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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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.

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: March 25, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

We’re back to a little more normal this time around with NXT having regular matches instead of a mini documentary show like last week. Since there was no Takeover: Tampa Bay, those matches and stories will have to be addressed and HHH will be here tonight to start that process. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano getting in their huge brawl last week.

Tom Phillips confirms that matches originally scheduled for Takeover will be taking place on NXT TV instead.

Austin Theory vs. Tyler Breeze

Theory has his own phone with him to mock Breeze. The lockup goes nowhere so Theory talks trash, saying he’s the future and Breeze is the past. Back up and Breeze hits a dropkick, allowing him to chill on the top rope for a bit. The Supermodel Kick has Theory distracted so Breeze hits a clothesline instead. Theory is right back with a running Blockbuster though and the pace slows down a bit. The reverse chinlock keeps Breeze down and Theory keeps talking trash about how great he is. A rolling dropkick puts Breeze on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Theory hitting a spinning torture rack bomb for two, meaning Breeze needs to roll outside again. Theory throws him through the barricade (Theory: “LET’S TAKE A PICTURE TYLER!”) and hits a Buckle Bomb back inside. Breeze hits a quick Supermodel Kick for two and Theory slows down a bit. He’s fine enough to go up top and hit a shot to the back of the neck for two. A bunch of stomping has Breeze down but Theory goes to get his phone and film himself talking trash. That lets Breeze come back with the Beauty Shot for the pin at 13:25.

Rating: C. They’ve got something with Theory, who is only lacking experience to get him to the next level. The loss here doesn’t mean much as the idea is that he spent too much time bragging, meaning that he could come back a lot more serious next time and win a rematch in more dominant fashion. Good storytelling here, and Theory will be fine.

Post match Breeze grabs Theory’s phone for his own selfie.

Killian Dain vs. Tehuti Miles

Miles gets an entrance and has some swagger to him. Some early shots have little effect on Dain and it’s a pump kick to put Miles on the floor. Back in and Dain knees him in the chest as the beating is on. The neck crank goes on for a bit but Dain misses a charge into the post. Dain forearms him in the head though and hits the backsplash. The Vader Bomb finishes Miles at 3:43.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here and that’s something Dain needs. He keeps going away and coming back for matches like this so if they want to push him, they have to reignite him every little while. The match wasn’t the point here and there’s nothing wrong with having something like this involved, as they kept it short and dominant.

Cameron Grimes vs. Tony Nese

Grimes doesn’t think much of the bicep pose and they lock up in a hurry. Nese takes him down with an armbar, followed by an armdrag into another armbar. A clothesline puts Nese down for two but Nese blocks a powerbomb. Grimes walks into a spinwheel kick and the Lionsault gets two. The sunset driver is countered though and a Superman forearm rocks Nese. He’s fine enough to hit a superkick into the corner though, only to get forearmed again. The Cave In finishes Nese at 5:38.

Rating: C-. This didn’t do much for me but the Cave In always looks good. They didn’t have a ton of time here but at least Nese made him sweat a bit. Grimes is someone who could go somewhere around here and that’s a good thing to have no matter where you are. Not a bad match, but it didn’t go very far.

We look at Aliyah having her nose broken by Xia Li four months ago.

Women’s Title #1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Xia Li vs. Aliyah

Well done on remembering something mostly forgettable that happened four months ago. Hold on though as Li has been attacked. We need a replacement.

Women’s Title #1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Io Shirai vs. Aliyah

Shirai dropkicks her in the corner to start and shrugs off Aliyah’s right hands. A butterfly backbreaker sets up the perfect moonsault to give Shirai the pin at 1:22. Total squash.

Here’s Keith Lee for a chat. Two weeks ago he powerbombed Dominick Dijakovic but now he knows it was Damian Priest who attacked him. Therefore, he owes Dijakovic an apology so here’s Dijakovic in person. He doesn’t want an apology though because all he cares about is the North American Title.

Lee took the food off of Dijakovic’s family’s plate, but here’s Priest to interrupt. He wants the title because it will give him more women, money and legacy, but first he needs to win the title. Lee says the champ is right here so Priest busts out his baton, meaning the three way fight is on. Priest and Lee fight outside so Dijakovic hits a big flip dive to take both of them out and stand tall.

Adam Cole is by the pool and talks about being the longest reigning NXT Champion in history. He’s been thinking about his altercation with the Velveteen Dream and it shook him up a bit. However, he isn’t the only member of the Undisputed Era who wants some of that experience. Therefore, next week, it’s going to be Dream vs. Bobby Fish.

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Shane Thorne/Brendan Vink

The rather large Vink shoves Burch around to start and powers him into the corner for the tag off to Thorne. That means it’s time to start in on the arm so Burch fights up without much trouble and hands it off to Lorcan. It’s already back to Vink for a Rock Bottom out of the corner to plant Lorcan for two more. Burch gets over for the hot tag a few seconds later though as everything breaks down. A dropkick puts Vink down and the Crossface goes on, followed by Lorcan’s half crab on Thorne for the double tap at 3:44.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match here to keep up Lorcan and Burch’s ability to wrestle on more shows than is healthy for anyone around. I’m not sure if they are ever going to become Tag Team Champions but they can have a good match against almost anyone so it makes sense to keep them strong. The Aussies were fine enough here, but they were just there to get beaten up.

Women’s Title #1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Candice LeRae vs. Kayden Carter

LeRae headlocks her down to start and grabs a rollup for two. They trade stereo missed dropkicks for a standoff and seem to wait around for applause that isn’t coming. Carter takes over with a whip into the corner and clotheslines her down a few times. A running knee to the face gives Carter two more but she has to roll out of the Gargano Escape attempt. LeRae misses a Lionsault but slips out of a rollup and grabs the Gargano Escape for the tap at 4:29.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t very good with little more than Candice shrugging off some clotheslines until she got in the hold for the win. I get why NXT would want to see her in the ladder match but it still wasn’t all that much to see. The Lionsault didn’t look great either, and the whole match just didn’t give me anything to care about.

Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong

There are no seconds here and Riddle does fist bumps with the non-existent fans. They go to the mat to start with neither of them being able to get the better of it. That’s the same result when they try it again so they do it a third time with Strong grabbing a front facelock. Riddle shoves him away to the ropes so Strong tries striking away. Strong drops him ribs across the top rope and we take a break.

Back with Riddle fighting out of a camel clutch and kicking away to put Strong in the corner. A t-bone suplex looks to set up a running kick to the chest but Strong reverses it into the Strong Hold. That doesn’t last long either so it’s the Bro To Sleep for two on Strong instead. The Bro Derek is broken up as well so Strong hits an Angle Slam for two. Strong hits the running forearms against the ropes, only to try one too many and get caught in the Bro Derek for the pin at 10:53.

Rating: B-. This was a good grappling match to start and then turned into a fight, but it never got close to the next level. It didn’t help that neither partner was here and the feud between the two teams seems to have wrapped up. Riddle didn’t seem to be in much trouble here either and that kept things slow as well. Good match, but you would expect more.

Post match two big guys come out and beat Riddle up, despite his best efforts to fight back. Cue the debuting Malcolm Bivens (formerly Stokely Hathaway) to say it’s a shame that Pete Dunne isn’t here because this is the future of the tag team division. No names are given but I think the point was made.

Here’s HHH to address the Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano war. Before he can get that far though, here’s Ciampa to interrupt. He knows it’s time to end this with Gargano and wants him out here now. HHH says there can be no physicality between the two of them tonight and tells Gargano to get out here as well. Gargano comes out and stands on the stage because he knows Ciampa will start something. Why was Gargano fined for wrecking the Performance Center when Ciampa started things in the first place?

HHH doesn’t want to hear it and tells Gargano to get in the ring. He understands what the two of them are doing because he and Shawn Michaels did it as well. This has to end and it should end on the biggest stage in the world. Gargano says it was supposed to end last year but Ciampa broke his neck. It’s a shame Gargano didn’t get to break Ciampa’s neck for him. Gargano knows this has to end and says they can do it anywhere. Put a ring in an empty building and give them a referee so they can finish it.

