Monday Night Raw – May 4, 2020: Anyone Can Have A Few Bad Years

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 4, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

We’re taped this week and that means it could be the last Raw with no fans in the building. That could hopefully bring some life to these shows, but there isn’t much of a reason to believe that is going to be the case. It’s the go home show for Money in the Bank and that means we need to build some momentum. May(be) the Force with be will them on that. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look back at the end of last week’s show with Murphy saving Seth Rollins and taking the Claymore for him.

Opening sequence.

MVP is in the ring for the VIP Lounge and talks about last week’s show breaking down into a brawl. We’re going to class things up a bit with the women’s Raw competitors, though they got in a brawl of their own last week. That means Asuka (with MVP speaking some Japanese to her delight), Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax all come out and have a seat.

We look back at Apollo Crews’ knee injury from last week. There is a gauntlet match to name the replacement tonight.

Becky Lynch is back next week. It’s about time.

Gauntlet Match

We don’t know how many people are involved but Bobby Lashley is in first (minus Lana) and Titus O’Neil is in second. They shove each other a bit and the spear gets rid of Titus at 50 seconds. Akira Tozawa is in third and hits a quick Trouble in Paradise, followed by a missile dropkick. That just annoys Lashley and it’s another spear for the pin at 1:40.

Shelton Benjamin is in fourth and he sends Lashley into the buckle before he gets inside. A Blockbuster drops Lashley but he comes right back with forearms to the head. Shelton sends him to the floor and hits a running knee, followed by a slingshot faceplant onto the apron. A hard whip sends Shelton into the barricade and Lashley drives him in again for a bonus. Back in and the spear cuts Shelton in half for the pin at 3:47.

Humberto Carrillo is in fifth and we take a break as I roll my eyes at WWE bringing in three people for less than four minutes of work combined under these circumstances. Back with Carrillo kicking him in the head and hitting a missile dropkick for two. Lashley slams him off the top though and it’s time for some choking in the corner. He does it for quite a bit, and that’s a DQ at 10:49.

Lashley spears Carrillo in half so here are a bunch of referees to break it up. Angel Garza is in sixth and we take a break with Carrillo in big trouble. Garza chokes away in the corner as Zelina Vega is rather pleased. Carrillo is down in the corner so Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS and hits a running basement dropkick for two. We hit the bow and arrow on Carrillo, followed by a reverse slingshot suplex. A reverse Boston crab keeps Carrillo down and the Lionsault gives Garza two more. The Wing Clipper is reversed into a sunset flip though and Garza is done at 22:04.

Austin Theory is in seventh and we take another break. Back with Theory hammering away and putting on a waistlock before stomping Carrillo down in the corner. Carrillo comes back with a few kicks but the springboard spinning crossbody is forearmed out of the air. Theory’s top rope superplex connects but Carrillo ties the legs up in a small package for the pin at 26:55.

AJ Styles returns in the eighth spot and we take another break. Back again with Carrillo hitting a dropkick but getting planted down as Styles isn’t exactly sweating this. Another waistlock stays on the ribs and it’s off to an abdominal stretch, with Carrillo having to dive to the rope. AJ switches to the leg with a kick to the knee and a dragon screw legwhip. Carrillo pops up with a short DDT and they’re both down. A pumphandle gutbuster plants Carrillo and the Calf Crusher sends AJ to the ladder match at 38:49.

Rating: C. Not bad here, though I have no idea why we needed the first few names in there when Lashley slaughtered all of them. There isn’t much of a point in bringing them in for a show like this but I’m sure having Titus in there for 50 seconds was worthwhile in WWE’s minds. AJ is right back into the title scene and that’s a smart move, given the rather thin main event picture at the moment. Now can we please retire the gauntlet match for a long time?

Post match AJ wraps the leg around the post for a bonus. AJ says he isn’t a zombie or a ghost and there is no Undertaker here to steal his moment. He hasn’t lost anything because there are no rules in a Boneyard match. Now he has seized an opportunity and it’s worth it. He’ll do whatever it takes, and if that means throwing Aleister Black off the roof, that’s fine with him.

We get the first part of a Top Ten Money in the Bank moments countdown, including anything related to the briefcase at all.

Here’s Seth Rollins for a sitdown interview. Seth knows that Drew McIntyre is a dominant man but Drew is not a leader. It will not be Drew leading WWE into the future and while he will put up a fight at Money in the Bank, Rollins is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Drew isn’t ready for what comes with being a champion so Seth is trying to unburden him from this responsibility. That’s what he will do on Sunday by becoming the new WWE Champion.

MVP gives Brendan Vink and Shane Thorne a pep talk. They’re ready to win and MVP looks pleased.

Murphy talks about Seth Rollins taking him under his wing and how much he has learned as a result. Now Murphy is going to get McIntyre ready for Rollins.

Brendan Vink/Shane Thorne vs. Cedric Alexander/Ricochet

Vink charges into Cedric’s boot in the corner but takes him into the corner for the tag to Thorne anyway. Ricochet comes in and kicks Thorne down for two but Cedric is pulled to the floor and sent into the barricade. Back in and we hit the reverse chinlock on Cedric, who powers out in a hurry and brings in Ricochet. Everything breaks down and Alexander knees Vink in the face. Ricochet kicks Vink in the ribs but Thorne hits Cedric with a running Cannonball in the corner. Vink kicks Ricochet in the face for the pin at 4:43.

Rating: C-. I’m sorry what now? If you want to push Vink and Thorne then fine, but having Vink, this newcomer with about five matches so far, pin Ricochet clean? Good on them for pushing new talent, but bad on them for having Ricochet take the fall, or even being in this tag team in the first place.

Street Profits vs. Viking Raiders

Non-title. Hold on though as the Profits talk about how they started here and then ran into the Viking Raiders. Tonight, they want the smoke. After a break, Erik backdrops Ford, who can’t quite stick the landing and thankfully doesn’t bang up his ankle. Ford flips around a bit and says you can’t touch him. That earns a forearm to the face as Ivar drops Dawkins on the floor.

A powerbomb into a top rope splash gives Ivar two but Ford dives over and makes the hot tag to Dawkins. That means a dropkick to Ivar and it’s already back to Ford. Ivar clotheslines Dawkins but it’s off to Erik, who drives Ivar into Ford in the corner for two. Things settle down to Ivar armbarring Ford but it’s broken up in a hurry. Another tag brings Dawkins back in to clean house and we take a break.

Back with Dawkins holding a chinlock on Erik and Dawkins coming in with a dropkick. Erik is up for the tag off to Ivar anyway and it’s a big clothesline to drop Dawkins. There’s a Bronco Buster for two but Dawkins gutwrench suplexes Erik for the double knockdown. It’s back to Ford who can’t manage to belly to back suplex Ivar. He can however enziguri him and double belly to back suplex Ivar with Dawkins’ help.

A moonsault gives Ford two but it’s back to Erik for more throwing Ford around. The Viking Experience is broken up and Dawkins spears Erik down. The spinebuster into the frog splash gives Ford two with Erik making the save. Erik throws Ford outside and the Viking Experience finishes Dawkins at 16:24.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what was going on here but it didn’t feel like they were connecting. The action was fine, but it felt like they were in search of a way out. They kept doing a bunch of good sequences, though they just kind of kept coming and going until one of them finished Dawkins. On top of that, I’m not thrilled with the idea of seeing the rematch for the titles on Sunday. Why I’d want to see a sixteen minute match to set up a title match is beyond me. Have the Raiders beat Ricochet and Alexander and let Vink and Thorne beat a bunch of jobbers to get over (as you can still do you know).

Drew McIntyre is ready to take care of that confused young man Murphy.

More MITB Top Ten.

The Viking Raiders say this is dominance because they’re just better than the Street Profits. They extinguished the smoke.

We look back at AJ winning the gauntlet match and promo mentioning Aleister Black.

Black says being buried didn’t make AJ more humble. If AJ does throw him off, pray that he doesn’t get back up.

Rey Mysterio is ready for the first ever Money in the Bank ladder match at WWE Headquarters. It’s time for him to pull down the briefcase for the first time ever and become the WWE Champion again. The risk is worth the reward.

Well we will in a minute as we need a video on Jinder Mahal first.

Charlotte vs. Liv Morgan

Non-title. Charlotte powers her into the corner and then to the mat to start, meaning it’s a nipup to show off a bit. A forearm to the back and some trash talk have Morgan in more trouble but she forearms her way out of trouble. Morgan hits a running hurricanrana and snaps off a middle rope missile dropkick. Charlotte sends her shoulder first into the post though and we take a break.

Back with Charlotte driving her face first into the mat a few times but Morgan fights back with a faceplant of her own. A sunset flip is blocked with some stomping and Liv hits a jawbreaker, followed by a springboard Codebreaker. Charlotte counters another hurricanrana into a sitout powerbomb for two but Liv gets to the middle rope.

A dropkick is countered (with the help of an edit) into the Boston crab, which sends Liv straight to the rope. Charlotte’s backbreaker out of the corner lets her go up top but Liv hits a Codebreaker to bring her back down for a rather near fall. Charlotte dodges Oblivion though and it’s the Figure Eight for the tap at 11:46.

Rating: B-. Well you knew Charlotte wasn’t going to lose here and thankfully Liv got a lot in the loss here. She was hanging with Charlotte until the end and that’s a mile ahead of where she was just a year or so ago. You can tell that they have plans for Morgan and that’s a good thing. They need some new names in the division and Liv is as good as anyone else for bringing someone from nothing to a contender.

The #1 moment in the history of Money in the Bank: Rollins cashes in at Wrestlemania. They needed to cut this into four parts to get to the most obvious choice possible?

Randy Orton is back next week.

We look at the inside of WWE Headquarters and a path wrestlers might take to the roof.

Drew McIntyre vs. Murphy

Non-title and Seth Rollins is watching from the stage. Murphy gets knocked outside early on and McIntyre throws him over the barricade for a bonus. McIntyre stares at Rollins a bit too much though and gets sent into the barricade. Back in and the Meteora gets two on McIntyre, who comes back with one heck of a chop.

Murphy strikes away again, only to get caught with a Glasgow Kiss. McIntyre knocks him hard off the apron though and it’s a top rope clothesline for two back inside. A super White Noise is countered though and Murphy hits a powerbomb for two. Murphy loads up his own Claymore but walks into the real thing for the pin at 6:21.

Rating: C. So yeah, the unstoppable champion pinned the lackey after a fairly competitive match. This was less a contest and more counting down until one of two possible conclusions. That’s what we got here and it wasn’t all that interesting. Rollins could be an interesting threat to McIntyre but sending Murphy out there isn’t the way to go about it.

Post match McIntyre begs Rollins to fight him but Rollins walks off instead. Rollins runs back to the ring and hits McIntyre with a knee to the face. He shouts about how this is bigger than either of them and looks at the title. The title is dropped though and McIntyre avoids a Stomp, setting up the Glasgow Kiss. Seth bails from the threat of the Claymore to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There’s enough good wrestling on here to carry things, but my goodness what a boring time of the year this is. This show was built around setting things up for Sunday and they went about that in a weird way. Why would I want to sit for three hours to see McIntyre beat up a lackey? It has no bearing on Sunday, it doesn’t do anything more than give McIntyre a tiny bit more momentum, and it’s not like it was that great of a match.

That was the case with a lot of stuff here. Aside from the gauntlet match, it didn’t feel like any of this mattered for the most part. The Raiders are likely getting a title shot (which you would have given them in other ways than having them beat the champs, who we know they can beat), Charlotte wins again because she’s Charlotte, and Drew vs. Seth continues to be fine for a first major feud for McIntyre’s title reign.

Nothing in here is overly interesting and it feels like you could skip everything from Wrestlemania to Money in the Bank. The problem is how many times of the year that could apply to and it’s a lot more than it should be. Nothing really stands out and I don’t remember the last time we had a hot midcard feud. You’ll get some interesting ones with good matches, but when was the last time you felt like someone was breaking their back to steal the show? I know the roster is capable of it, but WWE doesn’t exactly seem like they want that to happen.

Maybe it’s waiting on Money in the Bank to be decided so something else can feel important, maybe it’s the lack of fans or maybe it’s the post Wrestlemania slowdown, but these shows just aren’t clicking. It’s like they’re placeholder shows, but that is the feeling far too often. We need something to light a spark in this company and I don’t see that happening anytime soon, which has been the case for years now.

