
Andy Kaufman (about as perfect of a celebrity as you can get)
Great Muta (absolutely)
Tim White (great choice for the Warrior Award)
Rey Mysterio (perfect choice for a headliner and well deserved)

We recap Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns. Roman has been World Champion for over two and a half years and seems unstoppable. Rhodes is here to win the title for his father Dusty and complete his story. This is the most serious threat Reigns has faced in a long, long time and he could be in trouble.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns

Rhodes is challenging and hugs his family before handing his weightlifting belt to….AEW’s Negative One (unmasked) in the front row. Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa are here with Reigns and we’re ready to go after some rather long entrances (including Reigns demanding acknowledgment). They fight over a lockup to start with Cody getting a headlock (so Heyman can roll his eyes at the CODY chants). A right hand sends Reigns outside for some advice from Heyman (“You’re the relevant one. Now SMASH HIM!”).

Back in and Reigns hits some corner clotheslines but walks into a dropkick so Cody can start working on the arm. The Disaster Kick is countered into the powerbomb for two and Reigns snaps off some suplexes. They head outside and Reigns knocks him up the ramp so the fight can keep going. Cody gets the better of things as they fight back to ringside but Sikoa gets in a chair to the ribs. The referee didn’t see it so Reigns hits the apron dropkick to take over again.

Cody fights up again but Sikoa grabs a boot, allowing Reigns to nail a clothesline. They go to the floor again and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table. Reigns’ powerbomb is countered into a backdrop and Reigns is in trouble again. Back in and Cody hammers away with the Cody Cutter getting two. Reigns heads outside again and there’s the suicide dive. On the way back in, Sikoa gets in a belt shot to the back, which the referee hears for an ejection.

Reigns grabs the belt but gets superkicked into Cross Rhodes for a close two. Back up and Reigns catches Cody from behind, setting up a release Rock Bottom for two more. The Superman Punch is countered into the Pedigree for two more and Cody is looking stunned. Reigns’ spear is countered into a sunset flip for two and the Figure Four goes on (complete with WOO).

Reigns makes the ropes so Cody goes to the apron (Cody: “Fight Cody.”) and they slug it out. Cody misses something off the top and gets speared down for two. Reigns is so frustrated that he unloads with forearms and grabs the guillotine. The arm comes up so Reigns grabs the bodyscissors to really cinch it in. Cody manages to slip his head out and hammers away but the referee gets bumped. Reigns hits a Superman Punch and Cody hits a clothesline to put them both down.

It’s Cody up first and the Cross Rhodes is loaded up but cue the Usos for the double superkick. The 1D drops Cody again but here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (through the crowd for some reason) for the save. The Stunner into the Helluva Kick drops Reigns and the teams fight off, leaving Cody to get a very delayed two. They slug it out until Reigns misses the Superman Punch and Cody hits the Flip Flop and Fly into the Bionic Elbow. Cross Rhodes and Cross Rhodes connect but Heyman offers a distraction so Sikoa can come back in with the Samoan Spike. Reigns hits the spear to retain at 34:37.

Rating: B+. It felt like a major showdown here and the reactions from the crowd were great. The back and forth action was outstanding and I wasn’t sure how it was going until the ending. At the same time though…..wow that is a heck of a way to go, as Reigns doesn’t really have anyone left to face. It felt like a Wrestlemania main event and a huge fight, but egads that is a bold choice for the future. Cody was protected, but it’s going to take some time to come back from this kind of a loss.

A lot of posing and pyro but no Dusty Finish wraps us up.

The highlight package takes us out.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s another great show and I think I liked the action a bit more overall here as even the weakest match on the show was completely fine. The ending was the big surprise and I have no idea where they go from here. There was a lot of fun to be found here and the Intercontinental Title match was great, followed by some other very good stuff. What matters is that it felt like a Wrestlemania and that is one of the hardest things to pull off in all of wrestling. Heck of a show again and absolutely worth seeing.

Overall Overall Rating: A. It’s an all timer over two nights and what makes it even more impressive is that they made the already huge card actually work. That extra pressure makes it even harder but they did it here, with some of the best stuff WWE has done in years. The worst thing over two nights is a watchable six woman tag and the best stuff is some all time quality.

The bigger thing here is the emotion though, as it felt like the biggest show they have presented in years. This show was built up for a long time and then they made the whole thing work. I was invested in so much of this and it gave off the feelings that you’re supposed to get with something this big. Check out all of this, as both nights flew by in a great way.

Results
Brock Lesnar b. Omos – F5
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler b. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez and Natalya/Shotzi – Armbar to Shotzi
Gunther b. Drew McIntyre and Sheamus – Powerbomb to McIntyre
Bianca Belair b. Asuka – KOD
Snoop Dogg b. Miz – People’s Elbow
Edge b. Finn Balor – Conchairto
Roman Reigns b. Cody Rhodes – Spear

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.

Wrestlemania XXXIX Night One
Date: April 1, 2023
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
America The Beautiful: Becky G

Dang it feels good to get to write that again. It’s the first night of the show and the card is pretty stacked. This time around, we have the Usos defending the Tag Team Titles against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, John Cena challenging Austin Theory for the US Title and Charlotte defending the Smackdown Women’s Title against Rhea Ripley. Let’s get to it.

Becky G. sings America The Beautiful.

The opening video features a voiceover talking about how only one man could host this cold open and that is…..Kevin Hart! He talks about how this is the greatest show in the world and it is taking over Tinseltown. Everyone is going Hollywood tonight, which sends us to some of the Wrestlemania trailers.

The set is designed like the Academy Awards stage and looks GREAT. WWE knows their production stuff and they’re showing it again here.

Here is Wrestlemania Host the Miz with….Snoop Dogg. Miz compares their resumes and says they’re the same person. He declares them both to be champions, with Snoop saying the real champions are the ones in the audience. Miz runs down the card and says it’s time to go, so let’s do that.

US Title: Austin Theory vs. John Cena

Cena is challenging but first we look at Cena’s record setting Make-A-Wish numbers. There are a bunch of Make-A-Wish kids on stage as Cena makes his entrance (with a new GI Joe themed shirt). Cena runs him over with the shoulder to start and powers Theory into the corner without much trouble. Back up and Theory seems to bite Cena’s ear, allowing him to take Cena down for a change.

Cena gets in a few right hands but Theory is back with a rolling Blockbuster for two. A quick STF is broken for Cena and Theory stomps him down as the cockiness continues. Theory slips out of the AA and knocks him into the corner again but Cena comes out swinging. The sleeper cuts him off but Cena powers out and initiates the finishing sequence. The referee gets bumped so there is no one to see Theory tapping out to the STF. A low blow sets up A Town Down to retain the title at 11:18.

Rating: C. This was in the very basic mode but what matters is Theory pinned him in the middle of the ring. That is the only way this should have ended and the cheating doesn’t matter. Cena can lose every match he’s in for the rest of time and still be an all time legend, so the loss means nothing. You can tell Cena has lost a few steps, but he was perfectly fine out there all things considered. It should be a big one for Theory though and that’s what matters.

Braun Strowman/Ricochet vs. Street Profits vs. Viking Raiders vs. Alpha Academy

Titus O’Neil is on commentary and Valhalla is here with the Raiders. Gable ankle locks Ricochet rather quickly to start before Otis comes in to run Ricochet over. Everything breaks down though (Titus approves) and the Vikings clear the ring. Ragnarok plants Ford but the Raiders stop to pose, allowing Strowman to run them both over.

