Monday Night Raw
Date: November 26, 2018
Location: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

We’re coming up on TLC and the card is already starting to come into focus. Last week saw two big matches set up and you can imagine some more taking place tonight. We also don’t know any of the big gimmick matches yet, which are often some of the most important things on the show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Lio Rush and Drew McIntyre in the ring. They talk about how great their Thanksgiving was, though they didn’t indulge themselves like these common people. They’re all thankful for everything they do, including what they did to Braun Strowman last week.

We see last week’s attack that put Strowman on the shelf and then go to Birmingham, Alabama where Strowman says he’ll be on the shelf for a while. His surgeon has never seen an injury like this before nor worked on an arm this size. He’ll be back though and what happened last week will look like a paper cut compared to what he’s doing to the three of them.

Elias vs. Bobby Lashley

Corbin, McIntyre and Rush are at ringside. Lashley’s new nickname seems to be the Almighty. I’m sure that’ll work just fine. Elias chops his way out of the corner to start but gets taken down into an early chinlock. Back up and Elias sends him outside, setting up a baseball slide, much to Lashley’s friends’ annoyance. Lashley comes back in and drops Elias with a right hand for a choke with the boot.

Elias fights back but gets pulled to the floor and has to deal with Corbin and McIntyre. It’s time for the guitar but Corbin jumps him from behind. Lashley stomps on the guitar and Corbin chairs Elias out to the floor. A double whip sends him into the barricade as the beatdown just keeps going. McIntyre gets in a great looking shot with a reverse Alabama Slam onto the steps, followed by Lashley hitting the spear. Lashley finally throws him back inside and a gator roll gets the pin at 14:11.

Rating: D. The angle part at the end made this feel way longer than it should have been and that doesn’t work well for a match. It’s a good sign for Elias that he’s getting this kind of treatment, though the latest heel trio isn’t the strongest thing in the world. The show still needs some top faces and having them beaten down like this isn’t helping things.

Post break Corbin fires a production worker for the spotlight on Elias. Alexa Bliss comes up to him and offers her services for anything Corbin might need. Since this is no longer the Attitude Era, Corbin puts her in charge of the women’s division. That would make her the third heel authority figure on this show.

Dean Ambrose was at his doctor’s office earlier today and said he won’t be at the show tonight in the toxic waste dump of Milwaukee. That’s why Rollins was fine with an open challenge for the title tonight because there was no chance Dean would be in the arena. As for tonight, Dean is getting his shots to avoid all the diseases that the fans carry. There is nothing that can wash away Rollins’ sins though and at TLC, Ambrose is putting him out of his misery for good.

Renee Young still won’t talk about what’s up with Dean.

Lucha House Party vs. Revival

In case last week wasn’t enough. Before the match, the Revival talks about the tag team etiquette that the House Party didn’t show last week with their lucha rules. And again, this is under Lucha House Rules, meaning it’s 3-2. Metalik dropkicks Wilder down to start and it’s off to Kalisto to climb onto Dorado’s shoulders for the splash. Dawson comes in for a torture rack kneeling backbreaker, followed by various drops for two. Not that it matters as the luchadors all come in and take over on Dawson, including the Salida Del Sol. The shooting star finishes Dawson off at 2:32 and I want to pummel whoever wrote this nonsense.

We look back at Nia Jax breaking Becky Lynch’s face.

Bayley and Sasha Banks sell stuff for Cyber Monday.

Video on Lars Sullivan.

Here are Nia Jax and Tamina for a chat. Nia says she has a lot to be thankful for this year, mainly being breaking Becky Lynch’s face. That brings her to Ronda Rousey, so we see Jax beating Rousey up at Money in the Bank. Then it was Charlotte beating her up at Survivor Series, leaving Ronda to talk about how hard a champion has to fight. Nia is now on top of the mountain but here’s Rousey to interrupt.

Rousey yells at her about how Nia is from a warrior culture who likes to hit people in the face. She could fight the champ right now, but Jax just got done washing Becky’s crusted blood off her hand. The double teaming seems imminent but Natalya runs in….and gets jumped by the Riott Squad. Rousey makes the save.

We recap the Drake Maverick issue from Survivor Series and ensuing jokes.

Maverick is ready to see the AOP crush Bobby Roode and Chad Gable.

Tag Team Titles: AOP vs. Chad Gable/Bobby Roode

Gable and Roode are challenging. Maverick goes after Roode’s robe and the distraction is enough for Akam to get in a few shots in the corner. Gable comes in with a missile dropkick and the armbreaker over the ropes to keep Rezar in trouble. Maverick now has the robe on and stands on the stage for the GLORIOUS pose as we take a break.

Rating: F. Nope.

Alexa comes in to see Banks and Bayley and thinks they need to get to know each other. Banks isn’t happy but Bliss offers them the chance to go to the ring for an open forum from the fans. The two of them aren’t pleased but seem to agree.

Finn Balor is ready to face Baron Corbin tonight.

Ember Moon vs. Alicia Fox

Mixed Match Challenge playoffs preview, with Ember’s new partner….Curt Hawkins. He and Jinder Mahal, with the Singh Brothers, are here as well. Fox kicks her in the face for a very early two and a neckbreaker gets the same. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Moon hits the spinning suplex out of the corner. The Eclipse finishes Fox at 1:53.

Post match Hawkins celebrates like he won in a funny bit. No Way Jose comes out and Ember gets dragged into the conga line and starts dancing because WWE has no idea how she is supposed to work.

No Way Jose vs. Jinder Mahal

Jinder kicks him down to start and it’s off to an early chinlock. Some knee drops keep Jose in trouble and the chinlock goes on again. Jose comes back with a middle rope crossbody and some clotheslines but Mahal drops him across the top rope. The Khallas gives Mahal the pin at 4:27.

Rating: F. A four minute match shouldn’t include two chinlocks. How can your offense be that limited when you’ve been doing this for so many years now? While I don’t think this is the resurgence of Mahal’s career, it’s painful to watch his terrible matches and seeing him win brings back some really harsh memories.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Open challenge and I actually collapsed a bit when I heard the record scratch. Ziggler says he’s going to get back to being the best in the world by becoming champion again. They hit the mat to start and Ziggler can’t quite keep up. Instead Rollins sends him outside and we take a break.

Back with Rollins in trouble and Ziggler ripping at his face. The chinlock goes on, Ziggler chokes on the ropes, and the chinlock goes on again. Ziggler puts on a third chinlock before throwing him outside for a second break. Back again with Rollins making a comeback and hitting the Sling Blade. An enziguri rocks Ziggler and Rollins heads up, only to get crotched back down. He shoves Ziggler down but misses the frog splash, setting up the Fameasser to give Ziggler two.

Ziggler’s jumping DDT is blocked so he settles for two off a small package instead. The sleeper goes on but Rollins drops him back and hits the low superkick for two. Rollins misses the Stomp and walks into the Zig Zag for another near fall. After looking at some fans being excited, Ziggler heads up top but Rollins catches him with the superplex into the Falcon Arrow to retain at 22:45.

Rating: B. It was a good match and I’ll give them some big points for the non-finisher ending, but egads I never need to see these two fight again. The match took a long time to get going but things picked up a lot after the break. I was starting to get into it at the end and that’s the best thing I can say about something on this show. As usual, Rollins is one of the more entertaining people, even if he was out there with Ziggler.

Here’s Bliss to host the open forum with Bayley and Banks. The first question is what would either of them change about the Raw women’s division. Sasha wants to send Bliss back to Smackdown but Bliss asks why Banks has let Bayley drag her down. That goes nowhere though as here are Mickie James, Alicia Fox and Dana Brooke to jump Banks and Bayley (last night Brooke was on the Starrcade special teaming with the two of them). Bayley and Banks clean house with ease anyway.

Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin

Balor goes straight at him but gets hit in the jaw. Just to get the self parody going. Corbin has a chinlock on less than thirty seconds in. Corbin gets sent outside for a kick to the chest and we take a break. Back with Corbin holding another chinlock and sending Balor into the corner. That means ANOTHER chinlock, followed by a clothesline, followed by the fourth chinlock in less than ten minutes. This isn’t the kind of thing you want in a featured match.

Deep Six looks to set up the End of Days but Balor is right back with the shotgun dropkick. The Coup de Grace misses though and Corbin grabs a mic, making it a 2-1 handicap match with Drew McIntyre joining him. Balor flip dives onto McIntyre and dropkicks Corbin into the timekeeper’s area but McIntyre jumps him from behind. The Claymore is good for the pin on Balor at 13:25.

Rating: D-. Corbin is just so bad in the ring and this was more of the same heel abuse of power stuff that we’ve seen for the better part of forever. Balor was just cannon fodder here and the match was bad because they let Corbin run things instead of doing anything exciting. Terrible main event.

Post match Lashley comes out for the triple beatdown to end the show. At least McIntyre seems to be away from Ziggler now and that’s some of the only good news on this show.

Overall Rating: F. As I said earlier, nope. This was a complete wreck of a show with about 1947 chinlocks and one terrible match after another. They were doing every warmed over leftover that they could find here. Rollins vs. Ziggler again. Corbin vs. Balor again. Jinder Mahal still being employed again. The heel authority figure that we’ve seen for TWENTY YEARS NOW again, and this time he spawned a new heel authority figure.

I guess it’s WWE’s version of a greatest hits show as they just do the same things they’ve done all year and present it like it’s new. Hopefully Christmas comes early this year so they can be asked to do something more interesting come Rumble time. Like Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman! Again!

Results

Bobby Lashley b. Elias – Gator roll

Lucha House Party b. Revival – Shooting star press to Dawson

AOP b. Chad Gable/Bobby Roode – Sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Roode

Ember Moon b. Alicia Fox – Eclipse

Jinder Mahal b. No Way Jose – Khallas

Seth Rollins b. Dolph Ziggler – Falcon Arrow

Baron Corbin/Drew McIntyre b. Finn Balor – Claymore

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Survivor Series 2017
Date: November 19, 2017
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 14,478
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T., Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

I barely remember this show other than it was a bunch of Raw vs. Smackdown stuff, including AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar. As usual, the modern stuff has no impact on me because so much of it feels like it’s going to be similar to whatever we’re likely to get this year. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Matt Hardy vs. Elias

This is a bonus match, because a four hour show needs more content. Before the match, Elias asks if anyone wants to go for a walk. You can wear red or you can wear blue, but at the end of the day, what would Elias do? The song gets cut off by the booing but he gets it going to talk about how much he hates Houston. Hardy’s music cuts him off again and we’re ready to go. Since it’s a major pay per view and WWE has a really weird way of doing their pre-shows, the are far more empty seats than filled ones opposite the hard camera.

Hardy headlocks him down to start as the announcers start talking about other matches on the show. The Russian legsweep sets up the middle rope elbow to the back of Elias’s head as we take a break. Back with Matt dropping a fist for two but getting his throat snapped across the top rope. Elias switches over to the arm and cranks on an armbar for good measure. The arm goes into the post as Corey talks about getting to see matches we’ve never seen before, such as HHH vs. Shane McMahon. I’d recommend studying your WWE Network before.

The armbar goes on, followed by a double underhook shoulderbreaker for two. Matt gets sent to the apron and Elias follows for some reason, allowing Matt to hit a Side Effect and take over. Back in and Elias gets sent into all three buckles, followed by the bulldog for no cover. Another Side Effect gets two and the middle rope elbow is good for the same. Elias is smart enough to hit him in the arm though and sends it into the post. Drift Away puts Hardy away at 9:16.

Rating: D+. I can never get around the empty seats during these first matches. What in the world is the point of having a match when it’s something that means as little as this and isn’t even any good in the first place? The arm work was fine and it played into the finish, but it was nothing that wouldn’t bore you in the third hour of Raw.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Kalisto vs. Enzo Amore

Amore is defending and was sent into a cake on 205 Live to really make this personal. Before the match, Enzo goes into a rant about Kalisto sending him into a cake that Enzo paid for. Tonight, Enzo is going to make beef stew out of chicken. Enzo is extra aggressive to start but Kalisto kicks him away without much effort. The chase to the floor is on and Kalisto follows him back in with a slingshot Code Red for two. Kalisto goes to the ropes once too often though and gets his throat snapped as we take a break.

Back with Enzo getting two off a clothesline and pulling him out of the corner into a side slam for the same (cool move). The chinlock goes on for a bit until a running forearm in the corner gets two more. That means a second chinlock with a Stunner not quite breaking the hold. It’s too early for the Salida Del Sol so Enzo puts him in the Tree of Woe, only to miss a charge and hit the buckle.

Kalisto hits a top rope moonsault but his ribs won’t let him get a cover. He’s fine enough to hit the hurricanrana driver but the Salida is broken up again. They slug it out on the apron and Enzo pulls him head first into the rob that connects the buckle to the post. The Jordunzo finishes Kalisto at 8:13.

Rating: D+. That’s one of the better matches I remember from Enzo, which probably had a lot to do with Kalisto being in there to do most of the hard work for him. There was little chance that Enzo was dropping the title here so at least they kept it short, even with a commercial included. Not a good match, but it could have been worse.

Kickoff Show: Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Breezango

Sami is freshly heel here and doesn’t like being stuck having to face losers like Breezango. They should be on Team Smackdown tonight but Shane McMahon is holding them back. It’s all part of the McMahon sibling rivalry but here’s Breezango to cut them off. They got a tip of some fashion violators and all that ungroomed facial hair proves they’re right. That’s bad enough for some violations so Fandango dropkicks Owens down. Owens and Zayn are sent outside where they have fashioned tickets rained down on them as we take a break.

