Smackdown
Date: February 25, 2022
Location: Giant Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

Elimination Chamber is out of the way and that means it is time to start getting ready for Wrestlemania. In a normal year, most of Wrestlemania would already be set but WWE doesn’t operate that way, meaning they have about five weeks to get things ready. Hopefully they can start here so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns so far this year, which has involved a lot of backstabbing and Lesnar World Title wins. As expected, all roads lead to the title vs. title showdown at Wrestlemania. The match is now officially a unification match.

Michael Cole is in the ring to introduce Ronda Rousey for a chat. Rousey talks about how she broke her hand in the main event of Wrestlemania.

Then she broke her other hand while she was rehabbing and then she got pregnant with her daughter. She wanted to come back because of her mother, who won the world championships in judo while she was a single mom and working towards her engineering degree. Cole lists off some of Rousey’s accomplishments but she would rather look forward to being the first woman in a long time to make Charlotte submit.

We see some stills of Charlotte attacking Rousey at Elimination Chamber and here is Charlotte to interrupt. She promises to make Rousey tap to the Figure Eight at Wrestlemania, meaning Rousey can go home and work on her second baby. Cue Sonya Deville to chop block Rousey from behind and the beatdown is on with the knee getting wrecked even more. Charlotte wraps it around the post a few times but Rousey still takes out Deville.

Post break, Adam Pearce makes Sonya Deville vs. Ronda Rousey for next week, with Deville not looking thrilled.

Los Lotharios vs. New Day

The rubber match and New Day comes to the ring riding an ATV, which is Kofi’s birthday gift to Big E. Kofi takes Humberto into the corner to start and it’s Big E. coming in for a running shoulder in the corner. The spanking abdominal stretch goes on before it’s Kofi jumping over Big E. for a backsplash on Humberto. Angel gets in a cheap shot though and it’s a double ram into the apron. Angel TAKES OFF HIS PANTS and we take a break.

Back with Humberto grabbing a chinlock on Kofi as Cole hypes up Los Lotharios as a huge deal. Los Lotharios do the old Rockers double leg roll but Kofi kicks Angel down anyway for a needed breather. The hot tag brings in Big E. to clean house but Angel saves Humberto from a Big Ending. The Rock Bottom out of the corner plants Angel and a wheelbarrow lift into a top rope bulldog (now the Midnight Hour) gets two with Humberto making the save.

Kofi is sent outside for a hard dive from Angel, who goes over to the ATV. Big E. isn’t having that and runs over Humberto, leaving Angel to superkick Kofi out of the air back inside. Angel goes up top…so Big E. threatens to run Humberto over with the ATV. That’s enough of a distraction for Kofi to knee Angel in the face, setting up the Midnight Hour (the traditional version) for the pin at 10:27. McAfee: “That was special.” It was good, but special?

Rating: B-. I know WWE wants this to be some big, epic feud but instead we have seen three matches between an all time team and a pretty good team. I need a bit more than that to get to some amazing level though and attempted vehicular assault didn’t exactly help things. Good TV match however and that’s always a positive.

Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura are on the road in a new Toyota Tundra truck. They go kayaking and have some more plans that we’ll see later. Good thing Nakamura is over losing his Intercontinental Title to make the commercial.

Sheamus and Ridge Holland cut off New Day on the ATV and a challenge seems to be made. New Day rides off and Sheamus is so mad that he throws his hat down.

Sam Roberts is here to interview the Usos, who are here for the Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar Wrestlemania contract signing. Reigns is going to take out Lesnar like they’re going to take out the Viking Raiders. The Raiders are said to smell bad, so here they are to jump the Usos.

We look at Xia Li saving Aliyah from a Natalya beatdown.

Xia Li is ready for her debut and has worked a long way to get here.

Xia Li vs. Natalya

Li flips over her to start and a dropkick gets an early two. Back up and Natalya’s discus clothesline gets one on Li and we hit the abdominal stretch with the leg lifted up. The fans start chanting for HERSHEY CHOCOLATE, which McAfee translates as XIA LI’S GOT IT as Li makes her comeback. Li sends her flying with a suplex and hits a spinwheel kick to finish Natalya at 4:01.

Rating: C-. You know, you bring in a woman as a striking machine who protects people and want her to get over. Maybe having her sell Natalya’s abdominal stretch in her debut isn’t the best way to go. The fans didn’t seem interested, and I can’t say I blame them. Li ran in to save Aliyah last week and then can’t even kick someone’s head off to win in ten seconds? Really?

We look back at Sami Zayn beating Shinsuke Nakamura to win the Intercontinental Title last week.

Here is a VERY happy Sami Zayn in his loud (and golden) tuxedo to say we he has FINALLY gotten his justice. The Intercontinental Title is laying on a table and there are balloons on the corners, even if they don’t match. The old Sami would say it’s just a conspiracy though and now there is a question to answer: if he was able to get the title back, was there ever a conspiracy against him in the first place? OF COURSE THERE WAS!

But that’s in the past, so now he’s willing to give Shinsuke Nakamura a rematch, but Nakamura is still putting his kneecap back together so he needs a new opponent. Cue Johnny Knoxville, because of course it’s him. Knoxville says he heard Sami say he needed a new challenger and since Sami interrupted his premiere, Knoxville is here to crash his. Sami says it isn’t going to work but Knoxville questions his testicular fortitude. That’s enough for Sami, who beats Knoxville up and hits a pair of Helluva Kicks.

This week’s Black History Month video looks at Titus O’Neil’s awesome charity work.

Adam Pearce is yelling at Sami Zayn in the back about what he did to Johnny Knoxville. Ricochet pops in to say if Sami wants to be a fighting champion, Ricochet is right here. Pearce makes the title match for next week.

Sasha Banks vs. Shotzi

Naomi joins commentary as Sasha starts fast with Two Amigos. Shotzi blocks the third but gets rolled up for two. Sasha sends her face first into the middle buckle and it’s a middle rope Meteora to drop Shotzi again. A running basement Codebreaker (that’s a new one) sets up the Bank Statement to complete the squash at 2:11.

Post match Naomi comes in to say she and Banks are going to be the next Women’s Tag Team Champions.

We go to the back, where the interviewer says she doesn’t know what Naomi means by that. Madcap Moss and Happy Corbin come in, with Corbin mocking Moss for his big crash landing at Elimination Chamber. Tonight Corbin is going to take Moss’ place against Drew McIntyre and that is no joke.

Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin

Hold on though as Corbin grabs the mic and says this is a Wrestlemania match. Corbin praises Madcap Moss’ toughness after being healthy despite landing so badly at Elimination Chamber. Moss gets on the apron to pose but then Corbin tells him to take this match instead. Corbin and Moss jump McIntyre before the bell and we’re ready to go anyway.

Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss

Moss jumps him in the corner but gets Glasgow Kissed out of the corner. The reverse Alabama Slam is loaded up but Moss bails to the floor instead as we take a break. Back with Moss hitting a running shoulder for two but McIntyre is right back up with the snap belly to belly. The Claymore is loaded up so Corbin offers a distraction, allowing Moss to send McIntyre into the post. A DDT gets two but McIntyre pops back up to hit the Claymore for the pin at 7:21.

Rating: C-. Most years I get excited about Wrestlemania because it is the biggest wrestling event of the year and it feels special. This year I’m excited about Wrestlemania because, at least hopefully, it means that McIntyre vs. Corbin/Moss can be over already. I’m not sure who thought this feud needed to go on for three months, but WWE has some weird ideas.

We look back at Rousey getting attacked earlier tonight.

Rousey promises to take out Sonya Deville next week.

It’s time for the Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar contract signing, with the Usos and Paul Heyman here with Reigns. Before Lesnar shows up, Heyman talks about how this will be the biggest Wrestlemania match in history. It’s bigger than Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant and bigger than Steve Austin vs. the Rock. It’s even bigger than Heyman breaking the Undertaker’s Streak, though he’ll still give Lesnar half credit.

Heyman talks about how Reigns is going to become the unified champion at Wrestlemania and that is what we call a cliffhanger. After a sudden break (nice one from Heyman), here is Lesnar to join things. Lesnar handles his own introductions and says that he isn’t scared of the security that is in the ring. The only things stopping Lesnar from jumping the table right now is this contract.

Lesnar signs, so Heyman says the match isn’t going to be a unification match. Heyman promises that Lesnar is going to lose the title in Madison Square Garden next Saturday. Reigns signs too and then says that the WWE Title is his too. It’s not even Lesnar’s fault because this is Reigns’ show and ring. It’s his camerman and his people because they acknowledge him. These commentators are his because they praise him. Everyone works for him, including the security. The fight is on with Lesnar wrecking the guard, including throwing a char at one of them. Reigns looks nervous to end the show.

Reigns starting to get worried about what he is facing at Wrestlemania is a good adjustment but dang it’s hard to care about this match again. I know it’s the best way to go and pretty much the only thing that they have for Reigns, but how many times do we need to see these two fight?

Overall Rating: C-. The biggest problem with this show is that it is building towards a Wrestlemania that does not look great. So far, with about five weeks to go, we have four matches set up, one of which involves Logan Paul and another which is likely to involve Johnny Knoxville. Reigns vs. Lesnar looms over everything else and it makes this rapid fire build feel so unimportant. This week’s show was another pretty run of the mill edition, with wrestling that wasn’t all that great and some stuff being built to Wrestlemania, but egads they don’t have much interesting going on at the moment and it is hurting badly.

Results
New Day b. Los Lotharios – Midnight Hour to Angel
Xia Li b. Natalya – Spinwheel kick
Sasha Banks b. Shotzi – Bank Statement
Drew McIntyre b. Madcap Moss – Claymore

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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Smackdown
Date: January 21, 2022
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

We have less than two weeks to go before the Royal Rumble and that means it is time to finalize everything else for the show. That can take some effort and hopefully we will be seeing some of it tonight. Odds are a lot of the focus is going to be on Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s showdown between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, with Rollins having to bail from the Usos.

Here are the Usos to get things going. They are here to acknowledge Roman Reigns, who is now the longest reigning Universal Champion in history. This brings out Reigns, who takes his time getting to the ring. Reigns holds out his hand for Jimmy, who puts the microphone in his hand. After telling Nashville to acknowledge him, we get a highlight package on Reigns’ title reign, including his major title defenses and a count of his days as champion.

Before Reigns can say anything, here is Seth Rollins to interrupt (McAfee: “You son of a b****.”). Rollins says that was a nice video, but now it’s time to end the show. Reigns had to send his cousins to Raw to attack him but all Reigns had to do was give him a call because he has Rollins’ number. Instead, we need to celebrate the Usos, because they hold up Reigns’ title, “just like me and Mox did in the Shield.” Reigns: “Did John Cena write that promo for you?”

Reigns says their match will be one on one, but Rollins wants to beat the Usos tonight to guarantee that they will be gone. Jey points out that Rollins doesn’t have a partner because no one likes him….but here is Kevin Owens to take the spot. Reigns wants to raise the stakes: if Rollins and Owens lose, the Rumble title match is off and Reigns is going on vacation until Wrestlemania. Rollins says he’s on.

Here are Madcap Moss and Happy Corbin to brag about their recent success, along with saying Kofi Kingston has no friends.