Gable is back in and….somehow he manages rolling Chaos Theory to Strowman. The fans REALLY like that one but Dawkins breaks that up. Ivar drops Dawkins and goes up, only to miss a moonsault. Strowman comes off the top with a splash of his own to Ivar (dang) but a bunch of people make a save.

We get a Tower Of Doom, but this time it’s Otis and Ivar holding up Dawkins and Gable with Ford above THEM, allowing Ricochet to hit a high crossbody to break it up. Now the Strowman Express gets going until Dawkins shoulders him down for a big surprise. Ricochet springboard shooting stars down onto Erik and Dawkins but the shooting star inside hits knees. Ford adds the frog splash to pin Ricochet at 8:23.

Rating: B. This feels like eight people were told to go out there and have fun with one big spot after another. You got to see the talented stars showing off (almost showcasing themselves) and it worked well. There were no stakes and it doesn’t mean anything for now, but this was a lot of fun.

The UpUpDownDown team previews Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul via video games.

We recap Paul vs. Rollins. Basically Rollins isn’t happy that Paul is getting this much attention without actually being a wrestler. Paul eliminating him from the Royal Rumble and costing him the Elimination Chamber didn’t help either. Since then, Paul has knocked Rollins out a few times (the steel plate in the hand helps), setting up the match.

Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins

Paul comes down on a zipline (and yes he’d mic’d up) and is accompanied by a dancing bottle of his Prime energy drink. On the other hand, Rollins has a conductor from the Los Angeles Symphony (or something close to it) conducting the crowd as they sing his entrance song. Eh point to Rollins. They circle each other a bit to start with Rollins taking him down without much effort. The Stomp misses but Paul pops back up and sends him outside.

Back in and Rollins sends him into the corner, where Paul snaps Rollins’ throat across the top. The Maverick (Buckshot) Lariat connects and Paul stomps away at the ribs. A standing moonsault gives Paul two and it’s off to an Octopus hold on the mat. With that broken up, Paul jumps from the mat to the top but misses the moonsault, allowing Rollins to throw him over the top.

Three straight suicide dives connect for Rollins and he stomps Paul’s hand on the steps. Back in and they trade rollups for two each before Paul hits the loaded right hand….but he can’t cover because of the stomp. The very delayed cover gets two so Rollins loads up another stomp, only to have the Prime mascot pull Rollins out of the way. It’s…..KSI, Paul’s business partner (and a YouTuber/boxer), which allows Paul to knock him onto the announcers’ table.

The big splash is loaded up but Paul hits KSI as Rollins pulls him in the way. Back in and the Pedigree gets two but the stomp is countered into a fireman’s carry gutbuster (or GTS according to commentary). A frog splash gives Paul two so he tries to go Coast To Coast, only to get superkicked out of the air. The Stomp gives Rollins the pin at 16:11.

Rating: B+. As has been the case, Paul continues to be scary good at this stuff. There were some great near falls in there and Rollins was the right choice to help walk Paul through the match on such a hue stage. Sometimes it’s ok to just let the guys go out there and hit one high spot after another, though they even had the hand injury and Rollins going for the Stomp over and over to tie it together. Paul as a special attraction still works well and it will be great to have him around for the future if he wants to.

We recap Trish Stratus/Lita/Becky Lynch vs. Damage Ctrl. Becky needed some help with the numbers game so Lita showed up for the save. Then they won the titles and Trish Stratus showed up to help as well. Now it’s a six woman tag, with Trish slightly miffed at the suggestion that she is Becky’s backup.

Trish Stratus/Lita/Becky Lynch vs. Damage Ctrl

Trish and company get a comic book themed video and come to the ring in black and white with CGI rain. Well that’s different. The brawl is on before the bell and Becky can’t get the Manhandle Slam. An assisted double neckbreaker drops Becky and Sky hits a running boot in the corner. Becky kicks her way out of trouble but Kai breaks up the tag attempt. The second attempt works though and it’s Lita coming back in to clean house (while looking rather slow and hesitant at times).

A cheap shot puts Damage Ctrl back in, uh, control and the beating is on. Lita suplexes her way out of trouble though and it’s Trish coming in to fire off on Kai in the corner. A neckbreaker gets two on Kai but the Stratusphere is broken up. Instead, Trish sends Kai down onto the other two in a big crash. Back in and Becky’s top rope legdrop sets up the legdrop but the Disarm-Her is broken up.

The Manhandle Slam is broken up and Sky gets in a cheap shot, allowing Bayley to hit the Rose Plant for two, with Lita making the save. Everything breaks down and Stratus hits Kai with Stratusfaction. Becky rolls Bayley up for two and everyone but Sky falls to the floor. Sky moonsaults onto the pile and everyone heads back inside for a slugout. Lita hits the Twist of Fate and Trish hits the Chick Kick, setting up the Litasault. Becky adds a super Manhandle Slam to finish Bayley at 14:37.

Rating: C-. This could have been a lot worse. It wasn’t exactly great but this was more about having Trish and Lita on the big stage again. They are still legends and of course they’re nowhere near what they once were. Neither of them has wrestled a regular schedule and they’re shells of their former selves. The big thing though is they’re still some of the biggest names ever in women’s wrestling and wrestling legends period. Becky got the pin so it isn’t like one of the legends beat a modern star. It wasn’t very good, but it was also far from some disaster.

We recap Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio. Rey has tried to be the best father he can to Dominik but wasn’t always there because of wrestling. Eventually Dominik got sick of living in his shadow and joined Judgment Day, who he says is his real family. Then Dominik got arrested for invading Rey’s house on Christmas Eve, earning him a jail sentence of…a few hours. Then earlier this month, Dominik insulted his mom and that was enough to get Rey to FINALLY agree to fight him.

We see Dominik being taken from his cell and being put in the back of a police van…which is then backed into the arena. Dominik, still cuffed and in a lucha mask (looks like Rey’s from Halloween Havoc 1997), is taken to the ring by armed guards. Because of course he does.

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

Rey on the other hand comes to the ring in a low rider, as driven by Snoop Dogg, complete with the VIVA LA RAZA start to Eddie Guerrero’s theme. After Rey greets Bad Bunny (on Spanish commentary), we’re ready to go. Dominik shoves him around a bit and poses but Rey sends him outside to even things up a bit. Back in and Rey snaps off a running hurricanrana before sending him into the corner for a spanking with a belt.

Dominik rolls outside to throw a drink at his sister Aliyah, drawing her over the barricade. Rey isn’t having that and helps get her back over, allowing Dominik to get in a cheap shot. A Falcon Arrow drops Rey again and Dominik goes outside to yell at his mom. She slaps the heck out of him (oh yeah there’s a reaction) and Rey makes the save, while throwing in a kiss. Dominik gets in a cheap shot back inside as the rest of Judgment Day is here.

Dominik loads up a powerbomb and sends Rey backwards, face first into the buckle (that looked NASTY). Three Amigos are broken up and Rey fights back up but the Judgment Day distraction lets Dominik get in a cheap shot. Cue the LWO (took them long enough) to go after Judgment Day but the distraction lets Dominik hit a 619 into the frog splash for two. With nothing else working, Dominik whips out a chain but Bad Bunny takes it away. The 619 and a frog splash connect to finish Dominik at 14:28.

