Monday Night Raw
Date: January 23, 2006
Location: Bobcats Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
Attendance: 7,900
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler, Joey Styles

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and that means it’s probably going to be time for a bunch of people to be thrown over the top in a big segment near the end of the show. Other than that we need Edge’s final night as champion before John Cena takes it back from him after three weeks. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video, in the form of a movie trailer, looks at Edge winning the title and his path of….well a lot of things actually, on his way to the Royal Rumble.

Here are Edge and Lita for the opening chat. Lita promises that Edge is on the way to Wrestlemania as champion because he won’t be a transitional champion. He’s no Iron Sheik or Mick Foley or someone who lost the title 16 times like Ric Flair. Ric is a walking joke, but he isn’t exactly walking right now. He isn’t here tonight and he is NEVER receiving another title shot. The WE WANT FLAIR chants start up as Edge talks about John Cena joining Flair at the back of the line soon. Edge is ready to win on Sunday so he and Lita can celebrate with mirrors on the ceiling and the spinning hydraulic bed.

Cue Cena to offer Edge congratulations on the movie trailer. See, Cena saw the trailer but he has a bootleg copy of the actual movie. Cena has a review of the movie, which is the classic Boy Meets Ho story. This means various ho puns about Lita until the boy goes to Miami for the Royal Rumble, where he takes the worst beating of his life. Then she falls in love with Hacksaw Jim Duggan, because….you get the idea. Lawler: “I’ve got to see this movie.”

Lita doesn’t know what Cena is talking about but knows Cena and Edge need to find partners for tonight’s main event. She knows Edge will have options but Cena will have to play with himself. Cena: “It’s great to see something coming out of your mouth for once.” Cena promises to win on Sunday.

Kane vs. Carlito

Calito ducks the big shot in the corner and hammers away so Kane goes with right hands and elbows. Kane charges into an elbow though and Carlito’s middle rope dropkick gets two. The tornado DDT is broken up and Kane starts snapping off the clotheslines. A legdrop gets two and the side slam sets up the top rope clothesline. The Tombstone is countered into a Backstabber for two and a springboard twisting Swanton gets two. The chokeslam is broken up with a thumb to the eye and Carlito hits him with a chair for the DQ.

Rating: D+. This didn’t do much to hide the fact that Carlito isn’t a threat to anyone in the ring. His big move got a non-close two on Kane and they moved on like it was nothing. I know he can talk but you need something to back it up somewhere and that just isn’t the case with anything he does in the ring.

Edge suggests Lita, ahem, convince someone to be his partner. She goes into Big Show’s locker room.

Some Carolina Panthers are here.

Lita tries to convince Big Show by taking off her shirt but Edge comes in to say she’s not finishing anything until after the match. That’s a no.

Trish Stratus is warming up when Mickie James comes in to freak out over Trish teaming with Ashley tonight. Trish can’t calm her down and Mickie leaves.

Coach says there is one spot left in the Royal Rumble and he’ll be taking it himself. Jerry Lawler doesn’t like that and, after calling Coach a skinhead, challenges him to a qualifying match. Deal.

Trish Stratus/Ashley vs. Victoria/Candice Michelle

Torrie Wilson is in the villains’ corner. Ashley and Victoria start things off with Ashley hitting a springboard ax handle (not bad) and bringing in Trish. That means a super hurricanrana to take Victoria down again but Victoria kicks Ashley in the head. A wheelbarrow splash gives Candice two but the slingshot flipping legdrop misses. Trish comes in to clean house, including a spinebuster to Victoria. With Trish and Candice fighting on the floor, Ashley high crossbodies Victoria for the pin.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure how many times they can have some combination of the same six women but they are certainly giving it every chance they can. Ashley looked better here than at any time in the ring so far. She still can’t do much more than spots, but she’s doing them with some confidence and that is a step forward for her.

Post match, Mickie runs in and jumps Ashley again. Trish and a referee can barely break it up.

Mama Benjamin is cleaning the locker room because it needs to be nice around here. Shelton comes in and says Shawn Michaels called him a mama’s boy. Mama says Shawn is just jealous, and she could whip Shawn’s mama too.

