Dynamite
Date: October 16, 2021
Location: James L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

We’re on a rare Saturday night due to the MLB playoffs and they are going to have a hard time topping what they did last night with Rampage. Tonight we see the brackets for the #1 contenders tournament, as Full Gear is less than a month away. Add in a AAA Tag Team Titles match and we should be good to go. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Guest commentator CM Punk gets his big entrance.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Malakai Black vs. Dante Martin

Lio Rush is here with Black. Some armdrags put Martin down to start but he sends Black outside. It’s too early for a dive though as Black comes back in and elbows him in the face. A powerbomb sets up a half crab to put Martin in trouble but he slips out in a hurry. That earns Martin and STO and shinbreaker, setting up a kneebar. Martin makes the ropes to escape and goes up top, only to have his springboard blocked. A sunset flip gives Martin two and a poisonrana out of the corner staggers Black.

With Black out on the ramp, Martin hits a springboard flip dive (with a bit of a slip) to drop him again. Back in and a double springboard moonsault misses for Martin, setting up a slugout. Black kicks him down and scores with a top rope double stomp, setting up a kick to the head. There’s a hard German suplex to drop Martin hard so he heads up top. That’s broken up with a super hurricanrana but Black is right back with a half crab. Martin escapes again and tries to go up again, only to get caught with Black Mass (Rush is NOT pleased) for the pin at 9:37.

Rating: B. They pulled me into this one as I wasn’t exactly thinking that it was great at the start. That was all changed by the end as these guys were beating the heck out of each other, with one big spot after another. I didn’t buy Martin as possibly winning, but it would have been too much of a stretch to have that take place anyway. Rather good match here as Black continues to prove that WWE was totally wrong about him every single week.

Post match Black goes to leave but stops to nod at Martin in respect.

The Jurassic Express talks about being banged up but the Elite comes in to beat them down. Kenny Omega manages to powerbomb Luchasaurus through the table to show that he can do it.

Here is the Inner Circle, fresh off their loss last night, to quite the reception. Santana isn’t happy about American Top Team, which brings them out with Dan Lambert to brag about their MMA success. Jericho tells us to welcome the “fat faced dip****” and yes the fans chant the name. Jericho accuses Paige Vanzant of having a thing for him, but he wouldn’t touch her with her husband’s genitalia. Punk: “I don’t believe him. I think he would.”

The challenge is on for the ten man tag but Lambert insults the team, including talking about the size of Jake Hager’s head. Lambert is down if the Inner Circle will accept their challenge, but he’ll give them the terms next week. Scorpio Sky says he has pinned Chris Jericho twice, but the fans think he still sucks. Sammy Guevara is ready to fight right now and he’ll see them next week. Vanzant continues to look like a star every time she’s on camera.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Las Super Ranas

The Ranas (the Super Frogs) are two guys in green suits with masks and challenging. Punk: “I don’t know if the Lucha Bros care, but that’s clearly FTR.” We’ll say #1 starts with Fenix, who spins the arm around to start until #1 takes him down and goes for the mask. A victory roll faceplant takes #1 down and everything breaks down, with the Bros going for the masks. Commentary confirms that it’s FTR, mainly due to the lack of flips. The masks come off and FTR clotheslines the Bros down to take over as we go to a break.

Back with Fenix getting dropped ribs first on top but Penta is back in for the brawl. Fenix gets a running start to springboard onto both of them, setting up the Lucha version of What’s Up. Everything breaks down and FTR tries to bring in the belts, only to get kicked down in a hurry. Cue Tully Blanchard (in matching green) for a distraction though, allowing Harwood to belt Fenix out of the air. A brainbuster gives Harwood the pin and the titles at 8:14.

Rating: C+. The frogs deal was weird but points for a surprise title change. FTR getting some gold is certainly a nice thing to see and I could go for another match between these two. The AAA Tag Team Titles have enough meaning for this to be an important win so nice job in a surprise, even if it doesn’t last long. It was also nice for commentary to sound smart, as they weren’t exactly fooled by the disguises.

Lio Rush says Dante Martin failed because he screwed up but Martin can be successful if he just listens. From this point forward, they’re tag partners, though Martin doesn’t seem convinced.

Andrade and FTR celebrate the win. MJF comes in to celebrate with them and gets paid by Andrade, seemingly to rent FTR for the night. MJF’s horrible Spanish is that much better.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley jumps him to start, puts Yuta down, and finishes with the Paradigm Shift at 1:11. Well that worked, though Orange Cassidy staring down at Moxley as Yuta is checked on by the medics seems to give us a future.

Serena Deeb beat Hikaru Shida last week but she’s not happy with how the division has been since she went on sabbatical. It was time to drag the division back up but here is Shida to jump her from behind.

Dark Order vs. Superkliq

It’s Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds and John Silver for the team here but the Superkliq jump them before the bell. Silver escapes the TripleBomb (because the Elite is the Shield these days) on the ramp with Reynolds coming in to help out. They get back inside for the opening bell and Cole gets triple dropkicked to the floor. We settle down to Silver having to kick all three of them away but a Don Callis distraction lets Matt kick him down.

Cole cuts off Reynolds’ dive with an enziguri and it’s a double superkick into a brainbuster onto the knee on the floor to drop him again. JR: “You might want to bother counting.” More kicks and shots to the face have Silver in trouble and we take a break. Back with Nick losing a shoe as Silver makes the comeback, allowing the tag to Uno. That means a full on Mr. Socko return, because AEW doesn’t like to put together the most unique stuff. Uno runs wild for a bit until a few more shots cut him (and the crowd) off.

Cole gets Uno in a camel clutch and the Bucks load up the double kiss, but the rest of the Order takes their place for the kiss instead. A double backdrop puts Cole on the floor and the Order gets to pose for a change. Something Evil gets two on Cole as everything breaks down again. The Order is sent outside and get take out by dives, leaving Cole to kick Reynolds down. A rollup gives Reynolds two and he knees Cole in the face for a bonus. The Bucks are back in with superkicks and the Panama Sunrise into the BTE Trigger into the Boom finishes for Cole at 10:48.

Rating: C+. I can forgive the Superkliq for not exactly taking the Dark Order seriously but they ultimately had to put in some effort to win. Cole getting the pin works as well as he continues to pad his resume while the Bucks take a bit of a step back from him. Silver continues to look like a star, though I’m not sure how much of a future he has in this 837 member group.

Post match here is Jungle Boy to go after the Superkliq, who run off because he grabs a chair. Brandon Cutler is left alone to try the cold spray, which is blocked by the chair. The Snare Trap has Cutler in trouble, with Boy adding the spray to Cutler’s eyes. Now see how easy it is to make Jungle Boy look good? Get rid of the freak show and he’s a star. It’s not that hard.

Cody Rhodes appears at his wrestling academy, where his fellow coaches (or maybe students) aren’t happy with him. Arn Anderson puts him through a drill where everyone goes after him one at a time. Cody wants to know what this is supposed to teach him so Anderson pulls out a photo of Dusty Rhodes beating him up back in the day. Arn talks about how Cody never wanted to disappoint kids, but would kids have thought Dusty was bad for busting Arn open that night? Of course not, because Arn had it coming. Malakai Black has it coming too.

Here is MJF to say he is stuck in a place that smells like hookers and gasoline. He doesn’t like not being announced for his match, even though there is no match scheduled. Punk: “You know how I can tell? No Wardlow.” MJF doesn’t think Darby Allin is ready to fight him so maybe he did break Allin mentally. After telling a fat guy to shut up, MJF feigns shock over hearing about Allin being attacked last week. MJF: “TONY SCHIAVONE! DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS???”

MJF is going to give us a match with Allin, so Wardlow brings out a referee to count the ten. The count is on….and here’s Sting to answer. A baseball bat shot to the ribs drops Wardlow and MJF runs into the snow. MJF teases running back in but runs despite Sting dropping the bat, much to commentary’s disgust.

Britt Baker interrupts Anna Jay’s interview and talks about how the Superkliq beat the Dark Order. Anna: “They are not losers!” Baker talks more trash and the fight is on with referees breaking it up in a hurry.

Kiera Hogan vs. Penelope Ford

The Bunny is here with Ford. Hogan grabs a headlock to start as Punk wants to know if there is any relation, though commentary isn’t sure which Hogan he could possibly mean. Tony is right there to bring them back to focus on the TBS Title as Ford misses a running boot in the corner, setting up a takedown to give Hogan two. Ford bulldogs her into the corner to take over again though and we go to a break. Back with Hogan hitting a superplex but not being able to follow up. A sliding kick to the face in the corner rocks Ford for two more but Ford hits a running cutter. The Muta Lock finishes Hogan at 7:53.

Rating: D+. Not the best match here, but neither of these two are exactly known as a ring general. They were both trying but ultimately you’re only going to be able to get so much out of them. Hogan is someone who has potential due to her amazing charisma and it’s clear that AEW sees a lot in Ford. Keeping it short was the right call here, and it’s not like this dragged down the show.

Post match here is Ruby Soho to jump Ford in revenge from last night. The beating is on but the Bunny comes out to….do nothing actually.

Miro isn’t sure what happened that caused him to lose the TNT Title. He thinks his God has turned on him because he was given a body of granite and a neck of sand. Miro will either be a champion or an enemy and it is time to destroy. He hasn’t seen his wife since losing the title and he will not again until he is God’s favorite champion again.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat. Tony Schiavone recaps Page’s feud with Kenny Omega, leaving Page to talk about how the Elite left their home in Ring of Honor in 2019. Their world changed and then he lost his big matches on the way. It felt like he started to lose a bit more, including his confidence. The one thing that it felt like he never lost was the fans chanting COWBOY S***, which means we have to pause for a chant.

That meant taking his shot on day one and learning to let the past live in the past and accept new friends in his life. It meant taking his chance to stick his neck out like his friends did so many times. It means having the guts to go back home for the birth of his son, but last week he finally picked up the phone and took a shot.

Page feels the people still believe in him though, and for the first time in his life, he does too. The promise he can make is that he will give us everything at Full Gear, including COWBOY S***! This was a heck of a promo and it was nice to have Page finally say these things instead of having to figure out the big story for ourselves. It wasn’t hard to figure out, but it’s nice to hear it from the source for a change.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes III and tournament matches.

Bryan Danielson vs. Bobby Fish

Feeling out process to start with Fish’s headlock not working, as Danielson kicks him into the corner. Back up and Fish strikes away, only to get knocked outside. Fish gets posted but is fine enough to cut off the running knee from the apron as we take a break. Back with Fish working on the knee and hitting a sliding lariat for two more.

The half crab goes on but Danielson is back up with a suplex to send Fish flying. Danielson evens things up by wrapping the knee around the post but Fish is back in with a backdrop driver. Fish takes him up top for a super Falcon Arrow and starts tying up the knee. They both get kneebars until Danielson kicks him in the head for the break. A heel hook makes Fish tap at 12:28.

Rating: B. Fish got in a lot here, which is the kind of thing that makes AEW work so well. They know how to make someone look good in defeat, albeit in a match they had no business winning. There is nothing wrong with Fish losing to a much bigger star and Danielson gets a win over someone with some name value. AEW has figured out that formula and that is a great thing to see.

With less than a minute to go in the show, here is the bracket for the #1 contenders tournament:

10
Jon Moxley

Orange Cassidy
Powerhouse Hobbs

Dustin Rhodes
Bryan Danielson

Lance Archer
Eddie Kingston

That’s….interesting. I guess?

Overall Rating: B. Not so great brackets aside, this was another good show from AEW, who don’t seem to know how to had a bad one these days. They throw in at least two exciting matches to keep you hooked and the rest is all gravy. The title change was a nice surprise too, though I’m not completely sure why the frog suits were included. Anyway, another good night here, as AEW is on fire (again).

Results
Malakai Black b. Dante Martin – Black Mass
Las Super Ranas b. Lucha Bros – Brainbuster to Fenix
Jon Moxley b. Wheeler Yuta – Paradigm Shift
Superkliq b. Dark Order – Boom to Reynolds
Penelope Ford b. Kiera Hogan – Muta Lock
Bryan Danielson b. Bobby Fish – Heel hook

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: September 29, 2021
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

AEW has been on a roll as of late and that means we could be in for something special tonight. I’m not sure what we are going to be seeing here, but it certainly could be a fun night. If nothing else, we’re in Brodie Lee’s hometown and that means we are probably going to be in for some tributes. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We open with some BRODIE chants, which are just awesome.

Here’s CM Punk, who will be on commentary tonight but can’t dive into the crowd because of the athletic commission.

Adam Cole vs. Jungle Boy

Feeling out process to start until Boy hits a heck of a chop into a springboard armdrag. A dropkick puts Cole on the floor and let’s take a breather for a bit. Jungle follows him out and Cole kicks him down, setting up a neckbreaker back inside. The chinlock holds Boy in place for a bit but he is right back up with a shot to the face. Jungle hits a brainbuster into a belly to belly into the corner, followed by the rolling German suplexes for two.

Cole rolls his way out of a torture rack for two and hits the brainbuster onto the knee for two of his own. Jungle snaps off a poisonrana into a running forearm to the back of the head, setting up kind of an Angle Slam into a Death Valley Driver for two. Back up and Cole superkicks him out to the floor, leaving Jungle down for a good bit. The Panama Sunrise on the floor is broken up but Jungle’s suicide dive is cut off by an enziguri.

Cole gets back on the apron so Jungle snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor. Back in and Cole hits another enziguri, setting up the Panama Sunrise…..for two. I’m not sure if someone should be kicking out of that so soon but Cole’s stunned face made it a little better. Jungle pulls him into the Snare Trap but Cole slips out and kicks him outside. Back in and a low blow cuts Jungle down, leaving Cole to hit the Boom for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a back and forth match, which is something that you can always go for around here. It was a lot of dives and flips and kicks to the face, but at least they were putting on an entertaining match. Jungle losing again isn’t my favorite thing, but at least it was to someone like Cole, who is being pushed as a major star.

