IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 21, 2019
Location: Chesapeake Energy Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s the last Raw before the Royal Rumble and last week saw a pretty big change. Finn Balor has taken Braun Strowman’s place in Sunday’s Universal Title match and that means things are a lot more interesting in a hurry. I doubt something that big is going to change tonight but you never know. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the traditional Martin Luther King Jr. Day video, which absolutely never misses.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to get things going. Heyman sounds rather disgusted this week and talks about Finn Balor winning the title shot last week. Balor pinned John Cena, who them endorsed Balor for his win. Everyone got on their feet and said they believed in Balor, who is going into a Universal Title match.

Lesnar was ready for Braun Strowman and now he’s going to take that out on Balor. Finn is going to be sacrificed for believing that he can defeat Lesnar and for the sin of believing that he can take what Brock has. Here’s your spoiler alert: Balor will be destroyed for his sins and conquered by the conqueror.

This brings out Vince McMahon to say Heyman believes this one more than usual. Vince sees this as David vs. Goliath. See, one day David went out and ate every mushroom he could find and decided he could beat Goliath. Then Goliath beat David to death, but David was reincarnated as Finn Balor. Vince calls this hillbilly land (Heyman: “You’re speaking too fast for them Vince.”) and says no one should believe Balor can win.

This brings out Braun Strowman, much to Vince’s annoyance. Strowman says last week was the worst night of his life because of Baron Corbin, who cost him $100,000 and his Universal Title shot. That makes Lesnar a lucky man too because it means Strowman won’t be waiting for him on Sunday. He’ll be waiting after Sunday though and it’ll be time for Lesnar to get these hands. This brings out Balor, who says he earned the title shot last week by beating the best of all time in John Cena. Heyman: “Second greatest of all time after Brock Lesnar. Continue.”

Strowman chimes in again but Balor says to keep his nose out of it because Balor is going to do something that Braun never did. Lesnar leaves so Balor explains the story of David to Vince. No one bought what David was made of, just like Balor will do on Sunday. Vince tells Lesnar to hang on because we’ll have Strowman vs. Balor right now in a David vs. Goliath match. No Chance playing us to the break seems rather appropriate. Also, how long did it take for Vince to turn heel? My goodness.

Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor

Joined in progress with Balor’s dropkick not having much effect. Strowman knocks him to the floor for the running shoulder and it’s off to the nerve hold back inside. They head outside again and this time the running shoulder is countered with a Sling Blade. Back in and Balor grabs a sleeper to knock Strowman down. It’s too early for the Coup de Grace though as Strowman throws him off the top and down onto Lesnar for a belly to belly.

The bell didn’t ring and it’s Balor going back in to attack Strowman. A running flip dive takes Lesnar down and there’s another Sling Blade to Strowman. Balor dropkicks Lesnar through the ropes and dropkicks him into the barricade for a bonus. Strowman pulls Balor back inside but misses a charge into the post. The shot gun dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace but Lesnar comes in with an F5 for the DQ at 7:46.

Rating: C. This was much more about the brawling at the end than the match and that’s fine. Balor needed some momentum heading into the pay per view, though having Lesnar come in for the DQ wasn’t the best idea in the world. I guess they didn’t want Strowman taking a pin, though that begs the question of why book the match in the first place.

Here are Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley for the Intercontinental Title celebration. Rush brags about how good Lashley is and says we’re having an open challenge (non-title of course), because Lashley fights for money. The lights are turned low so Lashley can pose until Apollo Crews comes out to interrupt. Apollo knows that Lashley is a stud but no one paid money to see Lashley pose.

Rush says that Crews doesn’t have the stature to do this but if he can beat Lashley in a pose off, he can have the match. Lashley poses but Crews dances into his pose. They do it again to the same result, followed by Lashley doing his most muscular pose. Lashley finally jumps Crews but gets sent outside. Rush is tossed on top of him to really hammer the point home.

Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title and joined in progress with Lashley powering him down. Crews is right back with a press slam of his own (dang) for the double knockdown. Crews makes the mistake of going after Rush though, meaning another gorilla press. That’s enough of a distraction for Lashley to spear him down for the pin at 2:45.

After Lashley’s win, Seth Rollins comes out for a staredown. Post break, Rollins says this day is about Martin Luther King Jr., including a quote talking about a man being measured by what he does when he’s surrounded by tragedy. That’s what Rollins has felt for the last few months because he now has his ring all around him. He’s going to Phoenix this weekend and winning the Royal Rumble.

It’s a long shot, but he’s betting on himself because of what’s inside his chest. This brings out Drew McIntyre, who says he can’t wait to take everything away from Rollins both tonight and on Sunday. If you had Rollins’ heart and put it in Drew’s body, the person would be unstoppable. That sounds like the setup of a match to me.