Rating: A-. This was GREAT and I had a blast with the whole thing. The main thing here is the fans were into it the whole way and carried it so much further. The key to the whole story is that it is something you can relate to. How many parents have had a kid who thought way too much of themselves and ran their mouth to the point where you wanted to (emphasis on those words) smack them? The action was awesome and I wasn’t sure who was winning until the ending, so well done all around. Quite likely Rey’s best Wrestlemania match ever too.

Backlash ad.

We recap Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley. They have met before at Wrestlemania and Charlotte beat her, which has Charlotte believing that she can do it again. This is a different Ripley though and she is ready to prove that she is the best.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley is challenging. They hit shoulders to start with Charlotte going down, allowing Rhea to tell her to suck it. Back in and they slug it out, with Ripley knocking her into the corner. Ripley bodyscissors her, followed by a German suplex to cut off the comeback. Charlotte gets in a shot and goes after the knee, as is her custom, but Ripley isn’t having that. Riptide is blocked and they trade big boots to leave them both down.

They slug it out until Charlotte snaps off a fall away slam and goes up top. That takes too long though and Ripley catches her with a release German superplex for two, leaving Ripley stunned. Charlotte goes to the knee again and Natural Selection gets two. They go outside with Charlotte missing a charge into the steps, allowing Ripley to hit a belly to back faceplant for two.

Charlotte rolls some German suplexes but Ripley gets one of her own (with Charlotte almost landing on her head). Charlotte is fine enough to hit a big boot and Ripley is sent outside, where the moonsault connects. The Figure Four is blocked and Charlotte almost runs into the referee, leaving Ripley to hit Riptide for…two (yeah you knew Charlotte would get to kick out of that at least once).

The stunned Ripley gets small packaged for two and the Prism Trap goes on instead. Charlotte makes the ropes and the referee is almost bumped, meaning a spear can give Charlotte two. They slug it out until Charlotte hits another big boot into the Figure Four but Ripley is right next to the ropes. Ripley goes to the apron and they both go up, with Charlotte being dropped face first onto the post. Charlotte is out and the super Riptide gives Ripley the pin and the title at 23:32.

Rating: B+. This started slowly but once they got into the big falls they had me wondering where it was going. While it would have been hard to imagine Ripley losing, there is always that chance with Charlotte in there. What matters is Ripley gets the win that matters and becomes the new star. Charlotte needs to go away from Ripley for a bit (it feels like she hasn’t been on Raw in a long time) and let her be the big deal. For now they, I’ll take Ripley getting the title that she has earned and getting it by pinning Charlotte at Wrestlemania.

Austin Theory brags about his win and asks if you believe in Theory now.

Miz and Snoop Dogg announce the attendance: 80,497. Dogg says the only thing better than those numbers would be if Miz had a match. As it turns out, Miz has put out an open challenge for a Wrestlemania match (even on MySpace) and no one answered. Cue Pat McAfee to say he didn’t see an open challenge but he’s in his Wrestlemania tank top.

Miz says he would love to but just because he is the Wrestlemania host doesn’t mean he can make matches. That’s good for a TINY BALLS chant and McAfee asks who can make a match. Snoop decides he can and the match is on. Miz yells at him but Snoop says “I don’t do this. I rap.” And we’re off.

Miz vs. Pat McAfee

Miz is in street clothes and walks into a spinebuster. McAfee puts him on top and backflips off, allowing Miz to dive into a superkick to send him outside. Miz yells at San Francisco 49 (and wrestling fanatic) George Kittle, who jumps the barricade and clotheslines him, allowing McAfee to flip dive off the pose to take Miz out. Back in and the punt finishes Miz at 3:31.

Rating: C. It was quick, it was funny, they had the celebrity stuff includes and Miz losing is hardly anything new. This was a nice way to give the fans something easy between the Women’s Title match and the main event. Throw in Graves losing his mind over all things McAfee and this was a quick side trip that didn’t hurt anything.

Wrestlemania XL is in Philadelphia.

We recap Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. the Usos. Zayn was at his lowest point just after Wrestlemania last year and needed help. He tried to join the Bloodline and finally got them to say yes, though Jey Uso didn’t trust him. During his attempts to get the team to trust him, Zayn attacked on/off again friend Kevin Owens. Then Roman Reigns changed his mind on Zayn, who turned on Reigns to leave the Bloodline. Jey, who had finally embraced him, walked away as Zayn tried to get Owens on his side. Zayn finally begged enough and got Owens to join him again to fight the Bloodline, including the title match here.

Lil Uzi Vert (a rapper from Philadelphia) performs before the Usos’ entrance and then poses with them.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

Owens and Zayn are challenging and it’s pretty amazing that they have made it here. Zayn starts with Jimmy but let’s make it Jey instead. Jey takes over and sends Zayn outside for a clothesline and posting. Back in and the champs start taking turns on Zayn, who gets to stagger around like he’s barely hanging in there as he does so well. Zayn finally gets away though and hands it off to Owens who comes in and goes nuts.

A Swanton off the top to the floor takes out both Usos and a bullfrog splash gets two back inside. The Swanton only hits Jimmy’s knees though and Jey adds the Superfly Splash for two. Owens pops back up though and kicks Jimmy into the corner for the Cannonball. Zayn brainbusters Jey into the apron and the Swanton gives Owens two on Jimmy in a near fall. Zayn’s Superfly Splash gets two on Jimmy and there’s the Blue Thunder Bomb but Jey comes in off a blue tag.

A jumping superkick hits Zayn for two and even more superkicks get two more, with Owens making the save. Double basement superkicks get two more on Zayn, who won’t give up. Owens breaks up the 1D though and sends Jimmy into the announcers’ table over and over. Jey makes the save though and it’s a double chokeslam to send Owens through the table. Now the 1D connects on Zayn for two and Jey is livid.

Jey unloads on Zayn in the corner and Zayn of course looks like he’s dead on his feet (or incredibly drunk), with a Helluva Kick from Jey making it worse. The trash talk is on but Zayn hits an exploder into the corner. Owens is back up for the tag and it’s a Helluva Kick to Jimmy and a Stunner to Jey….for two in a heck of a false finish (they got me there). They both stand up (Owens: “LET’S END IT”!) and it’s time for the barrage of superkicks.

Owens gets dropped and Zayn is kicked on the floor, setting up the double Superfly Splash for the very near fall. More superkicks drop Owens but he reverses a superplex into the swinging superplex, allowing the big tag to Zayn. The Helluva Kick in the corner hits Jey and, after Zayn whispers something to him, another Helluva Kick knocks him silly. Owens Stuns Jimmy and the third Helluva Kick finishes Jey and ends the title reign at 24:07.

Rating: A-. This was all about the moment and it was a smash hit. They had set this story up months ago and now they got the chance to pay the whole thing off. The last few minutes were the kind of situation where you could feel the big moment coming but they made you wait for it anyway. It was a heck of a match (cut out the superkick spamming and it’s even better) and the best way to close out a pretty awesome night.

Owens and Zayn celebrate in an emotional moment.