Post break here is the Elite and after a break, Karl Anderson talks about how great the Elite is, including introducing most of the team. Anderson: “And of course Nak and Cutler.” Cole talks about how he beat Jungle Boy on his own, because Bay Bay is elite and undefeated. The fans chant for Punk, who has not had the nicest things to say about the Elite so far.

Kenny Omega talks about how his social media has been blowing up over his match with Bryan Danielson last week. Last week might have been the greatest match in AEW history and he isn’t surprised. Danielson cashed in on his promise to kick Omega’s head in but he couldn’t make it work when it counted. Since Danielson has no record though, he isn’t getting a rematch and he’ll never see Omega face to face again.

Cue Danielson to refer to the champ as Kenny “NO BALLS” Omega. Punk: “Well that’s a t-shirt.” Danielson issues the challenge to face any member of the Elite on Rampage but gets no takers. Instead, Omega wants to fight right now but Danielson calls out the reinforcements from the back and gets Frankie Kazarian, Christian Cage and Jurassic Express. The Elite bails from the fight of course.

Andrade interrupts the Lucha Bros and says they haven’t defended their AAA Tag Team Titles in a long time. He has some friends if they’re up for a defense, and the Bros seem down.

Matt Sydal/Dante Martin vs. Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson

Cody headlocks Sydal to start and gets nowhere with it. Instead it’s off to Sydal to headlock takeover Johnson, setting up a kick to the back. It’s back to Martin to stare Johnson face to face and we take a break. Back with Cody getting the hot tag to clean house as commentary talks about how the fans aren’t thrilled with Cody these days. Everything breaks down as Johnson and Sydal fight outside.

Martin missile dropkicks Cody for two and a double jump moonsault is good for the same. Johnson tags himself back in and gets kicked in the face by Sydal. That doesn’t seem to matter as Johnson kicks Sydal in the face, only to get rolled up by Martin for two more. Another superkick rocks Martin though and a fisherman’s buster onto the knee finishes for Johnson at 7:45.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and that was a good thing. Sometimes you don’t need a match to keep going forever and that was the case here. Good little match, with Johnson getting to shine a bit and the fans’ displeasure with Cody being highlighted for a change. That’s interesting, and it’s a smart path to take, even if it takes some time.

Post match Cody calls out Malakai Black but Arn Anderson tells him to shut up. Anderson talks about how Black has destroyed everything they love and Cody is missing the point. Black is an assassin who will take out everyone to win a match. Cody is the kind of person who would give up his car if someone tried to steal it but Anderson would shoot them in the head. He isn’t going to coach a loser, so Johnson can leave with him.

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin vs. Bear Country/Anthony Greene

Sting is here with Darby and company and it’s a brawl to start, with Allin and Greene being left alone in the ring. That’s fine with Allin, who gets two off of la majistral. An armdrag sends Greene down and we get a Ricky Steamboat reference. We settle down to Bear Country beating up Moxley but Kingston breaks up the double splash. The spinning backfist sets up a German suplex and the brawl heads to the floor. That leaves Greene alone with Moxley and Kingston, who shrug off a springboard spinning high crossbody attempt. The German suplex/lariat combination finishes Greene at 3:30.

Rating: C-. Mostly a squash here and that’s all it needed to be. Sometimes your best bet is to get people on there on screen and let them do their thing, which is exactly what they did here. It wasn’t a great match or anything, but it can be a good idea to let big stars feel like big stars. Nice job, even if it was hardly a classic.

Post match Sting lays Greene out for a bonus.

Video on Ruby Soho vs. Britt Baker, with Soho promising to take the title.

Dark Order/Orange Cassidy vs. Hardy Family Office

Negative 1 is here with the team because AEW likes making its fans emotional. This is a sixteen man tag to make things a bit complicated and the Dark Order is already fighting among themselves. Alan Angels loses his mask and it’s a suplex/top rope spear combination from Butcher and Blade for two. Private Party comes in to work on on Angels as we get a THANK YOU BRODIE chant.

Everything breaks down though and we take a break. Back with Jack Evans (Flippy McGillicutty according to Punk) coming in to pick up the pace until Evil Uno kicks him in the face. Alex Reynolds gets sent into Uno as the issues continue, so Cassidy comes in for the top rope thumbs up splash. Uno walks out on the match so some more of the Order goes to talk to him.

Evans flips over into a backslide for two on Cassidy as everything breaks down again. Uno keeps walking but cue Negative 1 and Amanda Huber (Brodie’s widow) with 1 throwing the papers and Amanda telling the team to get it together. The Order charges the ring and cleans house, with the parade of secondary finishers. A series of strikes sets up a German suplex and the Fatality is good for the pin at 7:51.

Rating: A. This was all about the emotions and they nailed that on every level. I wasn’t a big Lee fan but I was smiling throughout the entire thing, which is all it needed to be. Outstanding stuff here, with the Dark Order reunion bringing all the feelings. I loved this and they did exactly what they were trying to do.

Post match the Dark Order gets back together and it’s about as cool as you can get.

Lio Rush is All Elite. Rush? Not actually retiring? I’m as stunned as you are.

FTR and Tully Blanchard are ready to show that they’re the best again. Top guys out.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year to talk about how Chris Jericho got kneed in the face by UFC’s Jorge Mazvidal last week. The thing is, Jericho saved this promotion from itself and turned it into the hottest promotion anyone has seen in years. Then Jericho came after them and got beaten down like never before, leaving his earning potential the same as everyone here: zero. Now they have cut the head off of AEW and Tony Khan-man will have more trouble selling snake oil.

Scorpio Sky talks about how he was a star around here at the beginning and then he grabbed the giant Sonic ring, but it wasn’t good enough. No one around here was paying attention, but Dan Lambert was watching. Lambert sees him as a main eventer, just like Ethan Page. That sends Page into a rant about how great he is at everything but he can’t get an action figure or a spot in the opening video. He has the best smile around here and now he rolls with champions, because the Men of the Year are the Top Team.

Hikaru Shida is ready to get her 50th win in AEW, but she has to beat Serena Deeb next week on Dynamite’s second anniversary show.

Penelope Ford/The Bunny vs. Tay Conti/Anna Jay

It’s a brawl to start with the villains being sent into the corner. Tay tries to jump to the apron but falls down and comes up holding her knee. Ford kicks Anna into a neck snap from Bunny before dropping a knee. We take a break and come back with Ford and Conti coming in off the double tag. A double suplex gets two on Ford but she Matrixes away from a clothesline and hits a Stunner on Jay. Ford’s fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two but she misses a moonsault. The TayKO knocks Bunny silly on the floor and the Dangerous Jay kick sets up the Queenslayer to finish Ford at 6:31.

Rating: C. This should be the end of the feud and that’s how it should have gone. Conti and Jay are a good team for the young and plucky faces and that’s what they did here. Ford and Bunny were a good obstacle for them to get by and it wound up being a completely watchable match as well.

Post match Negative 1 comes in to celebrate. Punk: “He’s a smart kid.”

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Nyla Rose vs. Jade Cargill on Rampage.

Here is MJF for a chat. MJF doesn’t think much of upstate New York and wants to talk about the four pillars of AEW. You have Jungle Boy (“Beat him.”), Sammy Guevara (“Beat him.), Darby Allin (“…..yeah whatever.”) and the strongest pillar of them all, which is the man who was in the first match at All In, Maxwell Jacob Friedman himself. He is the past, present and future of AEW and that means he should be the AEW World Champion. Tony: “Earn that in the ring then dude.” MJF teases talking to Bruce Prichard if he doesn’t get a title shot, but here is Allin to interrupt.

MJF: “As much as I love the whole school shooter mime on a skateboard routine”, he’s not happy with the interruption. There is nothing wrong with being a #2 guy, like Mark Messier, Scottie Pippen, or Sting. MJF says he’s the #1 guy, so Allin asks if MJF is done talking and tells him to go if he isn’t happy. See, Allin is AEW for life until death, but he doesn’t understand how MJF can be #1 when Allin is the only one of the two of them to win a title.

MJF appreciates the Batman voice and brings up Allin being straightedge. We hear about Allin getting in a car with his drunk uncle as a kid and they got in an accident. The uncle died, and it’s a travesty because the wrong man died. Allin says MJF isn’t breaking him mentally, which sends MJF leaving. MJF was on fire here, even if he was going really far with some of these things.

Video on Sammy Guevara vs. Miro, which is fallout from Miro beating Fuego del Sol up to take his car. Guevara will buy him a new car if he wins.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara is challenging and they circle each other to start. A knee strike misses for Guevara and Miro takes him down for the stomping. Miro runs him over for two but Guevara is back up with a running crossbody to knock both of them outside. Guevara posts him hard and avoids a charge into the steps but Miro is fine enough to snap off a belly to belly back inside.

We take a break and come back with Guevara jawbreaking his way to freedom from a chinlock but Miro kicks him down again. That earns Miro a Spanish Fly and they’re both down for a bit. There’s a low superkick to rock Miro and a running knee does the same. Miro’s missed charge sends him flying out to the floor so Guevara hits a HUGE flip dive to the floor. Back in and Guevara charges into a swinging release slam for two but Guevara blocks a superplex attempt.

A middle rope cutter can’t keep Miro down and Guevara can’t load up the GTS. The jumping superkick gives Miro two so Guevara rolls outside. That leaves Miro to pull off a turnbuckle pad, which brings out Fuego for a save. Guevara is back in with a jumping knee to send Miro into the exposed buckle. There’s a tornado DDT into the GTH to drop Miro. The 630 gives Guevara the pin and the title at 13:42.

Rating: B. The best way I can describe this match is that it was a ride. I wanted to see if Guevara could pull off the impossible here and win the title and you could feel the release of emotion when he actually pulled it off. It didn’t feel like they rushed the title change either, and it would be fine if Miro gets the title back. If nothing else, they gave Guevara his big win and that’s what matters most here.

A bunch of wrestlers come out to celebrate with Guevara to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I had a great time with this show as they were focusing on the emotions. This was about having a good time in front of a crowd that wanted to be entertained. Throw in some things being announced for the anniversary show and the big title change at the end and this was a heck of a way to spend two hours. Awesome show and things might be getting better soon.

Results
Adam Cole b. Jungle Boy – Boom
Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson b. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal – Fisherman’s buster onto the knee
Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin b. Bear Country/Anthony Greene – German suplex/clothesline combination to Greene
Dark Order/Orange Cassidy b. Hardy Family Office – Fatality to Johi
Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. The Bunny/Penelope Ford – Queenslayer to Ford
Sammy Guevara b. Miro – 630

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

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

AND

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

Rampage
Date: September 24, 2021
Location: Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

It’s the second half of AEW’s New York Adventures and that’s not a bad thing. This week’s Dynamite was huge and this is the biggest Rampage to date, clocking in at two hours instead of the usual one. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but odds are it’s going to be fun. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Hook is here with Hobbs. Punk, in trunks for a change, goes after Hobbs to start but a single shot sends him down on the ropes. Hobbs plants him down and we hit the neck crank to keep Punk in trouble. Punk’s comeback includes a knee to the ribs but Hobbs runs him over again and seems to be toying with him so far. A running crotch attack on the ropes hits Punk and we take an early break.

Back with Punk fighting out of a bearhug and striking away, including a running shot to the face to put Hobbs down. The top rope elbow gets two (and has Team Taz freaking out on commentary) but the GTS is countered. Hobbs plants him with a spinebuster for two more and then drops Punk again to cut off a comeback.

The Oakland Stampede gives Hobbs two more but Punk catches him top top. A super hurricanrana gives Punk two off the big crash. Punk’s cross armbreaker is countered into a powerbomb and it’s time to slug it out. Hook gets up for a distraction but Punk sends Hobbs into him, setting up the GTS for the pin at 13:35.

Rating: C+. Hobbs got a lot in this and that’s the reason you put him in there with someone like Punk. They had a good fight here and Punk survived, likely setting up the big match with Ricky Starks down the line. The Team Taz feud gives Punk a chance to shake off some rust and that’s the right idea, without burning through some big matches.

Thunder Rosa isn’t scared of Jade Cargill or Nyla Rose and fights on her own.

Superkliq vs. Christian Cage/Jurassic Express

Don Callis is on commentary and a lot of the Elite is here too. Christian takes Matt down to start as Callis takes shots at the “Stanford Supermax.” Matt comes in and gets taken down as well with Jungle Boy adding the running kick to the face. Cole runs away from Jungle but the Bucks take over on Jungle’s arm. Everything breaks down and the chase is on outside, with Jungle charging into a double superkick. Jungle is brought back inside for a double dropkick and we take a break.

Back with Jungle not being able to get away for the hot tag until he sends the Bucks into each other. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Luchasaurus to clean house, including the big Tail Whip. Matt head fakes Jungle to plant him with a DDT but More Bang For Your Buck is broken up. The Snare Trap has Matt in trouble until a save is made.

A running clothesline drops Matt and everything breaks down again. The brawl heads to the ramp, where Matt hits Christian low and throws him off the stage. That leaves Cole to hit a Shining Wizard on Luchasaurus, followed by the Panama Sunrise. The Bucks are back in for the BTE Trigger into the Boom (Last Shot) for the pin at 14:38.

Rating: B-. This was the all action match that it should have been and Cole getting the pin is the right way to go. As little as I need to see a subset in the Elite, Cole getting pushed is the right idea for now. He has the spark at the moment and it makes sense to go with him. It’s not like the Bucks need to win anything right now anyway.