Madcap Moss vs. Kofi Kingston

Happy Corbin is here too….so Kofi brings out Big E. to even things up. Moss shoulders Kingston down to start but he comes back with a middle rope spinning dropkick. Kingston gets sent outside, where he jumps off the steps to take Moss down again. Big E. takes out Corbin and we go to a break. Back with Moss hitting a spinebuster but missing a charge into the corner. A top rope hurricanrana gives Kingston two as Big E. continues to look on stoically. Moss plants him again for two more but it’s Trouble in Paradise to give Kofi the pin at 7:42.

Rating: C. I can support anything that involves Moss getting kicked in the face and at least his roll slows down a bit. Moss is someone that WWE seems to want to push at least a little bit, but he isn’t someone who needs to be dominating every match. Kingston slowing him down a big is a good thing, though I could go for less Moss and Corbin in general.

Post match Corbin, who is holding his arm, gets up to stare at Big E., who gives Moss the Big Ending.

Aliyah vs. Natalya

Rematch from last week where Aliyah won in three seconds. Summer Rae, billed as a legend and now with red hair, is watching from the front row. Aliyah rolls her up for two to start but gets suplexed for her efforts. Back up and Aliyah is sent to the apron, where she comes back with a forearm. Natalya blasts her with the discus lariat for two, followed by the over the shoulder backbreaker. With that broken up, Natalya stomps away in the corner until it’s a DQ at 2:10.

Post match the beating stays on until Xia Li remembers that she still works here and comes out for the save.

Commentary hypes up Wrestlemania, with McAfee listing off about two dozen ways to describe how great it is, even busting out a dictionary.

Los Lotharios vs. Viking Raiders

Erik slams Humberto to start and then slams Ivar onto him to make it worse. Angel comes in off a blind tag though and it’s Erik getting jumped from behind. That means Angel can TAKE OFF HIS PANTS and ti’s a double basement dropkick. The standing moonsault misses though and the hot tag brings in Ivar to clean house. Everything breaks down and Erik hits a powerbomb/World’s Strongest Slam at the same time. The Viking Experience finishes Humberto at 2:23.

We recap Naomi threatening Sonya Deville last week, causing Adam Pearce to give Naomi another Championship Contender’s match this week.

Naomi vs. Charlotte

Non-title but a Champion’s Contender’s match, which Cole describes as an opportunity at an opportunity. Hold on though because here is Sonya Deville to be referee. Charlotte uses the distraction to forearm Naomi into the corner so the stomping can ensue. The Figure Four necklock has Naomi in trouble but she fights up for a springboard kick to the face. Charlotte is fine enough to grab a Boston crab, which doesn’t go very far.

Instead Charlotte tries the Figure Four but gets kicked off into Sonya. The Rear View connects but Sonya stays on the floor instead counting. Charlotte goes after the leg and puts on the Figure Four, drawing the bell for the submission at 2:24, before she even completes the hold. McAfee: “What in the Bret Hart is going on?” I’d call it a story that has long since been made clear but we’re still hammering it in because WWE has a problem with getting to the point.

Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens are ready for the main event, with Owens saying it’s time to take out the Usos so they can’t screw Rollins over again. Rollins says the risk is worth the reward, because he beats Reigns every time.

Here is Sami Zayn for the latest episode of In-Zayn, which will be looking at self defense. Johnny Knoxville once got famous by looking at a bunch of these weapons, and that is what Sami is going to do again here. We’ll start with a stun gun designed to stop large animals, including a rhinoceros. Sami shoots himself in the leg but doesn’t go off his feet. We’ll crank it up to level two, with this one going into his heart.

That one takes him off his feet, but here is Johnny Knoxville to interrupt. He doesn’t think much of Sami mocking his career, and points out that Sami didn’t turn the stun gun on. Knoxville fixes that for him and shocks Zayn down, complete with Mountie shock stick sound effects. Sami can’t stand up so Knoxville tosses him over the top.

Eric Bischoff is in Adam Pearce’s office when Sonya Deville comes in. Pearce isn’t happy with what she has been doing, so he is going to recommend she face Naomi next week, one on one.

Video on the new WWE 2K game.

Sheamus vs. Ricochet

Ridge Holland is back and in Sheamus’ corner. Sheamus knees him down to start and grabs a chinlock, with Ricochet jawbreaking his way to freedom. The forearms to the chest put Ricochet down again, as Cole says the only title Sheamus has won everything but the Intercontinental Title. Or the 24/7 Title. Or the Universal Title. Ricochet knocks him to the floor but his suicide dive is kneed out of the air. Back in and the Brogue Kick finishes Ricochet at 3:18.

Rating: C-. Remember last week when these two had a nice match that got some time? This was almost nothing like that as Ricochet got squashed while getting in very little offense. Sheamus winning a midcard match is fine, but I’m really not sure why they needed to run this back when Sheamus beat him soundly enough last week.

Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura run into Jeff Jarrett, with Boogs knocking how to spell his name. Jeff likes Boogs’ guitar playing but asks if Boogs can spell his name. Boogs looks to have cut his hair and looks quite a bit like Robert/Rick Rude.

Usos vs. Kevin Owens/Seth Rollins

Non-title but if the Rollins/Owens win, the Usos are barred from the Royal Rumble title match. If the Usos won, the title match is off. Rollins rolls Jimmy up for two to start and Jimmy bails to the floor, where he complains of a pull of his tights. Back in and the Usos stomp Rollins down in the corner. Rollins fights up and it’s Jimmy being taken into the other corner for some alternating stomps of his own. A Jey distraction lets Jimmy crotch Rollins though and the stomping in the corner is on again.

That one doesn’t last long either as Rollins is back up with the tag to Owens so house can be cleaned. The Cannonball looks to set up the Swanton but Jey gets the knees up. Owens is sent outside and into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Owens still in trouble but managing an enziguri for a breather. The tag brings in Rollins to clean house, including a suicide dive onto both Usos.

The springboard knee to the face gets two on Jey so Rollins loads up the Buckle Bomb. That’s broken up though and the Alley Us gives Jimmy two. Everything breaks down and Owens gets caught on top, only to hit the spinning fisherman’s superplex for two. It’s back to Rollins to strike away on both Usos until a superkick takes him down. The Stunner hits Jey and Rollins superkicks Jimmy. A forearm to the back of the head hits Jimmy and the Stomp connects but here is Roman Reigns to lay Rollins out for the DQ at 15:03.

Rating: B. I’m guessing the idea is that Reigns is so confident that he can beat Rollins on his own that he doesn’t care if the Usos are there or not, but it doesn’t exactly make him look smart. It can be made better if they explain that next week, though commentary saying something about it this week might have helped a bit. It also doesn’t help that this felt like a last second way out of the Usos losing because time was up. I’ll take the lack of a pin, but explain your story a bit better than that.

Reigns storms off and Rollins smiles to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event was good but this felt like a good bit of placeholder matches which didn’t really do much for the Royal Rumble. Ricochet and Naomi lose again and we continue the epic Natalya vs. Aliyah feud. The important part of the Royal Rumble is set, though it would have been nice to build up some other participants instead of focusing on stuff like Moss and Sonya Deville. Pretty much a throwaway show here and not their best effort.

Results
Kofi Kingston b. Madcap Moss – Trouble in Paradise
Aliyah b. Natalya via DQ when Natalya attacked her in the corner
Viking Raiders b. Los Lotharios – Viking Raiders to Humberto
Charlotte b. Naomi – Figure Four
Sheamus b. Ricochet – Brogue Kick
Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens b. Usos via DQ when Roman Reigns interfered

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.

Smackdown
Date: January 14, 2022
Location: CHI Health Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We are just over two weeks away from the royal Rumble and the big match on this side is Roman Reigns defending the Universal Title against Raw’s Seth Rollins. That is likely going to mean Brock Lesnar will be getting involved and I’m curious to see where that is going to go. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar arguing over Paul Heyman, leading to Reigns dropping Lesnar with a Superman Punch. Then Seth Rollins was announced as the opponent in a bit of a weird pick.

Here are the Usos for a chat. They talk about how the only team to ever give them a real fight is the New Day, but they beat them again last week. Instead of helping Roman Reigns against Seth Rollins, we need to have a four way to consider the #1 contendership. Jimmy even handles the entrances, with a special/not so serious voice.

Los Lotharios vs. Viking Raiders vs. Cesaro/Mansoor vs. Jinder Mahal/Shanky

One fall to a finish and the Usos throw in some brief instructions, including remember that they’re the ones. The Usos fire off some superkicks but get sent to the floor so the brawl can be on. We take a break before the bell and come back joined in progress with Humberto diving into an atomic drop from Mansoor.

Cesaro comes in but Erik tags himself in to kick away at Shanky. Mansoor and Cesaro head outside for some reason but come back up to see Jinder beating on Erik in the corner. Erik fights over and brings in Ivar, who is driven into Shanky’s face in the corner. Ivar gets caught on top though and Cesaro/Mahal (weird combination) load up a double superplex. That takes too long though and Erik makes it a Tower of Doom as we take a break.

Back with Cesaro getting the hot tag to clean house, including hammering away on Humberto. Ivar tags himself back in so Cesaro takes him down for the start of a swing. Mahal breaks that up with a Khallas and it’s time for the parade of people hitting each other. Erik gets double superkicked and Los Lotharios dive onto Cesaro and Mansoor. Back in and Ivar cleans house, setting up the Viking Experience to finish Angel at 9:31.

Rating: C+. They kept this one fast enough and had everyone getting in there as fast as they could. The Raiders are the only team on Smackdown that feels like they could be a threat to the Usos so this was the best way they could have gone. If nothing else, it is almost interesting to see who they randomly throw Cesaro with on a given week, as the nothing teams just keep coming.

Post match the Usos get on the announcers’ table and shout at the Raiders, who can’t raid Samoa.

Naomi comes in to see Sonya Deville and wants to know why Deville is holding her back. Deville says when the jacket is on, she is Naomi’s boss and she doesn’t like Naomi’s attitude. Now Naomi needs to get out of here before she loses her Royal Rumble match. This is every interaction these two have had for months now. Naomi leaves so Adam Pearce comes in to talk about how cold Sonya has the temperature in here. Oh I have a bad feeling about where this is going.

We look at some of the history between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, mainly looking at the original Shield run.

Here is Sami Zayn to talk about how the conspiracy against him is finally going to end, but now there is a new cast member in the conspiracy: Johnny Knoxville. We see Knoxville throwing him over the top last week, with Sami saying he is going to show the world that no one can is better at being a jackass than him. After realizing that might not be the best wording, it’s time for the debut of his own stunt show: InZayn!

There is a wooden ramp set up but Sami runs to the back, only to come out in a shopping cart with two guys pushing him. He is going to use that ramp to jump the ring….but it does look kind of far. It’s so far that he changes his mind at the last second. Zayn gets in the ring but here is Rick Boogs for a distraction. Shinsuke Nakamura comes in for Kinshasa and Boogs gorilla pressed Zayn over the top and onto the crash pad.

Aliyah is ready for her singles debut and hopes she doesn’t embarrass herself. Natalya comes in to say there is no shame in embarrassing yourself against her because she has three Guinness World Records. Natalya even has the book, which Aliyah didn’t know was still a thing. The glare sends Aliyah to the ring.

Aliyah vs. Natalya

After Aliyah makes her entrance, Natalya is still in the back to talk about her records: most matches by a woman in WWE history, most pay per view matches in WWE history and most wins by a woman in WWE history. Tonight, she is going to set the record for fastest win in WWE history, breaking the mark of 3.8 seconds. Natalya stomps her down in the corner and unloads before the bell. The referee says she can’t do this but Aliyah says she can….but there is no match anyway. Actually scratch that as the bell rings and Aliyah rolls her up for the pin at 3 seconds. Why yes, that is a new WWE record for a fastest pin at 3.1 seconds.

Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville think it is getting hot in their office but the thermostat seems to be broken.

More Reigns vs. Rollins history, this time looking at Rollins turning on the Shield.

Michael Cole brings out Lita (looking rather orange) for the first time on Smackdown in nearly 20 years. Lita is glad to be home and is proud of her career. She never got to be in the Royal Rumble in her day though and now she is going to win the match and headline Wrestlemania. Cue Charlotte to interrupt, saying she will handle this interview. Charlotte says this run that Lita is on will be over, with the Wrestlemania dreams being over.

Lita has heard about Charlotte and doesn’t get the flashback Friday Tonya Harding thing. She doesn’t get how Charlotte doesn’t tip over with that giant head. The fans chant GIANT HEAD but Charlotte says she can’t hear it. Charlotte talks about beating Trish Stratus at Summerslam 2019, sending her back into retirement. Maybe Charlotte can do that to Lita too, which causes things to get physical. Lita leaves her laying with a Twist of Fate.

We look at Ricochet breaking Ridge Holland’s nose at Day One.

Sheamus is ready to get some revenge for Holland’s sake.

Ricochet vs. Sheamus

Ricochet headlock takeovers him to start but Sheamus fights up and hits a hard shoulder. Back up and Ricochet knocks him to the floor with a running shoulder of his own. Sheamus heads around the ring and sweeps the leg to drop Ricochet onto the apron. A catapult sends Ricochet face first into the bottom of the ring as we take a break.

Back with Ricochet fighting up from a double arm crank and striking away. The Brogue Kick misses and Sheamus is sent to the apron, where Ricochet gets him tied up in the ropes. A springboard moonsault hits Sheamus’ back for two but the shooting star misses. Sheamus hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and gets rather annoyed. The ten forearms to the chest rock Ricochet so Sheamus goes up, only to get sent face first into the post. A springboard sunset bomb gives Ricochet two and a regular sunset flip gets the same. Then the Brogue Kick knocks Ricochet silly for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: C+. This was getting good near the end and then finished pretty fast. I tried not to convince myself to believe that Ricochet had a chance but he managed to make it work again. He’s so easy to turn into an underdog but for some reason he is never allowed to win anything and it gets a little tiring.

We look back at Aliyah’s record setting win, which is an official record.

Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce are still complaining about the heat so Pearce goes to see maintenance. Sonya takes the jacket off so here’s Naomi to say it’s time for a fight. Pearce comes back in to say not so fast and Sonya puts the jacket back on. To calm things down, Pearce makes Naomi vs. Charlotte again for next week.

We look at Seth Rollins cashing in Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania XXXI.

Kofi Kingston vs. Madcap Moss

Before the match, Kingston reads a proclamation that King Woods is injured and out of the Royal Rumble, but Kingston will be taking his place. Cue Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss to say Corbin will be in the Rumble, which makes them as happy as they have been since they injured Drew McIntyre. We see a clip of the attack on McIntyre, before Moss makes a joke about Kingston being scared of him. Kofi laughs so hysterically that he falls to the mat before knocking Moss to the floor. The big dive connects on Corbin and Moss as we take an early break.

Back with Kingston fighting out of a chinlock but getting planted with a powerslam. Kofi fires off some clotheslines and kicks Moss in the face in the corner. Moss rolls through a high crossbody though, only to have Kofi load up the SOS. That’s countered with a rake to the face though and the Punchline finishes Kingston at 5:40. Not enough shown to rate but this was a short way to build Moss up, because the world needs more Moss.

Here are Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns for their face to face showdown. Reigns tells Omaha to acknowledge him but Rollins throws out the Shield fist. Reigns says that’s beneath him but Rollins brings up that Reigns has never beaten him in a title match. That makes Reigns laugh because while Rollins is still in the past, he is the best ever. Rollins says he was climbing the ladder while Reigns was on the bench in the Canadian Football League. Then Rollins turned on him in the Shield and Reigns STILL needed help getting to the top.

Rollins created him and he can destroy him, but Reigns says if he wanted to face a star, Rollins wouldn’t even be his pick out of his house. He would have faced Rollins’ wife, so here are the Usos to chase Rollins off. Rollins says he’ll destroy Reigns to end the show. There were some good lines here but I don’t think we need much to hype up a Rollins vs. Reigns title match.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling most of this one as it didn’t exactly seem like much happened. The Lita appearance was nice and they added a few people to the Rumble, but other than that it was kind of a show that came and went. Naomi vs. Sonya continues to just kind of sit there, and I’m almost scared to imagine them dragging that all the way to Wrestlemania. The good thing is they have most of the important stuff set for the pay per view, but another match or two might be a good idea. Not their best show here, as it felt like a bit of an off week.

Results
Viking Raiders b. Los Lotharios, Cesaro/Mansoor and Jinder Mahal/Shanky – Viking Experience to Humberto
Aliyah b. Natalya – Rollup
Sheamus b. Ricochet – Brogue Kick
Madcap Moss b. Kofi Kingston – Punchline

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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Smackdown
Date: January 7, 2022
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncastville, Connecticut
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

It’s the first show of the year and that means we’re in for a special night with two World Champions in the house. Last Saturday, Brock Lesnar became the WWE Champion and tonight he is here to confront Roman Reigns, who was not around at Day One due to health issues. I think that’s going to make for a sufficient explosion so let’s get to it.

Here is Day One if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Paul Heyman aligning with Brock Lesnar on Raw, revealing that he got Lesnar into the WWE Title match at Day One.

Here is Roman Reigns for a chat. He was gone for a week and everything fell apart….but here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to interrupt. We get the big staredown and Heyman loads up the catchphrase but Lesnar gets in Reigns’ face to introduce himself. That means Lesnar does Heyman’s catchphrases and tells Reigns to acknowledge him.

Last Saturday, they both got what they wanted: Lesnar got the WWE Title and Reigns got out of the match. Now let’s give the people what they want and go title vs. title, champ vs. champ. Reigns says it’s a good idea but it isn’t his idea. This is his show so we’ll do it on his time. Besides, he doesn’t do business with people who do business with trash like Heyman.

That’s too far for Heyman, who says he got Reigns where he is now. Heyman protected him from Lesnar and loved him….but Lesnar cuts Heyman off as he is about to cry. Lesnar wants to know what Heyman is talking about, sending Heyman into a crying rant about how Reigns was all he had while Lesnar was gone. Lesnar: “Shut up Paul!” Reigns: “Don’t talk to him that way.” Lesnar: “I said shut up.” Reigns drops Lesnar with a Superman Punch and leaves as Heyman looks stunned. That’s an interesting twist.

Sami Zayn talks about how the conspiracy against him started over a year ago but now he has the chance to win his Intercontinental Title back. First up though, he has to deal with Rick Boogs, who is a gorilla with a guitar. Hold up though, as Sami walks over to see Johnny Knoxville, who is here to get in the Royal Rumble. Sami laughs it off and says he needs technical wrestling skills, but Knoxville says he has to send someone over the top rope.

Sami Zayn vs. Rick Boogs

Boogs doesn’t waste time in gorilla pressing Sami to start, sending him outside as we take a break. Back with Sami hammering away but getting caught in a bearhug. Boogs isn’t done as he powers him up into a suplex, gets kneed in the head to take him down to one knee, and then powers back up into the suplex (because that can be done). Sami bails to the floor and manages to catch Boogs with a boot to the face. Back in and Boogs small packages him for the fast pin at 6:33.

Rating: C. Boogs is about as scary of a power freak as you can get and it is cool to see what kind of things he can come up with week to week. Sami losing again isn’t the best sign, but there is a good chance that he winds up winning the Intercontinental Title anyway. This didn’t have much time to get very far, but Sami’s frustrations are always funny.

Post match Sami yells a lot and here is Johnny Knoxville to dump him out. Apparently that is enough to qualify Knoxville for the Royal Rumble.

New Day sounds British and promise to take the Tag Team Titles from the Usos in a street fight tonight.

Here is Charlotte to mock the ideas of new year’s resolutions. Those are the things that are designed to make people feel better but she doesn’t have to do that. The Royal Rumble is coming up and it is a chance for a lot of women to make their mark. Here are a lot of the people already in the match:

Rhea Ripley
Nikki Ash
Nikki Bella
Brie Bella
Shotzi
Natalya
Michelle McCool
Dana Brooke
Carmella
Queen Zelina
Mickie James
Tamina
Kelly Kelly
Aliyah
Summer Rae
Naomi
Shayna Baszler
Lita
Charlotte

Pat McAfee: “That’s Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James!” As a bonus, there is a nineteenth entrant in the Royal Rumble: Charlotte herself! Cue Naomi to interrupt and challenge Charlotte to a title match right now. Charlotte doesn’t think so, meaning it’s a slap in the face and a toss to the floor (through the ropes).

Charlotte vs. Naomi

Non-title but a Championship Contenders match. Charlotte chops away to start and we’re quickly into the figure four neck lock, with Naomi’s face being driven into the mat. Naomi fights up and hits a bulldog into the middle buckle but Charlotte boots her off the top and out to the floor.

Back up and a Blockbuster off the barricade knocks Charlotte silly on the floor….but here is Sonya Deville to say that this match can’t be won by countout. Charlotte hits a chop block to take Naomi down and we take a break. Back with Naomi kicking Charlotte in the face, setting up a springboard spinning kick to the face for two. Charlotte shrugs it off and grabs the Figure Four so Naomi makes the rope….which has Sonya saying it’s No DQ.

Naomi is still down so Charlotte stomps away on the ropes, setting up the double jump moonsault for two. Back up and they hit stereo big boots but Naomi grabs a rollup for two more. Charlotte hits a backbreaker out of the corner for two of her own and breaks up the split legged moonsault. Natural Selection finishes Naomi at 13:10. Sonya: “And your loser: NAOMI!”

Rating: C. So they were going for the Vince McMahon vs. Steve Austin deal here with Sonya and Naomi, and there is at least a feud set up for that to work. I’m not sure how effective it was and I do kind of want to see Naomi take Sonya apart, but I also could have gone without Charlotte getting another win. This couldn’t have been Shayna Baszler? Just to give her SOMETHING?

The Usos are ready for the New Day.

We recap the opening segment.

Adam Pearce has been told that he can pick Roman Reigns’ opponent for the Royal Rumble and has until the end of the night. He and Sonya Deville are off to bounce some names off each other.

Here is Happy Corbin for Happy Talk. Corbin talks about how with the Coronavirus running around, you have to watch your back. That includes Drew McIntyre, and we see a clip of Corbin attacking him at Day One. McIntyre is here tonight though….and it’s Madcap Moss, dressed as McIntyre (complete with neck brace, cane, and limp inflatable sword).

Moss, doing the Scottish accent, says if he could survive haggis, he could handle anything Corbin did. If they had a match though, Moss would have all kinds of problems. As for the injury, he is going to milk it for all it is worth so he can write poetry about the Loch Ness Monster. McAfee: “When is this over?” Moss reveals that he isn’t really Drew McIntyre and it’s time for a match.