HHH says that works for him and we’ll do it in two weeks. After that, it’s done and neither can touch each other after or they’re gone. Gargano promises to prove that he’s the better man and wrestler….and those videos about death pop up on the screen. This time, a voice is included speaking something other than English, with Killer Kross’ face appearing a few times. A clock hits midnight to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It was good enough and I like where things are going, but at the same time it felt rather flat in a lot of ways. That is going to be the case for a lot of these shows going forward and there aren’t a lot of ways around that reality. Having the Takeover matches is a good idea though and hopefully we can get somewhere else in the future with some other stories. Not a bad show, but at least it worked well enough.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. Austin Theory – Beauty Shot

Killian Dain b. Tehuti Miles – Vader Bomb

Cameron Grimes b. Tony Nese – Cave In

Io Shirai b. Aliyah – Moonsault

Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan b. Brendan Vink/Shane Thorne – Crossface to Vink

Matt Riddle b. Roderick Strong – Bro Derek

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: World Wrestling Network

Mercury Rising 2019
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: La Boom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Lenny Leonard, Ron Niemi

So about a year ago, I decided to try and do twenty Wrestlemania weekend shows. As usual, it takes me a little while but I’m trying to knock out the last four of them (to make it twenty one total) before this year’s Wrestlemania starts. This is the WWN Supershow and I have no idea what to expect on this one. Let’s get to it.

As usual, I have no idea what is going on storyline wise so if I miss a detail or eighteen, I apologize in advance.

The commentators (I think) are in the ring to welcome us to the show and run down the card.

FIP World Title: Absolute Andy vs. Anthony Henry

Henry is defending and Andy is from WXW in Germany. Andy backs him into the corner to start so Henry does the same, complete with a few pats to the jaw. They battle over wrist control and we’re off to a quick clean break. Back up and Henry’s shoulder block attempt is a mistake as he bounces off of the much bigger Andy. A big boot to the face drops Henry and Andy’s shoulder works a bit better. Henry sends him outside but the suicide dive is cut off with a drop onto the barricade.

Back in and Andy hits a heck of a running backbreaker, followed by the chinlock. The announcers talk about the former FIP World Champions who have gone on to success elsewhere but Henry cuts them off with some kicks to the leg and head. More kicks put Andy on the floor and that means a running kick from the apron. Andy’s apron powerbomb is escaped as Henry stomps on his chest, meaning the second suicide dive can work a bit better.

Back in again and Henry grabs the ankle lock to stay on the leg, and because every modern show requires one wrestler who uses an ankle lock. Andy gets out and puts Henry on top, only to miss a super hurricanrana. A spinebuster works a bit better for two but Andy misses a top rope splash. The ankle lock is broken up again so Henry tornado DDTs him for two more. Andy is back up but his TKO is countered into a Crossface. Since that doesn’t make a ton of sense, it’s back to the ankle lock to make Andy tap at 13:57.

Rating: B-. This felt like a well enough done indy match with the dives, kicks and holds. As usual though, there was no major story of note and that brings things down a bit. There was no reason to boo or cheer either wrestler here and it kept me from getting that far into it. It was a good enough match though and the leg work tied into the finish, so it gets enough points to be an acceptable opener.

Cyrus Satin vs. Barrett Brown vs. Anthony Greene vs. Colby Corino vs. John Silver vs. Harlem Bravado

Elimination rules with the winner getting a title shot. Silver is now in AEW….and hang on as here’s Shotzi Blackheart. She thinks there should be a woman in the match but Satin doesn’t seem to agree. That starts a fight with Shotzi hitting a jumping DDT, the bell ringing, and Shotzi getting the first elimination at 3 seconds. Colby throws Blackheart outside and it’s quickly Greene and Bravado making each other miss a bunch. Corino comes back in to take Bravado’s place and sends Greene outside in a hurry.

Silver takes his place and starts launching the smaller Corino all over the place with some nice power. It’s quickly off to Barrett vs. Blackheart with Shotzi hitting a good looking springboard hurricanrana. Shotzi goes up top for a backsplash onto everyone but Barrett, who hits his own running flip dive onto everyone else. Back in and Silver slugs it out with Barrett, who gets kicked up against the ropes and in the corner for a bonus.

A modified Backstabber gets two on Barrett, who is right back with a sideways pumphandle powerbomb for the same. Corino comes back in for a half nelson suplex for two on Blackheart but Barrett knees Corino in the face. Greene gets Barrett and Corino in a double fireman’s carry…..so Silver German suplexes the entire pile in a pretty crazy power display (Corino is small but that’s three people at once. Who does that?). A TKO plants Shotzi and it’s Silver running all over the place to take everyone down. Corino staggers to his feet though and rolls Silver up with trunks for the elimination at 7:48.

Barrett clotheslines Corino but Shotzi comes in and demands Barrett fight her. He can’t do anything so Shotzi slaps him in the face and sends him into the corner for a 619. The top rope backsplash gets rid of Barrett at 9:19 to get us down to four. Bravado and Corino get back in to double team Blackheart, including a backbreaker into an elbow drop for one. Greene comes back in for the save and sends Corino outside, only to get the same treatment from Bravado.

A springboard Code Red plants Bravado and it’s a Texas Cloverleaf to Corino. That’s broken up as well and Bravado hits Straight Cash Homey (Angel’s Wings) for the pin on Blackheart at 12:48. Greene sends Bravado to the floor and chops away at Corino in the corner. Corino’s small package with trunks gets two but Greene is right back with a Dudley Dog style Unprettier (that’s a new one) to get rid of Corino at 14:12.

That leaves Greene vs. Bravado with the latter jumping Greene from behind and hammering away. A lot of trash talk lets Greene get in a few shots to the jaw but another running Unprettier is countered. The Tower of McGuinness gives Bravado two, followed by a leg trap suplex for the same. Greene is right back up with the running Unprettier for the pin at 17:36 (it’s as sudden as it sounds).

Rating: C+. The action was decent and I liked that running Unprettier from Greene. It still isn’t my favorite style of match though as it’s a bunch of mini matches in a row with little in the way of flow or storytelling. That being said, the point of this show is a big showcase and that’s what we got here with a variety of wrestlers getting a little time.

Post match Greene signs his contract for a nice moment.

Shine Title/Tokyo Princess of Princesses Title: Allysin Kay vs. Miyu Yamashita

Kay is the Shine Champion, Yamashita is the Princess Champion and this is title for title. Hold on though as here’s Mercedes Martinez to accuse Kay of ducking her. Last month, Kay claimed to miss a flight but next month, Kay can’t run away any longer. Mercedes leaves and it’s a feeling out process to start with Kay taking her to the mat. Yamashita gets into the corner and we get a well received clean break. A leglock has Kay bailing into the ropes and it’s time for more mat grappling.

Back up and they strike it out until Kay pulls her into a rear naked choke. Yamashita reverses that into a leglock and some kicks to the leg keep Kay in trouble. Her leg is fine enough to hit a heck of a chop though and it’s time to forearm it out until Kay grabs a Samoan drop. The crossarm choke has Yamashita in trouble but Yamashita is back up with more kicks to the leg. They both crank on the leg at the same time, with Kay kicking her in the face to get the better of things.

The chinlock goes on as we hear a long and rather impressive list of people Kay has fought. Back up and an exchange of kicks to the head gives us a double knockdown as they keep trading shots. Yamashita’s running clothesline gets two but Kay is back with another kick to the head. A sunset driver gives Kay her own two and the kickout doesn’t sit well with her. An AA gives Yamashita her own two and a bridging German suplex is good for the same. They’re both down again so Yamashita grabs something between an Anaconda Vice and a cobra clutch for the win via stoppage at 13:26.

Rating: B. Match of the night so far as they beat each other up for a good while until Yamashita, who was billed as a striker, won by changing gears. I always love it when someone switches their game like that to win in a bit of a surprise and the ending likely gives Kay a setup for a rematch. Good stuff here.

Post match Kay freaks out because she never gave up or passed out (fair point). Kay charges at her but gets taken to the floor, leaving Yamashita to tell Kay to come to Japan. That’s what Kay would do and she would win the title back in about a month.

Austin Theory/Brandi Lauren vs. Darby Allin/Priscilla Kelly

This one would be a lot different a few months later and Theory is the Evolve Champion here. It’s a brawl to start, which makes sense as this was billed as a grudge match. Allin suicide dives Theory into the barricade and Kelly hits a Bronco Buster on Lauren. That leaves Allin to hit a Code Red for two on Theory and Lauren gets tied in the ropes for a running dropkick to the back. Theory gets back in with a dropkick to Allin and the fans are not pleased with the knockdown. A gutwrench toss sends Allin flying and a belly to belly gets two.