Results

AJ Styles won a gauntlet match last eliminating Humberto Carrillo

Brendan Vink/Shane Thorne b. Cedric Alexander/Ricochet – Big boot to Ricochet

Viking Raiders b. Street Profits – Viking Experience to Dawkins

Charlotte b. Liv Morgan – Figure Eight

Drew McIntyre b. Murphy – Jumping knee to the face

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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Monday Night Raw – April 27, 2020: Talk To Me

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 27, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips,

We’re coming up on Money in the Bank, meaning it is time for wrestlers to start building momentum by getting pins or submissions to build to a match that has nothing to do with pins or submissions. If nothing else, there’s a heck of a drinking game to be played regarding how many times commentary references climbing the corporate ladder. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with MVP’s VIP Lounge. MVP talks about how awesome Money in the Bank is going to be and brings out Rey Mysterio, Aleister Black (MVP: “Please don’t break anything.”) and Apollo Crews. Rey is asked what it means to be Mr. Money in the Bank but MVP won’t let him answer, saying that it’s just another great moment on an already legendary career. Black probably wants to be moved up to stardom. Crews actually gets to speak….for a few words as Zelina Vega and company cut him off.

Zelina laughs at the idea of any of the three of them winning Money in the Bank. The WWE Universe can’t get enough of the three of her people because they are the future. The three people in the ring were the future at one point but they would mean Mr. Money in the Bank is on Smackdown. What needs to happen is her three replacing these three, but Rey isn’t buying that. The brawl is on and Zelina’s guys are sent outside to get read for the upcoming six man.

Andrade/Angel Garza/Austin Theory vs. Rey Mysterio/Aleister Black/Apollo Crews

Hey look it’s the most obvious six man tag since the last time they set up an obvious six man tag. Black and Garza grapple on the mat to start with Black slipping away and grabbing an armbar. It’s off to Crews to armdrag Theory into another armbar, followed by Rey sending Theory into the corner. Andrade has to break up a double 619 to Garza and Theory so Rey sends him into the ropes for the 619 instead.

That doesn’t work either so Black and Crews hit big running flip dives over the top as we take a break. Back with Theory working on a reverse chinlock on Black and it’s Andrade coming in for some kicks tot he ribs. Theory is back with the front facelock and a torture rack to send Black into the corner. Black comes out with kicks to the face and a rolling victory roll for two but there’s no hot tag yet.

Another kick to the face rocks Theory though and it’s off to Rey to clean house. Garza tries to throw Rey at Andrade but it’s a hurricanrana to take Andrade down instead. A gutbuster drops Rey though and GARZA TAKES OFF HIS PANTS! Back from another break with Mysterio still in trouble in the corner, including a gorilla press drop from Theory.

Mysterio tornado DDTs his way to freedom and Crews gets the second hot tag to pick up the pace again. Crews powerslams Theory but Theory slams him down for two. The ATL is broken up and it’s Black coming back in to set up the parade of everyone knocking each other down. Andrade’s spinning back elbow gets two on Crews, but the toss powerbomb finishes Andrade at 24:26.

Rating: B-. This was long but didn’t get dull, which is a rarity for a match like this one. Crews getting the pin helps, though it isn’t going to matter much if he is dropped after the pay per view. Having him go after the US Title would be fine, as it’s not like the title has been anything of note now.

Didn’t get enough HHH praise on Smackdown? Well tonight it’s the Top Ten Moments of HHH’s Career! We’ll start with HHH taking over the leadership of DX the night after Wrestlemania XIV.

9. Beating Sting at Wrestlemania XXXI. It was one of the goofiest things I’ve ever seen and I loved every second of it, save for HHH winning and the post match handshake after a sledgehammer to the head.

Andrade is mad about the loss and blames his partners. Crews can’t beat him one on one. Andrade and Zelina leave when Crews comes in to say he can beat Andrade again, even if the second match is tonight. Andrade comes in and says bring it on. That means a HARD slap and the title match is set for tonight.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre.

8. Beating the Rock in the first Smackdown main event.

7. Stephanie walks in on HHH and Trish Stratus. That still works.

Asuka vs. Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler

Before the match, Asuka yells about Nia injuring Kairi Sane and says that she tapped Nia out two years ago. Baszler pulls Asuka to the floor to start the beating in a hurry, including a whip into a barricade. Nia breaks that up and gets kicked in the head by both of them as we’re still waiting on the opening bell. Asuka sends Baszler into the steps but gets dropped HARD by Nia. Nia throws in a ladder and runs both of them over as the referee seems to have left rather than try to make this a match. Nia teases tossing a ladder onto the two of them but drops it down instead. No match.

Bobby Lashley asks Lana to stay in the back for the next match. She’s so beautiful and it’s a distraction you see.

Bobby Lashley vs. Denzel DeJournette

Lashley takes him down without much effort to start and it’s a trip to the corner for some forearms to the chest. Denzel gets in a shot to the face so that’s an ax handle to the back. A release suplex drops Denzel again sets up the spear for the pin at 1:43.

We look at Liv Morgan beating Ruby Riott last week.

Liv Morgan vs. Ruby Riott

Ruby trips her down to start but a headscissors out of the corner is reversed into a faceplant. The Riott Kick connects out of nowhere and Ruby is stunned by the kickout. Ruby stomps on her fingers and talks trash against the ropes but Liv is right back with the springboard Downward Spiral (Oblivion) for the pin at 2:55. Liv still has a long way to go but having her win matches is the first step.

Post match Liv says she is still trying to figure out who she is but she’s confident she can work it out.

6. Beating Mankind to win the 1997 King of the Ring.

Money in the Bank rundown.

Nia Jax isn’t worried about people not liking her and threatens Charly Caruso a bit. No one can do anything about what she does, including Asuka and Shayna Baszler.

The Viking Raiders are ready for the Street Profits and the Tag Team Titles. The Profits have never beaten then and that isn’t changing at Money in the Bank. As long as they are around, the Profits will always be second best. Prove them wrong.

5. The NXT Invasion in 2019. Couldn’t you just say NXT overall?

Jinder Mahal vs. Akira Tozawa

Mahal slams him down to start and takes Tozawa to the floor. Choking against the barricade and tosses into various things keep Tozawa down. Back in and a Samoa drop plants Tozawa and the Khallas gives Mahal the pin at 1:37. This was Mahal doing the same stuff with shorter hair.

Zelina isn’t happy with Charly for asking Andrade a question. Zelina and Andrade leave but here’s Garza to say he and Charly should get better acquainted. He even has a rose for her and the smile is on.

4. DX impersonates the McMahons. Some of these are a lot more questionable than others.

United States Title: Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is challenging and Vega is here with Andrade. Feeling out process to start with Andrade working on a wristlock. That’s reversed into an armbar as Vega isn’t looking pleased with the goings on. Crews’ front facelock doesn’t last long and it’s Andrade grabbing a headlock instead. They go to the floor for a bit, followed by Andrade taking him back inside to stomp away.

Some choking and a dropkick keep Crews in trouble but Andrade misses a running knee in the corner. That means a nasty crash to the floor but Andrade avoids a moonsault, causing Crews to tweak his knee as we take a break. Back with Andrade working on a half crab, only to miss the running knees in the corner. Crews hits an Angle Slam and they’re both down. An overhead belly to belly sends Andrade flying but he gets a boot up in the corner.

Crews is back with a press slam and the standing moonsault for two but Andrade is back with a whip into the corner. Now the running knees can connect for two as Vega is losing her mind. Crews blocks the spinning elbow but the gorilla press is countered into a DDT for two. The hammerlock DDT is countered into an enziguri and a powerslam gives Crews two of his own. Crews knocks Andrade off the top but misses a top rope splash and hurts the knee again. Andrade kicks him to the apron and the referee stops it at 16:45.

Rating: B-. I was surprised by the ending but this doesn’t feel like it’s over. Crews is someone who needs a major moment if he is ever going to break through and I’m not sure how much longer he can go without one. It’s not like Andrade has done anything with the title in four months, which is the case with almost anyone who holds it for almost any amount of time.

3. Evolution.

We look back at Crews vs. Andrade. More on this later.

The Street Profits don’t like what the Viking Raiders said. Last week the Profits were putting in work while the Raiders were doing Carpool Karaoke. It’s true though: the Profits have never beaten them. That can change next week.

We look at a clip of Becky Lynch’s 24 as she won the Raw Women’s Title last year at Wrestlemania. Everyone knows she is ready to be a star. Becky: “What do you do when all your dreams come true? Make up some new ones.” This feels about eight months late.

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet vs. Ever-Rise

Martel gets sent into Alexander’s knee to the ribs and it’s a running flip neckbreaker into a backbreaker for two. It’s off to Parker, who gets in an elbow to Ricochet’s back to take over. Ricochet fights out of a chinlock though and it’s off to Cedric to start cleaning house. Everything breaks down and Cedric hits a standing moonsault for two on Martel. Ricochet dropkicks Parker to the floor and it’s a top rope double stomp into a Downward Spiral to finish Parker at 4:08.

Rating: C-. Just a match here with Cedric and Ricochet looking fine in a short win. It’s fine to put them together for something to do, even though Ricochet should be a star on his own at the moment. I’ll take it over him doing nothing at all though and that’s what his alternative seems to be at the moment.

Post match MVP pops up on screen to introduce Brendan Vink and Shane Thorne. They want a rematch and MVP sees box office platinum. Cedric and Ricochet are fine with that.

2. The DX invasion. Good grief how many times do we need to see this same stupid clip?

Crews now has a wrap on his knee and is limping around on crutches. Charly comes up to say this probably hinders his progress. Crews starts crying and leaves without saying anything.

Another McIntyre vs. Rollins video.

1. The quad tear and return. If my memory serves me right, we saw almost all ten of these moments on Friday. We’re just lucky enough to see this collection twice you see.

Next week: Street Profits vs. Viking Raiders for the Tag Team Titles.

Jerry Lawler is in the ring to talk about Money in the Bank, including the Raw World Title match. Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre come out and McIntyre tells Lawler to leave for this. Lawler is out in a hurry and McIntyre signs without much thinking about it. Rollins doesn’t sign yet so McIntyre says time’s ticking.

That sends Rollins into a rant about how he doesn’t want to do this but has to. This is bigger than all of them and Drew will be a great champion one day. Rollins has to do this because he had to suffer for that title. He doesn’t want what happened to him to happen to Drew because it is his burden to carry. When that time comes, Rollins can lead Drew as well. Drew: “You’re full of s***.”

Drew tells him to stop talking forever because no one wants to hear Seth talk. Rollins says that the big picture will be clear at Money in the Bank and he signs. He goes to talk about having faith but Drew sends him face first into the table. The ring is cleared and a headbutt drops Seth so the Claymore is loaded up. Cue Murphy to kick McIntyre in the head, earning himself a hug from Rollins. McIntyre is back up and Claymores Murphy to end the show. This was the latest in WWE’s rather long string of contract signings, most of which aren’t all that interesting. That was the case here, but Rollins’ delivery did help.

Overall Rating: C. I liked this one more than recent weeks as they certainly have a focus going into the pay per view. That being said, it’s not the most interesting time in the world and waiting around to get to the ladder match can be a tedious few weeks. They had some nice stuff this week, but it would be nice to get done with the ladder match so we can get back to some more normal shows.

Results

Apollo Crews/Aleister Black/Rey Mysterio b. Andrade/Angel Garza/Austin Theory – Toss powerbomb to Andrade

Bobby Lashley b. Denzel DeJournette – Spear

Liv Morgan b. Ruby Riott – Oblivion

Jinder Mahal b. Akira Tozawa – Khallas

Andrade b. Apollo Crews via referee stoppage

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet b. Ever-Rise – Downward Spiral/Top rope double stomp combination to Parker

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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Main Event – April 23, 2020: Yes, Here Too

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: April 23, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, MVP

It’s time for another one of these and I’m not sure what there is to think about it anymore. These empty arena shows are draining me of any reason to care and this is my least favorite time of the year. We’ll be seeing a lot of Money in the Bank build and that isn’t exactly thrilling stuff. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Asuka vs. Catalina

You may remember Catalina from her short term run on Raw. Asuka takes her into the corner for a grab of the mask and it’s time to walk around a bit. Catalina grabs the arm to send Asuka face first into the mat but Asuka is right back with an armbar. An armdrag sends Asuka outside and Catalina hits a running boot to the face.

That’s about it for Catalina though as Asuka hits her in the face on the floor and kicks her in the head back inside. An armbar and the running hip attack in the corner have Catalina in more trouble and a bulldog gets two. Catalina fights back with a clothesline but misses the twisting Swanton. A kick to the head sets up the Asuka Lock for the tap at 7:04.

Rating: C. Catalina is someone who could go somewhere with some more time and experience in the WWE style but as young as she is, she has a long time left to get there. Asuka had to sweat a bit here before the win and that’s more than you would expect from a match like this. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Catalina again as she made a small splash and then vanished.

From Smackdown.

It’s time for A Moment Of Bliss to start things off. After bragging about being two time Women’s Tag Team Champions (I completely forgot their first reign, which isn’t a good sign for titles that are fourteen months old), Nikki Cross brings out Braun Strowman. They congratulate Braun on being the new Universal Champion but bring up the fact that he is officially defending against Bray Wyatt (not the Fiend) at Money in the Bank.