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

Joined in progress again with Rollins elbowing him in the face for two. Rollins sends him outside but the suicide dive misses, allowing McIntyre to put on an armbar. That delay lets Cole tell us that Cena is out of the Rumble with an ankle injury. I guess that’s how they get him back on the movie set. Rollins fights up but misses a charge into the post, allowing the armbar to go on again. Drew kicks him in the ribs to the floor and the reverse Alabama slam takes us to a break.

Back with Rollins hitting the Sling Blade but having the Buckle Bomb reversed. Rollins gets two off a hurricanrana and the Falcon Arrow gets two. The Stomp is countered but the Claymore is countered with a heck of a superkick for two more. They’re certainly trading the heavy shots so far. It’s McIntyre up first and he takes Rollins up for the super White Noise into another near fall. The frustrated McIntyre tries a clothesline but gets rolled up for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. This shouldn’t have been on Raw and I’m not sure I can go with the idea of McIntyre losing to anyone clean at this point. At least there’s a good chance that Rollins is winning the Rumble on Sunday so it would make sense to give him a win this big. The loss doesn’t do serious damage to McIntyre, but it doesn’t exactly help him either. Kind of a weird choice, though if they go all the way with Rollins it makes more sense.

The Revival (hey they’re still here) sucks up to Vince to get a title shot. Vince agrees, but this time we need a special referee. Someone like….Curt Hawkins. The Revival immediately starts sucking up.

Lucha House Party vs. Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers

Dorado goes right after Jinder to start but gets driven into the corner. We hit an early chinlock but Dorado is quickly up. Sunil comes in and almost immediately allows the hot tag to Kalisto. The step onto the shoulders into a splash gets two on Sunil but a knee to the back puts Kalisto down. A kick to the head allows the hot tag off to Metalik so house can be cleaned. Metalik wastes no time in hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker….to pin Sunil at 3:22. Everyone is surprised by that pin, as they should be.

Rating: D. Were they just running short on time this week and needed to fill in some time? The match wasn’t anything interesting and I was half expecting Mahal to take a pin in there instead. The ending came out of nowhere and while I didn’t like how fast it was over, it did mean I didn’t have to watch it anymore so that’s an improvement.

Video on EC3.

Dana Brooke seems awestruck by EC3 and asks him a bunch of questions about his nutrition.

Here’s Elias for a song. He talks about what a great year it’s going to be until Baron Corbin interrupts. Corbin threatens to come beat him up so Elias wants the mic cut. Since Corbin isn’t in charge anymore, Elias gets what he wants. Elias goes on to sing about how much Corbin sucks and the fight is on. You know what’s next.

Elias vs. Baron Corbin

Joined in progress because opening bells are the enemy tonight. Elias hits Old School into an armdrag and clotheslines Corbin down before sending him outside. That means the slide underneath the ropes into the big clothesline but Elias is right back with the jumping knee to the face. A swinging neckbreaker gives Elias two but Corbin punches him in the throat, setting up End of Days for the pin at 3:33.

Rating: D. Another match that didn’t have time to mean much here, but I’ll certainly take a Corbin match going as short as possible. This feud hasn’t done anything for me, though it’s sad to see Elias fall so far so fast. He wasn’t going to be a big star with the rather simple gimmick, but this face turn and losses to Corbin have killed him.

It’s time for A Moment of Bliss with Alexa talking about the Women’s Royal Rumble. After listing off 21 names in the match so far, she brings out her former best friend and the odds on favorite to win: Nia Jax. Before Nia can answer who she would want to face with a win, Ember Moon interrupts to says he’s staking her claim right now. This brings out Alicia Fox to says he’s the captain of the division and navigating the ship towards Wrestlemania.

Mickie James comes out (much to Bliss’ annoyance) and says she’ll win. A fight breaks out and a bunch of other women come out, sending Bliss onto her chair to say ENOUGH. The fight breaks out again and heads to the back so Bliss announces herself for the Royal Rumble. This brings out Lacey Evans to say that was messy. She’ll be bringing class to the Royal Rumble, including taking care of the sawed off girly runt Bliss.

Titus O’Neil announces his introduction into the Royal Rumble when a production guy bumps into him. Titus isn’t happy as the guy leaves….and that’s it.

Ascension vs. Heavy Machinery

Otis spins Viktor around with a slam to start and it’s off to Tucker for a double headbutt. The Bushwhackers double knee to the head sets up the Caterpillar, followed by the Compactor for the pin at 2:12. Total squash and fun match that Heavy Machinery can do.

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

Roode and Gable are defending and Curt Hawkins is guest referee. Wilder and Gable start things off and it’s time to take over in the corner early on with a tag to Roode not counting due to a lack of grabbing a tag rope. Everything breaks down in a hurry and it’s stereo t-bone suplex to send Revival outside. Gable is backdropped onto Wilder but gets clotheslined down by Dawson as we take a break.