As Kelly seems to have fallen into a hole somewhere, Lauren chokes in the corner, setting Theory up to chop Allin down. Kelly gets kicked off the apron but Darby starts striking away, only to get hit low by Lauren. Allin is knocked down again so here’s Kelly with a double missile dropkick to drop both of them. A Cannonball off the apron takes Theory down and Allin adds a flipping Stunner. The STO gives Kelly two and she kicks Theory off the apron. Allin nails a suicide dive but Lauren is back up with a middle rope flip neckbreaker for the pin at 8:36.

Rating: C+. This felt like it had the longest story so far and that made it feel different. You can see the star power in Allin and the natural tools in Theory so it was an easy match to watch. Kelly and Lauren were fine as well and the whole thing worked out well, even in a match that was shorter than anything else so far.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Josh Briggs runs out for the save. Allin tells Briggs to go win the Evolve Title.

Unwanted vs. Team WXW

That would be Eddie Kingston/Joe Gacy/Shane Strickland with Colby Corino (and some snappy music) vs. Alexander James/Jum Simmons/Marius Al-Ani. We get the Big Match Intros (including Kingston and Gacy, the Evolve Tag Team Champions) and we’re ready to go. It’s a brawl to start with three brawls breaking out at ringside, including Kingston poking Simmons in the eye.

An armdrag and a dropkick have Gacy down but Strickland clears the ring. James comes in and pulls Strickland off the ropes though, setting up a gutwrench suplex. We settle down to Al-Ani cranking on Kingston’s arm and a step up elbow onto the back drops Kingston again. Colby offers a distraction though and Strickland comes in for a running dropkick to Al-Ani’s’ knee. That means Gacy can come in for two off a suplex and it’s Strickland stomping away in the corner.

Some finger bending keeps Al-Ani in trouble and Kingston bites Al-Ani’s face to make it even worse. Gacy’s forearm gets two but Al-Ani is back with a dragon whip and a DDT. That’s enough for the hot tag to Simmons so clotheslines can abound. Simmons throws Strickland at Gacy and Kingston, followed by a trio of double chokeslams to all of the Unwanted. A running dropkick gets two on Kingston as everything breaks down.

Strickland knocks Al-Ani down for two more but a parade of clotheslines puts everyone down. Kingston gets sent into Gacy and a spinning back elbow takes him down again. James grabs a complicated armbar on Gacy but the referee breaks it up because Gacy isn’t legal (well done). The Swerve Stomp off the apron takes Simmons down and Strickland snaps Al-Ani’s arm. The JML Driver finishes Al-Ani at 13:16.

Rating: B-. I can see the appeal of the Unwanted as they work well together and have the gimmick of being rejected by everyone else (or so it seems). The match was the kind of six man tag you would expect on this kind of a show and I had a good time with it. Sometimes you can have a match with no story and make it work, which is what they did here.

WWN Title: JD Drake vs. Kazsada Higuchi

Drake, a country boy, is defending and the WWN Title is the governing body’s title, as opposed to the Evolve Title which is the promotion’s title (it would be retired in about three months in favor of the Evolve Title, as it should have been). Higuchi, from DDT in Japan, slaps the hand away before a lockup goes nowhere. Drake gets the better of a running shoulder block off and it’s time to head outside.

That means a chop exchange, with both of them standing still for the chops. In a smart move, Drake finally goes with a clothesline and a splash gets two back inside. The second chop off goes a lot faster and Drake gets the better of it again but can’t hit a suplex. Instead Higuchi hits his own suplex but Drake is back with a Shining Wizard for two. That means another exchange of chops and this one gets some time, going on for about a minute until Higuchi knocks him into the corner for two off a running charge.

Back up and they trade standing clotheslines until Drake gets the better of things, setting up the Drill Bit (spinning suplex) for two. Higuchi headbutts him into a doctor bomb for his own two but Drake counters the second with a hurricanrana. Three straight stunners put Higuchi down and a Cannonball in the corner crushes him. A moonsault retains the title at 12:00.

Rating: B-. They beat the heck out of each other here and while I’m not wild on having the match stop for an exchange of chops, it worked out well enough here. This was a hoss fight and the two of them were hitting each other rather hard. Drake is someone who probably wouldn’t work in most places but he works for this crowd and that’s all that matters here.

Post match, respect is shown and Higuchi leaves. Cue the Unwanted to go after Drake and snap his arm, with no one making the save.

Team DDT vs. AR Fox/The Skulk

That would be Daisuke Sasaki/Soma Takao/Tetsuya Endo (who seems to be the DDT Champion) from DDT and Adrian Alanis/Leon Ruff for the Skulk. The other five or six members of the Skulk do their dancing in the ring before the match and one covers another for a pin. With that out of the way, we’re ready with the Big Match Intros. Fox and Endo lock up to start and they trade some early one counts. A double nip up gives us a standoff and it’s off to Ruff vs. Sasaki in a hurry.

This gets a little more physical with Sasaki allowing him to forearm away, followed by a multiple springboard hurricanrana. Alanis, the biggest man in the match by far, comes in for a swinging Rock Bottom backbreaker and a running basement kick to the chest gets two. Sasaki wants a time out and even his partners try to get the same thing until Endo trips Fox in a smart move. Takao comes in to stomp away at Fox in the corner but he’s back up with a double cutter.

Ruff gets the tag and hits some running forearms on Takao, setting up a standing moonsault for two. Everything breaks down and they all wind up on the floor, with Fox missing a dive off the stage onto the apron. Ruff gets sent ribs first into the barricade and we settle back down to Ruff failing to get over for the tag. A pumphandle backbreaker gives Sasaki two and Takao stomps away at the ribs. Ruff grabs a quick cover for two, earning himself a bunch of right hands to the face.

The chinlock is broken up before it even goes on and it’s time to slug it out. Ruff fights up and gets the tag off to Alanis, who beats up all three of them in a hurry. Alanis gets pulled into a Crossface from Sasaki and it’s a reverse Rings of Saturn to Fox and a Figure Four to Ruff. Alanis powers up and makes a double save, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two on Sasaki. A Swanton gets the same with Endo making a VERY last second save.

Sasaki hits a Codebreaker to Alanis and holds him in place for a top rope double stomp from Takao for two. Sasaki can’t torture rack Alanis and it’s time for the exchange of kicks to the head. Fox and Ruff hit stereo suicide dives three times in a row, with the barricade going down every time. Alanis wants in on this but takes out his partners by mistake, leaving Endo to hit a corkscrew Lionsault onto everyone.

Back in and Endo hits a spinning rack bomb for two on Alanis, followed by a middle rope AA onto the top rope (better than the apron that I was expecting). Endo is right back up but springboards into a sitout powerbomb from Alanis by mistake. All of DDT gets back in for a double X-Factor/reverse powerbomb combination on Alanis. With Ruff and Fox getting knocked to the floor, it’s a shooting star press to give Endo the pin at 24:22.

Rating: B. This was a fun match and that’s how you should end a match like this. Fox and the Skulk are a good mixture of power/speed/athleticism vs. a trio who wrestle similar styles, giving us a good match between the six of them. I haven’t seen much (if anything) from DDT before so it was cool to see them having this good performance. Solid stuff here and a good way to close the show.

Post match Fox thanks everyone who put this together, including the staff, his opponents and his WWN family. Most importantly of all though, he thanks the fans for supporting him for ten years. A lot of dancing ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Rather strong show here with a little bit of everything up and down the card. They hit some high points and nothing was bad on the entire card, which is one of those requirements to have an awesome show. I’ve only seen a bit of this group and while there are some things I don’t care for that much, what works does work rather well and they have enough unique talent to make me like what I saw. Good show here and I’d watch more from WWN.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: March 4, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

It’s a big night around here with a pair of steel cage matches. First up Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai are in for a big fight, as Nox is still out for revenge after Kai attacked her back in November. Other than that, we have Roderick Strong vs. Velveteen Dream in a heck of a grudge match. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Mauro previews the show.

Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai

Inside a cage with Raquel Gonzalez in Kai’s corner. Nox slugs away to start and takes Kai down to hammer her upside the head. The Shiniest Wizard misses but Kai can’t send her into the cage. A middle rope crossbody isn’t even worthy of a cover and Nox pounds away even more. Kai sends her into the corner though and chokes with a boot, followed by a ram into the cage for two.