Back with Sami getting sent outside again but Owens gets in a cheap shot this time to put Breeze in trouble. Owens comes in for his usual pummeling but it’s already back to Sami for the chinlock. A kick to the face isn’t enough to get Breeze out of trouble as Owens comes back in for a chinlock of his own. That’s not good enough, so we hit the fourth chinlock in about two minutes.

Owens mixes it up with a backsplash but hits knees, suggesting that he should have stuck with the chinlocks. The hot tag brings in Fandango for the snap jabs and a middle rope dropkick. A tornado DDT gets two with Owens making the save but Fandango misses the Last Dance. The Pop Up Powerbomb finishes Fandango at 8:32.

Rating: D+. Well this concludes the worst Kickoff Show I can remember in a long time. It didn’t seem like Owens and Zayn cared at all here and really, can you blame them? The previous month they were headlining a pay per view and now they’re on the Kickoff Show? That’s the best you can have for these guys? Fair point as that’s the idea of the story. Other than that, I still feel bad for what happened to Breezango as they got themselves over and then were just dropped for….whoever the Smackdown Tag Team Champions were at this point. Does it really matter if they’re that forgettable?

The opening video focuses on the war between Raw and Smackdown, featuring the UNDER SIEGE deal, which was mainly all about Stephanie vs. Shane. I still don’t get how they didn’t have the Usos with the Uso Penitentiary deal leading that charge. The rest of the Raw vs. Smackdown matches get a quick look of their own.

We have a FIVE MAN commentary booth. As usual, quantity equals quality in WWE’s eyes.

New Day vs. Shield

This didn’t get the attention that it deserved because it’s a genuine dream match. Before the match, Woods says that while this is great fuel for the fan fiction writers, it’s also time for them to show that they’re the most dominant trio in WWE history. Kofi brings up the Raw roster invading three weeks after Smackdown did and not even doing it as well. They’re about to go Bob Barker on the Hounds of Justice (How did no one get that line in before?) and when Wrestlemania time comes up, the Shield will bite each other (true actually, at least before Dean got hurt).

They’re the true brotherhood around here and it’s time to prove it. And now, before the match, here’s another video of Smackdown invading Raw and vice versa, in case you didn’t get the point six minutes ago. The only new material here is New Day costing the Shield the Tag Team Titles. Big pop for Shield, as you had to expect. Seth and Dean have the half Raw half Shield shirts but Reigns is too cool to go that route.

Ambrose and Kofi start things off as the fans are split here, apparently not able to pick which wristlock they like best. Booker’s preview for the night: “There’s not gonna be a whole lot of entertainment.” This man gets paid to do this people. Rollins and Woods come in with Woods quickly realizing that he’s in way over his head. As the announcers discuss titles, Big E. comes in to face Rollins. Now you NXT fans should get where commentary should be going, but of course nothing is mentioned.

It’s off to Reigns instead and this isn’t quite the showdown that WWE thinks it is. Big E. breaks up a waistlock attempt and runs Reigns over with a shoulder, only to have an elbow do the same to him. A good looking Samoan drop gives Reigns two….and the fans are there with the SWEET because we’re that lucky. Everything breaks down and a triple clothesline takes Big E. and Kofi to the floor, leaving Woods to get stomped down in the corner. Rollins comes off the top with a right hands to the ribs as the Shield starts their rhythm.

Ambrose gives up the tag to Kofi though and things pick up in a hurry. The Boom Drop hits Ambrose but he kicks Kofi out of the air. It’s too early for Dirty Deeds though and the Unicorn Stampede is on. New Day does it again for good measure and the fans aren’t thrilled this time around. That’s enough for Rollins and Reigns and everything breaks down. Big E. spears Ambrose through the ropes, thankfully not coming that close to death. That’s only good for two and things settle down again with Ambrose’s shirt being ripped off. It’s an improvement, as Ambrose looks more normal in all black.

The chinlock goes on for a few moments before Dean breaks up a superplex attempt. Big E. can’t get one either and Dean missile dropkicks him down instead. The hot tag brings in Rollins, albeit with an unnecessary jump from Dean. Seth springboards in with the clothesline and starts in with his usual fast paced offense. The announcers are already getting really annoying with this Raw vs. Smackdown stuff and Graves being in the middle is all that’s holding it together.

Reigns comes in for a jumping clothesline to Woods and the Superman Punch knocks him even sillier. Big E. breaks up the spear but Rollins saves Dean from the Midnight Hour. The jumping knee into Dirty Deeds gets two on Kofi with Woods making a save of his own. A fired up Woods comes in so Rollins kicks him in the face to calm things down. Now it’s Big E.’s turn to break up the TripleBomb and there’s Trouble in Paradise to Rollins. Reigns is laid out on the floor so Woods puts Big E. on his shoulders so Kofi can jump over them for a splash onto Dean.

Woods drops Big E. onto him as well but there’s no cover. Instead Big E. picks up Ambrose and Rollins for a double Midnight Hour, leaving Reigns to spear Big E. onto the covers for a save. Both teams pull each other up for a cool visual and the fight is on again. Dirty Deeds plants Big E. on the floor and the spear cuts Kofi in half. Shield isn’t done though and it’s a super TripleBomb to completely finish Kofi at 21:32.

Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but once they turned it into the big fight feel, it became what it should have been. These teams are both great in different ways and while New Day has had more success as a trio, it’s hard to argue with them beating three former World Champions. Shield winning is the right choice, but at the same time it means that we have to hear about Raw being up 1-0 on Smackdown for far too long now.

Cole: “Raw is up 1-0!”

In the back, Stephanie McMahon: “Raw is up 1-0!” She gives the Raw women’s team a pep talk and it’s about as over the top as you would guess.

There’s a scoreboard to show Raw is in fact up 1-0.

Raw Women’s Team vs. Smackdown Women’s Team

Raw: Sasha Banks, Bayley, Alicia Fox, Asuka, Nia Jax

Smackdown: Carmella, Natalya, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Tamina

Lana is in Smackdown’s corner and Fox and Lynch are the captains. During the entrances (which are going to take their sweet time), Phillips reminds us that Raw is in fact up 1-0. Does WWE really think we have the attention spans of drunken squirrels? We also get to see the Raw women invading the Smackdown locker room so we can hear about UNDER SIEGE for the fifteenth time in the show’s first forty five minutes.

Fox and Lynch start things off with Fox actually getting the better of it off some forearms. Becky gets in a neck snap across the top though and drops a top rope legdrop for two. The threat of the Disarm-Her sends Fox to the ropes so Bayley tags herself in and grabs a rollup to get rid of Lynch at 2:02.

Natalya comes in next to stomp Bayley in the corner as Booker can’t figure out who is on which show. Tamina misses a splash in the corner and gets forearmed in the head before it’s off to Asuka to a big reaction. That’s just a preview though as a few kicks to the legs are enough before Asuka hands it back to Fox. Since it’s Fox and she’s not very good, it’s already back to Bayley, who gets beaten up in the corner. Carmella hits a superkick and Tamina’s Superfly Splash gets rid of Bayley at 5:27.

That’s what you get for cheering her when you’re not supposed to people. Nia comes in to face Tamina, and it’s not interesting a year earlier either. A shot knocks Naomi off the apron and Tamina does the same to Asuka before neither can hurt the other. Nia’s headbutt hurts both of them but Nia splashing her in the corner only hates Tamina. Lana gets on the apron for some reason so Nia knocks her off, allowing Tamina to superkick her to the floor. A dive from Naomi and another superkick set up the crossbody off the apron to get Nia counted out at 9:01.

Asuka comes in to unload with kicks to Carmella and the hip attack gets two. Carmella pulls her down by the hair and hits a quick Bronco Buster before pausing to mock Sasha’s dance. For reasons of general stupidity, Carmella slaps Asuka in the face and it’s a knee to the head, followed by a heck of a kick to get rid of Carmella at 12:59. Banks and Natalya come in and hit each other a few times until Natalya gets the better of it for two. Sasha gets sent face first into the middle buckle and the Sharpshooter makes her tap at 15:22, leaving Asuka vs. Natalya and Tamina in the Ultimate Warrior at Survivor Series 1988 mold.

Natalya gets in a few kicks and hands it off to Tamina for a slam. The Superfly Splash that wouldn’t have hit even if Asuka hadn’t moved misses when Asuka moves and it’s a cross armbreaker to get rid of Tamina at 17:32. Natalya can’t get the Sharpshooter as Asuka pulls her into a kneebar, followed by a kick to the face. The Asuka Lock finishes Natalya at 18:27.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t great to start but the ending was exactly the right call with Asuka getting the star treatment at the end. The rest of the match wasn’t all that great as the focus was on Tamina (who still isn’t interesting, mainly because Nia is better at every single thing Tamina is around to do) or Alicia being wacky, making it an exercise in waiting around on Asuka. To their credit though, they got that part right and that’s what mattered most.

Here’s what coming on WWE Network. Don’t worry though, because they’ll air almost nothing but NXT, 205 Live and whatever tournament they have going on at the moment.

Stephanie (erg) brags to Daniel Bryan about Raw being up 2-0. She accuses Bryan of getting John Cena on the Smackdown men’s team by practically being family. Bryan: “Didn’t you put your husband on the Raw team?” It turns into a discussion of Wrestlemania XXX as this goes on way too long as we AGAIN recap the invasions. Sweet goodness WE WATCH THE TV SHOWS AND DON’T NEED TO HEAR THIS STUFF OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I haven’t watched the TV shows since last year and I can tell you what happens week by week just because of all these recaps.

Baron Corbin vs. The Miz

Smackdown vs. Raw and US Champion vs. Intercontinental Champion, though it’s non-title, like every match tonight. Miz has Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel with him and Corbin has been talking trash about Maryse and Miz’s unborn child. The threat of an early clothesline sends Miz bailing to the floor and it’s time for some consultation. A Dallas distraction lets Miz hit a baseball slide, followed by a clothesline to put Corbin right back on the floor. Corbin kicks him off the apron though as they’re going back and forth pretty fast so far.

The fans try to start some dueling chants but the LET’S GO MIZ chants are pretty clearly louder. Corbin misses a running crotch attack to the back but easily avoids a baseball slide. With Miz in trouble, Dallas hits Corbin in the knee to give Miz his first actual advantage. The Figure Four is easily blocked but a chop block cuts Corbin down again. Now the Figure Four goes on but that’s broken up in short order, allowing Corbin to hit Deep Six on one leg.

Dallas is right there again with a shot to the knee though and Miz adds a big boot. Corbin’s knee is fine enough to slide underneath the ropes and beat up the Miztourage but the End of Days is countered into a DDT for two. Some rather weak looking YES Kicks don’t have much effect so Miz hits the running corner dropkicks. Corbin shrugs them off though and End of Days is good for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: D+. Commentary really hurt this one as the put on Raw vs. Smackdown stuff continues. The leg work was fine but when Corbin is fine enough to do all of his usual stuff and then hit his finisher to win, it doesn’t mean that much. You had to give Smackdown something in this whole thing and given how bad the midcard titles are presented in the first place, this was the least painful loss for a champion.

Post match Corbin says he just shut everyone’s mouth.

Paul Heyman says everything about tonight is phenomenal, including AJ Styles. Then the bell will ring and the conqueror is going to rip AJ Styles apart.

Usos vs. Cesaro/Sheamus

Before the match, the Usos mock the Bar’s catchphrase and says they’ll be bartenders tonight. Or maybe they’re pole vaulters. Sheamus drives Jimmy into the corner to start and Jimmy isn’t sure what to do here. Instead it’s off to Jey who does the same to Sheamus, though he’s smart enough to stomp away and take over. As the announcers discuss Corey’s lack of success (as Booker hadn’t heard about it), Cesaro comes in and gets hiptossed down.

A quick double team puts Jimmy down though and it’s off to a headlock, because a chinlock isn’t sophisticated enough. Jimmy knocks Sheamus to the floor but a dive gets cut off by a Cesaro uppercut. Back in and Cesaro puts on a Crossface without the arm trap as Booker wants the Bar to be called the A-Team. Graves: “Why would you do that? They’re called the Bar Booker.” Sheamus drops a knee and puts on a chinlock with Cesaro running in to kick Jey off the apron.

The pop up uppercut gets two but Sheamus takes too long setting up the ten forearms to the chest. Booker: “Think about the brand!” Jimmy gets in a Whisper in the Wind and that’s enough for the hot tag to pick up the pace. He also picks up Cesaro with a backdrop into the corner for two, leaving Sheamus to argue with the referee. Jey gets in a superkick but Sheamus adds a forearm to the back, allowing Cesaro to Swing Jimmy into the Sharpshooter. The longest crawl to a rope I can remember gets Jey out of trouble, assuming you bought the Sharpshooter as a potential finish either (you shouldn’t have).

The spike White Noise is broken up and Sheamus is sent into the post. He’s fine enough to hold Jey up for White Noise with Cesaro adding a springboard spike. Jimmy makes a great looking last second save so Cesaro throws him out and loads up Jey in a powerbomb. Sheamus goes up top but gets punched in the face, allowing Jimmy to Samoan drop him down with Cesaro adding the powerbomb. Cesaro dives in the way of a double superkick, leaving Sheamus to take the same thing. Jimmy does the eternally cool tag while diving over the top to take out Cesaro. The Superfly Splash finishes Sheamus at 15:56.