The big highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show with only a little bit that wasn’t very good or better. Wrestling aside though, this was built around one important thing: stories that had been set up months in advance and are being paid off. Theory vs. Cena, Rey vs. Dominik, Ripley vs. Charlotte and the main event were all set up a good while ago and we got to see how it went to get us to the payoffs. That made them all the sweeter and it was a much more emotional moment as a result.

As for the show itself, you had a series of strong matches, with Rey vs. Dominik, the Women’s Title and the main event all being awesome, plus a very good showcase match. The six woman tag wasn’t very good and the opener was just ok, but the rest of the show worked well. I had a blast with this show and it felt special, which is the point of Wrestlemania. Nicely done and Night Two has its work cut out.

Results
Austin Theory b. John Cena – A Town Down
Street Profits b. Braun Strowman/Ricochet, Alpha Academy and Viking Raiders – Frog splash to Ricochet
Seth Rollins b. Logan Paul – Stomp
Trish Stratus/Lita/Becky Lynch b. Damage Ctrl – Super Manhandle Slam to Bayley
Rey Mysterio b. Dominik Mysterio – Frog splash
Rhea Ripley b. Charlotte – Super Riptide
Pat McAfee b. Miz – Punt
Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens b. Usos – Helluva Kick to Jey

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.

We’re still in Los Angeles for the second half of Wrestlemania after what was a (pick your own adjective based on however the show, which hasn’t happened yet, was once you’ve seen it after this is posted) night, it should be easy/difficult to top. This is the night where we finally get Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the World Title and that should be quite the showdown. The rest of the show looks good too so maybe we’re in for something. Let’s get to it.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka

We’ll get one of the weaker entries out of the way to start. This is a match that is likely going to be very good due to the talent involved but the build has been lacking to put it mildly. There isn’t much of a reason for these two to be fighting and Belair being scared of Asuka isn’t so interesting. Asuka can more than carry her end, but she needs a little more than this so far.

I’ll take….I guess Asuka here, as Belair has held the title for a year now and really needs to drop the thing so someone else can get a chance. Asuka’s new persona is only so different than her last but she is more than good enough to be the champion, even if it is just for a little while. There is a good chance that Belair keeps the title again, but she probably shouldn’t after a year of being champion.

Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler vs. Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Natalya/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville

This is the women’s showcase match, which is still one of the weirder ideas that WWE has had in a good while. The teams are mostly inexperienced or brand new, with Rousey and Baszler being the only regular team. Then again last year’s Women’s Tag Team Titles went about the same way, meaning I don’t have much reason for this to be very interesting here again.

I’ll take Rodriguez and Morgan to win as they would likely be the crowd favorites. The only other option (which might make the most sense) is Rousey/Baszler, who need to be going after the Women’s Tag Team Titles sooner than later. This comes off as a way to get a bunch of people on the card without having a battle royal and while it might accomplish the goal, it isn’t feeling interesting. But yeah, I’ll go with Rodriguez and Morgan to win.

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos

Somehow this is the best thing they could get together for Lesnar (including making him happy, which can’t be easy) and I’m not exactly feeling it. I’m almost scared to see what is going to happen when these two are given any kind of time together, as Omos hasn’t shown the ability to be a ring general. That leaves Lesnar, who might be more likely to turn Omos into a really big sandwich.

That being said, I’ll go with Lesnar winning here in a short match. You can’t ask them to go long (not without expecting quite a bit of disaster) so we’ll go with Lesnar winning with the big impressive F5. This is a match that isn’t going to much to do so keeping it quick and impactful is the right idea. Omos winning makes sense if Lesnar is leaving, but for now I’ll take Lesnar, who will almost absolutely be back someday.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther(c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

This is the kind of match that is going to be all about hitting each other really hard. That is how to get the fans up again because it is easy to get behind the idea of three people trying to survive and leave as champion. It’s a good formula and these three can make it work. If they make it work here, we could be in for a showdown, but the question is who leaves with the title.

I don’t think I can imagine Gunther losing the title yet, even if he doesn’t get pinned, so I’ll say he retains here. Sheamus and McIntyre are going to beat the fire out of each other and it’s going to be a blast, but what matters here is three big men doing their power stuff until one of them can’t get up. This should be a lot of fun and the story is there too, so just make it work.

Edge vs. Finn Balor

What are we now, nine months into this feud? I get why it takes time but it would be nice to have things pick up a bit. Either way, what matters here is that this is in the Cell (which is apparently no longer red) and Balor is going to be the Demon. The match has certainly been built up long enough and while it might not be the hottest feud anymore, we should be in for a good one.

In theory this should be Balor winning because he’ll likely be around more often, though Edge has a tendency to win his big matches more often than not. I’ll go with Balor as he really needs the win, but it’s a prediction likely to go wrong. There is likely going to be a ton of interference from Judgment Day and Beth Phoenix, but at least everything has been set up fairly well.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Cody Rhodes

There are times when the Wrestlemania main event feels like the biggest match they could come up with at the time, but there are also occasions when the Wrestlemania main event feels like the most important match anywhere. The latter is true this year, as WWE has turned taking down the Bloodline into the biggest story in wrestling. Rhodes wants the title for his family’s legacy, but also to take out the Bloodline’s heart. Now can he do it?

There is a real argument for Reigns retaining here, as he is the biggest star in wrestling by a mile and the longest reigning champion in about thirty five years. If you pull the trigger on Rhodes right now, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. At the same time, if Rhodes loses here, what exactly is he supposed to do next? I’ll go with Rhodes, just because I don’t know what they do if he loses.

Overall Thoughts

Much like last night, this feels like a Wrestlemania worthy card. I want to see what happens with this show and Reigns vs. Rhodes is the biggest match that I can imagine right now. WWE has done a great job of setting things up and now they have the potential to execute it just as well. I love having that feeling of grandeur back again and if they can make it all work, we’ll be in for a heck of a night.

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

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GCW vs. DDT
Date: March 31, 2023
Location: Ukranian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Veda Scott

I think the title for this one says it all and that could go in a few different directions. I wasn’t thrilled with the DDT show from earlier in the week and GCW is hit or miss a lot of the time. Shows pitting two promotions against each other can be quite a mess but that’s part of the fun of seeing what they have. Let’s get to it.

Jack Cartwheel/Wasted Youth/Gringo Loco (GCW) vs. Daisuke Sasaki/Kanon/Sanshiro Takagi/Takeshi Masada (DDT)

Wasted Youth is Marcus Mathers/Dyln McKay and this is one fall to a finish. Takagi and Cartwheel start things off and Scott volunteers to be the official cartwheel counter. Cartwheel does a cartwheel and Takagi manages one of his own as I don’t think this is going to be overly serious. It’s already off to Sasaki vs. Mathers with Mathers sending him into the corner and snapmaring him back out.

With that going nowhere, McKay comes in to headlock Masada, who is right back out with a dropkick. McKay is fine enough to come back with a spinning brainbuster for two and everything breaks down. We settle back to Kanon fist dropping onto McKay and it’s back to Takagi to stay on McKay. Some rapid fire chops are enough to get over to Loco for the tag and everything breaks down fast.

Cartwheel hits a big flipping elbow over the top, setting up a big dive to the floor (with a Loco assist). Back in and Kanon chops away at Loco before Sasaki faceplants him down. Takagi is back in for a bunch of Stunners but McKay is there with an enziguri to Masada. Loco adds a moonsault, McKay hits a shooting star press, Mathers puts in a 450 and Cartwheel finishes with a Red Arrow for the pin at 10:39.