Nox is back up and hits some running shots in the corner, onto to have the Cannonboar (yes Boar) hit knees. We take a break and come back with Nox sending Kai into the cage over and over, much to the fans’ delight. A tabletop suplex gives Nox two but Kai is back with the Kairopractor for her own two. Kai gets evil and goes after Nox’s knee brace but Nox kicks her away. It’s time for the climb, with Kai catching her on top, only to get chokeslammed right back down.

Instead of leaving, Nox climbs back down and hits the Cannonboar. Nox goes all the way up again and this time it’s a high crossbody of the cage. Nigel says that was a 20 foot drop, putting Kai at about 8’4. It’s time to go for the door but Gonzalez holds it shut, only to have Kai miss a running kick and knock the door into Gonzalez’s head. The Shiniest Wizard connects for two and Nox is STUNNED.

Gonzalez tries to come in this time but Nox kicks her in the face. Kai chases Nox up top so Nox kicks her down as well. Nox tries to climb down so Gonzalez tries to pull Kai out. That’s fine with Nox, who kicks the door onto Kai’s knee but Gonzales pins her against the cage with the door. The delay lets Kai escape at 16:10.

Rating: B-. The interference got annoying because the stipulation was built around the idea of Gonzalez not being able to interfere. Then she just did anyway, making the cage a rather pointless detail. There’s a good chance they do this one more time, perhaps in a ladder match in the tournament final at Takeover?

Finn Balor thanks Walter for sending Imperium to make the first move. That forced his hand and Walter will see him sooner than he thinks.

Rhea Ripley was in Raymond James Stadium (home of Wrestlemania XXXVI) and talks about how cool it is to have an NXT Title on the line. She started wrestling in front of 50-100 people and now she’s here. All she ever wanted to do was help people but she needed to find herself first. She changed everything and now she is ready to accomplish what she wanted. People called her a mini Charlotte when she got to WWE and now she wants to beat the real Charlotte.

#1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Chelsea Green vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Robert Stone introduces Chelsea. Green kicks her away to start but Shotzi takes her down for the Jeff Hardy legdrop between the legs. An enziguri drops Green again but she avoids a charge and gets caught with a Backstabber. Green kicks her in the ribs for two, followed by a missile dropkick to the apron. I’m Prettier (not Unprettier) finishes Blackheart at 2:24. I’m not sure I would have gone with Green over Blackheart for the ladder match. I’m also not sure how many people are going to be in the ladder match, as I thought it was just two but that might not be the case.

Here’s Keith Lee for a chat. After greetings and salutations, Lee talks about men invoking his name, including Dominick Dijakovic, who wants to fight forever. Or people like Damian Priest, who wants to live forever. Cue Cameron Grimes, who says Lee should be talking about him. Lee’s jacket comes off and Grimes has made the gravest mistake of his career.

The fans keep booing Grimes before he can get a word in, until Lee says he’d like to hear this. Apparently William Regal has granted Grimes a title match next week, so Lee shoves him out of the ring. Lee tells him to bring it next week. The fans didn’t like Grimes here.

Austin Theory is ready to win all of the titles but Isaiah Scott comes up to say not so fast. They’ll fight tonight.

The Undisputed Era is warming up.

Undisputed Era vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish here. Fish and Lorcan strike it out to start but everything breaks down in a hurry. The Era is sent outside and Lorcan hits a double Blockbuster off the steps to send us to a break. Back with Fish hitting Lorcan in the face again and having to throw in some knees to cut off the comeback attempt. Fish’s slingshot hilo hits raised knees though and it’s off to Burch to slug away. An RKO drops O’Reilly but Fish comes back in with a blindside shot to the face.

Burch gets beaten up in the corner and the chinlock goes on. That lasts as long as you might expect and it’s Burch getting up for a shot to the face. O’Reilly misses a big kick to the head though and Burch dives over for the hot tag. Lorcan comes in and gets to clean house, including a running Blockbuster to send O’Reilly outside. The big running dive over the top takes down Fish and O’Reilly and Lorcan takes him them back inside for running elbows in the corner. That’s not a good idea against the Era though as they come back with the High/Low to finish Lorcan at 11:50.

Rating: B. Burch and Lorcan are great gatekeepers as they can have good matches against anyone and make their opponents look good. The Era is in a weird place at the moment though as they’ve held the titles for the better part of ever and there’s no need for them to do so again. That being said, what else is there for them to do at the moment?

Post match the Era says they want their titles back. Adam Cole is taking care of business and tonight Roderick Strong is shutting up Velveteen Dream. Cue the Broserweights with Matt Riddle saying they’re down with a rematch. The Grizzled Young Veterans jump them from behind and throw the Broserweights off the stage. The Veterans don’t want to hear about rematch clauses because they’re going to be the Tag Team Champions.

Video on Austin Theory.

Austin Theory vs. Isaiah Scott

Feeling out process to start with Theory’s headlock not getting him very far. Scott takes him into the corner and hits a quick dropkick. A jumping kick to the face in the corner drops Theory and we take a break. Back with Theory hitting a slingshot rolling dropkick to take over, only to get caught with a discus lariat. A jumping Downward Spiral gives Scott two but Theory counters a hurricanrana into the buckle bomb.

RP1 (leg trap brainbuster onto the knee) gives Theory one but Scott pulls him into a cross armbreaker. With that broken up, Scott pins one arm behind Theory and stomps the other one down, giving us a SNAPPING sound that made me cringe harder than anything in wrestling has in years. Theory is fine enough to pull Scott off the top and hit a one armed ATL (Austin Theory Launch, a TKO) for the pin at 10:59.

Rating: C+. Theory is one of those guys where you can see everything WWE loves in a wrestler wrapped into one. It isn’t surprising me that he is getting this kind of a push and he’ll be around for the time being. The different names for his moves are going to help too. Scott continues to feel like he has potential but can’t get very far for whatever reason. He’s far from in danger, but he feels like he’s running on a treadmill.

We get a series of creepy visuals, mainly involving death. Killer Kross maybe?

Mauro sat down with Johnny Gargano at the Performance Center and asks what happened with Tommaso Ciampa at Takeover. Johnny says he was the only wrestler to show up at the premiere of Mauro’s documentary in New York, which Mauro says meant more to him than Johnny could ever know. Johnny talks about some of Mauro’s (complimentary) statements about him but Mauro doesn’t know him at all.

Mauro would like to think that he knows him but people want to know about the sneak attacks on Ciampa. That makes Johnny a lot more serious and says that it can’t be a sneak attack when you’re wearing a powder blue sport coat. No one has any idea what Johnny has seen, gone through or felt, but Mauro wants to know. Johnny gets up and nearly gets in Mauro’s face before sitting back down. Mauro asks why again and this time Johnny stands up and puts his hand on Mauro’s shoulder, saying that Mauro knows why.

If Mauro admits it though, he’s admitting he’s a liar. Mauro admits that they haven’t talked since Takeover: Portland so Johnny yells at him for calling him Johnny Turncoat. When Ciampa came back, Mauro couldn’t help but say Daddy’s Home. Johnny wants Mauro to look in the camera and say he’s a liar but Mauro walks off. Johnny: “No Mama Mias now!” Gargano grabs the camera and says next week at the Performance Center, they do things his way. This was a level of intensity that you don’t see from Johnny very often (if ever) and he feels like he’s on the verge of madness all over again.

Video on Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong.

Next week: Keith Lee defends against Cameron Grimes and the Undisputed Era gets their Tag Team Title rematch, all from the Performance Center.

Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong

Inside a cage ant they go straight at it at the bell with Strong sending him into the cage. Dream is right back with a crossbody but it’s too early for the Dream Valley Driver. They slug it out again with Strong getting the better of it, including the first backbreaker. Strong yells that Dream did this and starts with the running forearms. A backdrop sends Strong into the cage but here’s Marina Shafir (Strong’s wife) to slip him a kendo stick.

Shafir leaves and we take a break. Back with Strong going up but getting hit low, allowing Dream to grab a Boston crab. Strong grabs the rope and thankfully the referee does nothing, but Dream lets go anyway. The breather lets Strong grab the Stronghold but Dream slips out as well. Another Dream Valley Driver is broken up so Dream dropkicks him into the cage.