Madcap Moss/Happy Corbin vs. Viking Raiders

Joined in progress with Erik headlocking Moss but it’s off to Corbin before that can get very far. Deep Six gets two on Erik and it’s time for the villains to take turns beating on him in the corner. Moss pounds away until the referee has to pull him away, allowing Erik to score with a hard knee to the face. Corbin pulls Ivar off the apron though and Moss hits his forward neckbreaker (the Punchline) for the pin at 3:29.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one, though I don’t think there was any need for it to go long either. Moss and Corbin have things going on while the Raiders are just there to take a loss every now and then. I would assume we’re heading for McIntyre vs. Corbin at either the Rumble (if McIntyre is healthy by then) or in Saudi Arabia in February at the latest, and either of those sound like a long way off.

Drew McIntyre will get an update on his neck injury on Monday.

Sheamus isn’t worried about McIntyre because he is more worried about Ridge Holland’s broke nose. To take his mind off of it, he is entering the Royal Rumble.

Adam Pearce tries to tell Roman Reigns his Royal Rumble opponent but Reigns says there is no one on this roster he can’t smash. Reigns has Pearce leave without telling him the opponent so he can watch his cousins’ match. It’s going to be Goldberg isn’t it?

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. New Day

New Day is challenging in a street fight and this is their last shot at the titles. Woods and Jey get things going (because we are tagging to start) but it’s quickly off to Kofi for the Trust Fall to the floor. We take a very early break and come back with all four fighting on the stage.

That doesn’t last long as Woods hits a tornado DDT for two on Jey back inside. Jey whips out some duct tape to tie Woods to the rope, leaving Kofi to hit a messed up SOS for two on Jimmy. Woods is freed in a hurry and they fight to the floor again. The Usos take Woods over the barricade and hit him in the face with the steps, only to get knocked down by a diving Kofi as we take another break.

Back again with New Day pulling out a helmet and knight armor, meaning Woods can shrug off a superkick to the face. The armor and helmet are kicked into the Usos’ faces with some Van Daminators and it’s time to get a table set up in the ring. That takes a bit too long though and it’s a double superkick to Kingston. With Woods on the floor, the 1D through the table finishes Kingston at 18:14.

Rating: B-. The armor/helmet stuff was amusing but I don’t know how many more times I can see these teams fight. They fought before the pay per view, they fought at the pay per view, and now they fought after the pay per view. Thank goodness they announced this as the final match between the teams (at least for now), but forgive me for being a bit skeptical about that one.

We cut to the back where someone knocks on Roman Reigns’ door (sounding like a certain famous theme song)….and it’s Seth Rollins. He laughs at Reigns, who looks annoyed to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show where they started the build to the Rumble in a hurry, with most of the women’s field set, another name added to the men’s match, and a surprise main event being set up. The wrestling left a good bit to be desired, but they covered a lot of ground in the span of two hours. Sometimes that is the kind of show that you need and they made it work well here.

Results
Rick Boogs b. Sami Zayn – Small package
Charlotte b. Naomi – Natural Selection
Happy Corbin/Madcap Moss b. Viking Raiders – Punchline to Erik
Usos b. New Day – 1D through a table to Kingston

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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Smackdown
Date: December 10, 2021
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re on the way to Day One and that means some more of the show needs to be put together. The main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Title is now set, but we are missing a Jeff Hardy, who was released earlier this week. That could shake things up a bit so let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Blackjack Lanza.

Here is Sami Zayn, in a wheelchair/leg cast/neck brace, with two male nurses pushing him to the ring. After a video on last week’s big beatdown at the hands of Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, Sami says he is the toughest man in WWE. Sami talks about how this isn’t necessarily a conspiracy, but he was betrayed last week….and now he has to sue. He promises to sue everyone involved with last week but here is Paul Heyman to interrupt. Heyman: “You’re doing my people’s shtick. My people own entertainment in Hollywood.”

Sami tells him to get out of his camera shot but Heyman shushes him. Heyman keeps going with his usual speech but Sami stands up because he knows Reigns isn’t here tonight. Violence is threatened against Heyman…..and here is Brock Lesnar, meaning it’s time to panic. Lesnar grabs a chair and Heyman is already looking a little nervous. Lesnar sits down in the chair and looks at Zayn, who thinks this is a bit far.

They got off on the wrong foot, with Zayn saying his pain is a ten. Lesnar says he did Sami a favor last week because he was never going to beat Roman Reigns one on one. All he was doing was hurting Zayn so that Reigns’ win wouldn’t really count! Lesnar confirms that Sami is from Montreal and we get a bit of French, which is Lesnar trying to lighten the mood.

Lesnar invites him to Saskatchewan to go hunting or fishing, but Zayn says he’s vegan. That brings Lesnar to his feet and he wheels Zayn towards the ropes. Heyman: “WHAT THE H*** AM I LOOKING AT HERE???” Heyman thinks he spent too much time at the dispensary and the edibles are kicking in (McAfee: “PREACH!”).

Three years ago, this would have been a trip to Suplex City, but instead he’s watching the once and likely future Universal Champion….who beats up the nurses as Heyman bails. Heyman looks pleased as Lesnar throws the wheelchair out of the ring and gives Zayn an F5 (McAfee: “WE NEED ANOTHER NECK BRACE!”). This was a long opening segment to bring the Beast back out, but it makes Lesnar’s laid back attitude a bit more odd as he just shrugged it off and mauled Zayn again.

Post break, Lesnar is asked what that was about. He says to ask his advocate, Paul Heyman.

Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs vs. Los Lotharios

Boogs Pounces Humberto to start but a cheap shot from Angel….doesn’t do much as Boogs brings him inside as well. There’s a gorilla press toss to send Angel outside but the distraction lets Humberto get in some shots from behind. That doesn’t last long either as Nakamura comes in and hits Kinshasa for the pin at 1:25.

A bunch of wrestlers are gathered around for the unveiling of King Woods’ new crown. Said crown is rather large, but Woods is ready to beat up RKBro and the Usos tonight.

We look back at Drew McIntyre being annoyed that he wasn’t in the #1 contenders battle royal.

Last week, Sonya Deville told Drew McIntyre that Adam Pearce made the list.

This week, Adam Pearce tells Drew McIntyre that Sonya Deville made the list, on orders from a higher authority. Said higher authority also says Drew can’t bring his sword to the ring, so Drew puts the sword into the desk.

Sasha Banks comes up to Toni Storm in the back and tells Storm she has this tonight against Charlotte. Banks praises Storm’s training around the world and tells her not to lose her cool until Charlotte loses hers. Then it’s Toni Time. This was one of those segments depicting two women talking in ways that no humans would never actually talk.

Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre slugs away to start and the brawl is on, with an exchange of hard forearms to the chest. They head outside with McIntyre snapping off an overhead belly to belly as we take a break. Back with Sheamus hitting the Irish Curse for two but McIntyre is back up in a hurry. The Claymore is cut off by a running knee for two and they slow down a bit. They trade headbutts until McIntyre blasts him with the Claymore for the pin at 7:34.

Rating: C+. There is something to be said about having two big power guys hit each other in the face really hard. That’s what we got here, and it’s certainly better than watching McIntyre do the goofy stuff with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss. This feud might have been more than a few times now, but it still works well in a spot like this one.

In the back, we see Madcap Moss and Happy Corbin stealing Adam Pearce’s desk, still containing the sword.

Video tribute to Blackjack Lanza.

Paul Heyman is leaving when Kayla Braxton interrupts him. Heyman asks her to stop doing that, so Braxton asks about Lesnar calling Heyman his advocate. Heyman asks her to stop doing that too, so Braxton brings up what Roman Reigns will think about the comments. Reality sets in for Heyman in a hurry, as he knows he screwed up.

We recap Naomi vs. Sonya Deville, as Sonya is the latest evil boss.

Sonya Deville vs. Naomi

Naomi tells Sonya to get out here, so here is Sonya, albeit with a few announcements. Natalya is the guest ring announcer and Shayna Baszler is the guest timekeeper. Naomi bails outside to go after both of them to start so Sonya bails before the opening bell. All three get on the apron, so here’s the debuting Xia Li to even things up a bit (complete with blue electric lights coming off of her during the entrance). Naomi and Xia clear the ring but Sonya is pulled out before Naomi can hit the split legged moonsault. No match.

Riddle wants Randy Orton to meet his friends….the cast of Jackass Forever. Riddle is a big fan but Orton has nothing to say.

Charlotte vs. Toni Storm

Non-title but a Champions Contender match. Charlotte punches her down to start so Toni is right back with a basement dropkick. There’s the running hip attack in the corner and a crossbody gives Storm two. Not to be outdone, Charlotte kicks her in the face and Storm is down for a bit. Charlotte goes up for the double moonsault but a bit of mistiming leaves Charlotte trying to cover Storm when she is on her face. The Figure Eight is countered into a small package to give Storm two, followed by a German suplex for the same. Charlotte posts her and takes it to the apron, where Storm is stomped against the post for the DQ at 3:20.

Rating: C-. So yeah, after getting her comeuppance in the form of a pie in the face, Charlotte is right back by beating Storm so much that the referee had to call the match. But hey, at least Storm gets another match where she is probably going to get this close to winning before coming short again. That way we can get back to the important stuff, like Charlotte vs. Banks. Such is WWE, and I can’t even get annoyed anymore.

Post match, Charlotte lays her out AGAIN.

Brock Lesnar comes in to see Adam Pearce, who looks terrified. Lesnar thanks him for the suspension, because he got to score a giant moose when he was out hunting. Lesnar pulls out his flip phone to show Pearce said moose but can’t get it to work. Instead he talks about hanging the moose up on the wall in his cabin and wanted a way to remember things. That’s why he named the moose Pearce.

Usos vs. New Day vs. RKBro

Non-title. New Day double teams Riddle to start and Woods drops a fist for two as the Usos are cool with hanging out on the apron. The Usos come in to clear the ring in a hurry though and we take a break. Back with Woods forearming Jey down to start, allowing Kofi to come in with a high crossbody for two. Riddle tags himself in for the release gutwrench suplex for his own two on Jey.

Jimmy makes a blind tag though and now it’s Riddle getting double teamed. Orton breaks that up in a hurry but Jey cuts Riddle off in a hurry. The chinlock goes on but Jey spends too much time posing, allowing Riddle to avoid a corner splash. The tag is loaded up….but Jimmy pulls Orton off the apron. New Day has to make a save of their own and we take a break.

Back with Kofi cutting off a tag attempt so Riddle stays in trouble. Woods grabs a suplex for two and the chinlock goes on again. The fans want Orton but get Woods elbowing Riddle in the back of the head instead. Riddle strikes away at New Day and that’s enough for the hot tag to Orton. House is cleaned in a hurry, including the hanging DDT to Jey. The RKO is broken up but Jey can’t hit the Superfly Splash. Woods tags himself in as Orton hits the RKO on Jimmy. Jey superkicks Orton but gets superkicked by Woods, setting up Daybreak for the pin at 18:54.

Rating: B-. That was the least surprising ending I can remember in a very long time, as it would be the most WWE ending possible. Sure New Day doesn’t have a title of their own, but they get to be the best team in the world. That’s one of the many reasons why WWE is in the state that it is in today, and the fact that you could guess the ending as soon as the match was announced makes it even worse.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty good show this week, though there were more than a few moments where I rolled my eyes at some of the dumber things they were doing (New Day winning, Charlotte leaving Storm laying). Lesnar smashing Zayn was good and Heyman was great as always though and Xia Li’s debut worked. There were enough positives this week, but there were also enough moments that left me skeptical about the future, as tends to be the case in WWE.