Back with Gable making the hot tag so Roode can clothesline away, followed by a spinebuster to Wilder. Dawson tries the Ultimate Warrior/Bobby Heenan leg trip on a suplex but gets caught at two. Wilder’s rollup with feet on the ropes gets the same treatment, as does Dawson pulling the trunks on a rollup. Dawson has had it and shoves Hawkins, allowing Gable to grab a rollup for a fast counted pin at 8:04.

Rating: C-. They had a story here and while I’m not sure if this is enough to keep the Revival happy, it’s still something that has been done as of late. Would it really hurt to give them the titles at some point? It’s not like Gable and Roode are anything special and they’ve been a team for all of a few months anyway. Not a bad match, but I just want to see the Revival get to do something.

Post match Hawkins gets beaten down until Zack Ryder runs in for the save to a rather mild reaction from the announcers.

Ronda Rousey says she doesn’t owe Sasha Banks a thing because Banks insulted her as soon as she got a Women’s Title shot. She’s the Boss’ boss, and she’ll prove it at the Royal Rumble.

Ronda Rousey/Natalya vs. Sasha Banks/Bayley

Before the match, Banks talks about Rousey not being around very long and being ready to stop her on Sunday. That sets Rousey off to the point that Natalya has to hold her back. Banks and Natalya start things off with Sasha getting in a cheap shot on Rousey to knock her off the apron. Rousey comes in to clean house and we take an early break. Back with Bayley coming in for a running knee to Natalya’s face. Sasha adds the Meteora for two but Natalya gets over for the hot tag to Rousey.

Banks slips out of a quick fireman’s carry and rolls Rousey into the Bank Statement with Natalya having to make a save. Bayley gets beaten up as well but takes Rousey into the corner for an ax handle to Rousey’s arm. That doesn’t seem to bother Rousey as she pulls Banks down into an armbar attempt. That goes nowhere so it’s back to Natalya for a suplex into the Sharpshooter. Everything breaks down and Banks slaps on the Bank Statement to Natalya for the tap at 7:41.

Rating: C. The match was as watchable as you would expect, but what matters here is I’m much more interested in seeing Rousey vs. Banks than I was before. Rousey showed some fire here and that’s what makes her matches that much better. I don’t think Banks will win the title, but I think there’s the tiniest chance that it could happen, and that’s what matters. Good job on that, and that’s what mattered most.

Banks and Rousey stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show felt fast and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Everything felt like it was happening at a breakneck pace and that gives it a benefit of never dragging. At the same time though, very little felt very good or even worth seeing, though I’ll take that over boring or dragging every week. The Rumble itself isn’t getting a lot of attention at the top, though that’s mainly because Seth Rollins is such a heavy favorite. The rest of the card is looking good though and that’s a fine way to go. Not a bad show, but it went flying by.

Results

Finn Balor b. Braun Strowman via DQ when Brock Lesnar interfered

Bobby Lashley b. Apollo Crews – Spear

Seth Rollins b. Drew McIntyre – Rollup

Lucha House Party b. Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers – Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to Sunil Singh

Heavy Machinery b. Ascension – Compactor to Viktor

Chad Gable/Bobby Roode b. Revival – Rollup to Dawson

Sasha Banks/Bayley b. Ronda Rousey/Natalya – Bank Statement to Natalya

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

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

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

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

Oh yeah I answer questions sometimes.  Like this one:

This has been a busy week for WWE but one of the stories that has flown under the radar is the announcement of the first ever Women’s Tag Team Titles and an official date for the first champions to be crowned. That would be at next month’s Elimination Chamber and that means it’s time to do some fantasy booking.

So obviously we’re going to need six teams and since we’re going to both shows for these things, it’s a little easier. Here are the teams I’m expecting:

Bayley/Sasha Banks

Nia Jax/Tamina

Riott Squad (Ruby Riott/Sarah Logan)

Mandy Rose/Sonya Deville

Naomi/Lana

IIconics

You can’t say WWE hasn’t been setting these teams up over the last few months. Since this is elimination, let’s see who we can knock off early. Mandy and Sonya aren’t getting any titles anytime soon, Naomi and Lana aren’t surviving a match like this and the IIconics aren’t going to win a thing of value for a long time. In other words, the Smackdown teams would be better off allowing Mickie James and Lacey Evans to take one of their spots instead.

That leaves us with three options and each of them could win.

Tamina/Nia Jax

Having the monsters win the titles first is certainly a way to go and something that has worked for a long time. It sets up several rematches (“You can win when anything goes but between these ropes, we know we can beat you!”) and it’s not like you have to ask WWE to push Jax. I don’t think they get the belts though, as Nia is too valuable as a mountain for someone else to overcome.