There’s a superkick to make it worse but Strong pulls him face first into the cage. They fight over the kendo stick with Strong using it for a pumphandle backbreaker. Strong goes up but Dream pulls the pants down (fans: “A******!”) for the save. Dream stays on the top with him and that means a super Angle Slam to put them both down.

Neither can dive through the door and now the Dream Valley Driver connects. Dream hits a second one and goes all the way to the top, only to have the rest of the Undisputed Era come out. Cole manages to get inside so Dream slams him off the top. Strong gets over to the door again so Dream grabs him, looks at Cole….and shoves Strong out to give Strong the win at 13:00.

Rating: B. This was both hard hitting and entertaining while setting up the next Takeover main event. Strong was fighting to get rid of Dream once and for all, but the ending says that Dream has his sights on something bigger (likely the guy he left himself inside the cage with, plus that guy’s shiny title). The match was a good fight but the ending was all about setting up something new and that’s a nice combination.

Post match Dream locks the cage with himself and Cole inside and the beating is on. Dream starts throwing Cole at the cage to knock the rest of the Era out, followed by using the stick to beat them up. Strong gets tied in the Tree of Woe and it’s another Dream Valley Driver to send Cole into the chair. Dream grabs the title and poses a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a solid show up and down as the focus moves towards Tampa. I like a lot of where the show looks to be going and that’s hard to do on such a short turnaround time. It also helps that there was nothing bad here with a bunch of good matches and an intense promo from Gargano. Couple that with the potential of Balor vs. Walter (which might be more likely for Dublin) and things are in a good place. The doldrums that they were in for a few weeks have been shaken off and that’s quite the relief going forward.

Results

Dakota Kai b. Tegan Nox – Kai escaped the cage

Chelsea Green b. Shotzi Blackheart – I’m Prettier

Undisputed Era b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – High/Low to O’Reilly

Austin Theory b. Isaiah Scott – ATL

Roderick Strong b. Velveteen Dream – Dream pushed Strong out of the cage

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: February 26, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for a show with a guest star as Charlotte is in the house to deal with Bianca Belair after jumping her at Takeover. We’re rapidly approaching Takeover: Tampa and I’m not sure what that is going to consist of this time. They need to set some things up in a hurry, though you can all but guarantee the final chapter between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Charlotte arrives with William Regal there to greet her.

Cameron Grimes vs. Dominick Dijakovic

Dijakovic grabs a headlock to start but Grimes goes after his knee to get a breather. Grimes stays on the knee, only to get caught in a backbreaker. A spinning middle rope splash gives Dijakovic two but Grimes forearms him in the back. Dijakovic is fine enough to toss him over the top but Grimes sends him head first into the apron. A PK from the apron drops Dijakovic and sends us to a break.

Back with Grimes grabbing a chinlock but Dijakovic is right back up for the slugout. The suplex toss drops Grimes again as he can’t get around the power. A superkick and a hard clothesline give Dijakovic two but Grimes hits a German suplex for the same. Dijakovic sends him outside and hits a moonsault to the floor, only to tweak his knee in the process. Grimes is sent back inside but here’s Damian Priest to hit the knee with a metal pole. Dijakovic beats the count back in but it’s the Cave In to give Grimes the pin at 12:38.

Rating: B-. I liked this one well enough and it’s nice to see Grimes getting a push. It isn’t a clean pin or anything and that helps things out a good bit. They can use some fresh blood in the North American Title picture as there is so much talent around here and seeing Lee against any of them could be interesting.

Referees and medics check out Dijakovic’s knee.

William Regal announces a tournament (they love those around here) to crown a new #1 contender for the Women’s Title. The qualifying matches begin next week and the finals will be a ladder match at Takeover. Works for me.

Here’s Finn Balor for a chat. He isn’t an internet guy or a moves guy because he’s the guy who builds brands. We hear his accomplishments before Balor talks about how everyone is trying to reach their peak for Wrestlemania season. He’s been at his peak for twenty years so who’s next for the Prince? Cue Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner to send regards from Walter, who runs NXT UK. The fight is on in a hurry and Balor gets beaten down, including being rammed into the steps.

Video on Austin Theory.

Bianca Belair is ready to give Charlotte her best.

Xia Li vs. Mia Yim

Yim pulls her in off a handshake but has to back off from some spinning kicks. Some kicks to the ribs have Li in trouble and a basement dropkick gives Yim two. More boots to the face keep Li down but she avoids a Cannonball. Li’s running dropkick misses and there’s Eat Defeat, only to have Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez come out for a distraction. Li grabs a rollup for the pin at 2:44.

Post match Gonzalez comes in for the beatdown and Li’s save attempt fails.

Velveteen Dream, in a big hat and in front of a mirror, says he wants Roderick Strong next week. Since Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox are having a cage match, leave it up for the two of them.

Austin Theory vs. Tommaso Ciampa

They fight over a lockup to start until Ciampa sends him into the ropes. That earns him a shoulder and forearms to the back, only to have Theory run into a boot. A headlock has Theory down on the mat but they head outside in a hurry. Theory blocks a whip into the barricade and takes it back inside because he’s not up to Ciampa’s brawling standard. Ciampa throws him right back outside for a posting, meaning the pat on the back can take us to a break.

Back with Theory hitting a standing moonsault for two and having to fight out of a Fairy Tale Ending attempt. What looked like a rolling DDT attempt is countered with a knee to the face to give Ciampa two, plus some frustration on the kickout. Theory hits a quick buckle bomb into Ataxia (fisherman’s buster onto the knee) for two more and now it’s his turn to be frustrated.

A superkick to the back of Ciampa’s head sets up a flipping Downward Spiral for two more. It’s time to go outside with Theory sending him into the barricade to make up for last week, only to get caught with Willow’s Bell back inside. The Fairy Tale Ending gives Ciampa the pin at 12:40.

Rating: C+. Theory is someone with a bunch of cool looking moves which are actually more moves that have been done before but have a slight tweak to them. A lot of people do that but it doesn’t really make them much better. At least he had a story here though and looks the part of a star, though it’s far too early in his run to make much of a determination about him.

Post match Johnny Gargano runs in and Theory helps him beat down Ciampa. Gargano sits next to the downed Ciampa on the apron and applauds himself.

Roderick Strong is ready to take care of Dream in the cage next week. The Undisputed Era will get their gold back.

Bronson Reed vs. Killian Dain

They lock up to start and power each other around until Dain drapes him over the middle rope. That means a legdrop to the back and shoulders in the corner, followed by a hard whip for two. We hit the seated abdominal stretch but Reed is right back up for stereo crossbodies. Back up and Reed starts throwing Dain around, with the straps coming down. The running hip attack hits in the corner but Dain grabs a Samoan drop. Dain’s Vader Bomb hits knees so Reed goes up, only to get superplexed back down. Back to back to back backsplashes set up the Vader Bomb to give Dain the pin at 6:15.

Rating: C+. Nice hoss fight here and that’s all they were going for. Dain hasn’t exactly shown the ability to get very high on the card around here but he can be impressive when he has the chance. Reed is someone who got my attention during the Breakout Tournament but he hasn’t come back to that level since.

Video on the Broserweights.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Forgotten Sons

Gibson gets hiptossed and dropkicked by Blake to start and I guess the Sons are just faces now because AMERICA. Beth and Nigel get in a weird mini argument about what sounds like a British children’s show, capped off by Nigel saying she has spent too much time watching TV with her three year old. Beth: “That’s a bad thing?” Nigel: “I guess not.” Cutler stomps away on Gibson in the corner but it’s off to Drake to take over in a hurry.

The chinlock doesn’t last long and a powerslam puts Gibson on the floor. That means a staredown with Jaxson Ryker and it’s the Sons taking over on the Veterans back inside. Drake gets thrown over the top and onto Gibson as we take a break. Back with Blake sunset flipping Drake but a blind tag lets Gibson come in to stomp on him. The chinlock goes on again but this time Blake fights up with a jumping neckbreaker.

Drake gets backdropped and it’s off to Cutler to clean house (Nigel: “Full of fury. AMERICAN FURY!”). A butterfly backbreaker sets up a quickly broken Boston crab so it’s a buckle bomb to rock Drake instead. The fisherman’s driver gets two as Gibson makes the save, which sends Ryker out after him. Drake dives onto Ryker and the Veterans send him into the steps, only to have the Sons dive onto the two of them. Cutler gets knocked off the top for a nasty crash and it’s the Ticket To Mayhem to finish Blake at 13:05.