Results
Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs b. Los Lotharios – Kinshasa to Humberto
Drew McIntyre b. Sheamus – Claymore
Toni Storm b. Charlotte via DQ when Charlotte would not stop attacking Storm in the ropes
New Day b. Usos and RKBro – Daybreak 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

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Smackdown
Date: November 12, 2021
Location: Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

We are nine days away from Survivor Series and it would be nice if they talked about the show a little bit more. The show has been acknowledged more than once, but the champion vs. champion matches have gotten almost no attention whatsoever. I’d love to see the show built up some more, but we have too many other things to get to first. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Sonya Deville, with the Smackdown women’s Survivor Series team: Shotzi/Natalya/Shayna Baszler/Aliyah, but they need a fifth. That would be the captain of the team: Sasha Banks. Shotzi isn’t happy with this though and is ready to fight Banks, but here is Naomi to come out and get in Sonya’s face. Naomi hits Baszler and the fight is on.

Sasha Banks/Aliyah/Naomi vs. Natalya/Shotzi/Shayna Baszler

Banks bulldogs Natalya down to start so it’s off to Baszler in a hurry. That earns her some running knees from Banks and it’s off to Aliyah, who gets taken into the corner for some alternating stomps. Aliyah gets a small package but has to fight out of a Kirifuda Clutch attempt. The tag brings in Naomi to clean house but Natalya gets in a tag of her own, allowing Baszler to knock Naomi outside.

There’s a suplex to drop Naomi hard on the floor and Natalya does it again for good measure. Naomi gets sent hard into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Naomi caught in Shotzi’s front facelock before Baszler comes back in to work on the arm. Naomi fights out of the corner, including a kick to the face to put Baszler on the floor. Natalya breaks up the tag again though, only to get rolled up.

The kickout sends her into Aliyah for the hot tag, meaning a high crossbody can get two on Natalya. Some Thesz presses and a neckbreaker get two on Natalya as everything breaks down. Banks hits the Meteora off the apron to drop Baszler and Naomi superkicks Shotzi. Back in and Natalya get the Sharpshooter on Aliyah, only to have Naomi shove it over to give Aliyah the pin at 12:48.

Rating: C. I can go for the idea here, but ultimately it is a little hard to buy that Aliyah, who still looked very nervous out there (fair enough) can pin Natalya by more or less leaning on here. There is also the Naomi factor, as you would think she would be on the team somewhere, but that might be too much for WWE to ask. At least they’re giving the team some time. Granted it’s time fighting among themselves, but it’s something.

Sami Zayn is practicing his leadership speech in front of a mirror but Jeff Hardy interrupts. Zayn asked what Hardy thinks, and Jeff says it sucked.

Aliyah is rather excited over her win but Sonya Deville comes in. Sonya asks how long Aliyah has known Naomi and then pulls her off of the team. No replacement is named and Aliyah is crushed.

We look back at Roman Reigns and the Bloodline attacking New Day last week, which has left Kofi Kingston on the injured list.

Kayla Braxton comes up to Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman. Reigns thinks it’s either to acknowledge him or to flirt with the wise man. That makes Reigns laugh, so he tells Heyman to smarten her up. Heyman says that is going to be a hard task but promises that Reigns will make Xavier Woods acknowledge him tonight. If that doesn’t happen, Reigns will take a knee. If Reigns breaks that promise, you can strip him of the Universal Title and ban him from Smackdown.

We look back at Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss getting into it with the Viking Raiders.

Moss has a new joke about Viking Raiders, which suggests that Erik is fat.

Los Lotharios vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs

Boogs busts out some air drums to start and gutwrenches Humberto up for a spinning suplex. Angel gets in a cheap dropkick though and some running knees in the corner give Humberto too. Angel’s dropkick to the side of the head connects but Boogs muscles him up for a face first drop onto the buckle gets him a breather. The hot tag brings in Nakamura to clean house as everything breaks down. Angel posts Boogs and pulls Humberto out of the way of Kinshasa. Humberto uses an Angel distraction to kick Nakamura, setting up a springboard High/Low for the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C. This is the kind of result that is rather annoying. Why in the world would you not have Boogs take the pin here over the Intercontinental Champion? It makes all the sense in the world, but for some reason Nakamura takes a pin rather than his goofy sidekick. That’s one of the (many) reasons why the title means nothing anymore and it’s really annoying to see. Again.

NXT’s Von Wagner is in Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville’s office when Sami Zayn comes in. Zayn wants Jeff Hardy off of the Survivor Series team, so Pearce makes Sami vs. Hardy, with the loser off the team.

Video on the Wrestlemania tickets on sale party at AT&T Stadium. I’ll be there so this is always cool to see.

Here is Charlotte for a chat. Charlotte says it’s nice to see everyone before moving on to talking about her Survivor Series opponent, Becky Lynch. She talks about all of Becky’s different monikers but they add up to making Becky a manufactured champion. Becky has had her great moments, like winning at Wrestlemania XXXV (with Charlotte’s help) and beating Bianca Belair in 26 seconds. At Survivor Series, her new name is going to be Becky Uh Oh, because Charlotte is going to beat her.

Before Charlotte can move on, here is Toni Storm (hokey smoke I had forgotten she actually works here anymore) to interrupt. Toni wants to know about anyone getting an opportunity, so why not Charlotte vs. Toni for the title tonight? That’s a no and Charlotte leaves as Toni glares a lot. Again: slight build for the pay per view and then we move on to something else.

Xavier Woods talks about what a rough week it has been for New Day but promises to make Roman Reigns bend the knee tonight.

Aliyah is on the phone to complain about being thrown off the team when Mustafa Ali comes in. Ali says he knew this would happen but Ricochet comes in to say Aliyah did well and to keep her head up. Aliyah leaves with him and seems to feel better.

Sami Zayn vs. Jeff Hardy

Sami goes after the arm to start but Hardy is back with a hiptoss, much to the pro-Hardy’s crowd’s delight. Hardy sends him face first into the buckle but Sami is back with right hands to take over. They head outside with Jeff sending Sami into the barricade but missing Poetry In Motion. We take a break and come back with Sami grabbing a chinlock. Hardy fights up and hits the basement dropkick for two, with the kickout being quite the surprise. Whisper in the Wind gets two more and there’s the Twist of Fate. The Swanton finishes Sami at 9:13.

Rating: C-. There wasn’t much doubt about the winner here as Sami is the kind of guy who can talk a lot but rarely backs it up in the ring. I’m not sure who is taking Zayn’s place, but it would be nice to see someone fresh get the chance. This is supposed to be the new Smackdown, so let it be someone new for a change.

Post match Sami is all upset.

Hit Row raps about how awesome they are.

Jinder Mahal and Shanky rap about their own greatness. Eminem and Vanilla Ice references are made. Shanky also has to drop a beat for Mahal, setting up a rap about Hit Row. Well so much for Hit Row meaning anything.

Xia Li is coming.

Ridge Holland still thinks Sheamus is rather neat. Cesaro comes in to say he knows Sheamus well, because they didn’t just set the bar, but they were the Bar. Holland says he and Sheamus will be a much more successful team when Sheamus is back next week.

Raw Rebound.

Roman Reigns vs. King Woods

The loser takes a knee/acknowledges the other. Paul Heyman is here with Reigns but Woods is on his own. Reigns goes right after Reigns to start but gets knocked to the floor for a surprise. A dropkick through the ropes rocks Reigns again until he drops Woods onto the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Reigns hitting the rapid fire clotheslines in the corner. Woods gets in a shot of his own for a breather and a side kick to the face gets two. Reigns plants Woods coming off the ropes but the spear is cut off with a superkick. The Limit Break gets two…as the Usos pull Woods out for the DQ at 10:48.

Rating: C+. This was another good one as Woods continues to be on the roll of a lifetime. It would not shock me at all to see him turn this into a Day 1 challenge for the title in his hometown of Atlanta, as I’ve heard far worse ideas. Solid match here with the ending keeping Woods looking very strong.

Post match the big beatdown is on and the Usos put the crown on Reigns’ head to end the show. Again: you can see how they have Big E. pulled into this but it still hasn’t happened yet.

Overall Rating: C. The show had the same problem as Raw: there is almost nothing done to set up the matches at Survivor Series. There are some points where it feels like they are getting the teams ready, but the lack of personal issues is dragging things down. It’s another case of WWE trying to build towards multiple things at once and as a result, nothing feels important.

Results
Sasha Banks/Aliyah/Naomi b. Sonya Deville/Natalya/Shotzi – Rollup to Natalya
Los Lotharios b. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs – Springboard High/Low to Nakamura
Jeff Hardy b. Sami Zayn – Swanton Bomb
King Woods b. Roman Reigns via DQ when the Usos interfered

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.

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 8, 2021
Location: KFC Yum Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re less than two weeks away from Survivor Series and now we have the men’s and women’s Survivor Series teams set up. That means we don’t get a month of qualifying matches, but we are likely to get two weeks of I AM THE CAPTAIN and arguing about their love of a brand they have been on for less than a month. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s issues with Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Big E., as Big E. isn’t sure he can trust Owens.

Big E. and Kevin Owens are in the back, with Owens talking about how he cares about what Big E. thinks of him and wants people to know he turned over a new leaf. Big E. doesn’t really care though and has a match tonight. Owens says he cares what Big E. thinks.

Here is Seth Rollins, in some weird red and blue number, to welcome us to Monday Night Rollins. He is the face of Monday Night Raw and therefore he will lead the team to victory over those Smackdown bums at Survivor Series. The fans think Rollins looks stupid but what would they know about fashion.

Rollins talks about Kevin Owens, wondering if he is a hero or a snake. He has known Owens for a long time and there is one thing you can count on with Owens: he will stab you in the back at any chance he has. Owens is as low as he gets and cannot be trusted as far as he can be thrown, which isn’t far at all. Rollins is ready to turn Owens into the biggest loser in the world but here is a ticked off Owens to interrupt. The fight is on and Rollins has to escape the apron powerbomb. I’m kind of intrigued by this one.

We look back at Omos wrecking the tag team division last week.

RKBro is in the back, with Riddle worrying about turning into a robot and Orton worrying about the Street Profits. Cue the Street Profits, with Orton saying they’re on their own.

Omos/AJ Styles vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler vs. RKBro/Street Profits

Good to see AJ back. Ford dropkicks Roode down to start and mocks some dog poses. Dawkins comes in with a shoulder and suplexes Ford onto Roode for two. Ziggler comes in and gets punched down as well, allowing Orton to stomp away. The assisted Floating Bro gets two on Ziggler so it’s off to AJ, who gets kicked in the chest.

The Styles Clash is broken up and a triangle choke has Styles in more trouble. They fall over the top for the big crash to set up a huge staredown as we take a break. Back with Riddle fighting out of trouble and kicking Ziggler down. That’s enough for the hot tag to Orton but Roode has to save Ziggler from an RKO. Roode is sent into Omos to knock him off the apron, but he is able to catch a flying Styles.

We take a very sudden break and come back with Omos working on Ford before Ziggler comes back in for a boot rake to the eyes. A sunset flip gives Ziggler two but Ford is back up with an enziguri, which did not seem to come close to making contact. Either way, it’s enough for the hot tag off to Dawkins and house is cleaned in a hurry.