Men of the Year vs. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager

Dan Lambert is here with the Men of the Year. Jericho and Sky start things off but it’s quickly off to Hager to pummel Page in the corner. Like a good veteran, Jericho gets in some choking in the corner, allowing Hager to get one off a belly to belly. Jericho comes back in but gets taken into the wrong corner as we go to a break.

Back with Hager in trouble for a change but he manages a running shot to the face to get a breather. The hot tag brings in Jericho to face Sky, plus a triangle dropkick to Page. The top rope ax handle drops Sky and the Lionsault is good for two. Everything breaks down and it’s an ankle lock to Page and the Walls to Sky as we take a break…and come back a second later to officially start the second hour. Both holds are broken and Jericho slingshot dives onto Page. Lambert trips Hager though and Sky grabs a small package for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly fine match as Lambert and company get to run their mouths some more. That’s why you have someone like him around and it should work out when someone finally shuts him up. The Men of the Year aren’t the most thrilling team, but at least they’re getting to do something else.

Post match Jericho and Hager go after Lambert but a bunch of MMA guys come out to surround the ring. The big beatdown is on, including Paige VanZandt getting in some shots to Jericho’s ribs. A running knee leaves Jericho laying.

Lucha Bros/Santana/Ortiz vs. Hardy Family Office

Butcher and the Blade/Private Party for the Office here as this company continues to love itself some tag matches. The good guys start fast and send the Office outside for the huge quadruple dive (that was awesome). Back in and it’s another big brawl with the Office taking over for a change. Matt Hardy loads up some scissors but here is Orange Cassidy to cut things off.

Cassidy takes out Jack Evans and we take a break. Back with Fenix handing it off to Ortiz to clean house. Penta hits a torture rack backbreaker onto Quen and kicks Butcher in the leg for a bonus. Back in and Fenix kicks Butcher in the face but Blade kicks him in the face to even things up. Quen misses his shooting star though and Penta hits the Sling Blade. The spike Fear Factor hits Quen and the Street Sweeper is enough for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. What we got was fun and there were all kinds of high spots, with that four way dive looking great. You don’t watch a match like this to have people stand out and there is nothing wrong with that. Santana and Ortiz getting the hometown win is a good thing, though the show is running very heavy on tags so far.

Matt Hardy isn’t happy with Orange Cassidy and he’s going to watch Penelope Ford beat Anna Jay to make himself feel better. As for Cassidy though, he’s issuing the challenge for a hair vs. hair match. If Cassidy has the guts, he can put his hair on the line against….Jack Evans. Matt to Evans: “YOU BETTER WIN!”

Sammy Guevara and Fuego del Sol come out for Sammy’s cue card deal but Miro jumps both of them and the beatdown is on. Fuego is tossed HARD off the stage and Game Over leaves Sammy down.

Andrade doesn’t like someone interfering in his matches like Chavo Guerrero did. Now he wants to beat Pac with no interference.

Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford

Jay jumps her on the ramp to start fast and the low bridges Ford outside. Back in and a hook kick drops Ford and sets up a choke but here is the Bunny for a distraction. Ford drapes her over the top and kicks her out to the ramp as the beating begins. We take a break and come back with a slugout but the Bunny throws in the brass knuckles to knock Jay out for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C-. This was a quick one and it didn’t get to showcase much. Jay continues to feel like a star but this is mainly going to be about Tay Conti at the end of the day. They’re a good team together and have done rather well so far. I could see either of them getting a nice push out of this feud, once they get to the big blowoff tag match.

Post match the beatdown is on so here is Tay Conti for the save, only to get dropped with the knuckles as well. The Hardy Family Office comes out to stand tall but here are Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander, with the Dark Order joining them, giving us about fifteen people in one segment. The Dark Order clears the ring but Stu Grayson and Evil Uno walk away.

We get the face to face showdown between Lance Archer/Minoru Suzuki and Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston. They want to fight so Mark Henry hits the catchphrase to get us out in a hurry.

Lance Archer/Minoru Suzuki vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Lights out, meaning anything goes. Suzuki and Archer jump them to start with Suzuki and Moxley having their chair duel on the ramp. With that broken up, Suzuki and Kingston go inside to chop it out, with Suzuki laughing a lot. Kingston sweeps the leg and grabs a table. That goes badly as Suzuki kicks Kingston through the table in the corner but Moxley is back in to forearm Archer.

That’s broken up and Archer chokeslams Moxley off the apron onto a pile of people outside. It doesn’t last long as Moxley and Suzuki slug it out inside until Archer puts a belt around Moxley’s throat for a hanging. We take a break and come back with Moxley’s hands duct taped behind his back so Archer can get in another whip with the belt. Suzuki grabs a half crab but legs it go for no apparent reason. Archer holds Moxley in place so Suzuki can hit/bite him.

Moxley avoids a charge in the corner though and Kingston, with his left arm hanging, comes in to clean house. A poke to the eye sets up some machine gun chops to stagger Archer in the corner. That’s broken up and some chairs are set back to back. Archer loads up the Blackout but here is Homicide of all people to clean house with a chair. Some spinning backfists and the Paradigm Shift from a freed Moxley put Archer down, but Kingston puts him in a trashcan instead of covering. A bunch of kendo stick shots to the trashcan knock Archer silly for the pin at 15:10.

Rating: C. I couldn’t get into this one as it felt like a long segment at times, especially with the Moxley beating going on for the better part of ever. It also doesn’t exactly make Moxley and Kingston look that great to need someone to come in and save them, but that was more for the live crowd than anything else. Pretty good brawl, but it wasn’t exactly anything that kept my interest.

The long celebration ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There were a crazy amount of people on this show and a lot of tag matches, but it felt like a special show instead of another run of the mill edition. Nothing was bad and the big Punk match felt like it mattered. As long as this is a one off two hour edition, they’re going to be fine, as this was basically Dynamite II for the week. It absolutely does not need to be this long every week, but for a one time special, it worked well enough.

Results
CM Punk b. Powerhouse Hobbs – GTS
Superkliq b. Christian Cage/Jurassic Express – Boom to Luchasaurus
Men of the Year b. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager – Small package to Hager
Santana/Ortiz/Lucha Bros b. Hardy Family Office – Street Sweeper to Marq Quen
Penelope Ford b. Anna Jay – Brass knuckles
Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston b. Minoru Suzuki/Lance Archer – Kendo stick to Archer

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

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Rampage
Date: September 10, 2021
Location: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Mark Henry, Taz, Tony Schiavone

The biggest week in AEW history wraps up here with a pay per view quality match. This week’s feature match will see Pac vs. Andrade El Idolo in a match that was supposed to take place at All Out. Instead it is happening here, along with hometown boy Brian Pillman Jr. facing the rather rude Max Caster. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the lower section looking straight at the entrance.

Opening sequence.

Pac vs. Andrade El Idolo

Chavo Guerrero is here with Idolo. They stare each other down to start before going at it in a hurry. Andrade catches him with a basement dropkick and we hit the Tranquilo pose. Some kicks in the ribs just wake Pac up and he hurricanranas Andrade outside for the big running flip dive. Pac whips him hard into the barricade and we hit the chinlock back inside. Andrade snaps off a running boot to the face and a hanging DDT onto the apron sends Pac hard to the floor.

That means Andrade can hit his own big dive but it’s only good for one back inside. Pac gets up top but gets caught on the ropes, setting up the Alberto double stomp (which looked horribly violent) to put them both down on the floor as we take a break. Back with Andrade hitting a top rope split legged moonsault for two. With that not working, Pac is taken to the top but manages a super hurricanrana to bring Andrade right back down.

The running boot in the face rocks Andrade again to put him on the apron. Pac can’t hit a running sunset bomb to the floor so it’s a superkick to stagger Andrade instead. A huge moonsault to the floor has Andrade down again, though Pac might have hit his head on the barricade. Back in and a 450 connects for Pac but the Black Arrow is broken up. A running Pele kick rocks Pac again but he drives Andrade into the corner to block the hammerlock DDT.

Andrade charges into an overhead belly to belly into the corner but he catches Pac in the fireman’s carry. That’s countered into a crucifix bomb into the Brutalizer, which draws Andrade’s translator onto the apron with a stun gun to distract Pac. The Lucha Bros run out to take care of him but Chavo gets in a cheap shot to knock Pac silly. Andrade steals the pin at 15:42.

Rating: B. Sometimes you need to just let people beat each other up really well for awhile. That’s what we got here, as these two had a physical, hard hitting match. It was entertaining and I wanted to see it go to a better ending, but Pac looked like his usual self and Andrade felt like a star for the first time around here. Good stuff and I would have loved to see what they could have done on pay per view.

Post match Chavo and Andrade go to leave but Andrade turns on Chavo and slams his head into the ramp. With Andrade gone, the Lucha Bros superkick Chavo so Pac can grab the Brutalizer. Referees come down and finally break it up so Death Triangle can pose. Andrade might need a new manager now. Say one who managed him in Mexico recently?

Here are Darby Allin and Sting to answer Tully Blanchard’s challenge from Dynamite. Allin calls Shawn Spears a generic piece of s*** who has ridden Blanchard’s coattails. After a loud….whatever you call Sting’s scream, Sting calls out Blanchard for riding Ric Flair and Arn Anderson’s coattails for years. We can do it right now, so here is Tully to talk about the numbers game. Sting is distracted and doesn’t notice Spears running in to plant Allin with the C4 on the floor. No matter how old he is, Sting will never escape being an imbecile.

Adam Cole talks about what it means to be in the Elite because they are the best. Fans respect Bryan Danielson and Christian Cage because their body of work is so special. Cole isn’t even in his prime yet and he would mop the floor with Bryan Danielson.

Bryan Danielson says that the Elite feels and looks insecure and he is going after one specific member of the team. He would love to face Kenny Omega in his first match but if he isn’t stepping up, someone else will. Everyone is hungry around here so let’s go.

Britt Baker/Rebel/Jamie Hayter vs. Riho/Kris Statlander/Ruby Soho

Riho takes Baker down to start so it’s time to rethink things. Statlander comes in to muscle Baker over with a powerslam and picks Riho up to kick Rebel in the chest for a funny spot. Tony: “What do you call that Excalibur?” Taz: “Well he’s not here.” Hayter comes in but Rebel hits a cheap shot from the apron as we take a break.

Back with Riho fighting out of a chinlock so Hayter goes over to knock Statlander off the apron. She doesn’t knock Soho down though, meaning Riho can kick Hayter away and make the tag. A running kick to the face rocks Hayter and an STO gets two. Everything breaks down and Statlander rolls Rebel up until Baker breaks it up for the save. Statlander is back up with a twisting Falcon Arrow to Baker, with Riho getting on Statlander’s shoulders. Riho covers Baker up so Riho double stomps her instead. Soho comes back in for the former Riott Kick and the pin on Rebel at 9:27.

Rating: C. This was a way to get Soho some more air time and there is nothing wrong with that. AEW knows they have something with her and putting her in a six woman tag is a good way to have her out there without hurting anyone. Rebel is there to take losses for Baker so this went as well as it could have. Maybe not an all time classic, but it did what it was designed to do.

We get the face to face interview between Max Caster and Brian Pillman Jr. Caster is sick of Pillman having so many fake friends but they won’t be here tonight. Anthony Bowens says Caster is going to beat up Pillman’s Saved By The Bell reunion looking face. Pillman is going to prove if Caster can back up his talk because they’re in Cincinnati and Pillman is coming at him 100mph. Pillman hasn’t inherited his dad’s speaking abilities.

Max Caster vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Caster’s rap insults Cincinnati, but Bowens grabs the mic before he can say what a bowl of Skyline Chili looks like. Bowens: “YOU’RE ON THIN ICE!” Pillman takes him down and rains down right hands to start. Caster is sent outside for the dropkick through the ropes but Bowens breaks up Air Pillman back inside. That’s enough for Caster to get in some right hands in the corner and a knee drop gets two.

Caster sends him outside so Bowens can get in some stomping, followed by Caster’s dropkick to the back for two. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Pillman makes the comeback and pounds away with the right hands in the corner. Bowens’ interference lets Caster score with a right hand on top but Pillman shoves him away. A dive takes Bowens out so Caster can get in a shot of his own. The Mic Drop misses though and Air Pillman finishes Caster at 6:41.

Rating: C. This was 100% for the live audience and there is nothing wrong with that. Pillman was over huge in his hometown and it was great to see him get a win over someone who isn’t going to be hurt by the loss. That’s how something like this should go and AEW made it work out very well. Not a great match, but a nice moment.

Post match Bowens comes in to jump Pillman and the double team is on. Cue fellow Cincinnati native Jon Moxley for the save and thoroughly please the live crowd to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Now this is what I wanted to see from Rampage. They had a featured match and then some more showcase matches. The opener was excellent and then the other two matches did their jobs well enough. What mattered here was allowing some people to get some extra time without the breakneck pace of Dynamite and it was rather fun for a change.

Results
Andrade b. Pac – Pin after Chavo Guerrero interfered
Ruby Soho/Riho/Kris Statlander b. Britt Baker/Rebel/Jamie Hayter – Riott Kick to Rebel
Brian Pillman Jr. b. Max Caster – Air Pillman

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

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Summerslam 2020
Date: August 23, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe

It’s finally time to try this out and yes it’s another Thunder Dome show, which may or may not mean anything to you if you’re reading this in 2273. Basically there are no fans live in the arena, but there are pictures of several of them scared to move because of all of the conditions WWE has included to allow them to be shown on screen. Other than that, we have two World Title matches and something we’ll never see coming, which kind of negates the idea of a surprise. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: US Title: MVP vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is defending and the rest of the Hurt Business is banned from ringside. A quick sunset flip gives Crews two and MVP wants a breather on the floor. Back in and MVP uses a distracted referee to get in a cheap shot but Crews is right back with a dropkick. MVP is ready for a charge in the corner though and sends Crews over the top and face first onto the steps for a nasty crash.