Rating: C+. I got a good smile out of the Sons losing as they are one of the least interesting teams in a long time. Now we’re supposed to like them because while they’re bad, they’re AMERICAN bad and that makes them worth something. Thankfully this felt like a one off so we can continue with the Veterans instead of the Sons, who are one of those misfires around here.

Tegan Nox is ready to hurt Dakota Kai in a cage and isn’t worried about Raquel Gonzalez.

We get a creepy video showing various horrible things and a lot of destruction. Seems pretty Killer Krossish.

Damian Priest says Dijakovic was in the way of something he wanted. Now Keith Lee knows what that is.

Charlotte vs. Bianca Belair

Fans: “YOU DON’T GO HERE!” Charlotte powers her down in the corner to start and draws a line on the mat. Belair charges across it, earning herself a headlock takeover. That’s broken up so Charlotte grabs a front facelock to keep her down. Belair powers out and hits a dropkick before squatting Charlotte to show off even more. Charlotte slips out and hits the chops, followed by a big boot as we take a break.

Back with Charlotte getting posted but grabbing a dragon sleeper to slow Belair down. It’s not enough though as Belair flips over her in the corner and grabs a hair faceplant. A double chickenwing faceplant gets two but Charlotte kicks her in the ribs to take over. An abdominal stretch stays on the ribs but Belair reverses into one of her own. That’s broken up as well and the Downward Spiral into the middle buckle rocks her again.

The moonsault almost hits raised boots but Charlotte lands on her feet and grabs a Boston crab. Belair makes the ropes so Charlotte hits a powerbomb for two. A missed big boot sends Charlotte to the floor for another posting but she avoids Belair coming off the top. Belair hits a spear but Charlotte pops up with one of her own, followed by Natural Selection for the pin at 12:07.

Rating: B-. I liked what they were going for here with the old athletic freak vs. the new one. The spear exchange at the end reinforced that a bit too with Belair hitting her own but Charlotte’s being that much better. Belair has gotten better in the last several months and the upgrades have helped her a lot, but she has a long way to go to get into Charlotte’s league.

Post match Charlotte grabs a chair and Pillmanizes the ankle as Rhea Ripley comes out to watch. There’s no save as Charlotte puts on the Figure Eight. Once that’s broken up, Ripley chases Charlotte off as we’re cut off before Ranallo can finish talking about their Takeover match.

Overall Rating: B-. It isn’t as bad as it was a few weeks ago but this show is still missing something. My best guess is having so much stuff that feels like it isn’t leading anywhere or that is going long for the sake of filling time, but the magic isn’t the same. This week didn’t feature some of the bigger names, which is kind of a questionable move with about four weeks left before Takeover. It’s still a completely watchable show, but the move to two hours is hurting the quality more every week.

Results

Cameron Grimes b. Dominick Dijakovic – Cave In

Xia Li b. Mia Yim – Rollup

Tommaso Ciampa b. Austin Theory – Fairy Tale Ending

Killian Dain b. Bronson Reed – Vader Bomb

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Forgotten Sons – Ticket to Mayhem to Blake

Charlotte b. Bianca Belair – Natural Selection

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: January 8, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

It’s back to Full Sail for the first time this year after things went in a bit of a different direction last week. This time around it’s time to crown a new #1 contender to the North American Title. In addition to that, it’s time to start the annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which can be a bit hit and miss. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a quick preview, talking about Rhea Ripley’s first appearance as Women’s Champion and looking at the Dusty Classic.

Here’s Rhea Ripley to soak in the YOU DESERVE IT chants. She talks about memories, including being in this ring to become the new Women’s Champion. Cue Toni Storm to cut her off though and she has a question: “Remember that time when I beat you?” Toni promises to win the NXT UK Women’s Title at Sunday’s Takeover and she likes the idea of having two titles. The challenge is thrown out for When Worlds Collide and Rhea wastes no time in accepting.

Cue NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray to say Toni isn’t winning on Sunday but here’s Io Shirai to cut them all off. She points at the Women’s Title and says it’s hers but here’s Bianca Belair because it’s been too long since she choked in a title match. Belair says she has 2020 vision and knows she’s better than everyone. Now it’s Candice LeRae and the fight is on. William Regal sends in word to make a six woman tag. That’s a very main roster style booking and I really hope that’s not going to be the norm. At least it didn’t take long though.

Candice LeRae/Toni Storm/Rhea Ripley vs. Kay Lee Ray/Bianca Belair/Io Shirai

The bell rings and Storm hits a dive onto all three villains as we take an early break. We come back with LeRae hitting some running elbows in the corner, only to dive into a superkick for two. Shirai hits a flapjack and a running dropkick to the side of Candice’s head to set up a chinlock.

A seated abdominal stretch keeps LeRae in trouble and it’s off to another chinlock. Candice finally gets up and low bridges Belair to the floor but Belair dives around the side and cuts off the tag in a smart move. Storm breaks up a cover and everything breaks down and everyone is on the floor/mat as we take another break. Back again with Candice hitting her reverse hurricanrana on Ray, only to have Belair throw her back into the corner.

A missed charge knocks Shirai off the apron though, meaning it’s Storm coming in off the hot tag to clean house. Shirai sends her into the corner though and grabs a butterfly backbreaker to drop Storm. The moonsault is loaded up but Belair tags herself in, only to have Shirai springboard in with a missile dropkick to break up the KOD. Shirai walks out and Ripley comes in for a big boot to Belair. Riptide is good for the pin on Belair at 16:16.

Rating: B-. Good match here as they set up a bunch of people to come after Ripley while also giving Storm vs. Ray a needed boost. I’m curious to see where Ripley goes as you have to build up her challengers in the right way. She’s big and dominant, which makes it a little difficult to set up a challenger. It can be done, but it has to be done the right way. Storm is a good choice for the first one though, even if it’s at a special instead of Takeover.

Post match Toni and Rhea stare each other down but Candice picks up the title and looks at it as well. Everything winds up being ok though as Candice hands it over to Rhea and everyone poses.

Help victims of the Australian wildfires. Nothing wrong with that.

Tommaso Ciampa wants the NXT Title back because he was the best NXT Champion of all time. It was the best 238 days of his life but then it was stopped. He’s coming for Adam Cole, which is a match they have to do sooner or later.

Keith Lee is ready to become #1 contender tonight with a big Pounce.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Forgotten Sons vs. Imperium

Cutler/Blake vs. Aichner/Barthel. During their entrance, Imperium says this is the first step to dominating NXT. The Sons start fast and take Aichner, with a face mask on, down for an early two. Aichner takes Blake into the corner though and it’s Barthel hanging him upside down over the middle rope for a double running dropkick. A DDT gets Blake out of trouble and it’s off to Cutler and Aichner for the slugout. Cutler’s butterfly backbreaker gets two and it’s a very fast Boston crab as Cutler is showing some fire early on.

That’s broken up and Cutler is sent outside with Blake making a blind tag. Blake raises his knees to block a moonsault but his moonsault gets the same fate to put them both down. It’s Blake going to the middle rope and getting tossed into a delayed vertical suplex from Aichner (awesome) for two. Cutler dives back in and it’s a knockdown to put everyone down at once. Blake dropkicks Barthel into the corner and then dropkicks Aichner out of the air. The reverse DDT/middle rope stomp is broken up though and it’s the European Bomb for the pin on Blake at 5:11.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match as they only went five minutes but never stopped the entire time. The Sons got to showcase themselves rather well here, even though it isn’t likely going to go anywhere for them. They just went out there and had an exciting match and that’s a great use of five minutes.

Matt Riddle talks about how he and Pete Dunne don’t know each other very well, which makes them perfect for the Dusty Classic. They posed at each other and the team was born.

Gallus is ready to win the Dusty Classic.

Austin Theory vs. Joaquin Wilde

Wilde slugs away to start and anklescissors him out of the corner, only to get dropped throat first across the top rope. A slingshot stomp and a fisherman’s suplex give Theory one and it’s off to a cobra clutch. Wilde fights up and hits a hurricanrana to put Theory on the floor, only to have Theory roll back in with a rolling dropkick. A TKO finishes Wilde at 2:59. Theory looked good again and Wilde was working hard as usual.