It’s back to Omos though and the wrecking is on in a hurry. Both Profits are taken down but Riddle’s knees to the chest do some damage. Granted it isn’t enough damage to avoid a double chokeslam to plant Riddle hard. Orton still teases getting in but blames Riddle for screwing up. Roode and Ziggler cut Orton off from getting in but Roode and Styles get in a fight on the floor. Omos deals with Roode, leaving Ziggler to pin Riddle at 22:51.

Rating: C. I was stunned when I looked at the clock as that was one of the fastest 20+ minute matches I can remember. The wrestling itself was fine, as everyone did their thing, though Riddle being down for so long off a single chokeslam was a bit much. Not bad though, and it’s certainly nice to see AJ back after whatever was wrong with him.

Post match it’s an RKO to leave Ziggler laying. Orton tells Riddle that he has to listen if they want to keep the titles.

Kevin Owens tries to convince Rey Mysterio to believe him but Rey has to do something.

Veer Mahaan is coming.

Here is Adam Pearce for a chat with the Mysterios. Pearce talks about Survivor Series, which has had some great debuts over the years and is the ONLY NIGHT OF THE YEAR where the two shows face off (there is something hilarious about them pushing this idea every year). That means this year’s Raw needs to live up to last year’s as Raw swept the night. It makes him think that he might have made a mistake by putting Dominik on the team, because every other member is a former WWE Champion. Dominik can keep his spot if he wins the following match.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Bobby Lashley

MVP is back and in Lashley’s corner and the winner is on the Raw Survivor Series team. Lashley starts fast with a suplex but Dominik knees his way out of trouble. A high crossbody doesn’t work for Dominik but he low bridges Lashley to the floor. Another dive is pulled out of the air though and Lashley drives him into the post.

Back in and a Downward Spiral drops Dominik again. The Hurt Lock goes on but Lashley won’t let Dominik tap, instead throwing him outside. Rey Mysterio tries to intervene and gets kicked in the chest, allowing Lashley to post Dominik again. An awesome spear sets up the Hurt Lock to end Dominik at 5:11.

Rating: C-. Total squash here, as it should have been. It makes me wonder why they had Dominik on the team in the first place, but it also has me worried that Pearce is going to be the latest evil authority figure. WWE has gotten away from that lame trope for a long time now and I really don’t need to see it happen again. Though he did get rid of Dominik so how evil can he be?

We look back at the Alpha Academy failing to recruit Big E. last week.

Seth Rollins comes up to the Alpha Academy to ask about Kevin Owens. Chad Gable talks about his recent graduation and says Owens is a horrible liar, just like Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers. Tonight, he’ll prove that Big E. can’t be the face of Raw.

Big E. vs. Chad Gable

Non-title and Otis is in Gable’s corner. Big E. takes him down by the arm to start and uses the power to run Gable over. The apron splash connects but Gable is back with some knee cranking. That’s enough to set up a belly to belly into a moonsault for two, followed by rolling Chaos Theory. Big E. is back with a Rock Bottom out of the corner and the Big Ending finishes Gable at 4:55.

Rating: C+. They packed a good amount into that short amount of time as WWE has been on a roll with these shorter matches as of late. I’m glad to see Gable getting in the ring more often in recent weeks as he really is that good. At the same time, it’s not like losing to Big E. is going to hurt him at this point.

Post match, Big E. and Otis have a staredown.

Kevin Owens tries to get R-Truth to believe in him. R-Truth believes in him, but he also believes in Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, that the Earth is flat (“But it’s round in certain places.”) and the Thanksgiving Man, among other things. Owens walks off.

Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce are with the Raw women’s Survivor Series team to announce a fatal five way tonight for a shot at Becky Lynch. Doudrop isn’t sure why Bianca Belair is getting another chance at another shot. Dana Brooke wants some respect, including from Liv Morgan. An argument breaks out.

We look at Wrestlemania XXXII to get us ready for tickets going on sale this Friday. I’m not sure how much I’d brag about that show.

We look at Bobby Lashley taking Dominik Mysterio’s spot.

Rey Mysterio says Dominik has a neck strain and goes on a rant against Adam Pearce. Austin Theory pops in for an unnoticed selfie as Rey holds ice on Dominik’s neck.

24/7 Title: Drake Maverick vs. Reggie

Reggie is defending and takes Maverick down in a hurry to start and it’s a running flip clothesline to take Maverick down in the corner. Cue R-Truth with a referee but the Hurt Business jumps him from behind. The distraction lets Maverick steal the pin and the title at 1:28 (ending Reggie’s record long reign).

Then Akira Tozawa wins the title.

Then Corey Graves wins the title.

Then Byron Saxton wins the title.

Then Maverick wins the title (with a handful of pants).

Then Reggie wins the title back and runs off. Graves: “SAXTON YOU RUIN EVERYTHING!!!”

Bianca Belair vs. Carmella vs. Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Queen Zelina

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a title shot against Becky Lynch, who is on commentary. In the back, Doudrop still isn’t happy with Belair getting the chance. Bianca gets in an argument with Lynch and it’s a big brawl on the floor with everyone getting involved. We take a break before the bell and come back with the match officially beginning, as Belair and Ripley are left alone. That’s broken up before anything can happen but the two of them are right back in for the showdown again.

They grapple around a bit with neither being able to get anywhere. Belair flips over Ripley but gets pulled outside so Carmella and Vega send her into the barricade. Back in and Ripley takes down Vega and Carmella without much effort. The numbers game gets the better of Ripley though and a low superkick gives Carmella two, with Vega breaking it up. Morgan gets knocked off the apron but Carmella has to break up Vega’s cover.

Ripley is back up and gets taken down by Carmella, setting up the stomping/choking in the corner. Morgan gets back in and cleans house but gets sent outside by Vega. Now it’s Ripley tossing Vega around as Becky declares herself as Becky From The Block. Vega tornado DDTs Ripley for two but Belair throws Vega onto everyone and we take a break. Back with Belair powerbombing Vega and Morgan down but getting missile dropkicked by Ripley.

Carmella superkicks Ripley and covers everyone else for two each. Belair sends Vega into the announcers’ table before heading back in for a showdown with Ripley. Both escape finishers until Ripley kicks Belair out of the air. Riptide connects but Morgan makes the save. Oblivion hits Ripley but Vega makes the save this time. Back up and Belair hits the KOD, drawing in Doudrop to pull Belair out. Morgan rolls Carmella up for the pin and the title shot at 16:28.

Rating: C-. I don’t think this was exactly a big surprise as Morgan vs. Lynch was teased last week. They could have an interesting match and it does open the door for a possible (though unlikely) change before we get to Survivor Series. There was a lot of action in the match, though it didn’t need that much time. At least we’re getting a more appealing title match, which isn’t WWE’s strong suit.

Seth Rollins asks Big E. about Kevin Owens but Big E. doesn’t trust either of them. He’ll be at ringside though.

Smackdown Rebound.

Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Big E. is on commentary but here is Austin Theory before the match to take some pictures. The phone is swatted away by Big E. though and Theory skedaddles. Also before the match, Seth grabs the mic to say that he and Owens had a plan to jump Big E. last week and it went badly. Cue Owens to cut him off though and the chase sends Rollins into the crowd as we take a break.

Back (after a This Week In WWE History, looking at the Montreal Screwjob) with the bell ringing and Owens hammering away on Rollins, who bails out to the floor in a hurry. Owens gives chase and hits a backsplash on the floor to crush Rollins. The Cannonball against the barricade does it again, followed by a stomping inside. Rollins gets knocked outside again so Owens hits another splash. That earns him a whip into the announcers’ table though and we take a break.

Back with Rollins stomping away at the ribs but getting pulled down so Owens can hammer away. Rollins goes right back to the ribs with a bunch of stomps to keep Owens in trouble. A snap suplex gives Rollins two but he misses the frog splash. Owens’ frog splash connects for two though and we take a break.

Back with Rollins charging into a superkick in the corner, followed by Owens hitting a heck of a running clothesline. Owens goes up but gets caught by Rollins, who gets planted with the spinning fisherman’s superplex. Rollins is right back with a Pedigree for two but Owens catches him with a Pop Up sitout Powerbomb for two. A shot to the bad ribs breaks up Owens’ Stunner and knocks him outside. Rollins tries to send Owens into Big E. but he dodges out of the way. The delay is enough to keep Owens from beating the count at 24:09.

Rating: B-. This was a long match which saw both guys looking good, though the ending left something to be desired. I know it’s the right way to go to keep the story going as Owens is going to be frustrated, but there isn’t much to be had from a countout after such a long match. It might make sense, but it doesn’t mean it’s satisfying.

Post match Rollins leaves but Owens snaps, beating the fire out of Big E. Referees try to break it up but Owens comes back over for another stomp to the head. Owens screams a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I’m going to assume that a lot of this show was due to the UK tour, as you never see so many long matches on a show. What we got wasn’t great, but it’s kind of hard to build to a show like Survivor Series anymore. What you’re seeing is a bunch of stuff being set up that won’t be taking place at the next pay per view, so why should I get interested so soon? I’m sure some of this stuff will be blown off either in December or at Day One in January, but that makes for some fairly weak television the way there. There was some ok stuff on here, but a lot of it felt like filler and that makes for a dull night.

Results
Omos/AJ Styles/Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode b. RKBro/Street Profits – Chokeslam to Riddle
Bobby Lashley b. Dominik Mysterio – Hurt Lock
Big E. b. Chad Gable – Big Ending
Drake Maverick b. Reggie – Rollup
Liv Morgan b. Carmella, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley and Queen Zelina – Crucifix to Carmella
Seth Rollins b. Kevin Owens via countout

WWE, 2021, Monday Night Raw, Omos, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, RKBro, Street Profits, Bobby Lashley, Rey Mysterio, Adam Pearce, Dominik Mysterio, Big E., Chad Gable, Drake Maverick, Otis, Liv Morgan, Carmella, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Queen Zelina, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Austin Theory

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.

Smackdown
Date: October 29, 2021
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

We’re still on the way to Survivor Series and this week seems likely to be the Halloween themed show. That means we get a Trick Or Street Fight, because the world was waiting on another chapter in Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Happy Corbin. At least this version is a tag match though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Charlotte for a chat, with commentary referencing last week’s “feisty” title exchange with Becky Lynch. She talks about how great she is and how no one can do what she does, because her winning another title is just another Friday. Cue Sasha Banks to interrupt and laugh at the idea of Charlotte being a leader around here. She wants another title shot but Charlotte thinks it should be someone new. Cue Shotzi in the tank to say she’ll have a shot and Charlotte says ok. Shotzi shoots the tank to celebrate.

Shotzi vs. Charlotte

Non-title but a Champions Contenders match with Sasha Banks on the floor. Charlotte throws her into the corner to start but gets a little too cocky, allowing Shotzi to roll her up for two. A kick to the head cuts that off though and it’s time for some more WOOing. Charlotte gets sent outside though and Shotzi hits a quick dive (which barely cleared the ropes) as we take a break.

Back with Shotzi hitting a super hurricanrana (McAfee: “LIKE A SPIDER MONKEY!”) and knocking Charlotte back to the floor. Shotzi grabs a rollup for two more but Charlotte sends her into the corner to take over. The double jump moonsault gets two but Shotzi fights back up. Banks gets on the apron to yell at Charlotte so Shotzi has to stop to avoid a collision. That’s enough of a distraction for Charlotte to grab Natural Selection for the pin at 11:30.