Video on Billy Graham, who has a book and DVD out. He’s also here, because he doesn’t hate Vince this week.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels

Mama Benjamin is here too. Hold on though as here’s Vince McMahon to say that if Shawn loses here, he’s out of the Rumble. They trade hammerlocks to start until Shelton grabs a sunset flip for two. A headlock takeover takes Shawn over with a headlock and then he does it again to make his point especially clear. Back up and Shawn hits a chop and a clothesline puts Shelton on the floor.

Mama is checking on her boy but Shawn is back with more chops. They head inside again with Shelton springboarding in but stopping short of the superkick in a callback to their classic last year. A kick to Shawn’s head takes us to a break and we come back with Shelton hitting a suplex.

We hit the chinlock, setting up a Samoan drop for two more. The chinlock goes on again but Mama wants to see a whipping. The superplex attempt is broken up and Shelton runs the corner to kick Shawn in the head for a crash to the floor. We take another break and come back with Shawn slugging away, setting up the forearm.

Shelton runs the corner for a belly to belly superplex and connects with the Dragon Whip for two. Shawn hits another running clothesline and tunes up the band, only to have Mama offer a distraction. That means there’s no referee to count Shelton’s rollup, allowing Shawn to reverse into one of his own and grab the trunks for the pin.

Rating: B. It wasn’t their match from last year but that is a pretty high standard to reach. The Mama stuff has been toned down a lot since her debut and they are settling into more of a rhythm. The gimmick is still death for Shelton, but he was long past the point of having any significant value after the last five months or so.

Post match, Shelton tears a bit.

Edge and Lita pitch the main event spot to HHH. He’ll think about it.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Vince comes in to see Shawn, who wants to know why Vince has gone so psycho on him. Vince just wants to be happy, so he’ll spend some of his money on himself. For now though, he wants WWE to be more about sex, drugs and rock and roll. He offers Shawn a part in the decadence because he’s played the loving husband long enough. Shawn says no, but Vince seems to have a plan.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Jerry Lawler vs. Jonathan Coachman

Coach shoulders him down to start but misses a charge in the corner. There’s a suplex to Coach….and the Spirit Squad debuts, much to Lawler’s confusion. He doesn’t seem to mind though as he hits Coach and goes to the middle rope. The Squad offers another distraction though and Coach grabs a rollup for the pin. So there’s your introduction to one of the more infamous acts of the era.

Post match the Squad does a cheer in Coach’s honor.

Battle Royal

Big Show, Gregory Helms, Rob Conway, Lance Cade

This is a weird one as anyone who throws Show over the top is in the Rumble, but Show doesn’t have anything to win. Show cleans house and wins in a hurry in exactly the way you would expect.

Post match here’s HHH to say he’ll win the Rumble. Edge is on his own tonight because HHH is done with making stars. He’s going to Wrestlemania to win either World Title.

Lita offers to calm the nervous Edge down but he’s too worried about not having a partner. Someone comes in and Edge thinks they’re perfect. As usual, the person doesn’t say anything and isn’t seen.

Edge/??? vs. John Cena/???

The partners are…..Chris Masters and Ric Flair. Well the latter was about as obvious as you could get and that’s not a bad thing. Edge is nice enough to let Masters start with Cena as the WE WANT FLAIR chants start up again. Cena grabs a fisherman’s suplex on Masters and hands it off to Flair, getting rid of any possible mixed reaction for a little while. Flair chops Edge off the apron but gets slammed down by Masters.

Edge adds a suplex on the floor and stomps away a bit so Masters can get two. Flair’s chops don’t do much good and it’s a powerslam into a bearhug. Another gorilla press connects but Edge misses a top rope chop. The diving tag brings in Cena and everything breaks down. Flair chop blocks Masters to break up a Masterlock attempt and it’s the FU into the STF for the win.

Rating: C-. Standard main event style tag match here with the best logical ending they could have. If nothing else it makes sense to put Flair out there in Charlotte to let him do something simple. Edge being scared of Cena was exactly what you would expect of him and it makes Cena seem like even more of a threat to the title, if that is possible.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a weird show as the Rumble card is mostly set, leaving this show mainly focusing on enforcing what was made. There were a few minor changes, but it wasn’t a show that you needed to see. Shawn vs. Shelton was good, but there is nothing left but the Rumble for now and it’s time to get to Wrestlemania season.