Rating: C+ This was a good way to start as you got a nice mixture of the two sides, with GCW getting to showcase themselves a bit. DDT didn’t stand out quite as much, but there is only so much you can do when most of you are in black and getting beaten up in the end. Fun match and they’re on the right path so far.

GCW – 1
DDT – 0

Saki Akai (DDT) vs. Dark Sheik (GCW)

Feeling out process to start as they circle each other until Sheik drops her with a shoulder. Back up and Akai hits a big boot but Sheik kicks her down even harder. A slingshot legdrop into a slingshot hilo keeps Akai down, followed by a splits splash for two. Akai manages to come back with a kick of her own and a high crossbody for two.

Sheik gets her leg swept out so a running knee can give Akai two. They slug it out, including boots to the head, with Akai getting the better of it and knocking her down. Akai grabs the abdominal stretch but Sheik reverses into a small package for the surprise pin to extend the lead at 7:19.

Rating: C. Nice match here as they felt even enough (maybe a slight advantage to Akai) as the good start to the show continues. I’ve seen Akai twice so far and she has done well in both matches, as there is a little something about her that makes you want to keep watching. On the other hand you have Sheik, who seems like she has something going for her and I could go for a few more matches.

GCW – 2
DDT – 0

East West Express (GCW) vs. Moonlight Express (DDT)

That would be Nick Wayne/Jordan Oliver vs. Mao/Mike Bailey. Wayne and Bailey start things off with a standoff so it’s off to Mao to shoulder Oliver (I had been waiting to see him this weekend). A dropkick puts Oliver down so Wayne comes in to help Oliver clear the ring. Naturally that means stereo dives but they try again and get punched out of the air by Bailey and Mao. Back in and Mao hits a springboard knee to keep Oliver in trouble, meaning it’s time to start in on the arm.

Mao rolls him into an abdominal stretch so Wayne makes the save, only to be knocked outside. Bailey moonsaults onto Wayne and Mao moonsaults onto Oliver for two, only to have Oliver blasts Bailey with a clothesline for two. The hot tag brings in Wayne to clean house until Mao drops him hard. Mao literally wiggles his way out of a waistlock but Wayne is back with a handspring Stunner.

It’s back to Oliver to take over on Bailey, including a running boot in the corner and sitout powerbomb for two. Wayne comes back in and gets caught with Bailey’s bouncing kicks. Oliver and Wayne are sent outside and stereo moonsaults from Mao and Bailey (from the same corner, with their arms around each other) drop them again. Wayne is busted open (it’s a bad one too) and it’s a double clothesline into a double hiptoss for two on Bailey.

Mao and Bailey are back with stereo backflip slams (Cameron Grimes does it in NXT) for two each. The Ultimate Weapon hits Oliver but Mao’s 450 hits knees. A tiger suplex gets two with Bailey shoving Wayne into the cover for the save. Wayne is kicked to the floor and the Tornado Driver (something like Aussie Open’s Coriolis) gets a rather close two. Oliver and Bailey trade rollups until a double team middle rope cutter plants Bailey for the pin at 16:20.

Rating: B+. This took its time to get going but I was way into it by the end and they had it rocking. I hadn’t seen these teams together before but you can tell they have the experience and skill to work well together. Heck of a match here and one of the better things I’ve seen so far this weekend.

GCW – 3
DDT – 0

Veda Scott swaps out with someone named Nick Knowledge.

Starboy Charlie (GCW) vs. Kazusada Higuchi (DDT)

The much bigger Higuchi takes him into the corner and gives Charlie a rub of the head before letting him go. Charlie tries to pick up the pace and goes for the leg, setting up a basement dropkick. Higuchi’s chop takes Charlie down and a running splash gets two. The neck crank goes on but doesn’t keep Charlie down long, leaving Higuchi to knock him down again.

A middle rope elbow hits Charlie for two, so he begs Higuchi not to chop him. That makes Higuchi chop him hard enough to put Charlie down but he’s back up with a Thesz press of all things. Charlie gets sat on top, where he manages to slip through Higuchi’s legs and hit a heck of a powerbomb. For some reason Charlie tries to chop it out, even nipping up when Higuchi knocks him down.

Charlie’s chest is blood red and Higuchi blasts him with a clothesline for two. A missed charge sends Higuchi into the post and out to the floor, allowing Charlie to get in a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and a middle rope corkscrew moonsault gets two, allowing Charlie to pull his straps up….and then right back down.

Higuchi has had it with this and grabs a doctor bomb for two, with the kickout just getting on Higuchi’s nerves. The claw slam is countered into a crossface and Charlie even rolls back into the middle. With the rope not working, Higuchi muscles him up for an Oklahoma Stampede. For some reason Charlie flips him off and gets flattened with a running shoulder. Now the claw slam can finish Charlie at 11:40.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t exactly a great match but it told a story and that made it work. You could see Higuchi go from toying with Charlie to having to put in the work to beat him, making this get more interesting as it went on. Charlie didn’t get in a ton of offense but what he did looked effective, which isn’t easy given the size difference. They pulled me in with this one and that isn’t easy to do so nice job.

GCW – 3
DDT – 1

Veda Scott comes back.

Joey Janela (GCW) vs. Yuki Ueno (DDT)

Ueno shoulders away to start but gets taken into the corner. Janela stomps on the fingers and starts in on the arm, including a hammerlock. Ueno fights out and sends him into the corner before tying him in the ropes. A running faceplant on the apron rock Janela, who is fine enough to come back with a Death Valley Driver for two. Janela sends him outside for the suicide dive, followed by the Fujiwara armbar on the bad arm back inside.

That’s broken up as well but Ueno misses a knee. A superkick just makes Ueno snap off a dropkick for two, only to have Janela hit the brainbuster. Janela goes up top but gets caught with a super hurricanrana. That and a flipping Fameasser (as in a Fameasser with the arm trapped and they flip forward until Janela lands on his face) for the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C. Janela still isn’t the best in the ring but there is a weird charisma to him that makes him watchable. At the same time Ueno is someone who feels like he could be a star with some more experience and seasoning. It didn’t make for the best match, but Ueno’s offense was enough to keep it interesting.

GCW – 3
DDT – 2

Tony Deppen/Homicide (GCW) vs. Tetsuya Endo/Jun Akiyama (DDT)

Akiyama and Homicide look at each other a lot to start before it’s time to exchange wristlocks. It’s too early for Akiyama’s exploder so it’s off to Deppen vs. Endo. Deppen gets caught in a headlock and then gets shouldered to the mat. Deppen is back up for a nice looking dropkick and it’s back to Homicide for a running clothesline. Akiyama comes in and goes to the floor with Homicide instead.

The other two go to the floor as well and we have to go split screen for the double brawls. Homicide bends Akiyama’s fingers before heading back inside where Deppen can wrap the arm around the rope. Biting in the corner has Akiyama in more trouble but he comes back with a jumping knee. Endo comes back in to pick up the pace, including a springboard double clothesline.

Homicide manages a shot to take Endo down though and Deppen comes in off the top with a double stomp for two. Endo Boston crabs Deppen with Homicide grabbing a cutter for the save. That leaves Akiyama to come back in for the throws. With Deppen down, Endo adds the Burning (shooting) Star press for the pin at 12:20.