Damian Priest is ready to make his name live forever.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Undisputed Era vs. Gallus

Non-title and it’s Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish vs. Wolfgang/Mark Coffey. The rest of the Era is at ringside as well. Wolfgang runs O’Reilly over to start so it’s off to Coffey for a slugout. Fish comes in as well and gets powered into the corner, setting up a big toss right back out of it for a crash. It’s already back to Wolfgang and it’s something like a double monkey flip into the corner to keep Fish in trouble.

With Fish having been destroyed thoroughly so far, it’s O’Reilly coming in so he can get whipped around as well. Wolfgang’s running backsplash gets two and a clothesline puts the Era on the floor. All four members get on the apron for a staredown and we take a break. Back with the Era double kicking Wolfgang down for two. Fish’s chinlock doesn’t work either as Wolfgang flips him forward for the escape. Fish pulls Coffey off the apron to break up a tag so, of course, the tag goes through about five seconds later.

Coffey gets to come in and start cleaning house with backdrops but more kicks take him down for two. Running knees in the corner have Mark in more trouble until he ducks a running big boot, causing O’Reilly to kick Fish by mistake. Everything breaks down again and some shots to the face put the Era on the floor. Wolfgang throws Mark onto the Era but Cole gets in a cheap shot onto Wolfgang. That’s enough to set up High/Low to finish Wolfgang at 12:25.

Rating: B-. Another entertaining match here with the Era using the numbers game to win as there was no Joe Coffey to even things up a bit. I’m curious to see how the Era is going to do in the tournament as you don’t want your champions losing but there are ways around it, which should be interesting to see. Good match though and that’s always nice to see in the tournament or not.

We look back at Finn Balor turning on Johnny Gargano and laying him out. Gargano then returned and cost Balor the NXT Title, plus gave him a beating with a chair.

Video on Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews.

Here’s Johnny Gargano for a chat. He isn’t wasting time this week and talks about everything Finn Balor did to build this place. Then Balor put him out for three months, which made Johnny Takeover miss a Takeover. Yeah Balor did a lot of things around here, but then he bailed as soon as he got that phone call. Gargano got his in August but he turned it down because he wanted to stay here.

When Balor left, Gargano took up the NXT mantle, threw out Balor’s game plan, and took NXT to new heights without him. That must eat Balor up, but here’s Balor to interrupt. Balor says maybe we should call him Johnny Promo because that’s all Johnny can be cleared to do. That being said, if Johnny wants his Takeover moment, go talk to Regal and Balor will see him in Portland. If Johnny can make it that far. Another match where you had to go there and going with the logic is the right call.

Cameron Grimes is ready to cave people in.

Video on the Grizzled Young Veterans.

We’ve covered most of the Dusty Classic teams but there is one left. Kushida needs a partner and he’s got…..ALEX SHELLEY as the Time Splitters are reunited next week.

Mia Yim vs. Kayden Carter

Yim blocks an early armdrag attempt and runs Carter over to start. A springboard dropkick works better for Carter but she can’t hit a running hurricanrana. Instead Yim counters it into a sitout powerbomb for two and a basement dropkick gets the same. We hit the bow and arrow hold to make it worse for Carter but she’s back up with some right hands against the ropes. A running boot to the face gets two and a low superkick gives Carter the same. Carter goes up but dives into Protect Yo Neck to give Yim the pin at 3:46.

Rating: C-. Just a match here as Yim gets some momentum back. She’s fine in a place like this but going up any higher than this doesn’t quite work for her. Maybe it’s her promos and backstory that don’t work for me but Yim has a pretty firm ceiling. I still like Carter though and she could be something if she is given a push.

Post match Yim helps her up but Chelsea Green debuts and jumps Mia. Robert Stone (Robbie E.) appears on the ramp and says 2020 will be the year of the Robert Stone Brand, starting with Green as his first signing. Green does her Tessa Blanchard pose.

Dominik Dijakovic is used to getting past obstacles and this match is nothing but a formality.

Video on Ciampa vs. Cole.

Keith Lee vs. Damian Priest vs. Dominik Dijakovic vs. Cameron Grimes

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a North American Title shot in two weeks. Lee invites us to bask in his glory as everyone stares at each other to start. Grimes goes after Lee and gets tossed into the corner. Dijakovic does the same to Priest and it’s time for Lee and Dijakovic to start beating people up. We get the huge staredown with Lee leapfrogging him so Dijakovic grabs the rope before things go too fast.

Lee misses a spinwheel kick and it’s another staredown until Grimes and Priest jump them both. Priest BLASTS Grimes with a right hand but Dijakovic tries his toss suplex on Priest…..so Lee catches him. He’s not done though as Lee SWINGS PRIEST AROUND LIKE A WEAPON, including a powerbomb onto Dijakovic’s back for two. Every time I think these two can’t do more things to impress me, they surprise me again.

Everyone winds up on the floor but Priest goes back inside, leaving Lee to get double teamed. He fights that off and tells Priest to dive on him, but Priest is too smart this time. Lee gets distracted though and now Priest dives onto all three of them to send us to a break. Back with Priest heading back inside for the showdown with Lee….who deadlift superplexes him off the apron.

Dijakovic moonsaults onto Lee’s back but Grimes grabs a bridging German suplex for two. Grimes goes up so Priest hurricanranas him into Lee’s arms, so Lee hands him off to Dijakovic for Feast Your Eyes. The Pounce puts Dijakovic on the floor but Priest grabs the Reckoning, only to have Dijakovic break it up with a big boot through the ropes. Back in and Priest kicks it out with Dijakovic until a double big boot puts them both down.

Rating: B. This was a well put together match and the right choice. Dijakovic and Priest are good and Grimes has a different style but Lee has been the star for a long time now. He needs to actually win something though and the North American Title should work just fine. As long as they actually pull the trigger for once though, and there is good reason to believe they will.

Lee celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was one of those shows where they built up some obvious stuff and didn’t have anything bad, making it a rather awesome two hours. I’m not as big of a tournament fan as some are but the action was good enough to make it work. Couple that with Lee’s coronation (or as close as he’s going to get to one at the moment) being set up and some major matches being scheduled and we should be in for a nice future to go with a good present here.

Results

Rhea Ripley/Toni Storm/Candice LeRae b. Kay Lee Ray/Bianca Belair/Io Shirai – Riptide to Belair

Imperium b. Forgotten Sons – European Bomb to Blake

Austin Theory b. Joaquin Wilde – TKO

Undisputed Era b. Gallus – High/Low to Wolfgang

Mia Yim b. Kayden Carter – Protect Yo Neck

Keith Lee b. Cameron Grimes, Dominik Dijakovic and Damian Priest – Spirit Bomb to Grimes

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: December 25, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida/Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix
Hosts: Pat McAfee, Cathy Kelly, Sam Roberts

It’s a Christmas night show because that’s something we needed this year. Last week’s show was a huge one with Rhea Ripley finally ending Shayna Baszler’s crazy long Women’s Title reign in a great moment. In addition to that, Johnny Gargano returned and annihilated Finn Balor to set up a huge match probably in the near future. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s big (and awesome) show.

The hosts welcome us to the show and do some bickering because that’s what WWE does.

From Full Sail.

Roderick Strong is issuing an open challenge for the North American Title.

North American Title: Roderick Strong vs. ???

Strong is defending against….Austin Theory, making his NXT TV debut. They go to the mat with Strong getting an early near fall and smiling a lot. Strong’s headlock doesn’t last long as Theory flips him over and even offers his cheek without much fear. The trash talk goes to Theory so Strong forearms him in the face and stomps away. Theory is back up with a nice dropkick for one and a hard whip puts Strong into the corner.

A standing moonsault connects for two and they head outside, with Strong hitting an Angle Slam into the post to start in on the back. That’s only good for nine so Strong stomps away again with the aggression starting to flow. Strong hits his own great dropkick and sends Theory outside, only to have Austin roll in….for a backbreaker to give Strong two.

Theory snaps off a snap suplex before rolling through the ropes for another dropkick. The fans are split as Theory kicks Strong away and hits a buckle bomb to rock Strong again. A fisherman’s buster onto the knee gets two on the champ but he’s right back with a superplex. Theory counters a backbreaker though and grabs a torture rack into a spinning powerbomb for his own two.