Rating: B-. Yeah of course this was good with two very talented teams. Granted a year later the Usos haven’t had a meaningful match in forever and the Bar are now the Smackdown Tag Team Champions, but at least this was entertaining. If nothing else though, this is a great showcase of what happens when you just let people go and have a fun match, which is always going to help things out.

Jason Jordan, who was recently (and thankfully) replaced on the Raw team by HHH, wants to see HHH get eliminated before Team Raw wins.

We recap Charlotte winning the Smackdown Women’s Title on Tuesday to take Natalya’s spot tonight. If nothing else it was awesome to see Ric Flair come out after his health scares.

Charlotte vs. Alexa Bliss

Non-….you get the idea. Charlotte knocks her outside early on and is polite enough to hold the ropes open to invite Bliss back in. Booker of course talks about baseball. Back in and Bliss hides in the ropes before slapping her in the face. That earns Bliss a hard right hand so they head to the apron with Bliss snapping the arm to the floor. A dropkick into the steps has Charlotte in more trouble and it’s off to an abdominal stretch, though Charlotte has to kneel because Bliss isn’t that tall.

Some kicks to the ribs keep Charlotte in trouble and she gets sent face first into the middle buckle to make things even worse. Bliss tries to go aerial but a tornado DDT is countered into a t-bone suplex into the corner (with Bliss bouncing around as only she can). Charlotte gets crotched on top but rolls away before Twisted Bliss. That’s even worse for her though as she gets caught with middle rope double knees to the back (I still don’t get how that doesn’t cause a severe injury.).

Code Red gives Bliss two and she hammers away with even more fire than she usually shows. A guillotine choke has Charlotte in trouble (it worked for Bayley against Nia Jax) but a sitout powerbomb (looked great) breaks that up. The fans are split (as they should be) and Bliss breaks up the Figure Eight with a right hand that has the referee checking on Charlotte.

Natural Selection gets two but the moonsault misses (as always). Bliss grabs her DDT for two of her own so she chokes and screams a lot. Amazingly enough, Charlotte can pretty easily overpower Bliss and hits a spear to cut her in half. Back up and more kicks to the ribs have Charlotte in trouble but Twisted Bliss hits raised knees. A big boot sets up the Figure Eight to make Bliss tap at 15:46 and put Smackdown up 3-2.

Rating: B. Heck of a match here with Bliss looking like she could more than hang with someone on Charlotte’s level. You don’t see someone go move for move with Charlotte like this and it’s a great sign for Bliss’ future. The ribs story was perfectly fine, even if it meant that another champion had to lose. You know, because of bragging rights.

Post match, Charlotte nods in approval.

We recap AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar in another champion vs. champion match. Lesnar is the monster and AJ is the new underdog champion (sounds oxymoronish), thankfully saving us from Lesnar vs. Jinder Mahal.

Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles

Heyman handles Lesnar’s introductions, saying he’s fighting (Heyman: “Fighting. You hear that Mr. Performer?”) and the fans are split to start. Brock goes straight to the shoulders in the corner and throws AJ across the ring a few times. Forearms to the back keep AJ in trouble as the dominance is on early. One heck of an overhead belly to belly has Styles in more trouble and there’s the first German suplex. Lesnar sends him outside for a toss into the barricade as Cole is almost giddy.

Back in and another German suplex has AJ rocked but he tries to get up anyway. With Heyman cradling the Universal Title like a newborn, Brock hits a running knee in the corner. Lesnar wants him to fight and then clotheslines AJ right back down. Some right hands have little effect for Styles as Brock puts him down again. The F5 doesn’t work and Lesnar’s second running knee hits the buckle.

A DDT actually puts Lesnar down and it’s time to cheer for AJ as he kicks at the leg. Lesnar throws him off a tornado DDT attempt and they’re both down. AJ tries a springboard but gets caught in a German suplex that flips him over his head. Well of course it does. This time AJ ducks the big right hand and Lesnar falls to the floor, setting up the slingshot forearm. Brock goes knee first into the steps and there’s another forearm off said steps.

Rating: A-. Oh yeah this worked. I was getting into these near falls all over again as they were nailing the Rocky story. Lesnar knows how to play the monster but AJ is even better at being the fighting from underneath high flier. This was great stuff and I’d love to see it again, even if a year later they’re somehow right where they were here. Anyway, great performance from both guys as Lesnar shows he can still do it.

We recap the Raw vs. Smackdown men’s match. Allow me:

UNDER SIEGE

Invasion

Invasion

Stephanie is really, really annoying

Roster changes because they knew the original lineups were awful

Invasion

Got all that?

Raw Men’s Team vs. Smackdown Men’s Team

Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, HHH

Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, John Cena

What are the odds that the whole competition comes down to this? Shane jumps at Strowman to start because Shane is the most awesome person ever. That’s shrugged off so we’ll try Joe vs. Orton instead. Joe headlocks him into the corner without much effort so let’s go with Nakamura vs. Balor instead. That certainly gets the fans into it, though Cole ruins it a bit by calling him Shin. The feeling out process begins as the NXT chants start up.

Nakamura takes him to the ropes for the swinging arms, only to be reversed into a TOO SWEET to the head. HHH comes in for a kind of weird showdown and takes Nakamura into the corner for the right hands. Nakamura gets in the first kick to the chest but the facebuster sends him into the corner for the tag to Roode. This one isn’t so much weird as much as it is….nothing. Since Roode’s pose takes forever, HHH punches him in the face. Fair enough actually.

The spinebuster takes Roode down again but Roode counters the Pedigree and hits a spinebuster of his own. That means we get the GLORIOUS pose but the Glorious DDT is broken up. Instead HHH drives him into the corner for the tag off to Angle for the rolling German suplexes.

A double clothesline puts them both down so the Raw guys switch places on the apron. It’s off to Nakamura for the running knees so Joe comes in to make the save. Everything breaks down and Nakamura hits Kinshasa on HHH, only to run into the now legal Strowman. The middle rope knee staggers the monster but the running powerslam gets rid of Nakamura at 11:31.

Roode comes in and kicks at Strowman’s legs, followed by the Blockbuster. That’s not even good for one so Roode tries it again, earning himself another running powerslam for the pin at 12:22. For some reason Joe and Strowman get in an argument, as do HHH and Angle. Smackdown is smart enough to let them fight until Orton and Shane come in like idiots. Orton powerslams Joe and Cena is all fired up, only to have Strowman come in for a heck of a 2-1 showdown. The AA and RKO are both broken up and Strowman knocks them both to the floor.

Orton and Cena get together and the rest of Team Smackdown (including the eliminated members) get together to suplex Strowman through a table. Naturally Shane gets to talk the trash but Joe breaks up an elbow to the floor with a belly to belly superplex. Cena comes in to hammer on Joe but gets booted in the face. The Rock Bottom out of the corner looks to set up the Coup de Grace, only to have Joe and Balor get in an argument. An AA to Joe, an AA to Balor and another to Joe is good for an elimination at 18:05.

Angle comes in for the showdown with some history behind it and Cena gets taken down without much effort. Back up and Cena elbows him in the face, followed by initiating the finishing sequence. The Shuffle is reversed into the ankle lock but Cena slips out without much damage. The Angle Slam does a little more damage, to the point where Shane has to make a save. Balor drops the Coup de Grace and another Slam gets rid of Cena at 21:45.

We’re down to Orton/Shane vs. Balor/HHH/Angle/Strowman so Orton comes in, only to get forearmed by Balor. A trip to the floor lets Balor shotgun dropkick Shane into the barricade. Back in and the Coup de Grace misses again, setting up an RKO to get rid of Balor at 23:46. HHH is right there to jump Orton from behind but the backbreaker gets him out of trouble.

Cue Sami and Owens to beat Shane up but he fights them off with a chair, because OF COURSE HE CAN DO THAT. An RKO drops Owens….and Strowman is back up to come in again. The running powerslam is good for the elimination at 26:32 and Shane is worried, mainly because he’s alone against HHH, Strowman and Angle. Shane stands around forever before going in to face Strowman until HHH tags himself in. Angle tags himself in as well and gets taken down by a Russian legsweep.

Rating: D+. Yeah this still didn’t work a year later either. The first third is spent on showdowns that don’t mean anything and the rest is getting rid of the people who don’t matter so we can get down to the big stuff with Shane, HHH and Angle. You know, the older guys. The wrestling wasn’t the worst but it was long, didn’t feel important and came off more as a way to get to the ending instead of something worth seeing along the way.

Post match HHH is all smiley as Strowman stares him down. Strowman grabs him by the throat and says never do this again so HHH tries a Pedigree but gets powerslammed twice to end the show. This of course lead nowhere.

Overall Rating: B-. Much like last year, the show just felt long and brought down the good things they had going on. Now that being said, the good matches on the show were more than good enough to make up for the bad and the show is definitely worth seeing. AJ vs. Brock is more than good and the opener isn’t far behind. In other words, this Survivor Series is great if you take out the Survivor Series matches.

If nothing else, they’ve made me dislike Survivor Series, which used to be my favorite pay per view. This Raw vs. Smackdown story was pure annoyance with the announcers all suddenly being cheerleaders about a story that would disappear in a few days. It feels so manufactured and, because it’s WWE, they beat you over the head with it so hard that you’re waiting on the whole thing to finally end so you don’t have to hear about it anymore. Thanks for sucking the fun out of one of my favorite shows guys. It only took thirty years.

Ratings Comparison

Elias vs. Matt Hardy

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Kalisto vs. Enzo Amore

Original: D

Redo: D+

Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. Breezango

Original: D+

Redo: D+

New Day vs. Shield

Original: B

Redo: B+

Team Raw Women vs. Team Smackdown Women

Original: D

Redo: C-

The Miz vs. Baron Corbin

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Usos vs. Cesaro/Sheamus

Original: B

Redo: B-

Charlotte vs. Alexa Bliss

Original: B+

Redo: B

AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: B+

Redo: A-

Team Raw Men vs. Team Smackdown Men

Original: D

Redo: D+

Overall Rating

Original: B-

Redo: B

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/19/survivor-series-2017-never-mind-the-talent-here-are-the-old-guys/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

Summerslam 2018
Date: August 19, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Jonathan Coachman

It’s the second biggest show of the year (I think) and that means we’re in for a stacked card. The big matches include Roman Reigns challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title, AJ Styles defending the WWE Championship against Samoa Joe and, in the match that I think should close the show, Daniel Bryan vs. the Miz. Tonight has some promise so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Zelina Vega/Andrade Cien Almas vs. Rusev/Lana

Thankfully they waited a little longer before starting the first match this year, allowing some more fans to get into the arena. Last year was embarrassing looking but it’s a little better this time. The men start and it’s an early double tranquillo pose, earning Almas and Vega some Bulgarian roaring. We settle down to a RUSEV DAY chant and Rusev hitting a suplex. A missed charge sends Rusev shoulder first into the post and it’s an armbar to send us to a break.

Back with Almas getting two off a reverse tornado DDT. A second attempt is countered with a shove off the top and the hot tag brings in Lana. Vega has to come in as well and Lana kicks her down, setting up a Spinarooni of all things. A kick to the face cuts Vega off again but Lana stops to slap Almas, allowing Vega to roll her up for the pin at 6:55. They botched that one pretty badly as Vega was supposed to put her feet on the ropes but she’s so short that they couldn’t reach. Lana was barely struggling either and it didn’t look good.

Rating: D. I was really disappointed here as this could have been something very fun. What we got was a short match between the guys and then a bare bones match from the women. I don’t know if the stage got to Lana or what but this was the bad match that a lot of people have expected her to have. The finish was even worse though and made the match feel like a joke.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak

Gulak is challenging and everyone else is banned from ringside. Alexander has held the title since Wrestlemania and Gulak has been on a roll, making everyone tap out. Gulak takes him to the mat and then into the corner to start but it’s way too early for the Gulock (dragon sleeper). Instead Alexander rolls out and dropkicks Gulak down so it’s time to go to the floor. Back in and Alexander’s springboard is blocked with a big boot, followed by a neckbreaker onto the knee.

We take a break and come back with Gulak staying on the neck with a clothesline for two. Gulak cranks on the neck but Alexander is right back up with a bottom rope springboard Downward Spiral. Some right hands keep Gulak in trouble and Cedric followed him to the floor with a big flip dive.

Back in and Alexander catches him on the ropes, setting up a short form Gulock to really mess with the neck. A spinning elbow to the jaw gets Cedric out of trouble for the time being but Gulak smacks him in the face. Gulak reverses the Neuralizer into an ankle lock but gets reversed into a cradle. Back up and Cedric hits the C4 but Gulak turns it over into a rollup for two more. Another rollup gives Gulak two but that’s reversed into a stacked up rollup for the pin on Gulak at 10:42.

Rating: C+. They had a hot finish here with the rollups and I was actually surprised by the finish. That being said, I’m not wild on having Alexander keep the title and would have bet on Gulak picking up the belt here. There’s not much of a reason to keep the title on Alexander as he’s far from the most interesting guy in the world. At least the match was pretty good though.

Kickoff Show: Raw Tag Team Titles: Revival vs. B Team

The B Team is defending and get taken down in the very early on with a dragon screw leg whip to Dallas. A Shatter Machine puts the illegal Axel down as well and it’s Dawson starting on in Dallas’ knee. Back from a break with Wilder staying on the knee and handing it back to Dawson, who gets kicked shoulder first into the post. Axel is still down from the Shatter Machine though and there’s no hot tag to be had.