Strowman knows Bray and the games he plays so Bray is going to get these hands. There’s a present on the mat though and it seems to be for Braun. Inside is….the old mask he wore as part of the Wyatt Family. Braun looks upset and we hear Bray’s laughter as a picture of Braun in the mask comes on the screen.

We see some men qualifying for Money in the Bank.

From Raw.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Murphy

Rey headlocks him down to start and it’s an early standoff. Murphy takes over with an armbar but has to duck an early 619 attempt. Some forearms put Rey on the floor and Murphy drives him into the barricade. Back in and Murphy stays on the arm until Rey armdrags him to the floor.

That works fine for Murphy, who catches a dive and stomps on the arm on the ramp. Back from a break with Murphy still on the arm but Rey snaps off a hurricanrana on the floor. They get back in with Rey hitting a tornado DDT and heading to the apron again. A dropkick sends Murphy into the barricade but he’s right back with a spinning facebuster onto the knee. Murphy’s brainbuster gets two so he goes up top, only to get caught with a super Destroyer. The 619 into the frog splash finishes Murphy at 15:09.

Rating: C+. That was certainly a Money in the Bank qualifying match. They did moves to each other and Mysterio made the comeback win. During those fifteen minutes, we heard references to climbing the corporate ladder roughly 284 times because someone came up with that line and WWE has decided it’s the cleverest line in history.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Shelton Benjamin

Yes again. Shelton quickly wrestles him down to start as MVP gets on Phillips for not acknowledging his great point about Shelton’s career. Back up and Carrillo sends him into the ropes, setting up some rapid fire forearms to the face. They wind up on the apron for stereo big boots and we take a break.

Back with Carrillo slipping out of a suplex and kicking away, only to get caught with a running knee in the corner. Another suplex lets Shelton chuckle a bit and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up and Carrillo grabs a running hurricanrana. Shelton powerbombs him out of the air but is quickly small packaged for the pin at 10:41.

Rating: C-. This is threatening to become the new Main Event Special with one meeting after another. It’s a watchable enough match but it isn’t something that I need to see week after week. WWE can do a lot of things with this show and I really hope that they don’t choose to do this match so often that it becomes a running joke.

From Smackdown.

Tag Team Titles: Big E. vs. Jey Uso vs. The Miz

Miz is defending the titles on his own. The challengers waste no time in sending Miz outside before Big E. runs Jey over. Big E. talks about having a plan but the other two are back up to suplex him through the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Jey hitting back to back suicide dives.

The running Umaga Attacks in the corner make it worse but Big E. catches Jey with the Rock Bottom out of the corner. Miz even goes aerial with a springboard ax handle, allowing him to start the HEY HEY HO HO. Miz can’t Figure Four Jey, who kicks him into Big E. for two instead. The Skull Crushing Final gets two on Jey and now the Figure Four goes on. Big E. breaks that up with the Big Ending to Miz for the pin and the titles at 9:45.

Rating: C-. Kind of a surprising ending as we continue to have New Day as placeholder champions, though they’ve been placeholder champions for what feels like years now. Normally I would say that I hope this doesn’t lead to the Forgotten Sons winning the titles because that would almost guarantee that it does, so yeah I’ve just screwed it up all over again.

We cut to Kofi at his house for an AND NEEEEEEWWWWW for a nice smile inducing moments.

Xavier Woods throws in a bunch of plugs.

Big E. rolls around on the floor shouting EIGHT TIMES to end the show.

We look at Seth Rollins attacking Drew McIntyre.

From Raw.

Angel Garza vs. Drew McIntyre

Non-title and Vega and company are at ringside again. McIntyre goes straight for the knee to start and there’s the overhead belly to belly to send Garza rolling to the floor. Some chops against the barricade have Garza in trouble and Andrade’s posting fails. So does Garza’s suicide dive and McIntyre headbutts him, only to have to deal with Theory.

That allows Garza to hit a posting, followed by a missile dropkick for two back inside. McIntyre fights out of a half crab and kicks Garza in the face. Garza tries to escape so McIntyre PULLS OFF GARZA’S PANTS as Garza gets to the floor. The big flip dive connects and McIntyre takes out Andrade and Theory. Back in and the Claymore finishes Garza at 5:02.

Rating: C. This was an entertaining squash as McIntyre swatted Garza away like a fly. Even the rest of the team couldn’t do anything to slow him down and that’s what you should be doing with the champ. McIntyre looked awesome here and it showed how far ahead he is of Vega and company. It was a great showcase and that’s what it needed to be.

Post match McIntyre gives Garza another Claymore. Theory comes in and gets one of his own for good measure. McIntyre chases Andrade up the ramp and strikes the Tranquilo pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Not much to see here as the shows they’re recapping aren’t exactly thrilling. Raw and Smackdown are now little more than below average wrestling shows with no fans. There are some nice moments involved, but it’s not like these shows would be good with fans in the first place. Couple that with more of the same matches you see so frequently on this show and it’s not a great sign.

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

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Monday Night Raw – April 20, 2020: It’s That Time Again

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 20, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler

We’re firmly in Money in the Bank mode as we continue the long process of finding people to climb to the roof of a really tall building. You can’t say it’s the same thing we’ve seen over and over again so maybe we can have something unique here as well. I wouldn’t bet on it but it’s possible. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Drew McIntyre vs. Zelina Vega and company plus Seth Rollins last week.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Drew McIntyre for a chat. Drew talks about how everything went last week. The title means a lot of things to everyone and those things are cool. To him, it means a target on his back because it makes him the best of the best. McIntyre understands that it’s lonely at the top and that’s why Rollins attacked him last week. Now, Drew could make Seth jump through hoops, or he could challenge Seth for Money in the Bank.

Cue Vega and company to say they’re tired of his speeches. Drew is looking forward to Money in the Bank so he isn’t paying attention. Andrade jumps Drew from behind but gets Claymored. Angel Garza and Austin Theory won’t go in for the save so it’s another Claymore to put Andrade on the floor.

We get an explanation for the Money in the Bank ladder matches at Titan Towers (with NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte on the graphic rather than Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch).

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Austin Theory vs. Aleister Black

Zelina Vega is on commentary. Black spins out of a wristlock as Vega does not like the accusations of being overconfident. Theory gets thrown down but pops back up with a running shoulder. The threat of Black Mass sends Theory to the floor and Black dropkicks him through the ropes to make it even worse. Vega gets up and yells at Black for not letting Theory play fair.

The distraction lets Theory throw him into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Theory hitting a rolling dropkick and hammering away with left hands. Black fights out of a torture rack and runs Theory over for two. The ATL is countered as well and Black pulls him into a cross armbreaker.

That’s reversed with a powerbomb but Black strikes away. The moonsault press gets two but Theory’s superkick into a cradle brainbuster gets the same. Another ATL is countered so Black knees him in the face, setting up a German suplex for two more. Black Mass misses but the second attempt connects for the pin (and a great shocked face from Vega) at 11:45.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a great match but it was better than usual from Theory. You can see all of the potential in him but it might take a little while to click. If nothing else, Vega is awesome on commentary and can hype people up with the best of them. Black winning isn’t a surprise here though and it was a fun match on the way.

Post match, Black promises to win the ladder match.

Shayna Baszler vs. Indi Hartwell

Shayna suplexes her down and goes for the arm but gets rolled up for two. That just ticks Shayna off so she hits another slam and stomps the arm for the stoppage at 1:00. Can you blame her for being mad? She spends years in NXT, gets called up, doesn’t win the Royal Rumble because Charlotte, doesn’t win the title at Wrestlemania because Becky, then gets to be on Raw, where the only change is she’s beating up NXT women at the Performance Center instead of Full Sail.

Post match Shayna grabs the ladder and crushes the arm against the steps.

Shane Thorne/Brendan Vink vs. Cedric Alexander/Ricochet

Ricochet gets thrown into the corner to start but rolls out with a dropkick to Vink. Some double teaming puts Vink down but Thorne breaks up a springboard. A clothesline drops Ricochet on the floor but it’s back to Cedric for a tornado DDT. Ricochet’s running shooting star gets two on Thorne and there’s another DDT to Vink. The Recoil into the Lumbar Check finishes Thorne at 3:14.

Rating: C-. Just a step above a squash here and that’s fine enough. Ricochet and Alexander continue to seem like little more than two people being thrown together and that’s not the best sign for their future. How that’s the best use WWE could find for Ricochet is beyond me, but at least it’s better than nothing.

The Kabuki Warriors shout a lot and insist that Kairi Sane is ready for a rematch.

Lana talks about how great Bobby Lashley is. Lashley is going to flip a tractor tire.

Nia Jax vs. Kairi Sane

Sane tries to dodge to start but gets knocked down for her efforts. The knee gives out on a powerbomb attempt so Sane hammers away to some avail. The Insane Elbow misses though and it’s a Samoan drop to give Jax the pin at 4:13.

Rating: D+. And so much for Sane again, as Jax shrugged off everything Sane through at her before winning. Jax is a good choice for a monster as there is only so much that can be done otherwise with her. I’ve liked her since she’s been back, though it hasn’t exactly been a long return so far.

Seth Rollins talks about how he knows what it’s like to be where Drew McIntyre is. We see various clips of the two of them doing the same things over their careers. Rollins will face McIntyre for the title at Money in the Bank because he has to.

The Viking Raiders do their version of Carpool Karaoke, which involves Ivar eating a drumstick, shouting VIKING RAIDERS over and over, and the line of “We worship Thor and we’ll knock him to the floor.” This was one of those so bizarre that it was half amazing and half terrible.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: MVP vs. Apollo Crews

Before the match, MVP talks about how he has to climb a ladder but first it’s a match with the extremely talented Apollo Crews. Black finally cuts him off and we’re ready to go. Crews doesn’t waste time in kicking MVP to the floor but a dive from the apron is broken up. Back from a break with MVP hitting a clothesline but getting suplexed into the corner.

Crews hammers away and hits a kick to the face, followed by a hard clothesline of his own. The frog splash hits knees and MVP’s Playmaker gets two. Crews is right back with an enziguri into a gorilla press. The standing moonsault into the standing shooting star sets up the toss powerbomb to finish MVP at 8:09.

Rating: C-. This was never in any serious doubt, though it was cool to see Crews turn on the jets to win in the end. MVP is fine for someone to put other people over and that’s fine, though it’s not like he was ever the biggest star in the world. Either way, they got the important part right so there isn’t much to complain about here.

Ruby Riott says there was never a Riott Squad because it was always her carrying the other two. Now Liv Morgan thinks she’s grown up and Ruby has to show her otherwise.

Liv Morgan vs. Ruby Riott

Ruby goes after her to start but Liv gets in some forearms and a dropkick for two. Liv gets draped over the top and kicked in the face, followed by another kick to the face to cut off a comeback bid. Ruby demands that Liv beg but it’s the springboard Flatliner out of nowhere to give Liv the pin at 3:19.

Rating: D. Well that was nothing. Riott hasn’t gotten to do anything since she has been back but at least they are trying something with Morgan. She’s gotten a lot better in recent months, though it’s not like she had anywhere else to go but up. The Riott Squad was never the most important team in the world, but at least they’re trying something with someone new.

Lashley flips a tire and then looks at a bigger one.

In Memory of Howard Finkel. An hour and forty five minutes into the show.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Murphy

Vega doesn’t know if McIntyre will make it to Money in the Bank. Garza hits on Charly Caruso, who seems impressed.

Charlotte vs. Kayden Carter

Non-title. Charlotte boots her in the face to start but Carter grabs a rollup for two. A crucifix into something like the Rings of Saturn keeps Charlotte down and Carter switches into the Octopus. That’s enough for Charlotte, who powers out and hits the spear, setting up the Figure Eight for the win at 2:42.

Lashley can’t flip the big tire so he kicks it and then flips it over. Lana comes back in to celebrate with him.

We recap the opening segment.

Andrade vs. Akira Tozawa

Zelina Vega is here with Andrade. Tozawa starts fast with a spinning kick to the head and a knee to the face gets two. A running kick to the face sends Andrade to the floor and Tozawa hits the big running flip dive off the apron. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Tozawa two but Vega offers a distraction so Andrade can run him over. Not that it matters as Tozawa slaps on the Octopus, sending Andrade to the ropes again. A heck of a back elbow to the face drops Tozawa but he grabs some rollups for two each. Tozawa heads up top but gets crotched down, setting up the hanging hammerlock DDT to give Andrade the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C+. This one came a bit out of nowhere and I was actually wondering if they were going to go with the upset. Tozawa is someone who can work with anyone and he was working hard here. I liked this one a good bit and even though Andrade never defends the title, it’s nice to see him sweat a bit here.