Strong takes him to the top for a backbreaker onto the buckle but Theory is out again. Theory is right back up with something like a fisherman’s buster onto the apron for a VERY close two and the shock is rather nice. They slug it out with Theory hitting a superkick (Mauro: “AUSTIN THEORY JUST JINGLED HIS BELLS!”) so Strong is right back with End of Heartache. The Stronghold finishes Theory at 16:46.

Rating: B. Theory looked like a potential star here and the fact that he is 22 years old puts him near the heights of Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate who should not be that good at that age. Strong was the right choice of an opponent for him too as he has a style that works with everyone, including Theory, and we got a rather awesome match out of the two of them. This was about Theory doing everything he could and Strong focusing on the back because that’s what he does to set up his finisher. Theory will be back.

Theory gets a standing ovation and we get a lot of replays.

The hosts chat a bit with McAfee shouting a lot.

From Brooklyn, after a Smackdown taping.

Isaiah Scott vs. Jack Gallagher

Scott starts working on the arm but Gallagher grabs a leg to get out. Now it’s Gallagher cranking on the arm and fingers (Beth: “Taking those phalanges to a place they’re not supposed to go!”) and then a chinlock to mix it up a bit. Scott is right back on the arm with something like a short armscissors and Gallagher can’t spin out of things. He finally flips away so Scott dropkicks him in the side of the head.

Scott sends him over the top for a face first drop onto the apron. Back in and we hit the chinlock as they’re certainly keeping things slow and mat based early on. Gallagher slams him away though and we take a break. Back with Scott’s arm a bit banged up but he uses the good arm for a heck of a discus lariat. The middle rope elbow to the back has Gallagher in more trouble and it’s time for some kicks to the chest against the ropes.

A rolling Downward Spiral gives Scott two more and a backbreaker gets him away from Gallagher cranking on the arm. Gallagher headbutts the heck out of him for two of his own and they’re both down. It’s back to Scott’s arm but Scott reverses into an arm hold of his own, only to have Gallagher reverse into a cross armbreaker attempt. Scott reverses that into a Pentagon style arm snap, albeit with his foot instead of pulling back. The House Call is good for the pin on Gallagher at 13:48.

Rating: C+. Scott is someone who has more starts and stops to his run in NXT than I can even imagine. He keeps coming and going without being able to really get very far. That becomes an issue, but the talent is there and he can do all kinds of things in the ring. It helps that the fans are with him and Gallagher is the same way, with the ability to have a good match against anyone.

The hosts talk about how important the Barclays Center has been for NXT.

Next week: the NXT Awards.

From Full Sail.

Candice LeRae vs. Taynara Conti

Conti can’t sneak in a kick to the ribs as LeRae knocks it away and hits a neckbreaker across the middle rope. A suicide dive connects and Candice adds a springboard crossbody to the floor for two. The chinlock goes on but Conti fights out in a hurry and hits a running knee as we take a break.

Back with Conti getting two off a tilt-a-whirl Boss Man Slam and then covering again for a bonus. Candice is so annoyed that she ties her hair back and slaps away, setting up a missile dropkick for her own two. The step up backsplash sets up the Lionsault to finish Conti at 7:55.

Rating: C-. LeRae is someone who can wrestle a fine enough match but she doesn’t exactly break through to the other side. I could see her getting a Cinderella run towards the title but I’m not sure if she will ever win the thing. Conti is fine as a midcard dragon to slay, though she needs to win a few matches to get her back to that status.

Arturo Ruas is coming.

Back to Brooklyn.

Dominick Dijakovic vs. Bronson Reed

They do the power lockup to start with Dijakovic getting the better of things off a headlock. Reed reverses into one of his own as he gets his turn to grind Dijakovic down for a change. An exchange of shoulders goes nowhere so Dijakovic tries and fails at a suplex attempt instead. Reed runs him over and sits on Dijakovic’s back as we take a break.

Back with Reed forearming him in the face and snapping off a German suplex. A running hip attack in the corner gives Reed two and there’s a suplex for the same. Dijakovic still can’t suplex him so he kicks and strikes away instead. Now the toss suplex connects for two on Reed and the Cyclone boot gets the same.

Just to show off, Dijakovic busts out a moonsault for another near fall and the fans are getting into these kickouts. The chokeslam is broken up with headbutts to the hand (that’s a new one) and Reed busts out a middle rope Thesz press for two more. Some headbutts to the head look to set up the splash but Dijakovic catches him on the middle rope with a chokebomb for the pin at 12:16.

Rating: C+. I can go for a good hoss fight like this and that’s what they did here. Reed has gotten to show off multiple times now and I’ve been having a good time watching him look so good. At the same time, Dijakovic is a monster and someone who should be pushed towards the main event in a hurry. He’s that good and NXT knows it.

Video on When Worlds Collide.

Video on Bianca Belair.

Bianca Belair vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Shotzi, recently signed, takes her into the corner to start and snapmares Belair down for blowing bubbles. Belair spins out though and drops a seated senton to take over. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Shotzi and Belair blows more bubbles. This one is broken up with a slap to the face and a springboard hurricanrana sends Belair into the ropes. A running reverse Cannonball against the ropes puts Belair on the floor but she counters a dive and drops Shotzi onto the apron.

Back from a break with Belair clotheslining her down and posing a lot on the cover. Shotzi gets caught with a running dropkick and we hit the cravate. That’s broken up and Shotzi hits a running faceplant to get a breather. There’s a kick to Belair’s head and a rolling faceplant gets two. Shotzi gets creative with a running tornado DDT onto the apron and Belair is rocked. Back in and a big boot misses though, allowing Belair to send her into the corner. The KOD finishes Blackheart at 10:15.

Rating: C. This was a way to showcase Shotzi and that worked out well enough. You knew she wasn’t going to beat a bigger star like Belair but at least she hit a bunch of nice stuff. It was designed as a get to know you match and for what it was, that worked out well enough. Shotzi is going to need some more work but she had a good first outing here so at least her first foot came off well.

The hosts discuss Shotzi and the women’s division.

Keith Lee/Lio Rush vs. Tony Nese/Damian Priest

What an odd pair of teams. Nese and Rush start things off but it’s off to Priest for the ridiculous visual on the staredown instead. Rush slaps him in the face for some reason but he gets in a kick to the chest as well. A blocked kick allows the tag to Lee though and now let’s have a staredown.

Priest makes it personal by pulling off Lee’s Santa hat and it’s time for them both to miss a lot of shots to the face in a far more fast paced exchange than should be legal for people their size. Lee hits a crossbody and smiles at Nese for trying to interfere. The chase is on outside with Nese being Pounced over the announcers’ table for a .6 Cole. Back from a break with Priest punching Rush out of the air to take over.

Nese comes in to kick Rush in the face and we hit the bodyscissors. A big kick to the head misses and Rush flips out of a belly to back suplex. The bottom rope springboard Stunner puts them both down though and it’s back to Lee to clean house. Lee’s running clothesline gets two on Priest but the Spirit Bomb doesn’t work. Nese knocks Lee down and gets two off a Lionsault but Rush comes back in for a springboard hurricanrana.

Rush strikes away and kicks Nese in the head but Priest chokeslams him onto the apron. Back in and….Lee, in the Santa hat, rises up next to Priest and throws him to the floor. Lee catches a diving Nese in the air so Priest tries a running flip dive….and Lee catches THAT, holds him up, and powerbombs him onto the apron. You know, because HE CAN DO THAT. The Limit Breaker into the Final Hour off of Lee’s shoulders finishes Nese at 13:25.

Rating: C+. The more I watch Lee, the more I’m convinced that he was built in a lab somewhere. The guy is a complete athletic freak with the power and athleticism being as impressive of a combination as you’re going to see. Throw in another rise into the camera and how can you not be impressed? Much like Dijakovic, he needs to be pushed up the card in a hurry, just because it’s hard to leave him out of the main event if he keeps this up.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show that you may not have needed to see but it was entertaining and flew by with no stories and little more than a bunch of showcase matches. There’s nothing here you really need to see, though Theory and Shotzi both had some valuable performances. We’ll be back to normal soon enough but for a one off special, this worked very well.

Results

Roderick Strong b. Austin Theory – Stronghold

Isaiah Scott b. Jack Gallagher – House Call

Candice LeRae b. Taynara Conti – Lionsault

Dominick Dijakovic b. Bronson Reed – Chokebomb

Bianca Belair b. Shotzi Blackheart – KOD

Keith Lee/Lio Rush b. Tony Nese/Damian Priest – Final Hour to Nese

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/

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