Dallas’ knee is fine enough for the hanging swinging neckbreaker and now the hot tag brings Axel in. Axel cleans house and loads up the PerfectPlex but gets small packaged. The referee is with Dallas and Wilder though until Wilder snaps Dallas across the top. Dallas falls onto Axel and Wilder to turn the small package over for the pin on Dawson at 6:14.

Rating: D+. How can you not at least chuckle at these two schmucks? They’ve embraced the clueless putz characters and that’s all you can ask for. As ridiculous as they are, it’s not like the Raw tag division has anything else going on. Revival is a great team, but that doesn’t matter if they can’t get more than five minutes and a bunch of nothing opponents. This was the right call, which is better than I was expecting.

By the way, the total wrestling time on this year’s Kickoff Show: about 24 minutes, or just over half of last year’s. That’s a BIG improvement as there’s no need to have so much wrestling on a bonus feature before we get to the four hour pay per view.

The opening video features actor Terry Crews outside the arena, rhyming about what it means to be the best on the big stage. This was released earlier in the week.

There’s a big digital Empire State Building over the ring. That isn’t likely visible in the arena.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler is defending and has Drew McIntyre in his corner while Rollins has the freshly returned Dean Ambrose in his. The fans are very hot for Rollins here, especially BURN IT DOWN. Feeling out process to start with Seth being driven into the ropes but Dean is right there to cut Drew off. Back up and they run the ropes with Rollins nailing a hiptoss, sending Ziggler outside for a breather.

Seth follows him and it’s time for another big staredown. Rollins gets sent to the apron but stops to stare at Drew, allowing Ziggler to grab two off a neckbreaker. With Rollins seeming to favor his knee, Ziggler talks trash to Ambrose and then sends Rollins into the corner for a Flair Flip to the floor. Back in and the chinlock keeps Rollins in trouble for a good while. The comeback is cut off as Rollins grabs a vertical suplex over the top, only to fall out with Ziggler for a big crash.

Rollins hits a Sling Blade for two back inside and the middle rope Blockbuster gets two more. Ziggler rolls away from the threat of the frog splash so Rollins hits him with the suicide dive. The springboard clothesline sets up the ripcord knee for two and they’re both down for a minute. Ziggler’s sleeper is thrown off so they head to the apron with Ziggler saying this is it. Rollins gets shoved into the post and a jumping DDT drives him head first into the apron. That’s only good for a nine count as Rollins comes back in for the low superkick.

The frog splash hits knees though and Ziggler rolls him up for two more. Ziggler heads up top but Rollins is right there for a reverse superplex into a reverse inverted DDT (now that’s how you mix it up) and a near fall of his own. McIntyre sends Dean into the steps though, allowing Ziggler to hit the Zig Zag for the nearest fall yet. Dean is back up with Dirty Deeds to McIntyre and the bloody Rollins to avoid the superkick. The Stomp gives Rollins the title back at 22:01.

Rating: B. I know it won’t be, but I really could go for this feud ending already. It started a little over two months ago and feels like it’s been going on for a year now. At least Rollins has the title back and that’s all well and good, especially with the prospects of Ziggler and McIntyre being able to split up for good now. If nothing else, it’s nice to start the show with a good, long match for a change after last year took forever to get going.

The Bellas are here and are asked about their chances of appearing at Evolution. It turns into a list of plugs for their various projects before Nikki says they want to see Ronda Rousey win the Raw Women’s Title tonight. They’ll be ringside for the match tonight. And so it begins.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Bludgeon Brothers vs. New Day

New Day, Big E. and Xavier Woods here, are challenging after having won a tournament. Rowan runs Woods over to start and gets two each off a big boot and splash. It’s off to the fists around the head crush, followed by a pumphandle backbreaker to keep Woods down. Woods finally kicks Harper to the floor and makes the hot tag to Big E., who drops to the floor to throw some suplexes.

Back in and the Warrior Splash gets two on Harper, who comes right back with the Michinoku Driver. The double spinebuster doesn’t work though and Woods dives over the top onto Rowan. Everything breaks down and Big E. is sent into the steps, though the Brothers look a little banged up. They’re fine enough to hit the double spinebuster for two on Big E. with Woods making the save and getting the tag. Kofi gets taken down so Rowan eats the Big Ending on the floor.

A blind tag brings in Big E. but Harper stuns him with a superkick on the apron. Big E. tries the release Rock Bottom off the apron into the Codebreaker from Woods but the timing is off and it’s more like Harper just landing on Woods. Harper is fine enough to roll away from Woods’ top rope elbow so Woods hits it on the floor instead. The pain is immense but Woods throws him back in for the tag to Big E. UpUpDownDown is imminent but Rowan uses the mallet for the DQ at 9:36.

Rating: C+. They were getting somewhere before the ending to set up a rematch either on Smackdown or in the Cell. It’s a good idea to make the Brothers seem vulnerable against a top team like New Day, who couldn’t quite finish them off. At the moment the Smackdown tag team division is all of four teams so it’s a good idea to not change the titles just yet, along with keeping this match going for another month. Nice match, with an understandable ending.

Jon Stewart is here.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens, which started back in June. Strowman threw him off a ladder at Money in the Bank and then won the briefcase, so Owens tried to be nice to him. Then Strowman destroyed his car, threw him in a portable toilet and off of a cage, meaning it’s time for a rematch with the briefcase on the line.

Money in the Bank Briefcase: Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman is defending and can lose the briefcase by any means. The bell rings and Owens is knocked into the corner a few seconds later, followed by the run around the floor to shoulder him down. Strowman has so much fun that he does it again and a superkick just annoys him. A chokeslam onto the ramp knocks Owens silly and the running powerslam ends him at 1:56. Total and complete squash.

There was a Be A Star rally earlier in the week.

We recap the Smackdown Women’s Title match. Becky Lynch beat Carmella to earn a spot but then Charlotte returned and did the same thing, earning her own shot. Charlotte and Becky then got in a bit of a passive aggressive fight over Becky being jealous of Charlotte being added. Fair enough, but WWE loves itself some triple threats.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte

Carmella is defending and gets double teamed to start. In a smart move, she slaps Becky in the back of the head and blames Charlotte. The wedge doesn’t last long as Becky hiptosses Carmella to the floor and tries an early Disarm-Her on Charlotte. That goes nowhere as Charlotte escapes but gets pulled to the floor. Carmella sends Becky into the steps and reminds us that she is in fact the champion.

Back in and we hit the chinlock on Charlotte for a good while as Graves sings the champ’s praises. Becky has to be knocked off the apron, allowing Charlotte to start her comeback with the chops. Some suplexes make it even worse but Becky is back in with a double missile dropkick. Charlotte gets knocked outside and there’s the Bexploder to the champ. She crotches Becky on top though and gets two off a loose super hurricanrana. Charlotte comes back in with a spear to take them both down for two each and grabs a Walls of Jericho of all things on Carmella.

The Figure Four goes on instead but Becky makes the save with a guillotine legdrop. Carmella is back up and sends Becky outside for a suicide dive, only to have Charlotte miss the corkscrew moonsault (she slapped Carmella and completely missed Becky) to put them bot down. Back in and Carmella has to break up the Disarm-Her, followed by a superkick for two on Becky. Charlotte gets knocked to the floor and the Disarm-Her goes on, only to have Carmella grab the rope. The hold is slapped on again but Charlotte runs in with Natural Selection to Becky for the pin and the title at 14:35.

Rating: C+. Much better than I was expecting here and they better turn Becky heel after that ending. Thankfully they took the title off of Carmella, but at this point either she or Charlotte has been champion since November. They need some fresh blood in there, which hopefully is a ticked off Lynch.

Post match Carmella leaves so Becky and Charlotte can hug, only for Becky to turn on Charlotte and beat the fire out of her to a HUGE YES chant. Becky throws her over the table, leaving Charlotte to take a YOU DESERVE IT chant. That was the only way to go as A, Becky has a legitimate complaint about Charlotte being put into the match and stealing her title and B, there isn’t anyone else for Charlotte to fight.

We recap the Smackdown World Title match. AJ Styles has been champion since November, becoming the longest reigning World Champion in Smackdown history. Joe signed the contract to face him, partially because there was no one left aside from maybe Miz. After the match was set, Joe started talking about how AJ was sacrificing his family to be champion. AJ tried to keep things calm, but Joe read a letter supposedly from AJ’s wife Wendy, saying Joe was completely right. In other words, AJ isn’t happy.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is challenging and even introduces AJ’s wife and daughter at ringside. It’s a feeling out process to start as AJ is a little more calm than (erg, especially after Joe’s comments) he should be here, even as the fans chant TNA. AJ grabs a headlock to slow Joe down but a heavy shoulder cuts him off. Some leg kicks have AJ in even more trouble but he’s right back with some forearms. The sliding forearm sends Joe outside and AJ tries to follow him, only to get kicked in the knee to take him off the apron.

A hard suicide dive sends AJ into the announcers’ table and one heck of a clothesline takes his head off back inside. We hit the chinlock, which makes you wonder why Joe doesn’t turn around just a hair and make it the Koquina Clutch instead. AJ gets up and knocks Joe’s block off with a right hand to the floor, followed by the slingshot forearm. Joe charges into an enziguri and the Phenomenal Blitz sets up another running forearm. The moonsault into a reverse DDT gets two on Joe and AJ puts him on top.

That doesn’t go well for the champ, who gets shoved down for a middle rope knee to a standing AJ for two more. The running big boot into the backsplash gets the same but AJ is right back with the fireman’s carry backbreaker. AJ is limping a bit and misses the Phenomenal Forearm, allowing Joe to snap him over with the powerslam for two more. A one armed Styles Clash gives AJ the same and they’re both down. Back up and they slug the heck out of it until a Pele sends Joe into the corner.

AJ makes the mistake of charging into the release Rock Bottom but is still able to put on the Calf Crusher. Joe’s solution: slam AJ’s head into the mat over and over. Joe slips over into the Koquina Clutch but AJ gets his foot on the ropes. It’s Muscle Buster time but AJ forearms him in the head. That’s fine with Joe, who hits one of the loudest enziguris I’ve ever heard to knock AJ outside. Joe sends him into the steps and grabs the mic. He tells Wendy that AJ isn’t coming home but he’ll be her new daddy. A suddenly bloody AJ tackles Joe off the table and through the barricade, followed by a chair to the back for the DQ at 22:46.

Rating: A-. You have to imagine that the Cell awaits these two and for once, the story would seem to fit that. AJ being able to do whatever he wants to Joe fits, but it would also seem to play much more into Joe’s hands. Anyway, of course these two had a great match because that’s all they know how to do. They were beating the fire out of each other and I want to see it again, which is the sign of a well done match. Really good stuff here, as expected.

Post match the beating continues until Wendy says that’s enough. AJ goes over to his family and his incredibly cute daughter says “daddy you’re bleeding”. AJ apologizes and hugs her before walking away with his family. Joe is TICKED as he leaves.

Here’s Elias to plug his album and talk about how awesome his songs are. He even has a new song, which he’s debuting right here in New York City. And then his guitar breaks. That’s too much for Elias, who throws the pieces around and storms off without saying anything.

Miz runs into the B Team and says if Bryan had followed his example, he might have lived off of Miz’s success like they had. For old times sake, they can fetch his limo for the celebration after. Actually they have their own celebrating to do because they’re the B Team and the B stands for Daniel Bryan. Dallas likes Miz and Mrs. (which he pronounces Mers) but they have their own show: Total Fellas. Dallas: “But with a B! Total Bellas!” Miz is stupefied as they leave.

We recap the Miz vs. Daniel Bryan. This one is over eight years in the making as Bryan came into WWE as Miz’s NXT rookie, despite being a top independent star. Bryan eventually defeated Miz a few times but they went on their own paths. Miz won a WWE Title while Bryan became the top star in the company, only to have injuries take him away for a few years. Now he’s back and healthy though, meaning it’s time for these two to FINALLY have the big match on the grand stage.

They’ve done a great job of setting up the culture clash here as Bryan is all about the love of wrestling and Miz is about becoming a star. Those worlds don’t jive and it’s made their feud that much better. The crowd reaction should be interesting, though Bryan is going to be the biggest face that ever faced around here.

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

Maryse is in the front row with a baby carriage. Miz hides in the corner for a bit before scoring with some YES Kicks. The running dropkick connects but Bryan grabs him by the throat and hammers away. The real YES Kicks rock Miz and a big one to the chest puts him down. Miz gets in a knee to the ribs and the surfboard goes on. Of course Bryan knows how to get out of that and starts kicking at Miz’s legs.

The REAL surfboard goes on and Bryan even bends back to get two off a bridge. Back up and Miz catches him with a hard clothesline, followed by a cravate with bonus trash talk. Miz starts firing off some knees to the head but Bryan is right back with right hands of his own. The moonsault over Miz sets up the running clothesline and the running corner dropkicks connect. A backdrop sends Miz to the floor and Bryan follows with two boots through the ropes and a top rope clothesline.

Back in and Miz gets caught in the Tree of Woe, which of course means more YES Kicks. One heck of a top rope belly to back suplex puts Miz down for two more but he’s right back with the short DDT. With Miz’s chest blood red, he fires off some NO Kicks of his own, which bring Bryan back to his feet. Bryan dragon screw whips Miz’s leg and hits the big kick to the head but can’t get the YES Lock. Instead a catapult into the post sets up the Skull Crushing Finale for two but Miz charges into another kick for another two.