Post match Andrade and Vega celebrate but the Street Profits come out to interrupt.

Bianca Belair vs. Santana Garrett

The Profits, still dancing on the announcers’ table, introduce Belair for her in-ring Raw debut, and then sit in on commentary. Belair throws her down to start and then uses straight power to grab an over the shoulder backbreaker. Garrett gets in a shove to the face and is knocked down in a hurry.

Rating: C-. This was ALL about the Street Profits as they did not stop shouting, screaming and hyping up Belair the whole time. It was rather annoying but at the same time it’s as effective of an idea as I’ve seen in a good while as the Profits have so much energy and charisma that they’re awesome in this role. Belair won in little more than a squash, but it was all about the Profits.

Angel Garza vs. Drew McIntyre

Post match McIntyre gives Garza another Claymore. Theory comes in and gets one of his own for good measure. McIntyre chases Andrade up the ramp and strikes the Tranquilo pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I had forgotten how mind numbingly annoying Money in the Bank season is. They managed to get in “climb the corporate ladder” in about a million times and given that the show will feature the sixth ladder matches since the middle of December (seven if you count Reigns vs. Corbin’s street fight which they called a TLC match), it isn’t exactly something I’m going to get invested in over the next few weeks.

As for the rest of the show, it was a very wrestling heavy week, but nothing on here stood out. Maybe it was all of the ladder match hype but it was hard to get interested in a good chunk of it. They did a nice job of making McIntyre look like a star and that’s a great thing, though so much of the show felt like it came and go so they could add people to the ladder matches. It could have been a lot worse, but not much less exciting.

Results

Aleister Black b. Austin Theory – Black Mass

Shayna Baszler b. Indi Hartwell via referee stoppage

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet b. Shane Thorne/Brendan Vink – Lumbar Check to Thorne

Nia Jax b. Kairi Sane – Samoan drop

Apollo Crews b. MVP – Toss powerbomb

Rey Mysterio b. Murphy – Frog splash

Charlotte b. Kayden Carter – Figure Eight

Andrade b. Akira Tozawa – Hanging hammerlock DDT

Bianca Belair b. Santana Garrett – KOD

Drew McIntyre b. Angel Garza – Claymore

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

Monday Night Raw – April 13, 2020: An Essentially Bad Show

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 13, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler

We’re still in Orlando and that seems to be because Vince McMahon is (possibly rightly) scared of the television networks and that means everything is going to be live going forward. I’m not sure what to expect this week but we’re on the road to Money in the Bank because that show will work in the Performance Center. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We look at a recap of Drew McIntyre winning the Raw World Title at Wrestlemania.

Here’s Drew for his first appearance on Raw as champion. Drew gets right in front of the camera and says thank you before talking about how the internet can be negative, but even there people have seemed to be positive. He won the title at Wrestlemania and then Big Show came out and wanted a title match then and there. We see a clip of the Big Show title match and Drew says anyone in the back can come get a shot.

Cue Zelina Vega and Andrade, with Zelina saying this is the real champion. She is sorry for cutting off his Braveheart rah rah speech but brings up their NXT Title match where McIntyre lost to Andrade. McIntyre says they can do title vs. title tonight so Andrade promises to win again.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Ruby Riott vs. Asuka

Asuka starts dancing a lot and then pulls on the arm. An armbar into a keylock sends Ruby bailing to the ropes so Asuka sends her shoulder first into the buckle. Choking on the ropes and the hip attack put Riott on the floor and that means the sliding knee to the face. Ruby manages to send her over the barricade but Asuka gets in a kick to the head. Some dancing takes us to a break and we come back with Riott kicking Asuka to the floor for two back inside.

Back up and Asuka kicks her down again, setting up the cross armbreaker. That’s broken up so Ruby tries the Riott Kick, only to get suplexed down. A Shining Wizard gives Asuka two more so Riott hits a running clothesline to the back of the head for the same. Ruby goes up but dives into the Asuka Lock, which is countered into a rollup for two and the break. A Flatliner into the Rings of Saturn with kicks to the face has Asuka in trouble but she reverses into the Asuka Lock at 13:03.

Rating: C+. They were hitting each other rather hard but I couldn’t get all the way into it. Riott hasn’t done anything since coming back and that’s understandable but she seems to be spinning her wheels more often than not. Asuka going on to Money in the Bank is fine, even if it seems to be Shayna Baszler’s to win ala the Elimination Chamber.

MVP is in the VIP Lounge in the back and explains that next week we will have three Money in the Bank qualifying matches. Next week it’s Rey Mysterio vs. Murphy, Aleister Black vs. Austin Theory and Apollo Crews vs. MVP.

Aleister Black vs. Oney Lorcan

Lorcan grabs a waistlock to start so Black is quickly out with a waistlock. Black moonsaults over Lorcan and we take a break. Back with Black avoiding the half and half suplex but getting hit in the face for two. A full nelson keeps Black in trouble but he pulls Lorcan into a triangle choke. That’s broken up as well so Black kicks him in the face, setting up Black Mass for the pin at 9:36.

Rating: C-. I can go with them giving Black some higher competition here and there and it’s nice to see him likely get into the Money in the Bank match next week. He needs to have something to do and while going after Andrade could work, I’m not sure if that’s big enough for him at the moment.

We look back at Becky Lynch retaining at Wrestlemania.

Here’s Becky for a chat. Becky talks about getting in Shayna Baszler’s head and how she isn’t going to be messed with like she messes with everyone else. She’s here to challenge the woman in Money in the Bank who wants it most. Whoever thinks they can beat her, she’ll shock the world.

Andrade and Zelina Vega are ready to show what a real dominant title reign is.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Sarah Logan vs. Shayna Baszler

Baszler takes her down and hammers away MMA style until the referee drags her off. Baszler stomps on the arm and the referee stops it at 52 seconds.

Post match Baszler is ticked off and storms to the back through the seats instead of through the ring.

A stoic Seth Rollins talks about his career being crucified.

Austin Theory vs. Akira Tozawa

Zelina Vega is on commentary. Tozawa kicks him into the corner to start but gets dropped onto the top turnbuckle, complete with about five camera cuts. The chinlock goes on for a bit and Theory sends him into the corner for two. An armbar sets up a snap suplex for two on Tozawa and we’re right back into the chinlock.

Tozawa fights up and kicks Theory to the floor, setting up the big flip dive off the apron and Theory is in trouble. Lawler: “Like a Ramen Noodle moonsault.” Back in and a missile dropkick gets two on Theory and the Octopus goes on. That’s countered into the ATL (TKO) to finish Tozawa at 7:12.

Rating: D+. It’s pretty clear that they want Theory to be something special so why in the world are they having him trade moves with Akira Tozawa? It’s ok to have Theory get in a squash here and having him wrestle for seven minutes while having to survive so much offense from a jobber to the stars doesn’t make a lot of sense. Theory’s time on offense wasn’t even that great as a good chunk of it was spent in chinlocks or armbars. Just a bad idea all around.

Post match it’s the rest of Vega’s team to triple team Tozawa.

We look at a clip from Drew McIntyre’s Chronicle special on his way to the main event of Wrestlemania.

Rey Mysterio wants to be Mr. Money in the Bank. He has been cashed in on before but now he’s going to be the one cashing in.

Angel Garza vs. Tehuti Miles

Miles tries a dropkick to start but Garza dropkicks him out of the air in a cool spot. Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS and hits a basement dropkick, followed by some Spanish into the camera. A seated abdominal stretch goes on, followed by a kick to the chest and the Wing Clipper to finish Miles at 2:29.

Post match Vega sends out Theory and Andrade for another beatdown, including another hammerlock DDT out of the corner.

The Kabuki Warriors dance in and laugh at the idea of anyone else winning Money in the Bank.

Drew McIntyre looks down at a scar on his arm left by a surgery after his title loss to Andrade. Tonight, it’s a Claymore.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Kairi Sane vs. Nia Jax

Sane gets thrown around to start as Asuka is VERY excited in the back. Back to full screen and it’s a clothesline into a toss around by the hair. A gorilla press into a Samoan drop (the Annihilator) finishes Sane at 2:36. Total squash.

Here’s Charlotte to talk about how she got here as NXT Women’s Champion. She (referring to herself as the Queen) won the Women’s Royal Rumble and got to choose an opponent. We’ve seen her vs. Becky Lynch and her vs. Bayley over and over but it was Rhea Ripley coming to the ring and challenging her. That took guts and it reminded her of someone she knows.

Rhea was the next big thing but Charlotte is the biggest thing. Vince McMahon knew that last year when he had her save the main event of Wrestlemania. There is always going to be someone stronger, faster and better and she is going to teach that to NXT, starting with Io Shirai. Everyone bows down to the Queen.

We look at Lana costing Bobby Lashley his match against Aleister Black at Wrestlemania. After the show, Lashley said he thought he needed new management or a new wife.

We look at Shayna Baszler injuring Sarah Logan earlier.

Bobby Lashley vs. No Way Jose

Lashley elbows him in the face as Lana screams a lot from ringside. With Jose down, Lashley goes outside and asks Lana to shut up. Jose gets in a right hand but walks into an overhead belly to belly. A spinebuster sets up the spear to finish Jose at 2:46.

Rollins says the non-believers have left him no choice. Tonight, he stomps out all doubt.

Viking Raiders vs. Cedric Alexander/Ricochet

Ricochet starts fast and hits a dive to the floor, followed by a tornado DDT from Cedric back inside. We settle down to Erik getting caught in a front facelock but he rolls to the floor for a breather. Alexander misses a dive so Erik runs back in for the tag to Ivar. That means Ricochet is thrown at Cedric in a SCARY landing but Ivar dives onto both of them anyway as we take a break.

Back with Alexander taking a bunch of knees to the face, plus Erik slamming Ivar onto him for two. Alexander scores with a cartwheel into a dropkick and a jumping Flatliner really gives him a breather. It’s off to Ricochet to clean house, including a running shooting star press for two on Erik. The Neuralizer misses though and Erik knees Ricochet in the face. Ivar comes back in with the seated senton and Erik drives him into Cedric in the corner for two.

The belly to back suplex/middle rope springboard clothesline gets two with Ricochet having to make a save. That earns him a spinning kick to the face and a completely botched Viking Experience (almost a pop up World’s Strongest Slam instead of a powerslam) finishes Cedric at 13:46.

Rating: D+. This was a rough sit with the Raiders throwing the two of them all over the place and looking a bit sloppy at times. I’m fine with the Raiders winning but they can’t let that finish happen again. It wasn’t a strong performance from anyone and I wasn’t exactly interested in what they were doing in the first place.

The Street Profits officially introduce Bianca Belair and then give a history lesson on vikings. That gets two thumbs up but Bianca says nu uh because they have never beaten the Raiders. Now stop with the games and get that smoke.

Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade

Non-title and Andrade has everyone with him. McIntyre starts stomping away in the corner early on and even catches Andrade with a kick to the chest for trying to jump over him. They head outside with Andrade bouncing on top of the barricade. A Garza distraction lets Andrade pull him into the post though and the chops are on. McIntyre’s arm is sent into the steps and it’s an armbar back inside.

The armbar over the rope keeps McIntyre in trouble and a shot to the arm breaks up a suplex attempt. McIntyre boots him in the face though and hits a top rope shot to the head into a nip up. A spinning back elbow rocks McIntyre but he’s fine enough to backdrop Andrade onto Theory and Garza. Back in and Vega’s distraction lets Andrade crotch him on top but McIntyre escapes the hanging DDT. There’s the reverse Alabama Slam into the Claymore for the pin on Andrade at 5:31.

Rating: C. Not too bad here though I kept waiting on Rollins to interfere and cost McIntyre the match. I wouldn’t have had the US Champion get pinned when he had a big numbers advantage but that title being protected is a long forgotten hope. McIntyre picking up another win is a good thing though as he can mow people down to become the new dominant force around here.

Post match Garza chop blocks McIntyre and here’s Seth Rollins to superkick the champ. A pair of Stomps to McIntyre ends the show.

Overall Rating: D. For the first time in a good while, this show felt like a chore to watch. They’ve had some rough weeks as of late but this was a much harder watch. Maybe it’s the Money in the Bank stuff that always dulls my senses or something else but I didn’t care about most of what they were doing here and the show felt every bit of its three hours. There have been worse shows but this one was exhausting on every level.