Rating: C+. Nice enough stuff here as you had a unique styles match here. Homicide can wrestle with just about anyone and Deppen has such a punchable face that it is easy to want to see him get beaten up. Akiyama and Endo both did well too, which shouldn’t be a surprise. I’m not with on a lot of Homicide’s stuff but it meshed well here.

GCW – 3
DDT – 3

Second Gear Crew (GCW) vs. Chris Brookes/Shunma Katsumata/Mizuki Watase (DDT)

The Crew is 1 Called Manders/Matthew Justice/Mance Warner and they get jumped from behind during their entrances. The fight starts on the floor and I’m not sure how much tagging you should expect here. Warner chairs Brookes but Brookes throws it at Warner’s already bleeding head. Back in and Manders takes off his boots to hammer away at some heads, only to run into some Legos (while wearing only socks).

Brookes breaks some kind of bin over Justice’s head and it’s Warner coming back in for a bunch of jabs to Brookes’ face. Warner grabs a ladder and does the helicopter spin until a low blow cuts him off. Katsumata puts the ladder around his own neck but gets picked up and speared down in a big crash. The DDT guys get back up and stack the bins together, setting up a top rope backsplash to drive Justice through the bins (they broke well) and into the Legos for two.

Everyone is back up for the strike offs with DDT taking over. Brookes grabs the staple gun and staples the Crew’s heads, only to have them all fight back. Katsumata gets stapled in a variety of places and now it’s time for the door. The PowerPlex through the door gets two so Manders manages to pick up both of his partners at once (geez). The charge misses though and Manders drives both of them through another door in the corner.

DDT all goes up for a triple Van Terminator and a triple near fall. The doors are set up again on the floor and Katsumata dives off a ladder to drive Justice through them. Back in and the Crew starts swinging doors to take over, followed by a chair to Watase’s head. Watase just screams a lot and sends Warner outside. Manders lariats Katsumata and Warner adds a DDT for the pin at 15:19.

Rating: C. This is the kind of hardcore match that you kind of expect from GCW but they didn’t get into the stupid/over the top stuff that gives the place its reputation. The Crew is a team that feels like they could be a constant in GCW as they work well together and have a good look. The DDT guys were fine, but I absolutely didn’t need to see one of them get chaired in the head like that. Cut that stuff out.

GCW – 4
DDT – 3

We run down some upcoming shows while the ring is cleaned up.

Pheromones (DDT) vs. Bussy (DDT)

That would be Danshoku Dino/Yuhi Ino vs. Effy/Allie Katch and I still have nightmares about that one Pheromones match. After a somewhat personal weapons check, we’re ready to go. Allie and Ino start things off but hang on as Ino needs to pose on the middle rope (Effy seems VERY interested). Allie finally kicks Ino in the gut after nearly two minutes of posing but he takes her down and exposes his nipples.

Effy comes in to face Dino and they lock it up, with Allie having to prevent a kiss. With that not working, Effy goes for a waistlock and Dino bends over. Everything breaks down and Effy is rather pleased with the idea of Ino unzipping his singlet. Dino slaps at Effy’s trunks, with Effy sitting on the buckle for easier access. That finally breaks up and a double atomic drop gets two on Ino.

Effy and Ino have a gyrate off until Ino starts to strip. That means only the jockstrap is left and Effy needs a minute. Dino takes his trunks off too and Effy is officially on their team. The Pheromones do their Merry Go Round deal (it involves rubbing various parts of their bodies over someone’s face) to Allie but Effy throws her aside to take her place. Then Effy takes his own trunks down and makes it a three person Merry Go Round.

Effy breaks up the cover so Allie gets caught in a Boston crab/headscissors, meaning her face goes between Ino’s legs. Effy finally throws some forearms and Allie kicks Ino low as this just keeps going. Allie takes down her own trunks and hits some cannonballs in the corner. A Stunner and Pedigree get stereo near falls because THIS JUST KEEPS GOING. Effy takes Ino into the corner for some hip thrusts to the face before putting him in another corner. A Human Centipede ensues, including various referees, which is finally a no contest at 13:38.

Rating: F. Nope.

GCW – 4
DDT – 3

A triple kiss ensues post match.

Ironman Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko (DDT) vs. Cole Radrick (GCW)

Yoshihiko (still a blow up sex doll) is defending. Radrick shakes her hand to start and gets taken down with a headlock takeover. Another headlock takeover cuts Radrick down and an armdrag sends him to the floor. A big flip dive over the top is pulled out of the air though and Yoshihiko is launched into the wall. They go back to ringside where Yoshihiko hits a tornado DDT on the floor and gets two back inside.

Radrick’s powerbomb attempt is countered into a very spinning headscissors for two. A splash in the corner is broken up and Yoshihiko grabs a super hurricanrana to send Radrick outside. The big flip dive drops Radrick again but he’s fine enough to hit an Air Raid Crash into the corner. It’s time for a door because of course it is, plus a bunch of chairs (some of which land on Yoshihiko).

The door is sat on some tables but Radrick takes too much time to go up, allowing Yoshihiko to sit up. There’s the superplex through the table for two but Radrick is back with a running Death Valley Driver through a door in the corner. Yoshihiko’s piledriver gets two and she throws some chairs at his head. Back up and Radrick Death Valley Drivers her onto a chair for the pin at 14:36.

Rating: C. As was the case in the previous Yoshihiko match, this is a different kind of entertainment and the wrestling really isn’t there. This is all about the fans having a good time and I can give the human points for some creativity with some of this stuff. At the very least, it is something different that the fans like. I won’t argue with anyone who thinks it’s idiotic or a waste of time, but given the other stuff on this show, it was brilliant.

GCW – 5
DDT – 4

Post match they shake hands and Yoshihiko kicks him low. A small package gives her the title back.

Overall Rating: C. This is a tricky one because there is some good stuff on here, but the bad is just so awful that it’s hard to get my head around it. There is a special skill needed to do something that awful and stupid and they managed to pull both of them off here. Other than that and the main event (the ultimate your mileage may vary deal), the rest of the show was up and down, with the tag match being very good but some of the other stuff just being kind of there. I probably won’t be back to DDT anytime soon, but the GCW talent has some potential. Not a great show, but that’s mainly due to a few things rather than the whole.

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

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Stand & Deliver 2023
Date: April 1, 2023
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s probably the biggest NXT show of the year as they get to set the table for tonight’s Wrestlemania. This show is solid enough on its own though with multiple title matches, including the closest thing the modern NXT has to a dream match. The main event will see Carmelo Hayes finally challenging Bron Breakker for the NXT Title so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Chase U vs. Schism

The winners control Chase University. Chase starts with Fowler and hammers him into the corner so it’s off to Reid instead. Hudson tags himself in, which doesn’t sit so well. Hail comes in and gets to face the debuting Ava. Or maybe not as Ava hands it off to Gacy, which brings Chase in for the fight. Gacy knocks him down and tries his own spelling stomps, which is going too far for Chase.

With Chase in control, Hail comes back in, meaning Ava has to join her. Ava powers her down but Hail gets in a knockdown. A springboard backsplash connects so Fowler makes the save and comes in to face Bate. Some interference helps put Bate in trouble so he muscles Fowler up into a suplex and dives over for the tag to Chase.