Riott Squad

I’d love for this to be Logan and Morgan but I can’t imagine leaving Ruby out of something like this. These three have been feuding with Bayley and Banks for the better part of ever now and there’s no end to the thing in sight. They might as well have some titles to fight over so it seems the slightest bit more important, and I think you know what that means.

Bayley/Sasha Banks

I’m taking the plucky faces as the winners as it’s not like there’s anyone else that is likely to get the belts. These two have been on the road to these things forever now and it makes sense to put the titles on them. If nothing else the celebration could be fun before they turn on each other again later in the year. I can’t imagine they hold the titles long, but they’re the most likely candidates to get them for the first time.

Dang the Smackdown side is awful here. How did that happen?

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: December 25, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Rich Brennan, Alex Riley
Hosts: Renee Young, Corey Graves

Back in the 1980s, Fritz Von Erich had a great insight about Christmas: Once you open the presents, what else is there to do? Well apparently we can watch NXT, which is on a roll as of late. The main story coming out of last week was Kevin Owens destroying Adrian Neville just like he did to Sami Zayn the week before. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

And we have an empty arena with only Renee Young and Corey Graves in the ring, meaning we have a Best Of show. There will however be a new match with Charlotte defending the Women’s Title against Sasha Banks in an R-Evolution rematch.

We start by looking at some of the stars who came from NXT up to the main roster, including Paige, Bo Dallas, Lana and Rusev. There’s nothing to say here as they’re just saying the names and showing maybe a ten second clip.

Video on NXT: Arrival. That feels so long ago even though it was only February.

This leads to a package of Adrian Neville going home to Newcastle, England. Wearing glasses, which is an odd look on a wrestler for some reason, he goes to see his mom and talks about soccer for awhile. His original plans were to play soccer for Newcastle United but then he saw something called WWF and things changed. We get some clips of his training and developing the high spots, which we then see in NXT. He even got to wear a Newcastle jersey to his match in the Newcastle arena for a very cool moment.

Tyler Breeze is still off modeling but wants to tell all the Wannabreeze that he’ll be adding gold to his ensemble in 2015.

We see the last six or so minutes of Zayn vs. Neville, plus the entire post match celebration and Owens’ heel turn to end the show.

Curtis Axel comes in to see Regal and thinks he needs to recharge his career. He wants in on this NXT thing but Regal tells him to make an appointment.

Lucha Dragons video. Sin Cara still hates to do the pre-match pose.

Vaudevillains video, of course in black and white.

We get about four minutes of the Lucha Dragons vs. Vaudevillians match from R-Evolution. There will be a rematch due to Kalisto pinning the wrong man.

Next week we’ll have Finn Balor/Hideo Itami vs. Ascension II.

Itami and Balor promise to destroy the Ascension. Itami’s English is improving by leaps and bounds.

We look at some NXT debuts this year, including Baron Corbin, Bull Dempsey, Hideo Itami, Finn Balor and of course Kevin Owens.

Owens says he’s sent the former champion and the new champion to the hospital in the span of seven days. If he’s done that to people he considers friends, what is he going to do to people he doesn’t care about? He’ll fight anyone and everyone until he’s the only one standing. “Why don’t you put that on a t-shirt?”

Time to look at NXT people making splashes on the main roster: Paige, Bo Dallas, Emma, Summer Rae, Adam Rose, Rusev and Lana.

Earlier this week, Bayley was watching the HHH DVD to see how he came back from his knee injury. It motivates her to come back bigger, better and stronger, just like HHH. So she’s gaining 40lbs of unnecessary muscle, slowing down and stopping everything that made her awesome in the first place?

Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Sasha is challenging and this is a rematch from R-Evolution. She has Becky Lynch with her, so Charlotte comes out with her dad, Ric Flair. Ric looks sober tonight so this should be good. He says that he has two Hall of Fame rings (only wearing one here) but his daughter took the torch from him. Two weeks ago Sasha and Charlotte had one of the best matches ever (to Sasha: “Yeah I’m talking about you. You were great.”) and tonight they’re going to do it again.

They slug it out to start with Sasha diving at the champ, only to get caught in something like a spinebuster. Charlotte goes after the knee by wrapping it around the post, only to get pulled face first into the steel. We take a break and come back with Sasha in control and slapping Charlotte on the back. That’s not exactly the best offense. The announcers actually mention the “internet wrestling community” sending HHH a fruit basket as a thank you for R-Evolution. That’s such a cool story.

Banks drives two knees into Charlotte’s ribs and puts on Bankrupt, only to have Charlotte fight to her feet and escape with something like a jawbreaker. She’s really good at using her athleticism to get out of things like that, which really isn’t something most of the other women can do. Charlotte fires off some chops and a neckbreaker but gets caught in a double arm neckbreaker (Regal Cutter) for two more.