Results

Asuka b. Ruby Riott – Asuka Lock

Aleister Black b. Oney Lorcan – Black Mass

Shayna Baszler b. Sarah Logan via referee stoppage

Austin Theory b. Akira Tozawa – ATL

Angel Garza b. Tehuti Miles – Wing Clipper

Nia Jax b. Kairi Sane – Annihilator

Bobby Lashley b. No Way Jose – Spear

Viking Raiders b. Ricochet/Cedric Alexander – Viking Experience to Alexander

Drew McIntyre b. Andrade – Claymore

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

Monday Night Raw – April 6, 2020: The Yokozuna Treatment

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 6, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

We’re finally past Wrestlemania XXXVI and that means it’s time to start getting ready for presumably Money in the Bank, assuming they actually get to run the show. I’m not sure what they’re going to be able to do long term but they got through Wrestlemania and that’s what matters. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Wrestlemania if you need a recap (Part Two)

We open with a look at Drew McIntyre defeating Brock Lesnar to win the Raw World Title.

Opening sequence.

Asuka vs. Liv Morgan

Asuka kicks her in the ribs to start and scores with the hip attack for a bonus. Liv manages to knock her to the floor and snaps off a hurricanrana as we take a break. Back with Asuka stomping away and hitting a running knee for two. Liv gets in some clotheslines and a faceplant to stagger Asuka, with a double stomp out of the corner getting two. Asuka is right back with the cross armbreaker but Liv backflips into a cradle for two. That’s fine with Asuka, who pulls her into the Asuka Lock for the tap at 10:06.

Rating: C-. And that seems to end or at least downgrade the Morgan experiment for the time being. I’m sure she’ll come back in the near future but at least she got the Wrestlemania moment. By beating Natalya. On the Kickoff Show. That counts for something, right?

We look at Becky Lynch retaining over Shayna Baszler.

Becky is proud of her year long reign and thinks Shayna underestimated her. She’s ready for anyone.

Baszler talks about the agony of defeat and isn’t done with Becky.

Tag Team Titles: Austin Theory/Angel Garza vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending and Zelina Vega is here with the challengers. Garza bails from Dawkins to start so it’s off to Theory, who gets dropkicked down. A double flapjack puts Garza onto Theory and we take a break. Back with Theory hitting his rolling dropkick on Dawkins and cranking on the arm. Some stomping keeps Dawkins down and the armbar goes on. It’s off to Garza to work on the legs to mix things up a bit but Dawkins manages to suplex Theory. The hot tag brings in Ford and everything breaks down, with Vega getting involved for the DQ at 10:04.

Rating: C-. If that’s where they’re going, I’m not sure if they needed the first Wrestlemania title match. The match felt tacked on in the first place and now there’s this, which felt like your usual Raw match with the angle at the end to set up something else. The tag division is nothing right now and I’m not sure who the Profits are supposed to face going forward.

Post match the brawl continues with Bianca Belair running in and going after Vega. The ring is cleared so Belair challenges Vega for right now.

Zelina Vega vs. Bianca Belair

Belair powers her down to start and flips forward, only to have Vega get in a slap to the face. That’s too far for Belair, who throws her down by the head. A missed charge goes into the post though and Vega ties her up in the ropes with something like a crucifix chinlock. Belair powers out of a dragon sleeper and Ford grabs the camera in celebration. Theory blocks a moonsault attempt though and the guys get in a fight. Everyone gets inside and the match is thrown out at 4:26.

Rating: D+. They’re going all the way with this trio of matches tonight aren’t they? Belair being out there was a good way to introduce her, though you might think she would just get a clean pin here instead of being used to set up something else. You can do that, but do you really need to let the match be thrown out?

Post match, six person challenge.

Street Profits/Bianca Belair vs. Zelina Vega/Austin Theory/Angel Garza

Dawkins throws Theory around to start and it’s Ford coming in, only to spend too much time trash talking. That earns him a forearm to the back to send Ford outside and it’s a cheap shot from Garza for a bonus. The chinlock into a front facelock keep Ford in trouble and Theory sends him outside. Back in and Ford powers out of a sleeper so Theory knocks Dawkins off the apron. Ford enziguris Theory down though and it’s off to Belair to ragdoll Zelina with a backbreaker. The handspring moonsault connects as everyone else fights on the floor. The KOD ends Vega at 5:26.

Rating: C-. Well at least they got to the right ending. The Profits are long established so having the focus on Belair here makes sense. She’s come a long way in NXT and it would be nice to see her getting a push around here. The women’s division certainly needs the boost and maybe she can do it.

We look at Lana costing Bobby Lashley the match against Aleister Black.

Lashley isn’t happy with Lana and walks away from her.

Aleister Black vs. Apollo Crews

Crews has been signed over from Smackdown. Black front facelocks him to start but Crews powers out into a headlock. Crews shoulders him down but Black flips over him and has a seat, sending Crews bailing to the floor. Back from a break with Black grabbing an armbar but Crews knocks him outside. A belly to back suplex keeps Black in trouble on the floor but he’s right back in with a kick to the chest for two. Crews backdrops him to the floor and scores with a moonsault as we take another break (In this match?).

Back again with Crews hitting a clothesline for two and the chinlock goes on. Black fights up and kicks away until a powerslam gives Crews two. A shot to the leg doesn’t do much to Crews, who hits an enziguri into the toss powerbomb for two more. Crews clotheslines him down and goes up top, only to miss the splash.

A kneebar has Crews in more trouble but he makes the rope. They trade kicks and Black is sent outside as we take a third break. Back again with Black kicking him in the face for two more but Crews hits a dropkick. Crews catches him on top and hits a superplex for a delayed two.

The knee gives out on a gorilla press attempt so Crews gets in a sitout powerbomb for two more. Now the gorilla press sets up the standing moonsault. The standing shooting star press gets the same and they’re both down again. Crews dives into the jumping knee to the face though and Black Mass finishes at 27:26.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when I saw these two being paired together but surprises can be fun too. Crews continues to have all of the athletic abilities in the world but not much in terms of success. Black got in some good stuff here but Black Mass is something that can make him a star for as long as he wants.

Video on Edge beating Randy Orton in the Last Man Standing match.

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Lorcan takes Alexander down into a front facelock and it’s quickly off to Burch for a chinlock. Alexander fights up and brings in Ricochet but has to fight off Burch and Lorcan at the same time. A triangle dropkick puts Burch on the floor and it’s back to Cedric for an enziguri into a front suplex. Ricochet’s standing shooting star and it’s the Neuralizer into the Benadryller for the pin on Lorcan at 3:37.

Rating: C. They packed some action into this one and that’s a good thing to see. Alexander and Ricochet are two guys with nothing else to do and the tag division certainly could use a boost. Then again I don’t know how much of a future they have as the tag division never goes anywhere for very long, but the nod is better than nothing.

Video on Kevin Owens beating Seth Rollins.

Owens has spent several months asking himself if it is worth it to spend this much time facing Rollins. Then he dove off the sign at Wrestlemania and pinned Rollins, which made it all worth it. Now he needs to find something new to do, so maybe we need to find out who needs the next Stunner.

Seth Rollins vs. Denzel Dejournette

Denzel is from NXT and gets sent outside early on. A whip into the barricade sets up the Stomp to give Rollins the pin at 1:23.

Nia Jax vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Jax says fight her and blasts Purrazzo with a clothesline. She does it again for a bonus and it’s the Samoan drop into a fisherman’s DDT to finish Purrazzo at 1:36.

Video on the Boneyard match.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Brendan Vink

Carrillo starts fast with the springboard armdrag to put Vink on the floor but he forearms his way out of a suicide dive. Back in and Vink hiptosses Carrillo down so we can hit the chinlock. Carrillo fights up with a dropkick into a moonsault though, setting up a missile dropkick. A kick to the face into the top rope moonsault finishes Vink at 3:23.

Rating: D+. Just a match here and not much of an entertaining one. I get why WWE wants to push Carrillo but he just isn’t clicking. He can do all of the in-ring stuff just fine but there is a connection issue that needs to be fixed. That isn’t something you can just turn off and on though and I think WWE might be realizing it with him. Maybe this gets better, but it hasn’t shown any signs of doing so yet.

Video on Charlotte winning the NXT Women’s Title.

Charlotte talks about everything she has accomplished and how she has done everything. Rhea Ripley is great and now she has bowed down to the Queen.

Video on Drew McIntyre winning the WWE Championship.

We get some post Wrestlemania footage of McIntyre coming back into the arena wearing the title for an interview. Drew talks about how he can’t believe that he got here and it hasn’t sunk in yet. He thanks everyone who has gotten him here, including Paul Heyman. During the match with Brock Lesnar, Heyman said keep giving Drew the F5 because he can’t keep getting back up.

That made Drew think about all the times he has had to get back up so the F5’s just angered him over and over again. Now he’s WWE Champion….and here’s the Big Show with a referee. Show congratulates him and wants a match right now, not even for the title. Drew says he just beat Brock Lesnar so that’s not happening right now. Show thinks that’s fear but Drew knows what’s going on. That earns him a slap so Drew is ready to go.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Big Show

McIntyre is defending. Show starts fast and slams him down to bang up the ribs a bit. A headbutt cuts the champ off and a Vader Bomb gets two. There’s another slam to work on the ribs even more and Show chokes on the ropes while asking what Drew is made of. The big chop misses and Drew swings away, setting up a slam for two in a good looking spot. Drew goes up top and dives into a chokeslam for two. The KO Punch misses though and it’s the Claymore to retain at 6:57.

Rating: D+. A competitive match here is fine but my goodness they had me worried that they would actually do something this bad. The match was the usual slow and plodding Big Show deal but at least they didn’t pull the trigger for the sake of promoting Big Show’s Netflix series. Points for the drama, but negative points for making me think about the possibility.

Overall Rating: C. Well they did something different and that’s what mattered here. This show didn’t feel boring and was as good of a post Wrestlemania show as they could have had in this situation. They kept the show moving and we had a good enough night as a result. I don’t know if we should expect it going forward, but this was a step up from the recent Performance Center TV shows. I’ll take what I can get at this point so well enough done.

Results

Asuka b. Liv Morgan – Asuka Lock

Street Profits b. Austin Theory/Angel Garza via DQ when Zelina Vega interfered

Bianca Belair vs. Zelina Vega went to a no contest

Street Profits/Bianca Belair b. Zelina Vega/Austin Theory/Angel Garza – KOD to Vega

Aleister Black b. Apollo Crews – Black Mass

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – Benadryller to Lorcan

Seth Rollins b. Denzel Dejournette – Stomp

Nia Jax b. Deonna Purrazzo – Fisherman’s DDT

Humberto Carrillo b. Brendan Vink – Moonsault

Drew McIntyre b. Big Show – Claymore

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

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Wrestlemania XXXVI Night Two: The WWE Psyche

IMG Credit: WWE

Wrestlemania XXXVI Night Two
Date: April 5, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re back for more of the same and that might not be the worst thing in the world. Last night’s part one wasn’t half bad but they are going to have a hard time surpassing that main event. There are eight more matches, plus the required Kickoff Show match, tonight so hopefully they can have another good one. Let’s get to it.

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

Kickoff Show: Liv Morgan vs. Natalya

Morgan rolls her up for two to start so Natalya does the same for a standoff. Some more rollups get some more near falls until Morgan sends her into the corner. A running hip attack hits Natalya but she’s right back with her basement dropkick for two more. Natalya clotheslines her to the floor, followed by the surfboard back inside. Natalya: “ASK HER!!!!” That’s broken up and Liv’s Codebreaker gets two. The sitout wheelbarrow faceplant gives Natalya the same and they pinfall reversal sequence with Liv getting the pin at 6:33.

Rating: D+. Imagine that: a Natalya match being technically fine but completely emotionless. That’s been the definition of her career for years now and I don’t see it changing anytime soon. Liv getting a win is fine but there is no way that she is getting anywhere near the top of the division, leaving this as little more than a way to fill time.

Stephanie McMahon welcomes us to the show in a new message.

Same opening video as last night.

Rob Gronkowski welcomes us to the show and throws us to the first match.

NXT Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley is defending. The feel each other out to start with Charlotte going straight to the leg. That doesn’t work so Rhea gets in her face, earning some chops into the corner. Ripley is right back with Riptide for two and it’s time for a quick breather. They fight to the floor with Charlotte hitting a double chop but Rhea sends her into the steps. Back in and Rhea hits a dropkick before kicking away at the ribs.

A bodyscissors keeps Charlotte down but Rhea misses a running big boot and hurts her leg on the rope. Charlotte works on the leg, shrugs off a shot to the head, and bends the leg around on the mat. Rhea won’t quit so Charlotte works on the leg again. Back up and Rhea nails a basement dropkick, followed by some shouting at her own knee. The leg is fine enough for an electric chair faceplant for two, followed by a missile dropkick for the same, albeit after a delay because of the knee.

Charlotte chop blocks the knee though and Rhea is down again. The Figure Four doesn’t work again and Rhea reverses into the standing Cloverleaf. That’s broken up as well and Charlott knocks her down with another hard shot. The Figure Four is broken up again so Charlotte goes with a Boston crab instead.