Everything breaks down and Bate is sent to the floor as Hudson FINALLY comes in for the save. Bate hits Bop and Bang on Gacy but Hudson big boots Bate down by mistake. The handspring lariat connects but Gacy Chase makes the save. Schism takes everyone but Hudson down and Gacy offers him a shirt.

The Chase U shirt comes off (that gets the fans’ attention) and the Schism shirt goes on, but the rest of Chase U stands up to fight anyway (that was good). Then Hudson rips off the shirt and the real fight is on, with quadruple Bop and Bangs into quadruple spelling stomps. Bate and Hail hit dives to the floor, setting up the Fratliner to finish Fowler and save the school at 11:16.

Rating: C+. The crowd reaction here was a good sign as the fans have long since wanted to see Chase U get the big win. Hudson changing shirts twice was a heck of a roller coaster sequence and that is what they were trying to have. This should finish off the Schism feud for good and that is not a second too soon. Now get them on to some kind of title feud already, as it is LONG overdue.

The opening video looks at the major matches, with Pretty Deadly throwing in some comments about what we’re going to see and how important it is.

Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton vs. Gigi Dolin vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Zoey Stark vs. Indi Hartwell

Perez is defending in a ladder match. The fight is on to start with Perez headscissoring Stark into Stratton in the corner. Perez hammers Valkyria down and low bridges Stark to the floor, setting up the dive on Hartwell. The ladder is picked up but a baseball slide drives it into Perez instead. Dolin tries her own ladder, which is baseball slidden into her as well. Perez and Valkyria get back in and fight over control of a ladder until Perez gets crushed into the corner.

Back up and Valkyria kicks Dolin in the head before suplexing her into the corner. Valkyria starts to go up but gets broken up, with Hartwell getting to kick Stark in the face a few times. Perez cuts off Hartwell from going up and slugs it out with Stratton on the ladder until Hartwell shoves it over. Dolin is back in with the ladder around the head helicopter spot before sending Valkyria onto a ladder laid up in the corner.

The big ladder is brought in and Perez, after avoiding a ladder being thrown at her, goes up. Stratton is there to cut her off though and both of them get knocked down. Hartwell is back in with a spinebuster to put Stratton on the ladder but gets knocked down by Stark. A ladder is bridged between the big ladder and the corner and Perez gets to make a save. Perez hurricanranas Stratton to the floor and goes up but Dolin makes the save.

Dolin swings her into the standing ladder, setting up the abdominal stretch bomb. Valkyria gets tied in the standing ladder so Dolin can go up, only for Valkyria can pull herself up. Dolin sends Valkyria crashing down but….Jacy Jayne pops up to knock Dolin down onto the bridged ladder. Referees get rid of Jayne so Stratton pops up the ladder, which is pushed over by Hartwell, leaving Stratton to basically Swanton the floor as she lands near some other people. Back inside and Hartwell can’t bring herself to climb….but here is Dexter Lumis to help her up and win the title at 17:01.

Rating: B. Are you kidding? After months of Hartwell’s “oh well, guess I’m wrestling today, doesn’t matter if I do though”, she gets the title for the sake of an InDex reunion? I can’t imagine Hartwell keeping the title for very long, but after all of the interest that I’ve lost in her over the last several months, this is really hard to care about.

The rest of the match was your usual multi person ladder match with people crashing all over the place, but thankfully they didn’t do anything too crazy. These matches have been done to death but they did things well enough to be a high energy opener that didn’t do a lot of the bad things that happens in these things.

Tag Team Titles: Gallus vs. Creed Brothers vs. Tony D’Angelo/Stacks

Gallus is defending and agree to not drink to be ready. Julius, D’Angelo and Coffey start things off with Julius starting fast. It’s quickly off to Stacks, who gets small packaged and slammed down. Everything breaks down and the Creeds take over on the floor as UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier approves from the crowd.

Back in and Mark knees Brutus and decks D’Angelo, allowing Wolfgang to get the tag. Wolfgang and D’Angelo slug it out until Brutus hands it back to Julius for a bunch of suplexes into nipups (cool sequence). Stacks comes back in to run some people over until he gets sent to the apron.

Mark picks Stacks up on his shoulders….so Julius lifts BOTH of them onto his shoulders for a double electric chair (albeit as they hold the ropes but still). Brutus comes off the top and completely misses the Brutus Ball (the fans could tell too) and everyone crashes down before they go back inside. D’Angelo clotheslines Wolfgang to the floor and a double spinebuster drops Mark to give Stacks two…..as Joe Coffey returns to make the save. Gallus’ fireman’s carry flapjack/big boot combination finishes Stacks at 8:15 to retain.

Rating: C+. This was a step down from the opener and the ending was all about the big Joe Coffey return. Aside from that (and the not so great, yet still impressive) electric chair spot, it was pretty much your run of the middle triple threat match. There isn’t much you can do with that standard formula and while it was a fine way to get the teams on the show, it wasn’t exactly great.

Pretty Deadly wants to interview Bron Breakker…..but decide to give him his space instead.

We recap the North American Title match. Champion Wes Lee wants the best so he has requested four challengers (cut down from ten), meaning Wes got to pick his opponents to get us here.

North American Title: Wes Lee vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh vs. Axiom vs. Ilja Dragunov

Wes is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. McDonagh and Dragunov go outside to start with Wes sending Dragon out there soon after. Wes takes Axiom down but McDonagh and Dragunov are back in for the rapid fire chops. Dragon breaks that up and takes them both down into the corners for the running dropkicks.

We settle down (kind of) to Dragon vs. Axiom with Dragon knocking him outside for the big running flip dive. Wes is back in to strike away at Dragon, setting up a basement dropkick to the back of the head. Dragunov comes in to go after Wes, who sends him straight into the corner. McDonagh comes back in and takes over until Wes knocks him to the apron. That just means a moonsault onto Dragunov and Axiom on the floor.

Back in and the Devil Inside hits Wes but Dragunov grabs the referee’s arm at two. Everyone but Wes goes after McDonagh to take him out, leaving all five down. Most of them get back up and it’s Dragunov getting to clean house, including the Constantine Special (619 into a clothesline) to Axiom. Dragunov (bleeding a bit from the forehead) clotheslines Wes and then Death Valley Drivers him into Dragon in the corner.

Axiom is back up and sends Dragunov outside for the moonsault onto Dragunov and McDonagh. Dragon ties Wes’ knee up in the ropes and hits a big top rope double stomp to take him out. Back in and Axiom beats up Dragunov and McDonagh but Dragon makes the save. Dragunov powerbombs Axiom onto the other two and covers all three, with Wes diving in for the save. Axiom kicks Wes out of the air and Dragunov blasts Dragon with a knee.

Wes makes the save and moonsaults onto Dragunov for two of his own. McDonagh is back up to Rock Bottom Axiom onto Dragon for two but Axiom manages the springboard moonsault DDT to drop McDonagh for two more. With McDonagh on the apron, Axiom hurricanranas him onto Wes but Dragunov superplexes Axiom from the apron to the ring for two, with the Lees making the save. Dragunov gets caught between Dragon and Wes but manages to kick his way out of trouble. The Torpedo hits Dragon, only to have Wes hit the Cardiac Kick on Dragunov at the same time for the retaining pin at 19:19.