The Banks Statement goes on but it’s right next to the ropes. Another thing I like about NXT: heels feel like they could win a big match by submission. That’s what always annoyed me about heel Del Rio: he wasn’t going to make anyone big tap and the armbreaker felt like a waste of time. They fight up top with Banks nailing a nice superplex (Riley: “She’s straight gangsta!”), only to get caught in the Figure Four with the bridge to retain Charlotte’s title at 10:45.

Rating: C+. While it was nowhere near as good as the R-Evolution match, it was still another solid effort from the NXT girls. Banks is impressing me in the ring for the first time as she’s very feisty in there. She has the attitude down and the matches are getting better every week. I still think Lynch is the star of the team, but Banks is nailing it in NXT.

Overall Rating: C+. These are always hard to grade so I’ll just go with the same rating I gave the match. I really liked the Neville video as it’s the kind of personalized profile that you just do not get in WWE anymore. I would have liked to see more Sami here as he only won the title at the end of the year but he was still a huge part of NXT all year. The attention to detail in this promotion blows away everything else and it’s my favorite wrestling show to watch every week. If next year is as good as this one was, everything will be fine.

Results

Charlotte b. Sasha Banks – Figure Four

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: December 11, 2018
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Renee Young, Vic Joseph, Michael Cole

We’re finally at the finals as the winners of tonight’s two matches are heading to TLC this Sunday. Unfortunately you can pretty clearly see who is winning based on what is already booked for the pay per view so there isn’t much mystery, but at least we’re finally done with this thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Raw Division Finals: Bayley/Apollo Crews vs. Jinder Mahal/Alicia Fox

Crews is the replacement for the ill Finn Balor, because we can’t go a week on this show without a replacement. Mahal headlocks Crews to start until Crews comes out of it with a backslide for two. It’s off to the women with Bayley rolling her up a few times for two each, sending Fox outside for some quality shouting. Back in and Fox’s suplex is countered into a small package for two more and it’s already back to the men. Well to be fair it’s not like Bayley was pinning her. Crews jumps over Mahal in the corner and flips forward a bit until Mahal knees him in the face.

More knees keep Crews down and we hit the required chinlock. Apollo comes up with the jumping enziguri and it’s back to the women to pick up the pace again. Everything breaks down and Bayley hits the Stunner over the middle rope for two with the Singh Brothers making the save. Fox and the Brothers take Bayley to Bellies but Mahal superkicks Crews. After the melee, Bayley goes outside to get Fox but walks into a big boot to give Fox the unlikely pin at 9:35.

Rating: D+. Well you knew that was coming and there was no way around it. As soon as Bayley and Balor made the Raw finals, there was no way Mahal and Fox were losing. It’s the usual WWE idea: have a team that only they want to go on to win something win it, just because….whatever they see in Mahal. Anyway at least it’s not exactly in an important match.

Mahal and Fox take credit for the win in their own unique ways. Asuka comes in and laughs at them a lot.

Smackdown Division: R-Truth/Carmella vs. The Miz/Asuka

Miz and Asuka argue over who should start until Asuka finally gets the nod. Now why couldn’t Carmella or Truth start and make the decision for them? Miz demands to be tagged in so Asuka chops him for the tag. Truth shoulders him down and hops around in a circle, followed by the hip thrusting. With Miz on the floor, DANCE BREAK! Asuka even joins in on a second edition and since Miz is annoyed, Truth hammers away in the corner. That’s finally enough for Miz, who kicks Truth down and slaps on a chinlock.

The announcers are so bored that they talk about Mike Chioda refereeing. Miz’s short DDT gets two and a heck of a clothesline takes Truth down again. Truth gets in a shot of his own though and the hot tag brings in Carmella. That means a lot of screaming as Asuka loads up a German suplex.

Some knees to the chest have Carmella in trouble but Truth comes in with a Lie Detector to Miz. Carmella loads up the superkick on Miz but he pulls Asuka in the way like a true jerk. The Little Jimmy gets two on Miz, who pops up and throws the good ones to the floor. Asuka isn’t happy though and FINALLY snaps on the cheating Miz, kicking him in the head and walking away. An Unprettier gives Truth the pin at 11:38.

Rating: D+. Yeah this was obvious last week and there wasn’t much doubt a few weeks back either. As soon as Asuka was announced for the TLC match, there was no way she was making it to the finals. I’m not a fan of the things but points to Truth and Carmella for getting some crazy mileage out of the dance breaks. It’s gotten them a pay per view match, which is about 10,000x more than it should have done.

Overall Rating: D. And thank goodness it’s over. The Mixed Match Challenge is something that can work, but PLEASE take it back to the format from the first season. This was a nightmare with a bunch of matches that didn’t go anywhere because they had nothing to fight over and the two teams who only got into the playoffs on the last week making the finals. Just have things go the way that actually worked and things can be better, unlike this season.