Ripley gets out again and hits a quick big boot (thanks to some editing) for the double knockdown. Rhea takes her up top but gets slammed back down, though she’s able to raise her boots to block the moonsault. A horrible looking spear gives Charlotte two but the Figure Four finally goes on. The Figure Eight makes Ripley tap at 20:26.

Rating: C+. CHARLOTTE! WINS!! AGAIN!!! I have no idea why they needed to have her beat Rhea clean in their first match but I’m sure it has something to do with some kind of tribute to Ric Flair, who hasn’t had one in a while. I’m sick of seeing Charlotte with a title and it almost scares me to imagine how many titles she’s going to wind up with in the end.

We recap last night.

Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley

Lana is here with Lashley. Black gets tossed around to start and Lashley hammers away, only to get low bridged to the floor. A running big boot puts Lashley on the floor but Black misses the moonsault. Lashley snaps off the overhead belly to belly but can’t get a suplex back inside. Instead Black kicks him in the chest, only to walk into a snap powerslam for two. Another suplex gets another two and Lashley loads up the Dominator, but Lana tells him to do the spear. That earns him Black Mass for the sudden pin at 7:14.

Rating: D+. This was a way to get Black on the show, and by that I mean a way for him to get beaten up until Lana and Lana alone cost Lashley the match. I’m glad Black won but if you want him to look good, just have him kick Lashley’s head off and win. It’s not like Lashley has anything going on at the moment, but now I’m sure we can get the big fallout with Lana now, because we need another part to that story.

Bayley complains about the elimination match and knows Sasha Banks won’t turn on her. With Bayley gone, Sasha is asked how much she wants to win the title. You’ll have to watch and see.

Money in the Bank ad.

Gronk would like to win the 24/7 Title.

We recap Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler. Otis was going to go on a Valentine’s Day date with Mandy Rose but Ziggler crashed it when Otis was late. Mandy wanted nothing else to do with Otis after that but it turns out that Sonya Deville stole Mandy’s phone and told Otis she would be late (and deleted the texts) so it would fall apart.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Otis

Sonya Deville is here with Ziggler. Otis misses a charge to start and gets superkicked outside in a hurry. That gets one back inside so Ziggler grabs a neckbreaker into the jumping elbow for two. The chinlock goes on but Otis is back up with a catapult. A hard whip sends Ziggler into the corner and a pop up World’s Strongest Slam plants him again. Sonya gets on the apron for a distraction though and Ziggler gets in a low blow. Cue Mandy to take out Sonya and hit Ziggler low, setting up the Caterpillar for the pin at 8:23.

Rating: D+. I was wrong on this one as I didn’t think they would let Otis pin Dolph. I’m rather please by the result and even though it wasn’t much of a match, at least they pulled the trigger on something. You can pencil in the mixed tag coming up and that’s all well and good, though I’m not sure where they can go after that.

Post match Otis picks Mandy up and they get the first kiss.

We recap Edge vs. Randy Orton. Edge came back at the Royal Rumble but Orton attacked him the next night and put him back on the shelf. Orton said Edge was an adrenaline junkie and he attacked him so Edge wouldn’t ruin his life like Orton did. To make it worse, Orton RKOed Edge’s wife (who is a Hall of Famer who wrestled earlier this year so we needed to act like he shot her). Now it’s a Last Man Standing match as this is very personal.

Edge vs. Randy Orton

Last Man Standing. Edge comes out first and glares at the stage for Orton….who is disguised as a cameraman and runs in for an RKO before the bell. The bell rings and it’s another RKO but Edge falls to the floor at nine. They fight back backstage with Orton knocking Edge through some doors. It goes onto the gym with Orton knocking him down again, setting up some choking with a rope on a machine.

Edge gets out and hits a dropkick through some machines before choking away at Orton. Some forearms put Orton in a chair and Edge pulls himself up on a bar for a seated senton of all things. Back up and they slug it out into another room with a red light. Both guys are sent face first into a garage door and it’s back into the arena. Orton shoves him off a platform and into the barricade before they stumble backstage again.

Edge’s head gets bounced off of another wall for a six count and it’s time to go into the office area. This time it’s Orton being sent into a wall but Edge kicks him in the ribs at nine. Orton gets thrown onto the big table so Edge pulls himself up onto part of the ceiling to drop an elbow. The cameraman gets knocked down but another one catches them up in the big storage facility in the back.

Both of them bounce off of various things until Orton knocks him onto a storage crate. Edge gets sent into some steps and Orton starts looking around. That’s good for another nine so they wind up in what looks like the promo area. Edge throws something at Orton’s leg to take him down and some more shots to the face do it again. Orton is placed on a table and drops a huge elbow.

They go to a truck with a cover on the bed and Orton hits the hanging DDT for nine. Edge climbs onto some crates and then on top of an NXT semi truck. Orton and the referee follow them up and it’s a spear to drop Orton. That’s good for nine but another spear is countered into an RKO.

Edge is up at nine as well but Orton has dropped down to the floor next to the biggest ladder I’ve ever seen in WWE (it’s on the floor and is WAY higher than the top of the semi truck). Instead Orton takes some chairs up to the top of the truck to load up the Conchairto. Edge grabs a head and arm choke though and Orton is out. Hold on though as Edge waves off the count so he can hit the Conchairto. Orton is finally done at 36:39.

Rating: B. This one is going to be divisive and I can understand that. If my math is right, this was the longest non-Iron Man match in Wrestlemania history, though it didn’t feel that long. It felt like two guys who wanted to hurt each other and were doing whatever they could to accomplish that. I liked the unique atmosphere and some of the spot, with the Conchairto making for a good finish.

After a quick breather, here’s Mojo Rawley with the Mob chasing him. Gronk shows up and dives off a platform to take out the pile, allowing him to pin Rawley for the title.

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

The Profits are defending. Dawkins shoulders Theory down to start and the champs start working on the arm. That’s fine with Theory, who sends Dawkins to the floor, allowing Theory to mock the dancing. Garza gets in a superkick on the floor, TAKES OFF HIS PANTS, and misses a clothesline so Dawkins can tag Ford in.

A DDT gets two on Ford and Garza hits the moonsault onto both champs on the floor. The Lionsault gets two more on Ford back inside but Ford pops up with an enziguri. Dawkins comes in and runs Garza over, only to get caught in Theory’s TKO. Ford frog splashes his way in for the save though and Dawkins gets the cover to retain at 6:23.

Rating: D+. If ever there was a match to cut for the sake of time. This was a weird one as there was no reason to believe the title change was taking place and then the finish felt like something the heels would do to win. There are no teams to challenge the Profits at the moment and I don’t see Theory and Garza changing that anytime soon.

Post match Garza and Theory stay on Ford but Bianca Belair runs in for the save. That means a KOD on Zelina.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

Bayley is defending and this is under elimination rules. Tamina shrugs off the gang attack to start so Lacey chop blocks her down. The other four slug it out with Bayley and Sasha double teaming Lacey. Naomi makes a quick save as a mini tag match breaks out. Tamina comes back in to run everyone over and we actually get a Team Bad reunion. That lasts for all of three seconds as everyone goes after Tamina, including something off the top each. A dog pile pin gets rid of Tamina at 6:23.

Naomi dives onto Sasha but Lacey misses a dive onto Bayley, earning a ram into the steps. A sunset flip gives Naomi two on Bayley and Sasha at the same time, followed by a sliding slip to both. The Rear View hits Sasha and a Bubba Bomb into the reverse Rings of Saturn….is broken up by Bayley. The Bank Statement gets rid of Naomi (Bayley: “DANCE TO THE BACK!”) at 10:36 and we’re down to three.

Bayley shouts about Lacey’s daughter though, allowing Lacey to avoid the running knee. Sasha is knocked silly instead so Lacey small packages Bayley for two. Back in and Sasha yells at Bayley, who shoves Sasha out of the way of the Woman’s Right. Lacey hits the second attempt though and Banks is done at 13:23.

After a replay where you can hear Cole shouting commentary, Bayley mocks Lacey with a salute and shoves her face against the rope. Lacey gets posted for two so Bayley ties her arm to the corner with the tag rope. Since that’s kind of a stupid plan, Lacey kicks her way out and hits the slingshot Bronco Busters in the corner. After a slow motion salute, Lacey’s double jump moonsault gets two. Cue Sasha with a Backstabber to Lacey though and Bayley’s weird bulldog driver retains at 19:15.

Rating: D. Well that was long and served little purpose. Bayley has held the title since last May (save for a four day Charlotte reign) and I’m not sure what else there is for her to do. Unless they do Bayley vs. Becky (unlikely), what is the point in keeping it on her much longer? I’m sure we’ll get to Bayley vs. Banks again eventually, but dang that sounds as appealing as watching this match all over again.

Titus O’Neil takes Gronk’s place as host.

Wrestlemania XXXVII is in Los Angeles.

We recap The Fiend vs. John Cena in the Firefly Fun House. After Cena said that he didn’t want to wrestle at this year’s show, Fiend popped up to challenge him. Cena accepted, and then Bray Wyatt went on to say that he blamed Cena for the rise of the Fiend. See, Cena beat him at Wrestlemania XXX and messed with Bray’s mind, leading to the creation of the Fiend. Therefore, tonight Cena goes to the Fun House.

John Cena vs. The Fiend

Cena makes his entrance but the Firefly Fun House pops up, with Bray saying that Cena is about to face himself. Then Cena is teleported to the Fun House (apparently the same way Seth Rollins got there back in October), where Ramblin Rabbit sends him through a door after the Fiend. Cena follows and finds the Vince puppet, asking if Cena has the ruthless aggression to make it in this company.

We see Wyatt copying the Kurt Angle promo to challenge Cena from 2002 and here’s 2020 Cena in 2002 Cena attire. Cena keeps saying RUTHLESS AGGRESSION but misses a bunch of shots. Bray: “You can look but you can’t touch!” And now it’s the Saturday Night’s Main Event opening, with Bray standing behind a cage and imitating Hulk Hogan. Cena (Johnny Largemeat) comes up and starts rapidly lifting weights, apparently destroying his arms in the process.

Vince and the Mercy the Buzzard are on commentary as Bray asks what happens when Cena realizes that Ego Mania has been running wild on him. Bray sends him off camera to the Smackdown Fist where Cena is the Dr. of Thugnomics, with Bray dancing to Basic Thuganomics. They’re back in the ring and Cena finds out that he can only speak in rhymes, including a Husky Harris reference.

Bray calls Cena a bully and a horrible person who takes the weaknesses of others and turns them into jokes. With that, Bray gives him the floor so Cena throws him Deez Nuts. Cena, in the Babe Ruth jersey from last year, misses a charge and gets knocked out by a chain. Now it’s Bray back in the Wyatt Family gear and sitting in the rocking chair as we see clips of Wrestlemania XXX.

The fans wanted and needed him that night and now it’s time to rewrite his own story. They’re back in the ring now with Bray dancing with the unconscious Cena and loading up Sister Abigail. He lets Cena go though and drops down, handing Cena a chair in a recreation of Wrestlemania XXX. Bray tells Cena to fix his mistake from last year but Bray disappears away from Cena’s swing.

And now it’s…..NWO MONDAY NITRO??? Bray is Eric Bischoff (with the jacket and a Wolfpac shirt) and introduces Cena as Hollywood Hogan. Cena takes Bray down and unloads as we see clips of Cena’s past. He wakes up as himself and sees that he’s beating up Huskus the Pig. The Fiend appears behind him and gives him the Mandible Claw to knock Cena out. We hear Cena’s promo about ending the most overrated overhyped superstar ever and the Claw goes back on with Bray counting the pin. Cena teleports away and the Fiend stands alone.

No rating as this wasn’t a match but I got into this. It’s a rather interesting character study of Cena and you can get what they’re going with in Fiend making him face his fears. Back in the day, CM Punk said that Cena had become the New York Yankees: the big bad who held people down and used money to get what he wants (or going from the Real American Hogan to Hollywood Hogan as they used here).

That’s what Fiend is showing Cena here and it scared Cena that he had changed so much and become what he fought against for so many years. Now granted, if you haven’t been glued to WWE for the last….oh eight years or so, this made no sense, but the effort and thought was ALL there and I got most of what they were going for, plus some of the complete insanity that went along with it. Not a match, but kind of a fascinating weird look into the WWE psyche.

We cut to Titus O’Neil. Titus: “I don’t know what I just saw.”

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre. Lesnar is World Champion but Drew eliminated him from the Royal Rumble and then won the whole thing, earning him this spot. Drew has kicked his head off a few times since then to show he can hang with Brock.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar is defending and gets Claymored for two after about ten seconds. Another Claymore misses and it’s time to go to Suplex City. The F5 gets one and Brock isn’t happy. Another F5 gets two and there’s the third for another two. Another F5 is countered and McIntyre hits two more Claymores. A fourth gives Drew the pin and the title at 4:28.