Rating: B. This was the kind of action and drama packed match that you would have expected, as it was all about people coming in and making saved and going for a bunch of falls. The good thing is that multiple people were real options to take the title but Wes gets to retain to look even better. What felt like it could have been a nothing reign coming in has turned into one of the best the title has had and has elevated Wes to a much higher level. Pretty sweet match here and it didn’t need all of the shenanigans or violence.

Pretty Deadly (in different clothes) want to talk to Carmelo Hayes but can’t decide which knock to use. Trick Williams pops up to say leave them alone. Hayes is ready to win the title though.

We recap Grayson Waller vs. Johnny Gargano. Waller is a disrespectful jerk and wanted to face Shawn Michaels. Instead, Michaels brought back Gargano to fight for NXT. Then Waller made it personal, so this is unsanctioned.

Video on Gargano, in case you forgot/have never seen him around here.

Johnny Gargano vs. Grayson Waller

Unsanctioned and Gargano jumps him before the bell to send it outside. Waller twists the knee around so Waller can go yell at Vic Joseph. Back up and Gargano unloads with trashcan shots to the back, with a big one sending Waller to the floor. The big dive is cut off by the trashcan lid though and Waller sets up a bunch of chairs at ringside. They’ll be for later though as Waller takes him inside for a buckle bomb.

Gargano is back up and suplexes Waller over the top and onto the chairs for the nasty crash. It’s time to set up a table, allowing Waller to get in his own shot. Sweet Chin Music is loaded up but Gargano knocks him to the floor. Waller drives him hard into the apron to take over but can’t follow up after the crash. Gargano takes too long going after the table, allowing Waller to hit his rolling Stunner.

They slug it out back inside with Waller taking over, including some kendo stick shots. Waller goes over to Candice LeRae and Gargano’s son, which is too far for Gargano. With the baby handed off, Gargano fights back and Candice jumps the barricade to beat on Waller with the stick.

Back in and One Final Beat gets two and Waller fights back again. A Van Terminator into a trashcan (there’s one of your big spots) gets two on Gargano and Waller isn’t happy. They go back to the floor where Waller puts him on the announcers’ table, only to take FOREVER to go up top. That lets Gargano pelt a chair at him and start hammering away again. Waller manages a quick rolling Stunner for two and yells a lot, only to get hit low. Gargano unloads with a chair over and over until the Gargano Escape finishes Waller at 18:19.

Rating: B-. This is what it should have been, as Waller is more about the hype and talk than what he can do in the ring (where he’s good enough). On the other hand you have Gargano, who is one of if not the most successful NXT star ever. Gargano stood up for NXT and beat down the loudmouth who kept running the place down. Waller is going to be fine after the loss and can talk his way right back to where he was. For now though, Gargano gets another nice moment, which is what he has been needing in recent months.

Post match InDex comes out for the big Way reunion.

Stacks is upset about losing but Tony D’Angelo says it’s ok. Pretty Deadly comes in to mock them and a big fight breaks out.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Fallon Henley/Kiana James vs. Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre

Henley and James, with Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs, are defending. It’s a brawl on the floor to start before they head inside. Fyre trips Finlay from the floor so the villains can take over, with Fyre’s superkick getting two. Henley manages a knockdown though and it’s James coming in to clean house.

A belly to back gets two on Fyre and it’s back to Henley, who gets choked by Dawn in the corner. James trying to break it up only makes things worse but Henley fights out anyway. A middle rope Blockbuster gives Henley two and everything breaks down. James is sent outside but pulls Dawn out with her.

Back in and a powerbomb/missile dropkick combination gets two on Fyre with Dawn making the save. Fyre gordbusters James and Dawn comes in for a double superkick and a near fall. Everyone is down and James tells Jensen to give her the purse. Briggs says no and the distraction lets Dawn and Fyre take the champs down. A Backstabber/Swanton combination to James gives us new champions at 8:42.

Rating: B-. This was a good bit better than I was expecting as they brought the energy throughout. They also got the ending right, as changing the titles was the only way to go here. Henley vs. James in a showdown is all but guaranteed and now they have cleared away the big thing that was holding it back. Solid stuff here, as Fyre FINALLY wins something in NXT (not UK).

We recap Carmelo Hayes vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Title. Breakker is unstoppable but Hayes has been successful against everyone else. This is treated as a dream match and I can actually see that for once.

NXT Title: Bron Breakker vs. Carmelo Hayes

Trick Williams handles Carmelo’s entrance, saying he needs the fans to stand so Hayes can deliver. Hayes makes sure he is completely beloved here by having a Lakers themed entrance. After the Big Match Intros we’re ready to go, with Hayes not being able to get anywhere with a power attempt. With that not working, Hayes tries to pick up the pace but his springboard is knocked out of the air.

Breakker grabs a front facelock and lifts Hayes up in quite the power display. Hayes sends him into the corner for the break and stomps away, setting up a springboard clothesline for two. The Fujiwara armbar goes on to keep Breakker down until the power helps him get back up. A shoulder gives Breakker two and he tries a torture rack, only to have Trick pull Hayes to the ropes.

That’s enough for an ejection and Breakker uses the distraction to flip dive onto both of them. Back in and Hayes hits a pump kick into a pretty sweet springboard suplex (Breakker was standing on the bottom rope and Hayes bounced off the middle rope to pull him in. Hayes goes up so Breakker jumps to the top and Frankensteiners him down. They pull themselves up and slug it out in the middle with Breakker getting the better of things.

The Steiner Recliner is blocked though and Hayes pulls him into a Crossface. That doesn’t last long either so Breakker hits the spear….right into the referee. Now the Recliner goes on to make Hayes tap but there’s no referee. Trick is back with a belt shot to Breakker for a rather close two. Breakker tries the gorilla press but Hayes switches into a Codebreaker. Nothing But Net gives Hayes the pin and the title at 16:15.

Rating: B+. I liked this one a lot as it felt like a main event level match between two guys who were working well beyond their experience level. Hayes even won close to clean, as Breakker kicked out of the belt shot and Hayes beat him on his own after that. Hayes has been ready to be the guy around here and there is a long list of people who could defend against right off the bat. Heck of a match and a worthy main event

Post match Breakker glares at Trick and then hands Hayes the title in a show of respect. That feels quite a bit like a goodbye from Breakker and it’s not like he has anything else to do around here anyway.

Overall Rating: B+. This was getting into the same feeling of a Takeover (it’s not THAT good but it’s getting there) with nothing bad, wrestlers doing better than you might have expected, and the very good matches in different parts of the card. I had a rather good time with this and it’s probably the best NXT show since the original was blown up. They certainly, ahem, delivered here.

Results
Chase U b. Schism – Fratliner to Reid
Indi Hartwell b. Zoey Stark, Tiffany Stratton, Roxanne Perez, Lyra Valkyria and Gigi Dolin – Hartwell pulled down the title
Gallus b. Creed Brothers and Tony D’Angelo/Stacks – Fireman’s carry flapjack/big boot combination to Stacks
Wes Lee b. Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, Axiom and Ilja Dragunov – Cardiac Kick to Dragunov
Johnny Gargano b. Grayson Waller – Gargano Escape
Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre b. Fallon Henley/Kiana James – Swanton/Codebreaker combination to James
Carmelo Hayes b. Bron Breakker – Nothing But Net

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.