Back in and MVP misses a big running boot in the corner but he’s fine enough to crotch Crews on top. A superplex brings Crews back down with MVP slipping a bit on the fall before getting two. Crews is fine enough to clothesline MVP to the floor and that means a big running flip dive, which seems to hurt Crews’ back again. Back in and Crews wins a slugout before ripping off MVP’s nasal strip. That sets MVP off enough that he tries the Playmaker but Crews reverses into the Toss Powerbomb to retain at 6:35.

Rating: C. This could have been on any given Raw and that isn’t the most surprising thing. The bigger story here would seem to be Crews vs. Bobby Lashley down the line and letting Crews get the Summerslam win on the way there is a nice boost for him. Other than that, there isn’t much to see here, but it was just a Kickoff Show match.

Post match Lashley and Shelton Benjamin run out for the beatdown but Crews slips away.

The opening video presents Summerslam as a huge production, including the lights, camera action line. Each match gets a quick look as well.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Bayley

Bayley is defending and has Sasha Banks in her corner. Asuka forearms Bayley in the shoulder to start and hits a running dropkick. The sliding dropkick misses but Asuka can get a seated Octopus hold. Thankfully this cuts off Cole’s explanation that the big difference between their careers is Asuka has won the Women’s Royal Rumble. Not that Asuka has never lost a singles match to Bayley, including beating her twice in the last month and a half, but their Women’s Royal Rumble record.

The hip attack sends Bayley to the floor and Asuka hits a jumping DDT from the steps to knock Bayley silly again. Back in and Bayley grabs a quick suplex for a breather and the stomping is on in the ropes. The Bayley to Belly gets two more so Asuka kicks Bayley in the head for the double knockdown. Another hip attack rocks Bayley and there’s the release German suplex to send Bayley flying. They head to the apron with Bayley dropping Asuka knees first, much to Banks’ delight.

Back in and Bayley gets two off a chop block, followed by something like an Indian Deathlock. That’s broken up so Bayley grabs another leglock with Asuka going to the ropes this time. Bayley goes up for the top rope elbow but Asuka pulls her into the cross armbreaker instead. Asuka lets go to kick at the screaming Banks though and they head outside with Asuka hitting Bayley in the face. Back in and Bayley grabs a rollup for a close two but Asuka’s running hip attack hits Banks by mistake. That’s enough for Bayley to small package Asuka to retain at 11:21.

Rating: B-. It was good for Bayley to win, even if it has no bearing on her Royal Rumble history. Bayley retaining again is interesting, though that would give you more of a reason to believe that Asuka is taking the other title later. Either way, they had a solid match here as they tend to do, as Asuka can have good matches with almost anyone. It was a good effort here and they even helped set up the other title match later.

Post match Bayley and Banks lay out Asuka again.

Dominik Mysterio asks Rey Mysterio to let him do this himself against Seth Rollins and not get involved. Rey agrees and they hug.

Recap of Retribution’s carnage.

Kevin Owens comes out for commentary, complete with a red tie.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Angel Garza/Andrade vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending and Zelina Vega is here with the challengers. Ford flips over Andrade to start and hits a jumping clothesline. A jumping hurricanrana off the top freaks Vega out and Andrade is sent outside. Dawkins comes in for a double flapjack to Garza but Ford’s running flip dive to the floor is countered into a double powerbomb. Back in and Ford gets sent into the corner, allowing Garza to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS!

Andrade armbars Ford over the ropes, setting up the Alberto double stomp for two more. Ford avoids a charge and brings in Dawkins to clean house, including a spear to Andrade. It’s back to Ford, who is grazed by the basement dropkick to the head for two. Zelina gets on the apron but is knocked down in a hurry, leaving Ford to escape the Wing Clipper. The Cash Out into the (spinning) frog splash pins Garza to retain the titles at 7:49.

Rating: C. Another Raw level match here, though maybe a little bit better than that. I doubt this is over between the teams, because it’s not like there is anyone else for the Profits to defend against at the moment. The Owens inclusion was a little odd but he has enough of a story history with Vega and company to make it work.

Post match Owens congratulates the champs and announces the return of the KO Show tomorrow night, with Aleister Black as his guest.

Bayley and Sasha Banks don’t like Kayla Braxton’s questions. Banks knows she can beat Asuka, and Bayley knows it too. Tonight Asuka is tapping out and then next week they’re retaining the Tag Team Titles.

We recap Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville. They used to be best friends and then Sonya got sick of Mandy getting all of the attention and turned on her. Then Sonya cut her hair and challenged her to a hair vs. hair match, which was seemingly derailed by someone wanting to actually murder Sonya, so instead it’s No DQ, Loser Leaves WWE.

Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville

No DQ, Loser Leaves WWE. Mandy punches her in the face for an early knockdown and they head outside with Sonya being whipped into various things. A suplex onto the ramp drops Sonya again and Mandy dives off the announcers’ table with a clothesline. Mandy grabs a table but Sonya gets in a shot and takes it inside. Back in and Mandy misses a running knee, allowing Sonya to slap on a dragon sleeper.

Sonya grabs a triangle choke but Mandy is smart enough to stack her up for two to force the break. The trash talk is on but only causes Mandy to slap away. Now the knee gives Mandy two and they head back outside, with Mandy shouting about being the soccer mom. Mandy throws the chairs at Sonya’s head but walks into a pump kick instead. Back in and Mandy hits a pair of knees, followed by a third as she goes half Kenny Omega. Angel’s Wings plants Sonya and a fourth knee to the face finishes her off at 10:00.

Rating: D+. Yeah believe it or not, I’m not exactly getting behind the idea of a blonde bombshell who got all of the attention being called out for getting all of the attention. Sonya stole the show in the entire feud and while things got turned upside down this week (completely fair enough), I was really wanting to see how far Sonya can go after everything she has been doing lately. Or to see Mandy bald for some reason. The No DQ stuff changed almost nothing here.

Post match Sonya is devastated as Otis comes out to celebrate. He does the Caterpillar and Mandy fails completely in her attempt.

We recap Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins, which is fallout from Rollins going after Rey Mysterio, including taking his eye out twice. Dominik is here to fight for his dad’s honor in his debut. They’re making it a street fight to help Dominik out a little bit.

Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio

Street fight and Rollins, with Murphy, is in Rey Mysterio WCW inspired ring gear. Rey is here with Dominik to even things out. Dominik looks nervous to start and Rollins seems more interested in toying with him. Rollins even sticks his head out so Dominik can grab a headlock. Instead of punching Rollins in the face, Dominik grabs a headlock and is shoved down almost immediately. Some armdrags into a front flip have Rollins a little staggered so he slams Dominik down.

Rollins demands and receives a kendo stick from Murphy but Dominik is up with a dropkick. That means Rollins has to run from the kendo stick until Rollins catches him with some stomping back inside. The neck cranking goes on but Rollins lets go to yell at Rey. Dominik’s feeble comeback is cut off with the Sling Blade and Rollins puts the knee on his face. The chair is set up inside and Rollins tells “Papa” to come on. Dominik reverses the buckle bomb and grabs a tornado DDT for two.

The kendo stick shots have Rollins in trouble for a change but he crotches Dominik on top. That means the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two and Rollins wants his own stick. Dominik gets beaten down and Rollins calls for a table from Murphy. Rollins loads up said table in the corner but takes too long going up, allowing Dominik to hit a super Russian legsweep through the table for two. Dominik’s frog slash gets the same, plus a million versions of the same jokes about Eddie being his dad.

Dominik takes too long getting a chair and walks into a superkick, followed by a powerbomb. A bunch of kendo stick shots have Rey clutching his own chest and now we go old school with handcuffs. Before they go on, cue Rey’s wife to try to call this off but Rey stops her. Murphy comes in for the knee to Dominik and tries to take the eye out, finally drawing Rey in for the save.

Rollins and Murphy double team Rey and handcuff him to the middle rope. They both grab kendo sticks but turn to look at Rey’s wife instead. Since she’s on the stage and Rollins is at ringside (and since she can’t MOVE), Dominik makes the save. Something like a 619 sends Rollins into the barricade and there’s the regular version. Another frog splash hits knees though and Rollins makes Rey watch as he….just kind of holds Dominik. The Stomp finishes Dominik at 22:35.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure what to think here, other than it went WAY too long. The match itself was ok enough as Dominik has some skill and has clearly been trained well, but that doesn’t mean I want to watch this for twenty two minutes. It felt like a lot more of the same, with Rollins trying to be vicious but coming off as a heel wrestler instead of anything especially violent. This feud has gone on way too long and odds are we get a tag match next so they can keep trying to get the big emotional moment which hasn’t come yet. Dominik looked pretty good (all things considered), but not ready for Summerslam good.

Post match Rollins leaves the keys with Dominik and watches as he has to crawl over and free Mysterio.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Banks, with Bayley in her corner, is defending. Asuka has a bad knee coming in and Banks goes straight for it in a smart move. Back up and Asuka hits a weakened version of the sliding forearm to put Banks on the floor. That means a leglock on the floor to even up the knees a bit, followed by a kick to the back for two on the champ. Asuka heads to the apron and Banks grabs a spinning powerbomb to the floor, freaking Bayley out in the process.

That’s good for nine so Banks kicks her in the chest for two more. Asuka pulls her down into an ankle lock but Banks rolls out in a hurry, sending Asuka onto the middle rope. That’s fine with Asuka, who hits a middle rope DDT for the slightly delayed two. The missile dropkick gets the same and Banks falls into the corner. Asuka tries to pull her out but Banks grabs a Codebreaker for two in a cool counter.

Banks misses her own frog splash and the Asuka Lock goes on but Banks flips backwards for two. Asuka has to let go and Banks gets the Bank Statement. She tries to flip into the center and gets switched into the Asuka Lock, which is broken again. Bayley gets on the apron and gets elbowed down, allowing Banks to try a rollup ala Bayley earlier. This time Asuka reverses into the Asuka Lock for the title at 11:31.

Rating: B. Better than the first match and I can always go with someone who learns from an earlier match. This made good sense after earlier and they had to do something to get some of the gold away from Bayley and Banks. The action was pretty hard hitting here and Banks works with Asuka better than Bayley, so this was a nice improvement over the opener and the best match of the night so far.

Banks is distraught post match and Bayley doesn’t know what to do.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton for the Raw World Title. McIntyre won the title back at Wrestlemania and Orton has been on a roll in the last few months. This of course meant we needed Ric Flair to be involved because he has to be in on a big story a year. Anyway, McIntyre has worked his way to the top and doesn’t think much of Orton skating by on talent over the years. Orton on the other hand doesn’t think much of McIntyre at all and is taking the title because he can. Oh and he Punted Flair because it’s Flair.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew is defending and Orton bails to the floor at the bell. After the stalling ensues, Orton goes back in, gets punched once, and heads outside again. The chase is on this time and Orton stomps away as Drew gets back in. Orton misses a pair of RKO attempts but the second one sends Drew outside for a breather. The champ gets back in again and unloads on Orton in the corner. Orton can’t hit the RKO for a third time but he can avoid a charge to send McIntyre shoulder first into the post.

McIntyre falls outside and Orton drops him hard onto the announcers’ table for a big crash. He does it again to make McIntyre’s back even worse and there’s a suplex off the table. That’s good for one back inside and we hit the chinlock. Orton starts stomping away at the ankle and leg but McIntyre gets in something like a Stunner to Orton’s knee. As a fan holding up a Twitter sign is replaced, Drew puts on a Figure Four in the middle of the ring.

Orton is in trouble but gets smart by pulling the referee in and poking McIntyre’s eye for the break. They get back up and slug it out with Orton still not being able to hit the RKO. McIntyre snaps off an overhead belly to belly and then does it a second time. A top rope clothesline drops Orton and McIntyre is fired up. McIntyre loads up a top rope superplex but gets dropped down into the Tree of Woe.

That doesn’t slow McIntyre down that much as he pulls himself up for a choke throw to put Orton back down. The Futureshock gets two and Orton’s head is busted open. McIntyre goes up top but misses a shot to the head, allowing Orton to hit the powerslam for two. The hanging DDT is countered and McIntyre hits the Glasgow Kiss.

They fall out to the floor together and Orton hits the hanging DDT on the way back in. Orton loads up the Punt but walks into a powerbomb. The Claymore is loaded up but Orton ducks, only to miss the RKO again. McIntyre grabs a backslide for the pin to retain at 24:38. Phillips: “Orton never saw it coming!”

Rating: B+. They took their time here and I got into it pretty quickly. I like the idea of having McIntyre win without some kind of a screwy ending and if that’s the only thing we didn’t see coming, it might be quite the upgrade. It was a very nice back and forth match and Summerslam main event worthy, so well done on living up to the hype.

Tomorrow: Keith Lee is on Raw.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. the Fiend. They have been feuding for months now with the Fiend reemerging from the swamp at Extreme Rules. During their fight, Alexa Bliss appeared and tried to convince Strowman to join Bray Wyatt again. Strowman said no, but it became clear that Strowman still thought something of Bliss, and maybe vice versa. Strowman said she meant nothing to him though and he even gorilla press slammed her on Smackdown. Strowman has had it with Wyatt and the Fiend so it is time to fight.

Smackdown World Title: The Fiend vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman is defending and falls count anywhere. Fiend is knocked down to start but comes right back with a release Rock Bottom. They head outside with Fiend sending him into various things and hitting Strowman in the ribs with a toolbox. Fiend loads up the announcers’ table but gets chokeslammed onto it for his efforts. A spear sends Fiend through the barricade and a shot with the steps makes it worse.