Rating: D. I’m happy that McIntyre won but GOOD GRIEF STOP DOING THAT SAME MATCH OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER! It’s a cool idea one time and then don’t do it again for years. This is all Lesnar does anymore and now it’s creeping over into other main events too. It loses its impact when they keep doing it again and again and now you’ve grown to expect it every time. Anyway, great moment to end the show and McIntyre as champion is awesome, assuming they don’t have Lesnar win it back in two months again.

Overall Rating: C-. I didn’t like this one as much as last night’s but it still wasn’t terrible. This one definitely felt like the bigger show and had the more intriguing matches (for the most part). I’m not wild on some of the booking decisions but it felt more like a Wrestlemania and that’s what matters. The crowd being gone didn’t bother me as much either, but the wrestling itself just wasn’t as good. Overall, not bad but last night’s felt tighter and more enjoyable.

Overall Overall Rating: C. With something like this, it’s almost impossible to give the thing a fair rating. When you factor in the day in between and the weird atmosphere, the show was pretty much just ok. There were some very good matches but some that made me wonder why I was wasting my time. Overall it’s an enjoyable one off, but I’m still not behind the idea of a two night Wrestlemania going forward. Until WWE can cut these things WAY down and trim off so much of the unnecessary stuff, it needs to be one night and one night only, just for the sake of sanity if nothing else.

Results

Charlotte b. Rhea Ripley – Figure Eight

Aleister Black b. Bobby Lashley – Black Mass

Otis b. Dolph Ziggler – Caterpillar

Edge b. Randy Orton when Orton couldn’t answer the ten count

Street Profits b. Angel Garza/Austin Theory – Frog splash to Theory

Bayley b. Sasha Banks, Naomi, Tamina and Lacey Evans – Bulldog driver to Evans

Drew McIntyre b. Brock Lesnar – Claymore

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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Wrestlemania XXXVI Preview: Raw Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Austin Theory/Angel Garza

IMG Credit: WWE

E Pluribus Theory.

Here’s your match that might have been changed as much as anything else. At the end of the day, there is no reason for these teams to be fighting, mainly because Garza and Theory weren’t even a team until four days ago. If nothing else, that shows you just how bad the tag division is at this point. You would think that the solution might be to bring over another team from Smackdown or NXT, but this is what we’re getting instead. Points to Theory for getting here though, as that’s quite the nice nod.

In what might be the easiest pick of the night, I’ll take the Street Profits to win here. There is no reason to suggest that they are going to drop the titles to a literally thrown together team and I can’t imagine the match being anything more than what should be a cool down match or Kickoff Show match. Just go with what makes sense here and don’t do anything stupid, which I don’t think they will.

Monday Night Raw – March 30, 2020: These Are Still The Good Ones

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 30, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home Raw for Wrestlemania, which happens to have already taken place. This is one of the weirdest situations in history and I have no idea what to expect from almost anything involved. There are some changed that need to be announced and hopefully those announcements take place tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long video on AJ Styles vs. Undertaker.

Undertaker says that Allen Jones’ (AJ Styles’ real name) mouth is writing checks he can’t cash. AJ has been a big fish in a small pond for most of his career and now he’s saying that fifteen years ago, he wouldn’t have done this. Undertaker lists off a lot of legends from around that time and thinks it was smart of Allen to wait for them to be gone, except for him.

He gets what AJ is doing, but mentioning Michelle McCool is crossing the line. Is it because the Faithbreaker is better than the Styles Clash? Undertaker: “She got it over.” They’ll be in the bone yard and AJ should try him because Undertaker will make him famous. Anderson and Gallows can come too because they can all get hurt and rest in peace. The camera pans back to show an AJ tombstone. Good promo, with Undertaker showing some fire.

We look at Becky Lynch attacking Shayna Baszler last week.

Here’s Becky for a chat. She beat two champions last year at Wrestlemania and walked out with two titles. Ever since then she has walked a razor blade lifestyle….and here’s last year’s Wrestlemania main event.

Raw Women’s Title/Smackdown Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

Ronda is Raw Women’s Champion and Charlotte is Smackdown Women’s Champion….and she comes in via helicopter and lands in the parking lot, where a red carpet is rolled out for her in a Horseman homage. Since she has to walk a good ways into the stadium, here are Joan Jett and the Blackhearts to play Ronda to the ring. The bell rings at 12:01am and Becky goes straight for the Disarm-Her on Ronda but gets shoved away so they can all head outside.

That means a Piper’s Pit for both of them and Ronda starts the trash talk. Charlotte gets up and sends Rousey into the barricade, setting up a showdown with Charlotte inside. The Disarm-Her to Becky is broken up and it’s Ronda coming back in to kick Becky in the face. A double powerbomb over the top is countered into a double armbar on Becky and Charlotte. Becky escapes and dropkicks Ronda to the floor for a NASTY crash on her back. Charlotte Downward Spirals Becky into the buckle for two as we look at Rousey landing square on her back again.

Becky is right back with the Disarm-Her but Ronda comes back to life and makes the save. A running knee breaks up the armbar on Becky and Charlotte hits a double Natural Selection for two each. Becky gets sent outside so Charlotte chops Ronda, who tells her to bring it. That’s just what Charlotte does with a backhand to the face so Ronda hits a jumping knee, which is countered into a Liontamer. Becky breaks it up with a bulldog and hits a double DDT for two each.

A super Bexploder gets two on Charlotte, setting up a double high crossbody from Rousey. The double armbar is countered with a double powerbomb Ronda is done for the moment. Becky calls Charlotte to her and avoids a charge, letting Becky kick her to the floor. The Disarm-Her goes on and Rousey uses the ropes to stand up for the break. A missed charge lets Becky get the Disarm-Her in the corner until Charlotte’s big boot breaks it up.

Charlotte starts in on Rousey’s knee and gets the Figure Four but Becky comes off the top with a legdrop for the save. And now, a table because that’s what this match was calling for. Rousey breaks up a powerbomb through the table and turns the table over, saying tables are for b****** (at least the third time she’s used that word so far). Charlotte comes back in for a double spear as Cole’s voice is almost gone.

The table is set up in the corner and Charlotte gets two off a spear to Becky. Rousey gets back up and helps Becky drive Charlotte somewhat through the table to knock her outside. The fight is on and Rousey goes with a Shining Wizard and tries Piper’s Pit….but gets reversed into a crucifix to give Becky the pin and the titles at 22:27!

Rating: B. The ending was straight out of Angle vs. Benoit at Wrestlemania XVII with the submission attempts all match until the quick pinfall. What matters here is Becky defeated Rousey to win the titles as she should have. That was how this show needed to end and it did, even if the ending could have been a bit smoother. Charlotte will be fine and I’m curious to see who goes after Becky as the first victim.

Replays show Rousey’s shoulders were WAY up so there’s your story going forward (if Rousey sticks around). Cole: “Tonight will forever be known as WrestleMANia!” Oh just stop dude. Pyro and posing takes us out.

Back in the arena, where Becky has apparently been standing for 45 minutes, and Becky talks about how she doesn’t know who she is if she loses the title. She knows she’s getting in Shayna’s head too though. Shayna has always wanted to be out of Ronda’s shadow and if she wins at Wrestlemania, she can get out of that shadow forever. If she loses though, she’s right back in there for good. Cue Shayna to choke Becky out and then swing her hard into the announcers’ table.

Aleister Black vs. Jason Cade

Cade was a midcarder in MLW for a bit. Black trips him down, shrugs off an enziguri, and finishes with Black Mass at 49 seconds.

We look back at last week’s Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens segment.

Seth Rollins/Andrade/Angel Garza vs. Kevin Owens/Street Profits

Hold on though as Zelina Vega says that Andrade is injured and can’t wrestle. She has access to a lot of talent though, so here is his replacement.

Seth Rollins/Austin Theory/Angel Garza vs. Kevin Owens/Street Profits

Owens takes Theory into the corner to start and hammers away, allowing the Profits to come in and beat on Theory even more. Ford hits the big running flip dive and we take early break. Back with Garza dropkicking Ford down and TAKING OFF HIS PANTS. Theory comes in for a quickly broken chinlock before Ford flips out of a belly to back suplex. The diving tag brings in Dawkins to clean house until Theory sends him outside. Back in and Rollins superkicks Dawkins down, meaning it’s time for the staredown with Owens.

The chinlock goes on to keep Dawkins in trouble and Garza makes it worse with a camel clutch, including some fish hooks to the jaw. Dawkins rolls Rollins up for two but gets taken right back down with the Sling Blade. A right hand allows the hot tag to Owens so house can be cleaned, including the Swanton for two on Garza. Everything breaks down and Ford misses a big running flip dive, landing HARD on his back with no one to catch him. Back in and the Stunner finishes Garza at 13:24.

Rating: C. Pretty standard main event style tag here and you can see how the AOP would have fit in there if not for the injury. I can get not putting Akam in there on his own, though a big power guy could always fit in somehow. What we got was fine enough though and it’s nice to see Theory getting such a big spot while he can.

Post break, Rollins gives Owens a Stomp.

Here’s a look at the Big Show Show, debuting on Netflix next week.

Post break, Owens is still in the ring and has something to say to Rollins. Last week, Rollins took credit for building the Performance Center because he gave everything he had to make it work. Owens has heard otherwise though, because Rollins was a nightmare who knew everything about everything when he got to Tampa in the first place. Rollins has talked about all those Wrestlemania moments that he has had but Owens can claim a lot of the same accolades that Rollins has.

Owens has won a lot of titles of his own, including the Universal Title before Rollins ever got his. The difference is that he had someone watching his back or helping him every time. So did Rollins though because those Wrestlemania moments all came with help or some underhanded assist. Rollins accomplished things but he needs to think about how he got here. At Wrestlemania, he is going to prove that Rollins is nothing more than a fraud.

We get a long video on Edge vs. Randy Orton, showcasing their entire feud.

Edge talks about how he loves every bit of this. Orton has called him a junkie for this and he’s right. Edge always has been a junkie and everyone else who does this is too. He was sitting in the 11^th row at Wrestlemania VI and that was a rush for him. Orton has been talking about grit and that means different things to the two of them. Maybe it means being handpicked by Evolution and doing ok for the rest of his career. Now that has given Orton a Hall of Fame career but Edge has done something else.

To him, grit means saying no to Evolution because he didn’t want to be a lackey. Grit is doing everything you can to get back here for nine years and now he understands something. Orton isn’t jealous of Edge himself, but he’s jealous of Edge’s passion. The only time Orton shows that kind of fire is when Edge is around because Edge makes him better. Orton hasn’t been this good since Edge left in the first place and he knows it.

Edge knows Orton listens to the voices in his head and he almost had Edge believing that the Royal Rumble was enough. Then Orton attacked his wife and mentioned Edge’s daughters. He accepted a Last Man Standing match with a man who will dive through a flaming table. Orton has gone into a hole and this time, Edge isn’t pulling him out. Instead he’s going to push Orton so far in that he is never getting out. Edge was feeling it here.

Asuka vs. Kayden Carter

Much like last week, this is a Main Event rematch. Asuka rants in Japanese before the bell so Carter kicks her down. A bottom rope springboard dropkick gets two on Asuka but she’s right back with an ankle lock. The German suplex drops Carter and there’s a hard kick to the head. The Asuka lock finishes Carter at 1:04.

Earlier today, Charlotte attacked Rhea Ripley outside. Charlotte said she’ll see Rhea at Wrestlemania. Rhea: “Yeah. You will.”

From Survivor Series 2019.

Raw World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar is defending and anything goes. Rey is dressed as the Joker (again) and that might not be the best visual for a match that is supposed to be rather serious. Paul Heyman introduces Brock as weighing about two and a half Rey Mysterios for his funny line of the night. Rey goes straight to the floor and pulls out the pipe so Lesnar bails to the floor in a smart move.

Brock gets Rey to chase him and the big clothesline makes him drop the pipe. The beating begins as Rey is sent outside and over the announcers’ table in a crash. The announcers’ table is loaded up and Brock throws him into the cover. Rey is beaten down so badly that Brock can even stop to tie his boot. It takes so long that Rey can get in a posting but Brock won’t let him grab the pipe. A release German suplex drops Rey onto the pipe (geez) and another (no pipe) makes it even worse.

There’s a third suplex so here’s Dominick with a towel. Brock takes that away and throws it out (maybe in a shot at the ending to Cody vs. Chris Jericho at Full Gear). Brock grabs Dominick so Rey hits him low and even Dominick gets in his own shot. Some pipe shots set up a double 619 (sweet) and Dominick adds a frog splash (in a nice tribute to his dad). Rey adds his own frog splash for two and the fans know it isn’t happening. Dominick gets suplexed down and the F5 retains the title at 6:54.