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

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

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

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

There are more than three you know.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-women/

IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: November 27, 2018
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Michael Cole, Renee Young

It’s time for the playoffs, meaning we’re down to four teams left on either side. Tonight we’ll get down to the final two Raw teams and given the options we have, I’m not sure what to expect here. Well other than some bad wrestling and unfunny comedy because this show isn’t something anyone is taken seriously. Let’s get to it.

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

Raw Division Quarterfinals: Ember Moon/Curt Hawkins vs. Alicia Fox/Jinder Mahal

The women start things off with an exchange of rollups until Moon headscissors her into the corner. Mahal comes in and Moon wants to face him, knowing how worthless Hawkins really is. I mean, she’s not wrong. Mahal punches him down and slaps on a headlock takeover but Hawkins scores with a dropkick. A clothesline puts Mahal on the floor but Hawkins stops to go after the Singh Brothers, allowing Mahal to get in a shot to take over.

Back in and we hit the chinlock on Hawkins, because that’s all Mahal knows how to do. Actually I sit corrected as Mahal switches off to a cravate to show some range. And never mind as it’s right back to the chinlock, just to keep things comfortable. Hawkins fights up and sends Mahal outside for the hot tag off to Moon so the pace can pick up.

The spinning suplex out of the corner is broken up so Moon settles for a low superkick instead. The Eclipse connects…but Hawkins tags himself in and covers out of desperation for win. Since that doesn’t count, Moon Eclipses one of the Singh’s, leaving Mahal to hit the Khallas on Hawkins for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: D. Well of course we’re getting more Mahal. The guy can’t even win a match on Main Event but he’s one of the final four options for the #30 spot in the Royal Rumble. Oh and make sure to push the heck out of Mahal and Fox, because it’s so wacky to have them advance this far after being a disaster in the regular season. This felt like a way to laugh at the fans and pull the rug out from them, which seems like the goal more often than not.

Asuka and Miz are ready for Naomi and Jimmy Uso next week.

Naomi and Jimmy Uso are ready for Asuka and Miz next week.

Fox and Mahal promise to win next week. Mickie James comes in and says Fox should watch this.

Raw Division Quarterfinals: Bobby Lashley/Mickie James vs. Bayley/Finn Balor

The men start things off but Lashley tags out less than a second in. That means a lot of stalling until a Lio Rush distraction lets Mickie get in a cheap shot to take over. The way too early chinlock goes on, followed by a neckbreaker for two on Bayley. We hit the bodyscissors as they don’t exactly seem interested in going full speed ahead here. Bayley gets up and it’s a double clothesline to set up the double tag.

That’s a bit of overkill as only one is needed but I guess that’s making up for the weaker effort. Balor tries to pick up the pace but gets knocked off the apron and into the announcers’ table. Since that’s only good for two, Lashley sends him outside again and mocks Braun Strowman’s run around the ring, allowing Balor to hit the Sling Blade. Mickie is right there to pull Bayley off the ropes though and there’s no tag.

Back up and Lashley misses a charge into the post, allowing the hot tag off to Bayley. A flapjack cuts her off in almost no time though and the top rope Thesz press gets two. Bayley fights out of the MickieDT but Rush breaks up her dive. Balor throws Rush outside and hits the flip dive onto both guys, leaving Bayley to grab the Bayley to Belly for the pin on James at 9:20.

Rating: C+. That’s one of the better matches of the entire season so far for the simple reason that it felt like they were trying. Instead of having a dance off or doing something stupid, you had two teams fight each other because they wanted to advance on in the competition. That hasn’t been the case for most of the season and it was very, very nice for a change.

R-Truth and Carmella are ready for Jeff Hardy and Charlotte next week.

Jeff Hardy and Charlotte are ready for R-Truth and Carmella next week.

Balor and Bayley try the Dirty Dancing lift to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The second match was much better than the first and that’s enough to make this a better show than we’ve had in a few weeks. If nothing else it’s great to have the ending in sight, because we’ve sat through this whole thing for so long that there’s no charm left to it. Hopefully the finals are good, because what we’ve gotten so far hasn’t exactly been worth seeing.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: November 6, 2018
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Renee Young

The series that never ends continues with the British edition. This show is really is really starting to feel the weight of its fourteen week schedule and that’s becoming a major problem. The issue is the lack of any real drama to most of the matches, plus the formula the show has settle into using every single week. I would say I have hope but that’s just not the case. Let’s get to it.

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

Raw Division: Mickie James/Bobby Lashley (2-0) vs. Finn Balor/Bayley (2-1)

There is something to be said about how straight to the point this show is. The women start and the British fans are all over singing to Bayley. Finn pays cheerleader as Bayley fights off a wristlock and gets two off a rollup. It’s off to the guys because we haven’t seen these two fight enough. Lashley poses a lot and Balor goes to do the same (to be fair, he could give Lashley some competition) but gets pulled off the ropes.