Back in and the running powerslam gives Strowman two, meaning it’s time to fight up the ramp. They go into the gorilla position with Fiend hitting Sister Abigail for two. Fiend pokes the eyes and takes it back to the stage, where he slithers over to Strowman. The Mandible Claw goes on near ringside but Strowman shoves him into the LED ring skirt.

Another running powerslam gives Strowman two back inside and frustration is setting in. Strowman goes to the toolbox and pulls out a box cutter so he can cut up the mat. Some of the wood is exposed but Fiend gets up and hits another Rock Bottom. Two Sister Abigails onto the wood makes Fiend champion again at 12:01.

Rating: C+. This was feeling big to start and then wound up being Strowman losing because he was stupid and took forever to set up….something while the supernatural monster was left laying there. Fiend winning was the only possible outcome here as there was nothing left for Strowman to do as the failed champion. Either way, it was better than I was expecting, but it still wasn’t great.

Post match ROMAN REIGNS returns and hits a spear to take Fiend down and hammer away. Reigns spears Strowman down too and shouts that Strowman isn’t a monster without him. He unloads on Strowman with chair shots and spears Fiend down again before shouting that the title was always his. I know supervillains are supposed to have weaknesses, but football players who played college ball in Georgia and use spears is as specific as I’ve ever heard. Also, Reigns was WAY more aggressive than usual here and felt as close to a heel as he’s been since the original Shield run. He might not have turned, but it wasn’t far off.

Overall Rating: C. This show was looking outright dreadful until Banks vs. Asuka (though I could see people liking Rollins vs. Mysterio) and the rest of the show bailed the first half out as much as it could have. Reigns being back is a great thing as Smackdown (and Raw for that matter) needs all of the star power it can get. It’s not a great show, but it jumps up in quality in the second half and that saved it from being a nightmare.

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

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AND

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They’ve done it again.

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IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 12, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips

It’s the second night of the Draft and that means we get to see the final rosters set up, or at least the rosters that matter. Next week will likely be their final nights on Raw and then it’s off to the races the night after the Cell. That means we need to build towards the pay per view as well so let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Randy Orton to start things off. He’s ready to win the title in the Cell, but one thing you can’t deny is that 2020 has been the year of Drew McIntyre. Not only has McIntyre become WWE Champion, but he has been running through his competition. That’s all well and good, because last week he got taken out by the RKO, and that is going to be the case again in the Cell.

Cue McIntyre, who says he kicked Orton in the head at Clash Of Champions for everyone else, but next time, it’s going to be for himself. Drew wants to fight now though and the brawl is on at ringside. Orton gets dropped onto the announcers’ table and bails, with McIntyre saying he has three hours to do this tonight.

Here’s Stephanie McMahon for the first batch of draft picks.

To Raw: The Fiend Bray Wyatt

To Smackdown: Bayley

Raw: Randy Orton

Smackdown: Street Profits

Raw: Charlotte

The Fiend is interesting and the Profits moving over is your biggest “well duh” moment around after Friday.

Aleister Black vs. Kevin Owens

No DQ. They brawl on the floor to start before heading back inside so they can both miss finishers. It’s already back to the floor with Black kicking him in the head but Owens is back with the Cannonball against the barricade. it’s table time, with Owens going up onto the barricade but being slammed off onto the announcers’ table, which doesn’t break (but the top does go flying).

Back from a break with a chair in the ring and a legsweep sending Owens face first into the seat. Black throws a few more chairs inside but Owens uses a chair to block the running knee. A DDT onto the chair gives Owens two and he opens up four chairs next to each other. The superplex attempt is broken up so Black hits a top rope Meteora through the four chairs, say it with me, for two. The table is set up inside but the Black Mass is blocked. Owens hits the Stunner and then powerbombs Black through the table for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: C+. They did some big stuff here, but you really can feel how little impact the big spots have these days. A DDT onto a chair and a Meteora through four chairs are only getting near falls and they aren’t even getting that much drama. It’s certainly not a problem just with this show or match, but dang it takes away a lot of the impact.

More picks:

Raw: Braun Strowman

Smackdown: Daniel Bryan

Raw: Matt Riddle

Smackdown: Kevin Owens

Raw: Jeff Hardy

Smackdown is actually hanging in there for a change, and getting rid of Strowman is almost addition by subtraction.

It’s time for MizTV, with Miz and John Morrison talking about some of the biggest changes so far. Miz calls out Morrison for using Seth Rollins’ catchphrase, but it’s cool because he’s on the other show. This week’s guests are Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose, with Mandy not being happy with Miz causing her to be sent to Raw. Miz thinks Mandy is happy here and offers her his back for a thank you pat.

That isn’t happening, so Miz moves on to Mandy possibly turning on Dana like she did on Sonya Deville. They’re ready for tonight’s battle royal but here are Natalya and Lana to ask why those two blondes are being interviewed instead of the two of them. Lana talks about how awesome they are with their social media influencing so Mandy tells them to stick to Tik Tok dancing because they don’t win much. The brawl is on and we take a break.

Back with MizTV continuing and Miz talking about the debut of Miz and Mrs. He has a Plan B, so here’s his next guest: John Morrison. John talks about how everyone is wondering when the Dirt Sheet is going to debut…and here’s Lars Sullivan to wreck the show, with Miz bailing to leave Morrison to take the beating on his own. That includes a Freak Accident, with Miz looking terrified.

We look at the New Day being split up with Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods, the Smackdown Tag Team Champions, coming over to Raw.

Adam Pearce is with Kofi/Woods and the Street Profits, who trade titles to make things a lot easier to understand. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode come in and say they want a title shot tonight, which is granted.

More picks.

Raw: Retribution

Smackdown: Lars Sullivan

Raw: Keith Lee

Smackdown: King Corbin

Raw: Alexa Bliss

Not much here, though I’m surprised at Sullivan staying on Smackdown.

Here’s Seth Rollins for the big farewell. He wants to soak it all in one more time because Raw is losing a huge name. Above all else, Raw is losing a leader and no, there is no one to step up and take his spot. It won’t be Dominik or Rey Mysterio because they are going to Smackdown with him. Rollins knows this is a bad night for everyone so…..actually never mind as here’s Jeff Hardy to interrupt.

Seth laughs off the idea that Hardy is going to be a leader and thinks Jeff should be more focused on Lars Sullivan this week (this surprises commentary, even though the match was announced earlier). Rollins goes to leave but here’s AJ Styles to say he is the leader around here but Seth gets in his face. Hardy dives onto both of them and says get a referee out here for a triple threat tag match.

Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins

I guess Jeff is a fan of Andre the Giant’s promo stylings. AJ goes after Jeff’s leg to start and Rollins is sent outside. The fight is on but Rollins comes back in for the double teaming. AJ rolls Rollins up for two and Seth is sent outside again. The Whisper in the Wind is broken up and Hardy is sent outside, meaning Rollins can take him out with a dive. Rollins sends AJ outside as well and dives onto both of them as we take a break.

Back with Rollins holding Hardy in a chinlock with AJ out on the floor. Rollins gets up and shouts about how he runs this house but AJ gets back in. Hardy is back up with a Whisper in the Wind to both of them and everyone is down. A standing Hennig necksnap hits Rollins and Hardy adds a sitout gordbuster for two on Styles. Rollins breaks up another cradle on AJ, who is back up with a reverse DDT for two more on Hardy.

It’s Rollins coming back in with a Falcon Arrow for two on AJ but the Stomp is broken up with a tornado DDT from Hardy. The Swanton is broken up but AJ pulls Rollins into the Calf Crusher. That’s broken up with a rope break so Jeff hits the Swanton with AJ stealing the near fall. The Twist of Fate hits AJ but here’s Elias to BLAST Hardy with a guitar, giving AJ the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B. This was mostly action packed and they did a nice job with the surprise finish. It might have gone through one near fall too many, but there was more than enough action to make it work. I’m not huge on Elias, but it’s nice to have him back after such a long absence. Also, at least a Raw wrestler won here as you probably wouldn’t want a Smackdown guy winning over two people actually sticking around.

More picks.

Raw: Elias

Smackdown: Sami Zayn

Raw: Lacey Evans

Smackdown: Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

Raw: Sheamus

Lacey and Sheamus are some interesting picks, if nothing else for the sake of switching up that pretty nothing Smackdown women’s division.

Lana/Natalya vs. Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke

Dana tries to make up for last week with a better headscissors to Natalya (if that’s the bar she has to clear, even Dana might be able to make it work), who is back up with a belly to back drop. Lana comes in for a suplex to Dana and it’s time to stomp away in the corner. Natalya does the same and hands it back to Lana for a crossface armbar. Dana fights up and gets over to Mandy for the tag so house can be cleaned. Mandy knees Lana down and Dana climbs onto her shoulders for the Swanton and the pin at 4:12.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t exactly a great match and that wasn’t the point anyway. Mandy and Dana are here as the new pretty blonde team and they fill the roles well enough. It isn’t like Lana and Natalya mean anything as a team but at least Lana didn’t get crushed and drive through a table again.

Post match Mandy and Dana leave as Natalya says this isn’t working. She says she’s done and walks away from Lana, who cries. Ah, there’s your humiliation for the night.

The Hurt Business talks about how they’re here for Retribution, but Ricochet comes up to say he’s here for one last match on Raw. That’s why he wants one more match with the Hurt Business so let’s blow it off tonight. If Ricochet wins, the feud is over, but if Ricochet loses, he’ll join the team. Cedric Alexander would love to take him up on that.

Angel Garza vs. Andrade

Zelina Vega is on commentary. Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS to start and grabs a headlock on Andrade to start. Andrade isn’t having that and hammers away with elbows to the head, followed by a kick to the taped up thigh. A superkick gives Garza two but Andrade hiptosses him into the corner. Andrade hits the Judas Effect to send Garza outside but Garza sends him into the apron. Back in and the Wing Clipper finishes Andrade at 2:55.

Post match Vega checks on Andrade but here’s Alexa Bliss (who Vega had insulted during the match) to hang upside down in the corner. The Fiend pops up and it’s stereo Sister Abigails to plant Vega and Andrade. Bliss and Fiend stare at each other again.

More picks.

Raw: Nikki Cross

Smackdown: Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Raw: R-Truth

Smackdown: Apollo Crews

Raw: Dabba-Kato

Well thank goodness we got the Dabba-Kato sweepstakes out of the way.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode vs. New Day

Kingston and Woods are defending and still have the Big E. intro. Ziggler rolls woods up to start but Woods is back on top of him for two of his own. The grappling continues until it’s Roode coming in to headlock Kingston. That’s broken up and Kofi hits his jumping elbow to Roode’s face. Ziggler gets in the Fameasser though and we take a break.

Back with Kofi getting stomped against the ropes and Roode dropping the middle rope elbow for two. Kofi gets a boot up though and hands it off to Woods to snap off a running headscissors to Ziggler. The Honor Roll hits Roode and a running dropkick through the ropes takes Ziggler down again. Woods’ springboard tornado DDT gets two and he gorilla presses Ziggler, who blocks a drop into a kick to the face.

Ziggler hits a running DDT for two more and Roode’s spinebuster is good for the same. A kick to the head gets Woods out of trouble as Kofi takes Ziggler out on the floor. It’s back to Kofi who kicks Roode in the head as well. The top rope double stomp/backbreaker combination (now the Midnight Hour) finishes Roode at 11:56.

Rating: C+. The match was fine enough but sweet goodness I could go with never seeing Ziggler in an important match again. There wasn’t any drama in the match in the first place as the Street Profits are already going to Smackdown, and it’s Dolph Ziggler. I’m not sure why I’m supposed to be interested in him, but WWE isn’t going to stop putting him in big spots no matter what because we’re just that lucky.

Elias says that was the first single off his album Payback, as Hardy hit him with a car and took him out for months. Charly Caruso says that Hardy was never proven to be the driver so the real one might still be out there. Elias shrugs that off and says that he is releasing his magnum opus, a new album, on October 26. Next week though, it’s a concert.

We look back at Mustafa Ali being revealed as the leader of Retribution.

Ricochet vs. Cedric Alexander

If Ricochet loses, he’s in the Hurt Business, which is here at ringside.. Alexander kicks him in the face to start and we’re already into the chinlock. That’s broken up so Alexander hits him in the face a few times (MVP: “SLAP HIM FOR ME ONE TIME!”). Ricochet is back up with a half nelson suplex but he has to bail out of the 450.

A kick to the head staggers Alexander but he’s right back with the Michinoku Driver for two. The referee goes down and MVP throws Ricochet a chair, which he uses on….no one, instead going with the Eddie Guerrero move of throwing it to Alexander and grabbing his head. The referee gets up and that’s enough for the DQ at 5:27.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time here but I liked the ending, which was a nice touch around Eddie’s birthday. That’s something they haven’t used in a little while and it was a nice way to get them out of a bit of a corner. Good enough match here, but it’s time for Ricochet (and Apollo Crews) to move on so it works out best for everyone.

We look at Braun Strowman vs. Keith Lee last week. They meet again next week, and it’s SANCTIONED.

It’s time for the final picks.

Raw: Titus O’Neil

Smackdown: Carmella

Raw: Peyton Royce

Smackdown: Aleister Black

Raw: Akira Tozawa

That’s a good round for Smackdown as it’s nice to see someone who hasn’t gotten the big chance yet getting another start. Black did well with Paul Heyman so maybe it can work out again.

Battle Royal

Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Lana, Mandy Rose, Natalya, Dana Brooke, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross, Bianca Belair, Tamina, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan

The winner gets a title shot at Asuka, on commentary, at some point in the future. Before the match, Nia says either she or Shayna is going to win the battle royal so everyone can jump over the top right now. The brawl is on instead and we get the Nia vs. Tamina showdown, with Tamina being thrown out in a hurry. Billie goes after Jax and gets sent to the apron, where she hurts herself by shouldering Nia in the ribs. Nia headbutts her out as Asuka is very, very excited on commentary.