Wrestlemania rundown. Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns is still listed.

Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar are in the ring for a chat. Heyman talks about how this is the go home segment on the go home Raw for Wrestlemania. For the better part of twenty years, it has been Brock Lesnar int his spot and that is because he is the beast to slay. This year, Drew McIntyre has stepped up and compared to most people, he is special. Compared to most wrestlers in that locker room, Drew McIntyre is special. So were the Rock, Hulk Hogan, Shane Carwin, Randy Couture and the Undertaker and they all went from special to Brock’s b****.

The Claymore Kick is good but so were the Rock Bottom, the legdrop, the Tombstone and the Attitude Adjustment, because none of them mattered against Brock when it mattered. At Wrestlemania, Brock will survive the Claymore Kick and then next year, Brock will be standing here with the title again because Drew is the latest great story to tell. This year, Drew walks in special and then walks out just like everyone else.

Overall Rating: C-. I liked the promos a lot and I want to see some of this weekend’s matches but EGADS these things are a nightmare to watch anymore. I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like without the hour break between the two matches (including the seven minute match that they stretched to three segments). Things are going to have to be different after Wrestlemania and I have a grand total of no confidence that they will be. This is what they do when they have a target in sight. What in the world are they going to be when they’re directionless?

Results

Aleister Black b. Jason Cade – Black Mass

Kevin Owens/Street Profits b. Seth Rollins/Austin Theory/Angel Garza – Stunner to Garza

Asuka b. Kayden Carter – Asuka Lock

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

Monday Night Raw – March 23, 2020: Change Of Scenery

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 23, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

We’re almost to Wrestlemania, assuming the whole city of Orlando isn’t shut down in the first place. We have a lot of the Wrestlemania card already set, including two bonus matches with the Street Profits defending against Andrade and Angel Garza, plus Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley. Yeah I don’t get it either. Let’s get to it.

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

Paul Heyman joins us to start, talking about how Brock Lesnar has run through everyone he has fought over the years. We see clips of Drew McIntyre’s rise since winning the Royal Rumble, with promises to become the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Champion.

Heyman and Lesnar are in the ring (with the camera now looking at the Titantron for a change), with Heyman talking about how McIntyre can train all he wants. He can get in great shape and spar with mixed martial artists, but he can’t beat Lesnar at Wrestlemania. McIntyre can pray all he wants but God is going to give him a busy signal on this one. Instead, Lesnar will answer his prayers to make it quick, but not painless. At Wrestlemania, McIntyre is another victim, just like everyone else.

We look back at last week’s Undertaker/AJ Styles contract signing.

From Royal Rumble 2015.

WWE World Title: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar

Rating: A. Good grief what a battle. This was the night where Rollins became a star and people knew that he was going to be champion soon. Cena put in his normal amazing performance here as well, but good night Brock looked like a monster. This is the beast that WWE wanted to build up for someone to take down and it worked perfectly here. Just outstanding action here with all three looking like they had been through a war. This was the instant match of the year leader and it would take something special to knock it off.

We look at Undertaker vs. AJ Styles again.

Post break, we look at it for a third time. I think we get the concept now.

Here are AJ and the OC for a chat. The show has grown so much that it needs another night, just like Michelle McCool has gotten out of control. Last week, Undertaker came out here in those stretchy pants that you wear when you’re pregnant. It was like this Gothic version of the Tiger King (AJ: “That’s a sweet burn! Trust me on that one!”). AJ talks about Undertaker being on Twitter and shows us his PSA with Michelle McCool about saving tigers, with the two of them in a pool behind a tiger.

Styles wanted to take Undertaker’s soul but it looks like Michelle already did that. When they get to Wrestlemania, AJ wants the old Undertaker but he’s nowhere to be found. Old humble Styles is going to give the WWE what they want though because he’s bringing back the Dead Man. Let’s make it a Bone Yard match. After the match is over, AJ can bury Undertaker then and there, and it happens to be the same plot that Michelle already buried Undertaker in.

Zelina Vega, Andrade and Angel Garza make fun of Charly Caruso and promise to win the Raw Tag Team Titles. The three of them leave but Garza comes back to flirt with Charly, who seems to approve.

We look at Edge’s challenge to Randy Orton from last week.

Andrade/Angel Garza vs. Ricochet/Cedric Alexander

Andrade and Garza try to jump Ricochet before Cedric shows up but he fights them off long enough for Cedric to get out here. Andrade kicks Ricochet to start but Ricochet picks up the pace, only to get shoved off the top. Cue the Street Profits and we take a break. Back with the Profits on commentary and Andrade working on Ricochet’s arm. A toss into a kick to the ribs gives Garza two, allowing Garza to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS and kick Ricochet in the back.

Ricochet tries a rollup and gets dropkicked into the corner for his efforts. A hurricanrana out of the corner gives Ricochet a breather though and it’s off to Alexander, with the Profits going NUTS on commentary. The Downward Spiral gets two on Garza and everything breaks down. Ricochet’s running shooting star press gets two and stereo superkicks drop Andrade.

We take another break and come back with Andrade hitting running knees in the corner to Alexander. Garza adds a reverse slingshot suplex for two and a double powerbomb is good for the same. The Lionsault looks more like a headbutt but gives Garza two more anyway. Ricochet comes in for a big running flip dive onto Garza, leaving Andrade to take a heck of a Michinoku Driver for two. Andrade’s spinning elbow knocks Alexander silly for….well eventually a three as the referee stopped counting at two, seemingly waiting for Alexander to get up, before finishing the pin at 20:12. Something was botched BAD there.

Rating: C. Nice tag match here, even though it was being stretched out to fill in time. That ending didn’t help things either but it’s hard to imagine that the match was supposed to end much later than it did. It’s nice to have the #1 contenders get their first win as a team at least on the way to Wrestlemania, but it’s not like there is anything else for them to do at the moment. It’s certainly not like one of them is United States Champion or anything.

Post match trash is talked so the Profits come in and beat the challengers out of the ring.

Street Profits vs. Shane Thorn/Brendan Vink

Dawkins shoulders Thorn down to start but it’s off to Brendan (a pretty big guy) to stomp Ford in the corner. A rather loud chop has Ford in more trouble and Thorn hits a Cannonball in the corner for two. Ford gets over to Dawkins in a hurry though and it’s time for a bunch of corner splashes. The Cash Out finishes Thorn at 4:07.

Rating: C-. This was better than I would have bet on and the Profits gave the NXT guys a good bit. What matters here though is they set up a little something between the teams in the Wrestlemania match, even if that is as tacked on of a match as you can get. If nothing else though, it makes a lot of sense to bring in some NXT names. You have them under contract so use them for something like this. This wasn’t a squash but it did what it was supposed to do, especially since Ford can actually energize an empty room with his pure charisma.

We look at R-Truth winning the 24/7 Title from Riddick Moss in Moss’ neighborhood over the weekend.

Wrestlemania rundown, with Elias vs. King Corbin confirmed.

Here’s Shayna Baszler for a sitdown interview with Charly Caruso. Charly talks about Shayna’s dominance and asks her how she will conduct herself as champion. Shayna doesn’t say anything so Charly asks again, until Baszler says Charly looks nervous. Shayna: “Are you scared I’m going to…..bite?” Charly asks if Becky should expect that kind of brutality at Wrestlemania, but Shayna says Becky should expect to lose.

Shayna gets rather angry and asks why Charly loves to destroy and starts leaning closer to her. She takes over for Charly’s questions, asking herself why she wants to win the title so much. Shayna has showed everyone who she is from the day she debuted and that’s what they’ll get at Wrestlemania. Charly brings up Survivor Series….and Shayna gets whacked from behind with a chair. The lights come up and Becky Lynch hits her with the chair again to leave Shayna laying.

Aleister Black vs. Leon Ruff

Black sits down, gets up, and hits Black Mass for the pin at 1:01. This is interesting in a way as they had the same match on Main Event last week, and I mean the same movements, mannerisms and finish. It was so close that I pulled up the Main Event match and watched them at the same time to see if it was even a different match. How weird.

Here’s Kevin Owens to hear a response from Seth Rollins. Cue Rollins to say this place was nice. Both of them have succeeded because they had to, but Rollins has had to rebuild the system in NXT and now on Raw. Owens keeps getting in the way though and he just refuses to fall in line. Without Rollins, there is no Gargano, Ciampa, Undisputed Era, Takeover or Women’s Revolution. Most importantly though, with no Rollins, there is no Owens.

Rollins cuts Owens off and asks if he can finish as he goes up the ramp. He needs to know why Owens picked Wrestlemania of all places because Rollins has a track record at Wrestlemania. Owens’ Wrestlemania track record is failure after failure after failure, including failure.

Last year he wasn’t even good enough to get onto Wrestlemania. Owens can’t be Rollins on his worst day, but Wrestlemania is never his worst day. Owens should just give up now, because he can’t win. WWE history continues to evolve as apparently we’ve erased Owens winning the US Title at Wrestlemania and never losing a singles match at the show.

From Wrestlemania XXXIV.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Asuka

Charlotte is defending and gets the full Ric Flair theme song, complete with a HHH from Wrestlemania XXX inspired entrance, meaning soldiers to help her off a throne and take her robe. Asuka on the other hand gets the CGI masks with rainbow colored lines surrounding them, which look cool on screen but live….not so much. They lock up to start and take turns flipping out of wristlocks for an early standoff.

Charlotte loads up a monkey flip but instead trips the leg for a failed Figure Eight attempt. You can feel the intensity here and it’s working well so far. Some chops to the chest (and one to the face) have Asuka in trouble but she’s right back with a hip attack to knock Charlotte outside. Back in and it’s time to start in on the arm but Charlotte gets in a backbreaker into an STO. Charlotte uses a Backpack Stunner to get out of a sleeper and a knee to the back of the head keeps Asuka in trouble.

It’s enough trouble for Charlotte to go up top for the moonsault….which is countered into a triangle for a sweet escape. Charlotte reverses into a Boston crab until Asuka makes the rope. A sliding kick to the face knocks Charlotte backwards and it’s back to the arm as Asuka continues to follow her game plan. They head to the apron with Asuka suplexing her out to the floor in a good looking crash. Sometimes you need to just go with a big spot like that and it worked very well.

Back in and they stare each other down until Asuka just erupts with strikes to the face. A missile dropkick gets two and Asuka stomps on the back. Charlotte is fine enough for the chops to catch Asuka on top and it’s a super Spanish Fly for two with the fans getting much more into things in a hurry. Natural Selection is countered into something like an Octopus Hold from Asuka’s back for a cool change of pace.

Charlotte tries to flip out and into the Figure Eight but Asuka kicks her in the head for a block. Well that’s certainly to the point. The Asuka Lock is blocked and Charlotte hits a very good spear for two more as the fans are WAY into this. With nothing else working, Charlotte goes to the Figure Eight and bridges up with one arm….and Asuka taps at 13:05 in a shocker.

Rating: A-. I don’t get shocked by results very often but I was actually stunned to see how this went. I would have bet money on Asuka walking out as champion here but Charlotte winning was far from a ridiculous result. Now the problem is what this did to Asuka, as she only started to recover from the loss nearly a year later. Charlotte would lose the title to Carmella two days later, bringing some dark days to the belt. This however was anything but dark, with an outstanding match between two stars.

Post match Asuka gets the mic and says Charlotte was ready for her in the ultimate sign of respect.

Charlotte talks about all of her Wrestlemania success and is ready to do it again at Wrestlemania. Woo.

Here’s Randy Orton to answer Edge’s challenge. A few weeks ago he told Beth Phoenix that her husband is an adrenaline junkie. That’s all Edge is and that’s why he’s still here. About eighteen years ago, Orton debuted on the main roster and won the Intercontinental Title. Then he took the torch from Mick Foley at Backlash 2004. Was any of that handed to him? He has become the most dangerous name in wrestling and now Edge is questioning his grit.

Orton doesn’t think grit is sitting on your couch for nine years. Instead, grit is longevity and becoming the one constant in WWE for all those years. Orton has heard Edge’s challenge for a Last Man Standing match and at Wrestlemania, he is ending Edge’s story. He accepts to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. First and foremost, the change in visuals helped a lot here as not seeing the empty seats for most of the show was a big improvement. Other than that, featuring the two great matches from years past helped a lot too, though it offered further evidence that Raw doesn’t need to be three hours. What we got here was good enough, but my goodness Wrestlemania is going to be approaching twenty matches at this rate (if it isn’t there already). These shows are getting marginally better though and that’s a good sign for how long we might be seeing them.

Results

Andrade/Angel Garza b. Ricochet/Cedric Alexander – Spinning elbow to Alexander

Street Profits b. Shane Thorn/Brendan Vink – Cash Out to Thorn

Aleister Black b. Leon Ruff – Black Mass

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