After a look at Naomi and Jimmy Uso in the back, we come back to Lashley holding a nerve hold. Balor fights up and sends him chest first into the buckle and the tag brings the women back in. Mickie cuts off a charging Bayley with a superkick as everything breaks down. The Sling Blade drops Lashley but Balor makes the mistake of going after Rush, allowing Lashley to shove him off the top. The MickDT finishes Bayley at 8:43.

Rating: D+. Not terrible here with the expected ending, though it’s a nice treat anytime you can have Mickie out there showing off. It’s better to have Bayley take the fall here as she doesn’t have anything important going on and Balor already lost to Lashley once this week. It was nice to have them play one of these straight for once too, which you don’t get around here very often.

In the back, Lashley and Mickie aren’t worried about the battle of the undefeateds with Ember Moon and Braun Strowman next week.

Smackdown Division: Jimmy Uso/Naomi (1-2) vs. R-Truth/Carmella (0-2)

The guys start and that means dancing. A lockup goes nowhere so the women come in to dance some more. That’s enough of that though so let’s have a rap battle instead. Truth is of course very good at it and Naomi isn’t half bad either. Jimmy says a little bit as well and then, you guessed it, DANCE BREAK! Carmella uses said break to superkick Naomi down and grab a chinlock, followed by one heck of a spinning headscissors. Naomi hits a quick kick to the head for the pin at 5:01. It’s as sudden as it sounds.

Rating: N/A. Yeah I know it’s long enough but come on. The rapping/dancing was more than half of what was already a short match and that’s not something I’m going to rate. This was the same thing we’ve seen time after time around here, because if there’s one thing WWE knows how to do, it’s take something fun like Truth and Carmella and beat it into the ground.

Charlotte and AJ Styles are ready for their battle of the undefeateds with Miz and Asuka.

Miz and Asuka say the same thing.

Everyone dances, because wins and losses mean nothing on this show.

Overall Rating: F. I’m so sick of this stupid show. Next week sounds a little more promising with the four undefeated teams fighting, but there are still five more weeks of this mess to go. I didn’t think it was possible but they’ve managed to ruin what should be the easiest, most entertaining shows of the week. That takes talent and WWE pulled it off. Another waste of time this week.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: October 23, 2018
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Renee Young, Michael Cole, Vic Joseph

So who dances this week? The dances in the middle of the matches have become a hallmark of this show and I’m not sure what that means for the series. You can probably guess the finals from here, and that doesn’t make for the most thrilling series. I know the dancing is stupid, but really, what else do they have to do? Let’s get to it.

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

Raw Division: Natalya/Bobby Roode (0-2) vs. Finn Balor/Bayley (1-1)

Natalya is in a Roode robe. The men start things off and let’s exchange jackets/robes. They even exchange poses but Balor tries a Glorious DDT. Roode backs off…and can’t get out of the jacket so let’s try the women instead. They hit the mat with headlock takeovers and headscissors counters, followed by an exchange of wristlocks.

Natalya flips out of a headscissors and it’s a standoff. Neither finisher works and it’s Bayley bailing to the floor. For some reason Natalya tags Roode so Balor dropkicks him in the back to take over. Roode sends him chest first into the corner and let’s look at Jimmy Uso and Naomi warming up.

Balor scores with a Sling Blade and something like the Eye of the Hurricane gets two, drawing in Natalya for the save. Bayley comes in as well but the big hug (copyright Best Friends) is broken up by Natalya. A spinebuster gives Roode two and for some reason he goes up for the Coup de Grace. Of course that doesn’t work, allowing Balor to dropkick him into the corner and hit the real version for the pin at 8:13.

Rating: D. These things are losing their steam and this was a great example. I know Roode and Natalya are a thrown together team due to Owens’ injury (though Owens wasn’t exactly a great partner for her in the first place) but they’re just not fun to watch. The stealing of finishers and poses wasn’t exactly charming and this was probably the weakest match of the tournament so far.

Ember Moon and Braun Strowman are ready to destroy Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox.

Mahal and Fox promise to shock the world and say shanti a lot.

Smackdown Division: The Miz/Asuka (2-0) vs. Jimmy Uso/Naomi (1-1)

Asuka seems rather impressed by Naomi’s entrance. She’s fine enough to headlock Naomi down but they both try hip attacks. That goes nowhere so they giggle and hug, much to Miz’s annoyance. Therefore, it’s time for an exchange of hugs with Jimmy joining in. Miz bails to the floor to avoid the threat of a hug so Jimmy throws him back inside for a bearhug.

A missed charge lets Jimmy go up top, only to get crotched down in a hurry. After a look at Rusev and Lana in the locker room, Jimmy fights out of a chinlock and drops Miz again, allowing for the tag off to the women. Asuka gets kicked down but the split legged moonsault misses. The Samoan drop puts Miz down and stereo hip attacks in the corner have Miz and Asuka in trouble. Naomi mostly misses a dive and the thud allows Miz to hit the Skull Crushing Finale to finish Jimmy at 7:24.