Rating: C-. Shotzi was looking off in a lot of this and it brought the match down. At the same time, Charlotte getting to be her usual self and winning again didn’t help things either, but that’s just what you have to deal with when it comes to anything she is doing. Not the best way to get going, as tends to be the case with Charlotte these days.

Post match Charlotte leaves as Shotzi is livid at Banks and beats her down. Banks gets sent into the tank a few times and Shotzi hits the Ball Pit. Howling ensues.

Jeff Hardy is glad to be back, even with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss coming in to laugh at him.

We look back at Brock Lesnar wrecking everyone last week, earning himself a suspension.

Adam Pearce isn’t happy with what Lesnar did, so Lesnar is being fined $1 million.

Paul Heyman finds this amusing and here is Kayla Braxton to ask what Lesnar will think. Heyman won’t answer so Braxton flat out asks him, sending Heyman into a near rant about how great Lesnar is. He calms down though and leaves before saying anything else.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat. It’s Open Challenge time (just like the opening match) so get someone out here.

Drew McIntyre vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali talks about how much more athletic he is than McIntyre but the chops have no effect. One chop sends Ali into the corner and McIntyre sends him flying with a suplex. The Futureshock is countered but so does Ali’s 450. McIntyre can’t hit the Claymore but he can counter a tornado DDT into a Kimura to make Ali tap at 2:01.

Post match Ali goes on a rant about how the people only boo him because his name is Mustafa Ali. Oh screw off with doing this stupid angle again.

Kofi Kingston is singing King Xavier’s praises when they run into Hit Row, who deem themselves not worthy. Then they sing for him.

Here are King Xavier and Kofi Kingston for a knighting ceremony. Xavier talks about how great Kofi is, even quoting the Golden Girls theme song, before giving him a special pin. Cue the Usos (because THESE TEAMS MUST FEUD FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER) to say they’re the real royalty around here. They take shots at each others’ clothes until Xavier says we’ll have a Trial By Fire match tonight. I’m sure the match will be good but I can’t bring myself to be interested in going back to this feud again. You have a brand new roster and the best you can come up with is the rehash of rehashes for a tag feud?

Raw Rebound.

Happy Corbin/Madcap Moss vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs

Trick of Street Fight. It’s a brawl to start (as it should be) with Boogs hitting the swinging gutwrench suplex on Moss. Boogs busts out the guitar for Good Vibrations until Corbin breaks it up with a kendo stick. Commentary makes Halloween puns and here are the 24/7 goons to make their Smackdown debut.

Boogs and Corbin clothesline each other so here is Moss again, only to have Boogs sends him into the bucket of apples. Moss comes up with an apple in his mouth and it’s time for the good guys (including McAfee) to enjoy some apples as we take a break. Back with Boogs getting double teamed but Nakamura makes the save with some candy. Nakamura kicks the post by mistake so it’s time to break up a pumpkin.

The villains try a double powerbomb through a table but Boogs makes the save with pumpkins and a skeleton. Moss breaks up a cover and sends Nakamura flying with a fall away slam. Deep Six plants Boogs but Nakamura kicks Corbin in the head. Moss puts a pumpkin over Nakamura’s head but Boogs posts Corbin. Cue two masked men to kendo stick Boogs down though and Moss hits his neckbreaker onto the pumpkin for the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C. I’m surprised at the winners and I think that’s a good thing. This was the kind of wacky themed match that is fine for a show like this, though it was reaching the point of no return with the time. I never need to see Nakamura and Corbin in the same ring again, so odds are we’ll see it again for the next several months.

The masked men are Angel Garza/Humberto Carrillo.

Sonya Deville denies stacking the deck against Naomi. Sami Zayn comes in to talk about Survivor Series….and we go to Naomi’s entrance. No transition or anything and Sami was in mid-sentence.

Naomi vs. Shayna Baszler

Hold on though as here is Sonya Deville to say that since Brock Lesnar injured a referee last week, she’ll be taking the referee’s spot this week. Baszler takes her down by the leg to start but Naomi fights up for a ram into the corner. Deville offers a distraction but Naomi is fine enough to kick Baszler in the head. That’s not good for a count, so Baszler reverses and Deville counts three in half a second to give Baszler the win at 1:13.

Post match Naomi yells at Deville and gets Kirifuda Clutched.

New Day promises to take out the Usos.

Naomi says she’d love to fight Sonya Deville if she ever gets back in the ring. She’ll fight Shayna Baszler one on one too. Didn’t she just do that?

New Day vs. Usos

Non-title. Woods takes Jimmy down to start and hands it off to Kofi for the house cleaning. A dropkick puts the legal Jey on the floor so Kofi tries the dive, which is pulled out of the air. Kofi is sent over the barricade and we take a break. Back with Kofi in trouble, including a side slam planting him down hard.

Jey stomps away in the corner but Kofi hits the jumping stomp for a breather. It’s oft to Woods to clean house until a kick to the head slows him down. A exchange of forearms allows Kofi to come in off a blind tag. The top rope ax handle hits Jey but Jey grabs a Samoan drop for two. Everything breaks down again and Jey superkicks Kingston. Woods makes a blind tag though and grabs a rollup to pin Jey at 10:19.

Rating: B-. Yeah of course the match was good and yeah of course the champions lost. I’m not sure why any of this should be a surprise, because it’s what happens between these teams. Since WWE can’t come up with anything better, it is time to just play the hits again and I’ve heard of worse ideas than New Day vs. Usos. Not many less interesting, but several that are far worse.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling itself was mostly good, but e pluribus gads this company feels dead creatively. This was a big collection of stuff we’ve seen before and not in a good way. How this could be the second show with the new roster is beyond me, but WWE really needs to figure this out. The lone hope I have is that they were punting because the World Series was on as well, but it’s not like there is a reason to give them the benefit of the doubt over the last….well years really.

Results
Charlotte b. Shotzi – Natural Selection
Drew McIntyre b. Mustafa Ali – Kimura
Madcap Moss/Happy Corbin b. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs
Shayna Baszler b. Naomi – Rollup with a fast count
New Day b. Usos – Rollup to Jey

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.

Smackdown
Date: October 22, 2021
Location: Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re done with Crown Jewel and that means it is time to start getting ready for Survivor Series. The big story coming out of the show is Roman Reigns retaining the Universal Title as Paul Heyman managed to stay in the middle while still interfering in the match. That could mean more than a few things going forward so let’s get to it.

Here is Crown Jewel if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Roman Reigns retaining the Universal Title over Brock Lesnar, albeit with an assist from the Usos and a title belt shot.

Here are Reigns and Paul Heyman for a chat to get things going. Reigns isn’t happy with Heyman, as he doesn’t get why the title was thrown into the middle of the ring last night. Reigns: “Shall we work on this?” He demonstrates how to put the title in his hand and says that Heyman isn’t good as his job. We hear Reigns’ various monikers, including the greatest Universal Champion of all time (that has been a long five years). Reigns lists off all of the people he has smashed while champion, including Brock Lesnar.

Speaking of Lesnar, wasn’t he supposed to be here tonight? Reigns has Heyman pull out his phone to read Lesnar’s promise to beat up Reigns as soon as he arrives tonight. Reigns: “He’s tweeting now!” That makes Reigns laugh and he wants Lesnar out here for his second beating in a row. He faces the Titantron but no one shows up, so Reigns thinks Lesnar must be scared. Reigns makes it clear: he isn’t leaving the ring until Lesnar gets here.

We take a break and come back with Reigns and Heyman still in the ring, with the former talking about how great he is. The fans want Lesnar but Reigns says Lesnar is scared of him, just like everyone else. Reigns is ready to leave but here is Lesnar to cut him off. The fight is on with Lesnar knocking him to the floor but stopping to look at Heyman. One heck of a steps shot knocks Reigns silly and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table.

Cue the Usos for the save so Lesnar beats them up, allowing Reigns to get back up. Lesnar drives Reigns into the post and then steals a camera, which he throws at the post to break it into pieces. Someone gets sent over the announcers’ table so Adam Pearce sends out various wrestlers to calm Lesnar down but they’re beaten down as well. Cesaro, Jeff Hardy and the Viking Raiders finally calm things down, leaving Lesnar to hold up the Universal Title. Now that was a hot angle and it felt like Reigns was running scared for the first time.

Post break, and post a bunch of replays, Adam Pearce gets in the ring to say Lesnar’s actions were unacceptable. Therefore, Lesnar is suspended indefinitely. Cue Lesnar again and Pearce knows he messed up. Lesnar grabs him by the shirt and wants Pearce to say it again. Pearce, while struggling to breathe, repeats the suspension. Lesnar: “Is that right?” Lesnar hits an F5, hears his music start, and hits another F5, with Pearce’s pants being ripped in the process. That’s not enough for Lesnar, who grabs the mic and tells Pearce to say it again. Since Pearce can’t move, Lesnar hits him in the face with the microphone to some rather strong praise from the crowd.

The locker room is worried about what happened and here is Naomi to get in Sonya Deville’s face. Sonya yells at her and since Naomi is a face on the WWE roster, she calmly walks away without any rebuttal. Drew McIntyre pops in to say he’s here to make a difference so it’s open challenge time.

Here is Drew McIntyre in the ring and it is still open challenge time.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn

Sami has a new theme and says he’s used to being forgotten around here. He is actually the longest tenured member of the Smackdown roster and he is kind of a locker room leader. McIntyre may be a former WWE Champion, but he’s a newbie around here. Sami will accept the challenge and drops to the floor at the opening bell. McIntyre follows him outside and sends Zayn into the barricade for a big crash.

We take a break and come back with Zayn hammering away in the corner but McIntyre snaps off an overhead belly to belly. Sami snaps Drew’s throat across the top rope but the Glasgow Kiss gets McIntyre out of trouble. A charge hits post to put him back in trouble though and Sami sends him into said post again. The Helluva Kick, complete with the countdown, is cut off with the Claymore to finish Zayn at 6:50.

Rating: C-. It wasn’t a great match or anything but they kept it short as they should have. I was expecting this to be bell, Claymore, bell and it was only just a little bit more than that. It was a good way to debut McIntyre on his new show and it worked out well enough. Zayn can lose over and over and talk his way right back into being fine so this worked out in a short span.

It’s time for the official coronation of King Xavier Woods, with Kofi Kingston making the presentation. Woods comes to the ring and Kofi puts the cloak onto him, allowing the fans to hit a YOU DESERVE IT chant. Woods: “ME???” The scepter is presented, and that just leaves the crown. Kingston gives Woods a huge over the top introduction and puts the crown on his head to a rather positive reception. Woods promises it will be a fair and fun reign, with Kofi reading a proclamation and waving the robe behind him. Goofy fun here and it’s great to see Woods getting the chance to do something on his own.

Becky Lynch isn’t interested in trading titles with Charlotte, so maybe she should be Becky Two Belts again.

Xia Li is coming soon.

Mansoor vs. Mustafa Ali

Rematch from Crown Jewel where Mansoor won. Ali misses a charge in the corner and walks into a backdrop. There’s a clothesline to the floor and Mansoor backdrops him from the apron to the floor. Back in and a high crossbody gives Mansoor two but Ali is back in with a Batista Bomb for two. A tiger suplex of all things drops Ali but he is back up with a sunset flip. That’s fine with Mansoor, who sits down on it for the pin at 2:37. Mansoor was certainly energetic here.

Ridge Holland isn’t surprise he made it here.

Aliyah is ready to give Smackdown a makeover.

Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo say that winning is easy when you look this good.

Sheamus delivers nothing but bangers. These were short and to the point and a lot better than what I would have expected from introductions.

Here is Hit Row to rhyme about how great they are and now they need a big bag for all of their nice things.

Hit Row vs. Dustin Lawyer/Daniel Williams

Swerve takes Lawyer down in a hurry and hits a running elbow to the back. The backsplash gives Dolla two and it’s a Wasteland/World’s Strongest Slam to Williams and Lawyer at the same time. A side slam/running kick to the head finishes Lawyer at 1:12. Simple, to the point, get the idea over, wrap it up before you overstay your welcome. Not a thing wrong with that.

We recap Lesnar’s destruction earlier, including that of Adam Pearce.

Sonya Deville says Pearce is going to be ok eventually and she told him what would happen. For now though, we have to keep going and she’ll take care of things on her own.

Happy Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title Champions Contenders match and Corbin thanks Nakamura for sending him into the downward spiral that eventually made him happy. Madcap Moss and Rick Boogs are here too as Corbin powers Nakamura into trouble to start. Nakamura is back up with some shots in the face to take over and Good Vibrations (with Boogs accompanying on guitar) makes it worse. Back up and Corbin shoves Nakamura to the apron before dropping him face first…well close enough to the apron as we take a break.

Back with Corbin hammering away on the mat until Nakamura fights up and hits a running knee. Nakamura strikes away and hits the running knee in the corner for two. End of Days is broken up but the Deep Six gives Corbin two of his own. Boogs guitars Nakamura back to life and he knees Corbin down. Kinshasa is loaded up but Moss goes after the guitar, drawing Nakamura out for the save. Corbin sends Nakamura into the steps though and End of Days finishes Nakamura at 9:38.

Rating: C. Sweet goodness I can’t stand that finish and it’s the kind of thing that WWE loves to do. Not only did they not hide how the match was going to end, but a champ takes a fall to set up a title match which could have been set up any of about a dozen other ways. That’s not how WWE likes to do things though, because why put in the work when you can be lazy instead?

Charlotte says Becky Lynch can hand over the title really easily. Just pretend it’s Charlotte’s suitcase that Becky carried for years. We aren’t even done with the first “THE ROSTERS ARE FINALIZED” show and we already have a guest star from Raw.

Here are Becky Lynch and Charlotte, in their gear, to exchange titles. Sonya Deville tells them to hand it over but Becky drops hers. They trade the titles but Charlotte issues the challenge for winner take all. Cue Sasha Banks to call Charlotte a b**** so Becky leaves, saying she’ll see one of them at Survivor Series. Sasha and Charlotte insult each other and Banks wins a quick brawl to end the show. Just like it was last year, this was hardly anything that helped the titles, but that is long past the point of mattering.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a new era and that appears to be what they were going for here. There were new people introduced doing new things and it made for a good way to set things off. I liked how they introduced a lot of new people and set things in motion, with a hot opening segment making it that much better. This might not have been a classic, but it was a good way to make things interesting for the future.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Sami Zayn – Claymore
Mansoor b. Mustafa Ali – Cradle
Hit Row b. Dustin Lawler/Daniel Williams – Side slam/running kick to the head combination to Lawyer
Happy Corbin b. Shinsuke Nakamura – End of Days

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.

Smackdown
Date: October 8, 2021
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re done with the Draft, though we still have a few weeks before we switch over to the new roster. Until then we have Crown Jewel in less than two weeks, which is likely to get a lot of the focus tonight. Since it’s WWE, we also have a contract signing to deal with tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the contract signing, with Bianca Belair in the ring, Sasha Banks on the announcers’ table and Becky Lynch at her own table in the aisle. Becky doesn’t think much of Belair, who she beat in 26 seconds and Banks, who looks like a disco ball. Banks thinks Becky is jealous because she’s a bigger star than the two of them.

Belair doesn’t want to hear it and just wants to get the contract signed. Becky gets her attention so Banks runs in to jump Belair, meaning the brawl is on. That just lets Belair put them both in the KOD but she can’t flip them over. Instead she puts Banks onto the table and puts Becky through Banks and the table. The contract wasn’t signed in all of the melee. Of every contract signing, at least this one was short.

Rey Mysterio says being King of the Ring is the second best thing in WWE (after being Universal Champion), but it would make him sick to see Sami Zayn as king.

King of the Ring Tournament First Round: Rey Mysterio vs. Sami Zayn

Before the match, Sami tells Dominik Mysterio that Dominik is better than his dad. Sami misses a Helluva Kick to start but Sami grabs a powerbomb for two instead as Cole talks about how important the tournament is. Rey is right back by sending Sami outside and the flipping hurricanrana takes him down again. There’s the top rope splash for two on Zayn, who is right back with a shoulder first whip into the post.

We take a break and come back with Dominik at ringside as Sami suplexes Rey into the corner. The Helluva Kick is countered though and Rey gets two off Code Red. A springboard hurricanrana gets the same but the 619 misses. Another Blue Thunder Bomb gets another two on Rey so Sami goes to pull off the turnbuckle pad. Dominik goes to put it back but Rey is sent into him, allowing Sami to grab a rollup for the pin at 9:47.

Rating: C+. There was an energy here that I wasn’t expecting as both guys were working hard to make this better. Rey hasn’t moved that well in a good while and Zayn did his thing as well. Good match, while also advancing their story and the tournament. That’s a rather nifty use of about ten minutes.

Here are the brackets:

Sami Zayn

Cesaro
Finn Balor

Kofi Kingston
Jinder Mahal

Xavier Woods
Ricochet

Hit Row is coming.

Commentary is excited about the changes from the changes from the Draft.

We look at Seth Rollins invading Edge’s house last week and messing with his stuff as Edge freaked out.

Rollins doesn’t know why everyone is freaking out about what he did last week. He managed to beat Edge in Madison Square Garden without any cheating and then he went to Edge’s home as promised. That being said, Rolling still hasn’t gotten an answer to his challenge so he’s going to find someone who can make it happen.

Queen’s Crown Tournament First Round: Zelina Vega vs. Toni Storm

First match in the history of the tournament. Storm goes with the power to start but Vega is back with the Thesz press and a bunch of right hands. The modified dragon sleeper has Vega in trouble but Storm fights up and cranks on the arm. There’s a running hip attack in the corner to keep Vega down but she is back up to crotch Storm on top. Storm tries a backslide but gets reversed into a Code Red to give Vega the fast pin at 2:12.

Here are the brackets:

Zelina Vega

Liv Morgan
Carmella

Doudrop
Natalya

Dana Brooke
Shayna Baszler

We look back at Roman Reigns’ rough night last week, with Reigns being the #1 overall pick but having to deal with Brock Lesnar as well. Lesnar then announced that he was a free agent, much to Reigns’ annoyance as he believe Paul Heyman is behind it.

Here is the Bloodline for a chat. Reigns likes being acknowledged but he wants to get to the point: did Paul Heyman set up Lesnar’s free agent status? Heyman goes into a nearly begging rant about how he has nothing but loyalty Reigns. He may have been accused of a lot of things over the years, but never of being stupid. Wouldn’t it make more sense to stretch this out until Crown Jewel and set up Reigns’ strategy and then tell Lesnar about it? Heyman talks about how Reigns will conquer the Conqueror at Crown Jewel, but Reigns wants Heyman to tell Lesnar himself.

That means Heyman has to look into the camera and tell Lesnar what is going to happen. Heyman, with some more seriousness in his voice, talks about how Lesnar conquered the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, but now he has met his match. Reigns will retain the title, and that is a spoiler. Heyman drops to his knees before Reigns, who seems pleased. This was more awesome stuff from the best thing going in wrestling today.

Seth Rollins comes in to see Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville because he wants to know if Edge is going to be here tonight. Either way, Rollins will be in the ring at the end of the show for an answer. If the two of them see Edge first though, he asks them to return this photo of Edge and Beth Phoenix from their house.

Queen’s Crown Tournament First Round: Carmella vs. Liv Morgan

Carmella puts on her mask but Morgan takes her down and hammers away. The Code of Silence has Morgan in trouble so she grabs the mask to escape. An enziguri sets up Oblivion for two with Carmella putting her foot on the rope for the escape. Back up and Carmella superkicks her down for the pin at 1:46. As much as I don’t want to say it, I think it’s time to give up on believing it’s ever going to happen for Morgan. If you’re losing to Carmella in less than two minutes, what kind of future do you have?

Mace says he isn’t coming here to compete because that implies there is competition. All he sees is prey.

Here are Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss for Happy Talk. Before they can get too far, here is a ticked off Kevin Owens. Moss gets beaten up in the aisle and Owens goes inside to jump Corbin but the numbers game takes him down. Owens gets laid out again.

Naomi comes in to see the bosses and wants to know why she wasn’t in the Queen’s Crown Tournament but Sonya Deville cuts her off. Next week, Naomi is in the ring against….Sonya herself.

King of the Ring Tournament First Round: Cesaro vs. Finn Balor

Cesaro grabs a headscissors on the mat to start but Balor is right back up. That just earns him a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to give Cesaro two and there’s a hard whip into the corner. Balor manages a quick double stomp to the chest though and Cesaro is tossed over the top. The big dive is countered into Swiss Death to give Cesaro two and we take a break.

Back with Balor knocking Cesaro down again and stomping away. Cesaro manages to start the uppercut train but Balor Sling Blades him back down. The Coup de Grace is cut off though and Cesaro adds a headbutt on top. The superplex gives Cesaro a delayed two and a Crossface has Balor in more trouble. Balor rolls him up to escape and the Swing is countered into a cradle for two more. Cesaro misses a charge into the post and there’s the big flip dive to the floor. Back in and the shotgun dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace for the pin on Cesaro at 9:43.

Rating: B-. I don’t think it’s any surprise that these two were going to have a good match. It helps that they got some time, just like Mysterio vs. Zayn. That’s a bit better than the two women’s matches tonight, which got about four minutes combined. It shows just how much of a difference that detail makes, but I don’t think WWE cares that much these days.

We look back at the contract signing, which did not include any contracts being signed.

Becky Lynch goes on a rant about how she isn’t respected around here but Sonya Deville says prove it by signing the contract. Becky signs to get us a third of the way to the match, though she throws the contract at Adam Pearce, hitting him low.

Here is Seth Rollins to call Edge out. Rollins says they can have any match Edge wants, anywhere they want. They can even have it Edge’s living room with his wife and kids cheering him on. Rollins says Edge is disappointing everyone, from his fans to his family. He can’t imagine how much this hurts Edge’s daughters’ hearts….and Edge arrives in the back (cutting it close with two minutes left in the show). Cue Edge to start the fight in a hurry and break the bar off of the chair. The Crossface is teased but Rollins elbows him to escape. Edge: “YOU! ME! HELL IN A CELL!” Rollins’ jaw drops to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I love a show that is quick and to the point and that’s what we got here. They didn’t bother trying to do anything more than hit the tournament stuff and advance or set up things for Crown Jewel. That’s how you run an efficient show and it feels like to have a night that has such a focus. Good show here, though the women’s matches left a good bit to be desired. Would it really hurt to give them five minutes each?

Results
Sami Zayn b. Rey Mysterio – Rollup
Zelina Vega b. Toni Storm – Code Red
Carmella b. Liv Morgan – Superkick
Finn Balor b. Cesaro – Coup de Grace

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.