They head to the apron with Bryan firing off kicks until the last one hits the post. That means a Figure Four back inside and Bryan is in big trouble. As usual, the solution is to punch Miz in the face and then turn the hold over. Miz lets it go and tries the Finale but Bryan kicks him in the back (the leg shouldn’t be able to do that) and goes with the heavy elbows to the head.

The YES Lock goes on and Bryan punches Miz in the back of the head as the aggression continues to come out. Miz makes the rope though and bails to the floor, only to get kneed in the head. That knocks Miz right in front of Maryse, who hands him something. Whatever it is knocks Bryan silly when he tries a suicide dive, giving Miz the pin at 23:30.

Rating: B+. I liked this one as much as I expected to and the ending does set up a rematch. You have to imagine that Bryan is sticking around given that finish as there’s a wide open door for the feud to continue. It was a nice, long match and got the attention that it deserved, but it didn’t feel like the final match throughout. The ending takes care of that though and everything is fine.

Replays confirm the object, with Graves going into full Bobby Heenan mode to talk his way around the cheating.

Video on Undertaker vs. HHH for Super Show-Down in their final match. To be fair they haven’t been ridiculous with the plugging tonight.

Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor

THE DEMON IS BACK! FOR THIS MATCH??? This is the rubber match after Corbin started being mean to Balor for being small. It’s been a horrible story but the Demon makes up for some of it. Cole gets his Demon history wrong, saying it last appeared two years ago. It was last year Cole. You called the match.

The fans are VERY pleased and Corbin is told he has to face him. The bell rings and it’s the shotgun dropkick into the Sling Blade to put Baron on the floor in the smoke. Balor adds a flip dive and it’s another Sling Blade on the floor. Back in and Balor hits a top rope double stomp to the back, followed by the Coup de Grace for the pin at 1:29. NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!

Bryan is ticked off when Brie finally remembers that they’re married and comes in to see him in his moment of need. He calls his comeback a bust but she gives him a pep talk which seems to work well enough.

US Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy

Nakamura is defending after taking the title from Hardy last month. Feeling out process to start and of course Nakamura is over like free beer in a frat house in New York. Nakamura dodges a few early shots and tells him to COME ON. Jeff does exactly the same and sends Nakamura into four buckles in a row. That earns him a quick takedown and Nakamura slaps on a chinlock.

Nakamura hammers on him a bit more until Hardy, to the tune of a BROTHER NERO chant, comes back up with a Sling Blade. An atomic drop sets up the legdrop between the legs and a basement dropkick gets two. Jeff slips out of the reverse exploder but the slingshot dropkick is countered into Nakamura sitting him on the top. The running knee misses though and Jeff gets two off a Whisper in the Wind.

Nakamura is fine enough to catch him with another kick to the head, followed by the sliding knee for two. Kinshasa is countered into a failed Twist of Fate attempt but Hardy is ready for the low blow. Now the Twist of Fate sets up the Swanton Bomb for a delayed two as Nakamura grabs the bottom rope. A second Twist of Fate sends Nakamura bailing to the apron, so Jeff climbs the post and Swantons the apron because he’s that freaking crazy. Back in and the Kinshasa finishes whatever is left of Hardy at 10:55.

Rating: C. I have no idea how Hardy is still walking and I don’t think he does either most of the time. The match was fine enough and Hardy gave it a run but Nakamura needed this way more than Hardy did. If nothing else Hardy already has Randy Orton sitting around for their big pay per view match so the loss was the only option here. Not a bad match, but nothing great, especially on a long shot.

Post match Orton comes out, smacks himself in the head, and leaves without even getting in the ring. Ok then.

We recap Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss. Rousey was about to win the Raw Women’s Title last month but Bliss interfered for a DQ and cashed in her briefcase to win the title. Bliss then made Rousey snap and got her suspended for a month. Rousey’s reward: a match for the title tonight.

Raw Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss

Rousey is challenging and before the match, here’s Natalya in the same jacket her dad wore at Summerslam 1990. Bliss comes out and sneers at the Bella Twins, who are sitting in the front row. Rousey now has eye paint and her name on her shorts as she does the power walk to the ring. Bliss hides in the corner to start (smart) and a single right hand puts her on the floor. More stalling ensues so Rousey even turns her back and sits down so Bliss can come in with no problem.

Rousey closes her eyes and Bliss grabs a chinlock, meaning it’s time for the scary Ronda face. The hold is broken (Bliss: “No no no no no!” Rousey: “YES!”) and there’s the swinging Samoan drop. A chase lets Bliss get in a forearm and Rousey is just made angrier. Bliss gets flipped on her face and Rousey unloads in the corner, followed by some judo throws. Another swinging Samoan drop (Rousey: “ARE YOU READY???”) connects and it’s armbar time. The arm is twisted in a variety of angles (including Bliss popping it in and out of joint) and one hard crank makes Bliss tap at 4:39.

Rating: C+. What do you want me to say? That was exactly what it should have been as Rousey should be able to destroy Bliss in short order. I’m not sure who is supposed to take the title off of Rousey, but if she can hold it until Wrestlemania (which she likely will), there’s a heck of a dream match to be had with Charlotte. Total squash here and, again, Rousey looked like she’s been doing this for years.

Post match Natalya comes in for the celebration and the Bellas join them because reasons. Rousey goes into the crowd and kisses her husband for the nice moment.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (again). As is usually the case, Reigns is whining about how Lesnar is lazy and doesn’t like the fans so he should get another title shot. Also as usual, the fans don’t seem to buy it and Reigns isn’t likely to be cheered here. There are a few options for the finish and that makes the ending a little more interesting than usual.

Raw World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

Brock is defending and gets no reaction (That HAD to be muted. No New York crowd has ever been that quiet). Hang on though as here’s Strowman with the briefcase. He’s not cashing in behind anyone’s back because he’ll be waiting on the winner. The bell rings and Reigns hits two Superman Punches and a pair of spears but the third is countered into a guillotine choke. That’s broken up with a spinebuster but Lesnar puts it right back on.

Another spinebuster breaks the hold again and they’re both down. Lesnar takes his gloves off and it’s Suplex City time. Three straight German suplexes draw a YOU BOTH SUCK chant and Reigns can barely stand. Reigns is back up with a missed charge that hits Strowman so Lesnar goes outside and gives Braun an F5 on the floor. With Reigns back in, Lesnar beats on Strowman with the briefcase, which he then throws from ringside all the way to the entrance, breaking part of the LED board. Strowman gets chaired down but Lesnar walks into a spear to make Reigns champion at 6:16.

Rating: C+. I know they repeat moves and I know the ending isn’t the most popular move in the world, but these two know how to make the matches feel big. I was wanting to see what happened and that’s more than you can say about a lot of matches. Reigns finally getting rid of Lesnar is a good thing, but I really wish they would just get rid of the briefcase already so it doesn’t have to be around.

Reigns poses to end the show with no cash-in.

Overall Rating: A-. That was a heck of a show and above all else it was about the pacing. They did a GREAT job of making this show stay at a steady pace with some hot matches and then a quick match to let the fans get back into it. That took place throughout the night and did wonders for the show, which never felt like it dragged. Compare this to Wrestlemania, which felt like it dragged every few minutes.

On top of that, the wrestling was solid all night long with good to very good wrestling, logical booking decisions and stuff being set up for the future. This was a very entertaining night and notice the crowd not taking the show over at all. That’s a nice change of pace and made the evening that much more enjoyable. Really good stuff here and the best WWE pay per view in a long time.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Dolph Ziggler – The Stomp

New Day b. Bludgeon Brothers via DQ when Rowan used the mallet

Braun Strowman b. Kevin Owens – Running powerslam

Charlotte b. Becky Lynch and Carmella – Natural Selection to Lynch

Samoa Joe b. AJ Styles via DQ when Styles used a chair

The Miz b. Daniel Bryan – Left hand with a foreign object

Finn Balor b. Baron Corbin – Coup de Grace

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Jeff Hardy – Kinshasa

Ronda Rousey b. Alexa Bliss – Armbar

Roman Reigns b. Brock Lesnar – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Main Event
Date: August 9, 2018
Location: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re coming up on Summerslam and since he was on Raw last week, there’s no Brock Lesnar to be seen this time around. There is however Roman Reigns, who I have a feeling we’ll be hearing from here. Hopefully there’s some more stuff from Smackdown though, as that show was great. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Curt Hawkins

Jose has the Conga Line to make him look a little better. Hawkins’ shoulder doesn’t do much good as Jose headlocks him and grabs an atomic drop. A shot to the ribs puts Jose on the floor and Hawkins is rather pleased. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by a snap suplex into the second chinlock. Hawkins misses the elbow though and Jose slugs away, followed by a fireman’s carry flapjack for two. The Pop Up right hand finishes Hawkins at 5:30.

Rating: D. I’m not sure how many times we can see this match but I’m sure WWE is willing to try and find out. Hawkins losing over and over, at least in this form, stopped being interesting a few months ago and until things actually change up, there’s not much interest to be had in him. Granted the same is true for Jose, but that’s a little less surprising.

From Raw.

We get a sitdown interview with Reigns to talk about his match with Lesnar. We go through their whole history, including the great Wrestlemania XXXI match, the pretty bad Wrestlemania XXXIV match, the stupid Greatest Royal Rumble match and then last week’s Lesnar segment, which really had nothing to do with Reigns. He’s sick of Lesnar using WWE and disrespecting the fans, so Lesnar is learning a lesson at Summerslam.

This was a long recap of their story, and did little more than tell us that it’s been going on for a very long time. Your stat of the night: Lesnar has held the title 487 days. He’s had five televised title defenses and three of them have been against Reigns. Two of them have also involved Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman. In total, four different people have gotten title shots in 487 days.

From Raw again.

We get a sitdown interview with Paul Heyman, who doesn’t know where he stands with Brock Lesnar. Brock has disconnected his phone number and won’t respond to intermediaries. Heyman looks like he’s about to burst into tears as he says Lesnar is just going to get annoyed at this interview. He considers Lesnar a friend and this isn’t how he pictured it ending.

They had talked about riding off into the sunset together with the Universal and UFC Heavyweight Championships on his shoulders. Heyman starts crying but says just do it. When asked about any potential new clients, Heyman says it would be inconceivable just a week ago, but doesn’t say year or no. He still picks Lesnar, because he’s never been so angry. Reigns doesn’t stand a chance. This was the best thing on the show tonight, mainly because it was actually different.

From Smackdown.

Byron is in the ring to interview Miz, who pops up on screen instead of coming to the ring. He calls Byron a bad announcer and plugs the success of Miz and Mrs., which doesn’t have a single bad review on Rotten Tomatoes. Byron keeps asking about the match with Bryan but Miz ignores him to plug the show. Tonight he learns CPR, which would be a good idea for Bryan because he needs to resuscitate his career. Miz finally mentions it, saying he’s become a star while Bryan has been working in a garden.

Bryan needs this match while Miz needs to be recognized as WWE Champion. Miz is here night after night while Bryan has been off in bed crying. He’s not hiding from anyone and at Summerslam, Bryan is getting exposed as being beneath Miz. Go talk to Bryan about it because he’s probably off eating kale and talking about his wife. Bryan runs into the room, beats up security and punches Miz a few times until a potted plant to the back of the head lets Miz escape. The string of good promos continues tonight, but that kind of goes without saying for these two.

Heath Slater/Rhyno/Chad Gable vs. Ascension/Mike Kanellis

Slater forearms Kanellis down to start and it’s Gable tagging himself in to crank on the arm. Viktor comes in and gets his arm twisted around as well, followed by Gable spinning all over the place into a crucifix. Everyone comes in and the good guys clean house as we take a fast break.

Back with Kanellis kicking Gable in the face for two, followed by Viktor dropping a fist for the same. Gable dives over Konnor but still can’t get over for the tag. Konnor knocks Slater off the apron so Gable rolls underneath the clothesline to tag Rhyno. Everything breaks down and Kanellis tries a rolling German suplex, only to be reversed into the Rolling Chaos Theory for the pin at 9:05.

Video on Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss, including Rousey going nuts and getting suspended. They meet for the title at Summerslam.

From Raw again.

Ronda Rousey vs. Alicia Fox

Natalya and Alexa Bliss are the seconds. Before the match, Bliss is asked about Rousey and mocks the interviewer for not being able to come up with something better. Fox shows a clip of herself beating up Rousey last week and talks about how great Rousey is at everything else. Was she the captain of the Raw Survivor Series team? Bliss cuts her off and thanks Fox for everything she’s done. Rousey can deal with what’s left of Rousey in Brooklyn and here’s Rousey to cut her off.

We get the Big Match Intros and Fox chills in the corner at the bell. Rousey isn’t impressed by the trash talk and shoves her to the floor. Back in and Fox bails right back to the floor again. A Bliss distraction doesn’t work very well as Natalya cuts her off, only to be posted. Fox tries a charge at the distracted Rousey but the referee stops her for some reason.

Fox pounds away in the corner….and there’s the death stare. The rights and lefts have Fox rocked and the judo throws have Fox rocked. Fox bails for the third time but Rousey follows her for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Fox gets suplexed with ease, followed by the armbar (with a lot of shouting to Bliss) for the tap at 3:47.