Rating: D+. This was better than the first match but it’s still not much to see. Was anyone buying Jimmy and Naomi as a threat here? That’s the problem with so much of this: AJ and Charlotte are the only real threat to Miz and Asuka and we’re not likely to see that match until the final week. Also, the hugging was pretty much the same thing as the dancing, which comes off as putting a coat of paint on something that wasn’t great in the first place.

Asuka doesn’t look happy with Miz for beating up her friend’s husband.

Rusev and Lana make fun of AJ Styles and Charlotte.

Styles and Charlotte stretch a lot with AJ not being able to do the splits like her.

Overall Rating: D. This show is rapidly losing steam and that’s not a good sign with so many weeks left to go. The wrestling isn’t interesting and the same gags over and over again isn’t doing that any favors. That’s not a good sign when there were some of the bigger names in the competition involved here, but at least the show isn’t that long. I’m running out of ways to say that’s the best part of the show.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: October 9, 2018
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Vic Joseph, Renee Young

We’re starting to get somewhere with this series as the teams are becoming more established and you can see which ones are going somewhere and which aren’t. This week will see some more teams who we’ve seen before, which is likely going to be the case on every show going forward. Let’s get to it.

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

Raw Division: Bayley/Finn Balor (1-0) vs. Braun Strowman/Ember Moon (1-0)

The women start things off with Ember shouldering her down. Bayley does the exact same thing but adds in a sliding clothesline, allowing her to hit some Too Sweet poses. It’s off to the men with Strowman missing a charge and getting caught with an enziguri. That’s about it for Strowman getting beaten up so he takes Balor down and works on a neck crank.

Balor fights up but gets run over with another clothesline. The heating continues with forearms and headbutts but Balor slips out of the running powerslam. A missed charge is finally enough for the hot tag to Bayley, who is taken down with a quick gutbuster. Bayley kicks her in the head for two, which Cole says would be a major upset.

It’s Bayley over Ember Moon, which isn’t an upset of any kind. The Bayley to Belly gets two with Strowman making a save. A running charge sends Strowman shoulder first into the post and Balor hits a double stomp to the back. The Coup de Grace is countered into the running powerslam to give Strowman the pin at 9:07.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one as Strowman pinning Balor was the most likely outcome of the whole thing. Neither of the women have anything going for them at the moment and it makes more sense to have Balor take the loss as Strowman has a big title match coming up. This show isn’t as important, but at least it’s a win over a big name.

As we see the standings, Kevin Owens’ picture is blacked out, meaning he’ll need a replacement due to being laid out by Bobby Lashley.

Natalya isn’t sure who she should have as a replacement partner.

Lio Rush hypes up Bobby Lashley and Mickie James against Natalya and whomever she picks.

Smackdown Division: Carmella/R-Truth (0-1) vs. Charlotte/AJ Styles (1-0)

Charlotte is very banged up from her Smackdown match, sporting bad ribs and an arm injury. We start with a WHAT’S UP vs. WOO showdown, which eats up nearly the first minute and a half. The guys wins up starting things off and it’s already time for a dance off, with AJ more than holding his own.

The women come in and do the splits, along with Truth, leaving AJ to look rather scared. Styles tries it himself and seems to pull some muscles, which is enough for things to settle down. Charlotte loads up a chop so Carmella bails to the floor for a chase. After three laps, Carmella finally gets caught but is still able to block the Figure Eight.

Carmella breaks it again and switches into the Code of Silence. That’s broken up as well so let’s hear from Jimmy Uso and Naomi. The guys come in with Styles cleaning house with Carmella breaking up a cover. AJ: “Carmella you’re not supposed to be in here!” Carmella superkicks Charlotte to the floor, leaving Carmella to hold Truth’s hand to block a sunset flip. Charlotte breaks that up and AJ pins Truth at 8:28.

Rating: D. The comedy stuff is starting to wear on me a bit, though it’s another case where neither Truth nor Carmella was going to be a real threat to their opponents. Just let them do their funny stuff and take the loss, which is really all you can ask them to do. That being said, if there was ever going to be a chance for Styles and Charlotte to lose, it would have been here. Barring a surprise, they’re going to walk into the finals.

Miz and Asuka are ready for next week.

Rusev and Lana are ready for next week.

AJ struts and breakdances to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as the comedy is getting to be rather tiresome. It’s fine to do it sometimes, but you need to switch things up every now and then. The show is still short enough that it’s hard to get too mad at anything and the matches are usually good for a chuckle. This was the weakest of the season so far, but this is the kind of show that can bounce back without much effort.

It’s a dead week and this show made me feel dead inside so it kind of fits.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-reviewing-review-monday-night-raw-july-2-2018/