Jax shrugs off the group elimination attempt and dumps Mandy and Dana at once. Everyone goes after Nia again and Shayna gives them the final boost for the elimination. Nia freaks out…..and drives Lana through the announcers’ table again. I can’t help but sigh and not be even slightly surprised. We cut to the back where Orton and McIntyre are brawling and take a break.

Back with Billie having been eliminated during the break. Lacey and Nikki fight in the corner until Lacey forearms her out,. Shayna Kirifuda Clutches Riott on the apron but can’t get her out. The Clutch has Belair in trouble again but she flips out and tosses Baszler for an upset. The Riott Squad tosses Belair and we’re down to Morgan, Riott, Evans and Natalya. It’s time for the quick tag match, with the Squad being sent over the top and eliminated at the same time, leaving us with Evans vs. Natalya for the title shot. Lacey grabs a waistlock before kneeing Natalya in the ribs.

A big slap ricks Evans again as Asuka has left commentary and is watching in the back for no apparent reason. They fight out to the apron with Lacey being sent into the post but saving herself. Natalya charges into a boot and has to hang onto the middle rope with her feet dangling. She gets back up as well until Lacey tries a hurricanrana for some reason. That earns her a whip into the post for the elimination…but here’s Lana, who was never eliminated, to knock Natalya off the apron for the win at 11:24.

Rating: D+. Hokey sweet freaking goodness I cannot stand that finish and WWE absolutely LOVES the thing. Lana vs. Asuka sounds like a pretty bad idea but maybe Nia can come in and drive her through a table again. The match wasn’t very good, but the ending made it even worse because that’s about as dumb and overused of an ending as you can have in a battle royal.

Post match here are Orton and McIntyre to brawl again, with agents and referees breaking it up to end the show. It feels like they forgot Orton and McIntyre were supposed to be a big deal until the end of the night.

Overall Rating: C-. The length got them again here as this show was looking good to start and then collapsed under the length. It was too long and the stuff we got wasn’t exactly enough to make it a great night. I like some of the moves and I’m going to have to look at the whole thing before passing judgment on the Draft. Overall, the show was far from bad, but the extra hour is what holds it back from being as good, or at least easy to watch, as Smackdown. Oh and nothing from Mustafa Ali? Not even a quick promo?

Results

Kevin Owens b. Aleister Black – Powerbomb through a table

AJ Styles b. Jeff Hardy and Seth Rollins – Styles pinned Hardy after a guitar shot from Elias

Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke b. Natalya/Lana – Swanton to Lana

Angel Garza b. Andrade – Wing Clipper

New Day b. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler – Midnight Hour to Roode

Ricochet b. Cedric Alexander via DQ when the referee thought Alexander used a chair

Lana won a battle royal last eliminating Natalya

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: October 8, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

We’re back to a normal Main Event here and hopefully they have figured out what the new normal is going to be. The show has been offering something new in the way of having some bigger, or at least fresher, names and that is a very good thing. You can see some of the same names over and over around here, so it’s nice to get some fresh blood in there. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Billie Kay vs. Peyton Royce

Remember when these two were seemingly setting up for a big showdown feud? They lock up in the corner to start but neither can hit a hiptoss. Royce gets in a faceplant but Peyton flips over her back and hits a dropkick, allowing her to strike her pose. Billie takes her straight back down and we hit the chinlock. A running forearm gives Billie two more and the chinlock goes on again. Peyton fights up with some forearms and kicks to the chest, followed by a rolling kick to the head. The spinning brainbuster finishes Kay at 5:52.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure what to make of these two and for the life of me I have no idea why WWE split them up. Peyton is rather good but I’m not sure why WWE thought she was ready to be on her own. Throw in that she hasn’t really done anything without Billie around and it makes even less sense, which is why it’s perfect for WWE.

Quick look at Roman Reigns destroying Jey Uso.

From Smackdown.

Here are Heyman and Reigns for Reigns to be officially crowned Tribal Chief. Heyman, sounding shaken, says it’s time for the crowning, but Reigns says he wants to hear Jey Uso acknowledge him. Cue Jey to say he doesn’t know Reigns, who showed his true colors on Sunday. Jey did as well though, because Reigns beat him up. Reigns won’t break his spirit though, and if Jimmy didn’t throw in the towel, Jey would be champion.

Reigns says if Jey wasn’t proud of what he did, Clash was the worst night of his career, both professionally and personally. That’s not what he wanted to do going into that match because he was trying to help Jey. All he wanted to do was put his name in the main event for once. He loves Jey more than Jimmy does and all Jey had to do was acknowledge him as the Tribal Chief.

All he wanted was to represent the family to the fullest, but Jey disrespected him. Jey broke his heart and even now, Jey can’t look him in his eyes. If Jey wants another shot, sure he can have it. We’ll do it at Hell In A Cell, but it will have the highest stakes in WWE history. Reigns hugs him and whispers something in his ear that the microphone doesn’t entirely pick up and walks off with Heyman.

Jey cuts him off though and says whatever the stakes are, Reigns is on. Cole implies that the match is going to be inside the Cell but neither Jey nor Reigns said that. With Reigns and Heyman gone, here is AJ Styles to say it doesn’t matter who gets the most chicken bones at the end of the table. AJ says Jimmy is the better athlete anyway and Jey is just the runt. Jey knocks him outside and hits a dive off the announcers’ table.

We look back at Seth Rollins continuing to meddle in the Mysterios’ lives.

From Raw.

Here is Seth Rollins to receive Murphy’s apology. Cue Murphy, who isn’t exactly looking happy. Rollins wants Murphy to get on with it already and gets all the more frustrated when Murphy says nothing. He even grabs Murphy by the beard, shouting that he made Murphy what he is. Murphy charges at him and the fight is on with the two of them heading outside.

Rollins whips out the kendo stick but Murphy drives him into the barricade and gets in some swings of his own. They get inside with Rollins begging off and getting beaten up even more. Rollins calls for Aaliyah to come out here and then apologizes after another stick to the head. Murphy begs off so Rollins goes for the eye and gets in his own stick shots. It’s chair time but here’s Aaliyah to cover Murphy. The Mysterios run out to chase Rollins off and we see Rollins watching from the back. Dominik tries to talk Aaliyah out of this because of everything he has done.

Murphy storms off on his own.

Video on Bayley vs. Sasha Banks.

Akira Tozawa vs. Andrade

Tozawa goes with the spinning kicks to the air to start as Andrade just kind of stands there. Andrade takes it to the mat with a headlock and then goes with a standing version instead. Tozawa sends him outside but gets tripped up on the apron to send us to a break. Back with Tozawa needing the rope to escape a chinlock. That’s really not a good sign for his future prospects.

Andrade sends him into the corner and we hit the chinlock again. A kick to the ribs connects and indeed it’s ANOTHER chinlock. Tozawa finally fights up and reverses a belly to back suplex into a crossbody. A hurricanrana into the Shining Wizard has Andrade in trouble but he cuts off the strike rush. Andrade’s German suplex is countered into a victory roll for two but Andrade is back with a Judas Effect. The hammerlock DDT finishes Tozawa at 8:01.

Rating: D-. Oh man this was a rough one to watch as Andrade clearly was not interested in doing anything here. Tozawa was doing what he could but you can’t get very far when the other guy is not giving even the slightest hint of effort. This was a really bad match, and that’s all due to the lack of effort on one side.

From Raw.

Randy Orton is in the back where he talks about how he could have left Clash Of Champions as WWE Champion. Instead, he left in an ambulance. He remembers a little bit about the match, which included Big Show, Christian and Shawn Michaels all interfering and Ric Flair driving the ambulance away. All Orton felt was excruciating pain and then the next night, Drew McIntyre stood in front of the four of them and celebrated.

That sight made him sick and then the four of them played poker all night. It was too much for Orton, so he turned out the lights, grabbed some night vision goggles, and beat all of them down. Orton talks about how all four of them looked lost and how he attacked them, including chair shots and a Punt to Shawn Michaels. He wishes he could have seen Drew’s face when he heard what happened. McIntyre still has to deal with Orton, so let’s do it in the Cell. McIntyre bursts in and beats Orton down until agents and referees break it up. Kind of a long way to get to the obvious but it was a little bit of a different presentation.

From later in Raw.

Drew McIntyre/Street Profits vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler/Randy Orton

The good guys waste no time in cleaning house and we take a break. Back with Dawkins diving over for the hot tag to Ford so the pace can pick up in a hurry. Ford’s standing moonsault gets and it’s off to Roode, who scores with the spinebuster for two. Orton pulls Ford outside and drops him hard onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Orton slowly hammers away but stops to mock McIntyre, allowing Ford to score with a DDT. The double tag brings in McIntyre and Ziggler, with Drew launching him into the corner.

That’s enough for Ziggler though as McIntyre pulls Orton in to start the brawl. Roode and Ziggler make the save and everything breaks down. Dawkins’ Anointment is countered into a DDT though and he winds up right in front of Orton. The hanging DDT plants Dawkins but he’s right back with the Anointment into the Cash Out with Roode and Ziggler diving in for the save. McIntyre tags himself in as Ziggler hits the Fameasser on Ford. The Claymore puts Ziggler on the floor and there’s another to Roode. Orton is back up though and the RKO finishes McIntyre at 10:14.

Rating: C+. They kept the pace up here and I can go for putting off the announcement of Roode and Ziggler getting a title shot for as long as I can. Pinning the champ to build up towards a title match is a good idea and something that has worked for the better part of ever. Go with something that works and keep Ziggler away from any title at the same time. That’s certainly a nice way to end the show, even if we’ve seen it before.

Overall Rating: D+. The original stuff dragged down everything else they were doing as there isn’t much you can get out of scheduling a pretty obvious pair of Cell matches, both of which we just saw at the last pay per view. Not much to see here, but your expectations should be pretty low coming in for the most part anyway. It helps to bring in some bigger names, but can we make it not Andrade next time?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 28, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

Clash Of Champions has come and gone and we are on the way to the Cell. That could mean a few different directions, though Orton vs. McIntyre III would seem to be in the cards. At the same time though, the Draft is looming and that means we could be in for a big shakeup in the next few weeks. Hopefully we don’t have a big lull for the next few weeks on the way there. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Ric Flair, Big Show, Christian and Shawn Michaels to get things going. Shawn welcomes us to the show and introduces Drew McIntyre for the big congratulations. Drew talks about knowing all of these people for years, including how they all guided him as far as he has gotten. Drew tells a story of Flair being on the active roster when he first arrived in American (Drew: “Before somebody retired you.”). He couldn’t believe he was on the main roster as Ric Flair and it was one of the coolest things he had ever seen.

Then last night he defeated Randy Orton and is he is still WWE Champion. Shawn talks about how they’re all here to congratulate him and he hopes that Drew isn’t mad about that. If he is mad, it was all Ric’s fault. Drew is cool with them….and here’s Orton on the Titantron. Orton says this is over when he says it is, so Drew knows he is going to beg for another match.

Orton says he won’t have to beg because he is Randy Orton and will get another title shot. He’s here today to say there is a price to pay when you cross the Legend Killer. Orton walks over to….get his bag and leaves. Drew wants to be a fighting champion so tonight, anyone who has never gotten a shot against him can get a title match. Somebody please step up.

We recap Asuka beating Zelina Vega to retain the Raw Women’s Title, followed by Vega attacking her after the match.

Vega says she is ready but here’s Asuka to yell at her. They have to be held apart.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Zelina Vega

Asuka is defending and mouths the Big Match Intros for a nice touch. Vega fights out of an armbar to start and grabs an Octopus on the mat. They head outside with Asuka knocking her down as we take a break. Back with Vega grabbing an armbar and making Asuka hold her up at the same time. Asuka muscles her over with a suplex for the break and tries the Asuka Lock, sending Vega straight to the ropes. A Backstabber gives Vega a quick two but her moonsault only hits knees. Asuka is right back with the Asuka Lock to retain at 8:38.

Rating: C. Nothing close to their match last night but that is usually the case with the post pay per view rematches. They really didn’t need to do a rematch in the first place as Vega got a lot out of last night’s match. This was a downgrade, though it wasn’t terrible by any means. It just didn’t need to happen, but why go with what makes sense when you can just do the same thing?

The legends are still here and a poker game has broken out.

Post break Andrade is in the ring to yell at Zelina Vega for being nothing without him. Vega leaves and Andrade starts ranting about how he was holding the team together last night before Angel Garza got hurt. He is the best in the company and it’s open challenge time.

Andrade vs. Keith Lee

Lee shoves him around to start but Andrade slips away. Some arm cranking has Andrade in more trouble but he goes for the knee to slow Lee down. The running knees in the corner connect but Lee is right back with the Spirit Bomb for the pin at 2:53. Presenting the Spirit Bomb (or hopefully the Big Bang Catastrophe as well) as this sudden freight train that no one can handle is a good way to go and something that could work out well.

Earlier today, the Hurt Business was in catering when a random guy came and took Bobby Lashley’s seat. Lashley showed up and the guy moved over, but that was still Lashley’s seat. Some glaring got rid of the guy, but Lashley had him leave his food anyway. MVP looks a little confused but they all start laughing.

We look back at Akira Tozawa being eaten by a shark.

R-Truth is playing chess with Little Jimmy but here’s a Ninja with a letter for him. It’s in Japanese, but the Ninja provides an English version as well. The letter says that if Truth is readying this, Tozawa has been eaten by a shark. Their battles were epic though and now that he is gone, Truth needs to have this. It’s Tozawa’s black belt, leaving truth to wonder why Tozawa had to be devoured. Tozawa pops out from under a table and wins the title. The Ninja jumps Tozawa though and steals the title, revealing himself as Drew Gulak. Truth hits him in the head and steals it right back.