Rating: C+. The stuff where Rousey was smashing Fox was fun but this would have been better served as bell, armbar, bell. To be fair though, it’s kind of hard to complain when Rousey beating the heck out of people is some of the most entertaining stuff WWE can do. Maybe not as fun as WWE trying to turn Fox into something worthy of the spot but still fun nonetheless.

Post match Rousey gets interviewed by Bliss tries a sneak attack. Rousey flips her over and gives Bliss a look saying “are you kidding me?” Bliss bails and Rousey promises to win the title.

Overall Rating: C-. The talking was strong with this one and that’s the best thing that could have happened. This week’s TV was better than usual with the promos being entertaining and making me want to see Summerslam. On the other hand you have the pretty worthless original matches but at least they kept those short so they didn’t waste much time. Check out Smackdown instead of watching this though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Main Event
Date: June 21, 2018
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

We’re FINALLY at a fresh set of stories as Money in the Bank is done, which is one of the best things in the world that could have happened. Things hit the ground running this week as we only have four weeks to go before Extreme Rules. This was a big week of television and there’s a lot to cover so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Nese vs. Gran Metalik

Nese throws a right hand and poses so Metalik hits him right back, sending Nese into the corner. That earns Metalik a legsweep but he avoids a Lionsault. Nese bails to the floor and pulls him face first into the apron though as they’re not exactly doing anything major at the moment. Back in and a bodyscissors keeps Metalik in trouble but he’s right back up with a high crossbody to rock Nese. Metalik goes up again but has to crotch Nese to avoid some pain. The Metalik Driver is broken up and Nese’s running knee in the corner is good for the pin at 5:01.

Rating: D+. Again, I have no idea what I’m supposed to get out of seeing the same cruiserweights fight every week. We know they’re there and they’re on 205 Live every week, so it’s just two shows where I don’t have to pay much attention to either person. It’s not a bad match, but I’ve already forgotten a good chunk of what happened. There’s nothing that makes them stand out, and this is no different.

We look at Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey from Sunday.

From Raw.

Kurt Angle is in the ring to introduce Bliss, whose title is sitting on a table. He hands her the title and announces that Nia is cashing in her rematch at Extreme Rules. Bliss thanks the fans for giving her the opportunity to rub it in our faces, which draws a WE WANT RONDA chant. It’s all about Bliss now so cue a ticked off Ronda but Angle gets in her way. Alexa laughs all of this off because everything she did was perfectly legal.

It’s obvious that Ronda is upset because the stories were all about Bliss last night. Now, Rousey is just irrelevant. That’s enough for Rousey, who runs over Angle and hits Bliss in the back with the briefcase. She beats Angle up with it as well and takes out some referees for good measure. One heck of a powerbomb drops Bliss through a table.

Post replays, Angle suspends Rousey for 30 days.

Post break, Rousey promises to be back in thirty days to take care of Bliss, champion or not.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Carmella to get things going in the arena. Carmella talks about having self esteem issues when she was growing up because she never felt good enough. Then she started writing her own story and she saw something in herself that no one ever saw. Everyone out there needs to look in the mirror and repeat these words: Mella is MONEY! Why would someone like her ever have self confidence? She’s been moon walking and trash talking since she was a baby so everyone needs to just give up. Carmella brags about all of her accomplishments, which she has done completely on her own.

Cue Asuka, or at least James Ellsworth in Asuka gear. Ellsworth says no one was ready for Asuka and offers some praise to Carmella, saying she’s better than several women, including Trish, Lita, Rousey, and Mother Teresa. Now it’s the real Asuka, without robe or mask, coming to the ring to take Ellsworth down. Carmella uses the distraction to deck Asuka and wrap things up. I’m so glad they brought Ellsworth back for this role when there are probably a dozen people on the roster with nothing to do.

From Raw again.

Here’s Seth Rollins to talk about how far Elias took him last night. That’s what Seth wanted though, because it’s what it means to be the Intercontinental Champion. Let’s keep that going right now with an OPEN CHALLENGE.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler is challenging and there goes some of the energy. Rollins knocks him to the floor and we take a very early break. Back with Ziggler throwing him back inside and kicking at the knee. A whip into the corner turns Seth upside down for two and we hit the chinlock. Rollins fights up….and the USA Network goes out. The feed comes back in a commercial so we eventually come back to Ziggler taking the Fameasser.

A superkick gives Rollins two but Ziggler heads up top. Rollins catches him again and rolls through a high crossbody. The buckle bomb connects but Drew McIntyre offers a distraction, allowing Ziggler to roll him up with tights for the pin and the title at 18:26. Too much was missed by the outage but this was the same match you would expect from these two.

Quick look at the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.

Authors of Pain vs. Breezango

Oh yeah the Authors still exist. Akam shoves Breeze around to start but gets kicked in the face to put the big man on the floor. Rezar comes in but the double belly to back is broken up as well and it’s off to Fandango. That’s about all the good things there are to say about Fandango at this point as the middle rope stomp/backbreaker combination has him in trouble. Back from an abrupt break with Breeze Supermodel Kicking Akam, only to walk into the Last Chapter for the pin at 6:05. Not enough shown to rate but it was a squash.

We wrap it up with a very shortened version of the Smackdown gauntlet match, just looking at the eliminations and AJ Styles coming out to stare down Rusev to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. As usual, this show almost completely depends on what you get on Raw and Smackdown, so this week was a pretty easy sit. They were smart to keep things short with the gauntlet match as it could have covered the length of this show. The original content on here was nothing special, but with two short matches it’s hard to get annoyed. Completely fine show, but really just a recap hour.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 18, 2018
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s finally the night after Money in the Bank and therefore we now need to deal with the fallout of the briefcase. In this case that would be the men’s briefcase, which was won by Braun Strowman. However, we now have to wait for Brock Lesnar to grace us with his presence, which may not be until the build to Summerslam. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey with Rousey having the title won until Alexa Bliss cashed in to win the title.

Kurt Angle is in the ring to introduce Bliss, whose title is sitting on a table. He hands her the title and announces that Nia is cashing in her rematch at Extreme Rules. Bliss thanks the fans for giving her the opportunity to rub it in our faces, which draws a WE WANT RONDA chant. It’s all about Bliss now so cue a ticked off Ronda but Angle gets in her way. Alexa laughs all of this off because everything she did was perfectly legal.

It’s obvious that Ronda is upset because the stories were all about Bliss last night. Now, Rousey is just irrelevant. That’s enough for Rousey, who runs over Angle and hits Bliss in the back with the briefcase. She beats Angle up with it as well and takes out some referees for good measure. One heck of a powerbomb drops Bliss through a table.

Post replays, Angle suspends Rousey for 30 days.

Post break, Rousey promises to be back in thirty days to take care of Bliss, champion or not.

Here’s Seth Rollins to talk about how far Elias took him last night. That’s what Seth wanted though, because it’s what it means to be the Intercontinental Champion. Let’s keep that going right now with an OPEN CHALLENGE.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler is challenging and there goes some of the energy. Rollins knocks him to the floor and we take a very early break. Back with Ziggler throwing him back inside and kicking at the knee. A whip into the corner turns Seth upside down for two and we hit the chinlock. Rollins fights up….and the USA Network goes out. The feed comes back in a commercial so we eventually come back to Ziggler taking the Fameasser.

A superkick gives Rollins two but Ziggler heads up top. Rollins catches him again and rolls through a high crossbody. The buckle bomb connects but Drew McIntyre offers a distraction, allowing Ziggler to roll him up with tights for the pin and the title at 18:26. Too much was missed by the outage but this was the same match you would expect from these two.

Post match Rollins yells at Ziggler and gets taken out by McIntyre.

McIntyre and Ziggler say that’s the first of many because they’re not like everyone else.

Bobby Roode vs. Curt Hawkins

Hawkins tries a backslide for two but gets caught in the Glorious DDT to make it 204 losses in a row at 43 seconds.

Stills of the men’s Money in the Bank match.

Here’s Braun Strowman to list off all the things he’s done, including playing a cello. This briefcase is the greatest though because he snatched the contract away from seven other men. Now all Brock Lesnar has to do is show up and Strowman will cash in. Cue a banged up Kevin Owens to say he wants to congratulate Strowman. That’s why he was trying to get everyone to side against Strowman: no one could stop him on their own.

Owens talks about how they could be a team together because Sami is out injured and Strowman had to get a ten year old to team with him at Wrestlemania. Maybe they do something for each other and then later on, Owens gets a title match at the new champion? Strowman shakes his hand and then loads up the powerslam but Owens bails. That’s a good feud for Strowman until Lesnar gets back.

Sasha Banks is upset in the back when Bayley comes in. She knows what Sasha is doing because she’s playing the ladder match over and over again in her head. Sasha admits that Bayley is right and agrees to team up to face the Riott Squad tonight. It’s a new beginning for them.

Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt vs. Heath Slater/Rhyno

Non-title but hang on a second as the B Team pops up on screen, doing some rather good impressions of Matt (Axel) and Wyatt (Dallas, who can sound eerily like his brother). Dallas says screw this because they’re the B Team and can beat anyone. They turn the lantern off but can’t figure out how to leave.

Matt and Bray are stunned so Slater and Rhyno jump them from behind. It’s a brawl to start until a Twist of Fate is blocked. Matt gets knocked into the corner but avoids a top rope right hand from Slater. The Side Effect allows the hot tag off to Bray for the running crossbody. Everything breaks down and the Kiss of Deletion ends Slater at 3:20.

Rating: D. Nothing match but it was a reason to have Matt and Bray in the arena for the goofy promo. Matt and Bray aren’t great champions but when they have the same teams around to beat up every few weeks, there’s only so far they can go. The B Team isn’t good but they’re at least funny, which is more than you can get from many teams today.

We recap Ronda snapping. That was a heck of a powerbomb.

Baron Corbin brings a phone to Angle so he can talk to Stephanie McMahon. Angle isn’t exactly thrilled and seems ready for a long lecture.

Back from a break with Angle still on the phone. He hears some big news and promises an announcement for tonight, but has to run something by Corbin first.

Jinder Mahal vs. Chad Gable

Before the match, Mahal says everyone must embrace change. If you let go of your anger, you will experience Shanti (which he talks about before his rocket push began last year). Mahal snaps at the bell and beats on Gable, who takes him down with some amateur stuff. A suplex drops Mahal on his head and a dropkick puts him on the floor. Back in and the moonsault gives Gable two but Mahal boots him in the face. The Khallas gives Mahal the pin at 2:28.

The Riott Squad breaks stuff in the back.

Special Olympics video.

Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. Liv Morgan/Sarah Logan

Morgan and Bayley start things going with Liv driving her into the corner for the early tag off to Logan. Banks tags herself in and elbows Morgan in the face, only to have Bayley tag herself right back in. A Thesz press and some right hands have Logan in trouble and the Squad is down as we take a break. Back with the hot tag bringing Sasha in as everything breaks down. The double knees in the corner have Morgan in trouble but Logan gets in a cheap shot and Morgan rolls Banks up (with trunks) for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: D+. Just a match here but at least they’re going to be getting to the latest version of this split so they can finally have a match already. Banks taking the fall is fine here and it’s cool to have the Riott Squad getting somewhere for awhile. They need something to do, but at least they’re finding out how to play the characters better.

Post match Bayley tries to console Sasha but gets shoved down as Banks walks away again.

Back from a break with Sasha walking through the back and Bayley chasing after her. Banks doesn’t want to talk to her and the fight is on with Bayley being sent into a catering table.

Here’s Angle in the ring to announce that Lesnar will be defending his title again soon. Before he can announce any details here’s Roman Reigns to interrupt. Reigns says the next challenger is right in front of him. He wants to be the champion who defends the title every single week and Angle seems to agree, but here’s Bobby Lashley to interrupt. Lashley, after fumbling the name of who he’s talking about, says he’s seen Reigns try to beat Lesnar for three years now.

It’s time for Reigns to step aside so someone who can beat Brock beat Brock. Lashley can beat Reigns too but Angle says they both have a point. They’ll be having a multiman match at Extreme Rules for the title shot with more names being announced later. Cue the Revival of all people to say they’re tired of people demanding things all the time.

They want a match with Reigns and Lashley right now because a win over these two great singles wrestlers will catapult their careers to the next level. So in other words, we’re building to another multiman match for a future title shot? AFTER FIVE WEEKS OF MONEY IN THE BANK BUILD??? THAT’S REALLY THE BEST THING THEY CAN COME UP WITH???

Roman Reigns/Bobby Lashley vs. Revival

Reigns punches Dawson in the face to start and holds Dawson in place while arguing with Lashley. Dawson has some more luck with Lashley, meaning he gets in a single kick to the ribs before a pair of spinebusters put Revival down. A quick end around lets Dawson chop block Lashley and something like the Demolition Decapitator gets two. Dawson’s chinlock doesn’t last long as Lashley fights up and brings in Reigns to clean house. Superman Punches rock both of them but Lashley tags himself in and spears Wilder for the pin at 6:22.

Rating: D+. Bring back jobbers. Like please, bring them back so I don’t have to see something as painful as seeing the Revival treated like this. We have the B Team doing their comedy stuff while the best tag team NXT has ever had is stuck here doing jobs to push two people in a multi man match. I’m so glad NXT exists for just such an emergency.

Angle and Corbin run into Finn Balor, who wants to be in the #1 contenders match. Corbin laughs at him and a fight seems imminent but Owens comes in to say calm things down. Balor laughs at Owens for not realizing what’s right behind him, because Strowman is right there. Strowman says he’s here to look after Finn, and a tag match seems imminent.