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

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

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

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 2, 2018
Location: Rebel Sports Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

Things are still fresh off of Slammiversary but at the same time we don’t really have anything big going on yet. Austin Aries’ next challenger seems to be Eddie Edwards, but I’d assume that’s more of a one off TV match than a major pay per view story. Still though, there’s enough interesting stuff going on around here to keep me entertained. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Aries retaining at Slammiversary but getting jumped by Eddie. Johnny Impact, Brian Cage, Pentagon Jr. and Sami Callihan get some attention as well.

Opening sequence.

Su Yung/Undead Bridesmaid vs. Kiera Hogan/Allie

Allie and Kiera slug their way through the read of the Bridesmaids with Kiera diving onto one of them and Allie diving onto the rest. Yung gets caught inside for a double teaming but Allie gets takes into the corner as the Bridesmaid comes back in. It’s Kiera getting beaten up in the corner with Yung coming in to hammer away with wild rights and lefts.

Kiera kicks the Bridesmaid away and hits a dropkick, allowing the hot tag off to Allie. The Codebreaker is blocked so it’s the Best Superkick Ever for two on Yung instead. Everything breaks down and a fisherman’s neckbreaker drops the Bridesmaid. The Panic Switch sends Kiera outside but the Codebreaker gives Allie the pin at 6:10.

Rating: D+. That should set up Allie for the next title shot but with Tessa Blanchard in the background, there’s a chance that we might be in for a triple threat. I’m not sure if it’s the best idea to have Yung lose twice already but it’s a little better than having her go on a long undefeated streak and then losing in a tag match like this.

Post match Tessa Blanchard comes in and takes Allie out with a hammerlock DDT.

Post break Tessa mocks Alie for wanting to save everyone when she can’t even help herself. Allie is only in this for herself and isn’t getting a Knockouts Title shot before Tessa.

Aries vs. Edwards in a title match is set for next week.

OGz vs. ???/???

Hernandez throws one across the ring and Homicide hits the Gringo Killer on the other one (in a SICK landing) for the pin at 50 seconds.

Post match, King says he told us so by getting rid of Konnan and the young boys and taking their titles. Cue LAX for the brawl as Konnan watches from the ramp. Ortiz pulls out A HATCHET but security and Konnan break it up. It being the attempted murder/butchering that is.

Post break Konnan says that was a trap and they’ll get their revenge when the time is right.

Classic clip: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Petey Williams from Sacrifice 2006.

Sami Callihan, still with a bad arm, and OVE are ticked off but tonight they’ll make up for it by beating up the Lucha Brothers.

Desi Hit Squad vs. KM/Fallah Bahh

Bahh pounds his chest to start so the Squad tries some double teaming. I say try because Bahh whips them both in for a double crossbody and the Squad is flattened. The big fat leg connects and it’s off to KM for….well nothing of note before Bahh comes in again. This time he spends too long going after Gama though and a chop block brings him down.

Raju comes in for some kicks to the ribs but Bahh crushes him in the corner. That’s enough for the tag back to KM so house can be cleaned. The double roll over has the Squad in more trouble and some pokes to the eye make them scream. KM hits a full nelson slam but Bahh won’t leave, allowing Raju to hit a jumping knee to the face. Singh adds a jumping Downward Spiral for the pin at 6:13.

Rating: D. I still don’t get the point of either of these teams but neither of them are likely to go anywhere anytime soon. The Squad is your pretty run of the mill foreign team and KM/Bahh are the oddballs, which don’t exactly inspire me either way. When the LAX vs. OGz feud is dominating the title scene, it’s not like they’re getting close to the titles anytime soon. Can we get some better filler?

Anthony Carelli gives his student Dustin Cameron a pep talk before the match with Aries tonight. Cameron leaves and Carelli prays that he doesn’t die out there.

Johnny Impact wants his rematch with Kongo Kong but gets Jimmy Jacobs instead. Before Jimmy can say much, a right hand takes him down.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Austin Aries vs. Dustin Cameron

Aries is defending, eating a banana and wearing street clothes. Cameron gets taken down with ease, followed by a headlock takeover and a walk on his back. Some judo tosses give Cameron his only offense but there’s a discus forearm into the brainbuster for two, with Aries picking him up. Carelli throws in the towel at 3:29.