We look back at the Seth Rollins/Mysterio Family genetics drama last week.

Seth Rollins comes up to Murphy in the back and mentions that the Mysterios will be on the King’s Court tonight. Murphy is in his gear though and Rollins doesn’t like it. Rollins had a suit ready for him and says go put it on, which Murphy begrudgingly does. With Murphy gone, Rollins steals Murphy’s phone and pockets it.

It’s time for the King’s Court with Jerry Lawler bringing out the Mysterio Family. Rey and Dominik want to finish things with Rollins and Murphy but Lawler asks about Murphy talking to Aaliyah last week. She says she’s 19 years old and Murphy talked to her. What she does know is that someone who associates with Rollins needs to evaluate things because he is evil.

Rollins pops up on screen to say he needs to tell them the truth. The truth is that one of them isn’t being 100% honest with the rest of the family. The truth is that Aaliyah might not be telling the truth about Murphy. Rollins shows us a screenshot from Murphy’s phone of Murphy and Aaliyah texting each other.

Murphy apologizes again and Aaliyah seems interested in his offer to spend some time together, even wishing him a happy birthday. Back in the arena, Aaliyah says Murphy isn’t like Rollins and leaves, with Rey and Angie following her. Murphy comes up to Rollins in the back and grabs him by the shirt as Rollins laughs. Dominik runs up and jumps Murphy until agents break it up. The soap opera drama isn’t making up for the fact that this story has been going on for almost five months.

Here are Lana and Natalya to say that they want the Women’s Tag Team Titles because Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax can’t defend them. Adam Pearce comes out and makes a tag match for right now.

Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke vs. Lana/Natalya

Natalya headlocks Dana to start but Dana fights up and hits the handspring elbow in the corner. A cartwheel kick to the face gets two on Natalya but Lana comes in off a blind tag for her own kick to Dana’s face. Lana grabs the chinlock for a bit until Dana fights up and brings Mandy back in. A faceplant gets two on Lana and a jumping knee finishes her off at 3:10.

Rating: D. Yeah this didn’t work and I’m not exactly surprised. These four are not the ones you need out there to make a match work and that was the case here again. Lana, Brooke and Mandy are not exactly polished in the ring and Natalya is hardly the most popular star. This was almost never going to work and it really didn’t here.

We look back at Aleister Black attacking Kevin Owens last week.

Black thought Owens was a good man but Black isn’t buying Owens saying one thing and having everyone change their thoughts on him. Owens has a history of betraying people and at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many people forget and forgive. The eye patch comes off and Black says he will not forget.

The legends are playing poker when the Street Profits come in to join the party.

Kevin Owens vs. Aleister Black

Black has lost the rising board entrance and now has music with a voiceover at the beginning. Owens jumps him to start and the fight heads outside with Black being driven into various things. Black comes back with some strikes of his own, only to get hit in the face. A clothesline takes him down again and the backsplash crushes Black again.

Black is suplexes down again and rolls out to the floor, with Owens hitting a Swanton off the apron. We take a break and come back with Black kicking Owens between the shoulders and adding a running kick to the chest for two. The front facelock keeps Owens in trouble for a bit and a big kick to the head gives Black two more.

Owens gets in a hard shot for his own two but gets sat on top. Black’s superplex attempt is blocked and shoved away but the Swanton hits knees. Black nails a jumping knee to the face for some near falls but the referee yells at Black for attacking on the ropes. Owens slugs back but Black unloads, accidentally hitting the referee in the process for the DQ at 13:18.

Rating: C. This wasn’t the most thrilling stuff after the break and I’m not exactly looking forward to what we are going to be seeing with Black’s latest moodiness. He was getting somewhere with the face run and the longer matches, but this was a bunch of kicks and a chinlock until we got to the finish. Black worked a lot better as a face, but for now we’re stuck getting through this.

Post match Owens gives Black a Stunner.

Mustafa Ali runs into the Hurt Business, who isn’t pleased. They hit him in the face but here are Apollo Crews and Ricochet to say they’ll see them tonight.

24/7 Title: R-Truth vs. Drew Gulak vs. Akira Tozawa

Truth is defending and gets double teamed to start, but Gulak and Tozawa fight over who gets to go for the cover. With that argument out of the way, we hit a double arm crank until Gulak throws Tozawa outside (bumping into the referee in the process). The Gulock has Truth in trouble until Tozawa makes the save. A sitout gordbuster hits Tozawa and Gulak gets AA’d onto Tozawa to retain Truth’s title at 4:17.

Rating: D+. This was a weird situation as they just had a match instead of doing any wacky shenanigans. That being said, it was kind of a downgrade to not have the goofiness as it left them with a run of the mill triple threat. It wasn’t terrible or anything, but this was about five minutes that just came and went.

Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose are coming for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Also, Dana sees Mandy as an inspiration. I’d ask how but that might just make things worse.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Murphy

Dominik starts fast and hammers away in the corner before they go outside. Murphy sends him over the announcers’ table for a nine count but Dominik is back in with a high crossbody. Some shots to the face have Murphy in trouble until he scores with a pump knee to the face. Dominick is back with a tornado DDT and some stomps in the corner send Murphy outside. It’s kendo stick time but here’s Aaliyah to say don’t do it. The distraction lets Murphy roll Dominik up for the pin with tights at 7:13.

Rating: C-. This is a situation where the wrestling doesn’t matter. The problem here is how this story has dragged on for months and they just keep finding ways to extend it. Dominik and the rest of the family aren’t interesting but we’ve had so much between Rey and Rollins that it can’t be done any more. The match was fine, but I can’t bring myself to care about anything involved.

Post match Dominik unloads with the kendo stick but Aaliyah tells him to stop. Dominik says this is for the family but Aaliyah says Murphy isn’t like Rollins. Dominik says she really is naive and she slaps him in the face.

Dolph Ziggler talks to Adam Pearce about his idea for the open challenge. It’s going to be Robert Roode isn’t it?

Here’s the Hurt Business, minus Cedric Alexander, for their six man. Before the match, MVP says Cedric Alexander messed up last week so he’s off at Hurt Business Boot Camp to avoid future mistakes. As for Apollo Crews, he is the definition of insanity as he keeps trying to take on the Hurt Business and gets dropped over and over. It happened at Payback, it happened at Clash of Champions and it is going to happen again tonight.

Hurt Business vs. Ricochet/Apollo Crews/Mustafa Ali

Ricochet and company jump the Hurt Business before the bell and the brawl is on outside. Hold on though as the lights flicker and Retribution’s logo pops up everywhere. We take a break and come back with the match in progress and Benjamin grabbing a chinlock on Crews. MVP comes in but misses the running boot in the corner, only to have Lashley break up the tag attempt. Crews hits a German suplex and frog crossbody to MVP though, allowing the hot tag to Ricochet.

The pace picks up in a hurry but Ricochet has to bail out of the Phoenix splash, allowing MVP to kick him in the face. The Playmaker is countered though and Ricochet hits his own kick to MVP’s face. It’s off to Ali to pick up the pace, including a running neckbreaker for two. Lashley pulls Ali to the floor where Crews makes a save with a moonsault off the apron. Back in and Ali hits most of his tornado DDT (thankfully commentary doesn’t act like it was hit perfectly), setting up the 450 for the pin at 5:23 shown.

Rating: C. This was more of the same feud that we’ve seen from everyone involved and I can take that over a lot of the other things that we have seen on the show. The Hurt Business seems ready to move on but with Retribution in quarantine, there is only so much that they can do. Granted having them lose isn’t the most logical move, but I can go for Ali getting another win.

Ric Flair keeps winning at poker.

Bianca Belair outruns a bunch of other people because she’s the fastest.

Video on Retribution.

Here’s Drew McIntyre for the Open Challenge for a title shot. No one comes out at first so McIntyre asks how Charles Robinson’s day is going. Cue Dolph Ziggler though and we have an opponent.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Robert Roode

Roode is challenging and rakes Drew’s damaged back to put the champ in early trouble. They’re out on the floor in a hurry though, with Drew hitting the reverse Alabama Slam onto the apron as we take an early break. Back with Roode knocking McIntyre into the Tree of Woe, only to have McIntyre sit up for the choke throw off the top. Ziggler offers a distraction though and Roode goes after the leg to take over.

The leg is wrapped around the post and then dropped onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Roode hits a top rope clothesline for two, followed by the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. McIntyre turns it over to send Roode bailing to the ropes for the break and they both need a breather.

It’s McIntyre back up first with the Glasgow Kiss into the overhead belly to belly suplexes. There’s the nip up but McIntyre’s knee gives out. Roode’s spinebuster gets two and McIntyre’s Futureshock gets the same. McIntyre takes Roode out but walks into the Glorious DDT for two more. That’s enough for McIntyre as he hits the Claymore to retain at 12:38.

Rating: B-. Perfectly nice main event here with a bit of drama before McIntyre retained. Roode is someone who may not have the most varied offense but he does everything rather well, which is a style that is going to make anyone look good. I liked the match well enough, even though the challenger was pretty obvious.

We cut to the back where Randy Orton, dressed as a janitor, goes into to the Legends’ Lounge (yes it has its own sign), whips out some night vision goggles, turns out the lights, and apparently nearly massacres everyone with a chair. Orton leaves, throws his hood up, and points referees and trainers to the room to end the show. So….it’s pretty much the same way they set up Summerslam but now it’s the third match in the trilogy and it’s going to be in the Cell?

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling was passable enough tonight and they have set up a few things for the future, but there was a lot of warmed over leftovers on this show and it made the show feel long. Asuka vs. Vega II, R-Truth still doing his wacky 24/7 stuff, MORE Mysterios vs. Rollins/Murphy, the Hurt Business vs. Ricochet N Pals and a spinoff of McIntyre vs. Ziggler to set up McIntyre vs. Orton III. That isn’t quite inspiring stuff and while a lot of what we had here was fine, it wasn’t exactly fun to watch. Oh and there is an open challenge for the World Title and Keith Lee chose to face Andrade. How bright of him.

Results

Asuka b. Zelina Vega – Asuka Lock

Keith Lee b. Andrade – Spirit Bomb

Dana Brooke/Mandy Rose b. Lana/Natalya – Jumping knee to Lana

Kevin Owens b. Aleister Black via DQ when Black hit the referee

R-Truth b. Drew Gulak and Akira Tozawa – Gulak was AA’d onto Tozawa

Murphy b. Dominik Mysterio – Rollup with tights

Mustafa Ali/Ricochet/Apollo Crews b. Hurt Business – 450 to MVP

Drew McIntyre b. Robert Roode – Claymore

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Clash Of Champions 2020
Date: September 27, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

We’re back to the show that is all about titles, which should be the majority of shows but this one is special due to reasons of they need a theme. The big story at the last minute is two matches being changed for reasons that aren’t entirely clear but virus issues seem like a strong possibility. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Lucha House Party vs. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura, now sleeveless, and Cesaro are defending and it’s Kalisto/Lince Dorado for the House Party. Cesaro takes Dorado down to start and then drops him with a single shot to the face. Back up and Dorado sends him into the corner for a knee to the face and the back to back splashes get two on Cesaro. Kalisto spins into a sleeper on Cesaro but it’s broken up in a hurry. Dorado comes in with a missile dropkick to knock Cesaro into the corner for the tag off to Nakamura as things slow down a bit.

Nakamura kicks him to the floor and then kicks him down back inside, followed by Good Vibrations in the corner. A knee to the chest gets two on Dorado and it’s back to Cesaro for a forearm to the face. Dorado manages a sunset bomb for two of his own, earning himself a big boot from Cesaro. Back up again and Dorado manages to kick Nakamura down, setting up the high crossbody for the breather.

Kalisto…is not tagged in as Cesaro knocks him off the apron. Some more knees in the corner have Dorado in trouble but he rolls over for the hot tag off to Kalisto. Everything breaks down and Kalisto hits a DDT for two on Cesaro. They all head outside with a double superkick dropping Nakamura. Back inside and a pair of moonsaults get two on Cesaro but Nakamura pulls Dorado outside. The reverse exploder sends Dorado over the barricade, leaving Kalisto to be swung into the knee from Nakamura to retain at 10:45.

Rating: C. This started slowly but picked up a lot of steam near the end. I was expecting some kind of an angle with the House Party but thankfully they kept it simple here and had the champs retain as they should. It wasn’t anything special, but it would have gotten a live crowd into the show, which is all you can ask for.

John Cena narrates the opening video, talking about how hard it is to become a champion but then how it is even harder when you realize that some people have trained just as hard as you have. We then shift into a regular hype video on the main events.

Intercontinental Title: AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Sami Zayn

Hardy is defending in a ladder match with both titles above the ring. We get a classic ladder match moment from all three during the entrances for a nice bonus. The bell rings and Sami informs them that his belt shouldn’t be up there, earning himself a shot to the face. It’s Jeff going for the ladder first but AJ baseball slides it into his ribs. Sami follows with an Arabian moonsault to AJ and it’s time to throw a ladder inside. Hardy is right there to backdrops Sami into the ladder against the ropes and then turns the ladder upside down.

Jeff dives at AJ but only hits the ladder in a bump he shouldn’t be taking. AJ whips Sami hard into the ladder in the corner, leaving AJ as the only person standing. That means AJ can go climbing but he has to come back down for a Pele on Sami (whose back is looking HORRIBLE early on). Jeff goes up to catch him but gets knocked down HARD, only to pop back up to pull AJ down again.

Everyone is down until Sami suplexes AJ into the ladder in the corner. They all head outside with AJ getting the better of things until he misses a charge into the barricade. Jeff hits Poetry In Motion to AJ against the barricade, only to get caught with Sami’s Helluva Kick. Sami goes up so AJ chucks a mini ladder at him, possibly breaking Sami’s hand in the process. Hardy and Styles go up but the ladder tips over into the corner, with Sami wisely covering up and having the ladder only graze his knees.