AJ Styles is on the cover of WWE2K19.

We recap Angle’s rocky night.

No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley

Jose, with his neon green gear, punches Rawley down to start and dances. Back up and Rawley knees him in the ribs and hammers away. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Jose gets two off a flapjack. Rawley’s right hand in the corner sets up the fireman’s carry faceplant for the pin at 2:41. I could go for more of Rawley.

Post match Mojo says it’s about staying focused, not hyped.

Banks is leaving when Bayley comes up to her again and says she’s not done with her. Sasha drives away and Bayley throws a water bottle at the car.

Here’s Elias with his hair down to sing about how awesome he is and ask fans to wonder what would Elias do. He wants to be in the match at Extreme Rules and says his new catchphrase a lot.

Rollins says the loss is on him and invokes his rematch clause for next week.

Finn Balor/Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin/Kevin Owens

Owens is banged up but still able to take Balor into the corner for some kicks to the ribs to start. It’s off to Strowman though and the power begins, even with Corbin taking off his vest to make things serious. With the villains knocks to the floor, Strowman picks Balor up and throws him onto the two of them for a crash as we take a break.

Back with Corbin holding a chinlock before handing it off to Owens for one of his own. A backbreaker just hurts Owens’ knee so Corbin comes back in to punch Balor in the ribs. Balor gets sent to the floor and tries a springboard on the way back in, only to get knocked out of the air. The Deep Six gives Corbin two and it’s back to Owens. The beating continues until Strowman comes in without a tag, splashes Corbin, and throws Balor into the corner for the tag.

Strowman starts chasing Owens around the ring as he tends to do but this time Corbin dives off the apron to take him down. Everything breaks down and Strowman drops Corbin with a shot to the chest. The chase goes on again and this time Strowman plows through Owens to put him into the timekeeper’s area. The Coup de Grace is broken up though and the End of Days puts Balor away at 16:42.

Rating: D+. That would be your Coliseum Video random tag team match of the week and I’m not sure what the point is in having Corbin get the pin. The match felt like leftovers from the Money in the Bank build, which isn’t exactly inspiring stuff. At least they didn’t have Strowman take the fall, but I hope he’s not downgraded now that he has the briefcase.

Overall Rating: D. This show was on a roll to start with the hot Rousey angle and then fell down a hill with one not great angle and match after another. It felt like they were still out of steam from Money in the Bank and it showed here. I’m interested in some of the things we have coming up and Lesnar coming back, hopefully to drop the title and leave for good, has me intrigued. It just felt like they were trying to do too much here and it hurt the show a lot.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Seth Rollins – Rollup with a handful of tights

Bobby Roode b. Curt Hawkins – Glorious DDT

Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt b. Heath Slater/Rhyno – Kiss of Deletion to Slater

Liv Morgan/Sarah Logan b. Sasha Banks/Bayley – Rollup to Banks

Roman Reigns/Bobby Lashley b. Revival – Spear to Wilder

Mojo Rawley b. No Way Jose – Fireman’s carry faceplant

Baron Corbin/Kevin Owens b. Finn Balor/Braun Strowman – End of Days to Balor

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 11, 2018
Location: Verizon Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

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

We open with all eight Money in the Bank participants in the ring on ladders (with Braun Strowman WAY in the air). Cue Kurt Angle to explain the Money in the Bank concept but here’s a now bald Baron Corbin to interrupt. He threatens Angle with Stephanie McMahon and the eight participants start to bicker over who is going to win.

Natalya insists that she’s healthy to go and Owens goes on a rant about how unfair it is for Strowman to be so tall. Roode: “Owens, do you want the briefcase lowered to your height?” Owens: “That sounds like a great idea!” Strowman cuts them off and says he’s going to win. Bliss screeches a lot and the women start saying their Mixed Match Challenge partners are going to win. Strowman says someone is going to get these hands on Sunday. This was a big waste of time, but so is most everything else they do around Money in the Bank time.

Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya vs. Ember Moon vs. Sasha Banks

Sasha flips onto Natalya but Moon hits a SCARY suicide dive to drive Banks into the barricade. Bliss steals the near fall and we take a break. Back with Bliss clearing the ring and working on Natalya’s knee until Banks comes back in for some clotheslines. Moon is back in for some knees to the face but Bliss gives her a Code Red for two. The Meteora gives Banks the same and we go split screen for a Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax video. This show really is everything I can’t stand about modern WWE wrapped together.

Back to full screen with Twisted Bliss hitting knees as we take a break. We come back with Natalya breaking up the Bank Statement on Bliss but hurting her knee in the process. She’s fine enough to put Banks in the Sharpshooter until Moon makes the save with a superkick. The Eclipse drops Natalya but Bliss makes another save. Banks comes in and gets knocked out again, leaving Natalya to make Bliss tap to the Sharpshooter at 20:39.

Rating: C+. The match was the same batch of diving saves and near falls that they all are, which means it was at least entertaining. What it wasn’t though was meaningful in any way as this has nothing to do with giving you an advantage in a ladder match. Then again, that’s never stopped WWE before because they came up with this blueprint years ago and haven’t changed it a bit since.

We run down the pay per view card.

Owens comes in to see Balor and brings some olives (Owens: “I didn’t have an olive branch.”). He wants an alliance on Sunday because someone like Strowman could hold the title forever. Maybe the two of them and Bobby Roode could take out Strowman tonight so he doesn’t even make the ladder match. Owens: “Enjoy the olives.”

Breezango vs. Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre

Ziggler jumps Breeze, who has a beard for some reason, as Cole tries to say that he thinks Ziggler and McIntyre can be former Tag Team Champions. McIntyre comes in for a hard shot to the face but an enziguri gets Breeze out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Fandango, who gets dropped in short order. McIntyre powerbombs Breeze onto Fandango and brings Ziggler back in for the superkick. The Zig Zag/Claymore combination ends Fandango at 3:17.

Rating: D+. Just a squash win for Ziggler and McIntyre, even if Ziggler still doesn’t need to be there. I’m hoping this team is split up before too long as every day that McIntyre isn’t pushed as a single star is a waste of time. He’s a top level star in the making and he’s stuck with Ziggler, who hasn’t been able to make anything stick for years.

Post match McIntyre says this is the proof of how great they are. This isn’t just hype so every team in the bank can know what’s coming. They’re here to make the tag team division right, and they’ll do that by winning the titles.

Roman Reigns says Jinder Mahal has earned this whipping by being stupid. Tonight it’s time to deliver a receipt. It’s almost eerie that he’s a little more tolerable with Mahal just because he’s not chasing the title again.

Jinder Mahal vs. Roman Reigns

Before the match, Mahal talks about wanting to see Reigns laying on the mat this Sunday with Mahal’s hand raised in victory. Reigns comes out but hang on because Mahal has Singh get in the ring too. See, Mahal challenged Reigns to a match, but he never said it would be with him, so it’s Singh instead. I had that written down before Mahal even came to the ring because it would be the most annoying, cliched thing they could do.

Roman Reigns vs. Sunil Singh

Superman Punch and spear in 1:11.

Post match Mahal gives Reigns the Khallas.

B Team vs. Rhyno/Heath Slater

Axel and Slater start with Bo dropping some knees for an early two. That means we’re already in the chinlock until Slater fights up in short order. Rhyno gets knocked off the apron and a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination is good for the pin on Slater at 1:42.

Post match Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy appear on screen to say they’re here. By that they mean on the stage where they know the B Team is scared. Matt threatens to eat them.

Here’s Elias for the song. This is the last performance before he wins the Intercontinental Title so he needs to be able to concentrate. The song mocks Seth’s nicknames and his training (“Seth Freaking Rollins. Am I supposed to think that’s cool? And I get it, you do CrossFit, so I definitely know that you are a tool.”), going on longer than any other song he’s ever done. Elias even has a special guitar, painted up like the Intercontinental Title. It was given to him by John Mayer and next week it’s going to look great with his new title.

Cue Rollins to chase him off and yells about everything Elias has done in recent weeks. Rollins thinks Elias is cool with the spotlight and the guitars….as he looks at the custom guitar. He teases breaking it but instead says this seems like the perfect time for a charity auction. Elias offers to bid on it so Rollins puts the guitar on the mat and gives it the Stomp. Coach: “That was from one of the greatest hip hop artists of our generation!” Corey calls him out for stupidity so Coach says that John Mayer and Jay-Z (I guess he thinks Jay-Z plays guitar) are the same thing.

Owens tries to get Roode on his side tonight too.

The Riott Squad makes a big mess in the back on their way to the ring.

Ruby Riott vs. Bayley

Back with Bayley being sent face first into the middle buckle and Riott grabbing an armbar. Thirty seconds after a full break, we go to a split screen for another MITB ad. Bayley fights up with a whip into the corner but a running knee bangs up her bad shoulder. The top rope elbow missing makes things even worse and Ruby rolls her up for two. Back up and the Squad offers a distraction, allowing Riott to send Bayley shoulder first into the post. The Riott Kick is good for the pin at 11:28.

Rating: D+. That missed slide in the corner was a big problem, along with how there wasn’t much of a reason to have these women fight. This one was more about filling in time on a show where they don’t have much else to do. It’s sad to see how far Bayley has fallen in about a year, but never let it be said that WWE can’t turn someone with potential into one of their standard performers.

Post match Ruby draws an R on Bayley’s stomach with a marker.

Natalya tells Ronda Rousey to look out for Nia Jax tonight.

Here’s Coach to moderate a face to face showdown between Rousey and Jax (the second time since the match was announced). Nia says they’re both elite athletes and she’s purposely pushed Rousey’s buttons over the last few weeks. Rousey has a lot of great things about her but she’s still very new in WWE. Her success came from outside of WWE and there are some different rules around here. Nia lists off some things in MMA that you can’t do around here and promises a demonstration on Sunday. Rousey says she improvises and on Sunday she’ll improvise Nia’s arm off.

Nia points out that Rousey’s one match was against a businesswoman who competes part time (and HHH, who Stephanie has apparently absorbed) and it’s clear that Nia isn’t ready. That’s too much for Rousey, who lists off all the times where she’s been told she wasn’t ready and all the times she’s proven them wrong. Rousey: “I am Ronda Rousey and I was born ready.”

Curt Hawkins vs. No Way Jose

Roode and Balor aren’t sure who to trust in the four way.

Video on a Special Olympian who does powerlifting. Nothing wrong with that.

Back from a break and we’ve got an obstacle course, which Sami Zayn has set up to prove that Bobby Lashley used to be in the army. Simply put, if Lashley can complete the course faster than Sami, he’ll prove himself. Sami goes over the entire course and has heard that Green Berets can do this in about two minutes. He did it in a minute and a half earlier today, with a bad hand and no warmup.

Lashley comes out and promises to win because we’re actually doing this. Renee Young flips a coin and Lashley gets to go first. Lashley finishes with ease in 42 seconds, even though the clock keeps going. Of course Sami jumps him from behind and hits a Helluva Kick as soon as Lashley gets down. I can’t begin to fathom how the meeting went when this was set up.

The trio keeps planning when Strowman comes in and tells them to team up on him.

Finn Balor vs. Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman clears the ring to start and we take an early break. Back with Strowman getting triple teamed and Owens asking who the monster is now. Strowman fights them off again as the announcers make their picks for Sunday. For some reason Owens tries a cheap shot on Strowman and then bails to the floor, which has gone so well for him with Strowman for months now. Strowman shrugs off Balor and Roode so he can chase Owens to the back. The chase doesn’t last long as Strowman throws him back through the entrance and it’s monster time.

Balor joins them on stage and gets sent into the set, leaving Strowman to load up the announcers’ table. Roode is back up with a ladder and some shots to the ribs have Strowman in trouble. They put Strowman on the table and Owens climbs a table for a big frog splash. Back from another break with Owens and Strowman down, leaving us with the not very thrilling Roode vs. Balor match.

Both guys go down so let’s hit that split screen Rousey vs. Jax ad. Balor kicks him out to the floor before hitting the Sling Blade back inside. Owens is back in to break up the Coup de Grace but Balor knocks him off the top. The required Tower of Doom puts everyone down and Strowman is on his feet. Roode and Balor get knocked down so Strowman catches Owens going into the crowd.

Back at ringside, the injured Strowman runs them all over but Balor manages to get some boots up in the corner. A top rope double stomp to back staggers Strowman again so he shoulders Balor down to get a breather. Roode and Owens get back together on Strowman until Owens rolls him Roode up for two. Balor hits the Sling Blade on Strowman and there’s the shotgun dropkick. There’s the Coup de Grace with Roode making the save because this just can’t end.

Roode hits the Glorious DDT on Strowman but Owens makes the save. Another frog splash gets two on Strowman so let’s bring in a ladder. Well if Owens could do this before, why did he wait so long? Strowman absorbs two shots to the ribs and chokeslams Owens (Owens: “I’M SORRY!”). The powerslam onto the ladder ends Owens at 25:57.

Rating: C-. The Balor vs. Roode part really hurt this but the bigger problem is the booking of Strowman. Looking at what happened to him in this match, why in the world would I believe that anyone can beat him in a singles match? Brock beat him clean but unless Lesnar returns from his spring and summer vacation early, there’s nothing for Strowman to do and with no one who could beat him (save for Roman of course), we’re stuck sitting around waiting on something for Strowman to find something to do or for him to cool off. What a great way to use a guy who only gets over like this every few years at best.