Rating: D. I was tempted to not even call this a match as it was just an angle, but the problem is it’s an angle to advance Aries vs. Santino Marella. I don’t know if Carelli can get in the ring (though I don’t think he can) but this doesn’t exactly scream great idea. The angle makes sense, but I’m not sure about one of the people involved.

Post match Aries puts on the Last Chancery, drawing Carelli in. The fans chant for the Cobra but settle for a low blow to Aries instead. Eddie Edwards comes in for a kendo stick shot to send Aries running.

Alisha Edwards says she’s getting back in the ring when Eddie comes in to say things are going to be back to normal. He’s going to be World Champion again! That’s too much for Alisha and she leaves. Eddie: “Ok bye.”

Here’s Scarlett Bordeaux for a chat in the aisle. The interviewer can barely talk because he’s too busy staring at her and the stuttering is intense. Scarlett flirts with him (after naming him Bobo due to his stuttering) and says she won’t be hot shamed. He leaves and she dances a bit because the Smoke Show is here. I still need to see more of this but I don’t hate it.

Grado comes up to Eli Drake to yell about the gift from last week. A challenge for a tag match is thrown out and Drake steps to the side to grab Trevor Lee as his partner.

Grado/Joe Hendry vs. Eli Drake/Trevor Lee

The villains, including Caleb Konley, send Hendry outside and triple team Grado before Drake starts with the latter. A knee and basement clothesline have Grado in more trouble and Drake shouts to the crowd a lot. Grado is right back with his clothesline and the snap jabs but Lee pulls Hendry off the apron. The distraction lets Drake hit the Gravy Train for the easy pin at 3:12.

Rating: D-. Another match designed to be more angle advancement than anything else and that’s fine, but the match was a bunch of very simple stuff until the finish. They’re taking their time getting to Katarina leaving Grado and I’m not sure why. Unless there’s a surprise in there, we’re just kind of wasting time until we get to the obvious and correct ending.

Post match Hendry and Grado hug it out.

The Desi Hit Squad is pleased with themselves but Gama Singh comes in to slap them in the face.

Video on Brian Cage retaining the X-Division Title last week in a good match.

Sydal admits that Cage is the better man but he’ll be looking inside of himself and questioning everything.

OVE vs. Fenix/Pentagon Jr.

They start fast and take turns running at each other until the Lucha Bros slide to the floor and take stereo suicide dives into the barricade. OVE beats them up a little more with Pentagon going into the post, only to come back with stereo superkicks. Now it’s a pair of flip dives to take out the Crists as we take a break. Back with Pentagon opening Dave’s shirt for a skin ripping chop.

Fenix launches Pentagon into Jake in the corner but Sami saves him from the spike Fear Factor. Some kicks to the head sent Pentagon outside, leaving Jake to put on something like a reverse Rings of Saturn (Naomi used to use it) on Fenix. Jake and Dave take turns going for the mask until Fenix kicks Jake in the head. Pentagon comes in but the Crists tie their masks together so the Lucha Bros are in even more trouble.

The masks come untied and Jake spikes Fenix for two. Pentagon gets back up though and it’s time for some corner clotheslines, followed by stereo superkicks on Jake. Fenix hits a top rope double stomp to Jake’s back, leaving Dave to take the spike Fear Factor. A flip dive takes out Jake and Sami as Dave is pinned at 17:23.

Rating: B-. Good match here to continue the Sami vs. Pentagon feud, with Sami’s arm selling being a nice surprise. Seriously how many people sell an injury for more than a week anymore? Pentagon and Fenix are one of the best acts around right now with Pentagon looking more and more like a star every time he’s out there and Fenix being close to a modern day Juventud Guerrera with a little more size.

Killer Kross talks about realizing you’re in your final moments. The camera pans down to show an unconscious Carelli to end the show. That feels like writing him off TV, and that’s for the best.

Overall Rating: C. It’s not quite up to the standard they had a few weeks ago but this was still a perfectly watchable and at times good show. The main event is entertaining and they’ve set up a main event for next week, but there wasn’t much else as far as good wrestling went. I’ll chalk this one up to an off week and really hope that they bounce back to where they were recently. Still though, far from bad.

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

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

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

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