Sami goes up so AJ tries the Phenomenal Forearm but Jeff shoves the ladder over to knock AJ out of the air. Jeff hits a Twist of Fate on Sami and goes up but Sami is there to grab the ladder. The ladder is tipped over so Jeff starts crawling over the top, leaving him upside down on the end that is going into the air. The ladder goes over the ropes and Jeff crashes down to the floor in another very nasty landing. Sami bridges the ladder between the ring and the announcers’ table but AJ hits the moonsault reverse DDT to take him down.

Sami is put across the ladder and Hardy hits AJ in the face with another ladder. Jeff climbs a big ladder and Swantons through Sami through the ladder for your crazy spot of the match. Cole says this is part of Jeff’s redemption year but Graves asks what good is a redemption year if you can’t get out of bed.

AJ goes up but Hardy turns the ladder over for the next big crash. The THIS IS AWESOME crowd noise is pumped in as Sami sends Jeff into the barricade a few times. With everything else not working, Sami whips out some handcuffs…and attaches Jeff’s EAR to the ladder. Sami isn’t done though and tries to handcuff AJ to the ropes but AJ fights up in time.

Somewhere in there Sami handcuffed himself to AJ though, leaving AJ to hammer away as he realizes what just happened. AJ loads Sami up in a fireman’s carry and climbs the ladder as Jeff, still earcuffed to the other ladder, is back in. Sami has a key and unhooks himself as Jeff rams a ladder into AJ. That means AJ can be cuffed to the ladder hinges, leaving Sami to climb up and win the titles at 26:42.

Rating: B. The handcuffs deal was creative and there were some big spots with a surprise ending, but at the same time I can’t quite feel right when you have people taking a bunch of bumps that they really don’t need to be taking. Jeff is a human wreck and now he’s doing these things that are just going to bang him up even more. I know he’s ok with them, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. This got hard to watch at times, but they didn’t have Jeff rip his ear off to win or something so….that’s a positive?

Post match Sami says he didn’t recapture anything because he is AND STILL Intercontinental Champion.

On the Kickoff Show, R-Truth, in a wig and hat, was panning for more gold because it’s a gold rush.

R-Truth, still in disguise, comes into the referee’s room and yells at Little Jimmy for giving them away. Drew Gulak sneaks in to win the title and runs off.

We get a clip from Jey Uso’s WWE Network Chronicle.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Zelina Vega

Asuka is defending and takes her down with ease to start. A test of strength is teased but Asuka dances away as only she can. Vega gets creative by going after the arm, only to get headlocked for her efforts. An armdrag attempt doesn’t work whatsoever as Asuka reverses into a cross armbreaker. That sends Vega bailing to the ropes and she pulls Asuka down by the arm for a change.

Again Asuka is out of it in a hurry, this time with a hip attack to send Vega outside. Asuka gets pulled bad arm first into the steps though and an arm wringer gives Vega two back inside. The armbar goes on and Vega even flips forward to crank on the arm even more. Vega tries her own cross armbreaker but Asuka switches into a failed Asuka Lock attempt. That sends Vega to the apron, where she avoids another hip attack.

Back in and Vega snaps off a hurricanrana, setting up some running knees in the corner for two (Joe: “THAT WAS CLOSE! THAT WAS CLOSE!”). The Backstabber is blocked so Vega rolls over to kick her in the head for two more. Asuka has had it and tries the Asuka Lock but Vega reverses into a victory roll for two. Another rollup is countered into the Asuka Lock to retain the title at 7:08.

Rating: B-. This was WAY better than it had any right to be with Vega showing off a lot more than she usually gets to do in the ring. Vega took her time to start in on the arm and had Asuka in some trouble before getting beaten. Asuka gave her a lot here and this was a heck of a surprise. Nice job to both of them.

Post match Asuka calls Vega a firecracker and offers respect so Vega bows. Asuka bows back but Vega kicks her in the ribs, sending Asuka into her crazed screams as Vega bails.

US Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews

Lashley, is defending in a rematch from Payback where he took the title from Crews. MVP and Ricochet are here as bonuses. Lashley starts with the power but gets knocked to the floor, setting up a moonsault from the apron. Back in and Lashley runs him over, meaning it’s time for the beating in the corner. MVP yells from the floor, asking if Crews is feeling the hurt and if they are in business. A suplex gives Lashley two and MVP starts more trash talk.

Crews gets in a shot of his own though and hits a running elbow against the ropes. A dive to the floor takes Lashley down again and Crews hits the gorilla press into the standing moonsault for two back inside. Lashley is right back with a superplex for two of his own but the spinning Dominator is countered. Crews hits the standing shooting star into a frog splash for another near fall. Back up and Lashley hits the big spinebuster into the Hurt Lock for the tap to retain at 8:14.

Rating: C+. Another match where they were cranking up the energy before the right decision. There was little reason to have Lashley drop the title here as the Hurt Business seems to be moving on towards a bigger feud with Retribution. I liked what we got here though and that’s a nice thing to say about a match that didn’t feel like much coming in.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Andrade/Angel Garza vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending. Andrade cranks on Dawkins’ arm to start but it’s quickly off to Ford. Garza grabs Andrade from the apron to cut Ford off, meaning Garza can TAKE OFF HIS PANTS. A running kick to the face gets two on Ford as Joe is VERY impressed by Garza and Andrade’s teamwork. Ford fights his way up with a belly to back suplex and the hot tag brings in Dawkins to clean house. Garza gets splashed in the corner but Andrade cuts Dawkins off with a dropkick.

A blind tag brings in Garza, meaning he can break up the Cash Out. Ford and Garza go up top with a super Spanish Fly giving Garza his own two. The running knees in the corner give Andrade two more but a jumping enziguri gets Ford out of trouble. The hot tag bring sin Dawkins for the spinebuster (now the Anointment) to Andrade…for the pin at 8:17. Andrade’s shoulder was WAY up at two and no one seemed to expect that as the finish.

Rating: C. Let me guess: that means we get ANOTHER match between these guys. The fact that there just aren’t any more teams available to challenge for the titles should tell you a lot about what the titles mean at this point. The Profits don’t need the belts at this point so find someone new to lose the titles to already.

Drew Gulak talks about always being prepared and gets jumped by R-Truth, who wins the title back.

Here’s Bayley with the chair to laugh about Nikki Cross not being here, even though she would have lost anyway. It’s open challenge time.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Bayley

Only Bayley is defending as Asuka suplexes her down to start. It’s too early for the Asuka Lock as Bayley makes the rope and grabs her own belly to back suplex. Bayley yells at Cole for saying her name and then dives into a Codebreaker. They head outside with Asuka hitting another German suplex but Bayley hits her with the chair for the DQ at 3:38.

Rating: D+. Yeah that’s fine. I’m not sure what else they could have done here as Asuka was a safe pick to make people’s eyes go up at the possibility of a title change before doing the quick DQ to get Bayley out of there. They were in a bad place with Cross’ condition so this was as good of an idea as they could have gone with at the moment.

Post match here’s Sasha Banks in a neck brace to jump Bayley. A kick sends Banks away but Bayley spends too long setting up a chair, allowing Banks to get in some kendo stick shots. A scared looking Bayley runs off.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton for the Raw World Title. McIntyre escaped with a win at Summerslam but Orton kicked him in the head three times. McIntyre did the same to him, meaning they were even on putting the other in an ambulance. Therefore, it was time for an ambulance match for the title.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton

Drew is defending and you win by putting your opponent in an ambulance. They slug it out to start but Orton kicks the rope for a low blow. There’s the hanging DDT to plant the champ and it’s time for the Punt….but Big Show of all people shows up to grab Orton’s leg. The chokeslam sends Orton through the announcers’ table and Show leaves. McIntyre drops Orton face first onto the barricade and it’s time to head up to the ambulance.

For some reason there are crutches and chairs inside (the chair even has a red cross) but McIntyre takes too long and gets crutched in the ribs. Orton drives the chair into McIntyre’s bad jaw before trying to put him inside. McIntyre fights out in a hurry though, meaning it’s time to fight around to the side of the ambulance. The driver’s side door is opened up but McIntyre blasts him with the Glasgow Kiss. The Claymore only hits the door, sending it flying off the hinges.

They fight backstage and Drew chops him against a wall, only to be sent into another wall for his efforts. It’s time to go to catering next, where Christian jumps Orton and pounds him down next to the tables. With Christian gone, they head back to the ambulance and Orton gets in a rake to the eyes. Orton sends him through the windshield and they wind up on top of the ambulance. A shot to the face puts McIntyre, with his bloody back, down again and Orton knocks him down to the floor to make it worse.

Orton stands on top of the ambulance but it’s Shawn Michaels running in to superkick him down through part of the set. McIntyre picks him up for the toss into the ambulance but Orton slips out and hits the RKO on the floor. That’s enough to put McIntyre inside for one door shut….and then Orton pauses for a bit. McIntyre shoves him away and goes to the eye, setting up the Claymore. That’s not enough though as McIntyre adds his own Punt to finish Orton at 21:33.

Rating: B. I was worried when Big Show got involved but the ending worked out well. If nothing else, at least they didn’t have Ric Flair come out and shockingly side with Orton so at least they’re doing a bit of thinking. Odds are this goes to the Cell though, because winning two matches isn’t enough to end a feud these days. Good stuff here though, with some rare longer form storytelling from WWE.

Post match, Ric Flair drives the ambulance away.

We recap Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns. It’s a battle of the family, as they are cousins and part of one of the most important wrestling families of all time. Reigns is the big star and Jey wants to know why he can’t be the guy. When someone talks about him, all they ask is which twin is he. Now Jey wants to be the new chief of the tribe and Reigns is not cool with that. Either this same video or a similar version was aired on Smackdown and it is still excellent with a great look at the family.

Smackdown World Title: Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns, now shirtless and with Paul Heyman, is defending. Reigns glares him down and drives it into the corner for another sneer. Uso gets shoved away and says he’s trying to get this too. A jump over Reigns in the corner doesn’t get Jey very far as Reigns shoves him outside. Reigns: “How are you going to be the chief if you can’t even stay on the island?” Back in and the jumping clothesline has Jey down for two and Reigns chokes on the rope. Reigns says Jey should have listened to the tribal chief and it’s time to send Jey outside again.

They trade shots to the face and Jey goes onto the announcers’ table. Reigns says he loves him and they head back inside, with Jey getting in a few shots to the face. A Samoan drop gives Jey two but Reigns is right back with the big Superman Punch. It’s already back to the floor for a slugout with Reigns getting the better of it in a hurry. Back in and Reigns says Jey should have laid down and taken the payday but now he has to take this beating. More hard shots to the face have Jey down again. Reigns: “You’re trying to level up but I live at this level.”

Some corner clotheslines rock Jey again but Reigns runs into a shot to the face. Jey sends him shoulder first into the post and it’s a suicide dive to the floor. The jumping enziguri sends Reigns right back to the floor and it’s another suicide dive to keep the comeback going. Reigns hits a high crossbody into a low superkick for two more and they’re both down. The Superfly Splash doesn’t work and Reigns busts out a Rough Ryder of all things for two more.

The spear is countered into a crucifix for two and it’s a superkick into the Superfly Splash for the big near fall. Reigns seems to have hit him low on the kickout though and the fans find this awesome. The spear cuts Jey in half but Reigns doesn’t cover. Reigns says he isn’t ready yet because Jey brought the chief all the way out. He demands that Jey acknowledge him as the tribal chief so Reigns can end this. Jey says no so Reigns spears him again for no cover. Reigns makes him look into the corner and tell the people who the chief is.

That’s still a no so Heyman shouts that Reigns is his tribal chief. Reigns says he needs to heat it from Uso and unloads on him. The referee tries to break it up so Reigns threatens to knock him out and make him lose his job. Reigns demands Jey acknowledge him and knocks Uso silly with shots to the head. Jey is sent face first into the mat and Reigns hammers at the back of his head.

Cue Jimmy Uso to say he’s throwing in the towel. Reigns says Jimmy can come in and acknowledge him and this will all end. Jey says don’t do it so Reigns pulls him back in and drops hard right hands. Jimmy throws in the towel (even Heyman is telling him to do it) for the stoppage at 22:58.

Rating: A. And that’s your winner for “match that should have been a squash and turned amazing because they played it perfectly”. I absolutely loved this and got sucked into the entire thing, as Jimmy coming out was the perfect way to end it. Reigns looks like the most heartless killer in a long time and it’s going to take something special to get the title off of him. I didn’t quite buy Jey as having even a prayer of a chance, but that’s the biggest criticism I can think of in an outstanding display from everyone involved.

Post match Jimmy holds Jey and says Reigns is the tribal chief if that’s what he wants. Heyman puts the lei that Jey wore around Roman’s neck and looks terrified.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a heck of a show that went WAY beyond what it should have been able to accomplish. The only bad thing was Bayley vs. Asuka, which wasn’t even a scheduled match and didn’t break four minutes. The two big matches over delivered and there were some surprises along the way. If there is a drawback, it would probably be the complete lack of impact this show seemed to have (I had to be reminded that any title changed hands only a few hours into the show) so the Champions part was hardly the most important. Other than that though, heck of a show and one of WWE’s best in a good while.

Results

Sami Zayn b. AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy – Zayn pulled down the titles

Asuka b. Zelina Vega – Asuka Lock

Bobby Lashley b. Apollo Crews – Hurt Lock

Street Profits b. Andrade/Angel Garza – Anointment to Andrade

Asuka b. Bayley via DQ when Bayley used a chair

Drew McIntyre b. Randy Orton – McIntyre put Orton in an ambulance

Roman Reigns b. Jey Uso – Jimmy Uso threw in the towel

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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