Overall Rating: D. This felt like a sandwich with the ladder matches as the bread and whatever else they could find filling out the middle. It’s not a bad show but it’s really, really boring as it was as much talk about Money in the Bank as I can handle. That’s how you’re supposed to do a go home show but it doesn’t have the same effect when they’ve been doing the same thing for five weeks now. This show is dying for something fresh but odds are we’re just stuck waiting around until the build to Summerslam at this point. At least Sunday can get us on to something different and I’ll take what I can get right now.

Results

Natalya b. Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon and Sasha Banks – Sharpshooter to Bliss

Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre b. Breezango – Zig Zag/Claymore combination to Fandango

B Team b. Heath Slater/Rhyno – Belly to back suplex/neckbreaker to Slater

Ruby Riott b. Bayley – Riott Kick

No Way Jose b. Curt Hawkins – Pop up right hand

Braun Strowman b. Finn Balor, Kevin Owens and Bobby Roode – Powerslam onto a ladder to Owens

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Main Event
Date: May 17, 2018
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

So you remember last week when I was wondering how you could put together a show featuring almost nothing but Money in the Bank qualifying matches? Well that’s pretty much the same thing this week, but this time around we also have Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal as Reigns tries to prove that WWE is against him. It’s a fictional show remember. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Titus Worldwide vs. Authors of Pain

They’re certainly varying things up around here. Akam drives Apollo into the corner to start but Crews flips forward to get away. A dropkick works a bit better but Rezar tags himself in to run Crews over from behind. Some hard knees to the ribs keep Crews in trouble and the fans want Titus.

The side slam/middle rope stomp combination gets two and it’s off to a chinlock. That’s switched to a side choke to keep things fresh until Apollo gets in an enziguri to put Rezar on one knee. The hot tag brings in Titus to a huge reaction and he knocks Rezar into the corner with a hard shoulder. A big boot to the chest gets two but Akam is right back in for the Last Chapter and the pin on Titus at 4:36.

Rating: C-. I’m so thrilled that they brought the Authors up and have them on Main Event in less than two months. I mean, it was such a great idea and they’ve been used so well. How many matches have they had on Raw so far? Two? Such is life in WWE though, especially with an act like the Authors who should be as easy of an idea as you’re going to find.

From Raw.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Baron Corbin vs. No Way Jose vs. Bobby Roode

Corbin wastes no time in sending Jose outside but Roode punches away to take over. There’s a Blockbuster for two and we take an early break. Back with Corbin knocking Jose off the apron but going after him this time to continue the beating. Roode decks Corbin and Jose is finally able to get in some offense, including a middle rope crossbody for two. The spinebuster gets two on Jose and Roode goes up for a clothesline to take him down again.

The GLORIOUS pose looks to set up the DDT but Corbin offers a distraction, allowing Jose to clothesline Roode to the floor. Corbin keeps up the clothesline train with a running version off the apron. The chokebreaker drops Jose for two and Deep Six gets the same on Roode. Jose makes a save and Corbin is sent into the post but the Glorious DDT puts Jose away at 10:43.

Rating: C+. This was a nice surprise and you could almost imagine any of the three of them getting into the ladder match. Roode isn’t the most thrilling guy in the world but he’s someone that could be in there and fit in well enough. I still like Jose and the potential is there if he can get away from the dancing stuff. Then again, I can’t imagine that happening and that’s on WWE, as usual.

We see Roman Reigns spearing Jinder Mahal through a wall to take him out of the qualifying match.

From Raw again, here is said qualifying match with Jinder’s replacement.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Elias vs. Bobby Lashley vs. ???

It’s Owens of course and he helps pound Lashley down it the corner. Lashley gets tossed and we take an early break. Back with Owens sending Lashley into the steps and dropping a backsplash on Elias for two. Lashley is back up as the fans chant for Bobby’s sisters. Elias sends Lashley outside and let’s stop for a song! He even has someone holding his mic while he plays the guitar but has to stop to knee Owens in the face.

Back in and Owens breaks up the vertical suplex on Elias so Lashley suplexes both of them at once. The fans still want to Walk With Elias and a sitout powerbomb to Owens has them rather pleased. Lashley makes a save and plants Elias but here’s Sami to pull him to the floor. Back inside, the frog splash ends Elias to send Owens on at 13:12.

Rating: C. Kind of a messy match here as these three aren’t exactly people who are going to have chemistry. Lashley’s booking continues to astound me a bit as he was supposed to be some big return and now he’s just a guy who uses a vertical suplex as a finisher. You can’t just give him the Dominator again? The match wasn’t anything special but at least the ending advances some stories and puts Owens in the ladder match.

And now, to Smackdown.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: New Day vs. The Bar

A double DDT gets two on Big E. and Cesaro grabs a Sharpshooter. Woods comes in for the save and gets in his own DDT for two. A wheelbarrow faceplant slams Cesaro into the mat so Sheamus comes in for a save this time around. Big E. spears Sheamus through the ropes, leaving Woods to drop the elbow for the pin on Cesaro at 9:25. As expected, there was no mention of Miz pinning the US Champion.

Rating: C-. In theory this should put Woods in the ladder match but I could see him saying that he doesn’t deserve it. To be fair, no one would buy Woods as a threat to win the thing so switching him out for Big E. or Kofi wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. New Day vs. Bar has been a fine enough feud and tying something like this into it wasn’t the worst idea in the world.

Back to Raw.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James vs. Bayley

Bayley gets knocked outside and we take a break less than thirty seconds in. Back with Bayley still getting double teamed and having her comeback cut off. As is customary, Mickie turns on Bliss with a rollup for two but they still get together to kick Bayley down. A double high crossbody gives Bayley an opening and a double Stunner over the ropes makes thins even worse.

Mickie gets dropped face first on the top rope but she’s still able to break up Bliss’ sunset flip. They all slug it out from their knees with Bayley getting the better of it, including ducking a shot so Bliss hits James. The Bayley to Belly gets two on Bliss with Mickie making the save. Mickie and Bayley fight on the floor but the distraction lets Bliss DDT Bayley for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: D. I wasn’t feeling this one but that’s often the case with these triple threat matches. This was the standard formula: two people get together to take over, get in a fight, and then someone gets a pin. Bliss winning is the right choice as you can have Bayley and Sasha do something else later on. Mickie and Bliss will still be friends because stuff like this never changes anything. The fans didn’t seem to care but, again, this isn’t the match that matters so the fans not being interested is expected.

And back to Smackdown again.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Becky Lynch vs. Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville

Mandy lets the other two fight and then jumps Becky from behind. A rollup gets two on Sonya and the argument takes us to a break. Back with Sonya hammering on Becky but a Bexploder gets her out of trouble. Mandy tries to steal the pin and gets thrown down by Sonya, who sends her to the floor.

Becky gets the better of a slugout and goes up, leaving Mandy to put Sonya in an electric chair. A missile dropkick to Mandy brings them both down but Sonya breaks up the Disarm-Her. Sonya gets kicked down again though and the Disarm-Her makes Mandy tap at 8:00 to send Becky to Money in the Bank.

Rating: C. Mandy and Sonya are getting better in the ring but neither is ready for such a big spot. Becky is someone who could be a big deal in the division for a long time to come and there’s no reason to not put her in here. You can put the Iconics in for a better performance in the heel tag role than Mandy and Sonya so there’s not much to complain about here.

We look at Nia Jax challenging Ronda Rousey for Money in the Bank.

Chad Gable vs. Mojo Rawley

I’m not sure why but this interests me. Gable takes him down without much effort and cranks on the ankle. Mojo can’t get away so we hit an armbar instead. The armbar sequel sets up a northern lights suplex for two and it’s right back to the armbar. Mojo finally takes him to the floor for a ram into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Gable being pulled into a backbreaker for two.

As you might expect, it’s off to the chinlock to keep Gable down. That’s broken up pretty quickly and Gable grabs an armbar over the ropes. Mojo misses a charge into the corner and a good looking flying forearm drops him. Mojo’s spinebuster is countered into an Oklahoma roll for two, followed by a German suplex for the same. Gable gets sent face first into the buckle though and the running right hand gives Mojo the pin at 11:38.

Rating: C. Much better than I was expecting here, if nothing else just because you don’t expect to see these two getting any kind of time. That’s what Main Event should be used for instead of the same matches over and over again, especially the repetitive cruiserweight tag matches. These guys are just sitting around so give them a chance and see what you might have.

And from Smackdown one more time to wrap it up.

AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title with the winner getting to pick next week’s stipulation. The battle over a wristlock doesn’t go anywhere so AJ dropkicks him down to pick up the pace a bit. A slingshot forearm to the floor has Nakamura in more trouble but he posts AJ for a breather. Back from a break with Nakamura kicking AJ against the ropes and choking in the corner. Good Vibrations sets up a running kick to AJ’s face and we hit a dragon sleeper.

AJ fights out and puts Nakamura on top for a Pele. The running seated forearm drops Nakamura again and AJ nips up as the pace quickens. The belly to back faceplant gets two but a spinning kick to the face rocks Styles. Nakamura gets two off the Landslide (Samoan driver) but misses the running knee in the corner.

He’s fine enough to break up a springboard though and a kick to the ribs sends AJ to the apron. Kinshasa misses but AJ can’t get the Calf Crusher. The sliding knee gets two but Kinshasa is blocked with a spinwheel kick. The Phenomenal Forearm nearly hits the referee and Nakamura claims a low blow. That’s enough of a distraction to set up Kinshasa for the pin on Styles at 17:30.

Rating: B+. That’s the best match they’ve had yet and Nakamura needed to win something at some point. I’m still really not big on having a match to set up another match but this is better than a lot of the nonsense this company gives us at times. I’m not sure what the stipulation will be but they have a few options as we head towards Money in the Bank, especially with Nakamura’s quirky sense of humor at times.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event alone helped this but they really had to show every single qualifying match instead of the Intercontinental Title match? Sometimes it’s ok to just show us a recap or a highlight package instead of everything getting its own section. Then again having fewer qualifying matches would be nice as well but WWE has made it clear that they love that freaking ladder match more than almost anything else. Nice show, but mainly due to Styles vs. Nakamura being awesome.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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We have arrived. It’s FINALLY time for the biggest night of the wrestling year and that means we’re in New Orleans for “Wrestlemania XXXIV”. There’s a huge card with some top level title matches, Daniel Bryan’s long awaited in-ring return and a few questions about what we may or may not be seeing. The card is actually stacked, but it’s hard to say what we might be seeing with all of the wild cards that might be thrown our way. It’s time to break the whole thing down so let’s get to it.

Raw Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss(c) vs. Nia Jax

I figured I’d start with what should be the shortest match on the card. This story is built around the idea of Bliss bullying the much bigger Jax for both her looks and her size, which has gotten to Jax after having heard this all her life. It’s turned Jax into a monster who wants to destroy Bliss once and for all. Jax has never won a title and Bliss has taken out almost everyone else, but now it’s time for the showdown.

Based on the story that has been told, this should be Jax squashing Bliss in under two minutes. Bliss can get in a few shots, but Jax should just snap up, throw Bliss into the corner, and wreck her in short order. There’s no reason to believe that Bliss can hang with her in a straight fight. Jax needs to destroy her once and for all, which is exactly what this has been setting up for.

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: March 20, 2018
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix

We’re almost done with the tournament as there are only three shows left. That means tonight will give us one of the finalists as Alexa Bliss/Braun Strowman face off with The Miz/Asuka. These have been two of the favorites for a long time now so it’s no surprise that one of them will be in the finals. Let’s get to it.

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

A shaken up Michael Cole welcomes us to the show as Daniel Bryan is stretchered out follow the attack at the hands of Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens.

You can vote for the team to get a second chance in next week’s other semifinal.

Semifinals: The Miz/Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss/Braun Strowman

Asuka is tagged back in and Miz goes for a walk. Alexa gets knocked into Braun’s arms again and, after a rather teased look, is thrown back in for an armbar from Asuka. That’s reversed into a chinlock as an END HER STREAK chant starts up. Strowman comes back in for a hard whip to the corner and a knee to Miz’s back. The running powerslam is broken up and Miz starts on the knee but the YES Kicks just annoy Strowman.

Miz gets thrown outside so a happy Bliss grabs Strowman by the beard and pulls him to her….but Miz forearms him in the back. NOW Braun is really angry and the chase is on with Strowman catching Miz in that scary way that he can do. For some reason Strowman tags Bliss back in and it’s time for the running kicks for two on Bliss. A double kick means a double knockdown and it’s Strowman driving Miz through the barricade. Bliss gets a pair of twos off a pair of rollups but it’s the Asuka Lock for the tap out at 11:08.

Rating: C. The idea of Asuka being terrified of losing her streak is a cool concept and something that can play to her later on. With her being scared of losing, someone can gain a psychological advantage. On top of that, there’s Bliss and Strowman, who unfortunately likely won’t go anywhere. At least it was fun while it was lasted.

Strowman carries Bliss to the back.

The winners of the second chance fan vote is…..Finn Balor and Sasha Banks. Bobby Roode and Charlotte are interested in the second chance to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Another nice and very easy to watch show here as it’s about twenty minutes every week. Odds are Miz and Asuka win the whole thing but either of the other teams could be a nice monkey wrench. This week’s match was fun and they had some more psychology here, which is a lot more than you can say about most WWE shows.

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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